Nobody's Son (20 page)

“That's his mom,” Rip said. He walked in and sat across from Wayne.

Wayne nodded his head. “I know. Allison was a beautiful woman, and I loved her very much.”

“Why are you here?” Rip asked suspiciously. He was well aware that Wayne was Semaj's father, but the last he had heard, Wayne was denying that fact. He stared at him closely trying to figure out what he wanted.

“I told you outside. I came to see my son. I'm through denying him, and I just wanted to talk to him. He acts as if we've never met before. What's going on?”

Rip sighed heavily. “He doesn't remember meeting you. The fact is, he doesn't remember a lot of the last year. Some things are clear, and other things are fuzzy. He remembers his fiancée Ellen, but he doesn't remember proposing or making wedding plans. It's complicated.”

“When did this car accident happen? It's only been a few days since you were released from jail,” Wayne said.

Rip glanced toward the kitchen to make sure that Semaj had not returned. “He didn't have a car accident. That's just what he thinks, and I'm just not ready to tell him the complete truth yet.”

“Then what happened to him? How did he break his arm?”

Instead of answering immediately, Rip went to the kitchen window to see if Semaj was returning. Miss Minnie had just gotten back from the store, and he was helping her carry in her groceries. With his one arm Rip imagined that it would take him awhile. He returned to Wayne in the living room.

“He was beat up in jail,” Rip said as soon as he sat down.

Astonishment and anger covered Wayne's face. “Are you saying he was a victim of police brutality?”

“No, but the police are responsible for what happened to him. I've already contacted a lawyer to file suit. They are going to pay for this.”

Wayne was getting impatient waiting to hear the rest. “Please just tell me the whole story,” he begged.

“Well, after we were arrested and booked, the Atlanta police department had the stupid notion that they would not give Semaj any star treatment. The public was really angry with him as they felt they'd been tricked. People were protesting outside with signs calling him a fraud and a lot of worse things. So the police decided that they would show the public that they were on their side. Instead of putting him in solitary confinement, they released him into general population.”

“That's crazy. They should have known better than that. He's a local celebrity. They should have known he would be harassed by other inmates.”

Rip nodded his head. “I can handle myself. I spent most of my teenage years in juvenile detention. If they had not separated us, I could have protected him. Instead, they put him in a cell with Eric Sims. That dude is shelled.”

“What does ‘shelled' mean?” Wayne asked.

“Keep up with the times, Old School. It means crazy, out of his mind, shell-shocked.” Rip took his index finger and made circles around his ear. “Anyway, he's a crazy person, and he hates Semaj. That was a lethal combination.”

The more Rip talked, it seemed that Wayne felt more confused. “Because of the whole kidnapping thing he hated him?”

“No, that didn't have anything to do with it. Awhile ago Semaj rescued a little girl named Cyndi from a crack house where she was being held by Eric Sims. He'd snatched her from the playground in her neighborhood and was planning to do God knows what with her. I knew Semaj was looking for the girl, and I heard through some connections of mine where she was, and I told him.”

They heard the back door opening, and Semaj rushed through the kitchen and into the living room dragging Miss Minnie by the arm. “See, I told you Wayne James was here,” he said with pride.

Rip introduced everyone and managed to monopolize the conversation as best he could to keep Miss Minnie or Semaj from asking too many questions. After several minutes he convinced them to return to Miss Minnie's trailer to begin chopping vegetables for the chicken pot pie.

Just as they were about to leave, Miss Minnie asked Wayne if he'd like a slice of her famous Strawberry Supreme Cake.

“I put real strawberries in the batter and the icing. Then I top it off with fresh strawberries dipped in white chocolate,” Miss Minnie said proudly.

“Oh, it sounds delicious, but I'm allergic to strawberries,” Wayne said.

“I'm allergic to strawberries too,” Semaj said. “What a coincidence.”

As soon as Miss Minnie and Semaj were gone, Wayne turned back to Rip. “That cut on his head is so small. I don't understand how that could have caused him to lose his memory. None of this makes sense.”

