“Hey, Mr. Wilson, I hate to do this now given the circumstances with Quincey, but unfortunately you have to come with us.” He scoffed humorously.
“For what? Can’t you see I need to be with my family right now? Like you said, my son is laid up with bullet holes in his body.”
“And we get that, but with the evidence we received involving you and him both, I have to take you into custody. Can you please turn and put your hands on your head?” one of the officers asked nicely, but of course Quentin didn’t respond well.
“I will not. This is some bullshit. You can get the hell out before I have both of your badges!” he barked.
When he didn’t move, the other one who was clearly playing bad cop stepped in, using force to restrain him while he began reading his rights.
The whole scene was a lot, which had Mrs. Steph’s crying picking up. Johnni left my side to console her so she didn’t get in the way.
I just stood there, enjoying the show of the same man who thought he was bigger than the program.
“Oh my gosh, what is happening to my family right now? This is all too much,” Mrs. Steph said.
“Shhh… Mama, you gotta calm down and breathe. Everything is going to be okay,” Johnni said but I could tell from her tone she knew better than that.
They made their way into the bathroom, with Johnni coming back out a few seconds later. I was still trying to gauge her mood since she had said very little about the situation. Before I could ask if she was good, the doctor came in.
“Are you the wife?” She nodded.
“He lost a lot of blood but will make a full recovery. The damage done to his penis has left lifelong damage that will take some major adjusting. He’s highly sedated after surgery, so it’ll be a while before he wakes up.” By now Mrs. Steph had made it out of the bathroom, moving closer to Quincey, grabbing his hand.
Johnni’s face held an unreadable expression as she looked at him.
“If you need anything, let the nurses know.”
“Thank you,” she said, dismissing him.
There was a pregnant pause before Johnni spoke first in the thick tension.
“Mama—” Lourdè’s voice was unsteady as she did her best to address Mrs. Steph.
“I know, dear. Thank you for at least coming up here. I can’t imagine what you're going through emotionally right now.”
“Call me if they need my permission for anything and I’ll come back up. The police will probably be here in the morning for Quincey or whenever the doctor clears him. Whatever you do, don’t get in their way, okay?”
“Okay. I love you, daughter.”
“I love you too.” They shared a brief hug before Lourdè turned to me.
“Courtland, I’m ready to leave, baby,” she said while she tugged on me.
“Okay, Lou.”
I took my lady by the hand so I could take her home.
I watchedas Johnni stuffed another onion ring into her mouth while I rubbed her feet. We had been at the house for an hour and we still hadn’t said too much about the shooting nor the public discovery about Quincey. I was giving her time to eat and process what all just happened, but I wanted to know everything.
The sound of her sipping a now empty milkshake cup had me smirking and her blushing.
She put the cup down, wiping her mouth and blowing out a heavy sigh.
“Whew… you don’t know how bad I wanted that burger and them onion rings.” I smiled.
“Trust me, I think I understand. You just gave it your undivided attention.”
“And it was worth it before we had to talk.”
