BOMAW 7-9

by Mercedes Keyes

  Mundo heard her. "That li'girl don' lost her mind! Hangin' round Crystal too much! I'mo talk to big daddy when he get back! 'Cause you just don' got all out of control! Benjamin move they ass out the way! They ain't nothing but some weak ass li'women! You can handle them Ben man, come on man - quit stalling I got to vacuum, finish sweeping up that floor! You'on understand man, you ain't got no black mama, she'll be still fussing about this next week man!"

  The girls were laughing and un-moving.

  "They laughing at you Ben. They think you a joke man!"

  "We think yo'butt a joke, that's why you ain't getting in this house, until we let you in!" Crystal yelled at him, and then to Ben, "Unless you wanna end up like him, locked out - you best get back in that office & get some work done!"

  "Oh no she did not say that to you Ben! No she did not! Don't take that Ben! A man ain't got to take that!" Mundo shouted into the basement window, he face just about pressed up against the screen to see them all standing near the door. "Crystal! Move now! You gone get me in trouble - mama'an'nem gone be back pretty soon, she gone be fussing 'til we go to bed!"

  Crystal and Angela giggled, "Shet up out there - boy! Making all that noise!" Crystal taunted him, looking at Benjamin snickering.

  He stood with one brow up, his arms crossed over his chest, looking like Shawn before them as if giving them time to reconsider.

  "Ben! Upstairs man - quick!" Mundo called.

  Benjamin turned and did a half sprint as if running for the stairs, both girls screamed ran past him to block him, he laughed out in victory, psyching them out and turned back to the door. Soon as they realized they'd been tricked, they screamed and turned back, Angela grabbed Ben around the waist to pull him back from the door, while Crystal tried to get in front of him to block him, facing him once again.

  "Back! You're not getting through me!" She warned him.

  "Oh yeah! We'll see about that," He warned right back, dodging left, then right, dragging Angela along behind him, screaming for help, as if she weighed nothing, she fell and grabbed one of his legs, stopping him, with that foot planted, he faked to the right of Crystal, knowing she'd leap back, and as she did, he folded before her and scooped her into the air on his shoulder before she realized what was going on. With Crystal screaming in shock over his shoulder, he dragged his one leg with Angela hanging on and made it to the door, opening it for Mundo with them screaming in defeat.

  "HA! Yeah! Okay? Men! That's right! MEN! You understand? You just girls! Weak li'women! Now move, I got to vacuum!" He crowed laughing at them as Ben walked laughing as well to the sofa and dropped Crystal there on it. She quickly rolled to her feet while he was extracting Angela from his leg, standing her up. She was huffing, red, hair all messed up.

  "That's okay! Come here baby." Crystal called to Angela, glaring at Benjamin with a heated expression, fighting back laughter as Angela went into her arms.

  "They cheated Crystal!" Angela pouted.

  "Because that's the only way they can beat us baby, by cheatin'. That's okay, the war... has begun." Crystal promised eying Ben and Mundo.

  The two stood back to back, arms crossed, with arrogant smirks on their faces.

  "And Mundo, you best get that vacuum because they probably on they way back now, and you haven't even finished sweeping the floor. Them videos still there-..."

  "Oooh shit! Where the vacuum at Crystal!?" Mundo asked, smirk gone, rushing to get done.

  Ben was laughing to himself lost in his thoughts of last night, when Gail asked, "Benjamin? What's going on? What were you just laughing about out here by yourself?" She approached him, leaned down to kiss him, taking him off guard due to his daydream. He looked at her, at her lips - hesitant, then went on and kissed her. She found that a bit strange, playing it off, she sat next to him.

  "What was so funny?" She repeated her inquiry, there was something going on with him lately. He wasn't his old self and they were spending less and less time together. It seemed with each week that rolled by, they were growing further and further apart. Something in him was changing. He was always preoccupied, they hadn't made love in over two weeks. She had a feeling he was seeing someone else, that it was only a matter of time before he confessed all. Considering the early hour, she braced herself thinking maybe that was the reason for his visit that morning. His body language was closed as he began, at one time, he would have taken her hand in his when talking to her this close in proximity, now - he kept his hands to himself.