“The beating is not what caused him to forget you. That was just the last straw that finally broke the camel's back. You probably don't know it, but when you rejected him that day in the hotel room, my cousin flipped out.”

Wayne shook his head. “No, he didn't. I mean, he was upset, but he didn't turn over any tables or act a fool.”

“Well, you don't know him like I do. After that day, he turned into another person. It was a gradual progression that just got worse and worse. First, he disappeared without talking to anyone, and I had to drive here to find him. When he got back to Atlanta, he was lying to his fiancée. Semaj is the most honest man I know, but he was lying without a second thought. I admit it was my idea to kidnap you, but Semaj took it to a whole other level where he would just go into fits of anger out of nowhere. I was ready to let you go after one day, but he wouldn't let me. He went into a fit of rage because he was really out to get you. He wanted to publically embarrass you and make you pay for abandoning him as a child, and then rejecting him as an adult.”

Wayne stared at the floor feeling ashamed for the way he'd treated Semaj. “I'm sorry. I didn't realize it had affected him in that way,” he said quietly.

“Well, like I said, it was gradual at first and after you were freed I honestly thought that Semaj was finding his way back to his old self. He changed his mind about confronting you, and he and Ellen were back to making wedding plans. I thought things were all good, but I was wrong. He felt remorse, but he was still freaking out inside. Being arrested and beaten up in jail was more than he could take, I suppose. When I made bail, I found out that Semaj had been taken to Piedmont Hospital. Ellen and her family were with him when I got there. It was strange. He started talking, and the things he was saying just were not making complete sense. We still don't know why he thinks he had a car accident. We were worried, so me and Ellen went to talk to the doctor to find out what was going on with him.”

Rip suddenly stopped talking, and Wayne looked up from the spot he'd been staring at on the floor. “Well, what did the doctor say?”

Sighing loudly, Rip continued. “In a nutshell, he says that because of the trauma and stress of this whole ordeal that Semaj has something called situational amnesia. The doctor assumed it was being arrested and the beating, but Ellen and I realized it started right after he was rejected by you. It began with the depression, then the lying, the agitation, the arrest, and finally, he just couldn't deal with it so he forgot it.”

Wayne buried his face in hands. “It's my fault. That's what I came to tell him. Being abducted was the most frightening experience of my life. While I was being held I missed my other children terribly, and some days I wondered if I'd ever see them again. I also had a chance to think, and I realized that being locked in that warehouse was also the most eye-opening experience of my life. I never should have left my son years ago, and I never should have denied him.”

Rip looked at Wayne James sitting in front of him filled with tears, grief, and remorse. He thought for a few moments; then he spoke.

“Look, I'm not a genie or a fairy godmother. Lord know I ain't no angel. But I think I just may have been given the ability to grant you one wish. There's just one catch. You have to wish for the right thing.”

“The only thing I wish is that I could go back in time to the day Semaj found me and admit to being his father.”

“Wish granted,” Rip said. He smiled broadly feeling especially proud of himself.

Wiping his tears away, Wayne stared at him. “I don't understand.”

“He doesn't remember that day, so you have the chance to do it all over again. I'll go get him from Miss Minnie's. All you have to do is tell him that you are his father. I don't know, but maybe that will help him get over the trauma he's experiencing.”

Intrigued by the idea, Wayne suddenly began to perk up. “That won't solve everything. What about the kidnapping charges?”

“My lawyer has assured me that after the way they treated Semaj, the Atlanta police department will have a hard time moving forward with any charges, because they are going to be busy fighting the lawsuit we are gonna file on Semaj's behalf. In order to push it, they would need your cooperation, and I don't think you plan on helping them. Now do you?”

Wayne's face lit up with a mixture of anticipation and fear. “What am I going to say to him? What should I tell him?”

