Friday, March 27, 2015

An Interested Party


Sepia and I were lying across the bed one morning a few days later...

''You'll be happy to know that Donald is not going to be marrying your mother." I said.

"You talked to him Kevin?" she asked..

"I did...but I can't take responsibility for his decision..For that you need to thank the mother of his child..Carolyn Shift...she has had a change of heart, she wants to get back together with him.." I said.

"Really?" she said...

"Yeah...We went to her house...Now that Albert Slayton and his crew are out of their lives....Her mother may be returning with the boy...and she and Donald talked about maybe giving their relationship a second chance..."I said.

"That is wonderful..."laughed my wife...

"Well....It would be...but it's not so cut and dry..."I said.

"I know...He's got to break it to mommy right...She won't take this too well and they do have to work together.."she said.

"It's more than that....For one thing...He is done at the prison at the end of the month...He's gotten a new job in the city....The other thing is that house....Carolyn Shift put 17G's down for a down payment...Leroy Slack put down 15G's with her..."I said.

"So?  Is his name on the morgtage? "asked Sepia...

"No..and he got that money from Albert Slayton's boy, the late Chino Harris...He messed up a package...Took the money...He had to come up with something or she was going to put him out." I said.

"So that wasn't even legitimate money..She can still put him out...His name isn't on the morgtage...That's her house free and clear.."said Sepia..

"I know..but it's the principal of the thing...She would owe him 15G's if she did ..Regardless of where or how he got the money...He did contribute to her getting that house and he won't leave.."I said.

"Then she needs a good attorney and you and I both know of one." said Sepia smiling..

"You uh really don't want Donald to marry your mom do you?" I said smiling...

"Why Kevin...I'm not that shallow...I'm hurt that you would think that...I just want him and Carolyn to have every possible chance of starting a life together...They have a son for crying out loud."said Sepia..

I smiled...

"But of course."I said..

"Yes...Of course." she said with a devilish grin...

II-

My business with Donald Wardlow was over...I had located his baby boy and he paid me an additional 10G's for my services...which made 12G's total...So it seemed a little suspect that two weeks after our business had concluded...Here I was sitting in the Office/Duplex of Attorneys Olivia Bennett-Alexander and her sexy niece, Beverly West with Donald and his baby's mother...Carolyn Shift and her former boyfriend, Leroy Slack talking about the living arrangements...

Josie passed each of us a Tumbler of Coffee and put a bottled water by us at the conference room table...

"Livy...I can't thank you enough for meeting with all of us like this.." I said.

''Ohh nonsense...You and your wife are the salt of the Earth and good friends...How can I say no to either of you?" she said.

''Where is your hubby and my contemporary, Donnie Ray?" I asked.

"He's at Josies...rehearsing...He has a gig in a few nights.." said Olivia..

"Oh yeah that's right..he moonlights as a musician."I said smiling..

"Ever heard him play?  He and his group are really good." she said..

"No..I'll have to catch his act." I said.

Her niece ,Beverly West walked in with a stack of papers just then and sat down next to her aunt..or Auntay, as she called her..
"Hey Kevin....Sorry to keep everybody waiting..Here is a copy of the morgtage.....Does everybody have a copy?" asked Beverly...

We all shook our heads...

"On it is only one name...Carolyn Shift..Which means she is the sole owner of this house..." said Beverly...

"Ah gave her 15 G's....I'm like her silent partner...We had an agreement..." said Leroy Slack.

"Do you have that in writing?  Because if you don't have that in writing ,then you don't have anything legally binding."said Olivia..

"Legally binding?" said Leroy Slack...

"That's right loser..That means pack your bags and get to steppin." said Donald Wardlow.

"Hey man...It aint your crib either and you need to mind yo business.." said Leroy...

"Both of you please stop!!!..." said Carolyn.....

"Look you don't want to be with me no more...That's cool....but I'm out of 15G's...."said Leroy Slack...

"If I understand right...That was money you got from a Loan Shark, so it wasn't really your money to begin with..and that loan shark is now deceased...Soooo you're off the hook for it and you're even." said Beverly...

He grimaced....

"You don't have a leg to stand on Mr. Slack...You have to get out."said Olivia...

I passed him a briefcase...

"Open it." I said.

He opened it and saw fresh billls...

"Huh? What is this?" he said...

"It's 15G's....A little uh present from an interested party you might say..That was your contribution...That makes you even.." I said.

Leroy Slack smiled broadly....

