“And do you think I’m still bugging now?”
“No, you cool now. I just had to get to know you. You ask a lot of questions, but I know you only want to help me.”
“There you go. You trust me now because you decided to give me a chance and get to know me. Now, I don’t know your adoptive father, but I’m sure he’s a good person. You just have to give him a chance too.”
“I don’t know, man.” Sakani shrugged like he always did when I was asking him to do something he really didn’t want to. “I just don’t understand why he would pick me. I know everybody done told him all the bad stuff I’ve done in the past.”
“Haveyoumetyou? Sakani, the basketball star. Sakani, one of the most selfless people I have ever met. Please, anyone would want to adopt you.”
Sakani’s half smile turned into a full one as he looked across at me. There hadn’t been many people in his life who spoke positivity over him and told him how much of a wonderful person he was. From the first day I met him, I vowed to be that person for him.
“We all have a past, Sakani. None of us have room to judge you or anybody else.”
“You right. I can give him a chance.”
“That’s all I ask. And if you decide you don’t want to stay, I will come pick you up myself. There will always be a place for you here.”
“I knew you were a rider.”
“For you, until the wheels fall off. How you kids say it? We locked in.”
“Now you running out.”
Sakani laughed as he stood from his seat and left my office. I was truly sad to see him leave, but I always knew this day would come. I believed enough for both of us.
I got dressedfor the day in silence. There were so many things going through my head that I couldn’t hold on to a single thought. It all seemed to be a jumbled-up mess as I stumbled around my room to make sure I had everything I needed for the day.
Even my gym session this morning had been mundane. I was usually hyped to hit my reps and lift as heavily as I could, but I should have stayed home this morning and saved that 5 a.m. wake-up for another time. I didn’t know if I was too nervous or just too excited, but until I picked Sakani up, I knew my nerves wouldn’t settle.
I grabbed my keys and my phone off the nightstand before leaving the room. I still had about two hours before the pickupwas scheduled. I walked down the hallway to look over Sakani’s room.
I’d tried my best to keep it simple. Right now, there was only a bed, a dresser, and a TV. I wanted to leave him enough space to make the room feel like it was really his. I knew this day would be just as crazy for him, so I also had a gift sitting on the bed, waiting for him. Once I was satisfied with the setup, I headed out the door.
It didn’t take me long to make it to my next destination. Mama Bea stayed only about ten minutes from me, so I stopped at her house to check on her as much as I could. She was the closest thing to family I had left, and she never let me forget it.
“Well, ain’t you a sight to see?”
Mama Bea wore a house dress, and her hair was up in those big rollers as she opened the door. She smiled and pulled me into a hug. Her hugs were the closest I ever got to feeling one of my own mama’s hugs since she passed.
“Hey, Ma,” I replied, handing her the bouquet of lilies I’d stopped and gotten her on the way. Lilies were her favorite flower, and her face always lit up when I showed up on her doorstep with some. Just as I knew she would, she smiled from ear to ear.
“Thank you, baby. Come on in here. I made you some breakfast,” she said, leading the way to the kitchen.
“You didn’t even know I was coming.”
“I know you better than I know the back of my hand. I knew you would be nervous about going to pick up that boy, and when you get nervous, you like to eat.”
“That was when I was a kid. You love holding on to old stuff.”
“The way you already taking a seat at the table is telling me not much has changed.”
We both laughed because I knew she was right. I woke up craving her food, so I already knew this would be my first stopbefore heading to the group home. I’d had a few ice breaker meetings with Sakani before today, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous about bringing him home for good.
“I just never thought I’d be adopting a kid.”
“I don’t see why not. You always were good at looking out for others. You did a damn good job with my boy. Even though y’all were the same age, he always looked up to you. It was like he knew you would have an answer when no one else did.”
“You know, the second time I visited Sakani at the group home, he was outside, playing ball with some of the other boys. The game got heated, and him and another kid was going head up just like me and Rome used to. I never missed Rome more than I did that day.”
