TIME [ 11:00 AM,MID MORNING]
There QJ sat in the counselors office, not knowing what to expect as he had not been in any trouble recently. Why did Elaine want to see him? He sat somewhat nervous as she got up to run an errand, within five minutes she returned.
"Just so you know, you aren't in trouble."
"Okay...." QJ said with a relief.
He took the invite and slipped it into his binder and walked back to class. He had only missed the first 10 minutes of his science lesson where the teacher filled him in on what he missed and had him write down his homework assignment in his planner. As he flipped his book open the fire alarm rang as the principal decided to have a fire drill that day.
"Okay Line up" the teacher said. "We are going to take the exit to the right"
The students were instructed not to talk while outside and wait for the announcement to re-enter the building.
At the same time, Aundrea was released from his second period at the sound of the bell. "So what do you think about the story so far Brianna" she asked. "It's okay" she responded, regarding "the Indian in the Cupboard". "My brother has probably read this one, this homework assignment will be a breeze"
"Oh and by the way. I want to hear your voice" the teacher said, as she overheard their conversation.
"You were saying?" Brianna sarcastically asked while making a run to the restroom. "I'll catch you later"
"Aundrea, your last essay was really good" her English teacher said as she passed by.
"Thanks, my mom is English teacher so I guess it rubbed off on me." She responded as she was on her way to her next class. She had finished a book report and then this writing assignment. She was ready for a break from it.
In math class, they had just received the results of their last quiz. "A+?" Amber said looking at Aundrea's score. "Good job" the teacher said. "Hard work pays off".
Once all scores were handed out, they begin a geometry lesson on area, base, and height, when an announcement on the loud speaker was made informing faculty and students that the school would be evacuated for a bomb threat that had just been name. Effective immediately, classes would be cancelled for the day while the school would be under investigation.
"Get's me out of a science test" Brianna said the pair headed towards the door and across the street. It was quite a sight after a couple of hours when students took off running due to the fear of possibly blowing up or losing a loved one, not knowing where their peers were. Aundrea began to worry about her brother when she hadn't heard anything from him. "I'm looking now" she remained calm as she had typically done under pressure. That said, her heart was pounding. Five minutes afternoon Brianna, Aundrea, and Simone begin to walk to the ice cream parlor near by while Malachi found Carson, whom he caught a ride with. "You can just crash with Carson" Erik said as he dropped them off and headed back to the high school. "Your mom probably already knows at this point what's going on? We're in the world of social media. You get your news quicker on Twitter, than you do watching the TV."
CARSON-"Want a snack?"
MALACHI-"Sure, thanks"
CARSON-"I'll pop a bag of popcorn"
CARSON-"So man, have a good a good Halloween?"
MALACHI-"Yeah"
CARSON-"How was your mom's signing?"
MALACHI-"It was okay. She sold a good bit"
MALACHI-"Events like that generally are boring, but coffee and sweets does make it more enjoyable. The Q&A was informative"
CARSON-"In what ways?"
MALACHI-"Each desert was made during certain occasions, certain moods. She talked about her aunt that passed, about how they used to ride the greyhound bus down with their aunt as children down there. The rides were hella long she said. Imagine having to piss"
CARSON-"Yuck"
MALACHI-"Right? But she would describe in detail the process of the desserts that her aunt and her grandmother made depending on the event. If it was a fish fry, a peach cobbler was typically whipped up or if the occasion was a special occasion, a chocolate cake, that I really want to try and I've been begging her to make one"
CARSON-"Invite this guy over when she does"
MALACHI-"Making a note"
MALACHI-"Gumbo was something that they cooked on Sunday evenings one weekend every summer. Normally, when one thinks of Gumbo, they think cold weather, but down there? That's irrelevant"
CARSON-You might wanna call your mom now. Phone's right over there.
He grabbed a hand full of popcorn then dialed his mothers cell. She didn't answer right away, "I'll give it about 10 minutes." Within five minutes, she called number back to which Carson answered the phone. "Who is this?" she said "Carson"
"Carson?" before she could finish asking why Carson was calling, he gave the phone to Malachi and said.
MALACHI-"Mom?"
DEJA-"What the hell? Why are you not in school?"
MALACHI-"Schools out today. They sent us home. Bomb threat. You didn't hear?"
DEJA-"No, I did not. Is Aundrea with you?"
