The Owner of My Soul Vol 2: Chapter XIII and Chapter XIV

CHAPTER XIII

I’M BACK

I opened my eyes, looking at the ceiling of a hospital room. I surveyed the room, trying to see who was around and hopefully catch a glimpse of the time or something. My eyes were still adjusting to the light. I sat up as best I could, hearing the popping of my joints made me chuckle a little bit. After fully sitting up, I stretched and cracked my back to get all the kinks out. When I turned to the left, I saw my phone sitting on the night stand. It was the same phone I had before I graduated high school.

“I really am back in 2103.” I grinned. I grabbed the phone and looked at the date. “September?” I looked at the window. “Daylight….” I looked at the board to see what room I was in. “243. I’m facing the northeast. It’s around noon right now…”

Everything that I’ve been through has now been reduced to nothing more than a memory. No, not a memory….a vision…a guideline that I will use to make my own destiny. But first….. I unlocked my phone and placed a call.

“Hello?”

“Hello, Mrs. Michaels, is Alisa home?”

“Yes, she is, who may I ask is calling?”

I paused for a second and grinned, “This is Kenny Johnson.” The silence assured me she was in disbelief. “Forgive me for my rudeness. How have you been? It’s been quite some time since we’ve spoken.” She dropped the phone and started screaming. Yea, a lot of commotion over there. Safe to say she’s happy. She picked the phone back up.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to drop the phone. Oh my God!! You’re finally awake!! When did this happen?” She asked.

“A few minutes ago.”

“And your first action was to call here?”

“Yes, ma’am.” I smiled. “I couldn’t wait to speak to Alisa. She was all I kept thinking about.”

“That feeling is mutual. Well the wait is over, here she is!”

I could hear her in the background. Alisa was drawn out by her mother’s reaction. She has no idea who is on the phone. I started to feel like my time was running out. I had a feeling Monique would be here shortly. The last thing I wanted was for her to find out this way. I had to be quick. She finally got on the phone.

“This is Alisa, who may I ask is calling?”

“I love you, Alisa, forever and always. I just wanted you to know that you and I will be together very soon. The second I get out of here, I will come see you. I just had to tell you that. I will talk to you very soon. I promise.” I blew a kiss and hung up the phone. I don’t think I could handle her reaction right now.

Seconds later, Monique and Beyonce walked into the room. They were laughing, most likely telling some kind of joke to each other. She was so young and beautiful. Yet even seeing her like this, when she was so infatuated with me, just doesn’t put me at ease. I no longer was in love with her. My soul retained that feeling. It wasn’t even bothering me that she didn’t notice me.

“The thing I didn’t understand,” Monique continued with Beyonce, “is how does Tim expect you to react. I mean you and Will have a baby together.”

That’s right, Tierra and Karla are already born by now. Still, this doesn’t change anything.

“Let’s get everything out the car first before we get settled.” Beyonce suggested.

When they left, I was quite surprised they really didn’t notice me. It’s not like I was laying down sleeping. I shrugged my shoulders and tried to get my legs going. At that moment, the door opened. I looked and saw someone I really needed to see.

“My brother from another mother…….and father!” Will said as he saw me. “I knew you were awake.” He approached me and gave me a hug.

“God am I glad to see you.”

“Likewise. Missed you, Dawg.”

“Missed you, too, Dub.”

“Dub?” Right, I didn’t start calling him that til later. Oops.

“Long story.”

“I had several dreams that you called me that.”

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing….how you feeling, man?” He deflected.

“Not bad, I guess. How’s it feel to be a father?”

“Feels good. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“I can’t wait. Is Tierra and Karla together right now?” He looked at me funny.

“Yea, they are, but how do you know their names? Wait, nevermind, we did tell you that. Glad to know you were listening.”

“Will, there’s so much we have to talk about. You have no idea what I’ve been through. I can’t tell you now because Monique and Beyonce will be back at any moment. Just know that things are going to change.”

“Ok. I’ll make sure we get that time to really talk.”

“Oh yea, what happened during the draft? Was I passed up on fear that I wouldn’t make it?” I wondered.

“Ha, you wish!” He laughed. “You were still the #1 pick. Dad and Uncle Kevin were so sure you’d pull through before training camp began that they picked you anyway.”

“Wow.”

“Yes, sir. I hope you’re ready to run the NBA together.”

“More than you know.” I tried to continue to get my legs off the bed. Will started helping me. “So where is everyone else?” I asked.

“We all just came back from Chris’s house. He threw Toya a birthday party last night. They were all still sleep by the time we left.”

“I see.” My feet touched the floor. I could feel the strength flow through my legs. I was ready. “Alright, on 3.” I told him.

I took two deep breaths and then on the 3^rd, I stood up. I felt better than I thought I would.

“Your mother has been doing body strength exercises with you every other night. You should be in good shape.” He told me.

“It really feels like I am. Is she here today?”

“She’s in surgery. A complicated surgery. As much as I’d love for you to…”

“Walk over there and say hi….yes, I do want to do that. How thoughtful of you to suggest such a wonderful idea!” He chuckled.

“Glad your personality is still intact. The surgery is being done on the other side of the hospital so that gives us time to talk.”

“We’ll leave after Monique and Beyonce return. If I wasn’t here when she got back, I know she’d put the hospital on lock down.” I started thinking. It’s 2103. Will and I didn’t start talking proper for a few years. “Will, I’m curious…when did you start talking more proper?”

“I could ask you the same thing. I woke up one day and was talking as proper as a dictionary writer.”

