The Atonement (14 page)

“Thank you, sir. You don’t look too bad
yourself. Where’s Miko? I thought she was coming with you.”

“She wanted to, but I asked her to stay at
the fort and help get everything ready for Jim’s celebration.”

“Oh, that’s right – the party. Look, Al, you
and Miko better be glad I love Jimmy like I do, otherwise I’d have
you take me straight to the Pastor’s and I’d stay there ‘till it’s
over. I’m not sure if I’m ready for those other folks y’all carry
on wit.’”

“Aww c’mon, Rye. You gotta be more
social.”

“I can be social, but from what you and Miko
have told me, I’m not sure these folks are gonna be my cup of tea.
I mean, you got your baby-momma, hustle-man, a bougie player, and
some passive – aggressive dude with commitment issues.”

“Where on earth did you get all that? I hope
I never said anything to give you that kind of impression.”

“You didn’t because you see the best in
everybody. I fill in the blanks you leave out, then get Miko’s take
and make my own judgment.”

“Trust me, they’re all good people.”

“Just tell me they’re the type of people who
know when to go home. I don’t think I can take one of those parties
like my brother Wilson throws where people don’t even think about
leaving until 3 am.”

“Trust me, nobody will be around past 10:00,
and that’s if Jim can handle it.”

“Wait a minute – what do you mean, if Jim can
handle it? Is he in a wheelchair or something? I thought Miko said
he was gonna be okay.”

“He is, but you have to remember he’s still
recovering from surgery, not to mention he’s got a broken arm and a
broken leg.”

“Man. And y’all still don’t know what
happened?”

“Negative. And that’s another thing, Riley –
I know you like to play detective sometimes, but…”

“Don’t worry, Miko already let me know what’s
goin’ on when I texted her last night. I’m not gonna ask Jimmy any
nosy questions. I promise.”

“Good to know,” said Allen. They stopped at
the car, where Allen loaded her luggage in the trunk, then opened
the car door for her to take a seat.

“But don’t think that because I’m not saying
anything, I’m not taking notes.”

“Riley – remember your promise. Jim needs our
support, not our meddling.”

“Who said anything about meddling? I know
Jimmy’s a grown man and he has his own life to live. I only meant I
would be observing my surroundings, that’s all.”

“Uh-hunh. I have no problem with your
observations. Trouble is, you can’t see something without saying
something.”

“I only say something when there’s mess
somebody’s trying to hide. If everybody’s clean, won’t be nothin’
for me to talk about.”

That was the thing about Riley – if anyone
had anything to hide, she’d definitely be the one to find it. Allen
knew Jim might have some skeletons, but he was content to let
sleeping dogs lie. The last thing he wanted was for Riley to start
waking them up, because if she did, he knew someone would
definitely get bitten.

****

Allen put the car in park and got out to open
the door for Riley and then proceeded to the trunk to get her
suitcase when he heard the sound of the front door opening followed
by a high pitched squeal.

“Riley?!!!”

“Miko?!!!”

What followed was an incoherent mix of
screams of excitement and rapid chatter. As he headed back with her
suitcase, he saw Riley and Tamiko embracing with the former lifting
the latter off of the ground and spinning her around. It reminded
Allen of how they were when they were little girls.

“Girl, I can’t believe how long it’s been.
You look so good!”

“So do you. I see you still tiny!”

“And you still love your army pants,
hunh.”

“You know that. Comfort over cuteness has
always been my rule. But I got my colors right, as you can
see.”

“I see. So how’s everybody at home?”

“We’re fine, you know Wilson….”

“I know you two are really happy to see each
other, but I think there may be some other people that would like
to meet Riley, too,” said Allen pointing to their friends who were
standing in the doorway watching. Riley let out a huff, rolled her
eyes, and turned her back to the audience to face Allen.

“I feel like I’m getting a headache.”

“Don’t start” said Allen lowering his voice
so the others couldn’t hear. “Just give them a chance, Rye.”

“Allen’s right. You’re going to love them
once you get to know them,” said Tamiko grabbing her arm and
leading her toward the house.

“I bet.”

As they neared the entrance of the house, the
crowd parted to let them in and Tamiko served to herald the
entrance of her old friend.