  "I needed to run by this morning and let you know what was going on. I'm going out of town this weekend. Sunday in fact. Thought maybe we could go out to dinner tonight or something, catch a movie maybe. Spend some time alone?"

  Her eyes were looking right into his, contemplating him, the last few weeks, his preoccupation, and the laughter to himself when she walked out. He hadn't answered her, "You never answered me." She said instead of responding to his invitation.

  "What?"

  "What was so funny? Why were you laughing when I came out?"

  "What? I'm not allowed to laugh out loud at something on my mind?"

  "Well share it with me, I wanna laugh out loud too." She insisted, crossing her arms over her breasts and crossing her legs.

  With a lifted brow, he reached over, putting his arms around her to grasp her hip and pull her closer, right close to her face, leaning towards her lips he murmured, "You really wanna hear a dirty joke by Kevin?" He kissed her lips gently, she didn't respond, just stared at him. "Come on, what's wrong? You wanna hear it? Fine, there was this-..."

  "Stop! Never mind, save it. What's going on with you?"

  He stared into her eyes a moment, then sat back from her. "You already know what's going on with me Gail, the same old shit that's always been. Me and my mom have been into it. I've moved out, I've had enough of her lies."

  "Benjamin, I thought you'd moved on from this? What if it's everyone else that's been lying? What if she's been telling the truth all this time? You know how facts become fiction when enough people get a hold of a story. Why are you fighting it? You have Quincy and you have Jake, both of whom I like a lot. How many guys out there can say they have two fathers, some don't even have one Benjamin. I think you need to back off of your mother, if Jake weren't your father, she would have come out and admitted it by now." As she'd been talking, he'd stood from the glider to stand at one of the porch post, leaning there with his arm high.

  "Either way, I'll know soon enough. I went in and had blood drawn to find out. Shawn went with me."

  "What does he say?"

  Benjamin looked back at her, and answered rather smug, "He'd slept with her. He admitted that he and my mother dated and they'd had sex. All this time, she's claimed to have only been with Jake."

  Gail exhaled and slowly stood, walking to him, taking his hand in hers. "I see, so, does he think it's possible, that you're his?"

  "He went with me to have his blood drawn. You haven't met him yet, we look so much alike. He has a daughter as well, that he brought back from California, she's living here now, we look so much alike, she and I, you would have to see her to believe it."

  "Shawn2 looks like you?" She reminded him, having seen him on a few occasions with family get togethers that he brought her on.

  "I know he does, yet - this is different. When I'm with him, Shawn - I feel something. Listening to him, hearing his voice, the way he thinks, the way he walks, how he laughs. Our voices are almost identical, we laugh the same, I've been watching him and there are ways that he does things, that I do the same."

  "Ben you have to be careful. Hero worship can make you hear and see those things. Plus, you're family, he and Jake have the same father and mother."

  "Jesus Christ! Why can't you be on my side and see this from my point of view?" His mind immediately went to Crystal, her understanding, her willingness to understand how he was feeling, what he needed.

  "I have Ben! I have seen it from your point of view! I have listened to you and I know
how you feel."

  "That's bullshit! You don't know how I feel! You know who your mother is, you know who your father is! You always have! You're this perfect little blonde princess with daddy and mommy seeing to your every need! Your whole life you've known nothing but the best! You've always known who you are, where you come from and where the hell you're going! All the guys have wanted to date you and all the girls have wanted to be you! What the hell would you know about how I feel?!" He came to the end of his tirade.

  Gail took a deep breath, then asked, "Are you done now? Feel better?"

  He ran his hand over his face, over the top of his head, to the back of his neck, leaning as he was on the porch rail. He looked up at her. "I'm sorry about that, that was uncalled for."

  "Yes, it was. Maybe you'd have a better view of me had my life been anything else but ideal. Obviously, having good parents that have worked hard to provide the best they could for me is a crime. Obviously being born within my gene pool which gives me blonde hair and my looks makes me cold without empathy, I'm sorry about that but there's not a damn thing I can do about that."

  "What do you want me to say Gail? I said I was sorry."