“I see.”

“What’s your excuse?”

“My soul is seven years older.”

“Yet you haven’t aged a day. You should sell that secret.” We both laughed. At that moment, Monique and Beyonce entered the room, again laughing.

“All I can really say to that…..” Monique began until she saw me.

“Glad you noticed me this time. Cuz if you failed, I would probably have to cut you…” I stated, smiling.

“Kenny….” She whispered. Her eyes filled quickly as she ran to me with open arms. “God has finally answered my prayers.” She cried. “You’ve finally come back to me.”

Maybe it’s a good thing my soul is older now. The 2103 me would have broken her heart right now with no remorse.

“It’s good to finally see you in reality. I also look forward to finally laying my eyes on Tierra. But I need to say hello to my mother. I shall return shortly.” I kissed her cheek and smiled. “I know you have a lot of questions. We will talk when I get back.” I looked at Beyonce. “It’s nice to see you too.” I kissed her cheek. With my arm around Will, we walked out of the room.

“That felt extremely cold.” He claimed. “Are you resenting her?”

“Will, I’mma bout to tell you a story that you may or may not believe. Either way, I promise you it will help you understand how I’m feeling right now.”

“Ok. We’ll be sure to take our time then.”

As I was explaining everything I’ve been through for what was seven years for me, Will was again showing how well we’re connected. There were times when he finished sentences for me or even stories. For example, he knew about the fallout with Chris and Dre. It seems that for the entire duration of my coma, every once in a while his soul would visit mine while he slept. So although he didn’t age 7 years, he did age a couple of years. He also joined me in the experience with Alisa and Alessa. It really only left one question.

“Will,” I said as we stopped in front of the door leading into the observation room. “After everything I’ve told you, I believe you know what I’m going to do.”

“I do.” He said.

“Considering you haven’t experienced what I have, there’s no way you can really know if the events that occur with Beyonce and Monique are real. I can’t expect you to drop her to prevent things that haven’t even occurred. But you and I both know that Alisa and Alessa were meant to be ours. All we needed was a change of heart. Monique and Beyonce provided that change, so the only thing I want to know is if you’re going to stay with Beyonce or go for Alessa?”

“Without a doubt, I want my Lessie.” He replied without a bit of hesitation. “My question to you is when do you want to drop the bomb?”

“When I get out of here.” I replied.

“Do you intend on telling Yvonne about JET?”

“I’m not sure.”

He nodded. I opened the door to the observation room. We walked in and approached the glass that overlooked the surgery floor.

“Do you remember when we used to come up here as kids and watch Mom in surgery all day?”

“Hell yes! We used to make noises to try and scare her and break her concentration.”

“And we never succeeded.” We laughed. “She’s older now, do you think she’s still got the concentration?” I wondered.

“Only one way to find out.” He said.

We looked at the monitor and waited until she was about to make another incision. When we saw our moment, I held the intercom button, we both banged on the glass as hard as we could without breaking it, and yelled “NATASHA” as loud as we could. Everyone in the room jumped and looked up at us, except for her.

“Yes?” She said calmly as she continued to make her incisions.

“I think it’s safe to say she still got it.” Will said to me. I chuckled and nodded in agreement. He pushed the intercom button and started talking to her, “I don’t know how you do it Auntie. Did you train with the bomb squad?”

“Yes, I did, Will, you already know that.” She joked. “Did you come down here to watch an 18 hour procedure or is there something you want?”

“A little bit of both.” He said. “I’ve always enjoyed watching insanely difficult procedures, but I also came down to tell you something. Better yet, to show you something.”

“Have one of the nurses check it out. I’m sure it’s just Chlamydia again.” Two of the nurses chuckled at that.

“You got jokes I see.” Will replied, slightly laughing. “But what I have to show you doesn’t deal with me at all.”

“Can it wait until my break?” She asked.

“Absolutely. In fact, it can wait for a long time, but I figured you’d rather see now. Trust me, Auntie, you’d want to see what I have to show you.”

“Ok, Will.” She finished her incision and looked up. “What do you have to…” She noticed me as I smiled and waved. “Dr. Livens, take over for me.” She said.

“But we’re at the most difficult part of the surgery…I don’t think I can do this.” He complained.

“Then move on to the next part and keep him stable. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” She set down her scalpel and walked out of the room.

“Should we meet her halfway?” Will asked me.

“What’s the point? I’m sure she’s running up here. By the time we get to the door, she’ll be right there.” I said as I turned around to walk to the door. “1…” I started counting, “2….” My hand was on the doorknob. “And 3.” I flung the door open and at that moment, Mom basically dove into my arms…more like a tackle. I pretty much immediately hit the floor. Will busted out laughing.

“I’m so happy you’re finally awake!!” She cried.

“So am I. Thank you for taking good care of me, but I think you may have broken my spine.” I joked.

“You’ll live.” She said. She held me as tight as she could. “Ok.” She let go and started to get up. “This has been a bit painful, let’s get off the floor.”

“Agreed.” She stood up and helped me up.

“I have to get back into surgery, are you staying around or going back to your room?”

“When’s your dinner break?” I asked.

“At 1900.” She replied.

“I’ll come back. We can have dinner together.”

“That sounds good. Just meet me at the cafeteria on this end. They have better food anyway.”

“Sounds like a date. May I bring my brother here?” I asked as I put my hand on Will’s shoulder.

“If you must.” She smiled as she kissed Will’s cheek and then mine. “Gotta go. Love you both.”

