Authors: Clever Black
“I told you, she’d come around.” Tiva said as she
rubbed Bena’s shoulder, AquaNina’s voice still being
heard in the hallway as she neared the room.
AquaNina continued singing as she stepped into the room, her head
shaved completely and tears running down her face as she continued
singing her version of Maxwell’s song
This Woman’s
Work
…“
Of all the things we should’ve said
that we never said…all the things we should have done but we
never did…all the things you wanted from me…all the
things that you wanted for me…”
AquaNina, upon entering the room, broke down into tears and ran
towards Bay, knelt at her side and grabbed her hand and kissed it
softly before she leaned over and hugged her tightly, pouring her
heart out. “I’m sorry!” she yelled. “Bay, I’m
sorry!”
“It’s okay. I forgive you. I forgive you,” Bay
mumbled as she hugged AquaNina and waved her hand, signaling Spoonie
to stop recording as she held onto AquaNina and cried.
Bena’s sisters and two medical aides that were in the room had
all left to give Bena and AquaNina time to be alone. When the door
closed, AquaNina lay beside Bena and looked her in the eyes.
“My mother showed me an article that described what happened to
you,” AquaNina said. “The paper from Saint Louis said
where you got shot was an old mafia hangout. What kind of work do you
do when you leave here?”
“Would it change how you feel about me?”
“No, Bena.”
“Then I do what the paper says, ‘Nina. I work where the
paper says. That’s all you need to know.”
“Bay? I love you and I don’t want anything else to happen
to you. I would lose my mind if you were to…you know.”
“Tomorrow isn’t promised for what I do. Tomorrow is
promised to no one. Love me while I’m here, ‘Nina,”
Bay said softly. “Love me while I’m here.”
“I have a lot of making up to do.”
“We’ll talk about it later. You’re here now and
that’s what matters to me the most.” Bay whispered.
“I, I don’t care what you do, Bay. At the end of the day,
though? I want us to be together.” AquaNina said through her
tears.
“You know me? You know who I am and you’re okay with it?”
“You’re like your father, and he was a good person.
You’re a good person. That’s the Bena I know and love.”
AquaNina said as she laid her head in Bena’s bosom, knowing
full-well what she had in Bay. She loved her truly, and she was
actually ashamed of herself for running out on Bay during her most
vulnerable state. As she lay beside her love, AquaNina promised
herself that she would never leave Bay again, no matter the
circumstances. She was in it for the long haul. The word gangster was
never said by neither of the two, but AquaNina knew that, that was
the very person Bena Holland was; her eyes were open now, just like
the rest of the family. And just as Bay’s relatives had
accepted her occupation, so would AquaNina.
“Will you still marry me?” AquaNina asked Bay.
“Thought you’d never ask,” Bay responded lowly
through a smile. “But you can never know what I do outside of
Oklahoma.”
“As long as it’s you and I? What you do doesn’t
matter. But I trust you with my heart so that’s not an issue.”
Bay was more than ready to commit to the love of her life because she
now understood AquaNina’s emotions and actions fully. She’d
learned that the woman she loved was a gangster and had grown scared,
but Bay knew AquaNina couldn’t stay away because she loved her
too much. There were no ill-feelings from Bay towards AquaNina; after
all, she’d lived a lie for some time and would’ve
continued living that lie had she not been shot in Saint Louis.
AquaNina had never asked her why she’d lied. She didn’t
need to, if Bay had to tell it, because she knew the deal. AquaNina
was perfect for Bay. She wasn’t in the life, didn’t dip
into her business on the streets, and loved her for who she was; she
was everything Bay could ask for and more. Bay would recover
completely over the next year or so and would return to her normal
self.
CHAPTER FORTY-SIX
A BLAST FROM THE PAST
“
I don’t wanna forget the present is a gift…and
I don’t wanna take for granted the time you may have here with
me…‘cause Lord only knows another day here is not really
guaranteed…so every time you hold me…touch me like it’s
the last time…every time you kiss me…kiss me like
you’ll never see me again…”
Jane Dow’s soft voice graced the ears of the family as she and
her band did a cover version of
Never See Me Again
by Alicia
Keys on warm sunny Saturday afternoon in May of 2008. At the top of
the patio stairs were twenty-two year-olds Bena Holland and AquaNina
Mishaan. Today was a double celebration. It was the day Bay and
AquaNina were to become life partners and it was also Dawk’s
twenty-fourth birthday. Oklahoma didn’t recognize same-sex
marriages, but Bena and AquaNina wanted to unify their love before
their family so they’d planned their own civil union and
celebration. They’d bought rings for one another and had
recited their own vows before the family. The family celebrated
afterwards with a huge steak buffet and champagne.
