Daddy Dearest (16 page)

* * *

She finally succumbed when Hammer pinched her nose closed. It hurt him to his heart to do so when she looked at him as if he had betrayed her. He began walking around afterwards, singing to her, trying his best to win her back over.

“What’s happening?” Ron asked.

“Hold on, let me put Taya in her room.” He came back to the phone thirty seconds later.

“Alright, I’m back.”

“You just got her to sleep?”

“Hell yeah. It took me forever to find her medicine; I didn’t know where LeLe put it.”

“Did she say where she’s been?”

“Believe it or not, that woman still hasn’t brought her ass home. I don’t know where the fuck she’s at.”
“Want me to go check all the spots for her?”
“Yea. Go…Wait…Never mind, here she goes walking through the door now. I’ll call you back later.”

“Don’t get into any trouble.”

“I won’t; later.”

Hammer walked into the living room to find a very drunk LeLe struggling to unzip her boots.

He noticed how her hairdo was in disarray. “Where in the fuck have you been all night?!”

She either ignored him, or didn’t hear him. He couldn’t know which one, so he repeated himself. She looked up, noticing him for the first time.

“Hey, baby!” she slurred. What are you doing up so early?”

“I’ve been up all night tending to our sick daughter. I couldn’t find her medicine.”

“It’s in the refrigerator in the fruit drawer, crazy man.”

“I know, now. Where have you been?”

“I been…out.”

“Out, where, damnmit?”

“St. Marks! Damn!”

“Please stop yelling. I just got Taya to sleep.”

“Some father you are, letting a baby stay up all night.”

Hammer was struggling to keep his temper from spinning out of control.

“Didn’t you hear me tell you that I was up all night tending to Taya? She’s sick, LeLe.”

“Oh! Let me go check on my baby.”

He blocked her path. “Don’t go in there smelling like a liquor barrel; I just got her to sleep.”

“That’s my baby, too! I can check on her if I want!”

“If you’re so concerned about her, you would’ve came home last night.”

“You don’t control me! I can go anywhere I damn well please!”

“I never said you couldn’t. But if you’re going to be in a relationship with me, you’re going to come home at a decent time. And tell me this, how did you hair get so messed up?”

“Doing whatever I did.”

He grabbed her by the shoulders and slightly shook her. Don’t play with me, woman!”

“Take your hands off me!”

He complied.

“Fannie told me not to fuck with your ass. I…” LeLe cupped her mouth and ran to the bathroom.

By the time that Hammer reached her, she had her whole head in the toilet, vomiting. She hadn’t bothered to hold her hair up. It was also in the toilet.

It took him longer than he expected to bathe her because she seemed intent on unzipping his pants. He expertly avoided her as he scrubbed her thoroughly.

Afterwards, he carried her to their bedroom and laid her one the bed.

“I feel so bad!” she croaked.

“It’s going to be okay.”

“Why, Hammer? Why didn’t you just let me drown and die in there? I feel so terrible, just kill me. Please!”

“LeLe! Keep your voice down. You’re going to wake the baby.”

“See, see. That’s the problem right there. You love Taya more than you love me. I need love, too. You know?”

“Quit talking crazy. You know I love you.”

“More than you love Taya?”

Hammer tucked her in bed as she waited for him to answer her question. He really didn’t want to because he didn’t want to set her off. But lying was out of the question and his nature.

“No.”

LeLe busted out in a loud wail and rolled over on her side. She began babbling about killing herself when sleep overpowered her.

As sad as it was for him to admit it, Hammer preferred her asleep nowadays because it was the only time that she wasn’t fighting her demons. Her appearance would retain its angelic look, and he always found himself back in love with her again.

He made his way to the kitchen to gather LeLe’s hangover kit for when she awoke, but came up short when he discovered that they were out of ginger ale.

He ruled out getting Ron to bring it because he felt like he was abusing that outlet. So, he grabbed his key and prayed that Cataya or LeLe didn’t wake up before he got back.

A man that he perceived as ‘strange’ was standing on the porch next door when Hammer left out for the soda. They locked eyes momentarily, but neither acknowledged the other. It had been this way since the man first moved there a month earlier, and they had a mutual understanding that it would remain that way.

Hammer didn’t know what it was about the man rubbed him the wrong way, he just knew that there was something strange about him.

From the way that he looked, to the vibe that he gave off there was something strange. He pushed these thoughts aside because he had too much on his plate to be giving life to a negative thought. His family was falling apart, and his competition in his line of business was becoming more fierce.

It wasn’t until he saw a van being pulled over that he realized that he had left his wallet on the dresser. He rerouted back to his house, chastising his self for being careless. His problems at home were taking a toll on him in more than one way.

Hammer was relieved to see that the house was still in one piece when he walked in. Everything seemed to be in order with the exception of the opened window in the den. This baffled him because they never opened windows. Both he and LeLe were too conservative about wasting air and energy.

He once again pushed the negative thoughts aside and went to close the window. But he became alarmed when he heard what he assumed to be a man, clearing his throat, so he drew his gun, and crept to Cataya’s room.

“Thank God,” he whispered, when he discovered her still asleep in her crib.

Hammer’s relief was brief. He entered his bedroom and saw his next-door neighbor fondling LeLe in her sleep.

He pulled the trigger twice before it dawned on him that he hadn’t put a bullet in the chamber.

The man didn’t give him a chance to regroup. He bowled Hammer over at an attempt to get back out of the house.