“Tell him everything you wished you'd said that day. Tell him about his mother, Allison. She's a mystery to him. It's real simple, Old School. Tell him the truth.”

Rip stood up to leave, and Wayne grabbed his arm to stop him.

“I don't know if just starting over and pretending the last few months never happened is a good thing.”

“I don't know if it's a good thing either. But I'm convinced that it's a God thing.”

Without another word, Rip quickly went out the back door.

“Stop fidgeting,” Jenise said to Ellen. “If you don't be still I will never get this thing laced up.”

Ellen did her best to hold still. “I'm just so nervous. Semaj and I have been through so much the past six months. I was afraid we'd never get here. When I realized that he'd blocked out proposing to me, my heart was shattered.”

Jenise continued looping the ribbons to her sister's dress and pulled them tightly. “You know that had nothing to do with how he feels about you. He was in a bad place because of his dad.”

“I know that now, but it was touch and go for a minute or two.”

The two of them turned around as they heard their mother enter the dressing room. She had a linen handkerchief in her hand, and it quickly went to dab her eyes.

“No tears, Mom, you promised. If you cry, we'll all cry, and then we'll all look like a raccoon family,” Jenise said.

“I'm sorry, I can't help it,” Deloris replied. “Both of you girls look so beautiful today.”

Deloris was very proud that her firstborn daughter was getting married, but she also was elated to see Jenise looking healthy and happy. The six months prior had been difficult for her as well as she adjusted to life as a single mother without Reggie.

From his jail cell he'd written her love letters, expressive poetry, and he'd even sent her lyrics to a song he planned to dedicate to her. Jenise took everything he sent her and placed it inside her prayer box. The prayer box was an old box she'd found and taped up, then decorated it with purple paper she found at the dollar store. Whenever something arrived from Reggie she read it; then she placed it inside the box. One of the things she learned while attending the domestic abuse classes was to not be quick to react to the emotional blackmail. The ladies in her class taught that it was just another way to control her when an abuser was not around. Instead, she learned to seek God and pray for discernment. Everything went into the prayer box instead of being stored inside her damaged heart.

For his crimes, Reggie was sentenced to five years in prison. Several of her family members and friends had encouraged her to file for a divorce, but she had yet to make a decision. She'd written the words “divorce Reggie” on a piece of paper, and it too was still residing inside the prayer box.

In the meantime, she dedicated herself to taking care of herself, and most of all, Aaliyah. She continued to pray and know that when they were all healed in God's love, then a decision could be made.

Down the hall in the church pastor's office, Rip struggled to help Semaj get his bow tie on. “This is crazy. I can't tie one of these things,” he said feeling exasperated. “Why didn't you just get a clip-on?”

“Ellen picked this out, man. You know that. All I was allowed to do was nod and agree with whatever she said.”

Pastor Frederick sat behind his desk chuckling at both of them. He knew how to tie the bow tie, but he enjoyed watching his grooms sweat just a bit before stepping in. Finally when he saw Rip turn four different shades of red in frustration, he decided to step in and help.

“Do you have any advice for me, Rev?” Semaj asked as the reverend patiently and efficiently tied his tie.

“Keep God first and your wife second. Remember that you are the head of the house, but she's the neck. The head can't move without the neck.”

Standing nearby, Rip began to laugh.

“Laugh if you want, but I've been married thirty-three years, and I live by the motto that a happy wife is a happy life.”

They were interrupted by a knock at the door. Doug poked his head into the room. “Semaj, I just got a call from Leah. Wayne's plane was delayed. He's on his way, but he's running late. Your bell ringer, Leo is here, and so are the rest of your brothers. What you wanna do, man?”

Semaj was just about to answer when he remembered the Reverend's advice. “Go ask my bride-to-be. Tell her I agree with whatever decision she makes.”

Semaj was still getting used to the fact that he had a father and five brothers. When he'd returned to his grandparents' house from Miss Minnie's that day and Wayne told him that he was his father, he almost fainted dead away on the floor.

