by D. Camille
Brandon turned to him. “No, we don’t. If being in love with Mackenzie means that I can’t be Mayor of this city, then they don’t deserve my service or hers.”
Brandon took off to find Mac and Derek stood watching him walk away. Yeah, he needed to do damage control, because even if Brandon had decided that it didn’t matter if he became Mayor; Derek knew this city needed him.
******
Mac returned to her office and walked past her assistant’s desk. “No calls and no visitors!” she barked before entering her office and locking the door.
“What the hell were you thinking Brandon?”
Throwing her hat off, she sat in her chair and rubbed her forehead. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath right before there was a loud knock on her door. Mac could now hear the commotion outside of her door.
“Prosecutor Williams, I’m sorry the chief is not taking visitors,” she heard her assistant tell him.
“Get her on the phone or open this door,” Brandon instructed.
The assistant cowered under his angry green gaze. “She said no calls.”
There was another loud knock and Mac decided to answer the door before her officers arrested the Head Prosecutor. She opened the door and stared into piercing green eyes.
“I’m sorry chief,” the assistant began. “I told the prosecutor that you were indisposed.”
Mac nodded. “It’s fine, thank you.” She looked up at Brandon. “Why don’t you come into my office, counselor?”
Inside the office, Mac closed the door and stood in front of it with her arms folded.
“I know you’re mad,” he said watching her.
She lifted a brow. “So you just woke up this morning and lost your damn mind huh?”
“I couldn’t do it any more Mackenzie,” he said quietly.
Mac shrugged. “So to hell with my feelings and my job?”
“No, if these residents don’t appreciate all that you do for them, then they don’t deserve you as chief. The fact that we’re involved should have nothing to do with that.”
He approached her. “Mackenzie, we’re about to send two, maybe three, young black men to prison over a senseless crime; all while trying to develop an initiative to prevent this very thing. I don’t care what anybody has to say about you and me, when we’re busting our asses trying to make change.”
“I’m not going to let Patrice turn this race into what I do in my bedroom. This is about doing what’s best for our community,” he said firmly.
Mac listened to his words. “You could’ve given me a heads up Brandon.”
“I didn’t even know myself until I saw what Patrice was trying to do. Then I knew I had to nip this thing in the bud. I won’t let you be dragged through the mud because she would’ve turned this into a tawdry circus.” Brandon touched her face. “I’m not ashamed to love you Mackenzie Green.”
Mac sighed as she studied his handsome face. “How did we get here?”
“It was inevitable and to be honest, I’m glad we’re here.”
Brandon pulled her closer. “I didn’t like hiding my relationship with you anyway and I was about to kill Corvus.”
Mac smiled. “How are we going to survive if we lose both of our jobs?”
Brandon kissed her cheek. “I have solid investments.”
“We could go and start our own criminal justice organization,” she whispered as he kissed her neck. “Teaching our youth their rights when they come into contact with law enforcement and how to navigate this system successfully.”
“Mmmm…hmmm,” Brandon moved to her ear. “Keeping them from plea bargaining their freedom away because they’re scared of longer sentences if convicted and showing them how to use the law in their favor.”
Mac nodded and placed her hands on his chest. “Helping families raise bail money to stop our people from sitting in cells unnecessarily while awaiting trial and fighting the cycle of relapses into criminal behavior, due to these systems created to perpetuate that very thing.”
Brandon paused and looked into her eyes. “And that’s why I’m in love with you.”
“At least we have a Plan B.” She lifted her face to his and their lips touched.
“I’m sorry I put you on the spot today,” Brandon whispered.
Mac lifted her arms around his neck. “We can only go forward from here.” She kissed him again. “I’m not ashamed of loving you either Brandon.”
“Being the mayor or the head prosecutor doesn’t dictate what I will do for our people and it won’t dictate my relationship with you,” Brandon told her. “You deserve better than that.”
“And that’s why… I’m in love with you,” she whispered before moving closer and pulling his head down to hers.
******
That afternoon Brandon was outside the elementary school to pick up his almost seven-year old godson, Kyros. The African Centered Charter school was new to the area and Khalil had been instrumental in getting it started for the children in the area.
Since Khalil was a single father, all of the Negus helped out taking care of Kyros to give Khalil some free time. Standing outside the door, Brandon spotted the little boy with a book bag on his back. He smiled as he reached Brandon.
“What up doe, Uncle Brandon?” he said smiling.
“You’ve been around your Uncle Lance again?” Brandon asked knowingly.
Kyros smiled. “Yeah, he and Auntie Khayla took me to the movies last night.”
Brandon nodded. “So what do you want to do tonight?” he asked leading Kyros to his car.
“I don’t know,” Kyros shrugged. “Can we go to your house?”
Opening the door for him, Brandon agreed then settled the boy into the back seat. He got behind the wheel and turned to glance back.
“How was school?”
Kyros nodded. “It was good. We learned more about Marcus Garvey today. You know who that is Uncle Brandon?”
“Of course, he’s a very important man in black history.”
“He wanted black people to go back to Africa. Have you been there?” Kyros asked.
