Page 18 of Keeping Busy
I winked at him. “Hope you gassed up.”
“Oh, and I’m driving?”
“Yes, sir.”
In the vein of being the hostess with the mostest, when Janaye Goode found out that Maddox and I were headed to their house, she put out a spread. She had a taco bar set up on the island of her chef’s kitchen.
“Mom, you did too much.” I told her, as I took in the bowls filled with pulled chicken, strips of steak, ground turkey, diced onions, chopped tomatoes, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, shredded cheese and sliced limes.
“It’s fine, Mecca. Fix plates and come into the dining room so we can talk. Your father’s been nervous all day, worrying the heck outta me about what you could want to talk about. I didn’t tell him that I saw you in my Instagram feeds, looking all...cozy with Busy Mayhew. Now, here he is...standing in my house with you. I’m intrigued, daughter. Hurry up, fix plates.” She prompted and flitted away from me.
That was another thing my mother did, she flitted.
After Maddox and I fixed ourselves plates on my mother’s good China, we met my parents in the dining room. She had already placed the flowers Maddox presented her with at the front door, in the middle of the table. That was good. But my father was wearing a frown on his handsome face, that was bad.
“So, everybody knows each other.” I started off stating the obvious. “You both know Maddox - Busy, lived across the street from Auntie Bo, before he left for college. And Busy you know my parents.”
“It’s nice to see you both, again.” He said politely.
So far, so good.
“Okay,” I blew out a deep breath. “The other day, Auntie Bo asked me if I could come over to her house. When I got there, she asked me to do Busy a favor, because he’s had some...challenges in the public eye, lately, and…”
“Challenges?” My dad guffawed. “That’s what we’re calling them?”
“That’s what they are, Bryan.” My mom said, giving Maddox a warm look and reaching over to pat his arm. “He’s young. He just lost his grandmother. He’s made some missteps.” She shrugged her shapely shoulders. “It happens.”
“Okay.” My dad acquiesced with a short nod of his head, then turned his eyes on me. “What dohismissteps have to do with you?”
“I’m getting to that, Daddy.”
“Get there faster, MeMe.”
I nodded at him, ready to take the plunge and just spill the whole story, but Maddox held up his hand.
“These are your parents, but this is my situation. I can level up.” He winked at me. “I’ll take it from here.”
“Oh, you’ll take it, huh, big guy?” My father’s eyebrows were practically touching his hairline. “Okay, the floor is yours.”
“I was mourning my grandmother’s passing while simultaneously denying that she had passed, and I found myself behaving in ways that were outside of my character.” Maddox began. “I’m not proud of the things I did...the mistakes I made. Actually, I’m embarrassed by them. But yo, it’s out there on the internet, and most of the videos went viral, so, yeah. Anyway, as a man, all I can do is press forward. My management rep suggested a few things that would help put the spotlight back on my positive moves, instead of focusing on my fu...mess ups. Finding a nice young lady, and giving the appearance that I’m settling down is one of the suggestions. Miss Bo asked Mecca if she would do me the favor of acting as my partner/lady friend, while I put my reputation back together, and Mecca was gracious enough to agree to help me.”
I had to admit that Maddox was much more succinct in telling the story than I would’ve been.
My mother looked at me with wet eyes. “MeMe, I’m so proud of you. You’re such a sweetheart.”
“I don’t know about all that, mama.” I said honestly. “I’m saying, I wasn’t immediately here for helping Busy. You know he’s funny acting. Auntie Bo kinda had to twist my arm to get me to agree to help him.”
My father laughed out loud at that. Then he spent several seconds that felt like hours, quietly moving his piercing gaze between Maddox and me. “Busy, I’ve always liked you.”
I practically choked on my soft-shelled taco. Since when did Bryan Goode like any guy that he wasn’t related to by blood?
My father continued. “I’ve admired your self-discipline since you were a kid. My daughter thinks you’re ‘funny acting’, but I know better. I know it wasn’t easy ignoring my daughters and nieces - day after day, year after year. There are a lot of them, and they’re all beautiful. I was a teenage dude once, I know the types of thoughts that run through the minds of pubescent boys. But you didn’t shit where you ate, and that was impressive. I told your grandmother once, that with that kind of self-control, there was no way you weren’t gonna make it to the pros.
I can’t say that I’m surprised that if Bo was doing the picking, she would pick MeMe to play the part. Bo and your grandmother have been shoving you down Meme’s throat for at least the last six, seven years.”
Trust my father to always keep it a buck. No discretion whatsoever.
“I understand why they thought they could match-make y’all, though. You and MeMe are a lot alike. The focus. The drive. The self-control. She’s a dancer, self-discipline is her life. You’re an athlete, same exact story. Either one of you let your self-discipline slip…your career’s in jeopardy. You know that first hand, Busy, you’re living it right now.
