Hitta's Tea Maker 2

by Edwina Fort

  “Who?”

  “Our grandmother.”

  I gasped. “Greatie?”

  She nodded. “Yep, I’d become obsessed with getting this thing to work and one day, I came into the room and she was sitting here sewing a garment.”

  “Did you freak out when you found out she was your great, great, great—”

  “Great, great, grandmother,” she said finishing my sentence, causing us both to laugh. “You know, I didn’t freak out too much because at the time, my heart was like stone. Nothing really could surprise me. Life had already dealt a pretty tragic hand, so anything beyond that was an improvement in my book.”

  And that was the beginning of the relationship between me and my cousin several times removed. We stayed up all night talking. Her life and mine were so similar it was scary, only the state didn’t take her away from her mom when she was little. And where I’d almost been raped by Stan, she was actually raped by one of her mother’s lovers.

  But alas, I can't go into too many details about her and Noach’s tale because it’s their story to tell. Look for it, it’s out there.

  By morning, I’d cried all the tears I had in me. I told her about my marriage and the things that had led up to me and Jessie stowing away in their guest bedroom. And surprisingly, she didn't judge me nor Hitta. She just told me some of the crazy things that she and her husband had gone through on their journey of discovery.

  “You take all the time you need to heal, little sista. You are welcome here. If the children get too loud or bug you too much, just let me know and I will make them go downstairs to the basement. Noach built them a children’s haven down there. Everything a young person could want can be found in that basement, chile. It’s like a real-life arcade down there.”

  I shook my head. “No, your children all have beautiful spirits. They’re well-mannered. They won’t bother me at all. Plus, Jessie is loving it here.” And she was. She and Lyric had been glued at the hip since we unpacked our bags in the guest room.

  Because Lyric was the only girl with five brothers and another one on the way, you can already imagine that she was a little rough. In fact, she was able to hang toe-to-toe with Jessie. Little did I know at the time, that those two would grow up to be the best of friends. But I’m getting ahead of myself, that’s another story for another time.

  The rest of my tale is going to be hard enough to get through. Anyhow, the next morning when I woke up, I was unsure of what to do with myself. As you guys can imagine, I didn’t get much sleep, thanks to staying up very late chatting with Brooklyn and then the nightmares that made an appearance as soon as I closed my eyes.

  What is the irony, that my husband who hurt me and lied to me, is the only man that can chase my nightmares away? What does that even mean? And what does it mean that when I woke up, I missed him like nobody’s business? How can I hate him and miss him too?

  Ugggh! I was a wreck!

  Greatie said that I didn’t have to worry about Hitta because if the Preacher said he would handle it, then he would. She said I was free to go to work and move around the city without fear that my husband was going to grab me and force me to come back home.

  However, for the first time in my life, I didn’t want to go into the Tea Shop, instead, I lay on the loveseat in Brooklyn’s sewing room and watched her work. We talked a little, I slept a little, lulled by the gentle hum of her machine.

  It’s crazy because I’d realized that Greatie said that I was coming here to help Brooklyn in order to save my pride. But the truth was, Greatie had brought me here for Brooklyn to help me and that made me so sad. My heart hurt so bad I’d lost the will to do most things.

  Noach went on the road for 3 weeks and was off one. It just so happened that this was his off week, so he took Jessie to school for me and picked her up. Watching Brooklyn work was so soothing that I ended up lying on her couch the whole week. I think it was safe to say I had fallen into a depression.

  Noach teased me and said I’d fallen prey to this room just like his wife had, and maybe he was right. It was a very soothing place. It reminded me of the Tea Shop; quiet, spacious, comfortable furniture, and it even had a fireplace. Plus, Brooklyn was like the big sister I never had. She was full of good advice and I liked talking to her.

  I’d talked to both Carmen and Summer as well. Of course, after I told her what had happened between Hitta and me, she hung up the phone pissed with her uncle and ready to have a chat with him. But they both assured me that they can hold down the Tea Shop while I mourned the death of my mom and whatnot.

  By the end of the week, I’d managed to get off Brooklyn’s couch and actually help out around the house, especially since Noach had gone back on the road. In order to run from my reality, I submerged myself into helping with the cooking, cleaning, and trying to keep up with the three youngest boys and the three middle children. We’d taken to calling Jessie, Lyric, and young YermiYah the three amigos.

  But do you guys know what hurt the most? In all that time, I had not heard from Hitta. And I know what y’all are going to say. If you wanted to hear from him, why the hell did you leave him? The answer to that is complicated. Yeah, I could no longer be with him after the things that had come to light, but I expected him to at least ask about me or at the very least Jessie and the baby. I talked to Carmen nearly every day on the phone. I’ve even gone into the Tea Shop a few days and nothing…Not, my uncle asked about you, or he wanted to know where you were, or even, what did the doctor say at your last doctor’s appointment…? Nothing! And my pride kept me from asking about him.

  Maybe he’s moved on. Maybe Shantell had been successful and got her man back. Isn’t that what she said she’d come to the Tea Shop to do? Yeah, he said he was excited at the idea of becoming a father, but hadn’t he proven himself to be a liar?

