August 7, 2016
Jai Perez
I sat board games and movies on the coffee table, along with snacks and drink. We were having Family Fun Night at Mom's. It's been a while since all of us got together and since it was Friday, I figured it'd be a great way to kick off the weekend.
"Tete, look" Jamie said looking out the window. "Girl" He pointed at a strange woman that was walking around the neighborhood looking lost. She had a piece of paper in her hand.
"Stay here, okay boogie?" He nodded and continued to stare out the window. I walked outside approaching the woman. She seemed jumpy and she looked like she had been crying.
"Excuse me, miss- are you okay?"
"I'm looking for my babies" She sniffed. "They're supposed to be around here, but I can't find them." She ran her fingers through her curly shoulder length hair.
"It's getting pretty late, why don't you come inside... I'm sure my parents could help you out." I said, leading her into the house. When I walked inside, mom and dad were setting up the twister mat. Just as we walked inside, I noticed Terry and Aunt Janice's car pull up in the driveway.
"C'mon babygirl, I hope you got on your good yoga pants because this is gonna be intense." Mom squealed making Jamie clap and giggle as she stretched in the middle of the living room.
"Yeah, yeah it's gonne be intense alright," Dad snickered to himself "When you bend over and can't get up."
"Oh shut up. Don't worry about me, worry about those knees grandpa."
"Papa!" Jamie giggled.
"Your family seems really nice." The woman said. "Yeah, I guess so- mommy," she walked over to me. "This lady was looking for her kids, have you seen any kids around here?" I asked.
"How old are your kids?"
"The oldest is 7 and I have 2 year old... I really miss them, I had to leave them for a while but when I came back they were gone, and so was my husband." She looked down. "Can you help me find them?" She asked my mom with pleading eyes.
"How about you get some rest and when you wake up, we can start looking" My mon suggested, putting her arm around the woman and leading to one of the guest bedrooms. "What is your name?" I heard her say.
"Jaide."
The name was oddly familiar but, there are plenty of people with that name.
"Chres here." I heard Jamie scream as he ran towards the ddoor. It opened and Chresanto scooped Jamie up into his arms, tickling him. "Hey, little man." Jamie hugged him as tight as his little arms would let him. "Is your mama here yet? He isn't answering my calls."
"I thought he'd be with you." I said. This isn't like Jacob, he's never late for a family game night he's usually the first one here.
As if he could hear us, my phone rang. It was Jacob. "Hey, where are you?" I asked immediately.
"I'm stuck in traffic, there was a bad accident. You guys can start without me and if I'm not there before he falls asleep make sure you give Jamie his vitamins. I'll be there soon."
"Okay, be safe." We said our goodbyes and I ended the call. I walked back into the living room seeing Aunt Janice practically undressing Chres with her eyes.
"Jacob says he's in traffic, he'll be here shor-"
"Jacob?" I turned around, seeing Jaide. "That was my son's name" She turned around and went back to the guest room.
"Who in the hell was that?" Ray, Terry and Aunt Janice said in sync. I shrugged. "Her name is Jaide and she's looking for her kids.... That's all I know."
"Why would you bring a stranger into your home, she could be crazy!" Aunt Janice exclaimed, being extra as usual.
"You do it every night, so what's the difference." I shrugged, Terry coughed and Ray doubled over in laughter. Aunt Janice pointed her finger at me and squinted. "Y'know what, I ain't gon' say nothing. I'm just gonna beat your ass in Scrabble."
She's only saying that because she didn't have a comeback, which is shocking.
Jacob Perez
"I'm really starting to worry, please call me back." I listened to one of the many voicemails Chres had left on my phone. While I was stuck in traffic, my phone died.
To top it off, I spilled coffee all over myself. Today just hasn't been my day.
Once I came home, I charged my phone and took a well needed shower. As I bathed, I began to think about my parents. I wonder what they're doing and if they're alive or not. Does my mother still have the same long black hair, or did she go natural like she used to say she would. She'd call me pumpkin and tell me once she went natural, the two of us could be twins.
Did my father quit smoking cigarettes cold turkey, or had he been diagnosed with cancer like I hypothesized when I was little. Every time he'd buy a new pack, I'd joke about how he'd end up like the people on those commercials. I hope he stopped though, it'd be a shame if that happened to him.
Even though me and Jai were adopted and Karen and Joey are great parents, our biological parents were good parents and they did what they had to do to provide for us. Too bad Jai barely remembers them... It's not like she wants to anyway, in her eyes Karen and Joey are her real parents.
