One good reason, p.21
One Good Reason, page 21
“Where?”
“He was hiding out in Decatur. They picked him up around five this morning.”
Sitting back in my chair, my shoulders slumped. Quan was the kid that almost got my ass tossed outside on the curb. He wasn’t lying when he said he was going to retaliate against his brother’s killer. When he disappeared on us, we figured he had gotten locked up. About a month ago, a detective working the homicide stopped by looking for him. He left his card and made us promise that we would call if we heard from him. I told him I would but in my heart, I knew I couldn’t. I wouldn’t dare hand him over to the authorities. If they wanted him, they would have to do their job.
I met with my staff shortly after he left and told them no, I wouldn’t harbor Quan especially knowing what he’d done. But if he showed up, I wouldn’t turn him in either. Was it wrong of me to do? Maybe so, but I really had a soft spot for this kid.
“His mom said he went willingly so I’m happy. God knows they wouldn’t have hesitated to put a bullet in him if he resisted,” Rossi expressed.
“That breaks my heart Rossi,” I whined. “I tried so hard with him. I wanted so much more for him. Hell, he’s the reason I even had the idea of doing all of this.” I picked up the stack of papers for the tech school. “And clearly it was all for nothing.” Tossing them back on the desk, I dropped my head in my hands. “I feel like I failed him Rossi.” I bit back a cry.
“Aww! Tali… You can’t think like that. We can’t save them all, and yes you tried hard to help Quan. That baby was dealt a bad hand and by the time you came along, he was too far gone. There was nothing you could do for him.”
“I could’ve tried harder,” I mewled. “Maybe had I started with Law instead of everyone else, I could’ve done more.”
Rounding my desk, Rossi rubbed my shoulders and consoled me. “Tali, you did more for that boy than anyone else in his life. Believe me, he appreciated your efforts to the fullest. Someone took something from him, and he did what he felt like he had to do. There was nothing that you could’ve said or done to change that.”
“God…” I mumbled. “All this proves is that I’ve gotta get on the ball with this shit. I can’t stand to lose another kid. Not to the streets and for sure, not to the crooked justice system.”
“I know that’s right. If you need any help just let us know. We’ve got your back girl. We see how hard you go for these kids, and we admire you for that. Let us help.”
“Believe me, I will need all the help I can get in the next few months. I’ve got a meeting with the contractor today. As soon as I figure out how soon I can start getting everything set up, I’ll let you guys know.”
“Good. You gon’ be okay girl?”
“I don’t have a choice but to be. I’ve got plenty of other kids to worry about.” I chuckled lightly.
“That you do,” Rossi agreed.
“Give it a few days and reach out to his mother. I want to go see him. I need to put my eyes on him to make sure he’s okay. Tell her if he needs anything to reach out to me, directly.”
“Now that I can do.” Rossi pecked my cheek before standing and leaving my office.
I tried to keep my feelings out of things like this because I knew I couldn’t save every child that I encountered. Remaining neutral was a hard task especially when dealing with kids. I didn’t have one of my own so when I poured into someone, I made sure it was the kids at my job.
Anytime I got a break in my schedule, I spent it around the center with them. I went from being the director to being a confidant for most of them. I don’t know how the previous director handled business but when it came to me and my babies, I gave them my all.
The only good thing about Quan being locked up was now I didn’t have to worry about someone finding him and killing him. That shit would really tear me down.
It took me a few minutes to get my emotions in check, but once I did, I checked the location on Gema’s phone and started my work for the day. I needed to get everything done because I had no plans on coming back after I left for my walk-through.
The more we inspected the school, the more my head pounded. This late in the game, I couldn’t deal with any mishaps. Apparently while they were replacing the toilets and sinks in the second floor restrooms, they came across mold. Now we would have to address that problem before we could finish setting up the restrooms.
“How long you think it’s going to take to rectify this problem?” Law asked.
“I don’t know the extent so at least a few weeks. I’m going to strip the walls and see how far the problem spreads.”
“I don’t have weeks, Jose.”
“I know, Ms. Talitha. We’re trying to meet the deadline but unfortunately the school sat for so long. The state didn’t do their due diligence or anything.”
“Take as much time as you need Jose. We don’t have a choice but to wait it out. I’m ready for it to be done but I can’t risk the board coming in and finding anything. One wrong move will have us being denied.”
While the two of them talked, I walked around the restrooms, noting how it seemed to have been gutted out overnight. There was shit everywhere, tiles were even missing from the ceiling exposing some of the wiring.
“I understand Mr. Harvey. I’m going to call in a restoration company to have them assess it further and once I get an answer I’ll know how to move.”
“That sounds good to me. Talitha, you have any more questions?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“You sure?” Law asked for clarification. “Looks like you got a lot on your mind.”
My eyes fluttered out of sheer aggravation. “I do. But I’ll wait to hear what our next move is.”
“Are you sure Ms. Talitha?”
“Yes, I’m sure Jose. Call me as soon as you get an answer.”
“I will,” he agreed.
