Page 18 of Welcome Home

Everyone stepped in to help with the move. My parents were here, Dove, Lula Ann, and Rome. I told the women to handle the unpacking, but here was Mazikeen with a box in her hands that she got from the truck. She didn’t listen for shit!

“Falcon, it’s just a box of dishes. It’s not even that heavy,” she whined. It wasn’t that heavy now, but it was guaranteed that she would pay for it tonight.

I shook my head. “Mama, tell her to sit her ass down. She’ll listen to you.”

My mother giggled from the kitchen where she and Dove prepped to cook. Her contribution to today was dinner. The first thing she did when she came into our new house was pray. She opened all the doors and prayed over every corner of our home. Blessed oil dripped from places on our walls and doors where she laid hands. I appreciated that more than she would ever know. She prayed over every dwelling that I ever moved into.

“Mazzie, why do you make life hard for my boy? Sit down before he sits you down. Come in here and help me clean this chicken or cut these vegetables,” she demanded.

Kee set the box on the kitchen counter. Her eyes slitted when she glared at me, then she rolled them. “Okay, Mama Lauren. I knew that we would need these, so I got them. Rome already brought in the pots and stuff.”

Lula Ann giggled. “Girl, you always want to do the most. All Rome had to do was look like he wanted to tell me to sit down, and I sat the hell down.”

Rome sucked his teeth. “Lu, your ass was going to sit down whether I told you to or not. You unpacked three boxes, then sat down.”

Her shoulders shrugged. “Sir, there were a lot of things in those boxes. Mazikeen and Falcon have a lot of shit.”

Rome peered at her for a moment, then looked at me. He walked over to where she sat on the couch, leaned down, then said, “I can’t do anything but love this damn girl.”

“I understand, brother. Trust me, I do.” I took the box that was in my arms to our bedroom.

My father followed closely behind me with a box. Time had been great for my father. He took care of himself extremely well. At the age of sixty-six, he looked no older than maybe fifty-five. I’d been to the gym with him multiple times, and I could barely keep up with him.

He placed the box down. “This is a nice house. You said that y’all don’t have to pay rent? That’s a real blessing, Son.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t. I already have a few people interested in leasing my house. That’s just residual income since the house is paid off.” I paid my house off five years after I purchased it, with dividends from my investments.

My father smiled. “I’m proud of you, boy. You found a woman that was worth your love, and that is most of the battle. You have to hold on to that love tight with God in the middle.”

When he sat on the bed, I sat next to him. “I never thought that you would fall in love with a woman that has lupus, considering you’ve seen how it affects your mother. It’s a lot of work, and there are days that you are going to be tired. You’re going to have to push that shit to the side to make sure your woman is good. Unlike your mother, Maz needs a kidney, and that is a whole process within itself.”

My hand rubbed down my face. “I know, Dad. I was pissed when I found out that I wasn’t a match. When I told Kee that I wasn’t a match, her ass was mad that I got tested.” I chuckled at the memory.

“I can understand that. Well, your mama has put her on the altar about a new kidney, so I know it’s going to come.” He patted me on my back. “Let’s get the rest of these boxes and stuff so we can relax before dinner.”

We had more boxes and smaller items to move in. A moving company was hired for all the bigger items. While they were loading, it popped in my head that I wanted to start a division of my company that handled moving for residents. I technically already had what I needed to start the division as far as the moving truck. There were times that property owners hired us to clean out apartments. This would be no different except the items in the apartment would have a definite destination.

It only took another thirty minutes for all the boxes to be brought into the house. Kee wanted to make sure that the kitchen, our bedroom, and the bathroom were finished today. Everything else would be done in time.

For dinner, my mother cooked baked chicken, collard greens, rice, macaroni and cheese, and cornbread. We all enjoyed each other’s company as we ate at the new six-seater dining room table that was a housewarming gift from my parents. Kee nor I understood why they bought one that was so big. After dinner today, we understood.

Same Song, Different Beats . . .

“Are you there yet?” Dove asked. There was so much worry in her voice as it came through my car speaker. “When I called earlier, she rushed me off the phone.”

I sighed deeply. “I’m here, Sis. I’ll let you know when I leave.”

We spoke for another minute before we disconnected the call. Our mother had been a little off for the past few days. I asked our father, but in his true nature, he told us that she was fine. Dove and I knew that meant that if there was anything wrong with her that he had it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t good enough for me or Dove.

We both felt a pop-up was needed. My father was off at one of my properties doing what he did best . . . process improvement. I climbed out of my car to take the walk to the front door.

I knew before Dove or my mother told me that Lauren Coral was in the middle of a flare. I didn’t need to be a doctor to know it either. I was her son who watched her since she was diagnosed. I knew the difference between her tired and lupus draining her energy. Lauren Coral would never admit it, though, because to her, that would have made her weak. That woman would go toe-to-toe with God if he called her weak. It just wasn’t in her makeup to be weak.

I knocked on the door before I used my key to enter. The chain on the door stopped it from fully opening. “Ma, why do you have the chain on the door? Come open this door!”

My parents’ house was a nice size, so I made sure to project my voice since I didn’t know where she was in the house. The nerve of her to have the damn chain on the door. I wasn’t sure where we did that at, especially when her husband wasn’t home. The chain normally went on the door when he was home and if they were doing things that I didn’t want to think about.

It was another minute after I yelled out again before I heard her. “Falcon, I’m coming. Calm down.”