After the Rain

by Vanessa Miller

  Donavan’s involvement with the criminal element in the area of town where they once lived had almost cost Nina her life. Nina vividly remembered the night that all of their lives had changed. She’d been sitting on the porch waiting for Donavan, who had snuck out of the house again.

  As he ran onto the porch, she was trying to chastise him for sneaking out of the house. But she hadn’t noticed the car that had come barreling down their street, not until the shots rang out and all she could do was try to protect her son. In the end, she and Donavan both had to undergo surgery to have the bullets removed from their bodies. When Nina woke from the surgery, the surgeon informed her that because of where the bullet had landed, she would most likely never be able to have another child.

  She had always thought of Ikee as their miracle child. And had done her best to keep the miracle God had blessed them with safe. She and Isaac had made sure that Ikee had every advantage and they’d shown him love. So what happened today took Nina by surprise, because she never saw this coming… not with Ikee.

  She wiped the tears from her face as she continued to plead with God. “Please help my son, Lord Jesus. If You don’t help him, I don’t know what will become of him.”

  After an hour of calling on the Lord, Nina decided it was time to talk to her son and see where his head was. She got off her knees and left her room. As she was about to knock on Ikee’s bedroom door, Nina heard the garage door open and figured that Isaac had come back home. If Isaac hadn’t calmed down yet, Nina didn’t want him to find her with Ikee and then the two of them go at it again. So, she backed away from her son’s door and went into the kitchen to wait on Isaac to come in through the garage.

  But as she came out of her walk-in pantry carry a bag of chips and a water bottle, she noticed that Isaac hadn’t entered the house yet. Nina put her snack on the oversized granite countertop and then walked over to the garage door and opened it. The first thing she noticed was that Isaac’s car was not in the garage. The next thing she noticed was that her silver Mercedes was not in the garage either.

  A sick feeling entered the pit of her stomach as she swung around and then ran back upstairs. She banged on Ikee’s bedroom door. “Open up, Ikee.”

  No response.

  “Boy, you better be in that room,” Nina fussed from the other side of the door. She then grabbed hold of the doorknob and turned. The door opened to an empty room. Nina was so red hot mad as she closed the door that she didn’t hear Isaac come up behind her.

  As Isaac walked up to her he said, “I thought you were gone, since I didn’t see your car in the garage.”

  Nina turned to her husband, shaking her head in disbelief as she told him, “Ikee stole my car.”

  ~~~~

  “Boy, when I catch up with you, I’m going to put my foot so deep in your—”

  Ikee hung up the phone. He didn’t have time to listen to his dad’s threats. There was money to be made on these streets and he was tired of sitting on the sidelines. His mama was rolling in a Mercedes and his dad had a Rolls Royce and a Range Rover. But they wanted him to be happy with whatever car he could pull out of the junkyard for forty-five hundred dollars. That wasn’t happening.

  Ikee was about to make his paper and get the car he’d wanted since he was twelve years old. The exact car that his father told him he wouldn’t be able to get until he graduated from high school. Ikee thought that was crazy, because if his father was willing to buy the car in two-and-a-half years, why not just do it now so he could roll up to school in his pimped out Mustang? But no… the Ike-man told him that if he wanted a car while he was still in school, he’d have to save and buy it himself. Well, he was about show the Ike-man a thing or two, because Ikee was going to flip the money he’d saved until he got exactly what he wanted.

  ~~~~~

  “Wait Isaac, don’t leave this house while you’re this upset.” Nina had lived a long time without the wrath of Isaac Walker, but she’d never forgotten just how lethal he could be. Her son didn’t know that Isaac Walker, and no matter what he’d heard, it wasn’t about to compare with the real-life experience of dealing with the Ike-man in person.

  Sighing deeply, Isaac turned to his wife. “He stole from us, Nina. Nobody steals from me, let alone my own flesh and blood.”

  “That’s what I want you to remember, Isaac. He’s our flesh and blood. And we didn’t always do the right thing when we were younger. Neither did Donavan or Iona.”

  “Neither Donavan nor Iona were crazy enough to steal from us,” Isaac retorted.