MALACHI-"No"
DEJA-"Do you know where she is???"
MALACHI-"I kind of caught a ride with Carson's brother. I couldn't find her."
DEJA-"You stay put. We'll talk about this later."
MALACHI- "Bye"
MALACHI-"She's not too thrilled"
CARSON-"What else could you have done? They tell us to evacuate, then around 1:00 they sent us home for the day"
MALACHI-"Right?"
They decided to get on the internet to kill some time when Carson noticed that the website had been updated. "Well there you have it"
Malachi decided to just stay put for the time being while Aundrea used Simone's flip phone to send a text to her dad. "We are at the ice cream parlor. School was cancelled this afternoon due to a bomb threat. Tell Malachi that's where I'm at. I couldn't find him"
Quincy asked his boss if he could get get his children from school. "Sure. Just bring them up here."
Arriving to the nearby malt shop he picked up Aundrea after saying hello to her friends. "How about the two of you come to the house Friday?"
"Just be glad that it's not too hot, this shit happened to me in Junior High School, except they didn't let us out for the day, we had to stand outside in the heat."
"Ugh! So what was it? Do you remember?"
"Yep, it was a high school student who found out that he was not graduating so he decided out of anger to call in a bomb threat. He got almost 20 years for it"
Arriving to Carson's, he found Malachi on the couch with a look that could be summarized as a combination of disbelief and surprise.
"Dad?!" He exclaimed, "How'd you even know I was here?"
QUINCY-"Your mama called me. She was freaking out"
MALACHI-"Why? She knows Carson."
QUINCY-"She was worried that you there but didn't know where your sister was."
AUNDREA-"I was looking for you too"
MALACHI-When I couldn't find you, I caught a ride from Erik and hung here. Like 1:00 they told us to go home for the day and Erik had just gotten out of school"
QUINCY-Your mother was worried.
AUNDREA-Talk about a crazy day.
MALACHI-Ditto. Just hope Junior had a more stable day than us.
QUINCY-This is why your cousins are home schooled
AUNDREA-Wish I was home schooled
MALACHI-I'll have to pass on that one sis.
QUINCY-You still have obligations even as a home schooled student, plus we both work.
At the hospital, Quincy introduced the kids to his boss and coworkers before they sat down to start their homework before the workday ended.
QJ arrived home, surprised to see Deja sitting on the porch, she normally did not get home for another hour at least. She had taken off early due to the incident at her children's school. Once she got the memo on Facebook.
QJ-"It was fine, my school counselor wanted me to give you this."
DEJA- You weren't in another fight were you?"
QJ-"Nothing like that, she told me that she met you at a function. You never told me that."
DEJA-"She's sweet. I enjoyed talking to her"
QJ-"Yeah, she's nice. She also talked about Ezra's 180 in confidence recently"
DEJA-"He's lucky to have you as a friend."
QJ-"That's what she said."
DEJA-"We need to get him over here with your cousins, have a snack and movie night or video games."
QJ-"You look exhausted. You okay?"
DEJA-"Your brother and sister had a bomb threat at school today, I spent all afternoon worrying about their well-being"
QJ-"Wait, what?"
DEJA-"someone called the school and said there was a bomb there."
QJ-"mom, I know what a threat is. I just can’t believe that it’s happening. Why can’t we get this kind of excitement at my school?"
DEJA-"The day I that I hear of a bomb threat at your school is the day I take you out of that school and put you in private school. You might wanna rethink that."
QJ-"No thanks."
QJ put down his backpack and begin working on a reading assignment while Deja got a glass of water. She sat on the couch and decided to catch up on a talk show while trying to process her day. Why did her son hope in the car with someone, why did her daughter wonder off? She wasn't sure how to address how they lost each other as they typically met up when school let out.
"How's it going in there?"
"All good on my end" QJ responded as he took out his math book. Briefly getting up to grab some chips, he asked what was for supper. "Take out, just gonna pick up pizza tonight. Your dad is gonna pick it up on the way in. Mama needs a break."
Finishing his homework, he played video games for the next couple of hours or so until his Quincy came home with supper. "Junior, come on down!"
He knew coming down it would be an interesting night of talk with the school day that his siblings had at school. Deja didn't waste anytime with what was on her mind.
"You two had my blood pressure acting up. YOU walk off campus without so much as any communication. YOU hoped in a car and....