Brandon shook his head as he drove. “No, I haven’t, but my father has visited there before.”
“Uncle Lance and Auntie Khayla went there,” Kyros told him.
“I know. They went for their honeymoon.”
Kyros frowned. “I don’t want to go back to Africa.”
Brandon laughed. “He didn’t want to force black people to go back to Africa, Kyros, but he wanted us to know our history and have another option if we weren’t being treated fairly here in America.”
“Africa is a beautiful place,” Brandon told him.
Kyros agreed. “I know. Auntie Khayla and Uncle Lance showed me pictures. They even went to the pyramids and everything,” he said excitedly.
“Some of the kids in my class didn’t even know about the pyramids. They thought all Africa had was lions and jungles,” Kyros said laughing.
Brandon laughed with him. “Well there are lions and jungles but there’s also beautiful cities and all of the history of who we are is there.”
“I told them that my Uncle Rion is the Lion,” Kyros boasted.
Brandon smiled and focused on the road. They arrived at his house and Kyros made himself comfortable in the living room, pulling out his tablet and homework.
“You want a snack or something until dinner?” Brandon asked.
Kyros looked up. “Yes, thank you.”
Brandon smiled at the good job Khalil was doing with his son. Being a single father was a challenge and it was one that Khalil had stepped up to willingly. Brandon returned with some fresh cut fruit and Kyros’ favorite wheat crackers. Khayla made sure all the Negus kept them stocked for when Kyros was in their care.
Brandon sat the tray down in front of the boy. “Thanks Uncle Brandon.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be in my office if you need help with your homework.”
Kyros smiled. “I got it.”
B
randon laughed. Kyros was his father’s son in so many ways. In his office, Brandon dialed Mac’s number.
“This is Chief Green,” she answered.
“Hello Chief Green, did I catch you at a bad time?” he asked.
She smiled. “No you didn’t counselor.”
“I picked up Kyros from school and he’s here doing homework,” he informed her.
“I can’t wait to see him.”
Brandon looked at his watch. “What time are you coming over?”
Mac sighed. “I want to stop by the hospital first.”
“I understand,” Brandon told her. “I’m going to work on outlining some points for our initiative.”
“Good, we can go over them later.”
Brandon smiled. “Or in the morning.”
“You’d better keep Kyros away from that closet,” she warned. “The phone thing was bad enough.”
“I lock it when he’s here.”
Mac laughed softly. “That’s a good idea. Khalil would kill you.”
“He wanted to fight me about the phone and you know Khalil doesn’t play about Kyros.”
“None of you do.”
“That’s true, he belongs to all of us.”
Mac smiled. “I love that about you guys.”
“It’s what we do,” Brandon said modestly.
“What’s for dinner? Do I need to pick up anything?” Mac asked.
Brandon shook his head. “I have everything, going to grill some fish and veggies.”
“Mmmm…sounds good. I’ll see you soon.”
“Be careful,” he told her.
“I always am.”
After disconnecting the call, Brandon worked a little while on the initiative before going to check on his little guest. He found Kyros on the sofa with his tablet and headphones. He pulled them off as Brandon approached.
“I finished all my work,” Kyros told him. “So I started playing on my tablet.”
“That’s fine,” Brandon told him. “You want to help with dinner?”
Kyros nodded and climbed off the sofa to put his tablet away before following Brandon into the kitchen.
“Auntie Mac is coming to have dinner with us,” Brandon informed him.
Kyros smiled. “Auntie Khayla said she’s your girlfriend.”
Brandon pulled items from the fridge. “Auntie Khayla talks too much…” he mumbled to himself.
“Yes, she is.” He confirmed for Kyros.
“Auntie Mac is real pretty.” Kyros grinned. “And she’s got big fronts.”
Brandon looked at the boy. “What do you know about big fronts?”
Kyros shrugged. “I know I like them, just like Uncle Lance and Uncle Corvus.”
Lance and Corvus were dead men…Brandon thought to himself.
“Let’s get dinner ready,” Brandon said ending that conversation.
******
Mac’s visit to the hospital turned out to be as heart wrenching as she’d thought it would be. The family was still holding on to hope that some miracle would occur before they had no choice but to let their loved one go.
She planned to talk to Tremaine once more to try to locate that weapon to exonerate him on more serious charges. The last thing Mac wanted to do was send a young man to jail for any more time than necessary.
At Brandon’s house, he answered the door with a smile and a light kiss on the lips.
“Hello Mackenzie.”
“Hello Brandon.”
“Hey Auntie Mac!” Kyros called from the other room.
Mac turned to him. “Well hello handsome.” She came inside and kissed his cheek causing him to blush.
Brandon watched as Kyros’ eyes landed on Mackenzie’s breasts then moved quickly back to her face.
“Let’s eat,” Brandon said ushering them both to the table.
When they were all seated and enjoying the delicious meal, Mac turned to Kyros.
“So, how do you like your new school?” she asked.
“I like it. We learn lots of black history stuff.”
Mac smiled. “I bet you know a lot of that already.”
He nodded. “My daddy teaches me a lot.”
“I know. Your daddy is an expert.” Mac agreed.
