He was still handsome, very. She was not. The skin on her face was hanging down in a weird way, lots of wrinkles and they looked like ripples of sags. The bottom lids of her eyes drooped a bit, exposing some pink. She needed an emergency visit to Dominic’s spa and not just for a facial. Her hair had a bad dye job and she’d chosen a weird shade of light brown that wasn’t all that attractive.
As I came to a stop on their side of my car, they were still staring at me but neither of them spoke.
I broke the silence. “Um, I’m guessing you’re Ty’s parents?”
The woman didn’t take her eyes off me when she sneered, “She’s guessin’ we’re Tyrell’s parents.”
Hmm. Seemed Ty’s Mom hadn’t softened with age.
She went on, “Two white girls hitched to black men in this county. Me with him,” she jerked her head to the man who was still hanging out at the end of the SUV, “and you and the black half of my son.”
The black half of my son.
I wasn’t really sure I liked how she put that.
“Well, um… I’m glad to meet you,” I said quietly.
“Well, um…” she parroted sarcastically then she leaned in, “you were glad to meet me, you wouldn’t a’ been in town with my boy for months without meetin’ me.”
I didn’t know what to do with this. Ty talked about them but all in the past. I let him talk and my questions were few as they always were, allowing him to share at his pace and not pushing. I didn’t actually know they still lived close.
Of course I couldn’t tell her that.
“We’ve been kinda busy.” And that wasn’t a lie.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Too busy to meet your man’s parents?”
“Well –” I started but she cut me off.
Looking me up and down, she said, “’Spect he hasn’t met your parents either and ‘spect it’s not for the same reason we haven’t met you.”
I read her inference and this was because it was hard to miss.
“Actually, my parents are both deceased so it would be difficult for Ty to meet them but if they weren’t and I’d actually met them before they died, which I didn’t, then he would have.”
Okay, so I was getting mad. I could feel the sass rising in me and I was trying hard not to throw it but unfortunately not succeeding.
At this point, Ty’s father moved forward.
“I’m Irving Walker. Irv,” he told me as he got close then his hand extended.
I tipped my head back to look at him and saw he wore an expression that held some curiosity, some uncertainty and not a small amount of cautious warmth.
Therefore I took his hand, squeezed it and introduced myself, “Alexa. Alexa Walker. Everyone calls me Lexie.”
He smiled and his smile was near as beautiful as his son’s.
Then he released my hand and jerked his head down and to the side to indicate the woman.
“This is Ty’s Ma, Reece.”
I looked to her, decided to make an attempt at civility and extended my hand. “Hello, Reece.”
She held my eyes then hers dropped to my hand then they came back to mine. Then she lifted her cigarette to her mouth, wrapped her lips around it in a weird way where it looked like half the tip was between her lips, she sucked deep and all her sags contracted in a highly unattractive way then she let the cigarette go on a sucking noise and blew out an enormous plume of smoke. It was so enormous I dropped my hand and took a step away so as not to get caught in its fog. Surprisingly, so did Irv.
“Reece,” he muttered, sounding pissed then, “Jesus.”
Her eyes shot up to him and she snapped, “What? Look at this shit.” Then she swung an arm out indicating me but that arm flew wide indicating, I guessed, everything in our local vicinity. She dropped her arm, leaned toward Irv and hissed, “Look at this shit.”
I did not like being referred to as shit or the home my husband provided for me being included in that and I felt my eyes narrow as my control on my sass slipped a hefty notch.
Reece wasn’t done. “My eyes don’t deceive me, those wheels are brand new. Though, my eyes could be deceivin’ me since I’m blinded by the fuckin’ rocks she’s wearin’ on her fuckin’ finger. Now tell me, how does my idiot son go down for some bullshit crime probably some white man committed then he gets outta prison, hooks himself a class act like this bitch, puts that fuckin’ rock on her finger, her ass in a brand new set of wheels, keeps his fancy-assed condo, gets his job back that pays him near to sixty fuckin’ grand a year and, all that, he’s got no time for his Momma. He’s got no time for his Daddy. He’s got all that, he don’t share the love with the two people responsible for him breathin’ on this earth.”