By the time I'd got out of my head, the water had went from steaming to barely lukewarm. I rinsed off and got out. Once I was dry and situated, I called Chresanto back.
"Mama, where you?" Boogie's voice boomed through my bluetooth speakers. I disconnect my phone before placing it to my ear. "I'm at home, baby. Mama had to take a shower."
"You yucky?" He asked
I chuckled, "Not anymore, I'm clean now. Are you yucky? Did your Nana bathe you yet?"
Judging by his silence, he hadn't bathed and he is in fact very yucky. Before I could mention it Chres got on the line. "Are you Okay?"
"Hey babe, how was your day mine was shit." I joked as I gathered my things and headed outside to my car. "I care more about your wellbeing than your day. But, now that I know you're fine, what happened?" I pulled into Karen and Joey's driveway and cut off my car. "I'll tell you once I get inside, unlock the front door."
"Alright." I exited my car and walked into the front porch, just as I was about to touch the knob, the door swung open and Jamie wrapped his arms around my leg. I picked him up and he gave me wet kisses all over my face. "I miss you, mama. Look, I fall on da' steps." He showed me his elbow which was occupied by a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles band-aid.
"Woah, that's a cool band-aid. Who gave you that?" I carried him into the living room where everyone else was. Once I walked in, I saw everyone tangled up on the twister mat while Chres called out colors. Everyone looked at me from different angles.
"Hi, Jacob- Joey move your ass out of my face." Karen said, moving her head as far away from Joey's butt as she could without falling. "Make me." He taunted.
"Alright Jai, left food green" Jai placed her foot on the nearest green. "Right hand yellow."
Jai struggled to reach the yellow and once she did they all collapsed on the floor, groaning in pain and relief. I sat next to Chres and leaned on his shoulder. He pecked my forehead.
"This is their third time playing twister. Janice and Jai are butting heads. They've been at each other's throats every game we've played. We had to force them to end a game of UNO because neither of them would call out." He filled me in. "Joey has been in his feelings since Karen and I beat him and Ray in spades."
"What? You beat Joey?" I asked in shock. Joey never loses a game of spades. "Yep." Chres smirked.
"No one has ever beaten Joey in spades. Congrats." Jamie hopped off of my lap and ran into the kitchen. "I'll take my prize later on tonight." He licked my face.
"Who said you were getting a prize?" I stood up.
"I did." He smacked me on the butt as I walked over to the games. "Hey, let's play trouble." I held up the box.
"No."
"Hell nah." Terry shook her head
"I'll pass." Ray said.
"What, why not?" I frowned, slightly upset that no one wanted to play with me.
"You always get out first, that's why." Jai said trying to take the game away from me. "Lies."
"You cheat every time we play. Be slick pressing the button twice, like we don't have eyes." Ray pointed at me.
"I do not cheat." I huffed. "Y'all are just some haters, but it's okay my baby will play with me, right boogie?" I asked Jamie who had recently walked back into the room. "No mama, no play dat'. We play dis'." He handed me Xbox controller.
"That's what I'm talking about boogie, let's play some 2k." Chres said, turning on the game. Making everyone except Joey groan.
"Yeah, 2k!" Boogie cheered.
"Don't nobody wanna play that mess." Terry rolled her eyes.
"Right, the whole game is bogus. If we're gonna play the Xbox let's hook up the kinect, let's play something everyone likes- remember this..." Karen pulled out the Michael Jackson Experience game they had gotten for me and Jai years ago.
"I haven't seen this thing in so long, Thriller was my jam. I was the only one to hit 5 stars." Jai boasted.
"Only because I had a broken collarbone and couldn't move like I wanted to." I said.
"Sure, blame it on the neckband."
"Uh-oh, sibling showdown." Ray grinned. "I love it when they get so competitive. Reminds me of me and Janice back in the day."
"Back in the day? Pshh, I still beat you at everything." Aunt Janice crossed her arms. "Oh yeah? After they go, we're gonna go and I'm gonna tear your ass-" Jamie put his hand over Karen's mouth, shushing her.
"Don't say dat', issa bad word."
"Let's go then, your collarbone is just fine." Jai started the game. I took off my shoes and jean jacket before selecting Thriller. "We'll see who's bad." I moonwalked around my sister.
"You always wanna be starting something, but once I win I want you to-" the song started and the characters started to dance.
ღ
"I still can't believe you beat me." Jai mumbled, cutting her eyes at me.