“Everyone I want you to meet our cousin Riley
Sharpe, who has come all the way from down South to be with us,”
said Tamiko.

Riley put on a half-hearted smile and waved
to everyone. All of the young men stood staring unable to utter a
word. Riley stood there in front of them self-consciously pulling
on the curls at the nape of her neck. Then Daniel looked around
curiously at the others before stepping forward.

“Hey, Riley. Welcome back,” he said giving
her a man-hug.

“Thanks, Dan. Glad to be back.”

“Girl, you don’t know how I wish it was
summer. I still got my old super soaker and I’m ready to settle the
score.”

“The last I remember, the score was 55 to
nada – and trust me, you don’t want to go there. I’d still have you
runnin back to you mamma soaking wet and crying like always.”

“I’m a big boy now, Rye, if you haven’t
noticed.”

“Bigger, but obviously not badder, at least
not with that dorky lookin’ bow-tie you sportin.’”

“Excuse me, D. But you have to allow me to
introduce myself to this young lady. Name’s Richard.”

“Hello, Richard.”

“Ump – ump – ump,” said Richard, as his eyes
roamed her figure. “Girl, you must be a thief.”

“Come again.”

“Cause you done stole my heart.”

Richard took her hand and tried to kiss it,
but Riley snatched it back. Several of the others began to chuckle
to themselves.

“Is this guy serious?” said Riley as she
looked back at Allen.

“Don’t mean no harm, sweet thang. Just tryin’
to show my appreciation for your overwhelming beauty.”

“And I would’ve appreciated it if you’d done
so in a more respectful way.”

“It’s okay, Riley. He’s just playin,’” said
Allen.

“Well, I don’t play like that,” said
Riley.

“Oh, all right. It’s like that?” said Richard
backing away.

“I don’t know what type of women you’re used
to dealing with, but I’m a lady and you don’t step to me like that.
Learn how to come correct.”

“You know what…forget this. I’m going to
check on the chicken.”

“Yeah, you need to go somewhere,” said Riley
under her breath.

“Anyway, Riley we have some other friends
we’d like you to meet. This is Tim Russell. My old roommate from
college,” said Allen.

“Nice to finally meet you, Riley,” he said
smiling at her. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Heard a lot about you, too” said Riley, who
shot a knowing glance toward Tamiko before returning her critical
gaze to Tim and folding her arms across her chest.

“Good things, I hope.”

“Interesting things would be a better way of
putting it.”

“I’ll take that. It’s better than being
boring. Is there something wrong? Why are you looking at me like
that?” said Tim after noticing the odd way she was looking at
him.

“You look different than in the pictures I’ve
seen.”

“How so? Better or worse?”

“Just…whiter, that’s all.”

“Now that’s something I’ve never heard
before.”

“Hmph – I doubt that.”

Tim’s jaw dropped.

“
Don’t get offended. It’s
not like I’ve never met a swirl before. As a matter of fact,
there’s plenty of y’all down south. It’s just that the one’s I’ve
known are at least a
little
tan. Tell me something, is your momma all black or
is she a swirl, too?”

“Oooo-kaay,” he said as he started to back
away. “Well, I’d love to stay and chat, but Jim’s going to be here
any minute and I have to finish putting up the streamers in the
backyard. Excuse me.”

“What’s his problem? I just asked a simple
question.”

“Riley, did you have to go there with the
color thing?” whispered Tamiko.

“Where I come from people talk about stuff
like that all the time. I mean, you are who you are. What’s the big
deal?”

“We’ll talk later,” whispered Tamiko.

“And where is your honey pie, Allen? What’s
‘er name – uh, Cassie?”

“Callie is running a little late because she
had to drop Darius off with the babysitter, but she’ll be
here.”

“You mean I don’t get to meet Darius?”

“I told her she could bring him, but she
didn’t feel it was appropriate.”

“Aww, man. He was the only one I was looking
to meet. Anyway, my head is throbbing. If you all will excuse me,
I’m going up stairs to lie down for a spell. Let me know when Jimmy
gets here.”

“But you haven’t met Davis yet” said Tamiko.
She had grabbed a reluctant Davis by the arm and was guiding him
over from where he had been standing.