Aundrea interjected- "Before you get too upset, let me explain. I looked for Malachi and couldn't find him. Around 1:00 pm, they told us that we need to leave as they investigated what was going on"
Malachi chimed in "Carson's brother had just gotten out of school. Carson and I had just walked across the street when Erik picked us up"
"How did you miss each other, that's what I'm not understanding"
"It was crowded. Between law enforcement and students who had taken off running fearing that they might have been blown up, it wasn't hard to miss"
"We still don't know if we are to report to school Monday"
"After a couple of hours, I begin to walk across the street and that's when I got word through an officer that we were to leave for the day"
"I heard the announcement on the intercom"
"We had no real time to prepare."
Deja took a moment to look at the school website and see if there had been any updates on what school status was when she saw that there was no bomb "Nothing was found so far, now they are trying to see where the call came from. No info regarding whether or not you will report to school"
"This probably isn't the time to ask you if I can go to a party in a week right?"
"What party"
"A pool party at Nicole's"
"We'll see"
"She's invited like the whole track team"
"In other news, my book has sold five more copies today, they actually want to interview me for the newspaper"
"You're kind of a local celebrity for the moment aren't you mom?"
"What did you say?"
"I haven't answered yet. They left me a message"
"Mom, you gotta do this"
"When would it be?"
"In a couple of weeks"
"To think we're talking about swimming right now, in about a month we'll be freezing and in the snow"
"What's going on with that trip?"
"It'll take place when the three of you are out of school next month. Junior, you got some cousins who are looking forward to meeting you."
"Looking forward to meeting them too. So how are we related again?"
"Your grandmother Helen is the first cousin of their grandmother, Paulette"
It was interesting that they had not met, but then again they hadn't met their close cousins in Long Beach until this year. The adults for the most part knew each other though the children would be complete strangers at this point. QJ begin to inquire as to why this was all coming out now. Why in his 8 1/2 years of life he had so little contact these cousins who live in the same state and are roughly around the same age.
"He's a little older than you. His mom is about three years younger than your Aunt Anita." Deja stated, attempting to answer some of these questions. "Paulette comes down to LA once or so every 10 years or your grandmother will go up there."
Reaching for another piece of cheese pizza, he asked "Perez?"
"His dad is Guatemalan, his mom is black. Aunt Yvonne's complexion. She had him her first year of college, so about 18-19. "
"Right"
Once they had all eaten dinner, Malachi went to his journal and entered:
"Dear Journal, some crazy shit went down today. We spent two hours in heat while before the administration gave us the okay to go home. Mid morning........we get an announcement that we need to step outside immediately. We get outside, we see law enforcement galore, eventually an officer tells us that a bomb threat has been called in and that we would likely be out of school for the rest of the day. With that in mind, me and a friend start walking, his brother picks us up. I have no idea where my sister is at this point and I later find out that she's at an ice cream parlor. She calls my dad, we spend the day at work with him. Now we find out that no bomb has been found so far. Yes we eventually were told that we could leave for the day, however I found myself walking off slightly early on. Mom freaked out when she found out that the two of us had separated. Like mom, I'm not a baby. Me and Aundrea are like the same age, even if she was born a few minutes early, but I digress. Right now, I'm kind of in Limbo."
It would give him something to talk to Taylor about tomorrow afternoon.
MALACHI-"Hey mom?" Could I use your Skype tomorrow?"
DEJA-"Why?"
MALACHI-"I wanted to connect with Taylor tomorrow afternoon"
DEJA-"She has Skype?"
MALACHI-"Her dad does"
DEJA-"I guess....as long as it's for this only"
MALACHI-"Sweet!"
DEJA-"Wanna come watch this old black and white with me? You know your dad isn't interested in this kind of stuff. If there's no eye candy, it won't get your sister's attention and you know your brother isn't trying to watch this, no gore"
MALACHI-"Alright"
Malachi sat on the couch, grabbing a hand full of pop corn. "Can you pause for me? I'm gonna go grab a soda"
"I loved the fashion during these times" Deja said as she opened a candy bar.
"Candy too mom?"
DEJA-"I know son, I shouldn't but what else does one do when watching movies all night?"
They eventually finished the movie when Malachi went to check the status of the school's website, "No update as of yet"
When he came back to the den, Deja put Hulu on where she found some old comedies from the 80s and 90s. "This is what we used to watch growing up, you know, when you watch these shows as an adult you catch things that you didn't realize."
