Authors: Kevin Bullock
“I apologize, Ron. It won’t happen again.”
“For your sake, it better not. Consider yourself blessed.”
* * *
“…ninety-nine, one hundred!” Hammer grunted, as he completed his tenth set of push-ups.
Exercising was something that he had done since the beginning of his bid, and he wasn’t going to let the segregation time get in the way of that.
He preferred calisthenics over lifting weights because he had seen weight lifters go to segregation for a few months and come out almost half the size that they were before. Calisthenics were different. It was a natural form of muscle enhancing that stuck with a person as long as they ate right, and stayed active.
Being that the guards had counted an hour ago, Hammer estimated that he had thirty minutes left before they came to get him for a shower. So, he began to jog in place to get in the cardiovascular part of his workout. He was interrupted ten minutes into it, when they tray slot opened.
It was Chaplin Stephens again. “Hello, Bobbit.”
“Chaplin. I was hoping that you was going to show up.” He walked over to the door. “Have you heard what they’re trying to do to me?”
“Yes, I heard. But-“
“How in the world am I still in here and they dropped the write-up?”
“From what I gathered, you’re under investigation for some unrelated offensives. Don’t worry about that, Bobbit. It’s just a hoax. I’m working on something that will solve your problem.
This made Hammer smile. He felt a certain closeness to the man that had always had his best interest at heart. They bumped fists like they done when nobody else was around.
“Chaplin, you’re truly a friend,” he whispered. “Hopefully when I get out of here, we can go fishing.”
“The Chaplin smiled awkwardly. “I would like that very much. However, there’s something that I need to talk to you about.”
Hammer reassured his friend with a pat on the hand. “I already know, don’t worry about it. I figured that you wouldn’t be able to hold my job until I came…” he trailed off when he seen Chaplin shaking his head. “No?”
“No. The front desk was just informed by your friend Ron that your mother has jus suffered a massive heart attack. I’m sorry.”
Once the Chaplin’s words fully computed in Hammer’s head, he collapsed to his knees. “No!”
“I’m really sorry, Bobbit. I’m truly am.”
“Is she…,” he couldn’t bring himself to say the word.
“No. She’s in bad shape, though.”
“I got to make a phone call. I got…got to check on my daughter.”
“That probably won’t happen. Felts isn’t here to authorize it.”
A tear escaped from Hammer’s eye. Losing his mother while he was in prison was one of his greatest fears. He had prayed many nights for her health so he could get the chance to spend some time with her again.
She had always rejected his proposed diets, saying that the pork and fried cornbread had gotten her this far. It was now obvious that her ‘good eating’ had caught up with her, and maybe it was too late.
He cried different tears as he thought about the possible state that Cataya was in. He knew that his mother was the only mother she had really ever known, and if she died, Cataya would basically be alone.
He focused back on the Chaplin with pleading eyes. “I know that you are a man of God, and I would never asks you to do anything that would compromise your position. But I beg you to make a call to see where my daughter is.”
The Chaplin dropped his head and his hands disappeared from view. “I’m sorry, Bobbit. I just can’t take that chance. But,” he quickly handed Hammer a cell phone, “you can’ do it. Make it short.”
In all of Hammer’s life, he had never considered kissing a man. But the man in front of him had touched him in such a way, that he began to reconsider.
* * *
Cataya had been crying for so long that her head was pounding, and there were large wet spots on the bed where her face had been buried. Mrs. Billups lay in the hospital bed asleep, oblivious to her granddaughter’s presence. The meds that they had placed her on put her in a deep sleep.
When the phone began to ring, Cataya rushed to answer it to prevent her grandmother from being disturbed. “Hello?”
“How are you doing, baby?”
“Daddy?”
“Yes, this is me.”
“How did you call straight through like that?”
“Uhhh, my counselor gave me an emergency call. How’s mom? Ron told me that they performed bypass surgery.”
“Yep, they did.”
“How’s she?”
“The nurse said that she’ll be okay, and it might take up to three months for her to fully recover.”
“Was she still taking the nitroglycerin?”
“I don’t know!” she said harshly.
“Cataya, listen to me. I know that you’re upset, but I need for youto remember who you’re talking to. Okay?”
“Okay.”
“Now, I already had a little talk with Ron, and I’ve decided that you’re going to stay with him until momma get out of the hospital.”
“I can’t stay with that man!”
“You don’t have a choice. I refuse to let you stay at that house alone.”
“I’ll just stay here with Granny.”
“They’re not going to let you do that.”
“Maa-aann!”
“I done said what I had to say. Ron will be there in about an hour to take you home to pack your stuff. Don’t give him a hard time because he’s going to let me know.” He waited for her response, but it never came. “You hear what I said?”
“I heard you.”
“Good. I have to go. I’ll call again when I get the chance. I love you.”
“Love you, too,” she mumbled, as she hung up. She spent a great amount of time after that starting at her grandmother. The only thing that broke her trance was when the doctor walked in.
“Good morning, young lady. Why the long face? She’s going to be fine.”
“I just can’t understand how this happened. She was okay the other day.”
“Your grandmother was suffering from CAD, and-“
“What’s CAD?” she asked, cutting him off.
“CAD is short for Coronary Artery Disease.”
“Oh.”
“It’s caused when the heart’s arteries become narrow, which reduces or stops their ability to carry oxygen. Insufficient oxygen reduces the heart’s blood flow. Nearly all CAD results from atherosclerosis.”