A week later, sixteen year-olds Spoonie and Tyke were in search of a
new DVD program. The family had taken many photos and Spoonie and
Tyke had hours of video footage. Naomi’s youngest wanted to put
together a DVD complete with video footage and pictures, basically
chronicling Bena’s recovery up until the day she and AquaNina
had their ceremony a week earlier. The programs on the home computers
could not support the tasks the twins was trying to perform, however,
so they had Walee chauffeuring them all over town in an attempt to
find the program that had the right formatting features.
“Tyke,” Walee yelled from the driver’s seat of
Bay’s Lincoln, “we been to Best Buy, Walmart and three
computer stores, we even been to the Home Depot! They don’t
have what y’all looking for here in the Ponc. We need to head
down to Oklahoma City.”
“You just tryna get at your girl over in Quail Mall,”
Kahlil said to Walee from the passenger seat.
“Already,” Walee snapped. “That thing there got a
tight…” Walee silenced himself, nearly forgetting about
Spoonie and Tyke in the backseat.
“She got some friends, big dog?” Kahlil asked.
“Do she? Look, my sister Bay got a crib down there, ya’
dig? And guess what?”
“She ain’t there and you got the key.” Kahlil said.
Kahlil was a tall, slender-built seventeen year-old Albino with a
head full of red hair that he kept braided and had green eyes. He’d
known Walee since the two were younger hanging out at Kaw Lake Park
where Spoonie and Tyke played softball. He and Walee loved to chase
girls together and today was no different.
Walee was looking out for Spoonie and Tyke, but he was also aiming to
get down to Oklahoma City to meet up with his girlfriend for a while
and chill while Spoonie and Tyke shopped.
“Bay gone punish y’all if she know what y’all be
doing in her place,” Tyke said.
“Bet you gone run and tell that to, huh?” Walee asked.
“Not if you pay for our dvd program.” Spoonie snapped.
“We got ‘em again, girl.” Tyke quipped as she
high-fived Spoonie.
Walee just shook his head. It never failed. Spoonie and Tyke would
sit and listen, spy and sometimes coax Walee into a position where
they were able to bribe him. They’d been bribing Walee for
years now, and it was always over something they knew Walee really
liked doing.
“We go half on it, home boy. I wanna see what your ole lady
friends look like, ya’ feel?”
“Cool,” Walee said as he headed west out of town towards
Interstate-35.
Kimi, Koko, Regina and Mary were following Walee and company as they
headed out of town this sunny afternoon. Mary, wondering where Walee
was headed, called his cell phone from the Maserati and he told Mary
he was headed to Oklahoma City.
“That’s an hour and a half away, Walee.”
“Aww stop going soft, Auntie! We riders!” Walee said as
Mary hung up the phone shaking her head.
The family made their way into the city and split up and did a little
shopping. Tyke was quickly able to find the computer program she
needed, but the family milled about the mall waiting on Walee and
Kahlil. Several hours later, the family ate and were soon back on the
road headed back to Ponca City.
Mary and Kimi chatted as Regina fumbled with the stereo from the back
seat of the vehicle, using the remote control until she stumbled upon
a radio station with an all-so familiar voice deriving from the
Dee-Jay…
…“was on the bus next to Rosa Parks, right? And umm, I
look over to her and say, ‘sister, I don’t know how you
get to sit up front, but I’m glad you did ‘cause my feet
is aching! Where you work’? I then asked Rosa Parks,” the
Dee-jay stated as chuckles were heard in the background.
“Girl tell me that’s not—”
“Shh! Shh!” Regina said as she cut Mary off and raised
the volume.
The family members listened as the Dee-Jay continued telling her
story…“When I asked her where she worked, girl she
looked at me and told me to shut the you know what up!”
“Rose, Rosa Parks ain’t cuss you out! Anyway you wasn’t
even around in the fifties!”