She had a good time laughing at some of these old shows and as an adult, they were far funnier than they were when she was an adolescent. Malachi, on the other hand, begin to have an appreciation for the older comedy of his parent's youth. Eventually he dozed off on the couch. After about an hour, he got up to get a glass of water, used the bathroom and went to bed, not taking long at all to fall asleep.
"Hey mom" Aundrea said as she came downstairs.
DEJA-"Hey sweetie, what are you still doing up?"
AUNDREA-"It's the weekend, nowhere to be so I've been chatting with Brianna online"
DEJA-Your brother just went to sleep.
AUNDREA-Already?
DEJA-"Oh yeah. Well, come on sit down with me. How's school going for you? Where did you go when you left?"
AUNDREA-"Ice cream shop right there, I used a friends flip phone to call dad. Mom, it was crazy. DEJA-"Sure isn't something I'm used to seeing at school. Other than that, schools going fine. I'm passing everything. Teacher said my last essay was great. Made an A+ on my last math quiz."
AUNDREA-"Good. Glad to hear that. You know? When I was in high school, we had two bomb threats. Two of them my 11th grade year. The first one was just before the Christmas Holidays. We were heading to school when we got to the parking lot, the sheriff department was directing traffic the other way, informing us that the campus was closed. They did find out who did it, however they didn't disclose it to the student population. The second one, on the other hand was actually on a day where it was supposed to be a tornado drill. However, someone called a bomb threat from the convenience store located just down the road from us. So you know they tracked the number with no problem. Gas stations have camera's everywhere. They pulled the phone records to see the time it was called, they matched the footage as no one else had been there within the last two hours prior. Needless to day, he got 17 years in jail. He was 17 at the time. Assuming he's still alive, he's only been out about three years."
AUNDREA-"Wow!"
DEJA-"More than likely, this is a high school student. That's typically who it is. It never ceases to amaze me. As easy as it is to track these calls, there will always be those few who feel that they can outsmart the state. This will be approximately 20 years in prison whoever did it, can kiss their life good bye"
Aundrea sat silent for a bit. "You okay, honey?"
"Yeah mom, I'm okay"
Aundrea had an idea as to who this may be. Of course, she didn't have any proof, however as one to follow gossip there were hints given as to who may do this and why.
"So mom? Did you know the guy?"
"I did not."
"Not to generalize, but was the guy black or white?"
"He was white."
"Oh"
"I know you wouldn't do this but I'm gonna say it anyway. Do not get the idea of doing this. You will get caught."
"Mom, I think we're good in that area"
"Just have to put it out there. I'd be doing a disservice if I didn't. Well I'm going to bed, don't stay up all night"
"Goodnight."
[SATURDAY 11/4/17]
The following morning around 10:00 am, Caleb and Noah came over. "Good morning"
"Hey boys, come on in"
Malachi and Junior were already sitting on the sofa when asked if they'd like to play a game of soccer.
"Aundrea, c'mon"
They got on their bikes and headed to Calebs house, where the goal had been set and they begin picking teams. While they were out, Deja decided to reflect on summers in SWLA. She thought about time she camped in the Cameron Parish. Uncle Pete liked to fish and at Rutherford, he always caught much redfish. That day was typically followed by a fish fry. A fish fry with plenty of sides. She was momentarily interrupted by her husband handing her the telephone, "Azalea"
DEJA-Hello?
AZALEA-Hey ma'am, what's going on?
DEJA-Not too much on my end. The kids just went to a neighbors house, they're having a soccer game. What about you?
AZALEA-Dominic is playing outside, Gabriel is sitting on the couch next to me and Mia is in here crawling. I'm catching up on a soap opera. Anyway, you know mom is going to Sacramento in a couple of days right?
DEJA-No, I didn't know anything.
AZALEA-She's going see her cousin up there.
DEJA-That's nice. How's academia treating you?
AZALEA-Grading papers later on. I'm gonna type of my study guides for my final exams. They are going to be comprehensive.
DEJA-I hated those in college.
AZALEA-Alot do, but to me, you should not throw away any notes until a class is over.
DEJA-Most of them probably won't remember this. My students barely remember content from a week ago much less months.
AZALEA-So once you get your doctorate, you gonna stick to high school?