“Love you too.” We both said back to her.

We watched her leave and, moments later, re-enter the operating room. We sat down and continued to talk as we watched her do what she’s great at. After an hour, we decided to head back to my room.

“So what are you going to say to Monique?” Will asked me.

“I’m going to act like everything is ok. I don’t want to alarm her of anything serious until after I’m discharged.” I replied.

“She’s going to want sex.”

“You mean she’s going to want sex from me. I’m quite sure she’s already been having it.” I claimed. We both laughed.

“I don’t doubt it. From what you were telling me, I wonder the same thing. I guess my concern is if Tierra is really yours….” I looked at him and actually wondered the same thing. Then I shrugged it off.

“Nah, she looks like me and will eventually act like me. That’s my daughter all the way.”

As we approached my room, I look at the door, trying to decide what I want to say to her when I see her. I look at the clock on the wall. Only 2 hours until I meet back up with Mom. Hmmm….

“Hey, just go in there and give her some dick for the next two hours as a nice little send off.” Will suggested.

“That may be the best thing to do at this time. Do you have any contraceptives on you?” I asked.

“Always.” He handed me a condom. “I’ll come scoop you up in 2 hours.”

I nodded. “Good looks, Dub.” I gave him dap and walked into the room. Monique was sitting at the edge of the bed with a worried look on her face. When she saw me, she immediately popped up.

“Kenny, I….” She began.

“Before you start,” I interrupted, “Allow me the opportunity to apologize. I realize you’ve been here with me for almost the entire time and it was wrong for me to leave you in here with no real explanation. I’m sorry, love. You’ve deserved better than that.” I approached her, “But none of that matters anymore. I’m here, alive and well. All I want to do is provide you with the loving you and I been missing.” I stood right in front of her. “That very loving that created our beautiful daughter.”

CHAPTER XIV

ANSWERS

I got up and got dressed right before Will knocked on the door. He knocked lightly, expecting Monique to be sleep, which she was. I opened the door, squeezed out, and closed the door gently.

“Seems like you did exactly what I suggested.” He stated.

“Feels good to have empty balls again.” I joked. We both chuckled. “So have you signed your contract yet?”

“Of course not, I had to wait on you.”

“Good look. I’ve been thinking about signing a 6 year deal and then retiring.”

“Only six years? Why so short?”

“I have a feeling Dad and Uncle Tevin are going to retire so they want us to spend the next couple years learning everything we need to learn to take over.”

“Where is this feeling coming from?” Will asked.

“Just something deep down. Don’t worry, I have nothing to base this on. I’m merely making a prediction.”

“Hmmm, now I have a feeling you’re going to be right.”

We arrived at the cafeteria. Mom was waiting on us at a table with Chinese food already there. Nice!

“Right on time boys.” She said as we approached the table. We sat down and began helping ourselves to the food. “So, Kenny, the main reason I wanted to spend this time with you is to explain what you may have been experiencing”

“What do you mean? I was in a coma and nothing more, right?”

“That’s what I told everyone else, but there’s more to it.” She put her fork down and pulled out a folder from her briefcase. “Do you remember the tests we conducted a little while ago and found that you had IKV and DAF?”

“Absolutely.” I replied.

“Well we’ve had time to really get to know those viruses and their affects. For one, you’ve been carrying them for several years. You may have picked it up overseas somewhere.”

“That’s interesting, I guess.”

“These viruses usually kill a person in a matter of months. You’ve had em for years….it’s way more than fascinating.”

“What exactly does that mean though?”

“You have a protein in your blood that made the viruses merge into one and then attach itself to your red blood cells. The extremely fascinating thing about it is how it affected your brain. You should have been dead from your gunshot wounds, yet somehow you weren’t. Instead, your brain went into a sleep mode while your body healed.”

“A sleep mode?” Will repeated.

“It’s the oddest thing. The virus combined with your red blood cells and acted as a preservative. All your organs were safely being “stored” so to speak while your body operated at minimum levels. It was amazing actually.”

“That’s insane!” I stated. “So how would that affect what I’ve been through?”

“What do you mean?” She wondered.

“To me, I just lived 7 years of my life. My soul has been through so much. How is that possible?”

“That, I don’t know. Science can only explain so much. Maybe your body’s state was unable to maintain your soul.” She said.

“So wait, how much of my personality would it affect?” I wondered.

“It’s hard to say. It changes person to person.”

“There’s been a few situations that occurred that made no sense to me….like I did things out of character.”

“Hmmm……well, I don’t see why it wouldn’t affect you like that. I’ve seen studies that showed a breakdown in normal psychological tendencies. Subjects have been more passive with no desire to handle situations how they would normally handle it.”

“That’s pretty much exactly what it’s been like.” I stated. I wasn’t really sure how to take this though. “So it’s pretty safe to say that everything that I experienced was caused by two viruses that I’ve had in my system for years?”

“Essentially, yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. We’re not really sure how it happened, but it did.”

“Are the viruses still inside of me?” I asked. She paused for a second. The look on her face pretty much told me my answer.

“Honestly, we haven’t found a cure. The problem is killing the virus without damaging anything else that the virus is attached to. So far, every vaccine we’ve tried ends up killing the blood cells as well.”

“I see. So what does that mean for me?” I wondered.

“Well, I’m not sure.” She took a sip of her drink. “Going by what we’ve seen so far, you’ll be fine as long as you don’t fall into another coma. From what we’ve seen, your body has pretty much merged with the viruses. We just don’t know what will happen afterwards.”