Jose and Law sparked up another conversation and because I couldn’t stand to hear any more bad news, I walked out of the room and took the elevator back down to the main level. Because I didn’t know how far the damage went, I couldn’t risk the computer equipment being dropped off here. As soon as I was in the car, I was going to put in a call and have the drop off location changed.
By the time Law came ambling out of the building, I was standing against the back of my car scrolling through social media.
Stepping in my path, he peered down at me. “You good?”
“Not really but I will be.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Don’t ask me that. Today is one of those days for me.”
“What days?”
“One of the day’s that I’m holding myself up with tape.” Swiping my thumb across my nose, I chuckled. “I’m bound to break at any second.”
“What can I do to make it better?”
“Nothing,” I mumbled. My nose started to run and immediately I knew tears were getting ready to sprout from my eyes. Licking the corner of my mouth, I stared out at the road. “I’m overwhelmed,” I sighed.
“Tell me what to do, Talitha.” Law begged. Gripping my chin, he turned my head back to him. “Let me help you.”
“You can’t. I need to get home.”
“Didn’t you say Gema was gone.”
I nodded.
“Then come home with me.”
“Law…” I breathed.
“I’m not taking no for an answer. I can follow you to your house. Pack a bag and come with me to the lake house.”
I wanted to say no but going home to an empty house wouldn’t do shit but have me stewing in my feelings. I was on the verge of breaking down and even if I didn’t want to do it in front of him, I also didn’t want to be alone.
“What you say to that?”
“Okay,” I finally agreed.
Holding his hand out, he said, “Hand me your keys.” When my brows dipped in confusion he added, “I’m going to drive you. Baker will trail us.”
“Okay.” Grabbing them out of my purse, I handed them to him. When he walked over to talk to Baker, I stood at the passenger door and waited for him to hit the locks.
A few minutes later, the lock on my car was hit and I was able to slide into the passenger seat. Securing my seatbelt around me, I kicked off my shoes, reclined my seat, and closed my eyes.
Law fumbled with the radio a few minutes before deciding on some neo soul. Once we pulled away from the school, I felt his hand on my thigh. That was all the comfort I needed in that moment to get a few minutes of sleep.
CHAPTER 21
Lawton
Sitting on the floor beside the porcelain, clawfoot tub, I stared at her. Talitha hadn’t uttered a word since we left the school. The ride to her house was spent with me glancing back and forth between her and the road. She said she was overwhelmed and while I wanted to wait for her to tell me what was troubling her, I wanted to interrogate her.
I knew us having to push back things at the school played a part of it, but she looked aggravated prior to that. I had been sitting in the same position for the last twenty minutes just watching her. Her hair was thrown up into a sloppy bun, and she sat with her knees up to her chest and arms secured around them. She was sitting there staring at nothing in particular.
I had long decided that I would sit with her until she was ready to either get out or talk. I had music playing throughout the house, but low enough to hear her in case she decided she was ready to speak.
“Can I wash you up?” I asked. Every so often she would reach down and drain the tub before filling the water back up so instead of waiting on it to get cold again, I figured the least I could do was bath her so we could get that over with.
Instead of speaking, she nodded. Grabbing her towel off the side of the tub, I dipped it in the water and squirted some of her body wash onto it.
Running the soapy towel over her shoulders, I made my way down to her back to wash there first. “You heard from Gema today?”
“Yeah. Willearl had took her to Betty Jo house the last time we talked.”
“Where is she staying?”
“With him and Bonnie. She doesn’t wanna stay with my Mama and her husband.”
So, Gema is okay. I wonder what could have happened to cause this sullen mood.
“You called Best Buy?”
“Yeah. They’re going to deliver them to your office space. I’ll come by and organize them, so they won’t be in the way in case you rent that space out.”
“You don’t have to do that. I’ll take care of it. In fact, I’ll keep it vacant until we can have everything moved into the school.”
“Thank you,” she mumbled.
“No need.”
“Remember that kid, Quantavious?”
Quantavious, Quantavious. I repeated in my head until the light bulb went off. “The one who you tried to keep from leaving the center that day?”
“Yeah. He’s been on the run. I found out today that he’s in custody of APD.”
“I’m assuming that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah.” She nodded, then frowned immediately. “I’m glad he went willingly otherwise we would be having a different conversation.”
“Is that what’s got you in such a bad mood?”
“I feel like I failed him, Harvey. Like I could have done more.”
“What more could you have done? You didn’t make that decision for him and you for damn sure didn’t put that gun in his hand.”
“I know that. But still… I could’ve done something else had I not reacted so late.”
“Look at me Talitha.” I grabbed her chin and tipped her head toward me. “You didn’t fail him. If anything, you tried to offer him an out. That kid had his mind made up before he even came to you. At least he cared enough about you to come and tell you bye. He didn’t have to do that.”
“I offered to get him counseling.” She fretted as her eyes filled with tears. “He turned it down.”
“He didn’t want it. You could’ve offered him anything thing in the world, if his mind was made up then there was nothing you could have done. This one isn’t on you Talitha. You can’t carry someone else’s burden.”