"Wow..It's all mine???..No strings attached?" he said.

"According to the uh interested party who gave this to me... No strings attached..You are free and clear." I said.

"Oh alright...Uh..I'll have my things out by tonight..." he said...

I looked at Carolyn and Donald...

"Everybody happy?" I asked...

"Yes." said Donald..

"Oh Thank you Ms. Olivia, Ms Bev and Mr. Kevin.....My Mom is back and so is my little boy..She's bringing my things over tonight...She's going to be living in the little apartment on the side of my house.."said
Carolyn....

"That's great.."I said.

"And although I'm not moving in yet...Carolyn and I have agreed to try and work things out.." said Donald...

"That's outstanding." I said..Leroy Slack shook my hand and hurried out to his car...

Donald and Carolyn shook my hand and headed out....

Just before he left,Donald looked at me...

''Who was this interested party who uh paid Slack off...Was it Sepia?" he whispered...

"I'll never tell." I said smiling wryly....

Sepia had paid Olivia and Bev's legal fee and the 15G's for Slack...I agreed to keep that confidential...Olivia and Beverly knew ,but there was no need for anyone else to know..

He smiled..

"It was, wasn't it?  "  he said..

"What are you going to do about Jean Cokely?" I asked..still refusing to answer him.

"I'm gonna have to tell her.." he said and hung his head low..




III-

Sepia and I sat in the visiting room at the Women's Correctional Center and waited as her mother, Jean Cokely walked in to greet us...

She smiled and hugged and kissed little Kimberly.....And then she hugged and kissed her daughter,Sepia and even hugged me...her son in law and the man responsible for putting her there..She had on make up and lip stick and someone had done her hair..Her gray prison dress had been altered and it fit her very snug and tightly....I must admit, She did look good..

"Mommy, you certainly look good today..Make up, nice dress...Why I thought I was looking in a mirror." said Sepia..

Jean Cokely was many things, but a fool was not one of them....

"Jo-Anne.."she said ,calling my wife Sepia by her given name..."What's wrong?   You know you could never lie to me....What is it?" she said...

"Mommy...There is someone here to talk to you..He uh rode up with us.."said Sepia...

Donald Wardlow walked in...

Jean's eyes lit up...

"Hey future husband...I haven't seen you in awhile...I've been missing you....Among other things" she said and gave him a sexy salacious stare....

"Jean...Uh....There is no easy way to uh say this..."he began....

It was times like this that I'd rather be in a shootout with my man, Kool Kat by my side..
Or at a crime scene with Lt. Sissy Van Buren and her detectives..
Anything but this...

"Jean...My employment here is over!!..."he said soberly.

"You got laid off?? That's terrible...You won't need a job to take care of me.....You'll always know where I am." she laughed...

"No..It's more than that...I got a job..A new job in Philadelphia." he said.

"Ohh good...Thank the Lord...."she said...

"There is more....As you know...I have a son...He's uh the same age as Kevin and Sepia's little girl...and well,I've uh been talking to my baby's mother again and well er uhh, ahhh, We've decided that we are going to give our relationship one more try...." he finally blurted out...

Yes....I'd give anything to be at a crime scene with Sissy or facing some gangster on the street with Kool Kat..

I thought about what Olivia Bennett -Alexander told me just before I left to come up here-
 "Kevin I don't know Sepia's mother...but I am a woman." she said.


"Yes you are!" I said smiling...


"Oh hush up smarty" she giggled..."She's a woman, she's been locked up...If she's had a pro-longed sexual relationship with this man, then he's been her only ray of hope....News that he's breaking up with her and for another woman isn't going to play well...Things could get, well rather uncomfortable.."said Olivia..


"Is that lawyer talk for violent Livy?  Yeah..It probably will be....How bout you go with Sepia and Mr. Wardlow and I stay here in Philly?" I joked..


"What about me says stupid?" asked Olivia..."You couldn't pay me to be in that visiting room when he delivers THAT news." she said and we both busted out laughing.

That was a few days ago!

"WHAT???? WHATTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT?  You're breaking up with me??  WHY YOU NASTY LOW DOWN NO ACCOUNT DOG!!!!" screamed Jean ,who picked up a vase and tossed it at Donald's head..He ducked and it missed and smashed against the wall...The other women and visitors all exited in horror....Two prison matrons came in and ducked themselves...