“For all you know, the viruses could attack at any moment…” I stated.

“And you’ll probably be dead within minutes.” She added.

“Sounds like I have a ticking time bomb inside of me.”

“Could be….sadly, we don’t know what the timer says.”

I sat there not real sure what to think or say. These viruses were in me….a part of me. They were making me soft. When you think about it, they really opened my world to love and tolerance. Could they be more of a blessing than a curse? Then it hit me.

“Wait, if they’re attached to my blood cells, what are the chances they’re attached to my sperm?” I asked.

“I wondered that too,” She began, “so I immediately checked Tierra. She’s clean for the viruses.”

“What about JET?” I asked.

“What about him?” Ma wondered.

“Well, he’s my son.”

“What? I thought he was Andre’s son??” She said in slight surprise.

“Yea, we all thought the same, but he’s mine. I don’t think Yvonne really knows yet, so I don’t want to alarm her just yet.”

“Well, we can check him. I want to check your sperm at some point, so I need a sample.”

“Pardon?” I said, acting like I didn’t hear her correctly.

“I need an untainted sample.” She rephrased.

“I’ve never masturbated in my life.” I stated.

“Well you’ll either be enjoying your first or you can pull out…..I don’t give a damn. I just need you to ensure it’s in a cup so I can test it and make sure the viruses aren’t able to spread because of your semen.”

“Yes, ma’am. So far, is blood the only method of transmission?”

“It’s a little more complicated than that. What makes it so difficult to really understand is that it doesn’t transmit consistently. With the tests we ran using your blood, the viruses maintained attachment to your blood in most of the cases. Out of the 20 trials we did, only in 8 of them did it transmit. In 7 of those 8 cases, it killed the cells at an alarming rate.”

“Wow. So what happened in that last case?” I asked.

“Same thing that happened to you.” Will replied. “I know this because I was that trial.”

“What?” I said in a high pitch voice.

“I’ll explain,” Ma jumped in, “You and Will have the same blood type. Out of the other 19 trials, two of them had the same blood type as y’all. Yet the virus destroyed those cells. Something wasn’t adding up, so Will volunteered to be a live test subject so to speak.”

“As you can see, it didn’t destroy me.”

“This sounds ridiculous!” I said.

“Because it is…” She started laughing as well as Will.

“Wait, you were bullshittin me?” I wanted to sock one of them in the jaw. “That was mean.”

“Calm down, we were joking about the voluntary part of it.” Ma said.

“Oh……..wait, what?”

“When that crew found out I was still alive, they put a hit out on me. Caught me in the hospital parking lot.”

“Fuck…” I said softly.

“We were going to lose him. He lost so much blood before anyone was able to find him. I didn’t think clearly at the time. The only thing I was thinking about was the fact that you and him were the same blood type. It saved his life in more ways than one.”

“So he has the viruses as well?” I asked rhetorically.

“I’m not going to say we had no choice, but I don’t think we made the wrong choice.” Ma stated. “It was a huge risk. When we realized what we’ve done, we didn’t know what to expect. Yet, it’s reacting in his body the same way as yours.”

“Why am I not surprised?” I stated, shaking my head.

“I sure as hell wasn’t. If anything, I’ve never been happier that we were the way we were.” Will said. I nodded in agreement. Ma looked at her watch.

“Looks like it’s time for me to get back to work. I have another surgery to prepare for.” She said as she was standing up. “We’ll talk later.” She kissed each of us on the cheek and left. Will and I remained at the table.

“So yet again we’re in the same boat.” I said.

“Yet again.” He agreed. “The question is what are we going to do from this point forward?”

“I was thinking the same thing. I think the important thing to do right now is talk to Alisa and Alessa face to face.”

“Have you talked to em yet?”

“I did briefly before Monique came in the room. Fuck, I should call her now.” My phone started vibrating. I looked at it and started shaking my head. “Un-fuckin-believable!” I answered the phone. “Hey beautiful, I was just talkin about you.”

“Oh my God, you have no idea how happy I am right now. What are you doing?” Alisa asked.

“Shootin the shit with Will. You?”

“Just got home from the mall. Tell Will his phone is off.”

“Roger that.” I looked at Will. “Turn your phone back on, Dub.” I got back on the phone. “I want to apologize for my briefness earlier. Monique walked in and I didn’t really want to start trouble at that moment.”

“Did you mean what you said?” She asked.

“Every word.” I replied. “But I want to see you first. Where are you?”

“That’s why I was calling. We’re walking into the hospital right now.” She stated.

“Very funny…” I said, extremely skeptical.

“I’m so serious. Where are you?”

“In the North Wing cafeteria.” I told her.

“How do you feel?” She asked.

“I feel great.”

I just happened to look up after I answered that. I shit you not, I looked up just in time to catch Alisa as she dove over the table and into my arms. We flew back in my chair and crashed into the floor. Before I could even attempt to gather myself, her tongue was in my mouth. The feel of her body against mine, her lips pressed against mine, her tongue caressing mine…. I’ve longed for this moment for way too long. Yet in reality, I’ve only been away from this moment for a few months. This was odd yet euphoric. I was finally able to muster the strength to stop kissing her. I looked into her eyes for what was only a second but felt like an eternity. I was fighting back tears. I couldn’t believe this woman was really here with me and it wasn’t a hallucination or dream.

“I’m so happy you’re finally awake!” She said with the biggest smile on her face. “We were about to leave for the airport when you called.”

“So you were already planning on coming here?” I asked.