“Umph,” she scoffed. “I’ve been doing it my whole fucking life.”
“And it gets tiring.” Turning her head forcefully she snatched out of my grasp. Dropping the towel in her lap, I grabbed her face between the palm of my hands. “That tape that’s holding you up was put there by you. You’re too busy trying to save the world Talitha when the person you should be trying to save is yourself. You can’t be anything to anyone until you first be it for yourself. Stop trying to fight battles for the world.”
“I don’t want to fight in general,” she admitted while the tears she was holding back rushed down her face.
“Then stop baby. All you’re doing is hurting yourself. Everyone sees how hard you go for those kids. We applaud your effort. Focus on the ones you can impact and do whatever you can within reason for the ones you can’t. That’s the only thing you can do.”
“It’s easier said than done,” she argued.
“No, it’s not. You’ve gotta learn how to separate the two. If you don’t, you’re going to end up killing yourself from stress. Then who gon’ take care of Gema.”
“My pissy ass Mama.” She laughed.
Dropping her face, I mushed her head and chuckled. “You talking real crazy right now.”
“I know right. Seriously though, this whole mold situation is doing nothing for my anxiety.”
“Mine either. But shit, we have no control over that situation either. All we can do is wait on Jose to handle shit on his end before moving forward. Everything will work itself out.”
“I hope it does.”
“Feeling better?”
She hiked one shoulder up and mumbled, “I don’t know.”
“Can you at least finish bathing yourself? My knees are starting to cramp up.”
“God, you’re old,” she mouthed and picked up her towel.
“Old my ass. Finish washing up. I’ll be back in a second.” Pecking her on the lips, I stood and ambled out of the bathroom. I had Chari place an Instacart order for Talitha some sleepy time tea. I needed to go fix it for her so by the time she was out of the tub and into bed, her ass would be able to get some sleep.
With the piping hot mug of tea in hand, I headed back up the stairs and into my bedroom. Talitha was sitting on the side of the bed still wrapped up in her towel doing something on her phone.
“Here.” I handed her the tray. “Drink this.”
“Are you trying to poison me?”
“As good as your pussy, is I wouldn’t dare,” I joked to make light of the situation.
“That’s good to know.” She chuckled. “What’s this then?”
“It’s sleep tea. You need to go to bed. Your eyes have been down casted all day. I need you to wake up in better spirits.”
“And you think this is going to miraculously solve all of my problems.”
“It won’t. But it’ll help your ass get a good night’s rest.”
After silencing her phone, she placed it on the nightstand and picked up the mug. “It smells like lavender,” she drawled after sniffing it.
“It’s got lavender and jasmine in it, I believe. Shit… I really don’t know. I didn’t pay attention to the ingredients to be honest.”
“You could be feeding me drugs, Harvey.”
“Talitha,” I rasped. “Drink the damn tea.”
“Fine.” She rolled her eyes. Bringing the mug up to her mouth, she blew on it before taking a sip. “It’s got a good taste.”
“I know. I put some honey and a few drops of lemon juice in it. Finish that while I go shower. Then I can hold you until you fall asleep.”
“Yes sir.” She saluted and my dick jumped. I had to talk him down because tonight wasn’t the time for him to get all excited. The only thing on my agenda for the night was making sure she was okay.
Walking into the bathroom, I turned on the shower, stripped out of my clothes, and stepped in so I could wash the stress of today away. On top of dealing with the shit at the school, I was trying to figure out a way to move more cocaine through the state while still flying under the radar. The smart thing to do would be to find someone else to help distribute it but I wasn’t too keen on working with folks I didn’t know personally.
If I reached a point where I had exhausted all of my options, I would reach out to Poppa. I knew he would be able to put me with someone that he trusted to help get the shit off. Once I felt clean enough, I stepped of the shower and dried off. After brushing my teeth, I strolled into the room and found Talitha tucked under the covers. Hitting the lights, I flipped the covers back and got in bed beside her. After getting adjusted, I pulled her into my side and wrapped my arm around her waist. My eyes stayed trained on the ceiling until I myself drifted off to sleep.
“Mold…” Poppa trailed off.
“Fucking mold, man.”
“Damn Dutch. Yo’ ass getting hit from every fucking corner.”
“Who the fuck you telling? That shit done set us back at least a month.”
“You told Talitha?”
“I ain’t say shit. She already been stressing over the shit, the last thing I want her to do is feel defeated.”
Yesterday, Jose reached back out to me to let me know he had gotten with the restoration company. Like he thought he was going to have to strip the entire second floor restrooms, lucky enough for us the mold was contained to just that area. Apparently, the ventilation system sat above the second floor and caused a leak that was never taken care of. As a result, everything molded and now the shits gotta be fixed.
“That right there is enough to send a muthafucka over the edge. I can’t believe the city just let that building sit up like that.”
“They wasn’t worried ‘bout that shit. Hell, I did them a favor by taking it off their hands.”
“I fucking bet. Other than that. What’s been up?”
“Shit. Trying to get shit worked out with Adele.”
