Nobody's Son (6 page)

Ellen sat quietly on her sister's living-room sofa flipping through a magazine while Aaliyah stared at the television. She'd been watching the same DVD over and over again all afternoon, but Ellen didn't mind. She was grateful for anything that would keep her quiet and occupied.

When Ellen arrived at the hospital the previous weekend, she'd found out that her sister had suffered a mild concussion. Although Jenise denied it, Ellen knew it was the result of Reggie's latest beating. The doctors questioned her repeatedly and even had a social worker come in to speak with her, but Jenise still would not admit that her head injury was caused by her husband's fist slamming into her head over and over again. Ellen had hoped that the police would be called and charges would be filed against Reggie, but as long as Jenise refused to cooperate, there was very little that they could do.

As a condition of her release, the doctor had advised that Jenise should not be left alone, and that she needed to be observed for the next several days to make sure she didn't black out once again. They arrived at her apartment in the wee hours of the morning on that Sunday and realized that Reggie was gone. Ellen felt relieved and immediately agreed to stay with her sister for as long as she needed her.

It had been a week, and although Reggie had not returned, Jenise was feeling much better and had not had any episodes of confusion or dizziness for a few days. Ellen had made up her mind that if everything went well with her sister's health for the rest of the day, she would return to her home after church on Sunday.

“Auntie Ellen, can I watch it again?” Aaliyah asked.

Ellen looked up from her magazine and suddenly noticed that the DVD had ended.

“Are you sure you don't want to watch something else?” she asked. “You've watched this one all day.”

“
Shrek
is my favorite. Please can I watch it one more time?”

No matter how hard she tried, Ellen could not resist her niece's beautiful brown eyes when they were peering up at her, pleading. “Of course, you can, honey. I'm going to fix dinner so that it will be ready when your mom wakes up from her nap.”

“Sketti, sketti,” Aaliyah squealed.

Ellen laughed. “No, we had spaghetti last night. How about we have chicken fingers and broccoli with lots of cheese sauce?”

“Yay,” Aaliyah cheered happily.

Ellen started the DVD once again for her niece, then went into the kitchen to cook dinner. She took the chicken fingers from the refrigerator and after washing them thoroughly, she seasoned and battered them before placing them on a pan that she put into the oven to cook. Next, she boiled some water on the stove and placed the basket full of broccoli over it to steam. She went back to the living room to check on Aaliyah; then she grabbed her magazine and returned to the kitchen. She was sitting at the table waiting for the food to get done when she heard the sound of a key in the front-door lock.

“Daddy!” she heard Aaliyah say.

“Hey, baby girl, where's your mommy? Is she cooking dinner? Something sure smells good in here.” Reggie walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see Ellen scowling at him with her arms folded across her chest. “Oh, it's you. What are you doing here, Ellen?”

“I picked your wife up from the hospital last week, and the doctor said that she couldn't be alone. I've been here all week. Where have
you
been?”

Reggie turned his back to her and walked toward the bedroom. “None of your business,” he yelled over his shoulder.

“Reggie, wait a minute. I need to talk to you.”

“Can't it wait? I want to see if my wife is okay.”

Ellen walked into the living room behind him. “No, it can't wait. I need to talk to you about something important before you see her.”

“What is it now, Ellen?” he asked with an annoyed tone.

Glancing down at Aaliyah who was engrossed in the television, Ellen turned toward the kitchen. “Can we talk in there?” she asked.

Reluctantly, Reggie followed her back into the kitchen. He pulled out a chair and slumped down into it. “Make it quick,” he ordered.

Ellen sat down across from him and carefully chose her words. “Look, I know that you will not admit it, but you are the reason my sister is lying back there with a mild concussion.”

Reggie opened his mouth to protest, but Ellen interrupted him and held up her hand.

“Like I said, I know you won't admit it, and I really don't care if you do or not. I know what I know. The reason I'm talking to you is because regardless of how you treat her, for whatever reason, my sister loves you.”

