-CASEY-
After waking Gabe up and sending him on his way, I told him to meet me back here in two hours. That gave my full house time to get dressed. We were going to my childhood church which was about an hour away. We grabbed brunch at a local spot downtown in my hometown as usual.
I knew I had a busy few weeks lined up. In two weeks, I would be trying this wrongful death case against the city for the death of this 25 year old black male that was shot. The city declined to press charges saying that it was justified. That is the exact reason I went to law school. I hated how America treated our black men. I loved my black men and refused to let anyone place a target on their back simply because they're black. After the trial, I was flying to Aruba with my family (my mom, granny, brothers, and nephews). I lined the trip up with the trial cause I knew I would need a vacation.
I was thinking about inviting Gabe. I had such a good time with him this weekend. I liked the chemistry we shared and our vibe. The vibe I've been missing. It's like we're friends first. I wasn't the type to rush into love or catch feelings which lead to me being misunderstood. I wanted to enjoy life with the person I'm dating not be held back.
I finished getting dressed and checked myself out in the mirror. I wore an ankle length gold mesh wrap around skirt with a white button down with the sleeves folded to my elbows that I tucked into my skirt. I added a gold necklace that my mom got me with my granddad's name on it. I switched my apple watch band to the gold one. My jeweler iced out both my gold and silver apple watch bands and I loved them. I decided to wear foundation, highlight, mascara and my MAC Photo lipstick. My hair was in a messy high bun and I wore my gold hoops. I grabbed my gucci tote as I walked out my bedroom door. I walked out to the living room to see everyone sitting there waiting on me, including Gabe.
"Alright, come on before we're late. You know Uncle Tim will call us out." I said to everyone as they walked out the door with me. I tossed the keys to the jeep to Bree. Bree, Michelle, Jmike and KT rode in the jeep while Kev, Tish and Gabe rode with me in the G-Wagon.
I pulled out first so that Bree could follow me. As we were driving, I noticed Tish all in her phone smiling. Tish was my little cousin. She's thirteen years younger than me. I helped raise her because her mom already had six other kids. Tish was my baby. She was in school to be a veterinarian. She was shy so when I saw her smiling I had to figure out why.
"Who has you smiling like that?" I asked her as I turned the music down and looked at her through the rearview mirror.
"Huh?" She said looking up realizing I was talking to her.
"Who has you smiling like that? You heard me girl."
"A friend." She said
"What's his name?"
"How you know it's a he?" She said with a slight smirk.
"You're bi?" Kev said cutting his eyes at her. Gabe immediately started laughing.
"What? NO!" She said. "It's this dude named Gerald." She said with a smile.
"Gerald? He sound weak as hell." Kev said.
"Shut up Kev! Where did you meet him?" I asked.
For the rest of ride, Tish was telling us how she met Gerald at a party. He was a Kappa and light skinned. She said he was pretty nice but he had a lot of women chasing after him so she didn't really pay him any mind. I couldn't tell from the way she was smiling into the phone.
We finally got to the church right on time. We parked the cars and walked in. As soon as the doors open, everyone in church turned to see who it was. All eight of us walked in together. It was funny how the church folks were trying to figure out who we were. Once they realized it was me, the sweet old ladies started waving hard as if they were happy to see me. As we took our seats, I waved back with a smile to let them know I see them.
As soon as we sat down, the deacons wrapped up devotion and turned it over to the choir. My aunt was the choir director. Our church may be small but the choir was lit. It was a small family church. I swear everyone in here related. As the choir started singing, I felt a few people staring and could hear them whispering. I guess people realized who Gabe was. He sat on the end as I sat next in between him and Bree. I looked at him and smiled while whispering "I used to be the church celebrity." He simply winked back as we enjoyed hearing the crowd sing.
Soon my uncle grabbed the mic and my cousin, the pianist, starting playing the music.
"Oooh this is my song." I said filing out my tithes. I usually tithe 15% of whatever I made so today I placed $1000 in tithe. After filling out my envelope and handing it to the usher, I stood up with Bree as we both swayed and clapped while singing the song.
The Lord is my light and salvation
Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I be afraid?
