BOMAW 7-9

by Mercedes Keyes

  "But…she…she was in your office." She cried, with her head on his shoulder as he held her.

  "Meri, I swear to you, I didn't know she was there. God as my witness, I didn't. She's been after me for a couple of years now. And I'm simply not interested. I have all that I want, right here in my arms." He squeezed her and kissed her temple.

  "What about…you know…the way you've been acting…the way…you've been making love to me?"

  He leaned back away from her, wiping at her eyes, he was honest, "I…talked to Shawn about it, Meri. I talked to my brothers. I got advice. I've been reading books and some other things. I couldn't stand the idea that I wasn't pleasing you. All I wanna do is please you. Make you happy. I don't want you to ever have a reason, to want to leave me. Or…to seek out someone else for your needs. That's what I'm here for, to see to your needs. All of them. I love you, Meribel—I always have, with all of my heart. Just the way you are."

  He reached behind him, and brought out a box of chocolates.

  Meribel laughed. "I am such a fool."

  "Nope…not at all. You're one helluva scrapper though! You hit me too."

  "Oooh, papi—I'm sorry; Venido, déjeme besarlo." (Come, let me kiss it) She reached up, palming the cheeks of his face, bringing it close to her, leaning forward, she kissed his mouth, the side of it, his cheek. He reached down and removed the flowers from her lap, placing them on the side table and then gathered his wife in his arms. He moved her down onto the bed and laying half over her, they kissed long and deep. Her hands moving over his strong arms as he kissed her passionately, cupping her breasts, moving his body over hers.

  Knock, knock, knock

  "Dad? Dad, when you gonna come talk to me? How long I gotta stay in that room? Hm, dad? What you guys doing? You gonna come talk to me?"

  Derrick lifted his mouth from his wife, looking down into her luminous brown eyes. He wasn't in any hurry to move.

  "Shawn, go back to your room!" Derrick called out to him.

  "Aaaah, dad, come o-o-on! I'm gettin' tired of bein' in my room."

  Meribel smiled. "I think you should go talk to him."

  "Yeah, I guess I better. Before I go, want you to know, I'll be making love to you tonight," he warned her softly. "Is that okay with you?"

  "I'd like that," she returned just as softly.

  He leaned down and kissed her again, a minute later, he rose, stood from the bed and held his hand out to her. "Dinner's waiting for you. Chinese take out," he informed her.

  "I'll wait for you."

  "Don't—I'm not sure how long it's going to take. I haven't a clue of what I'm going to do with that boy."

  Meribel smiled, stroked her husband's cheek adoringly and moved towards the door, opening it. There stood Shawn2, sagging against the door frame, looking like the world was against him. With a stern expression, she pointed towards his room, and off he went, stomping.

  She turned in the door, looking back at her husband. "If he makes it to 18, it really will be a miracle."

  Derrick wanted to stomp off somewhere too, because he'd stalled and stalled as long as he could, praying for some newfound wisdom to impart with this son. Yet, none was there to be found. Time was up. The moment was at hand. He stood reflecting with the realization that he was as unpracticed with disciplining his kids as he could get. Simply because, he hadn't been able to be that way with them. Especially when they were younger. All he'd wanted to do, was hold, cuddle, kiss and love his children. He'd found them funny, entertaining and a wonder to watch. When one needed correcting, it had always been Meribel. There had been times as well, where he'd interrupted her because he couldn't stand for them to get a whipping, actually bringing them physical harm. He sighed, looked up at his wife, who'd been watching him. It was as if she could see his struggle. He threw her a kiss before she disappeared from sight, going downstairs to leave him to deal with their son.

  Derrick went down the hall to his son's room that he shared with Luis. Marcus now had DJ's room that he'd left for training camp.

  Derrick pushed the door open to see Shawn2 sitting on his bed, arms crossed over his chest and a sour look on his face. He so wished that Shawn or Jake were there. He walked in and sat on the bed beside him. They sat that way for a few moments, one looking at the other.

  "What am I going to do with you?" Derrick finally spoke.

  "Dad, it's not fair that I always get into trouble! Luis has had sex!"

  "What?!" Derrick sat up straight his mouth opened until he shut it. "Your brother Luis?"

  "Yep! He's—had—sex! With a girl! No lie, dad!"