  "Yes, you're sorry. Because you'd like to take me to dinner and a movie and then spend the rest of the evening screwing me, that's why you're sorry."

  "Don't get carried away Gail."

  "Don't get carried away? It's been weeks, days - you haven't told me anything, you've hardly called me. If you and your brother's didn't need a designated driver we wouldn't have seen each other after Paul's graduation. Admit it, you're here now because you're horny and you need a piece of ass."

  Benjamin stared at her a moment, exhaled saying, "Gail, if it were just about a piece of ass, I didn't have to come here for that. I can get a piece of ass anywhere and you know it."

  She crossed her arms, clamming her jaw tight, struggling to deal with him. She hated the thought of being taken advantage of. Yet, it was the way she felt, he was taking her for granted. Part of her wanted to tell him to go away and leave her alone. Yet, the larger part, loved him. She wanted him, had always dreamed of them marrying; in a few years perhaps having a couple of kids. Now, she wasn't so sure about that dream.

  He walked up to her, turned her face towards him, to look him in the eyes, "Come on. I'll tell you what. Instead of me coming later, how about we spend the whole day together? All day, doing whatever you'd like to do. Your wish is my command. What'a'yah say? Would you like to go dancing..." He grabbed her hand, putting his arm around her waist, pulling her up to him, being silly to cheer her up, "... you know how I am on the dance floor."

  "And you know how I'm not. I always look the fool when we go dancing."

  "Gail this is the 21st century baby, white people can dance now." He joked with her.

  "Not anyone in my household." She grinned in his arms. "Especially the kind of dancing you do, maybe Shawn nor Jake is your father, maybe he's Antonia Banderas, or Al Pacino?"

  Benjamin chuckled, "Al Pacino is Italian."

  "Still Latin in there and I swear its in you with the way you move when you hear Spanish music."

  "Not just Spanish music, even though it is the best music in the world. When I hear it, I have to dance to it. I'm telling you, if you'd let me, I could teach you."

  "You tried that remember? Not my cup of tea, but I love it when you speak the language to me." She purred, because Ben spoke fluid French and Spanish. He'd learned the languages early on from the moment he fell in love with the culture. Hearing the music, watching them dance. From the age of seven, he'd stand before the T.V. watching Spanish videos, listening to Spanish music, dancing up a storm around the house, or in his room. When they went out, she'd tried to dance with him because she knew how much he enjoyed it, she just didn't have it in her to keep up with him. Because of that, she'd learned to relax and cope with him dancing with others on occasion. How many times had she watched him dance with various Spanish women, to see them looking for something more from him, only for him to smile, shake his head and make his way back to her. Yet, while he was out there on the floor with them, he'd taken her breath away watching how he used his body, boy could he move, didn't matter what it was, the salsa, rumba, bossa-nove, the cha cha, and his favorites, the Flemenco and the Jumpin' Jive - Jazz was his second love of music. Either way, his body moved and flowed in a way that was dangerous to the blood pressure to watch. He was limber, loaded with rhythm and was instantly lost in the music. Many of times she suffered heated glares and angry eyes of jealousy when he came back to her.

  "Mucho gusto ai iucunditas mei amor." (My taste finds all pleasure with you love).

  She smiled, "What did you say?"

  "Learn the language and you'll know."

  She sighed, that was his answer to everything, learn learn learn, she was learning, to be a social worker helping under privileged children, those that were not so fortunate as she'd been.

  "One day maybe, so tell me, why are you going out of town?"

  "It's a business trip with Shawn, I've been helping him with work that he does for Pen-tab publishing, I'm going along to meet his boss, show my portfolio, you never know. Besides, I've never been to California."

  "How long will you be gone?"

  "A couple of weeks."

  "A couple of weeks? If I'd had enough warning I might have been able to go with you, who knows maybe I still can? Sunday huh?" She smiled giving it some thought.

  Benjamin almost paled. "If it were going to be some fun time, you could, but it's going to be mostly work."

  "So you're saying you don't wish me to go? I can pay for my own ticket you know? We can get our own room. I can shop around while you're off working, you're not going to be working the entire two weeks straight."

