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Author's Chapter Notes:

Oh the ideas abound with this little tale...I promise to work on it more...to get this lovely twists and turns worked out...

Despite some of the thoughts about Nita, I like her. She's complicated and extremely flawed. Just like a real person I know all too well...

We're moving right along in this update...hope you enjoy...thanks for reading...




Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


Russ looked at the child riding shotgun in his passenger's seat. Finding the gallery had proven more difficult than he initially expected. The city had grown since his departure years before. Downtown was now a metropolitan Mecca, easily rivaling its closest counterparts in Charlotte or Atlanta. He got lost on the side street that once contained only a coffee shop and a general store. He was amazed by the recently erected buildings modernly crafted to appear decades old and worn by the weather. He found the downtown gallery purely by accident. He picked the child from the crowd immediately. Glassy brown eyes, searching the car line filled with parents excited to retrieve their offspring, and a frown that threatened to make him tear up. Russ quickly parked his vehicle and walked up to the steps where the child sat, "Jackson?"

 

The little boy looked at him, "You don't have blue eyes." The child's statement confused him, "Mama said you were a blue eyed devil."

 

He cringed at the very racial reference and representation of Nita's bitterness, "No their more hazel." He was thankful that the child's seemed oblivious to the term's real meaning. He reached for the book bag at his feet, "You ready."

 

Silence had been their companion for most of the ride, except for the brief interruptions of growling stomachs, and the relay of directions; no words were spoken between the man and the child. The eerie quiet soon gave way to awe, when Russ made the first turn into the subdivision housing the Floyd home. He tried not to look on amazed as they passed manicured lawns and impressive three level creations. He also silenced the looping questions in his mind. One proved relentless, how in the hell did Nita Floyd afford something like...

 

As if Jackson read his mind, the young boy quickly answered, "My grandparents left a lot of money to my mom and uncle," He pointed at a red brick near mansion at the end of the cul de sac, "They bought that."

 

Russ carefully steered the car into the driveway. The garage door was closed and he was unsure if an adult waited for the child inside, "Your uncle lives with you?"

 

Jackson nodded and slipped from the vehicle, "Yeah," He shifted the bag on his shoulder, "You want to come in?"

 

Russ removed the key from the ignition and followed the child to the door. He looked away as the kid dug for a spare key in the pot by the door. Hadn't he just seen a news report about robbers who searched flower pots before busting out pretty paned windows? He clinched his stomach when they stepped in the foyer and the pungent odor of French onion soup and gruyere cheese greeted them. He was still starving and someone was cooking their ass off. Nash's turkey nachos could not compare.

 

"Nita is that you?"

 

A deep voice boomed from the kitchen.

 

"No unc, its J and Mr. Ware."

 

Russ didn't miss the sound of plates clattering to the floor or the subsequent curses that followed. He removed Nita's forgotten cell phone from his pocket, prepared to hand it over to her brother, and disappear quietly into the night. Instead he found himself oddly at ease by the large smile on the man's face, "Ellis Perkins." He accepted the hand he offered and traded off the phone. Ellis fingered the device and shook his head, "My sister is going to shit her pants when she sees you here." Ellis waved Russ and J into the kitchen, "Come on soup's on."

 

~`~

 

Two bowls of soup and a few beers later, Ellis and Russ, could have been classified as old friends.

 

"So it was your old man's idea to give you Nita's job."

 

Russ nodded and shoveled another helping of gooey goodness into his mouth, chased by a piece of fresh bread, "Hell yes," He groaned as the homemade delicacies eased down his throat, "And I've been suffering your sister's wrath since."

 

Ellis smoothed another layer of peanut butter on the bread he was prepping for Jackson's sandwich, "Trust me, Nita's bark is worse than her bite," He finished his preparation and slid the plate across the counter to his nephew, "She's been under a lot of pressure."

 

It was a habit spurred by his increasing interest in the woman known as Nita Ware that made Russ look around for clues into her life, "Where's her husband?"

 

His question evoked a strange response from Ellis. The man nearly choked on his food as his mouth tried to convey his answer, "On the way to hell if he doesn't live right."

 

Jackson chimed in with a clearer choice of words, "My dad's an asshole."

 

Uncle pointed at nephew, "Watch your mouth," He shook his finger at the young boy, "Your mother is not kicking my ass." Ellis did his best to clarify Jackson's description of his father, "Nita and Steve are divorced...it was an ugly resolution to a never - ending soap opera," He took a breath, "Her second husband died a few years ago."

 

The woman had been through a lot and his father's sudden change of mind was probably the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

~`~

 

If Nita kept fucking the way she had been lately, Steven Floyd, wouldn't find a need to embellish the truth in order to gain custody of their two children. Granted she had made peace with her daughter, however, in the process she had managed to forget her son. She was frantic when they finally arrived at the gallery only to find one student and the teacher remaining. She panicked when they announced Jackson had left with some strange white men in an old Volvo with an array of stickers on the back window. Someone had taken her baby. Images of Jackson's face plastered on newspapers and milk cartons accompanied her on her drive.

 

"Mom chill out," Deja pulled out her phone and it was then that Nita remembered the slim metal that was still on her desk, "I'll call Uncle El." Three calls and no answer, mother and daughter were both near panic.

 

Nita drove her car along the downtown streets in search of a vehicle reminiscent of the description. She fought the urge to call her ex husband. He lived a few blocks from the gallery in a high rise building with overpriced condos but she knew he was the last person Jackson wanted to see. For all the sins she had committed against her children, they knew their mother was the definite lesser of two evils. She would give it time, if she hadn't found Jackson in the next hour or two, then Nita would call Steven for help.

 

She kept her eyes on the road and off a very worried Deja. She didn't want to admit her ineptitude to the police, yet, so she took a chance and headed home. She breathed a sigh of relief when she pulled in behind a navy blue, Volvo 850, with an obscene amount of decals displayed on the rear of the car. She rushed from her seat, car still running, and into the house.

 

"Jackson." Her son appeared after just one call of his name. She quickly scooped him in her arms and plastered kisses on his face, "I'm so sorry baby, I got...I'm sorry...I'm just sorry." She wrapped her arms tighter around her son and squeezed, "How did you get home?"

 

Jackson extricated himself from her arms, "Mr. Russ brought me home."

 

~`~

 

Russ steal a job Ware was in her home.

 

Nita took a tentative step towards the kitchen. She could hear Ellis and Russ' boisterous voices as they discussed...her. Ellis was sharing stories that needed to remain among family. Her blood pressure elevated. Her anger grew ten fold, but when her eyes landed on the man who made sure her son safely made it home, all she could do was say, "Thank you."

 

She could tell her words caught him off guard. He stammered and then nodded before he eased from the stool, "I should probably go."

 

Her voice usurped her authority, "I would like it if you stayed for what's left of dinner."

 

A rare smile graced his face and Nita's steps faltered for a minute as she anxiously waited for his decision, "Sure, I would like that."

 






Chapter End Notes:

*More is on the horizon...promise*







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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.