  "Are you just saying that to take the attention from yourself?"

  "Dad…all I did was…well…touch her there! She wanted me to, asked me to. So—hey—I did; she held my hand there, showing me what to do. Then she freaked out on me!"

  Derrick's face dropped into his hand, braced there with his elbow on his knee. It was getting worse by the moment.

  "You gonna talk to Luis too? 'Cause he had sex!"

  Derrick stood from the bed, walked to the door. "LUIS! GET UP HERE—NOW!"

  Luis was in the basement, so he didn't hear his father's call, but Sasha did. She ran to the door, snatched it open and rushed down the stairs, "Luis! Dad's calling you!"

  He was in the middle of beating Marcus' score in the NBA basketball game they were playing on their Play Station, fingertips coated with corn chip oil and salt. "What's he want?" he asked, playing on.

  "I don't know, but you better get your butt up there, he yelled for you to get up there now!" she warned with wide eyes of doom.

  Marcus looked at him, a silent message passing between them. "If he's said one thing…"

  "I'm betting he did," Marcus warned.

  "Well, if he did, you're in trouble too, so get ready!" Luis returned, heading up the stairs to see his mother at the top of them with her arms crossed, the look on her face anything but pleased.

  "Haven't done anything, hm? I knew I slapped you for something!"

  "Mami, I didn't do anything." He tried, dragging his feet.

  "Em-hm, then why is your father calling you? Yelling for you?"

  Keeping all to himself until he found out why his father summoned him, he made his way down the hall and up the stairs. His father was standing in his bedroom door waiting for him. "Get in this room now!" Derrick ordered.

  "Why, dad? What did I do?"

  "I think you already know the answer to that, now get in here."

  Right away he said, "What about Marcus? He's done stuff too!" he proclaimed, not willing to be the only one in it with Shawn2.

  "Done stuff like what?" Derrick asked.

  Luis stared at him, Shawn2 got up from the bed to stand next to his father, looking at Luis. "Well, tell him! Tell him what Marcus did!"

  "Marcus had a girl in his bedroom and had sex with her in there!"

  "WHAT?! Get in here!" Derrick couldn't believe it, he grabbed Luis and yanked him into the room. Both boys were stunned, their father had never been rough with them, yelled at them.

  Derrick was horrified.

  He rushed to the top of the stairs and bellowed louder than any of them had ever heard, "MARCUS EDMOND MCPHERSON—UP—HERE—NO-O-OW!"

  Meribel and Sasha looked toward the hallway, Sasha went to the basement door, where her brother was rushing up, having heard him loud and clear. Meribel's eyes were wide staring at her son. "What have you done?" she asked.

  He shrugged and gulped, and rushed to the hall.

  "MARCUS! I SAID GET HERE—NO-O-OW!" Derrick bellowed a second time.

  "I'm coming, dad, I'm comin!" he called out, his long body moving fast and halfway up the stairs to stop midway, staring up at his father with bugged eyes. His father was red in the face, with fury coming from him in a way he'd never seen before. "Get up here—now." Derrick bit out between clamped teeth.

  "What's going on, dad?" he asked, nervous.

  "You want me to grab you from there?" Derrick asked thre
ateningly.

  Marcus couldn't believe that his father had just said such a thing to him. Not about to test him, he came up the stairs, slanting his body away from him as if he were afraid. "Get in that room—right now."

  Before Derrick could follow his son into the room, his wife called him from the bottom of the stairs. "Derrick? What's going on?"

  "Not now, dear…not now!" he ground out and turned from the stairs.

  Meribel stood in disbelief. She looked at her daughter standing in the middle of the living room looking at her. "Mami? What's going on with dad?"

  "I don't know, mija."

  "We should go up there."

  "No, we're not."

  Derrick was boiling in horrified disbelief; with his three sons present before him, he closed the bedroom door. He needed a few minutes for the shock of what he was hearing, and seeing in his mind's eye to clear. Praying to calm down, but instead, he was growing more and more angry with all of the possible outcomes in repercussions for their actions. Shawn2 was sitting on the bed.

  "Get up! Over here now! The three of you, line up!" He growled out. Trying to calm down, he was pacing back and forth before them, and then stopped and looked at Marcus. "Did you, or did you not, have a girl in this house—in that room—and had intercourse with her?"

