Lauren Sky’s heart ached inside her chest as she stood in the mirror applying her morning face. She could practically still feel Demi’s presence in her home, or was he in her heart? She couldn’t tell, but the yearning his abandonment had left behind was the most painful thing she had ever felt. Her entire world had been shaken. The routine that she had followed her entire adult life was changed, and she couldn’t seem to do anything other than grieve. Moments of nothingness were what she missed most. Space he filled. Air he breathed. Noises he made. She missed the little things, and it wasn’t until now that she realized that the little things were the big things. They were the things she had fallen in love with. It was an antagonizing existence to have something for so long, only for it to be abruptly taken away.
“Maaaa!”
DJ seemed to be on parrott status these days.Ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma, ma.Seemed to be the only name he knew, but she knew her impatience had more to do with Demi leaving than with her son’s needs. There was no daddy present to call on, so everything was on her.
“I’m coming, son. Quit yelling in this house like a madman!” She called back. She misted her setting spray over her face and slipped into tight jeans and a cashmere sweater before hurrying her feet to the living room. High heel booties and a jumboChanel bag, and she was ready. “Okay, I’m ready to roll. Let’s get you to practice!”
“Coach Ny said every parent has to sign up to bring something to the banquet this weekend. Did you sign up yet? I told him you would bring the mac and cheese.”
She ushered him out the door, making sure to lock it, and set the alarm behind her before rushing to the car. She was extra cautious these days. Demi’s street ties were dangerous. She had been a victim to his enemies once before, and she had promised herself it would never happen again. The 9mm handgun in her bag guaranteed her and her son’s protection.
“You said I’d make what, now? I have to work this weekend, DJ. I may not be able to make your banquet. It’s your father’s weekend. I’m sure he can make sure you have a dish to contribute to the banquet,” Lauren said.
She glanced in her rearview mirror and didn’t miss her son’s facial expression. It had been the same expression he had given her every day since Demi had packed up his things and left. Sadness. Disappointment. Anger.
“Dad can’t cook! I already signed up for mac and cheese, Ma, please!” DJ protested.
“I’ll work it out. Don’t worry, baby.” She sighed because she had no idea how she would pull off her event and make it to the banquet, but she couldn’t afford to let her son down.
The rest of the drive was silent, and when they pulled up to the field, she hurried inside because they were already ten minutes late.
“Sky! On the field and hit them laps for holding the team up!”
Lauren watched her son hustle to the team bench and kick off his shoes, changing to cleats.
“We’re still waiting, Sky!”
Lauren whipped her head to the coach and put up a finger. “He’s coming. Give him a minute,” she said.
She couldn’t see his facial expression behind his Rayban sunglasses, but she could feel the tension in the air as he nodded his head. He left the rest of the players on the field doing drills and then walked across the green turf until he was in front of DJ.
“You don’t hold up my practice, Sky. When you walk through that door, you come prepared. Mentally and physically,” he said, going down on one knee and helping DJ with his cleats. He tied them tightly as he preached. “If you fail to prepare, you…”
“Prepare to fail,” DJ stated. “Sorry, Coach.”
DJ hopped up from the bench and pushed his helmet down on his head. Nyair hit it gently as he ran by, starting the laps.
“Alright! Calesthentics, let’s go, let’s hustle!” He yelled, clapping his hands enthusiastically. “Let’s get to the money. Whole team on up-downs until Sky is finished with his laps!”
“You’re a little tough on them, don’t you think?” Lauren asked, frowning.
“Nah, I’m easy on them; the world tough on them. I’m just doing my part to prepare Black boys to become Black men,” Nyair answered.
Lauren nodded. It was admirable, but she still didn’t like how hard he was on a team of kids. “Well, it’s my fault he’s late.”
“Doesn’t matter who’s to blame. The punishment is the same. He’s accountable to me when he’s on my field. He knows what time practice starts.”
“He’s also a kid and has no control over my time,” Lauren argued. “I apologize for being late but…”
“No buts. Respect my time, Mrs. Sky.” Nyair said as he turned to walk away.
“Fields,” she corrected.
He stopped and turned back to her.
“It’s Ms. Fields now,” she said in a lower tone. “Actually, Ms. Fields is my mother. This is so damn weird. Divorce is brutal. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”
“How about I just stick to Lauren?” He said, giving a gracious smile, sucking her into his cheek like it was the sunken place. Those damn dimples were dreamy. “Be on time next time, Lauren Fields, or your boy gon’ run.” “I’ma still bitch about it,” Lauren shot back, a smile of her own forming.