"SANGGGGGG UNC!" I yelled as he sung the song. I was raised in an old southern baptist church, one thing we did for sure was praise the lord.
I will remain confident in this
I will see the goodness of the Lord.
The Lord is my light and salvation.
Whom shall I fear? Whom shall I be afraid?
My uncle and the choir continued to sing the song as offering was taken up. After offering, my uncle stood up and approached the podium in the pulpit to start his sermon. I loved hearing my uncle preach. He always preached directly to me without even knowing what was going on in my life most of the time.
"Good Afternoon Saints." He began. "I feel the spirit in here already. Thank you choir for your ministry. I wanted to to recognize someone visiting us today. Ms. Casey Jones." I cut my eyes to my granny knowing she had something to do with this. She knows I hate being put on spot. I showed a fake smile before waving acknowledging him. "Stand for me Casey." I did as I was told even though I didn't want to still with my fake smile. Not only was he putting me on the spot but also in front of Gabe. We were going to have a long talk after this.
"As you all may know, Casey is one of Atlanta's best attorneys. She's trying a very difficult case in the next few weeks. I'm sure we won't see her before then. You may have heard about Tyreke Henderson, the 25 year old black male that was shot and killed by police over a year ago. The city decided not to press charges against the officer. That same officer is still patrolling the streets today. Casey stepped up and did something most would be afraid to do. She decided to help the family and sue the city for the wrongful death of young Tyreke Henderson. Let's pray for her, pray that God gives his strength to make it through the trial. Pray that God guides her mind and her heart. Pray that God keeps her grounded and rooted through every attack the devil may have during this difficult time. Pray that the family of Tyreke Henderson gets justice. Amen church? Amen! Alright, Casey, you may sit down." I finally sat down as pulled up the bible app on my phone as my uncle read his verse from which he was preaching. Shortly after, he said a brief prayer and preached. Forty five minutes later church was over.
I stayed inside for about five minutes hugging some of the church members who wished me luck and simply thanked me. I grabbed Gabe by the hand as we all walked outside the church and stood on the sidewalk per usual.
"CASE!" I heard my auntie yell. "Hey Girl! I am so proud of you." She said hugging me. "You've always protected your cousins and here you are still standing up for your black men. Go on with your bad self honey." She said as she let go of the hug. "And who is this fine young man you have here." She said looking at Gabe.
"Gabe" He said giving her hug. "Nice to meet you Gabe. Take care of my niece." She said walking away as Gabe nodded.
"Aye Bree, take this pic." Kev said. "Like old days." Jmike, KT, Kev, and a few of my other male cousins stood behind me as I stood in front in the middle with my right hand on my hip and my left holding my tote. Gabe stood off to the side smiling.
My cousins and I were raised very close. We were down to ride at any given time. I was already crazy but best to believe I kept a couple of shooters behind me. It didn't take long for folks to figure out who Gabe was. He stood off to the side taking pictures with a couple of teens from the church.
Soon my grandmother and mother came outside and we made our way to the brunch spot down the street. We all pulled up and parked. It was empty as usual. People slept on their brunch but they would always be packed during happy hour.
"CASE" Joe, the owner, yelled from the bar as we walked in. "The birthday girl. Just the woman I wanted to see. How are you doing?" he yelled as he wiped the bar down. "I'm fine Uncle Joe. Thank you." I added. "Your seats are over to the left." He said.
Joe wasn't my uncle but I have been coming here since I turned 21. He always looked out for me. We all walked over to the high top tables set up for us and took a seat. I sat at the head of the table to the left as Gabe sat on one side of me and Bree on the other. Everyone else just got in where they fit in.
"Nine mimosas as usual?" Joe said as he laid menus in front of us. "10 today. We have a special guest." I said pointing to Gabe. "Joe" he said reaching out his hand. "Gabe" he said shaking Joe's hand. "You look familiar. You from around here?" Joe asked. "Nah I'm from New York" he said with his accent.
Gabe wouldn't let Joe know who he was which we found very funny. Soon Joe came with the mimosas and took everyone's order. We all had a good time sitting and talking about the weekend and about life. Joe brought our food out and kept the mimosas coming. After we finished eating, Joe brought the check and placed it next to me. I picked it up and reached in my tote to grab my card as Gabe reached for my hand stopping me.