  Benjamin gulped, saying quickly, "It might be kind of awkward for you Gail. I mean, his family is going with him, his new wife, his daughter, her two kids."

  "She has kids too?"

  "Yeah."

  "Oh. How old are they? Two boys, two girls? Boy and Girl?"

  "Yeah."

  "Which?"

  "A son, and a daughter."

  "Oh. So how old are they?"

  "Her son and daughter?" He asked knowing full well what she meant.

  "Yes."

  "In their teens, well, the son is and her daughter is married, has two little boys."

  "Oh. I see. Is her husband going as well?"

  "I think he has to work, something like that."

  "I see, so, how old is she?"

  "Why are you asking all of these questions about her? She's married for god's sake! With two sons I might add."

  "Just curious. How old is she?"

  "Jeez I don't know, twenty something?"

  Gail crossed her arms and put a bit of space between them. "What's her name?"

  "Who's name?" He snapped.

  She glared at him, refusing to ask again.

  "You know what, I resent this! I didn't come here for this bullshit! I came so we could spend a day together, if you have better things to do, just say so. But don't conjure up all of this shit within your imagination to ease out of it. You want to spend the day with me, or you don't? Which is it?"

  "Give me one good reason why you don't wish me to go with you there? We haven't spent time together, real time in weeks. Now, here is a perfect opportunity for us to enjoy someplace new together and you're making excuses in order to keep me from going. At the same time mind you, that you think that bit of tripe you just spewed is suppose to shock me into giving in to you, as if I'm the one doing wrong here. Don't pull this with me Ben, psychology is one of the courses for a social worker."

  Benjamin let out a big sigh, looking off over her shoulder, he then looked down at her, "I want to spend that time with him. I'd like to get to know him. It may be selfish of me, but - I don't want to have to spend time taking you out, being with you, entertaining you, doing the couple thing. I have a strong feeling that man is my father, I would just like s
ome time with him, alone. That's it. That's why I don't want you to go." He finally stated.

  She stared at him a moment, then smiled. "Okay, I'm sorry. Yes, let's spend this day together. In fact, I'd like to meet him, his family. I'll go get dressed." She turned and made her way into her home stopping at the door, "I won't be long."

  Benjamin stood with his mouth on the verge of dropping open. With a sigh, he gave it up. He decided to block all thoughts of why he didn't want her to go to L.A. with them and why now, he felt trapped into taking her to meet, Shawn. Turning from the porch, he walked to his car to wait for her, with a sigh, he figured he might as well go the next step. He climbed in behind the wheel, took out his mobile, sucked in a really long and deep breath and called his other father, the one name, Jake. Crystal was right, he could not let him find out what was going on from any other resource, but himself.

  "Hello." The voice answered low, groggy, gravely.

  "Dad? It's Benjamin." He heard Jake groan, then mumbled something.

  "What'd you say dad?"

  "I said, what time is it?" He had to clear his throat to repeat it.

  "It's almost 10:30, you sound like you tied one on last night."

  His answer was a grunt and a groan as if he were sitting up. Other sounds came through, like he was lighting up a cigarette, he could hear him flicking the lighter, then sure enough, a draw and an exhale. "What can I do you?" He asked instead of answering him, then yawned.

  "I ah, just wanted to ask if you wouldn't mind, sharing your place there, with me every now and then?"

  "I aught'ah kick your ga'damn ass about the way you left it! Shit everywhere!" Jake grumbled padding barefoot to the bathroom, flipping back the toilet lid and seat, he stood peeing with his cigarette hanging off of his lip. Of course Ben could hear all of this.

  "Sorry about that, promise it won't happen again-..."

  "Shit-fuck!" Jake spewed angrily.

  "What's wrong dad?"

  "Fuckin' cigarette fell in the toilet! Bastard!"

  "Uh, is it just me, or are you in a bad mood?"

  "Don't mind me, why you thinking of stopping over here now and then?" He asked, flushing the toilet and watching his cigarette not flush. Kept floating back to the top. He reached in, broke it up, and then tired again, tobacco dispersing around the bowl, after the fourth flush, all was clear.