Cataya frowned, while wondering with the doctor was talking about.
He continued. “Atherosclerosis is a process in which deposits of calcium and dead cells form on the inner layer walls. The proper name for this is plaques.”
“Plaques?”
“Yes. They interfere with the smooth flow of the blood through the arteries. When plaques grow large enough, they can narrow an artery and significantly reduce blood flow.”
“Is that why Granny had to have surgery?”
“Yes.”
“The nurse said that it’ll take up to three months for her to fully recover. Is that true?”
“It sure is. Three months is the average time that it takes to make a full recovery.”
“How long does she have to stay here?”
The doctor pursed his lips. “That varies. Depends on how fast she shows improvement.”
“Can you give me a rough estimate?”
“Like I said, the time varies with every patient. Due to her age, I would guess that thirty to forty-five days would be accurate.”
Cataya sighed. She knew that there was no way that she could stay with Ron for that long. One day was too many days as far as she was concerned. So as the doctor examined Mrs. Billups, Cataya picked up the phone and put her plan in effect…
–—Chapter Five–—
“Kat, what are you doing?” Ron asked his wife over the phone.
“Preparing dinner; what’s up?”
“Remember I told you that Mrs. Billups had a heart attack?”
She gasped. “Please don’t tell me that she passed!”
“No. She would’ve if the doctors wouldn’t performed the by-pass surgery.”
“How’s she now? Fine, I hope.”
“The doctor said that she’s going to recover just fine over some time.”
“That’s expected. How’s the girl taking it?”
“That’s what I want to talk to you about. Hammer asked me if we could put her up until Mrs. Billups gets out of the hospital.”
“Uhh, I don’t think that’s a good idea. She’s so rebellious.”
“You’re absolutely right, but I’m the only person who can do it.”
“I don’t think that I’m up to the challenge. Why won’t her other family members put her up?”
“Because Hammer asked me to do it.”
“Why does he always have to have things done his way?”
“This is not up for discussion, baby. I tell you what, if you don’t want her to stay at the house, I’ll just stay at their house until. The choice is yours.”
“Okay, okay,” she resigned. “She can come here, but I’m going to tolerate any of her sassiness under my roof.”
“Neither will I and she knows it.”
“So much for the candlelight dinner that we planned for tonight.”
“We can still have it. We’ll just give her dinner in the den.”
“Well…I guess.”
“I’ll be there as soon I get her and run a few errands.”
“Okay, bye.”
He ended the call, hoping that Cataya’s presence wouldn’t impose on her personal time. He and Kat didn’t have any kids, so they were accustomed to having all of their time to themselves.
He looked on the bright side of the situation and realized he had an incredible advantage over Cataya now. In the past, his authority had been somewhat limited because Mrs. Billups had always come to Cataya’s rescue when he wanted to turn up the heat on her. But now that he had home court advantage, Cataya didn’t have any other choice but to be submissive. Or pay the price…
* * *
Lake Norman was a very prestigious community that was located on the Northeast side of Charlotte. It was highly recommended to the businessmen and professional athletes that moved to the city in search of a felicitous environment.
The Kims’ five-bedroom house sat on an acre, and was surrounded by a six-foot stone wall. Giant sculptures that were inspired by Chinese artists, perched on the grounds in an almost protectivemanner.
Ching was playing his music so lout that he would have missed the important call hadn’t it been for his mother, Lui Kim, hearing it. She knew beforehand that it wasn’t for her, she never received any calls.
Her husband directed all of his associates to contact him through his Blackberry, and her oldest child was off to college. She never called, so it was obvious to her who it was for.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Mrs. Kim. Is Ching home?”
“This…uhh…Ca…Cat-“
“Cataya. Yes, this is she.”
“Just minutes,” Lui said, as she walked to her son’s room. She then yelled something in her native language, and Ching opened the door seconds later, holding a dumbbell.
He responded in the same language. “Yes?”
She asked him to turn down his music and handed him the phone.
“Hello?”
“Hey. Did I interrupt you?”
“No.” He went back in his room. “I workout.”
“Oh, okay.”
Ching automatically noticed the tone of her voice. “What’s wrong?”
“Uhh…”
“Mrs. Billup’s surgery good?”
“Yeah. It’s going to take her a few months to fully recover, though.”
“Long time.”
“I know. That’s not the worse of it thought. My dad told me that I have to stay with Ron until she gets out of the hospital.”
“How many months?!”
“None. That’s why I’m calling you, I need your help.”
“To do?”
She took a deep breath before telling him her plan…
* * *
Hammer sat in his cell wondering what was taking the guards so long to come get him for a shower. He could have sworn that they had been a couple of doors down ten minutes ago. He leaned his head on the wall and dozed off.
“Carl Bobbit!”
Hammer made his way to the front of the mail line. “You call Carl Bobbit for mail?”
“I’ll check after I finish calling out the rest of it,” the guard snapped. “You should’ve been standing up here if you was expecting some.”
Hammer smiled. He wasn’t going to let anyone upset him on this birthday, so he waited patiently for the guard recalled his name.
“That’s me.”
“What’s your first name?”
“Carl.”
Hammer initially smiled when he saw his daughter’s name on the envelope, but it faded when he recognized his mother’s handwriting:
Happy Birthday, son! It’s amazing how fast these years