A smug smile spread across Reggie's face. “Yeah, she does,” he said.

“If you love her too, then I'm asking you. No, I'm pleading with you to please stop using her for a punching bag. My sister is a beautiful woman, and no matter what you are going through with your music career, she does not deserve your wrath.” Ellen turned and reached into her purse. She pulled out a piece of paper and unfolded it. “My church has a domestic violence class. It's for couples like you and Jenise. They teach you how to control your anger and turn to God when you are stressed out rather than lashing out at each other. I know that you believe in God; you sing about Him. All I'm asking is that you and Jenise attend these classes. You need help. You both need it.”

Reggie snatched the paper from her hands and crumpled it up. “I don't need to go to no domestic violence classes. Me and Jenise are just fine. Besides, if I went to those classes, it would ruin my career before it started. How can I go into churches in this area and minister my music if they think I've been hitting my wife? Forget it!”

“How can you go into churches in this community and minister your music when you
know
that you hit your wife?” Ellen asked.

“Stay outta our business, Ellen.” Reggie pointed a long, skinny finger at her face. “What goes on between me and Jenise is none of your business. You got that?”

Ellen sighed loudly. “Yeah, I got it.” She stood up from the table and went over to the stove to check on dinner.

“Leave that and I'll finish cooking. I'm glad you stayed with Jenise while I was away, but I'm home now, so you can get your stuff and bounce.”

Ellen glared at him and was just about to refuse to leave when Jenise walked into the kitchen. Her eyes lit up like a lightning bug when she saw Reggie. “Baby, when did you get home?” she asked. She reached down and hugged him tightly.

“I just got here a few minutes ago,” he said, hugging her back. “Why didn't you tell me what the doctor said when I called last week?”

Jenise pulled out a chair and sat beside him. She glanced over at her sister before answering. “I didn't want to worry you while you were working in the studio at your mom's house. Besides, Ellen didn't mind staying here, did you, Sissy?” she asked.

Although she didn't mind staying with her sister at all Ellen was livid to find out that her sister had been in contact with Reggie and had not told him what was going on. When she'd asked about him, Jenise had pretended that she had no idea where he'd gone or when he'd be back. As much as she loved her sister, Ellen was growing weary of the lies she constantly told to protect her husband.

“Listen, since Reggie is here, I'm gonna go ahead and go home.” She gave Jenise a quick hug, then left them alone in the kitchen. Her stomach did flip-flops as she heard the two of them laughing and giggling with each other like teenagers. Ellen was aware that there were many times when Reggie was very affectionate and loving toward her sister, but in her mind, those times did not outweigh the multiple times that he treated her as if she was less than a stray dog he'd found wandering in the street. No matter what anyone said, that wasn't her idea of what love was all about.

She went into Aaliyah's bedroom that she had shared with her for the past week and grabbed her overnight bag and threw her things randomly into it. On her way out the door she gave her niece a big hug and a kiss. “Do you remember when I showed you how to call nine-one-one?” she asked her niece.

“I do, Auntie Ellen,” she answered.

“What's my phone number?”

Aaliyah grinned and recited the number proudly, “404-555-0988.”

“That's perfect. Now if you ever need anything you can call me, or you can call nine-one-one if there's a problem. Do you understand?”

Aaliyah nodded her little head, and her ponytails bobbed back and forth.

Ellen went to the door, then instructed Aaliyah to lock it securely after she was gone. As she descended the staircase on her way to the parking lot, she began to fervently pray.

“Dear Lord, please take care of my sister and my niece. Protect them, Lord. Keep them both safe from hurt, harm, or danger. Touch my sister's heart and open her eyes. Help her to see through the love she feels and protect her and her child. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.”

Since it was still early in the evening Ellen decided against going straight home. Instead, she dialed Semaj's number and asked if he wouldn't mind having some company.