Hammer scrambled to his feet in pursuit. The first slug entered the man’s back just as he reached his own side of the yard. He stumbled, but managed to keep his balance until the second slug shattered his tailbone.

Hammer reached him around the same time that the man’s girlfriend came out on the porch.

What are you doing?! Leave him alone!”

“Fuck you!” Hammer screamed, squeezing off several shots at her. He then focused back on the man. “You have the nerve to break in my house and disrespect my family?! Do you know who the fuck I am?!”

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Don’t kill me, please! I can’t feel my legs!”

“Good.” Hammer unloaded in the man’s chest.

 –—Chapter Eighteen–—

The average man would have shivered, questioned, or agreed with what Hammer did to his neighbor fourteen years ago. Al B. did neither. He was wise enough to know that a person chose their own destiny, and did whatever they saw fit for their way of life.

Whether it was a decision that he agreed with or not, Al B. knew that the person who made the decision was the one who had to live with it. And being that he had been incarcerated for seven years more than Hammer, it was obvious that they both were living with the decisions that they made.

“What I don’t understand,” he mused, “is how they gave you so much time for protecting your family.”

“Because for one, LeLe had passed out, so she couldn’t verify my story. She didn’t wake up until the paramedics put ammonia under her nose. I was on my way to jail by then.”

“That’s crazy.”

“I know. And for two, they gave me an aggravating factor for shooting at the woman, and committing an over-kill.”

“What do they expect someone to do after catching a muthafucker fucking with your peoples like that? Thin rational?”

“I-“

“A cracker wouldn’t got a day if he would’ve caught one of us doing that.”

“I already know.”

“Shit like that just burns me up,” he said heatedly. Let’s talk about something else. How’s your relationship with your lady, now? Has she came around now that she’s older now?”

Hammer thought about the last time that he had seen LeLe in visitation, and told Al B. about it, and her fate.

“Damn! Who got your daughter? Not Social Services?”

“Hah. My moms has had her ever since. They’re tight.”

“That’s good. Does she understand why you’re not home?”

‘See, I wanted to wait until I got home before I broke it down to her. That’s why I instructed my moms not to say nothing to her about it.”

Al B. shook his head. “I’m not trying to tell you how to handle your business, but I know from experience that you can’t keep a child on stand-by like that. Their minds are so restless and imaginative, there’s no telling what she thinks you’re locked up for.”

Hammer know that Al B. was making a lot of sense. “You’re right, I should’ve been told her.”

“Has she ever asked you about her mother?”

“You know what? I can’t ever recall her mentioning her mother to me since she has been of age. I assumed that it was too painful for her to talk about.”

“I see. How would you describe y’all’s relationship?”

“Uhh, it has been strained for a long time. But I got a letter from her about two weeks ago, and she expressed her desires to repair it.”

Al B. was frowning. “Did she seem sincere?”

“Yeah, but…”

“But what?”

Hammer became very uncomfortable because he wasn’t use to sharing his insecurities to anybody other than Chaplin Stephens.

“I want to believe so bad that she was…I…got this gut feeling that…that she wasn’t. Like…I don’t know.” Now he was frustrated.

“What about her mother’s side of the family?”

“What about them?”

“Does she be around them?”

“She has been living with them ever since my mom went in the hospital. They hate me, too. Especially LeLe’s sister.”

This comment caused Al B. to shake his head. “Boy! I don’t want to tell you nothing wrong, but…you already know what I’m trying to say.”

“You think they’re brain washing her?”

“Can’t rule that out.”

“You actually think my own daughter would plot on me?”

“You know what they say about a scorned woman.”

Hammer sighed. He knew that he was in delicate situation that only he could solve. His sheltering technique of secrecy and rules had only put a wedge between them.

A wedge that would only get wider if he didn’t open up and admit to the role that he played in her mother’s death.

* * *

When Cataya opened the door and saw Ching’s t-shirt, she couldn’t help but blush. Her face had been air brushed on it, along with the words ‘Ride or Die Chick’.

“Happy Birthday!” he said, handing her two shopping bags that had Chanel imprinted on them.

She screamed when she saw the designer shoes with the matching bag. “Owww! Thank you so much! I love my birthday presents!”

“I bought in ATL.”

“Thank you so much, Ching! I thought your dad told you to come home today.”

“I stay extra day for birthday. Like shirt?”

“Love it. Come in.”

“Who here?”

“Nobody.” She backpedalled in the house. “My aunt is at work, and God knows where Dee is.”

Then, as if on cue, Dehila appeared magically at the door just as Ching was closing it. She had an expression and a demeanor that suggested that she had a very long night.

“Shutting the door in my face. What’s wrong with you?!”

“Sorry. No see you.”

“Whatever. Don’t you ever stay home?

“Don’t start, Dee!” Cataya warned.

“No! Don’t you start. I’m tired of you, too. Acting like this is your house.” She stared at Cataya’s designer bags like they were making her sick to the stomach. “I be glad when your grandma gets out the hospital so you can go back home.”

Cataya sat the bags on the floor. “I don’t know what else has gotten into you. But if it’s those drugs, you need to give them up.”

“Don’t worry about me. You need to worry bout your pathetic life.”

I rather be in my shoes than yours any day,” she shot back.

“If that was true, you wouldn’t be her acting like you’re my mama’s child. Get your own momma.”

Tears sprung to Cataya’s eyes. “You know what? I hate you, you crackhead bitch!”