  I told myself I didn’t care, I was prepared to raise my son and Jessie on my own anyway. But it didn’t take a blind man to see that something was wrong with me. I’d lost my passion for blending teas. Feeling bad that nearly a month had passed and I’d only gone in to work maybe three times, I’d asked Carmen what she thought about buying me out.

  “Hell no!” She shook her head as she continued to file away some things in the cabinet.

  “What do you mean, hell no?”

  She slammed the file cabinet, turning to look at me. “I mean, heeeelllll no! This is your dream. You’re going through a little slump right now, but troubles don’t last always. Take it from me, I know this to be a fact. Storm clouds are hanging over your head, sis. It’s hard for you to see the light right now, but that’s okay, that’s why you have a bomb-ass partner like me. We hold each other down. When you’re weak, I’m strong. And when I’m weak, you’ll be strong.”

  She pulled me into her arms and held me. “Take a few months off. Have the baby and then see how you feel.” She shook her head again. “But I’m not letting you quit.” And well, what could I say to that? So, I took her advice and took some time off.

  Brooklyn went into labor in my sixth month of pregnancy and it was the most beautiful thing I’d seen. Being the big cry baby that I was, I boohooed the whole time. She’d chosen to have a home birth. Her doula was a woman with long beautiful locs named SaafiYah. She’d showed up with another woman with a head full of brown hair named NuriYah and together, the two of them arranged Noach and Brooklyn’s bedroom into something that resembled a spa, with a birthing bath and everything. They dimmed the lights and put on soothing music.

  Saafiyah knew her herbs and if I was in a better place in my life, I would have loved to talk to her about some of the things that she used with Brooklyn, but I didn’t have the will. The spark that came to life in me whenever herbs, roots, or seeds was around, was not there and it hadn’t been there for a long time.

  Instead, I tried to be helpful and do whatever Saafiyah needed me to do and surprisingly, it wasn’t long before she was urging Brooklyn to push. There was a point when I could tell that she was in a lot of p
ain, but outside of that, she really made it look doable. I’ve been trying to deal with the fear of not only having a baby for the first time but having him alone.

  I was more than positive that having Noach right there by her side, rubbing her hair, telling her how good she was doing, and how proud he was of her, was a big help. That was something I would not have.

  Although I felt like I was dying inside, I continued to smile, not wanting to disrupt their special day in any way. They’d been more than kind to me, treating a perfect stranger like family. I’d moped around their place for the last month and now just wasn’t the time. So even if it killed me, I was going to be happy for them.

  Right after their son, who they named Jahaziel, made his debut in this world, SaafiYah put him in his mama’s arms so that she could hold him while his umbilical cord finished pulsating. Noach wrapped his arms around them both and they just sat that way, drawing strength from each other and giving it to their child.

  Dear God, help me! To keep from crying, I busied myself helping SaafiYah and Nuriyah clean up. I took a bundle of towels and linen down to the basement and put them in the washing machine and then headed for the porch, desperately needing air.

  But as soon as I opened the door, I heard weeping. Stepping out, I saw NuriYah holding her arm to her eyes crying her heart out.

  “Are you okay?”

  She jumped, wiping at her eyes. “Oh…yeah, I’m good. I just—” She shook her head. “I just, I'm having a hard time right now. That's all."

  I sat on the swing chair. “Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s hard to be happy for someone when your heart is in so much pain.”

  “Yeah, it is…” she whispered before she eased down on the bench next to me. I didn’t know what had happened to her to cause her tears and neither did I ask. Instead, the two of us just sat there gently swaying on that swing, lost in our own thoughts. We sat like that until Eliyah popped his head out and told us that SaafiYah needed us.

  For the next two months, I took over the running of the house for the most part. SaafiYah insisted that Brooklyn stay inside and rest for the whole two months, but by the end of it, she was ready to be out.

  That’s when I found out that Noach ran community gardens in several neighborhoods around the city when he was home. And Brooklyn wanted to go out and play in the dirt. I actually was looking forward to it.

  Noach’s niece had come by the house to babysit for us, so for the first time, we were without children and it felt kind of nice.

  "I think I'm ready to start looking for a place soon," I told Brooklyn as we planted onion bulbs in a grow bed. Noach still didn’t want her doing anything too strenuous, so he’d shoved some onion seedlings in her hand and instructed her to do a little light planting and absolutely no lifting.

  She looked up startled. “But why? I thought you were going to stay till at least after you have the baby.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve taken advantage of you guys’ kindness enough. It’s time for me and Jessie to move—”

  "No! You promised that you would stay until after you had the baby."

  I lifted an eyebrow at her. “Did I promise, Brooklyn?”

  She chuckled. "Yeah, you did. I insist you stay till after. You going to be a first-time mom. You're going to need some help. Remember, I’m the pro…seven children. Stay, let me help you.”

  I opened my mouth to say something else to her, but right then, NuriYah walked through the little garden gate.

  “Look, there’s NuriYah.”

  Brooklyn turned her head to see where I pointed. She was still a good distance away, but I would recognize that brown hair anywhere.

  “Oh, HalleluYah! I’m glad she decided to come back to helping Noach with the gardens.” A sad look crossed her face.