“You know you can come by here anytime,” he said as he smiled into the phone.

“Have you had dinner yet? I can stop and pick up something for both of us,” she suggested.

“No, you don't have to do that. I'll order from Vonnie's Soul Food, and the delivery should be here by the time you arrive. What do you want me to order for you?”

Maneuvering through traffic Ellen tried to quickly remember what her favorite dish was from Vonnie's. “I think I'm in the mood for barbeque ribs and a baked sweet potato,” she said finally.

“That sounds delicious. I think I'll order the same. See you soon, sweetheart. I love you,” Semaj said before hanging up the phone.

Ellen felt relieved that he finally seemed to be in a good mood. Although he'd apologized for his disappearing act the previous week, Ellen couldn't help but still feel concerned about the entire situation. In all honesty, she felt the excuse he'd given her was just plain lame. When he finally called after not answering his phone for four days, he'd told Ellen that he was homesick so he went back to South Carolina for a few days. He told her that a story he was working on had triggered some memories of his grandparents, and he just felt the need to be inside their home and around their things until the feeling passed. When she'd asked what story, he told her it was a story about an elderly couple just like his grandparents who'd passed away following a bad car accident on the same day. While the story somewhat mirrored what had happened in his family, Ellen knew that he covered similar stories all the time and he'd never acted that way before. Since that time he'd been different. She couldn't put her finger on exactly what it was, but she was sure that he simply wasn't acting like himself any longer.

Semaj had been moody since the day they'd met. Ellen had often joked that he had more mood swings than a pregnant woman. One minute he was happy and acting like he was on the top of the world, and the next, he'd be melancholy and sad. They'd discussed it with their pastor during their premarital counseling sessions, and the pastor had chalked it all up to Semaj's tragic loss of his grandparents at such a young age. She'd learned to live with it, and it had actually become a part of his charm. She was also a loner by nature, so if he wasn't in the best mood, she'd use that time to do things for herself. But the mood he'd been in for the past week was way beyond anything she'd ever experienced with him before. He wasn't sad or mad, and he didn't seem annoyed or even downhearted. If she had to give it a name, she'd have to say that he simply acted lost. It was as if he was behind a brick wall and couldn't find his way out.

The delivery driver for Vonnie's Soul Food pulled into the parking lot of Semaj's apartments at the same time as Ellen, and they walked to the door together while she savored the smell of the ribs. As Semaj paid the driver, she went into the kitchen to look for drinks. As usual, Semaj had several bottles of his favorite soft drink in the fridge. She took two glasses from the cabinet, filled them with ice, and poured them both full of Mountain Dew Code Red
.
She took them into the dining room and sat down at the table. Semaj came over and set the plates of food down in front of them. Without a word he sat down beside her and grabbed her hand. Ellen knew that was his way of asking her to say grace. She blessed the food, and then the two of them dug in.

“These ribs are delicious,” Semaj mumbled in between bites. “It's too bad Vonnie doesn't cater. I'd love to have her food for our wedding reception.”

“Speaking of our wedding reception, we need to set up an appointment with Cedric to taste the menu selections for the reception,” Ellen said.

Semaj wiped barbeque sauce from his face. “Are you sure we can afford this guy? I know he's a friend of yours, but I'm worried that even with the discount, it's going to break the bank.”

“Oh, that's right. I didn't tell you. Do you remember the little girl you found last year named Cyndi?”

“Of course, I do. Some idiot crackhead tried to sell her for a hit. Rip used his connections to help me find her.”

Ellen grinned eagerly, “Well, that little girl was Cedric's sister. After he found out who I am marrying, he insisted that he cater the wedding for us absolutely free.”

Semaj stared at her in disbelief. “Are you kidding me? He actually said that it's free?”

“Yes. I told him that you love what you do and that you are not in it for the money, but he didn't care. He said that he wanted to bless us. I couldn't say no to a blessing.”