Brenda pulled up to Marcus's house, looking for him. His old-school car was back-end under the carport, but his truck was gone. She knocked on the door and rang the doorbell a few times. When no one answered, she realized he wasn't there. She tried calling his phone several more times, but it went straight to voicemail.
Brenda's unease was beginning to intensify. She hadn't heard from Marcus since he left to take his father to the doctor that morning. The anxiety weighed heavily on her; she remembered their brief call yesterday when she was half asleep after a long night of preparations for the grand opening of the new gym. It had been a whirlwind week, and she had hoped to catch up with Marcus soon.
After attempting to reach him multiple times last night, only to be met with the same empty silence of voicemail, a knot tightened in her stomach. Something wasn't right—Brenda was certain of it. The creeping doubts and worries began to spiral, making it difficult for her to focus. She scrolled anxiously through her call log, considering reaching out to Tiffany for reassurance. But then an idea struck her: she had Marcus Jr.'s number.
With a deep breath, she dialed Jr.'s line. After several rings, he finally answered, his voice bright despite the gravity of her concern. "Hello Jr., it's Brenda. I don't know if you have my number saved, but I was wondering—have you spoken to your father today? I've been trying to reach him, and his phone just keeps going to voicemail."
Jr. paused for a moment, his brow furrowing in thought. "Yeah, I talked to him yesterday, but not today. Let me check his location on my phone." Brenda could hear the tapping of keys as he accessed the app. "Last time we spoke, he was at my Tete Michelle's house."
After a brief moment, his voice became more confident. "Mrs. Brenda, his location says he's still at my Tete Michelle's. I'll give him a call and let him know you're trying to get in touch."
"Thank you, Jr. That would be really helpful," Brenda responded, relief washing over her momentarily. "I appreciate you checking in on this for me."
Jr. hung up, immediately dialing his father's number, but to his distress, that call too went straight to voicemail.Jr decided to reach out to his Tete Michelle, hoping she might have some insight into Marcus's whereabouts.
Michelle was cleaning up when she heard her cell phone ring. Seeing it was Jr., she smiled and answered, "Hey, Jr."
"Tete, how are you doing? Have you by any chance heard from my dad?"
Michelle replied, "Yeah, your dad's here. He's in the guest room sleeping. He hasn't been resting well—none of us have, not with everything going on with Daddy. So Jackie gave him some medicine to help him rest. Do you want me to wake him up for you?"
Jr. knew all about what was happening with his grandfather. He didn't want to disturb his dad, so he told her, "No, let him rest. But when he wakes up, please tell him to call me. His phone was dead earlier when I called it."
Michelle promised she would have her brother call his son.After hanging up, she went to check on her father, who was still asleep. Jackie was rolling down the hallway when he noticed her standing in the doorway of Otis room. He rubbed her back and asked softly, "You okay, babe?"
Michelle paused before answering. "No, Jackie. Deep down, I'm not okay. I'm losing my dad, and I don't know how to handle it. I can't picture life without him. I already lost my mom, and that was so hard. I'm not ready to lose my father too."
Tears began rolling down her face. The reality was setting in—Mr. Otis had Alzheimer's, and they didn't know how much longer he'd be here.
Jackie understood her pain. He had lost both his parents unexpectedly in a car accident when he was in college. Being an only child, losing them both at once had nearly broken him. It was what had led him into gambling—his escape from grief. But that was his old life.