“Yes. We planned on it days ago.” She started kissing me again, little smooches. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed you.” She said as she lied down on my chest.

“Shit, you have NO idea how much I’ve missed you.” I said as I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. After a few seconds, I think we started to gain our composure. “Ok, let’s get off the floor.” I suggested.

“If we must.” She got up and helped me up. I sat up the chair and sat in it. She sat on my lap. “Hey, Will. Glad you’re doing well too.”

“Yea I’m good. All things considered, I’mma let it slide that I was an afterthought.” He said smiling. Alessa came over to me and gave me a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Great to see you up on your feet.” She said to me.

“Thank you. It’s great to see you as well.” I replied. I kissed her cheek and watched her walk back over to Will. “Well, I don’t know what to say. This is unexpected.”

“You can start by telling me what your intentions are…” Alisa suggested.

“Considering I’m not a married man right now, it’s easy for me to say I want us to start our life together.”

“It’s always been easy for you to say, but will you actually do it?” She asked.

“Yes.”

“Starting when?”

“I don’t know. Will?” I looked at Will.

“Shit, tomorrow.” He replied with no hesitation.

“Why not tonight?” Alessa asked.

“We’re not that cold blooded.” I said. “We’ll end things tonight and when you come by tomorrow, we’ll be free and available.”

“When are you getting discharged?” Alisa asked.

“I’m not sure. Hopefully tomorrow.”

“Aye, what are we goin to do about Chris and Dre?” Will asked.

“Shit, good question. I think I need to do all I can to educate my sister on Mr. Lopez. They haven’t gotten married yet, right?” I wondered.

“Nah, Latoya and Yvonne both weren’t in the mindset for it.” Will replied. “Oh shit, I was supposed to text her when you woke up.”

“Ridiculous. She gon kick your ass.” Alessa stated.

“Nah, she’ll just chew me out. I’ve been chewed out before.” He chuckled.

“Man, you remember that one time you used her comb by accident?” I brought up.

“Shit, I do…” Alessa said. “I was on the phone for that ass chewing. It was so bad, I was apologizing.” We all laughed.

“That’s not a joke, she really was apologizing.” Will confirmed. “Toya got a temper on her.” He started texting Latoya and Yvonne.

“Yes she does.” I agreed. “So where are y’all staying?”

“Mrs. Johnson has us in room 1523 in the Northwest wing.” Alessa replied.

“We love the view from there. Maybe when you get some free time you’ll come up.” Alisa offered.

“Sounds good to me.” Will replied. I nodded in agreement.

“Great.” Alisa said as she stood up. “Alessa and I are going to get something to eat and go up to our room. Text us later?”

“No doubt.” I said. She kissed me and smiled.

“See you later.”

“Later love.” I watched her walk away with a slight grin on my face. I pulled out my phone and called Yvonne.

“KENNY!!!!” She yelled as she answered the phone.

“Hey love, how are you?” I asked her, laughing a little bit.

“I’m great! How are you?” She asked me, still extremely excited.

“I’m alive! What more can I really say? Where are you right now?”

“I’m on my way there. I can’t wait to see you.”

“I can’t wait to see you too. Do you have JET with you as well?” She paused for a moment.

“Yea, I do…..how do you know his name??” She asked, completely surprised.

“We can talk about that later. I’ll see you when you get here.” I told her.

“Ok. I’ll call you when I’m in the building.”

“It’s on.” I hung up with her and looked at Will. “The best part about being hospitalized is a readily available DNA test.”

“I heard that.” Will agreed. “So we waiting here or going somewhere else? Beyonce just texted me that they’re staying home tonight.”

“Damn, I was hoping to break things off tonight. Oh well. I guess take the party to the room.” I suggested.

He nodded and we got up. We started walking. The entire time I couldn’t stop thinking about Alisa but at the same time I was trying to decide what I was going to say to Yvonne. Did I want to tell her everything about my experience? I think I need to just relax and let the mood be my guide.

“Hey, I know Yvonne is on her way. Hit me up when she leaves and we’ll go chill wit the twins.” Will said as we approached my room.

“It’s on.” I acknowledged. I gave him dap and went into my room. The second I closed the door, Yvonne called me. “What up?”

“I’m in the building, headed to your room.” She said.

“Roger that, I’mma jump in the shower. Just come on in.”

“Ok. See you in a bit.”

I hung up with her and got undressed to take a shower. This will have to be quick. I jumped in the shower and washed as fast as I could, but damn the water was feeling good. I could hear the door open and close before I fully completed. I hurried up and finished up, turned the water off, dried off, and started putting lotion on. I could hear Yvonne’s voice as she talked to JET…actually sounded more like she was on the phone. Not ease dropping though. I put on something comfortable and came out the bathroom. She quickly got off the phone when she noticed me.

“Oh my god it’s so good to see you!” She said as she briskly came up to me and hugged me.

“The feeling is mutual. Everything ok?” I asked.

“Yea, just Andre wondering where I am.” She took my hand and pulled me down to sit with her on the bed. “So tell me, how are you really feeling?”

“I feel good. It’s been quite an experience.”

“I really want to know about it, but first, why did you want me to bring JET?”

“Well you remember how often we were messing around…”

“Of course I do.” She said smiling. Damn, I forgot how sexy she was at this age. Her smile slightly turned me on.

“Well, the truth is this….” I told her most of what I experienced in my 7 years of living. She looked surprised, as expected, but it also looked like she believed me. Makes my life easier. “So really, I want to get him tested to make sure I’m not crazy.”

