Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“Here you go, honey,” Grandpa said with a syrupy smile as he handed her a cup of iced tea and sat down with one himself. “I even made sure Mildred added extra lemon and honey. Just how you like it.”
“Thank you, Grandpa.” She mustered a smile and brought the drink to her lips, tasting it. Mildred was Grandpa’s first maid who still came around doing small chores here and there. He didn’t have her do too much as she was up in age, but everyone still enjoyed her homemade iced tea and lemonade.
“Now, I know you weren’t supposed to come by till next week to talk about my birthday bash, but thank you for poppin’ by at such short notice, I just, uh, wanted to talk to you about the—”
“Grandpa, speaking of which, we really do need to discuss your birthday party because I’ve been working with the event coordinator and she said there are some singing groups and entertainers coming and what not, and the contracts need to be signed. She said she’s been waiting quite a while for you to do so. In fact, some of the performing acts are supposed to be contacting you directly today to verify where you want them set up, what you want them to do, and maybe I should just—”
“Silva, that can wait.” He waved her off, looking weary. “You make such a big deal about my birthday every year,” he smiled proudly, yet sounding rather tired, “and I thank you for that, sweetheart. The parties are always so festive and nice, but this is way more important than merrymaking. We need to discuss your brother.”
“Lennox? Why?”
“Well, why not?” He threw up his hands. “I know, I know…” He smiled sheepishly and leaned forward. “Okay, I’ll stop foolin’ around. There’s a specific reason. So long ago you two fell out. That broke my heart.” She witnessed the faux frown set into his features. “From my understanding, you still aren’t on the best of terms due to how disrespectful he can be. That aside, I need to speak to him about a specific matter, but I’m hesitant.”
“Why? Don’t you two speak?”
“You see, he and I speak on and off… not often, but a fair amount of times.” He tossed up his hands and let them fall loosely against his thighs. “I got word that he might be in trouble again. I need to find out before I pull him into this other situation I’m going to discuss with you.”
“Trouble? Well,” she sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes, “I shouldn’t be surprised. Lennox is always attractin’ nonsense his way.” She huffed.
“Yeah.” Grandpa leaned back in his chair and sighed loudly, patting his stomach. Where one would expect a man of his age to have a bit of a gut, Grandpa’s stomach was flat as a washing board. “Some folks just never learn, doll. I mean, I made sure the boy didn’t serve a second in jail, you know? Now yes, I know that was a long time ago, and I’ve let bygones be bygones, but I fear he may be on that same path. Not learned his lesson. Here it is. The bad news.” He tsked. “I heard a rumor that he’s messin’ with a real loose woman who’s a known gold digger and lady of the night. He made her his lady. It’s serious. It’s official. She’s of the African American persuasion.”
“Well, okay. The whole prostitute insinuation is concerning, and the gold digger part, too, especially since last I heard Lennox has no gold to dig, but her being Black doesn’t really matter, does it? I mean, this isn’t 1953. So what?” Silva shrugged, then remembered she was supposed to be in character, and slumped back in her seat.
“Oh, I’m not mentioning it as a problem. Just as background info. An understanding, if you will. See, Silva, sometimes when someone has never had anything, they don’t know how to behave when it’s finally given to them. I realize that some Black folks come from impoverished areas of town, grew up in ghettos, and they struggle—I get it. Sometimes it’s because there doesn’t seem to be any accountability for their role in their own troubles, but sometimes not all of that is their fault. I’ve seen racism, hell, we’ve got racists in our friendly circles and in the family, but this is not about the color of her skin. She’s not a good person, sweetheart. Not a good person at all.” His eyes turned to inky slits.
“What exactly has she been doing to Lennox?”
“She’s been spendin’ the little money he has on her—frivolous stuff. To make up for the missing funds, Lennox has been dabbling in get rich quick schemes and is still pouring money down the drain to try and open that gym of his. The bottom line is this: Lennox is gonna run into serious money issues, if he hasn’t already. He’ll lose his little house. His truck that he loves so much. He’s too smart of a guy for that to happen, or so he was until she stepped into the picture. It would be a real shame. You know I’ve tried to get him on my team for a mighty long time.”