Over the next few months, Wayne and Semaj slowly took their time getting to know each other and building a relationship as father and son. Wayne told Semaj everything that he could remember about Allison and their relationship together. He even admitted to him that he was wrong to walk away from him as a baby and not fight for his son in his life. Semaj asked him why he'd done it.

“It's simple. I was a coward. Your grandparents hated me for taking Allison away from them, and they were determined that I would not be able to take you away from them also. I could have fought them. I know that I should have fought them, but I was a scared kid that just walked away,” Wayne had said.

 

 

Due to his memory loss, Semaj attended weekly therapy sessions to try to find the reasons he'd blocked things out and to bring his memories back. In the first few sessions, he had dribbles of memory. He recalled a story he'd reported on the news, a movie he'd seen at the theater, but nothing significant. He had frequent nightmares that resulted in his waking up screaming, but once awake, he could not remember what frightened him. Then one day during his therapy session it all came rushing back to him. He had spent the previous day with Wayne and his brothers at Six Flags over Georgia. It had been one of the best days of Semaj's life, but for some reason he wasn't happy. He felt upset and full of turmoil. It wasn't his usual appointment, but he needed to see his therapist to help him sort out his feelings.

As he sat talking about how wonderful it was to have Wayne James in his life, the memories he'd suppressed came flooding back like a tsunami. He remembered everything. Not one detail was missing, not even the beating he'd taken in jail. Semaj crumpled himself into a ball and cried like a tiny baby while his therapist quietly watched.

Semaj remembered that day he'd been beaten in jail very vividly. As he lay in the hospital bed, he suddenly found himself back in his car on his way to meet Gwen for the very first time. His head began to pound as he experienced the worst headache of his entire life. His temples throbbed, and he imagined blood vessels bursting inside his skull. Then, everything went black.

When he awoke again, he saw Ellen and her parents sitting around his bed. His arm was in a cast, and he was bruised. The last thing he remembered was being in the car, and he assumed he'd been in an accident. He didn't remember it at all, but at that point, he was afraid to tell them how confused and scared he really was. Instead, he took whatever Ellen or Rip told him at face value and agreed to attend therapy sessions in hopes of remembering what had really happened to him.

Although he finally had a clear memory of how Wayne James came back into his life, Semaj decided that it wasn't a memory that he wanted to share outside of this therapist's office. Instead, when asked, he recounted the story of meeting him for the first time at his grandparents' home in Andrus, South Carolina. Those closest to him knew the truth, and for Semaj, that was all that truly mattered.

The one memory he felt the most remorse at losing was the night he had proposed to Ellen. He realized how patient and understanding she'd been to quietly pretend that it never happened while waiting for him to regain his memory. He remembered giving her a diamond engagement ring, but he realized she was no longer wearing it.

So he decided to re-create the moment for her with Jenise's help. Semaj took Ellen back to the restaurant where he originally proposed. With Semaj's instructions, Jenise had convinced Ellen to wear the same dress she wore that night, and he wore the same shirt and tie. He'd also had Jenise sneak the ring out of Ellen's jewelry box so that he could present it to her again. After she said yes, he reminded her that she'd often said that it was the most wonderful night of her life, so he decided that rather than just telling her that he remembered it, he decided to allow her to live it all over again.

They'd had to change the date, reprint the invitations, and juggle the arrangements, but they were ready to become man and wife on their wedding day.

After speaking with Doug, Ellen decided that they would wait for Wayne to arrive. However, nearly an hour later, they were still waiting so they felt it would be not be fair to their guests to postpone things any longer.

At last they were standing at the altar ready to take their vows before God and their families to spend the rest of their lives together.

Semaj stood nervously with his bride on his left and Rip on his right. He glanced nervously over his shoulder. Standing in the back, behind the last pew, he noticed that Wayne had finally arrived. It wasn't his high school graduation, but his dad had arrived, just in the nick of time. Wayne stood there beaming with pride.

 

 

 

 

THE END