  “I know, honey. And I’m steaming mad about what Ikee did too, but I need you to slow your roll on this one. He’s getting older and he’s just testing us.”

  Picking up his keys, Isaac told her, “He should have been a better student, because he’s not about to pass this test.”

  “Then let’s at least pray before you leave.”

  “I know what you’re trying to do, Nina. But I can honestly tell you that no matter how long you keep me here praying, it’s not going to stop me from dealing with Ikee when I catch up with him. We’ve tried it your way for almost sixteen years. But it’s time for this kid to be introduced to the hard knocks of life.”

  Isaac did take a few minutes to pray with her. But no sooner than the prayer was finished, he left the house in hot pursuit of their wayward son. Nina got on the phone and called Iona. Ikee loved both his brother and sister, but he tended to gravitate more to Iona these days. Isaac told Nina that Ikee had confided in Iona about those thugs telling him about Isaac’s former life, so she was hoping that she might know why he would steal her car; what could be so important that he couldn’t have just asked for a ride?

  “Has Ikee called you?” she asked Iona when the phone was picked up.

  “I talked to him a couple days ago. Why? Is he still acting out?”

  “If you call stealing my car acting out, then yeah, I guess he is.”

  A loud gasp could be heard through the phone line. Then Iona said, “I can’t believe he did that. What did Dad say?”

  “He said he’s going to stomp him. And I’m terrified that Isaac is going to go too far and then we won’t be able to get Ikee back under control.”

  “I don’t know, Nina-Mama; if one of my kids had the audacity to steal my car, I would probably bust a few heads myself.”

  “You’ve always been your daddy’s daughter through and through. But I’m praying that one day the two of you will calm those hot heads down and stop reacting so quickly. Take time to hear what the Lord is saying before just treading all over everybody.”

  “I don’t just tread over everybody, Nina-Mama. I fully admit that I still have a long way to go, But I have tried to be a bit more patient… some things just take time.”

  “I know, hon. You and Isaac have really allowed God to work mightily in your lives. But I believe that when tests like these come, that’s when we are most vulnerable to reverting back to our old ways. That’s when we need to step back and let God take over the situation.”

  “Did Donavan tell you about our conversation in Dad’s office?”

  “I haven’t talked to Donavan. He and Diana are probably still celebrating her birthday. I don’t want to bother them with any of Ikee’s antics.”

  “Okay,” Iona said, sounding a bit more relaxed. “I thought you were lecturing me because I don’t like the fact that my husband travels so much while I’m stuck here with a dying career.”

  “I wouldn’t lecture you about something like that. I understand your frustration. Remember, I raised all of you and there were times in the early days of my career that I thought I could have increased my readership if I had been able to travel and meet with my readers more. But I still wouldn’t trade the time I spent with all of my kids… even if I do think that my career suffered a bit for it.”

  “What are you talking about, Nina-Mama? You have a very successful writing career.”

  “And I’m thankful to God for that success, but you always won
der… what if.”

  “Wow, here I was feeling so guilty for having thought that my kids were costing me my career and all along you had the same thoughts.”

  “I think most professional women with families have those thought. Reality is, we just cannot have it all. We can have a lot, but at some point, we as women will sacrifice some of ourselves for the good of our family.” Nina willed away a tear as she thought of the recent turn of events with Ikee. “We just hope those sacrifices are appreciated by our children.”

  “Don’t cry, Nina-Mama. You did a wonderful job with Ikee. Maybe we should have told him the truth about Dad a long time ago, because Dad’s genes are pretty strong. It seems like all three of his children have to fight to get away from that old man.”

  “I’m worried about what Ikee’s defiance is going to do to my old man.” Nina wasn’t speaking in biblical terms as Iona had been when she referred to what the Bible calls our “old man” when referring to the way we used to react, be or handle things before Christ, the new man, entered our lives. No, she was literally worried about Isaac, who hadn’t had opposition in many years. Would he be able to stand even while his son seemed to be falling into the enemy’s hands?