There was a lot there to get pissed at, a lot that deserved some sass thrown, my control snapped and I was going to throw it.
And I opened my mouth to do that but Irv got there before me.
“Weeks, woman, I watched you work yourself up to this shit, fuck,” he growled the last word then turned to me. “Knocked her up thirty-seven years ago. Biggest mistake in my life. Keep makin’ ‘em. She tells me she wants to go see her baby, time has come, here we are. She don’t wanna see her baby. She’s pissed like she’s always pissed and like always, I got no clue why she’s pissed. Her son is home, he’s married to a beautiful woman, he’s gettin’ his life back and she’s pissed. What the fuck?”
I had no answer to his question but even if I did, I had no shot at answering it, Reece spoke.
“What the fuck, Irv, is that I get here and I see all this.” She again flung her arm out, multitasking by flicking the cigarette in her other hand between Irv and me into the street. “Same old shit. Same as always.” Her droopy eyes came to me. “This one,” she jerked her head to Irv, “served me a lifetime of a whole lotta nothin’. My boy, though, he knows how to get himself somethin’. Does he share? No. God, he gets outta prison and still he’s got ways to get himself somethin’ and still he does not share.”
Irv probably opened his mouth to retort but I was done.
And I communicated this by locking eyes with Ty’s mother and throwing some serious fucking sass.
“Go home,” I ordered and went on without giving either of them an opening. “And don’t come back. I don’t know you but I do know you taught your son to make certain he took his dirty dishes to the sink by throwing a glass at him and giving him a scar. Ty’s lucky, he’s hot and that scar, admittedly, makes him hotter but he’s not lucky he’s got a mother who’d risk blinding her son in one eye because she’s a lunatic with a bad attitude who would throw a glass at a nine year old child and then, years later, after he endured a nightmare, not appear at his door with open arms and a welcome home bouquet but months later show up at his house for the sole purpose of behaving like a bitter shrew and expressing her whacked opinion that she thinks her son owes her shit. My husband does not owe you shit, he does not owe giving you what he’s worked hard to earn, he does not owe you his time, he does not owe you one fucking thing. Now go home and do not come back.”
She gaped at me but I turned and tipped my head back to Irv.
“You didn’t give him much more but I get a sense you get what Ty endured and why he endured it and that shook you. You want a relationship with your son, you build it without her,” I jerked my head at Reece, “in attendance. And you do not show uninvited and unexpected. You ask for his time and he gives it to you when and if he’s ready.”
Then before either of them could reply, not that I’d fucking listen to another word either had to say, I stomped around my new baby, jerked open the door, sat my ass in it, punched the button on the garage door opener and turned on the car. Then I drove in. Then I hit the opener again. Then I carted up the groceries, champagne, cake and my latte, putting the ice cream directly into the freezer, the champagne in the fridge and, after that, setting Shambles’s cake on a plate and putting it on the counter of the island by the tees so Ty would see it the minute he got home.
The
n I called my husband, shared the trip through the light fantastic that was my first meeting with his parents, listened to his rumbling disbelief and inadvertently calmed his anger by ranting through angry sips of my fast-cooling latte, doing this for some time and with a fair amount of curse words which, for some bizarre reason, eventually led to him cutting me off by roaring with laughter. He then told me he had four college tuitions to earn which calmed my ass down. I let him go so he could get back to work providing for our future family, walked out to the back deck and looked down.
They were gone.
I went back into the house.
* * * * *
The chicken breasts were set to marinade, the salad was prepared, the homemade dressing was fermenting in the fridge and I was sitting out on a lounge chair with my Kindle, reading a romance novel and thinking sex with Ty was way better than what the chick in that novel was getting when something caught at the corner of my eye.
I looked up and across the deck to the side of the house and froze solid.
This was because a wiry black man about two inches taller than me with cornrows in his hair who I’d never seen before in my life was standing there looking jittery.
