Page 15 of Off the Charts
Mama waddled into my arms. She was still chained up at the wrist, torso, and ankles. The CO allowed me to hug her before he chained her to the table by the feet and undid the other ones. She jumped at the guard, and he blew her a kiss that made her bite her lip before turning to me with a big smile.
“Hey—”
“What the fuck was that?”
“Oh? Big Red?” She pointed toward him but was whispering. “I be knocking that down every now and then. That’s how I get my phone and shit. Plus, your mama got needs. Ain’t too many of these guards that can handle an old thang like me.”
“Aight. Aight. Forget I asked.” My stomach turned hearing that. Readjusting in my seat, I shook my head. “How are you? It’s good to see you,” I took her hands in mine, and she squeezed them tight forcing me to exhale. Regardless of where we stood, there was nothing comparable to a mother’s love.
“It’s so good to see you. I miss you and V every single day,” she kissed one of my hands. “And I’m good. It’s cool in here. I like this facility better than back home for sure. They way more chill,” she looked around. “Catch me up. How’s life? How’s work?”
Looking at Sticky, I could see that jail was taking a toll on her. She was a few years shy of sixty and honestly looked a little older. Her hair was salt and pepper, split into pigtails. Her skin didn’t glow as much, but her beauty still shined through.
“Everything’s good. I um,” I shrugged, realizing that nothing had changed over the past month and I was okay with that. “Ain’t nothing going on, Ma. I work, workout, look over the books with V some days, and go home. Ain’t nothing outside.”
“Chile, I can tell. I be looking at some of the women that come for visitation and some of these outfits and color-coded hair blow my mind,” she shook her head. “Y’all young folks got a hell of a market out there.”
I chuckled. “You ain’t lying.”
Mama and I got lost in a game of Blackjack. I can’t lie, she was busting my ass up, the same way I remember her doing back in The Valley when playing Spades. The visits last about twenty minutes but sometimes they will give us an additional ten and others get cut short depending on the jail conditions and inmates behavior. The circumstances weren’t the best, but coming up here helped maintain my peace. Throughout all the hurt, she gave me life and there would be a day where she wouldn’t be here anymore. I wanted to enjoy the time we still had.
“Have you heard anything from LaBrina?”
My eyes bored blankly into hers. Her own life had caused her to be disconnected from her children’s. If she knew the full story of LaBrina and I, the question would’ve never left her lips.
I threw a card down, making my count sixteen. Yeah, I was definitely losing this round too. “Fuck LaBrina.”
“If you say fuck her, then fuck her son,” Mama threw down a card hitting a perfect twenty one. I only shook my head and started shuffling as she hit a celebration dance. “If not LaBrina, is there anyone else that you’re seeing?”
The first person that popped in my brain was Miss Lane and my thoughts started running into overdrive trying to understand this sudden attraction I’d grown for her. She was a stranger, but why was she the first person I thought of?
“Nah. I’m not,” I answered.
Mama’s brows raised before she nodded. “Mmhm. Whatever happened with you and my ex-daughter-in-law shouldn’t keep you down forever. Love is still obtainable.”
“If it happens, it’s meant to be. I’m not searching to end up in the same boat again.” My answer was sharper than I intended it to be. Mama caught it and pivoted.
“So, how’s my Valen? How was her thirty second birthday?”
I paused, trying to stop myself from telling V’s business. She didn’t want Sticky knowing shit about her life and as bad as I wanted to tell her that she’d gotten engaged last month, V held my loyalty.
“She good, annoying as hell. She went out the country for it. She came up this past weekend to stay.”
Since kids, Valen and I had always been close. V was four years younger than me and most days you could tell from how spoiled she was. Shit, I was happy she’d gotten a nigga so she could stay out of my pockets, but whatever she wanted, she could have. All we had was one another and that hadn’t changed much in our adult years.
Mama nodded slowly. “Can you tell her I love her?”
“I always do.”
“Good.” She was quiet a few more moments before she blurted. “When is she going to come up here? I added her to my guest list months ago.”
I ran my hand through my beard. “I told her.”
“Then what the hell is the hold up? I’ve told her I’m sorry. I have sent her letters. I call her almost every day. What else does she want from me? Damn! That was years ago.” She threw her hands up in defeat.
To her, what she was saying probably sounded okay, but she wasn’t on the receiving end of being stolen from, so it was easier for mama to speak from a place she’d never been.
“Time doesn’t heal all wounds. Communication does. You can’t tell her how to feel and vice versa. Valen is in a different place. She will come around. I don’t know when, but she’s soft and you played on that. She hurting right now and you don’thave a choice but to respect that. We went through a lot more shit than we talk about, Ma. It’s a lot of shit you did that got swept under the rug,” I pointed in her direction. Mama released a heavy sigh and when I realized how harsh my words came out, I sighed, reaching over to take her hands in mine.