“Ok, but he’s sleep now.”

“All I need is his hair.” She looked at him and then remembered.

“I do have his brush.” She started looking through her diaper bag and grabbed his brush. She took two strands of hair off the brush and handed it to me.

“Great, hold on.” I pulled one of my hairs out. I looked in the drawer next to my bag and found a “Specimen” container. I put the strands of hair in it and called the nurse. The nurse came in almost immediately. “I need a DNA test on these hairs.” I told her as I handed her the container.

“Yes, sir, I’ll get right on that.”

“Thank you, love.” I watched her leave the room.

“So with everything you’ve been through, how does it affect your feelings for people now?” She asked.

“It’s actually weird. Like, I have to fake a lot of things.”

“Do you have to fake anything with me?”

“Not one bit. We had a good relationship…have a good relationship.” I said.

“I always thought we had a great relationship.” She said. “I think we have a very amazing relationship.”

“Yea, we do now, but years from now, we’ll be too wrapped up in our families and careers.”

“We stopped hanging out?”

“For the most part. Things changed between us when we found out we were related. I guess it just felt awkward after everything we’ve done.”

“That makes sense. You said you don’t think we’re actually related, right?” She wondered.

“I actually know we’re not.” She started to approach me.

“So you know for an absolute fact?” She asked softly, now standing inches away from me.

“Absolute fact.” I repeated.  Then a knock on the door followed by its opening.

“Kenny, I have the results for the test. You’re the father.” The nurse said. I smiled.

“Thank you, love.” I told her.

“You’re welcome.” She closed the door. I looked at Yvonne and tried to see what she was thinking. Then I stopped trying and decided to ask.

“What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know.” She said. She started pacing the room. “I mean, I was ready for the possibility of this happening after you told me that story, but I don’t think I was as ready as I thought I was.” She stopped and looked at me. “What should we do?”

“I don’t know. I mean we don’t have to tell anyone and you can continue to be with Andre like nothing is different. It’s not like you need anything from me that he can’t provide.”

“What if I wanted you instead?” She asked. I knew she was serious too.

“Eve, I’ve considered being with you so many times that it’s a reoccurring dream.” I looked down and then back at her, “fact is, after everything I’ve experienced, it’s safe to say my heart belongs to someone else.”

“Monique…” She joked.

“Fuck no.” I said real fast, laughing a little bit. “Alisa.”

“Alisa Michaels?” She wondered.

“Yea, you know her?”

“A little bit. We had a class or two together and she used to talk a lot about a guy she was crushing on…that was you, huh?”

“I hope so.”

“Wow… I mean I know I joked about Monique, but I actually expected you to say Sydney.”

“Wait, why would I say Sydney?” I asked, puzzled. I know I didn’t tell her about Sydney.

“You told me about the trip to LA you took last year or so. You were shocked to see her at a bar that both of you were obviously too young to be in, but you both had cards.”

I never explained this so allow me to take the time. Back in 2016, the President decided that military personnel should be able to drink no matter what age they are. It became a federal law in a landslide vote. Protests began around the country that felt military personnel were getting special treatment because they volunteered to serve while mature teens were being ignored… you know the ones that spend their minor years working two jobs to take care of their parents. So the government decided to allow any minor over 16 purchase alcohol as long as they had a government issued card. In order to get the card, you had to take a 3 part test that proved your maturity levels. It wasn’t easy. It had a 14% pass rate.

“I completely forgot I told you that story.” I replied. I then thought about it… This means Sydney and I already conceived Kendal… Not only that, he’s almost a year old…. Timeout, I thought Kendal was younger than Tierra? Did my mind twist that all up?’ Something isn’t right… In fact, I’m starting to get slightly concerned…

“Yea, you told me the night you got back. We were drunk of course.”

“Of course we were.” My mind was going ape shit.

“Are you ok?” She asked me.

“Yvonne, you’re my closest friend next to Will… I mean I tell you everything.” She nodded in agreement. “So I need to tell you the rest of the story.”

“What story?”

I began to tell her absolutely everything that I went through…. In fact, not just what I went through, but what she went through as well. I had no idea what affect this would have, but I had to tell someone that wasn’t Will. When I finished, we kinda had an awkward silence…like she didn’t know whether to believe me or not. She stood up and started pacing. I sat there, waiting on a response from her. Minutes went by before she said anything.

“Kenny, look at me in the eyes and tell me everything you said is the absolute truth.” She requested. I stood up, put my hands on her cheeks and gently kissed her lips. I looked at her in the eyes.

“Everything I said is the absolute truth.” I said softly.

“What if you’re wrong?”

“What if I’m right?”

“Tell me something that would make me believe you.”

“Telling you JET is my son wasn’t enough for you?”

“No, it wasn’t.”

I thought about it for a minute and tried to think about this day. Hell, what is today? 18 September 2103….. Then it hits me.

“In….” I looked at the clock on the wall, “20 minutes, the Indians will start a 15 run comeback in the bottom of the 9^th inning. It’s currently the top of the 8^th and the Reds are up 13-4. They’re going to increase that lead to 19-4 before they even get 1 out. In the bottom of the 9^th, the Indians will score 12 runs with 2 outs, forcing extra innings with a walk-off HR in the bottom of the 10^th on the first pitch.”

If you don’t know baseball, that’s the Cleveland Indians vs. the Cincinnati Reds…all the other details just Google it.

“That’s extremely detailed. How could you remember that?”