Shit! What now?
He took a step forward and I visibly braced so he stopped.
“I’m Dewey,” he announced and I relaxed, slightly.
I knew Dewey. Well, I didn’t know him, know him but Ty had told me about him. I didn’t think he was a threat but his being there probably didn’t herald good tidings.
I didn’t get to say hi. He took four steps toward me and started talking, he did it fast and what he said made me freeze solid again.
“Don’t got much time and can’t be seen here. But got word that Ty’s parole officer is doin’ a random inspection of his house. Today. And he’s got Fuller with him. They’re comin’, don’t know when they’ll get here, could be any minute. Can’t be seen goin’ to his place of work and someone might be listenin’ in on my phone so couldn’t call. So I’m here. I ‘spect you’ll tell him. I also ‘spect, he’s got somethin’ in there they can’t see, like, say, somethin’ that shoots bullets, you’ll deal.”
Then, right before my eyes, he disappeared.
Since Ty did, indeed, have something in the house that shot bullets, I didn’t delay in twisting in the lounge, dropping my Kindle to the table beside me and snatching up my phone.
Ty picked up on ring two, saying hilariously but I was in no mood to laugh, “Jesus, mama, the Pope there now?”
“No,” I replied quickly. “I just got a five second visit from your friend Dewey before he went up in a puff of smoke. He told me your parole officer is on the way, with Fuller, to do a random inspection of the house. ”
“Fuck!” Ty snarled.
“Baby, what do I do?” I whispered. “Can they ask me to open the safe?”
“They can do anything they fuckin’ want,” he answered on a growl, my heart sank and he went on. “Right now, get a bag, fill it with all the cash, the gun, clips and ammo, leave the diamonds but be sure to get Misty’s letter, you put that shit into the bag and take it to the trunk of your Charger. Pull the Charger out and park it in the guest parkin’ spaces down the way. Those spaces are off my property and the Charger is in your name. They see it and want to search it, you ask for a warrant. Stand firm on that, mama, ‘cause they’ll try to push you. I’ll instigate damage control to sort that shit out but you gotta do that now, just in case.”
From the minute he started speaking, I was on the move so I had a bunch of plastic grocery bags, was already dashing up the second flight of stairs and I breathed, “Okay,” because I was out of breath from running and fear.
“Okay, lettin’ you go now. Call back if there’s somethin’ you need to know.”
I was dropping down on my knees in front of the safe when I said, “Right.”
“Later.”
He didn’t wait for me to reply, he was gone.
Without delay, I did what he asked, took a deep breath and rechecked the safe just in case I missed something then shut it, made certain it latched and raced down the stairs to get my keys then to my car. I stowed the bags in the trunk, pulled my new baby out and parked it off our property then I raced back up the hill. The garage door was cranking back down and I was dashing up the stairs into the kitchen when my phone in my hand rang and it said, “Ty Calling.”
I flipped it open and put it to my ear. “Hey,” I wheezed out.
“We good?” he asked.
“We’re good,” I answered.
“Good,” he said. “Now, Deke’s on his way and, he gets there before our company, he’s gonna store that shit in the tool cabinet in his truck. Then he’s gonna stay. I do not want you in that house alone with that motherfucker there.”
“Okay,” I replied, also not wanting to be alone in our house with that motherfucker there. I leaned into a hand and pulled in deep breaths. “Is this… is this expected? I mean, is this normal? Are they allowed to do random inspections like this?”
“Yeah. That said, I’m surprised. My parole officer seems cool. He’s a brother and when I say that, he’s one of the few brother brothers a brother like me has, half and half. He did not say it flat out but gave indications he’s not Fuller’s biggest fan and had an understanding of why I was sittin’ across from him. But I made parole for a reason and during my visits, he didn’t communicate he had any concerns. But this shit happens. I shoulda been prepared, especially with the heat on.”
“It’s okay, it’ll be okay,” I assured him but I wasn’t feeling assured, I was freaked out. “Team Walker bests any challenge they face,” I finished more to convince myself than Ty.
