Rita RealSpit Gibson: We all have trials and tribulations in our life that are hard to face alone. We all need support, even if it’s from people we barely know or don’t know at all.
Tyesha816: @Rita RealSpit Gibson. Me and my daughter wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for your concern and courage. I can’t thank you and @Ladykiller enough.
Rita RealSpit Gibson: I don’t know if it was so much as courage or instincts. Would I have pulled the trigger if he made a move? I’m glad we didn’t have to find out.
It wasn’t just Ladykiller and Rita RealSpit Gibson that showed up at Gideon’s house to help me. There were four others that found the house right before the police showed up—Christina “MsFineGirl” Irving, Joanne Dunley and Stuart Bradshaw, and Marley “Fedbound” Dubois. I personally thanked them all on their profile pages.
“So who’s the special guest?” my mother asked me, as I took my eyes away from my phone.
“You’ll see. He’s in the dining room at the table, ready to eat.”
“He?” Momma’s lips formed an “O,” and her eyebrows lifted in excitement. She whispered, “You brought over a new man?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Any man has to be better than that Rodrick. I’m glad you finally saw the light.”
“Momma, who I brought over isn’t somebody I’m dating.”
“No need to explain,” she said, cutting me off. She shoved the bowl of salad into my hands. “You’re friends, I get it. He’s probably hungry. Let him get started on that while I finish up the beef. He does eat beef, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
We waited in the dining room with eager smiles on our faces—me, Kylie, and Landon Roby, aka Ladykiller. Well, Ladykiller’s smile seemed a bit more nervous than eager. He was at the head of the table in a wheelchair.
He whispered to me, “I don’t know if this is a good idea?”
“Why?”
“Last time I was here, she kicked me off of her property.”
“That was then. This is now. I think she was just trying to protect me from knowing—”
Glass shattering startled us. Momma had dropped the plate of croissants right when she entered the dining room. Her face was full of shock and disbelief.
“What’s going on?” she asked.
“Uncle
It looked like Momma was angry. I swallowed and said, “I invited Landon over for dinner.”
“Only family eats at my house on Sundays,” she said in a dark tone. “You know that, Tyesha. I didn’t let Rodrick eat here and I’m not letting
“Momma, he is fam—”
“No, he’s not!” she yelled. “He’s not a part of this family. He’s a mistake.”
“How could you say that? He’s my brother.”
She shook her head violently. “No! If he didn’t come out of me, he’s NOT your brother!”
“Really?” I raised my voice. “I had gotten over the fact that you didn’t accept Rodrick. But I’m seeing now that you won’t accept anybody, if it’s not within your perfect little lie you choose to live in. Momma, I’m not perfect, daddy wasn’t perfect, and neither are you.”
“Don’t talk to me like that!”
“I remember when Kylie was born. You refused to come to the hospital to see her just because I had her out of wedlock.”
“Stop it,” she seethed.
“But over time you learned to love her,” I went on. “Please don’t push Landon away. We have the same flesh and blood. He
“Get him out of my house right now!”
I let out a mean breath like a bull, then grabbed the back of Landon’s wheelchair. “Come on, Kylie.” I wheeled him outside, bumping down the concrete steps.
He hit the hand brake.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He blinked, and two tears trickled down his cheeks. “My mother is the same way. She didn’t want me trying to get in touch with you. But I always wanted to meet you and get to know my other family. I’m sorry for not going about it a different way.”
He lowered his head and started crying. I kissed him on the cheek and put my arms around him.
“I don’t care how you got in touch with me. I’m just glad you did. We can start our own tradition. Waffle House, every Sunday. How you like that?”
He smiled wistfully. “That sounds good.”
Kylie’s little arms wrapped around us, too.
“Oh,” he said suddenly. “Since we’re going somewhere else to eat, I have a question?”
“What is it?”
“Can I bring my daughters?”
I gasped. “You have children?”
“Yep. My oldest daughter is two, and her birthday is a day after Kylie’s. My youngest is nine months. Two different baby mommas. Yo little brother has a way with the ladies. That’s why they call me Ladykiller.”
I cracked up laughing. “Oh my God! I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Me too,” Kylie said.
-
Tyesha816 listed Ladykiller as her brother.
CHAPTER 21
The guards wouldn’t let inmates touch the money, so I had to place nine quarters into the vending machine myself. When the turtle cake fell, Rodrick hunkered down and grabbed it out of the slot.
“Do you want a drink?” he asked me nicely, as if he were paying.
“No. Do you want one?”
“Yeah. Get me a Pepsi.”
Thankfully, the State never brought back up the murder case against Rodrick. But he still had to do time for his parole violation for coming in contact with the police without notifying his parole officer. I couldn’t believe that was actually a parole rule, but it was. Rodrick said there were endless rules to keep felons in a “closed circuit of perpetual marginality”—whatever that meant. At the most, he’d have to do six more months. But for Kylie’s sake, hopefully the board would give him an early review.
We sat down in plastic chairs at our table. Kylie was behind us in the visiting room’s play area, building a Lego house with a girl close to her age. I unwrapped my burrito and took a bite.
“I have to ask you something, Rodrick.”
“Wussup?”
“Did I mess up your life?”
He looked confused. “How could you do that?”
“By getting pregnant. You had a good future ahead of you with the basketball scholarship and everything. I remember you started hustling after that to take care of Kylie. I know if I would have never gotten pregnant, you would probably be playing pro. I always wondered if that’s why you cheated on me so much… because you resented me.”
“You got it all wrong. I started hustling before I found out you was pregnant. And when I did find out, that
