Keelan remained outside while Naryah took Que into the house. He and the man exchanged a few words, and Keelan’s body language told me all I needed to know . . . He wasn’t fond ofhim. Naryah reappeared, and that was when I decided to insert myself.
As I left my house, I saw Keelan go inside. Naryah continued to speak to the man, and when she turned to walk away, he grabbed her arm. That was when I stepped in. As I suspected, the man was Keelan’s father, and he gave off nothing but bad energy and vibes.
I wasn’t sure Naryah would play along with me, and I was pleasantly surprised when she did. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear I saw steam coming from Victor’s ears as Naryah and I interacted.
The more dismissive she was toward him, the more agitated Victor became, and when she brushed past him to get Keelan, my instincts told me to grab him.
“Slow down, nigga!” I shouted, slamming him against the hood of his car and holding him down with my fist in his chest.
“Get the fuck off me, nigga!”
“I’ll let you go, but if you try some slick shit, you’ll regret it.”
I released him, and he got up in a huff, dusting his clothes off as if he’d been rolling on the ground.
“I don’t know who the fuck you are, but Keelan ismyson. He doesn’t need another father.”
“Fathers are a dime a dozen, but it seems the role of dad needs to be filled.”
“Nigga—”
Que’s barking cut off Victor’s words. Naryah pulled on his leash, shouted commands, and eventually Que obeyed, but I could hear him growling from where I stood. Keelan stood next to his mother with his hands in the pockets of his shorts.
“Victor, if you don’t want to be torn to shreds, you should leave,” Naryah told him from the porch.
“Come on, Keelan,” Victor said.
“He’s not going with you.”
“You can’t keep my son away from me, Naryah.”
“I’m not, but this is not a schedule?—”
“I shouldn’t have to see my son on a fucking schedule.”
“I’m not gonna argue with you. Either leave, or I’m letting Que loose.”
“Keelan, tell your mother you’re coming with me.”
I found it interesting how persistent Victor was today, but Naryah said he hadn’t seen his son in two months. Before Keelan could speak, Naryah held her hand up, and he didn’t open his mouth. She kneeled and whispered something to Que as she appeared to be removing his leash.
“From what I’ve seen, Que has a beef with you. You might want to head out,” I told him.
“She’s not gonna—oh shit!”
Naryah released Que, and he took off toward Victor. It had been a minute since I’d seen a grown man move as fast as Victor did, but he still wasn’t fast enough to get to his front door. Instead, he hopped on the hood of his car and crawled onto the roof. Que was on his tail, but I felt gracious, so I caught Que by his collar before he could get to Victor.
“Heel, boy!” I commanded.
Luckily for Victor, Que followed my command.
“That fucking dog needs to be put down. I’m calling my lawyer,” Victor fumed as his chest heaved up and down.
I couldn’t hide the smug grin on my face as he slid from the roof of his car like a scared child. Que’s growling got louder, causing Victor to quickly get into his car and speed away.
“Why didn’t you let Que tear his ass up?” Naryah question, clearly annoyed.
“I don’t know him well, but I have a feeling he’d do all he could to have Que put down. None of us wants that, right?”