“Will threw the ceremonial pitch and we both watched it from the luxury suites. I remember Dad calling the manager and giving him a pep talk. That occurred at the bottom of the 9^th.”

“Ok…” She sounded extremely skeptical.

“If I’m wrong about this, then your point would have been made. If I’m right, then you’ll have your proof.”

“Wouldn’t this be a moot point considering Will wasn’t there to throw the pitch anyway so since you both are missing, theirs a change in the way things would have played out..”

“That may be true, but I don’t believe anything that occurs outside of the playing field matters. I used to wonder if teams would have won if I watched the game or not, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter.”

“What if that ceremonial first pitch is what motivated them to begin with? What if your Dad isn’t there to give that pep talk?”

“He’s there because he’s negotiating with the owner to buy the team. It was a meeting I scheduled for him back in November.” She thought about it. “There’s nothing to lose except for the time we wasted with my story.”

“Ok.” She agreed. “Let’s watch it.”

I nodded and turned on the TV. It was a commercial at the time, so we kinda sat there just waiting. I grabbed my phone and made sure no one was trying to contact me.

“Let’s say that you end up believing me, what do you think I should do about Sydney?” I asked her.

“I’m not even going to think about it until I verify you’re not crazy.” She replied. Same ol’ Yvonne.

“I do have another proof test as well. A crazy woman is going to attempt to blow up the patent office tomorrow morning.”

“And why would you remember that so well?”

“Because her name was the exact same as yours.”

“You’re not saying that I will…”

“No, no, no…” I interrupted her. “In fact, you pointed it out to me because it made you stop.”

“Made me stop what?” She wondered.

“To put it bluntly, it made you stop riding me.” She looked at me smiling.

“You would say that.” She chuckled.

When the commercial break was over, we saw the score sitting at 19-4 at the start of the bottom 8^th inning. She immediately looked at me, so far I was right.

“So how does this inning play out?” She asked me.

“3 up, 3 down. I don’t remember any details beyond that though.” I stated. “Top 9^th will also be 3 up, 3 down.”

We started watching the game. Even though I wasn’t there, watching the game gave me a déjà vu feeling. Every time I picked up my phone to do something was between pitches, just like I did at the game. Damn that’s eerie.

As the 8^th inning ended, playing out just as I said, she looked at me with a lot less skepticism then before.

“You know, I think I believe you even if this game doesn’t end as you thought mainly because you and Will aren’t there.” She stated.

“I appreciate the benefit of the doubt.”

“I’ve been thinking and I don’t know what to tell you. But, I do believe you need to tell Sydney immediately about Kendal.”

“I agree, but I’m afraid what would happen between Alisa and me.”

“Considering what you told me about her, I don’t think you need to worry about that. Tell her about it and see what she says, but considering she’s been there for you and waited on you for years, I can’t imagine she would even consider being without you.”

“Yea, I think you’re right. I guess I’m more afraid of being in the situation of having to choose.”

“Yea, about that…….You’re already in that situation.”

As I thought about it, the game came back on, beginning the top of the 9^th. We watched as exactly what I said would happen, did indeed happen. The top of the 9^th ended and we waited for the bottom to begin. No words were spoken as I tried to figure out what I was going to do. I was sure she was as nervous and excited as ever.

The bottom of the 9^th began and we anxiously awaited for things to play out. The first batter came up and swung at the first 3 pitches, striking out. 1 out. The 2^nd batter came up and hit the 3^rd pitch into the gap in the outfield. One man on base. The next batter hits the first pitch into a would be double play, but barely beats the throw to 1^st base. 2 outs, one man on base. Then it begins. The next two batters make it safely on base to load the bases. The next two batters get walked…that’s 2 runs. The next batter hits a grand slam…that’s 4 more runs. Pitcher change, so we’re on commercial. Yvonne looks at me and I nod. The score at this point is 19-10.

The commercial break ends and the 1^st batter to face the new pitcher gets walked on 4 straight pitches. The next batter gets intentionally walked because he already had two home runs in the game. The next batter hits a double to right field, scoring 2 runs. The next batter gets hit by the first pitch he sees and the pitcher gets ejected. We hit another commercial break and the score is 19-12 with a runner on first and a runner on second. Yvonne couldn’t believe what she was seeing. She looks at me as I’m on my phone texting Sydney.

The commercial break ends and we see the first batter come to the plate facing the 3^rd pitcher of the inning. With the count 0-2 (0 balls, 2 strikes), he fouls off the next 4 pitches. The 5^th one, he sends flying into center field. 3-run home run. The next batter hits a triple into left field. The Reds change pitchers again, prompting another commercial break. The score is now 19-15.

“Pretty wild, huh?” I stated.

“Don’t talk to me right now.” She said. I just smiled.

The commercial break ended and at this point, the crowd is going insane. I remember the craziness like it was yesterday. The next 3 batters reach base safely. The 4^th batter hits a 2-run single into left field. A runner was now on 1^st and 2^nd. The next batter is walked intentionally. The next batter hits the 4^th pitch he sees into the corner of right field. 2-runs score and the runner that was on 1^st based, gets tagged out at home by the catcher. That run would have won the game, but that out ends the inning tied at 19. Commercial break.

“You gotta be fucking kidding me.” She shouted. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”

“Shit, neither can I.” I admitted.

“I can’t believe you right now.”

“Yea, I know it’s crazy. I’m finding it hard to believe myself.”

