I stared at him as he gripped the arm of his recliner with his good hand and prepared himself mentally to stand before pushing himself up. He was an adult, and he didn’t have to share his business with me, but my father was fragile. He wasn’t the Devin that I’d known my entire life.
“Do you care to elaborate just a little bit? Who’s coming to get you? Can you at least tell me that?”
“Ken, I need to get down to the police station. Uno has been serving extra clientele for me while Ken was out of town, and he got arrested.”
It felt as if my father had delivered a blow to my gut. The wind was literally knocked out of me. I couldn’t breathe. My heart sank as I thought about his son. I was speechless and so stunned that it slipped my mind to even get up and help my father. It would take him forever and a day to make it up the stairs, but I was stuck on stupid. Maybe Uno could get out on bond. I had no idea how much dope he’d been caught with, but there wasn’t a bond amount in the world that my father couldn’t pay. Shit, I’d pay it. That revelation made me aware that I really liked Uno despite how much I’d been trying to convince myself that I didn’t.
At that point, I didn’t care about what he had done out in the streets. Uno for the most part made his money and stayed out the way. Even the way he was there for my father after his stroke pulled at my heart strings. I wasn’t sure what my father had planned, but I knew I wanted to help. Not knowing how far away Ken was prompted me to get up and start getting myself ready.
Three hours. That was how long I sat down at the police station before I saw Uno walking from the back with a confused look on his face. After all that had transpired over the past three hours, I couldn’t even be happy that he was free. Uno ambled in my direction just as the door opened, and a woman walked in looking around frantically. She was the same woman that had been dancing on him that night in the club. And she was drop dead gorgeous. No one could have paid me to wear the dress that she had on that night, but her body was amazing and even in sweats and a sports bra, she still looked amazing.
“Uno oh my God. Shiloh told me what was going on. Why didn’t you call me?”
He didn’t say anything as he walked toward her. She threw her arms around him, and I looked away. Since he didn’t seem to need a ride, that was my cue to leave.
“I’ll explain everything in the car. Let me holla at my people. My boss’ daughter is here.”
Ouch. That kind of stung, but he didn’t tell any lies. I was in fact simply his boss’ daughter. His friend looked over her shoulder and gave me a brief glance. “Okay, baby. I’ll be in the car.” When she pecked his lips, I had to resist the urge to roll my eyes.
When she left the police station, Uno moved closer to me, and I stood. “They went from denying me a bond to dropping the charges. What happened?”
“My father walked in here and told them the drugs were his.”
Uno’s eyes ballooned out of his head. “What the fuck?” he hissed. “Are you serious?”
I nodded. “He didn’t tell me what he was going to do. I thought he was coming to bail you out. His health is fragile. He needs physical therapy. Jail is the last place he needs to be,” my voice cracked, and I blinked back tears. “Hopefully, they’ll give him a bond. Why wouldn’t they give you one?”
Uno sucked his teeth. “They wanted the big fish. Kept trying to get me to talk. When I finally told them to suck my dick, they got real mad and petty. Denied my bond talking about I’m a flight risk and might flee. Fuck niggas,” he growled. “But Mr. Jennings,” Uno ran a hand down his face. “Damn man.”
“Yeah, I know. I already contacted his attorney. When he gets here, I’m going to leave. I’ve been here for three and a half hours. I need to tell my mom what’s going on and get Kiwi.”
Uno gave a curt nod. “Keep me posted on what’s going on. Fuck.”
“Okay.”
Uno should have been relieved that he was no longer facing a trafficking charge, but he seemed stressed. That told me that he really did care about my father. He held the door open for me, and I walked through it with a heavy heart. A Lamborghini truck was parked in front of the station waiting for him, and I wondered if ole girl was his girlfriend. It really didn’t even matter. I’d given Uno enough hell. If he was tired of my ass nobody could blame him.
After arriving at my grandparents’ house, I made my mother aware that I needed to talk to her in private. “Is everything okay?” we stepped out onto the porch.
“Dad is in jail.”
“What?” her eyes widened from shock. I gave her the rundown of everything that transpired.
“Damn I can’t believe he did that. The Devin I know would have expected Uno to keep his mouth shut and do his time. Maybe he really is changing.”
“Yeah. I told his attorney to keep me posted. Once they give him a bond, I’ll go get him. Even though he has businesses, I don’t think it would be wise to pay cash for whatever his bond will be. More than likely, he’ll want to put the house up.”
“The house is in my name. If I wanted to be dirty, I’d say no, but I won’t do him like that. Karma is kicking his ass enough.”
“Yeah, it is. I actually feel kind of sorry for him. It’s like everything is hitting him at once. Marlo got killed, he got shot, his son popped up causing you to leave him, he had a stroke, and now he’s in jail.”
“You reap what you sow,” my mother shrugged passively. “The fact that DJ’s mother got pregnant around the time I had to get a hysterectomy is what I can’t forgive. I love your father and to some extent, I will probably always love him, but I’m choosing me. My peace and sanity are more important than love. He gave me his ass to kiss one too many times, and I’m all out of forgiveness. Whatever happens, I wish him the best.”
My mother wasn’t playing. My father had messed up royally, but he couldn’t blame anyone but himself.
“Have you talked to your brother?” she spat the word out like it was poison.
“No. I haven’t seen him since that day at the hospital. I haven’t heard dad say anything about him either. I’m not sure how good their relationship is.”
