Chapter
One
Olive “Liv”Reed
“Come on, Joriel! We can’t be late and Mommy still has a stop to make!” I yelled to my six-year-old son Jo-Jo, who I knew was sneaking in time on his game. What he wanted to be doing, especially since school was out for the summer, and yet here I was dragging him out of the house early in the morning to attend the summer camp Redmond Park was offering the kids this year. It was only for eight weeks, but it would help me and since his father wasn’t available. Jasiel’s currently enlisted in The Marines and stationed out of the country. And he was the only other person I depended on for day-to-day care of Jo-Jo.
I heard huffing and puffing before the sound of his little feet on the steps. I stopped packing my bag to turn and see him with his face all twisted up with a mean pout and his arms crossed over his chest.
“Mommy, I’m the only one from my class who has to do this summer camp and it ain’t fair,” he whined all the way down the stairs stopping right in front of me.
“It isn’t fair. And haven’t your dad and I taught you to be a leader amongst the tribe of followers so you can lead them to greatness, Jo-Jo? Now grab your water bottle so we can go.We’re already four minutes behind schedule, so you better hope they have breakfast because we don’t have time to stop and pick anything up this morning.” Jo-Jo kissed his teeth. Morningside was the stop that I had to make. I knew the push back would come and had already called in to place our orders. Instead of using it as an incentive, I wanted the extra trip to be an unexpected surprise.
I put my attention on my bag. I was kicking myself for not switching out my purse last night and now here I was playing the deciding game about what was important and what was just unnecessary shit in my bag.
I glanced at the wall to see that time wasn’t planning on slowing down this morning at all. I watched the arm rotate around the numbers and still no Jo-Jo.
“Okay, let’s go, Jo-Jo! It doesn’t take that long to grab an already filled bottle of water out of the refrigerator,” I said in an exasperated breath as I turned to see him making his way out of the kitchen just as I tossed my purse over my shoulder with my keys in my hand.
“Mommy, why can’t I go over Auntie Byrdie’s house? Darius said they are going to Splash Mountain today and everything.” Byrdie was Jasiel’s sister who doubled as my best friend and my last resort babysitter because she worked a lot herself, and I knew for a fact today was one of those days. She and her husband Troy both worked at the radio station as board operators for two of their top shows.
I rolled my eyes as I grabbed him and pulled him toward the door so we could leave.
“So, we’re lying now, Jo-Jo? It’s too damn early. Your Auntie Byrdie and Uncle Troy are at work, so Darius is with his grandmother. Now, come on.” Another sigh as we made our way out of the door to the car as he hung his head.
That grandma word was a sore spot for my baby boy. My mother wasn’t the worst, just not here. Angie lived in Miller’s Pointe with her husband Richard on a ranch. So having her as a solid village supporter was out. There was no father for me and my gran had long gone to glory. So, without Jasiel here, everything was on me. And there was never a need to complain because the load was one I carried with pride. I loved being Jo-Jo’s mommy.
The silence was loud as we rode to Morningside.
“Jo-Jo, baby, look, I know this wasn’t a part of the plan for you and your summer. Give me a couple of weeks here and I promise we can go to Splash Mountain for a weekend before you go back to school. Your dad will be home and everything.” I looked in the rearview mirror to glance at him, still seeing the frown on his face.
I decided to give him the space to process and deal with what was his reality at this moment. His feelings and emotions were valid, there was just nothing I could do to make it better right now. I turned on the radio to fill the staleness for the last few minutes on the drive.
Ten minutes later we were pulling into the parking lot. I looked at Jo-Jo to see him now stretching up so he could see the logo of Morningside better. He looked at me with a wide smile, showing all his baby teeth.
“There’s that smile I love. Your dad wanted to make sure you had a proper send off, so he made sure you had your favorite. Let’s start this day off right.” I parked and got out so I could help get him out.
Thirty minutes later I was walking away from the pavilion in the park and headed to the condo I rented as my work site. I was a professional cuddler. And yes, the profession was extremely odd, but it came easy to me. I had been using my arms as a safespace for my mother since they were big enough to comfort her whenever she spiraled.
After I finished college, I gained my certification to become a professional psychologist, especially once I fully understood the science behind physical touch and how many benefits it had. The feeling of providing some type of relief for my clients was the best reward ever.
For some clients, I would go to them, making it easier to create that needed comfort level of being in their own homes. I needed them to be completely comfortable with me and me with them. But those types of benefits were gained through a trust system that had to be built up over time. I did get some weirdos every now and then, but I understood that it came with the territory. Jasiel hated it, so he made me hire security at the very least and install cameras at the condo. I had just pulled into the parking deck when my phone rang. Of course it was Jasiel. He did his best to call when he could, but his schedule wasn’t the best; so sometimes the calls would skip days, hell, even weeks.
“Hello.”
“Hey Liv, did I miss him?”
“Yes. I dropped him off. He wasn’t too happy, but I think he’ll survive the day. I just pulled up to the office.”
He cursed lowly and I knew he truly felt bad. Granted this wasn’t the start of a traditional school year, Jasiel refused to be one of those dads who missed the monumental moments with Jo-Jo in any way, no matter the distance.
One time, Jo-Jo was student of the week and Jasiel had Byrdie drop off a huge basket full of candy, games, and books for his accomplishment. So I knew Jo-Jo going to summer camp for the first time was a huge moment for him too.
“Damn, I dropped the ball. I tried to make it in time too. I just made it back in from my shift, my replacement was late as hell. Please tell him I’m sorry and I love him.”
I grabbed my food from Morningside and my bag to walk and talk so I wasn’t late for my first appointment.
“Jasiel, you’re fine. I bought breakfast for him before he went and told him it was from you. I also told him you’ll be home in a couple of weeks, so make sure you keep good on my word.” I caught my security guard Tunk out the corner of my eye just as I approached the elevator door. He rushed over and took my bags while we made our way inside.