  “Why, what happened to her? I heard her crying on your porch the night you had the baby.”

  “I’ve actually known Nuriyah for a long time. I knew her when her name was Butta Baby.”

  I frowned. “Butta Baby?”

  She nodded. “Mmmhhhmmm… Sticky finger extraordinaire. That girl could steal anything. She could take a man’s watch right off his wrist without him knowing it. She was famous in our neighborhood. When she would come around, the fellas would say It’s just like Butta Baby.”

  “Wow! Obviously she’s not like that anymore.”

  “Of course not, that’s Lyon’s wife.”

  She said that like I should know who she’s talking about. “Lyon?”

  “Oh my goodness. You don’t know who Lyon is?”

  I shook my head. “Girl, we’ve got to get you to the Lyon’s Den. Sometimes Noach, the children, and I go there on the Shabbat to fellowship with them. But listen, they’re having a rough time right now. Their son went missing a few months ago and nobody knows where. So, if she seems sad, that’s why. Come on, let me introduce you formally to her. I know you guys barely got a chance to talk the night I went into labor, but y’all have a lot in common. She has a beautiful greenhouse upstairs in the Lyon’s Den, I bet you would love it there.”

  Chapter 25

  Answering the Call and Receiving the Gift

  What can a brother do for me?

  (See he can you help you up when you are down)

  What can a brother do for me?

  (He can know the wrong to make it right)

  What can a brother do for me?

  (He can be your eyes when you can't see)

  What can a brother do for me?

  He can help me be the best man I can be…

  Ginuwine, Case, RL, Tyrese

  Hitta

  As soon as I walked through the doors of the Lyon’s Den, something shifted inside of me. I can’t prove it, but I swear, the air inside of here was different. It felt as if my lungs expanded and for the first time in a long time, I was able to breathe. The pressure that had been building inside my head since Angel left me released completely.

  I exhaled. As I looked around the empty gym, a feeling of nostalgia settled over me, bringing to memory how much I enjoyed coming here as a kid. I remembered that some days, Lyon would close the gym down to the general public and just keep it open for a few people. It looked like today he'd closed it down to everyone because it was completely empty.

  Right when I was getting ready to turn around and leave with the mind to come back another day, the sound of weights being shuffled around came from somewhere on the other side of the ring. I debated whether or not to head that way, being a little nervous about seeing my teacher again after all these years.

  What would he think of the man I’ve become? He’ll probably be disappointed. That thought made me want to turn around and walk back out the door, but then I heard the Preacher’s voice in my head as clear as day.

  “That voice that sounds so much like your own is actually your enemy. Its job is to continue to keep you doubting yourself because it knows the day you realize your value, accept who you are, and what you’ve been put here to do, is the day it has to slither back to its master and tell him it failed in its mission.”

  Squaring my shoulders, I headed farther into the gym towards the weight area. The hell if I was going to see an enemy and not try to defeat it. When I didn’t know it was there, was one thing, but now that the Preacher helped to bring it to my attention, it was a wrap. I wasn’t the kind of mutha f**ka that didn’t hunt down my enemies and destroy them, even hidden ones that’s lived with me so long, I confused it for a friend.

  A 250-pound dumbbell flew across the floor. “Garbage… I don’t know why they keep ordering this cheap crap.” The grumble came from somewhere down by the bottom of the dumbbell rack.

  I smiled. Only one man I know could toss a 250-pound f**king dumbbell like it weighs 2-pounds.

  “Lyon?”

  “Yo!” A head full of brown dreads popped up from where he’d been sorting through and arranging the dumbbells on the bottom rack. When he turned to look at me over the rack, I was surprised to see that his beard had
begun to gray, and there were a few gray strands of hair around the edges of his head.

  I smiled. “Oh man, you got old. Never thought I’d see the day.”

  He laughed as he jumped to his feet, heading towards me. “Yeah, but I can still kick your butt!”

  There was no doubt in my mind. Outside of the gray hairs, there was nothing else about him that resembled what a man his age should look like. This bastard was still ripped. And to show y’all just what I was talking about, the mutha f**ka snatched me off my feet into a bear hug that cut my breath completely off.

  “Man, it’s good to see you, lil Willie!”

  I had to tap his shoulder to get him to release me before I passed out. Chuckling, he dropped me back to my feet.

  “Don’t know body call me that no mo’…” I gasped, trying to catch my breath. This chump rubbed his hand over my head like I was a shawty.

  “Ahhh! You’ll always be lil Willie to me.” Just a bully. That’s what this nigga is… a f**king goon. Although he’s aged, I see he still hasn’t matured that much.

  “Come on over here and have a seat. Tell me what’s been going on with you, little brotha!” And then the bastard hit my shoulder so hard, I had to close my eyes and swallow a moan to keep from crying out like a little b*tch.

  “I see you still soft as butta,” he said as we headed towards one of the tables.

  I grinned, not taking his bait. Lyon always talked mad sh*t in the gym. “Naw, you must got me confused with another one of yo’ students. I’m the one they call Hard Hitta. Just ask a few of them cats that had to get they jaw rewired after stepping in the ring with me.”