"I got this." He said looking at me in the eyes. "No, this is every year. I can't let you pay for a $500 tab Gabe." I said to him as he went in his pockets. "It's your birthday ma, I got it." He said laying seven hundred dollars on the table. I didn't want to fight in front of my mom and granny so I let him handle it. I would cash app the money back later on any way. I appreciated the nice gesture but I really didn't feel comfortable with him paying for the tab since it was so expensive.
After we were done eating, we got in our cars heading back our separate ways. I hugged everyone who wasn't going back to my house and told them bye. Gabe and I had the car to ourselves because my brothers rode back with my parents and Kev and Tish got in the car with Bree and Michelle.
I was going straight to the airport to drop Gabe off so that he didn't miss his flight. We got in the car and prepared to drive the hour long drive back.
"I had fun with you this weekend." I said to Gabe smiling.
"I had fun with you too ma. Your family is crazy. I see where you get that shit from." He said back.
"You don't even know the half." I said back.
"Tell me about this case." He said to me. I could tell he was genuinely concerned and wanted to know more.
"Basically, the police shot Tyreke in the back four times as he was fleeing. They found a gun on him and ruled it justified. However, the gun was tucked in the waistband of his jeans the entire time. I've watched the video over and over and over again trying to figure out how in the hell they thought the shit was justified. I made a promise to his family that I would prosecute this case to the best of my ability. I've worked on this case so hard that it's slightly overwhelming. And honestly, it's only one case. Justice in this case will not be justice in all of the other cases where police have shot and killed black men. Our black men walk around as targets. And this, this, is the reason I went to law school. I saw, first hand, how police fucked with my cousins simply because they're black. They pulled me over at the age of sixteen, at 2:00 in the morning, and had me on the side of the road as they searched my car with dogs and some other shit without probable cause. They held me out there for two whole hours without the opportunity to call my mother..... Sorry for rambling." I said as I wiped the tears that were now falling from my eyes. "It's a touchy subject. You better be glad I like you cause I don't cry in front of everyone."
"Pull over." Gabe said. "What?" I said looking at him confused. "Pull over." He repeated. I pulled over to the side of the road and turned on my hazard lights. Gabe got out of the car and came around to the driver side to open door. He wiped my tears and hugged me for what seemed like forever. For those few minutes, I cried in his arms not caring who was looking or that we were on the shoulder of the interstate. None of that mattered. I didn't realize how much I had built up inside of me.
"I am so tired Gabe. I don't know what I'm going to do if I lose this case. His family deserves justice." I said still sobbing. Gabe grabbed my chin lifting it up to look at him, "ma, if you're anything like I saw when you were in court fighting for me, a nigga you didn't even know shit about, I know you'll kill that shit. You got this ma." Gabe said as I looked at him. I appreciated him so much. I really did need to let all of this out. I sat there wiping my face some more as Gabe spoke up.
"Move over ma." Dave said motioning me to the passenger seat. Instead of climbing out, I climbed over the middle and got in the passenger seat. Gabe got in the driver seat and pulled off the shoulder.
"Thank you." I told him. "It's all good, ma. I admire you. I admire your passion for justice. Your passion for black men. The more I learn about you the more I'm attracted to you. Your passion and drive is sexy as hell ma. For real. I love all that shit." He said smiling while occasionally glancing at me while keeping his eyes on the road.
"Let's see how long your interest remains once you find out I'm crazy." I added while laughing. "Aint nobody scared of my lil shoota." He said rubbing my thigh. "You can't run me off even with ya lil ass 9." He said while laughing.
"Let me see your phone." He added. I looked at him like he's crazy. "For what?" I asked. "Just let me see it man damn." I gave him my phone after unlocking it. I saw him going to my apple music. He went to a song and turned the music up.
"Ima east coast nigga but I'll play this just for you." He said as he lifted my chin to look at me. I smiled as I rapped along.
Fuck the police! Comin' straight from the underground
A young nigga got it bad 'cause I'm brown
And not the other color, so police think
They have the authority to kill a minority
Fuck that shit, 'cause I ain't the one
For a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun.