Settling Old Scores: BWWM Second Chance Romance (16 page)

"Well
Pat, since you won't ask me about my day, I am going to tell you
about it in boring detail, after I get done delighting you," he
said.

24.
At the VA

Kevin
and Pat were still intertwined in the sheets when Kevin started to
tell her about his day. He told her about seeing Janet. He told her
how with just a few questions she was filling him in on her sister
Tammy. He got her caught up on Matt too. "I actually think I can
at least get him to go in for a hearing test. I am going to guess he
will at least get some disability pay out of it. You can't go in a
dark tunnel looking for the enemy without your hearing. They surely
didn't wear ear plugs down there. I bet he came out of some of those
places with his ears ringing like there was no tomorrow," Kevin
said.

Then
he told her about meeting Willie for the first time in about eight
years. "You wouldn't believe what he looks like now! He is 270
lbs of solid muscle. He filled out more than even you did in the last
eight years," Kevin said as he fondled her boob tenderly.

"Willie
turned into a body builder? It's hard to imagine," Pat said
batting his hand away with a smile.

"Anyway,
he did ask me about my relationship with you. He thought it was funny
that I didn't know your story. He has two mixed kids, both little
girls, and a very blond California girl for a wife. So, we traded
some gibes about that. He told me some of the names they used to call
you. Jesus Christ! Hearing them come out of his mouth was more
painful than hearing about it from you," Kevin said.

"His
name for me was inside out Oreo. But he would stand up for me if the
other kids got too rough," Pat said softly.

"Yeah.
He told me that and asked me since I was so blind to your features,
if I ever noticed what good looks and a great ass you have,"
said Kevin.

Pat
laughed loudly. She was clearly pleased. "So what did you say to
that?" she asked.

"I
told him I did notice just the other night when we were having
intimacies. Then I told him I would tell you what he said within
hearing of his spouse just to instigate some fun for him," Kevin
replied.

"Kevin
Kelly! Don't you dare do that! Having intimacies? Is that what we do?
About half the women I know don't trust me as it is," she said,
slapping at him.

"We
did have a somewhat serious conversation about the biracial deal. He
told me not to let what other people think affect me. He told me that
we should get together with his wife. He said the two of us would get
along just fine. He is also going to talk to the detective that has
the Greenberg case just to see what he knows," Kevin said.

"I
don't have any problem going out with them. I would love to see
Willie again. I'm sure Sheila is nice too. I don't want to have a
friendship with a couple based solely on the problems of biracial
couples, though. It would be one of those kill me now things after a
while," Pat said.

"I
agree. All we can do is try it out and hope we have more in common
than just that," Kevin replied.

"I
did talk to Mr. Sharpe, too. I am going to do one of my lectures at
his math club next Wednesday. Old Mr. Sharpe still is pitching me to
become a teacher. He was surprised when I told him that I was smitten
with you. He knew you were biracial and he didn't bat an eye or
hesitate. He told me, no urged me, to do what made me happy. There is
a guy that knows from his AA work that you can have a lifetime of
regrets if you don't follow your heart," Kevin said.

Pat
looked at Kevin intently. "You really are serious about me if
you are running it up his flagpole already, aren't you? I know what
his approval means to you Kevin," said Pat.

"He
said a couple of interesting things beyond that too. He said that
both your mom and dad lost their jobs over your conception. He said
your dad's timing couldn't have been any worse. No unemployment, a
known union organizer, being black in a world where lots of white
veterans needed jobs. They both happened to work in an industry that
was declining, and moving to the South. Then, the ultimate bad career
move of screwing the help that happened to be white," Kevin
said.

"I
know all that, but it is hard for me to understand," Pat said.

"Do
you know that in 1969, the year we graduated from high school, they
were still fighting the integration battles in more than half the
country? They were just starting to integrate the schools in
Virginia. For example, we were a decade ahead of them, at least,"
Kevin said.

"Mr.
Sharpe theorized that your dad knowing what his prospects were,
decided that you guys were better off without him than with him.
Maybe, he took off before you were born because he knew he wouldn't
be able to do it once he laid eyes on you," Kevin said.

Pat
teared up and said, "I still think it was selfish and
irresponsible."

"We
probably will never know what happened. I just want you to consider
how tough it must have been. The facts are that the baby needed a
roof over her head and food. The man may have been scared to death
that his prospects for providing that were slim and none," Kevin
said.

There
was a long silence as Pat sniffled. Then she said, "Thank you
Kevin. I know you care and are trying to help. You have helped. You
have always been my biggest cheerleader, and I can't put a price on
that except to say I am so grateful to have you in my life."

They
talked more and finally got up again. Pat said, "I have to meet
with my thesis adviser tomorrow and I don't want to look like I've
been sleeping in my clothes. Can you give me a ride to my house? I
should spend a night with my mom anyway."

Kevin
knew he had to get some studying accomplished too. So, he rode her
home and came back to the apartment to study. That night, he made
another of his lists of things he should do and got the first good
night's sleep he had since Pat and he had started sleeping together.

The
next morning, he got up and started to do it all over again. He went
to meet Matt for breakfast at the restaurant where Janet worked. "So,
did you see my brother yesterday?" Janet asked as she poured him
some coffee.

"Yeah
I did! You didn't tell me I wouldn't recognize him. I can't believe
the muscles on that guy," Kevin said.

"He
spends a couple hours at the gym every day. Did he show you pictures
of his kids too?" she asked.

"He
did. You didn't tell me he went to the other side,” replied
Kevin.

