“Baby, I can’t make excuses for your father. I don’t know what’s going on with him, but he willneverget the opportunity to hurt you again.”
“You promise, Mom?”
“I promise I’ll do everything I can to make sure nothing like this ever happens again. I’m sorry I couldn’t get to you fast enough to protect you.”
She embraced him, and he cried on her shoulder for a few minutes. As a police officer, I prided myself on staying calm. Rarely did I allow situations to bring me out of character.
The scene had me raging on the inside, thinking of ways to make Victor disappear. The way I wanted to make it my life’s mission to protect them, and my willingness to do anything to keep them safe, was very telling.
“We need to take some pictures and get some ice on that,” I said.
“Okay.”
Since I had my phone on me and the bathroom had the best lighting, I took several pictures and sent them to Naryah. We went to the kitchen, and they sat at the table. She pulled her chair as close to Keelan’s as she could, and the worry and concern on her face fucked with me.
I found the plastic sandwich bags and filled one of them with ice. After wrapping it in a clean kitchen towel, I gave it to Keelan.
“Be gentle,” Naryah warned, as any caring mother would.
She’d only taken her eyes off him long enough to blink. I tapped her on the shoulder to get her attention.
“Baby, let me talk to you for a minute.”
She looked at Keelan for the okay.
“I’m fine, Mom.”
We went to her bedroom, and I closed the door before pulling her into my arms. Immediately, she began to weep against mychest. I knew she wanted to break down, but she wanted to be strong for Keelan.
“Let it go, baby. Let it go.”
“What did he do to deserve a father who treats him like an option? He hit my son in his face, Graham. He backhanded him like he was nothing to him.”
“I know, baby, but Keelan is okay. He’s safe, and we’ll never let his father hurt him again.”
“I made that promise to him, but I don’t know if that’s something I can do. The courts?—”
“Don’t worry about that right now, baby. I’ll make sure the courts do the right thing.”
She lifted her head and looked at me with a confused expression.
“But how can?—”
“My parents are former attorneys and know people in high places. I’m sure they’ll be happy to use their connections on your and Keelan’s behalf. We’ll call the police, and he’ll be arrested tonight, and his arrest will be used against him when y’all go to court.”
Her mouth opened and closed several times, but she was apparently speechless. Instead, she let her head fall on my chest again and cried. When she was all cried out, she stepped away and went to her bathroom to wash her face. While she did that, I went back to the kitchen to check on Keelan.
“How you doing?” I asked him.
“I’m fine.” He removed the ice pack from his face, and I noticed his expression was serious. “Mr. Graham, do you like my mom?”
“I like your mom very much. Why do you ask?”
“Can you marry her and be my dad?”
I wasn’t expecting him to say that, and I was sure my expression showed it.
“You might not understand this, but the first time I saw your mother from across the street, God told me that she was my wife. I would marry her in a heartbeat and would love to be your dad.”