  Marcus' eyes were round saucers as he gulped. His hesitation was answer enough.

  "You have! Haven't you?"

  Marcus could only gulp again, speechless. He may have two inches on his father's 6'4, growing by leaps and bounds as he was, certainly on his way to basketball player height; however, there was no doubt in his mind, if - his father had a mind to, he could snap him in half. While they're father had never shown them any temper; had never lost it with them, they had seen him angry before. A neighbor they once had, said the wrong thing to DJ when he was about 11 or 12. DJ, Marcus, Luis and Shawn2 - when he was little, with DJ holding his hand, had just been walking back from the store, when their neighbor at the time, a white male, Jack - had been leaning on his fence watching them walk by, and commented out loud, "Aaah, if it ain't the "Mcfucker's and the adopted nigger." He had said, clearly at his worse for drinking. His comment made Derrick jr.'s face flood with shock and pain one second, and drain the next with humiliation. It was to Jack's misfortune that just before the words came out of his mouth, their father had stepped outside to meet them; and it was to his further misfortune that the words came out loud, carrying to their father, who saw the look on Dj's face.

  Jack thought himself funny, his eyes following them along the way to their gate, when his foot lodged in his throat to see Derrick sr. standing there, glaring. Without a word, Derrick opened the gate to let his sons pass, then slowly went out of it, approaching Jack; who knew by the expression on Derrick's face he'd heard every word. Stumbling over his words, Jack - right off, tried to bluff his way out of the situation, saying, "Now I'm warning you, don't come on my property. No since in gettin' all bent out'a shape, I was just fuckin' around. No harm meant..." He had continued, while Derrick never said a word and snatched for him over the fence, catching his shirt front, pulling him towards him. Jack struggled to break Derrick's grip, ripping the front of his shirt away, trying to move backwards and away shouting, "GET OFF ME - LET GO YOU BASTARD!" Derrick was too fast for him, and stretched further over the fence, this time grabbing with a firm grip onto Jack's hair and in an instant, dragged him fully over the chain-link fence onto the sidewalk.

  Meribel having been alerted by her sons, came rushing out of the house, screaming her husband's name. At the same time, Jack's wife had come out seeing her husband dragged over the fence, brandishing a baseball bat to defend him, who was curled up in a ball, guarding his face and mid-section, from Derrick's blows. Simultaneously, behind them, the women faced off; Meribel making it clear, "Unless you wan' me t'shove that bat up yo'ass, you bes' put it away bitch! Who the hell is he t'call my son a nigger!" She spat venomously, keeping to English, so as to leave her in no un-certainty of what she was threatening.

  Derrick, disgusted by the bigoted coward at his feet, flicked from his fist the remains of his tattered shirt, standing his height, he backed away, taking his wife by the arm. "Go back to the house, sweetheart, I'm fine. Its over for now!" He blew, breathing hard to curb his temper. Squatting once more before the man, he pointed a threatening finger at Jack, advising, "You ever speak to my sons - either of them - that way again - or so much as look at any of my family, I will snap your neck like a fuckin' tooth-pick!"

  For emphasis, Meribel looked back at him, snapped her fingers and snarled, "Like that!"

  That had been one of the isolated incidents that illustrated that he did have the wrong button to push. They'd seen other scattered flare-ups directed at someone who'd made the mistake of taking his kindness for weakness. Yes - they knew, there was a side of their father, that it was best not to stir; and now - here they stood, with him fighting back anger and disappointment in them. All three boy's felt their tongues lodged in their throats as he directed his ire at Marcus.

  "Haven't you!" He bit out in repeat.

  It was too late to lie, Marcus knew it, nodding his head.

  "And your brother's knew this? How? Might I ask?"

  They were all hesitant to speak now.

