Synergy (31 page)

“
We’ve all been
young Dee
”

“
I bet you never
got a DUI
”

“
No, I didn’t, but
I always had a driver
” he
chuckled.

“
Oh, I always had
a driver
” Dee mocked, and suddenly the
pair were laughing.

“
So when’s the
suspension over
?” Jason
asked.

“
Early next
year
”

“
Cool”

Jason
made a mental note that maybe a car wasn’t the best choice for now,
but early next year he could start to make plans for one. He was
surprised to hear Dee got a DUI, but he had to keep reminding
himself that this girl was a few years younger than him. She was
still young, and had so much responsibility already. Considering
she’d told him she was young and stupid, he couldn’t judge.
Everybody had done stupid things when they were younger, and while
he’d never been charged with a crime, he’d done some stupid things
himself looking back on his teen years. He’d grown up in the
industry, and there were things that were hard to avoid. He’d tried
cocaine and Ecstasy as a teenager, lost his virginity at fourteen,
had unprotected sex, and generally made some bad decisions. There
was never an excuse, but he appreciated people that could learn and
move on from mistakes.

“
Are you going
back to the same hotel
?” Dee asked Jason
once the pilot had announced they were about to
land.

“
Yeah, I like it
there
”

“
I feel bad that
you came back
”

“
Why
?”

“
You could have
spent more time with your family
”

“
I can go see them
whenever I want, don’t worry. Means I can spend time with
you
”

Dee
smiled, and Jason found himself smiling back. He loved it when Dee
smiled, and if anything, he thought she didn’t do it enough. He
hoped that the more time they spent together, the more he would see
her smile.

Jason
arranged for the car to drop Dee at her house first so she could
leave her suitcase there, before taking her to her moms. She
insisted she could walk to the next street but Jason insisted just
as hard that he didn’t mind waiting. He had no plans for the night,
and with Tom staying in Tennessee, he didn’t know what he would do
with himself. He never had a lot of time to himself, and when he
did, he found himself bored, so in a way he was dreading the long
evening to himself. Once Dee had been dropped at her mom’s house,
the car took him back to the hotel that he’d become accustomed to
over the past few months. It was beginning to be a home away from
home, and the staff gave him a warm welcome upon his return. Though
he’d managed to keep a low profile, even using a different name
upon check-in, there were a few people wanting pictures in the
hotel lobby upon his arrival, to which he didn’t oblige. He could
never do enough for his fans, however inconvenient or annoying at
times, he owed them everything he had.

He’d
told Dee he would call her tomorrow, and left her to be with her
family. He knew she was excited to see her family after a few days
away, especially Tushaun. He understood for somebody that had never
even been on a plane before, she’d probably not spent a lot of time
away from home. He thought about the fact she’d probably never had
a real vacation, and he felt sad to think about it. He thought
about the amazing vacations he’d had as a child, and imagined not
having them as memories. Some of his best memories were from
vacation, especially Disneyland. He couldn’t wait to take his own
child on some of the best vacations he’d had, and for Dee to
experience them right alongside them.

Chapter 28 – Kiki

“
Mama
!” Tushaun shouted as Dee made
her way through her mother’s front door. She could hear him before
she saw him, but before long, her little boy raced his way into her
legs, and she picked him up in a sweep, kissing him all over. She
squeezed him tightly, realising how much she’d truly missed him,
and she told him so. In around three weeks time, Tushaun would be
turning three years old. She’d watched him grow from a tiny baby
into her precious little boy, and she couldn’t believe how fast the
time was passing. She was so proud of his character already, and
she knew he had big things in his future. She refused to let him
grow up a gangbanger or a drug pusher; she wanted him to lead a
normal, legal life, something that no one in her family had really
managed to do.

Dee
carried Tushaun into the kitchen to see where everybody was. She
smelled food, and upon arrival she saw her sister was stirring
something in a pan.

“
Hey
” Dee greeted, and Kiki turned
around from the cooker to greet her sister.

“
What was Memphis
like
?”

“
Good. His parents
are real nice
.”

“
That’s
good
”

“
What you
cooking
?”

“
Mac and cheese,
for this guy’s dinner
”

“
Where’s
mom
?”

“
She took an extra
shift at the Laundromat
”

Monique
had always had multiple jobs, and while Dee would be the first to
admit she hadn’t been the best mother growing up, one thing she
couldn’t deny was that her mother worked hard for her money. She
always made sure she had food on the table for her kids, and that
they had clothes on their back, which was more than could be said
for some mothers. She’d worked in the local Laundromat since they
were kids, as well as a local convenience store and a bar at night.
She was actually a hit with the punters – her larger than life
attitude kept people coming and she’d got to know every regular
that came in for a drink, something people appreciated. It meant
she often found herself keeping change for tips, which worked out
for her. While some people were lucky to find one full time job,
Monique had always had to divide her time between jobs due to poor
contracts and poor pay, it was the only way to live.