Kyros paused in his eating. “Auntie Mac?”
“Yes,” she gave him her attention.
“Do your police kill a lot of black people?”
Brandon looked at Mac as she contemplated an answer. “We don’t purposely kill anybody Kyros.”
“Why do the police shoot so many that are black though?” he asked. “My Daddy tells the big boys at the center to be careful around the police so they won’t get killed.”
Mac sat her fork aside. “Well, Kyros there are some police officers who don’t follow the rules and they have hurt people.”
He looked confused. “How can the police not follow the rules? Isn’t that their job?”
Brandon wanted to intervene, but Mackenzie was the Chief so he’d let her give her explanation.
“They’re not allowed to break the rules and as the Chief, if I find out that my officers are doing bad things, I don’t let them keep doing it,” she explained.
“Do the police not like black people?” Kyros asked.
Mac’s heart was breaking listening to this sweet little boy’s confusion. It was the same confusion that she felt. She’d pledged her life to the badge but also to her people and watching the events that had transpired over the last year had her in a deep turmoil.
“Yes, Kyros there are some police who don’t like black people.” Brandon told him and Mac looked at him.
“Kyros, you don’t have to be afraid of the police,” Mac said turning back to the boy.
“Don’t tell him that Mackenzie.”
Mac frowned. “I’m the police Brandon!”
“He doesn’t have to be afraid of you Mackenzie, but that’s not the case of every officer he’ll encounter in his life. He’s a black man in America.”
Kyros looked between the two and waited.
Mac looked away. “I wish it wasn’t this way.”
Brandon reached across the table and took her hand. “I’m not blaming you, but we have to tell him the truth for his own survival. I’m sure Khalil has told him the same thing.”
“My Daddy says that you’re a good chief, Auntie Mac,” Kyros praised her.
“Thank you Kyros.”
Mac removed her hand from Brandon’s and slowly went back to her meal. When they were done, Kyros went back to his tablet while Brandon and Mac went to clean the kitchen. Mac methodically began putting things in the dishwasher when Brandon stopped her.
“I wasn’t trying to hurt you,” he told her.
Mac shook her head. “The truth hurts, period.”
“I know how you run your department Mackenzie, but remember what happened to you and Rion just a few miles from here. That was years ago and since then it’s been worse, in a lot of instances.”
Mac lowered her head. “I know Brandon. I wish I could change it…”
Brandon gathered her into his arms. “You can’t do it alone Mackenzie and no one expects you to.”
“I look at that little boy and my heart breaks because someone who wears the same badge that I do and pledged the same loyalty that I did, could end his life in a heartbeat for no reason,” she said sadly against his chest.
“It’s our reality for now,” Brandon said softly.
“I feel for families who can’t trust the people that are supposed to protect them,” Mac told him.
Brandon nodded. “And unfortunately we can’t distinguish them until it’s too late.”
“I don’t want Kyros to hate the police, but I also don’t want him to be blind,” Brandon finished.
“I agree. It just breaks my heart.”
“That’s because you have such a big heart. You care about everybody and everything. It’s what makes you so special Mackenzie.” Brandon kissed her softly pulling her closer in his arms.
“Uncle Brandon?’
He released Mac and turned to the boy. “Yes Kyros.”
“Are you marrying Auntie Mac like Uncle Lance married Auntie Khayla?” he asked looking at the couple.
Mac lowered her face into Brandon’s shirt.
Brandon looked at Kyros. “You think I should?” He then looked down at Mac. “She’s very, very pretty.”
Kyros smiled. “Yeah, and she’s the chief, so she can protect you.”
“I think for that reason alone; I should consider it.” Brandon told him.
Recognizing that he was embarrassing her, Brandon changed the subject. “Did you need something?” he asked Kyros.
“I wanted to tell you that my Daddy called on my phone and said he’s coming to pick me up.” Kyros told him.
Brandon looked confused. “He didn’t want to talk to me?”
“I told him you were kissing Auntie Mac.”
“Thanks,” Brandon said glancing at Mac who was holding back a smile. “Make sure you’ve got all of your stuff before he gets here.”
“Okay,” Kyros ran back into the other room.
“That boy is too damn smart,” Brandon commented.
“He’s adorable.”
Brandon touched her face. “You’re adorable, especially the way you were blushing when Kyros mentioned marriage.”
“That’s definitely not something I want to talk about,” she told him and he frowned.
“Why not?”
Mac pulled away. “Don’t you think this is moving fast enough?”
“Mackenzie, we’re not teenagers and I’m not on any type of schedule for how fast or slow we move,” Brandon told her. “When I know what I want to do, I do it. I don’t play games.”
“I see.” Mac thought back to earlier in the day.
He took her hand. “And I don’t make rash decisions. I weigh every one very carefully.”
“I can see that too.”
The pair finished the kitchen and went out to meet Kyros as the bell rang. Khalil entered the home and his son ran to him.
“Hey Daddy!”
Khalil bent and kissed his head. “Hey son! You have a good time?”
Kyros nodded. “Yes,”
“Okay grab your bag,” Khalil told him.