"I
love the kids, they are so cute. I want to be the best auntie in the
world. I don't really like that he has a white girl for a wife. I
think when you do that, you're being selfish and not thinking of the
kids. They are the ones that pay for it," Janet said firmly.

"I
should confess to you that I've been shacking it with Pat
Washington," Kevin said.

Janet
set her coffee pot down. "Pat Washington from the old
neighborhood? You went to the other side, too? What is it with you
men? Always wanting stuff that ain't good for you. Don't be going no
darker than her. You won't be able to keep up," she laughed.

"I
wanted you Janet, but I knew I could never be enough man to please
you. So, I settled for her," said Kevin.

"You
got that right, white boy! You couldn't keep up. You might like
trying. I know I wouldn't get anything out of it though," she
shot back as Kevin laughed. She had her head wagging and her tail,
too as she walked away.

Matt
came in about that time and sat down in the booth. Janet greeted him
and poured another cup of coffee. Then, she took their orders and
headed back to the counter.

Matt
held out an extended hand and said, "Hey, five days of being
straight counting the time in detox. I am finally starting to lose my
shake."

"Good
going, Matt! I didn't know you were trying to do that. Just playing
it out to see what kind of streak you can get,” encouraged
Kevin.

"Yeah,
I guess. I've been thinking I do want to get my hearing checked.
Would you go with me down there?" Matt asked.

"Sure
will! Let's eat and go down there before they get too crowded,"
Kevin said as he thought to himself that he better get on this before
Matt changed his mind.

At
the VA, they did a good job of handling walk-ins. In a matter of a
few hours, they had tested him and found him to be eligible for a
disability payment. Kevin was not that surprised. He knew a lot of
the flight operations guys on carriers suffered hearing loss after
being around jets for months and months. The VA just needed to get
his records and verify them. It turned out there was a program for
dental work for homeless veterans. Upon verification of his records,
they could get his mouth worked on too.

After
spending almost the whole day down there, Matt was getting a little
strung out too, but he bore up to it amazingly well. In the course of
evaluating him for the dental work, they asked about his drug &
alcohol use. Kevin thought this might scare Matt into changing his
mind. It didn't. He stayed with the questioning and saw it through.
They gave Matt a phone number and told him to call back in a week. By
then, they should be able to tell him what his disability status
would be.

Finally,
at the end of the day, they headed back downtown. Matt seemed to
relax a little. Kevin bought him an early dinner & dropped him
off at the hotel. They agreed to breakfast again the next morning.
Kevin wasn't about to let up on Matt now.

2
5.
Matt Avenue

After
dropping Matt off, Kevin drove up to the old neighborhood and drove
around somewhat aimlessly. He drove down the Avenue slowly just
taking in how it had changed. When he got to where the grocery store
that Sylvia lived above had been located, he slowed down even more.
Once past that, he came to the parking lot for the funeral home. He
pulled in and parked. Nothing to see but empty lots, Kevin thought.
Then he looked around a little more and spotted the back way into the
two McCann owned whorehouses on English Avenue. "What the hell,
there is nobody around. I am going to take a little walk," he
thought to himself as he slid out of his old F-150.

Once
out of the truck, he quietly made his way fifty feet up the alley
that was one of the side boundaries to the lot. On one side, was a
big back-filled masonry wall about eight feet high. Cut into it at
alley level was a small narrow set of cement stairs leading up to the
backyards of the two adjoining old houses. When he was a kid, Kevin
used to cut through this way all the time.

Just
as he did when he was a kid, he stopped and perused the back yard
before going all the way up the stairs. Kevin used to do that all the
time too because of the drunks that used to be passed out in the
backyard of the whorehouses. The coast was clear, but still Kevin
hesitated trying to recall all the details of what he took in from
this vantage point when he was 14 or 15. The yard looked the same.
There was even an old cast iron headboard for a bed, leaning against
the side of the garage that Kevin would swear was the same one that
had been there for over 12 years. He noticed that the house windows
were boarded up. It looked like if you were real brave, you could
force your way in through the basement windows in the back. They
looked like they had been kicked in. It wasn't made for big people to
squeeze through easily though.

Kevin
retreated quietly back to his truck. He drove around to English
Avenue. The whole block had been vacated. There wasn't going to be
anyone around to see anything if he decided to poke around more. The
city must have acquired the whole block for urban renewal. Like they
always seemed to do, they let the houses sit idle for years before
they got going on tearing them down. Usually, that gave people a
chance to totally scavenge the houses for solid oak doors, brass, old
chandeliers, and even complete stairs and banisters.

Once
he saw that there wasn’t a soul around, Kevin was tempted to go
explore inside the two houses. But before he did that, he wanted to
round up some tools. As he sat there thinking, he made a little
mental list of what he would want to have with him before crawling
into the house. Flashlight, claw hammer, j-bar, step stool, and maybe
a handgun, too. He wanted a faster way in & out of the house. He
decided he would pry the covering plywood off the back door and go in
that way. He would pry it open wide enough to make getting in and
getting out reasonably easy.

Finally,
he started the truck and headed out. He wandered over by William
Bailey's house. It was starting to get dusky as he idled past his old
house. Kevin pulled over to the curb just down from the house and
looked at it. It was the same color, a little more dilapidated than
it had been. Still had the same old chairs sitting on the porch. He
eased out in the street and went to the end of the block and around
to the alley in the back. He slowly tooled down the alley and checked
out the garage. There was a beat up old car parked alongside the
garage. Kevin stopped the car and quickly edged up to the driver's
side door. The car was fitted with hand controls.