“
Have you had him
all day
?” Dee asked, realising her
mother’s promise to look after Tushaun had fallen
through.

“
Pretty
much
”

“
Thanks
Keeks
”

“
It’s Okay. We’ve
had fun haven’t we, T
?”

Tushaun
agreed enthusiastically and Dee put him down as her back started to
hurt.

“
You ready for
your dinner
?” Kiki asked him, as she
turned off the stove and fished out a bowl from the kitchen
cupboard. Tushaun said he was, before seating himself at the table
ready. Dee got him some cutlery from the drawer as Kiki plated his
food up and placed it at the table.

“
Wait a little
bit, it’s hot
” Kiki told him, and he
nodded in understanding, swinging his legs under the table, waiting
patiently.

Dee
loved that Kiki had such a hands-on role with Tushaun. She truly
was the best aunty she could have asked for, and at only sixteen
years old, she was so mature for her age. Even when Dee first had
Tushaun, she offered to help and learnt to change a nappy, even
though she was only a teenager.

“
So what’s your
news
?” Dee asked haphazardly, as she
looked in the fridge for something to drink, not expecting anything
out of the ordinary. Once she found a carton of orange juice, she
took it out and found a glass to pour it into. She couldn’t help
but notice the whole time she manoeuvred, Kiki hadn’t said
anything.

“
Okay. Don’t freak
out
.” She finally said, and Dee agreed as
she continued pouring her drink.

“
I’m
pregnant
”

Dee
stopped pouring her juice and placed the carton down, turning to
her sister.

“
What
?”

“
It wasn’t planned
or anything, but, it’s done now
.”

Dee blinked, utterly shocked. “
What
” she repeated.

“
I said don’t
freak
”

“
I’m not freaking,
I’m reacting
” she insisted, her tone of
voice growing a little mad.

“
I told mom
already
”

“
You told mom
before me?!”
 Dee exclaimed, and Kiki
sighed.

“
Only because I didn’t want to tell
you both at the same time. I knew mom was gonna react bad, and then
you’d stick up for me and y’all would end up in a fight just like
when you told her you were pregnant.”

“
Shit,
Kiki
”

“
I
know
”

“
How far are
you
?”

“
Three
months
”

“
Shit Kiki!”

“
I know. I didn’t
know
.”

Dee
tried to process what she’d just told her. She couldn’t believe
that of all people, her sixteen year old sister was pregnant. She
thought she had more brains than that, after all, she was the
brains of the family, she’d always done well in school and Dee
thought she might actually have a shot of making something of
herself. What sort of life was she going to have now, getting
pregnant at sixteen. She was still in school for a start, was she
going to have to drop out? Even if she didn’t, she’d end up missing
a lot of school and work, she might fall behind; end up not
graduating just like her and her Jarell and their mom. She’d be
lying if she said she wasn’t disappointed. She never expected this
news when she’d first text her, and in a way, she now felt mad at
Jason for making her believe it could be something positive, she
knew she always had reason to suspect something bad.

“
Are you
mad
?”  Kiki asked, a sheepish look on
her face.

“
I’m fucking
disappointed
.”

“
Don’t say
that
”

“
You’re too smart
for this shit, though
”

“
I know, I’m an
idiot, but I can’t change it now
”

“
Does J
know
?”

“
Yeah, he’s real
supportive
.”

“
As long as he
sticks by you. Tell him I’mma kick his ass if he
don’t
”

“
He will, he loves
me
”

“
Trey loved me
once upon a time
”

“
This is
different
”

“
Why
?”

“
I don’t know, it
just is
”

As if to
fill the silence, Tushaun piped up about how nice his Mac and
cheese was, and the girls laughed at the spontaneity of the
comment. It broke the tension in the air for them, and the girls
smiled at each other. Despite the disappointment and the bad
timing, Dee loved her sister, and she’d be there for her, family
was everything. She watched Tushaun eating for a second before
making her way over to sit next to him at the table. She wanted to
talk to him about his weekend, find out if he was okay, find out if
he even knew his dad hadn’t turned up to see him, or whether it
wasn’t mentioned at all. Monique had a habit of running her mouth
without thinking first, meaning she often said things in front of
him Dee wasn’t happy with. Dee had a lot of the same traits as
Monique, and everybody could tell she was her daughter. She had
picked up the ability to fly off the handle without warning, as
well as speaking before her brain engaged, though she tried to have
a filter when it came to Tushaun. She thought there were things he
shouldn’t have to hear, and while she had some choice words about
Trey, she didn’t want to influence his decision about his dad. She
knew he would probably love him despite everything, and if he later
wanted to make a different decision about his father, that would be
his to make, not because he’d been brainwashed by her.