"I DIDN'T COME ON TO YOU!!!...YOU CAME ON TO ME!!!...ALL THAT FLIRTATIOUS TALK...ALL THAT FEELIN ON ME...I SHOULDA REPORTED YOU...BUT NOOOO...I FINALLY LET YOU HAVE SOME AND THEN I COULDN'T GET RID OF YOU...YA LOW DOWN NASTY DOG..NOW I DONE FELL FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU DO ME??" she screamed and threw another vase at him that just missed.....

He ducked  and it smashed into the wall...

"Now Jean..Jean...JEAN!" he said..

"YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THIS TO ME???" she screamed....

"Jean....Jean....JEANNN...LET'S BE REASONABLE NOW!" he screamed as she tried to rush at him...

My wife Sepia was stunned...our baby girl began to cry....I was paralyzed...I hadn't expected this!!

"OHHHHHH LAWD JESUSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!! All the hot sex I gave you...All that moanin and groanin and swearin I was the best you ever haddddd.....YOU LYIN NO GOOD SON OF A...." she screamed...
"MOTHER PLEASE!  NOT IN FRONT OF YOUR GRANDBABY!" screamed Sepia...

Three matrons grabbed Jean and dragged her off, still screaming and cursing at Donald...
 "YOU THINK YOU CAN DO THIS TO ME???"I DIDN'T COME ON TO YOU!!!...YOU CAME ON TO ME!!!...ALL THAT FLIRTATIOUS TALK...ALL THAT FEELIN ON ME...I SHOULDA REPORTED YOU...BUT NOOOO...I FINALLY LET YOU HAVE SOME AND THEN I COULDN'T GET RID OF YOU...YA LOW DOWN NASTY DOG..NOW I DONE FELL FOR YOU AND THIS IS HOW YOU DO ME??" she screamed and still hurled everything she could his way as he ran and ducked...

I looked at Sepia and Donald...I gently lifted our baby girl from Sepia's arms and rocked and consoled her......The baby was now crying !

"Well!" I said looking at both of them....

"That certainly went well." I said smiling weakly.....

EPILOUGE-

Albert Slayton and Calvin Butts were both convicted of multiple murders and conspiracy and sentenced to Life in prison...

Donald Wardlow and Carolyn Shift got married and live together in the house she bought....with their young son.

Leroy Slack moved into a nice apartment with the money we gave him and was broke within weeks...Lost it all at Atlantic City....He currently is living with his mother in the Germantown section of the city...


Sepia and I sat in Josies...Listening to the smooth sounds of Olivia's husband..Donnie Ray Alexander and his little quartet...
He saw us and smiled at us as he played..

His wife, Olivia sat down front....His biggest fan!




"They sound pretty good Gus.." I said to Gus as I drank a beer....Sepia sat quietly...

Gus looked at her,she was barely drinking her drink..Just sitting quietly...He had heard about what had happened at the prison recently...

''She gonna be alright?" asked Gus..I looked at my wife...





"Yeah...she'll be just fine.." I said, smiling...

Eva was watching our baby tonight and the two of us were at Josies...

Sepia's mother was inconsolable for at least two weeks after the break up of her and Donald Wardlow...She didn't blame us...but she had nothing but hatred and venom for Donald Wardlow.....which was understandable...

Eventually she began writing and calling Sepia and communicating through social media with Sepia, who sent her new photos of our daughter,Kimberly...who was trying to take her first steps..

I looked at my wife...

"Sepia..Was it worth it?" I said.

"Kevin ,he was planning to break up with her anyway."said Sepia..

"Yeah, but you paid for lawyers for Carolyn...You paid Leroy Slack off so he'd leave the house ...That was a little extra."I said.

Sepia finally smiled..

"Just a little?" she said.

"Just a little..."I said.

"Well look at the bright side...Donald is with a woman his own age...the mother of his child as he should be..What kind of future would he have had with my mother? She's 17 years older than him and in prison for probably the rest of her life...This was for his own good and hers." said Sepia...

"Hers?  She is alone now..She had a little bit of hope..Something to live for everyday....When you're locked up, it's nice to have something to look forward to." I said.

"I know Kev..I know...Maybe she'll meet a man her own age .An old horny male prison guard." said Sepia...who looked at me and busted out laughing.....The first time I'd seen her smile since we got back from the prison.

"Hope springs eternal" I said smiling.

Sepia smiled and kissed me on the cheek!





3 comments:

Toni said...

God,this had me laughing so hard!

Angie B. said...

One of your better Kevin stories!

Sunflower said...

Hillarious!