DEJA-Maybe, and then be an adjunt instructor at one of the Universities out here.
AZALEA-Right now I'm in a dispute with a possible plagiarism case, and that's kind of what I need to get your viewpoint on. You busy?
DEJA-Not right now, come on over. I'll show your what plagiarism software I use.
AZALEA-I'll see you in a bit.
While she waited for her sister to arrive, the kids had just taken a gatorade break after playing their first game. Caleb asked Malachi if he had any updates. "Well, it's been confirmed that school will be closed Monday."
CALEB-"Kick ass, it gets me out of a math test"
QJ-"No fair, so you and Aundrea are gonna sit around and watch TV while I have to see the guidance counselor."
CALEB-"Any word on who?"
AUNDREA-"Nope. Nothing on my end."
They chatted for about 30 minutes before getting back to the yard to resume. They played about two more games before heading home for a lunch break. Upon arriving home, Aundrea raided the refrigerator for lunch meat and bread when Deja pointed out a pot of taco meat.
"On second thought........." Aundrea said closing the refrigerator, she grabbed a plate and put some shells in the oven. "Damn!" Deja exclaimed, in reference to how sweaty her three were. She continued. "The two of you will be out of school Monday, however I just got word that the school will be open on Tuesday."
"Figured" Malachi said. Aundrea was curious to know who it was. "Well, it was a high schooler, made the call from a payphone outside of a grocery store. He will be spending the next 17 years of his life behind bars."
AUNDREA-"How old was he?"
DEJA-"17!"
QJ-"So he'll be over 30 when he gets out"
DEJA-"Yes, people take these threats very seriously. In this time, one can't afford NOT to."
AUNDREA-"So what was it?"
DEJA-"A bookbag located under the bleacher of the football field"
MALACHI-"How'd he get it there and how did no one ever report this to lost of found?"
DEJA-"We don't know. Sometimes I don't know what the hell goes throght these teens' heads"
After eating, they sat outside for about 40 minutes to let their food digest before going back to resume their soccer games which would continue until approximately 6:00 pm.
"Made six goals!" QJ said as they wrapped it up.
MALACHI-"Noah is a beast!"
AUNDREA-"Eddie's team kicked all our asses in the last game"
CARSON-"So what you gonna do the rest of your day?"
MALACHI-"Shower, then get online"
AUNDREA-"Hittin up our cousin?"
MALACHI-"Yep"
CARSON-"Catch y'all later"
NOAH-"Later QJ"
QJ-"Later man"
After having gotten out of their athletic attire, Malachi made the call to Taylor via skype where they'd catch one.
CONVERSATION
TAYLOR-Hey!!!! So we finally see each other.
MALACHI-Yeah, remotely but it's nice to see what you look like
TAYLOR-Same here, looks like you've got company with you.
AUNDREA-Hi, I'm Aundrea
QJ-I'm Quincy
TAYLOR-Hey y'all.
AUNDREA-So, how's it down there in Louisiana
TAYLOR-It's okay. Kind of warm. It's getting dark early, Daylight Savings Time just ended so it's like getting dark by 5:00pm.
MALACHI-Well, the two of us had a crazy day at school
TAYLOR-Do tell.
AUNDREA-We had a bomb threat
MALACHI-What she said
AUNDREA-Mid morning, we were told to leave school immediately
TAYLOR-So what did you to today Malachi?
MALACHI-The three of us have been playing soccer in the neighborhood all day. Took a shower, now we're skyping with you
TAYLOR-Well the three of you are supposed to be coming down sometime in July next year. Did your mom tell you?
AUNDREA-No, haven't heard anything.
TAYLOR-We're looking forward to seeing y'all.
MALACHI-Same here.
TAYLOR-Well gotta get ready for dinner, I'll catch the three of you later.
AUNDREA-Bye
After Taylor ended the call, she went to the kitchen to fix a plate of pinto beans. "So, did y'all win any money when y'all went to LC?"
"Not really" Kima responded as she poured a cup of sprite. Jameson chimed in with the admission of winning about $900 at Delta Downs
"I won about $500 at the Isle of Capri. And the winnings were less as the days went by" Kima continued. "What about you three?"
CRYSTAL- "Not much went down on this end"
KYLA-"Is there a reason that you didn't just go to the Belle"
JAMESON-"Lake Charles has nicer facilities"
KIMA-"Plus we had points. that we needed to use."
