“Trust me, son. If I had another kid, you’d know it because all my stuff would be sitting in the yard. We both know your mama don’t play.”
Adam and his father shared a knowing chuckle as they glanced at each other, then to Adam’s mother, and back again. Dorothy-Mae sat there with a sweet smile, batting her lashes in just the right way that made her look angelic. But Adam and his father knew from experience that beneath those long lashes and sweet smile was a stern countenance that didn’t take crap from anyone.
Adam relaxed in his chair, comforted by the good food and the good mood shared between him and his parents. Moments like these didn’t happen often when he lived in New York and now that he was getting older, Adam found himself wanting more and more to connect with his roots.
When Adam had left Monroe Hills, he’d been like every other kid from a small town who couldn’t leave the dust from the dirt road behind him quick enough. For him, it wasn’t just about the excitement of the city, though. No, for Adam, it was about finding a way to break free of his father’s hold.
“Your mother tells me today’s your first day over at the school.”
“Yes, sir.”
His father picked up his spoon, gathering a heaping spoonful of grits before he resumed speaking.
“And what’s your title again?”
Here. We. Go.
Adam heard the seeking tone in his father’s voice, and it instantly triggered a deep inhalation. Trained in the art of deciphering what his father really meant when he used that tone, Adam prepped himself for the verbal attack he saw peeking around the proverbial corner.
“It’s interim superintendent.”
His father chewed on his food, nodding as if he were turning Adam’s words over in his mind.
“Interim, huh? Why not permanent? Don’t they know about your credentials. Your twenty years as an educator in New York?”
“Yes, Dad. They know.” He spoke slowly, trying to keep the annoyance out of his voice. Adam knew his father meant well. But his ability to make Adam feel inadequate when it came to his decision making was one of those less favorable qualities Adam often had to ignore throughout the course of their relationship.
“They had difficulty with the last hire to fill the position, so the school board decided to make the position interim to give them a chance to make sure the candidate was the right fit for the job and the district.”
His father nodded, looking up from his food and staring directly at Adam. There, in the depths of his dark brown eyes, Adam saw what he always saw when his father didn’t necessarily agree with the path Adam was taking: disappointment.
As a man who’d spent more than forty years on this earth, one would think Adam would be used to this now. But the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach still managed to catch him off guard, sucker punching him in the gut, making him want to gasp for air.
“I will never understand how you gave up making millions of dollars in the NBA for this.”
The negative emphasis on “this” made Adam’s jaw tighten. He sat there quietly grinding his jaw as he fought himself to keep quiet.The grown-ass man in him very much wanted to lose his shit while the respectful son begged him not to say anything.
As his frustration grew, Adam could tell the grown-ass man was winning, until he looked across the table and saw the soft pleading in his mother’s eyes.
Following a slow, calming breath, he placed his spoon in his half-eaten bowl of food, before standing, and walking around to his mother’s side of the table.
He leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Thanks for breakfast, Mama. I really appreciate it.”
His mother placed her hand on his forearm, her brow furrowing as she looked at him with questioning eyes.
“You’re leaving already? You haven’t even finished your food.”
He kissed her cheek again. “I want to get there a bit early since it’s my first day.”
By the way his mother lowered her lids and shifted in her chair, Adam knew he wasn’t fooling her. She knew exactly why he was leaving, why he’d always left. And like always, she was graceful enough to let him leave without making a fuss with his father.
“See you later, Dad.”
“See you, son. You make sure you go down there and demand them folks give you your due. You’re too good and too qualified for them to treat you like this.”
Even while angry at his father’s earlier slight, Adam warmed with his father’s words. Although he didn’t agree with Adam’s choices, there was still a part of the man that seemed to acknowledge Adam’s accomplishments. As much as his father’s disappointment over his career path haunted Adam, he knew deep down it came from a place of love.
“Thanks for the advice, Dad. I’ll check in on the two of you later.”
