Page 33 of U + Me : The Finale
“I’ve been focused on you taking over Kendall Logistics because I have colon cancer.”
“Oh my God!” Kimmie cried. “How long have you known?”
“It’s popped up here and there before. I get tested regularly and it’s mostly nothing but this time they ended up finding?—”
“Wait, what do you mean this time?” Kimmie asked.
I glanced at my mom, and she moved closer to the bed then laid her hand on Mr. K’s shoulder. She was a pillar of support for him. I could feel how hard this was for him to tell us what was going on. I had a million questions of my own, but I respected the fact he was Kimmie’s dad first. It was only right that she had her moment uninterrupted with him.
“It’s not the first scare,” Mr. K replied as he tried to console Kimmie. “It’s not advanced, so that’s good news; it was caught early.”
“Why are you downplaying it? If it wasn’t serious, you wouldn’t be here.” Kimmie questioned.
“I’m here because I had a bad reaction to a new medication they started me on. I collapsed in front of Pamela, scared her half to death?—”
“I’m just glad you’re okay,” my mom interrupted, speaking for the first time.
“They gotta make sure the old medication is completely out of system before starting me on something else.”
Hearing Mr. K explain how things happened I could understand why my mom sounded terrified. Hell, if someone, especially someone I loved, collapsed in front of me, I would lose my shit too. And because of my dad, and him suddenly dying, I knew that was a trigger for her.
Ermias and Darius ended up not visiting with Mr. K because he was tired and needed to get rest by the end of our stay. My mom stayed with him and Kimmie went back to her place with Darius. Since Ermias’s stuff was at my house, he and I went back to my place.
“Do you feel better?” Ermias asked as we coasted down Michigan Avenue in the city.
“Much better.” I exclaimed.
I had spent the majority of the ride telling him what was going on.
“It’s good that they caught it early. He will recover and bounce back,” Ermias encouraged, and I couldn’t agree more.
When Ermias dropped me off, he came inside to get his things. He didn’t stay long because it had been a long day, and we both were tired. Once he left out, I went into my master and instantly things felt off. I went into the bathroom and took another shower because the smell of the hospital was something I could barely stomach. Putting on my robe with nothing on underneath, I went into my bedroom and that was when I noticed the boxes that the earrings, necklace, and charm were in were on my bed, open. The earrings and the E charm weremissing. The chain was still there but it was lying next to the boxes.
I looked through my suitcase and couldn’t find them. I searched all over my room and they still were nowhere in sight. I ran to my dresser and checked my jewelry box to see if any more of my stuff was taken and it wasn’t. If someone broke into my place, they would’ve taken more than the earrings and the charm.
After I ‘bout drove myself crazy looking for the jewelry, I gave up and called Ermias to see if he had it.
“You sure they weren’t in your stuff?” I asked, hoping he would check again with me on the phone.
“I’m positive. I’ve unpacked already. Did that when I first got home.”
“I shoulda known.”
“I woulda called and told you if I had them. I’ma call the hotel to see if you left them in Vegas.”
“I’m positive I didn’t leave them; they were in the boxes. If I woulda left them, I wouldn’t have the boxes either. I have the chain, just not the charm and earrings.”
“Maybe someone from the airport took them.”
“Babe, you not hearing me. The boxes was sitting on my bed, empty. I didn’t leave them like that!” I felt like crying. I was so frustrated and upset.
“Try not to get yourself upset. When we first pulled up, we were tossing shit everywhere, rushing so we could go to the hospital. I’m positive they are there, just gotta find where. I’ll come help you look soon as I get off.”
“You going to the club tonight?”
“Yeah, I’ve missed enough days.”
“It’s been a long day. I thought you was staying in and resting?”