The commercial break ended. The top of the 10^th inning went just as I said it would….oh wait, I didn’t tell her how it would go. Just so you know, it was 3 up, 3 down. No commercial break this time as they started showing highlights of the game. When it was over, the bottom of the 10^th began. My heart was pounding in anticipation. Yvonne was on the edge of her seat, also in anticipation. The pitch was thrown, the bat was swung, and the ball was hit high and far……FOUL!!! Oh yea, I completely forgot about that. We thought the first pitch was a home run, but went just an inch to the left of the pole… The 2^nd pitch was thrown, the bat was swung, and the ball was hit high and far…..HOME RUN!!! Game over!!! Indians Win!!!

“Un-fuckin-believable.” She expressed in utter disbelief.

“I know, right? I completely forgot he fouled off the first pitch.” I stated. I turned off the TV and just waited on her response.

“Ok, so it’s pretty obvious you know about your future. So I ask you, what do you plan on doing with this information?”

“I’m going to change it.”

“How?”

“For starters, I’ve texted Sydney to request a meeting with her. She’s still in LA, so in the morning, I’m taking a flight out there and we’re going to have dinner.”

“What will you tell Alisa?” She wondered.

“I’m going to tell her the truth.”

“Good call. Ok, not to change the subject, but what the fuck should I do? It seems like it’s inevitable that Andre will cheat on me.”

“Well, I can have a conversation with him if you want, just to gauge what his reaction would be.”

“I don’t know if that would even work. He could tell you anything.”

“Well, it’d be horrible to leave someone for things they haven’t even done yet.” I stated.

“That’s coming from someone who is resenting Monique for things she hasn’t even done yet.”

“Two different situations…To me, it feels like she did do em.”

“I guess.”

“You have to do what’s best for you and JET. If you decide to leave him, I promise you I won’t leave you high and dry. I guess we can take the obligation away from him.”

“Should I change his name?” She wondered.

“Fuck…..I don’t know about that one. I guess it’s up to you. He’s so young that you could get away with it.”

“I guess I’ll think it over.” She started thinking to herself. I just looked at her and couldn’t help but wonder if this was a good idea or not. “Thank you for telling me. You’re saving me a lot of grief later and I appreciate that.” She approached me and kissed my lips. “I love you.” She kissed my lips again then stood up. I watched her as she grabbed JET, her purse and diaper bag. “I’ll text you when I get home.” I nodded.

“Yvonne?” I called as she opened the door. She turned and looked at me. I approached her and kissed her lips. “I love you too.” She smiled and kissed me again before leaving. I watched her walk away, wondering what was going through her mind.

I closed the door and texted Will to see what he was doing. Instead of a reply, he came into my room.

“So I was thinking,” he began, “let’s just go knock this shit out and get it over with.” He was referring to Monique and Beyonce.

“I’m for it. Let me check with Ma to see if I’m even able to leave.”

“You’re not, I already asked her. I was just going to sneak you out.”

“Fair enough.” I grabbed my shoes and followed him out the room.

We drove to their house. Lights were mostly off except for the living room light. We looked at each other, thinking maybe they were sleep.

“I’ll check. Wait here.” Will said as he unbuckled his seat belt. He got out the car and went to the door. I watched as Mrs. Williams came to the door. Words were exchanged, he started coming back and she closed the door. He got back in the car and put in an address into the GPS. “So it seems that they are at a party in East Cleveland.”

“Makes things that much easier.” I stated.

He started driving. I’m trying to figure out what I’mma say to her that didn’t sound insane. When we got to the house, we could easily tell it was a big party. I did a quick body analysis to see if I was up for this physically. Will looked at me.

“You ready? You good?” He asked me.

“Yes, sir.” I replied. I grabbed his desert eagle out of the glove box. “Just in case some shit pop off.” He nodded in agreement, grabbing a desert eagle from under his arm rest.

We got out the car and smoothly headed to the door of the house. We looked at each other, contemplating if we should knock or just walk in. The music was so loud, that we decided to just walk in. People were all over the place and ass was everywhere. Oh how bad I wish I could get up on that chick there, that chick there and not that chick there, but that chick right there….mmmmhmmm…. But no, we’re here for business. We looked around trying to find Beyonce and/or Monique. I started asking people in hopes that they would know. I then spotted her in the family room, talking to a guy. They looked extremely cozy. Yea, I definitely fell out of love with her. I nudged Will and pointed to Beyonce. He nodded and we walked into the room. This room was quieter, but still a lot of people. Will went over to Beyonce as I approached Monique. I stood right behind her as she still didn’t notice me. I leaned towards her.

“May I talk to you outside please?” I asked softly, making her jump as she saw me. The look in her face said it all. Nervously, she nodded and followed me outside to the back yard.

“How did you know I was here?” She asked as we got outside.

“Does that really matter?” I asked her.

“I can explain…”

“No need to explain. Let’s face it, I took your virginity and you’re curious about others. I get it. Fact is, I don’t think you’re right for me.”

“Kenny, this isn’t what it looks like…”

“It doesn’t matter. I woke up no longer in love with you. I’m sorry. The engagement is off. We’re done.”

Without giving her a chance to respond, I kissed her cheek and walked away. The guy she was talking to looked at me with a look I didn’t really appreciate. I had my hand on the eagle and stopped right in front of him.

“If there’s something you have to say or something you feel you should do….I fuckin dare you.” I told him. He looked into my eyes for a little while and then moved out of my way. I walked away and headed out of the house. Will was at the car waiting on me.

“Smooth?” He asked as I got in.

“Smooth. Smooth?” I asked him.

“Smooth.” He replied. He started the car and drove back to the hospital.