“Oh,” she said before turning around. “Hi,
Davis.”

“Hey.”

“There - we’ve met. Now can I go lie down
before my head explodes?”

“But we have another friend who’s coming…”
began Tamiko.

“Really? I’m definitely going to need to lie
down,” said Riley interrupting her as she headed upstairs.

“I’ll get you some aspirin,” said Tamiko
following behind.

“Are you sure she’s related to you?” asked
Davis.

“I know. Riley can be a little hard to take
sometimes. She doesn’t have a lot of people skills,” said
Allen.

“She’s nice, once you get to know her
though,” added Daniel.

“No offense, but I’m not sure if I want to.
From what I’ve seen so far, she seems to think she’s all that,”
said Davis.

“Truthfully, she can be a little bossy. She
tends to think she’s everyone’s life coach, but she promised me
she’s not going to try to get up in anyone’s business. That’s the
last thing that we need,” said Allen.

“Amen,” laughed Daniel.

Fourteen

As difficult as it was to get dressed, Jim
was glad to be able to wear his own clothes again. As always, Momma
Lena knew just what he needed: his favorite baggy, short-sleeved
ribbed knit t-shirt, his green fleece jacket, and track pants with
the Velcro side closures on the leg that would accommodate his
cast. Pop Vernon had helped him get himself together while Momma
Lena went to the nurse’s station to wait for the paperwork. After
spending three weeks in the hospital, Jim was glad to leave, but he
wished he could’ve returned to his own apartment instead of moving
in with the Sharpes. He would have felt better about being with his
family if he didn’t have such an explosive secret that lay pulsing
in his heart like a live landmine. The worst part was Jim knew it
would be revealed, but he didn’t know when it would come out or how
the people he loved would react. Thinking about it filled Jim with
dread. Jim faced a long road ahead of him and he had trouble
feeling good about any of it, which left him in a state of
depression that was worsened by the cocaine withdrawal. Part of him
wished he had some coke right now, but the other half knew just
where that would lead.

“You feelin’ alright?” asked Vernon, noticing
Jim’s somber expression.

“Yes, sir. I’m okay.”

“You don’t look it. Somethin’ botherin’
you?”

“Pop, I don’t want to be a burden to you and
Momma Lena any more than I already have. I can stay at the co-op
and get a health aide to help me, that is, if I still have it.”

“Don’t worry yourself about none of that.
Your momma and me don’t mind havin’ you round, and the co-op will
be there when you get back on your feet. You need to take them two
weeks to relax and think about what you wanna do.”

“I been thinkin’ for a while now. Startin’ to
feel that going back to church might not be such a bad idea.”

“Glad to hear that. Pastor’s got counselin’
services on Wednesdays and Fridays.”

“I don’t know about no counseling.”

“Jimmy, are you forgetting I was there when
them cops took your statement?”

“I’m not planning on picking up those old
habits again, Pop.”

“I know you not ‘cause counselin’s gonna help
you with that. If you gon’ stay under my roof that’s the way it’s
gonna have to be. You hear me?”

“Yes, sir.”

Jim did not like the idea of going to
counseling even though he knew he needed it. He didn’t want to
reveal the extent of his problems with drugs to his friends. Jim
knew that everyone was aware he’d been smoking, but he didn’t want
to have to explain about the coke and the other drugs. He was
afraid of what they might think.

“Look, son. Don’t think I haven’t been where
you are now. I remember when I came to this city from Charleston
thirty years ago. I didn’t have nothin’ in my pockets but my hands,
and yet the Lord worked. He still works. Don’t worry too much about
what’s gonna happen down the line. You do what you can and believe
God will work out the rest.”

“Thanks, Pop. I appreciate you.”

“I’m always here for you, Jimmy.”

Vernon gave him a hug, just as Lena was
entering the room accompanied by the nurse.

“Is everybody ready?” asked Lena.

“I guess so,” answered Jim.

“Oh, Jim! Just look at you! You look so much
better. I think he might have even gained a few pounds. Wouldn’t
you say so Vern?”

“He should have with all that food you kept
sending down here.”

“You know that hospital food don’t do nothin’
for nobody” opined Lena “No offense,” she added hastily when she
remembered the nurse’s presence.