  "I cannot believe this! I cannot believe it! I didn't raise - either of you - to be..." He stopped, staring at each one. Suddenly his words slammed him. Because right there, in truth, he could see, that really - his contribution to them as turning out to be respectful young men, was significantly low compared to the time he put into his football and basketball team of boys. Yes, he'd loved them, provided for them, set certain examples for them. In the summer, he'd taken them biking, fishing, hunting. However, discipline - he'd left for Meribel. That was his wrong. Especially when it came to steering young men onto the right path and keeping them there until it was time to turn them loose to being real men. Derrick Jr. had been so easy to raise. His eldest son had adored him. Would do anything to please him. In fact, it was the reason he was in Pro football. Not because Derrick had expressed a desire for him to take that route in life, no - that he had not done. Derrick Jr. had simply noted the joy and excitement his father displayed when talking about the sport. All of his life with him, he knew his father's passion for football; Derrick sr.'s passion, became his passion, and they'd been naturally close. Derrick Jr. while not coming from him biologically, was the most like him. His other five, certainly his through and through, were more like other members of his family. For that reason, because they were all different, he needed to be raising them, and when it was called for, disciplining them. It was not always Meribel's place to straighten out his sons; but his, that was part of being a father. Derrick realized, that before it was too late for either of them, he had better get himself together. He stood before them and crossed his arms over his chest, eying each one. The look on his face left no doubt, that something in their father had suddenly taken an about turn.

  "I guess my days of pussy-footing, avoiding this and kissing your boo-boo's are over?" He mumbled in thought, saying further, "I suppose they are." Not willing to waste another moment, he started off, not expecting an answer. "So let us begin shall we?" He asked, eye-balling each one of them in turn. "This house, this home - is your mother's home, understand? Here is where, she and I - have sex! Just us two! No one else! Wanna know why? Because outside of the fact that we have that right - being married as we are, a privilege given to us by the creator - we also pay the costs to! I fuckin'-..."

  Luis and Shawn2 gasped, shocked that their father used the F word at them. That was a first.

  "...- excuse me - don't interrupt me." He corrected them. "As I was saying, I fuckin' pay the bills here, I provide the roof, the lights, the heat, the food, and everyone's clothing, and my partner - your mother, keeps it all together! She assures me - that all things provided, are cared for, appreciated and not wasted. Because this is her home, OUR home - in it we have the privilege of lovi
ng each other and bringing forth - individuals like yourselves. And I can tell you now - she and I - have worked damn hard for this! You will not - and I repeat - will not - disrespect it. How dare you - conduct yourselves as you have, and you Marcus, bringing it into our home?!" He paused incredulous. "I - will not - tolerate it! What you have done, is disrespectful to our home - your mother, your younger sister - and yourself! Setting the wrong example for your younger brothers! Did you use a contraceptive? A condom?!" Derrick demanded.

  Marcus eyes widened, he gulped. Another wrong answer.

  Derrick felt like hitting him. Marcus sensed it, and backed up a step. Derrick bit into his bottom lip; he took a deep breath to let the sensation pass, but he felt it. He looked from Marcus to Luis. Needless to say, he was on the verge of sweating. "So did you? And where? And if so, were you wearing a condom?"

  Having been taken so off guard by their father's actions, he attempted to lie, but the attempt pissed his father off, because he could see that he was trying to lie to him. That did it! Derrick reached out and popped him upside the head, hard enough for him to grab his head. "OW Dad! That hurt." He whined. Holding the spot, and keeping his hands and arms up, guarding himself just in case.

  "I cannot believe - the two of you are so stupid! DO YOU KNOW - WHERE SUCH STUPIDITY CAN LEAD?! DO YOU?! I'M TALKING TO YOU!! I'M TALKING TO ALL THREE OF YOU! ANSWER ME NO-O-OW!!!"

  Meribel was cleaning up the kitchen from the mess the kids made, with Sasha helping when they both heard Derrick yelling from up stairs. "Whoa! Dads mad! Should we go check on him? He's really flipping out!" She exaggerated. Meribel knew that he wasn't flipping out, but she'd never heard him yell at the boys like that before, she started walking towards the hall, heading down it with Sasha beside her. "Get to the basement with Joseph!" She ordered. Sasha did a mini jerk tantrum, "Mami nooo! I wanna hear!"

  "What did I tell you, now!" She ordered again, physically turning her daughter and sending her off.

  "YES DAD! YEAH!" They all shouted at the same time.

  "How can you either of you be so stupid as to play Russian roulette with sex?! Venereal Diseases, are no joke! HIV - AIDS - no joke! AND I CAN GUARANTEE - NEITHER OF THE TWO ARE ANYTHING TO BRAG ABOUT! Need I mention pregnancy? Are either of you prepared or in a position to be a father yet? Huh? ANSWER ME!!!"