JAMESON-"Do as we say and not as we do. Don't develop this habit"
An added bonus was that the bars in Lake Charles stayed open relatively late compared to those in Baton Rouge. In BR, the Belle casino bar closed at midnight. In LC, one can get up at 1:00 am and have a drink somewhere. Furthermore with the crime in Baton Rouge as high as it was, he just didn't feel comfortable going out in Baton Rouge anymore. He typically went to work and went home. He was hesitant to allow his children to go out with the fear that they'd be the witness to something they might not recover from. He was just waiting on two of them to graduate high school and then move to an outer lying area.
TAYLOR-So through my Skype with Malachi, I was able to meet his brother and sister.
KIMA-That's nice.
KYLA-I assume that we could be meeting them this summer
JAMESON-We're trying to get that worked out.
TAYLOR-Looking forward to it. They seem like they'd be fun to hang w/.
JAMESON-Me and their mom had fun as kids. They came down during the summers. Growing up as an only child, I looked forward to it. They were like the sisters that I never had.
Taylor went silent for a moment, not telling her father that she had read the letter that Anna left him confessing the whole ordeal and the reason behind why he was raised by his aunt and not his mother. He didn't feel that dinner would be the place the tell them what he didn't realize that they knew, even if they didn't know the full extent of it. In his mind, he wondered why? What? How come him and not Yvonne as well?
He thought about it for several nights a week since Anna confessed it. He felt in a way he was deprived of a better life in Los Angeles, but on the other hand, it was nice to have siblings that he didn't know he had. Him and Yvonne were roughly a year apart in age. Growing up raised by Anna as a single parent, he missed out on the father in the home, however he his uncles in his life to feel the void.
JAMESON-"So what were you and Malachi talking about?"
TAYLOR-"Not too much, they're out of school until Tuesday. They had a bomb threat. Today, they've been playing soccer in the neighborhood. He's a bookworm. I got to meet his sister and brother in our chat today. Him and his sister are twins. His brother is around Crystal's age. Seem like cool kids."
CRYSTAL-"Does he like sports?"
TAYLOR-"Yeah, they're all athletic"
CRYSTAL-"We are speaking the same language"
KIMA-Well what about you Kyla? What's going on?
KYLA-We had a college fair the other day.
KIMA-Well, are you thinking about colleges? Maybe doing some early admission?
KYLA-Maybe next year I'll do some.
KIMA-What colleges are you checking out?
KYLA-I might do go to BRCC first and then transfer to ULL.
JAMESON-Lafayette?
KYLA-Yeah, I like Lafayette.
JAMESON-Didn't want to go to LSU?
KYLA-Too big.
TAYLOR-LSU is like a city within a city
KIMA-I went to SUNO. I went to an HBCU.
JAMESON-Wherever you go, you need to do your research to see if the classes you take from BRCC will be accepted at the University of her choice.
KIMA-I believe BRCC does early admission.
JAMESON-I know McNeese does
TAYLOR-Could always do trade school or technical school.
JAMESON-I was reading an article suggested that more were doing that instead of college.
KIMA-HBCUs are good about finding internships for black students.
KYLA-Maybe I'll luck out and get an athletic scholarship somewhere
KIMA-Maybe. But it's probably time to start studying for the ACT or the SAT, maybe get TOPS.
JAMESON-Louisiana is the only state that I know of that emphasizes the ACT over the SAT. Everywhere else, the SAT is what's used.
KIMA-I really don't like standardized tests, they don't give the most accurate representation of how smart someone is.
JAMESON-Right! I'm terrible at those but I was good student.
After finishing dinner, Kima and Kyla decided to put on a movie while Jameson, Crystal, and Taylor decided to go out.
"Where y'all going" Kima asked.
"Just gonna go to Perkins Rowe"
"Y'all be careful out there, we gonna watch this movie"
"See y'all in a bit"
In Barnes and Noble, Jameson picked up an SAT book, while Taylor went to the fiction section and begin diving into a story. He picked up a math book for Crystal to prepare for the LEAP test coming up in the spring. "We're are gonna get you some prep stuff in addition to the practice tests on the website"
"Dad, that's like 5 months away"
"It'll be here sooner than you realize"
"I'm gonna get me a cold drink, y'all want anything?"