  Chapter Four

  Isaac might not be a street hustler anymore, but he still had pull on the streets. So, after making a few calls he discovered that his namesake had parked Nina’s car in front of a trap house on the West side of town that belonged to Bobby-Ray Jones. Bobby-Ray was a small time hustler who was trying to play a big man’s game and would probably get his fool-self killed if he didn’t get out while the getting was good.

  Isaac had dealings with the man’s daddy back in the day. And he had a feeling that Bobby-Ray would run into a hustler just as lethal as he and his side kick, Keith had been and then Bobby-Ray would be reunited with his daddy. Isaac shook his head as his mind drifted back thirty-some years…

  Isaac stepped into Fish & More. Ray-Ray was on his cell phone when his and Isaac’s eyes locked. Sweat dripped from Ray-Ray’s cornrows as he watched Isaac and Keith descend on him. Isaac wasn’t sure if Ray-Ray was nervous or if all that sweat came from being 120 pounds overweight. The one thing he was sure of was that Ray-Ray was on the line with one of the cats from the alley who’d just tried to take him out. Good, Isaac thought. Now I don’t have to explain nothin’ to him.

  Since there were no explanations needed, Isaac swooped down on Ray-Ray like a bad dream. He whipped the gun out of his pants and slapped Ray-Ray upside the head. The impact knocked his victim to the ground. Ray-Ray lifted up his hands trying to cover his head. “You got a problem with me taking what belongs to me, Ray-Ray?”

  “Man, that alley ain’t part of your turf,” Ray-Ray reasoned.

  “Everywhere my feet shall tread, boy, that’s The Promised Land. You got it? Everywhere my feet shall tread.”

  Ray-Ray glared at Isaac and said, “That alley is mine. Go to He—”

  Isaac put his gun to Ray-Ray’s temple. “I got a better idea, Ray-Ray. You go to Hell—right now. I’ll meet you there later. Okay?”

  “Isaac, man don’t do it.” Keith looked back and forth at all the stunned faces in the restaurant. “Not with all these witnesses.”

  Isaac didn’t look up. He pushed his gun further into Ray-Ray’s temple. “So what’s it gon’ be, Ray-Ray?”

  “All right, take it. Just take it!” Ray-Ray surrendered.

  Isaac smirked at Keith, then extended his hand to help Ray-Ray up. “Thanks, man. I like doing business with reasonable brothers.”

  Isaac thought he had solved the territory discrepancy. But there came a night when he was at his Friday night spot, sloppy drunk due to an argument he’d had with Nina, who wanted nothing to do with him.

  He was in the middle of taking his anger out on Keith and Valerie, a sometimes-on-sometimes-off girlfriend who also ran drugs for him, when Ray-Ray made his move. “Y’all got to do better. We’re losing money left and right!”

  Keith tried to defend himself. “We make plenty of money. What difference does it make if a new guy comes in and starts earning a little money too?”

  Isaac tried to lean forward, but quickly fell back in his seat. Slurring every other word, he said, “It’s your job to make s-sure don’t nobody else earn no money ‘less we give ‘em permission.”

  “What you want me to do, man? Shove a pistol down the throat of every guy that tries to earn a fast buck?”

  Isaac slammed his fist on the table. His drink spilled. Valerie picked up the glass and wiped the table with a towel she extracted from the bar. “That’s right,” Isaac said. “That’s exactly what I want you to do. You’re supposed to be my enforcer; go enforce something!”

  “You know what?” Keith stood up and slung his chair back. “Forget it. I’m going to the bar and drink in peace.”

  “I’m not t-through talking.”

  “I’m through listening. Call me when you sober up.”

  Isaac was leaning, almost falling out of his chair. “I’m not drunk, boy. You can talk to me now!”

  Keith looked at Valerie. “I’m going over to the bar. Can you get him home?”

  “Yeah, Keith, I’ll get him home. Don’t worry about it,” Valerie replied.

  Keith angrily stalked over to the bar, turned his back on Isaac and ordered himself a Whiskey Sour.

  “Why you got to be so hard on Keith? You know he does a good job for you,” Valerie told Isaac.

  Isaac waved down a waitress and pointed at his empty glass. “If he’s doing such a good job, why am I losing money?”