“Tracey, how come every time I relay adventures in my life you
get ta’ hatin’?”
“Nobody hatin’! You be exaggerating, Rolanda!”
“Well exaggerate this, I’m the oldest in this group,
right or wrong?”
“You right.” Tracey Fuller responded.
“And how old is we?” Rolanda Jones asked.
Tracey was thirty-eight, but she didn’t want her age broadcast.
“Go ‘head with your little tall-tale,” she said
nonchalantly over the airwaves.
“That’s what I thought! Now, after Sister Parks cussed me
out, the bus driver got up and came over to our seat and told us to
get up. I got up, but sister Parks stayed in her seat. So since
Sister Parks ain’t move—I sat back down! Eventually, John
Law rolled up. Now, this Montgomery, Alabama
in the fifties
ya’
heard me? We got arrested, tookeded to jail! Two Black women, tired
from a hard day’s work, trying ta’ make it home—instead
we rode downtown. I looked over to Sister Parks and said, ‘these
white folks meant what they said about not sitting in the front of
the bus, huh’?”
“What happened,” another Dee-Jay asked Rolanda through
snickers.
“Dominique, let me tell ya’, she squinted her eyes, and
said to me, ‘if it wasn’t for you you little black heifer
I woulda got away with the (bleep)’! Come to find out, Sister
Parks been riding in the front seats of the buses for weeks! You know
she was light-skinnddeded! She was doing fine! Gettin’ away
with it until my black ass showed up that day! So, go back and check
your facts! If it wasn’t for
Rolanda Jones
, the civil
rights movement would have never started! And that’s my Impact
on History! I’m everywhere ya’ heard? Now, we gone get
off into this song Wifey by the group Next. And it’s on level
‘cause now we on wifey, hit us up at www, dot,
fantasticfourshow, dot com, spell it out and listen on-line wherever
you at in the world,” Rolanda ended as the song was stopped and
Dominique came on the air.
“Fool that’s pronounced Wi-Fi! Y dash Fie!”
“Aww damn, we got technology and all this time I
been—correction! We on Wi-Fi! That’s Y-Fie! Log on to
www,dot, fantasticshow, dot com and listen on-line,” Rolanda
ended as the song was started over.
“Regina this is the show you and Ne`Ne` used to listen to!”
Mary said excitedly as she reached and turned up the volume. The
family members listened to the show until they were out of range; but
Regina would make sure to log on-line whenever she could to listen to
a radio show that brought back so many memories from Ghost Town,
little did they know, they were on the verge of a great discovery.
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
TOGETHERWE WILL DO THIS
It was the second week of October 2008 and thirty-four year-old Ben
Holland was enjoying a get together with old friends. Those old
friends were the casts of the Fantastic Four Show. Ben and his wife
Katrina, his aunt Henrietta and his sister Samantha Holland were into
the second day of the get-together and Ben had been conversing with
one of the Fantastic Show’s members’ husband, a
thirty-seven year-old man buy the name of Calvin Huntley.
During their conversation, Calvin revealed a shocking revelation to
Ben. Ben’s friends, his aunt Henrietta, and sister heard the
news as well. Ben Holland stepped back and looked at the crowd of
people and replayed in his mind what he’d just heard come forth
out of Calvin Huntley’s mouth. “
She had a dimple in
her chin, and a beauty mark under her left eye, just like you,
Samantha. Y’all daddy had a dimple too remember? She had Sam’s
eyes too brer, she had Sam’s brown eyes. On top of that she had
a set of female twins riding with her in the backseat. She had female
twins just like your daughters Samantha. You got more family out
there Ben…Sam had people!”
“So,” Ben said as he rested his hands on his knees and
smiled, “So you tellin’ me my daddy had a sister?”
“Yeah man! I’m tellin’ ya, brer, I ain’t
crazy man! Her name is Mary!”
There was a long silent pause, and then laughter, feelings of
disbelief and also shock. For so long Ben Holland believed he was the
only survivor, he and Henrietta. Henrietta reconnected with Ben, and
together, they found Samantha. Ben and Henrietta both believed that
Samantha was the lost member of the tribe, but it now seemed as if
Ben and Samantha were the lost members all along.
“Oooh! This is huge! Ben, you wanna find them?” Rolanda
asked excitedly.