"Sure, I'll get a DP"
He bought a Dr. Pepper and Taylor a lemonade. While he, picked up a book on coding. It had been something he wanted to learn to do for some time, and perhaps start a side business. A small business. His reading was interrupted by a phone call from Clarissa that begin with a bit of small talk, eventually she invited him to trip to Colorado this Christmas.
"Gotta make sure that Kyla doesn't have any tests. I may have to leave early than some of you. I could go for about a week or so."
Clarissa understood. He looked forward to the idea of a white Christmas. He had to think about the last time he even saw one close to that. It might have been when he 15 and had gone to Arkansas for a week during Thanksgiving. Now in his late 40s and the last few winters feeling more like Summer in December than Christmas, he was looking forward to a change. "Snow angels, a ski resort. I'm in here in Barnes & Noble now you got me looking at the vacation magazines." They laughed before she hung up. "Talk to you later cuz."
Once he grabbed some magazines and took a seat Crystal asked who that was. "That was my cousin, Clarissa"
CRYSTAL-"What'd she want?"
"What have a told you about getting in grown folks business?" he asked, before he continued "She called me to invite us to spend a week in Colorado this Christmas break."
TAYLOR-"So is that why you've got all these vacation magazines in front of you?"
After staying at Barnes and Noble for about an hour longer, they headed back home, where Kima was cuddled on the sofa and Kyla was dozing out in the La-z Boy chair.
"How was your movie?"
"It was good"
Crystal and Taylor went to their rooms while Jameson discussed the trip invite. "So you mean I can finally wear those snowboots that I've had in my closet forever?" They begin singing "White Christmas" while laughing when suddenly Kima begin singing "Like a Dream"
"C'mon now, Chrisette Michele?"
"Yep" she continued. "If make the request now, may AT&T will give me that time off"
JAMESON-"They should , as hard as you work for them"
KIMA-"I have not had a real vacation in two years"
JAMESON-"I'm civil service and I earn a lot of comp time, but I never get to use it"
KIMA-"I'll make my request tomorrow, you need to do the same."
JAMESON-"Duly noted. We looked at some school prep books"
KIMA-"For what?"
JAMESON-"Kyla needs to start prepping for the ACT"
KIMA-"Who's to say she's even interested I college?"
JAMESON-"Not interested? Not an option"
KIMA-"Don't scare out child away. She can always go to college later. My coworker is doing that right now. She's getting her degree in General Studies online at McNeese"
JAMESON-"She gonna get a master's degree?"
KIMA-"Doubt it. She's probably gonna retire from AT&T but she wanted to get a degree. She started way back but took breaks off and on like some do."
Kima left to go to bed while Jameson turned on ESPN. "Goodnight"
"Night"
He fell asleep on the couch while catching some sports highlights. Taylor passed by to get a snack. before. It never failed. It wasn't unusually for her dad to hog the sofa and fall asleep right afterwards.
"Who's that?"
"It's me." Taylor said. "Dad, you were knocked out"
"I know. I'm about to go to bed. You don't stay up all night. We've got church in the morning"
"I won't. See you in the A.M."
Church was interesting. After a 45 minute P&W session, there was a collection and one number. The sermon could be described as one describing the signs of the time. It was a message of urgency. A code red type of message. The kind of sermon that left you feeling like "oh damn! He was talking to me." The church service began at 10:00 am and let out at noon. They ate lunch at the Golden Coral where the conversation about Colorado was bought up again.
"So it's official?" Crystal asked.
JAMESON-"No not yet. Still gotta get the time approved"
TAYLOR-"It would be nice to have a winter where I'm not dressed for the beach"
KYLA-"Right? We wear our jackets the moment it gets cool out just to say we've worn it once"
Taylor was probably looking forward to the trip to most due to talking with her cousin remotely the last couple of months, getting to know him and what he was about. "Maybe I'll get a lesson in skiing" she said as she took a bite of food. Crystal chimed in stating she was more interested in making snow angels or getting on a sled. "I wonder if we can rent snowmobiles out there"
"You're guess is as good as mine, Ky"
KIMA-Y'all are really turning this into a vacation aren't you
KYLA-Well isn't that what this is?
JAMESON-Yes, but it's also serves as a purpose of getting you with family that you didn't know you had
TAYLOR-That's a bonus
The family finished their afternoon out with the buffet around 2:30 pm before returning home.
PART 27 TO FOLLOW.
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