  Valerie shifted in her seat and peered at Isaac. “Ain’t nobody done business in The Promised Land but you since the day you took it over, and you know it. If you’re losing money, it’s because people are going outside The Promised Land, and Keith ain’t got nothing to do with that.”

  The waitress brought another drink over to Isaac, then looked at Valerie. “Are you taking him home?”

  “Yeah,” Valerie told her, then turned the evil eye back on Isaac. “What’s the real reason you’re drinking yourself unconscious? As if I didn’t know.”

  “What you think you know, girl?” Isaac sneered back at Valerie.

  “I know plenty! Like the fact that you’re upset over Nina.”

  “Why should I be upset about Nina?”

  Valerie was silent, fuming, but silent.

  Isaac leaned a little too far and almost fell out of his seat. He righted himself. His head began to bob back and forth. “Told me God was going to take care of her and my baby. Do you believe that? God! Like I didn’t have nothing to do with it.” He picked up his drink and gulped it down. “Nope, I’m not needed.”

  Valerie opened her mouth to scream, then closed it before any uncontrollable sounds could penetrate her lips. They sat in silence for a while, Isaac brooding and Valerie pouting. Finally, Valerie could stand it no longer. She left Isaac to his thoughts and went to the bar with Keith. “Oooh, he makes me sick!”

  “You need to ignore him when he’s like this,” Keith told Valerie. They sat and talked for a while trying to take their minds off the drunk in the corner. The three of them had had many happy and eventful years together. Keith and Valerie could always round up a “remember when” story. So that’s what they did as they waited for Isaac to pass out.

  Just when they thought it was safe to approach Isaac again, Ray-Ray walked into the Belante’Club with two of his boys. Valerie saw him as he hungrily searched the crowd like a lion crouching upon its prey. She nudged Keith. He turned to see Ray-Ray pointing in Isaac’s direction. “I told Isaac that fool was gon’ be trouble.” He pulled out his gun. “You stay here.”

  “Oh no.” She pulled up her right pant leg and grabbed her gun from her ankle strap. “It’s on.”

  Ray-Ray’s boys held watch at the door while he advanced on Isaac. He pulled out his Glock and started blasting. A bullet went through Isaac’s shoulder, his head jerked up as the pain wrenched through his body. That sobe
red him up real quick. He grabbed his shoulder and stared at his assailant. He knew without a doubt that he was about to die.

  What would they tell his son? Is death the end of everything? Or was Nina right, and some God was going to judge him for the wrong he’d done?

  “Nooo!” Valerie yelled as she shot off several rounds, and dived on the table to cover Isaac. She took a bullet in her abdomen, pulled the trigger one last time, and then dropped the gun.

  Ray-Ray fell to his knees and clutched his chest. Keith shot one of Ray-Ray’s boys, as he tried to open fire on Isaac. The other gunman assessed the situation and made a fast break out the front entrance.

  Keith turned and saw that Ray-Ray was still on his knees gasping for air. He purposefully trod over to Ray-Ray, put his piece to his head and said, “I hope you prayed up, fool.” Bang!

  Ray-Ray’s body made a big thud as he dropped to the floor. His eyes were wide open, the horror of expected death painted on his face.

  With blood gushing from his shoulder, Isaac stood over Valerie. She didn’t look good. Her eyes raced back and forth. She was going in and out of consciousness. He looked around the room; nobody was moving. “Call an ambulance!” he screamed, then turned back to Valerie. “Come on, baby.” He shook her. “You’ve gotta make it. Don’t do this to me.”

  Her eyes fluttered as she opened her mouth and whispered, “St… st… opped … him.”

  “Yeah, baby, you stopped him.” He reached out his hand to rub her hair and winced at the pain shooting through his left arm. “The ambulance is on the way. Just hold on, okay?”

  Her eyes fluttered again, but she didn’t respond.

  “Isaac, come on, man. We gotta get out of here,” Keith told him. He looked down at Valerie, then at the crowd surrounding them.

  “I can’t leave her, Keith. That bullet was meant for me.” He watched as blood trickled from Valerie’s mouth. “If she dies, I’ll be here with her. It’s the least I can do.”