"Who do you think taught you how to dance." I bit into my pizza. "Nasty." Jamie scrunched up his face and peeled the pepperoni and cheese off of his pizza.
"Why not just feed him white bread with tomato sauce on it. He peels everything off the pizza." Aunt Janice asked.
"He likes to eat everything separately." I said.
"Yeah, first he's gonna eat the cheese," Chres started. "Then, the bread and he saves the pepperoni for last."
"Jamie's a weirdo-"
"My son used to do that when he was that age." I heard a voice behind me. "But he would lick the sauce off of the pizza then eat everything else. He did that up until he was 5."
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, Jai saw this lady outside earlier and let her in. She says she's looking for her kids but I think she's just crazy. She looks about 70, what could she be doing with a 7 year old and a 2 year old." Aunt Janice gossiped in my ear.
"She might just be tired, people tend to look older when they're exhausted and worn out, y'know like you do underneath all that makeup." I said before placing all of our plates in the trash.
"I'm gonna remember that when Christmas come, you gon' say, Aunt Janice what did you get me for Christmas? And you know what I'ma say? Not a damn thing."
Chresanto's laughter seemed to make her angrier so she grabbed her purse and stormed outside.
"Y'all not about to keep shading my mama." Terry laughed. "You know it was funny, go make sure she's okay." Karen sent her outside. Me and Jamie headed towards the bathroom where his bath was being ran.
"It's bedtime?" Jamie asked me as I removed his clothes and sat him in the tub. "Yes, It is bedtime."
He nodded, feeling himself get sleepy as I continued to bathe him. Once I was done I dried him off and put on his pull-up.
"Where are your pj's?" I asked him, he didn't respond he just leaned on me. I decided not to let him sleep in clothes since he's gonna eventually take them off in his sleep. I took him to his room and left him there to sleep until we left.
I fell on the couch, closing my eyes for a moment. I felt someone lift my legs and sit down but I didn't open my eyes because I knew it was Chres and I knew what he wanted.
"When I got to the first house, the couple had 6 children who kept running around messing with things and the wife kept complaining about the outlets being to close together. I ended up taking them to 2 other houses before moving on to other appointments. Then, on my way home to change I stopped at Starbucks for a cup of coffee, just to make my day go smoother and you know what happens?"
"What happens?" Chres asked, sounding interested. "I spilled the damn coffee all over myself." I rolled my eyes, but he couldn't see because they were closed.
"Then these drunken asshole truck drivers crash into each other and I had to wait a whole 30 minutes with hot coffee burning through my skin for the police to come and get everything together." I sighed and lifted my head.
"I need a drink."
"What you need is some pipe." Ray shouted from the kitchen. "Come on." Chresanto got up from his spot.
"Where are we going?" I asked, following him outside. "Just come on." He opened door to the backseat of his car. We got inside.
"Why are we in the backseat of your car?" I asked.
"Because, I'm not nasty like you are and I wouldn't do such things in your parents house."
"You were complaining about me being nasty in that house at the cookout." I retorted. "Touché"
"But seriously what are we doing?" "Shut up and pull your pants down."
"What?" My eyes widened. "Just do it." I did as told, still confused. He's never demanded me to remove my clothes, so him saying that really shocked me.
"Are we about to do that mutual mast-" "No, Jacob I'm about to suck your dick."
"Why didn't you just say you wanted to give me head, Chres?" I quickly glanced out the window making sure nobody was watching us. "So, is there gonna be any foreplay or- shit, I guess not." His mouth wrapped around my length.
ღ
"Y'all walking back in here grinning like the Grinch who stole Christmas."
"Janice, leave them alone. Jamie had a nightmare honey, he refuses to go back to sleep."
I looked at Chresanto who looked back at me. "It's your turn." We said at the same time. Lately Jamie has been waking up in the middle of the night. Whether he was thirsty, hungry or he had a bad dream, it'd take one of us to put him back to sleep.
"How about we both go?" I obliged and we went down the hall to where Jamie was.
"You can't let the monster know you're scared or else, you won't be able to protect your mommy." I walked into the room not believing my ears. She had curly hair now and her skin was darker than I remembered. When she turned to face me, it was almost like time froze.
She was really here, in front of me talking to my son, her grandson.
My mommy.
Since I've Been Giving You Guys Short Chapters, This One Is A Little Long..
Jai & Jacob Finally Reunited With Their Birth Mother?
Where Is Their Father?
How Do You Think Karen & Joey Will Feel Once They Realize Who Jaide Is?
Vote & Comment