He was silent then he said with a smile in his voice, “Yeah.”
“The good news is, I threw so much sass at your parents, I think I’m clean out of it, you know, just in case Fuller pisses me off.”
There was soft laughter in his voice when I heard, “Yeah, that’s the good news.” I sucked in a calming breath then his voice came at me, soft and gentle, “You okay, baby?”
I looked at the clock on the microwave and saw it said a quarter after three. He was done with work in forty-five minutes. And I doubted, with my day, he’d do overtime or go to the gym.
“You coming home right after work?” I asked, just to confirm.
“What do you think?” he asked back but it was confirmation.
“Then I’m okay,” I answered.
“Good,” he whispered then still soft he said, “Now, mama, Fuller is gonna dick with you. Team Walker is in the home stretch. Stay sharp.”
“I’ll stay sharp, honey,” I whispered back.
“That’s my Lex,” he muttered. “See you soon.”
“Right. Love you, Ty.”
“Down to my bones, mama, right back at you.”
Suddenly, I was perfectly calm.
“Later,” he finished.
“Later, baby.”
Then he was gone. I put my phone down on the counter, saw the tees and smiled to myself. Then I jumped and whirled when I heard a knock at the door.
Standing outside was a supremely well-dressed black man. He was also supremely handsome, bald head, thick, black, well-trimmed goatee, bedroom eyes. Tall, not as tall as Ty but a lot taller than me. Great body.
I stared at him thinking that Ty’s parole officer was hot.
I moved to the door, searching behind him but seeing no company. I opened it and finally really looked at him to see he looked surprised.
“Hi,” I greeted and he stared at me so I asked, “Can I help you?”
“Are you Lexie?” he asked back.
“Uh… yes.” I played the game but found it weird when I confirmed my name that he smiled, big, broad and white. “Sorry, have we met?”
“I’m Samuel Sterling.”
Cool name.
I smiled. “Hello, Samuel Sterling.”
His smile got bigger and he noted, “You’re back.”
&nbs
p; Well, that was interesting. It seemed Ty shared with his parole officer.
“Uh, yeah. Just over a week now. Would you, um… like to come in?” I invited, stepping aside so he could do so.
He didn’t move. He simply studied me. Then he remarked, “You have no clue who I am.”
“Uh –” I started, wondering, if I did say I had a clue who he was, if that would expose Dewey’s visit when he spoke again.
“Own a jet, Lexie,” he informed me quietly.
Oh my God!
I blinked. Then it was my turn to study him and it hit me that parole officers probably didn’t wear two hundred dollar, shiny, killer polo necked shirts nor did they have custom-made Italian loafers.
He smiled again, took three steps into the house and I turned with him as he did and shut the door behind me. Then I kept staring at him as his eyes did a sweep of the place and landed on the tees. Then they came back to me and his smile was huge.
Then he spoke. “I was close to town on business. Thought I’d stop by, see how Ty was seeing as how Ty was the last time I saw him was not good.” He dipped his head to the tees and commented, “I suspect he’s doing much better.”
“He is,” I whispered.
“Good,” he whispered back.
“Uh… thank you for, um… doing that favor for Ty and I. But back then I was just,” I threw out a hand, “well –”
“You don’t know me so you owe me no explanations, Lexie, I’m just glad you’re back.”
I grinned at him. “So am I.”
He grinned back then his eyes cut to the door behind me and his body went alert.
I turned around to see Deke at the glass. Deke didn’t knock. Deke opened the door and I jumped out of the way.
“He is?” he asked, jerking his head at Samuel Sterling.
“A friend of Ty’s,” I answered.
“What kind?” he shot back.
“The good kind,” I replied.
He sliced his eyes to Samuel Sterling then back to me. “Keys. Now.”
I still had my keys in my hand, I held them out to him, he took them and then he was gone.
I looked to Samuel Sterling who had his eyebrows raised and I shared, “We, um… have a bit of, uh… situation.”