Page 23 of Welcome Home

Mama Lauren’s head bucked back, but her eyes showed love and admiration. Her beautiful smile surfaced. “I love it, baby girl. You make him earn you. Now, why do you not know how you feel?”

Dove leaned forward before she spoke. “I overheard him talking to Falcon, Daddy, and Rome. They were talking about different stuff, but what stuck out was when they talked about stuff that I knew Kyle didn’t like. Mama, he would agree with them like he liked it and even egged on the conversation more.”

I giggled. “Sis, maybe he just wanted to impress them. You can’t really fault him for that.”

Her face scrunched. “The hell I can’t. You shouldn’t have to lie to impress someone. If a person isn’t impressed with the authentic you, then you need to tell them to move the hell around. Plus, now all I see is a liar. I can’t be with a liar.”

I thought about what she said and had to agree. “I definitely see where you’re coming from. So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to enjoy the rest of the weekend. He’s a cool dude, but that lie to get on ain’t it,” Dove confirmed. She sat back in her seat, picked up her drink that was on the table between her seat and her mother’s, then took a sip. I loved how resolute she was when she made decisions. It was one of the first things that I noticed about her when we started to hang out.

Lula chuckled. “I hope he doesn’t feel some kind of way because he paid for this weekend. It would be a horrible day in Charlotte if he decides to act crazy.”

“His ass didn’t pay for this; I did. Our dating is an even exchange. He pays sometimes, and I do the other times. That’s the easiest way to do it. I know he could pay every time, but I want him to know so can I.”

At thirty, Dove had it together. As the marketing director of her brother’s business, she made an exceptional salary. Based on what they told me, she invested as well with Washington-Smith Brokerage Firm. I recently made my first investment with the firm at the Charlotte office. My broker had already made my money talk, and it hadn’t even been six months since I opened my account.

I smiled. “Dove, I wish I had it together like you did when I was thirty. My ass was flailing in the wind.” My eyes wandered over to the men at the table. Like he sensed my eyes on him, Falcon locked eyes with me. “I’m so happy I got it right.”

“Damn right you did,” Mama Lauren blurted. Her focus bounced between me and Lula. “Both of you did. Those two men were raised right, and I thank God every day that it shows. Now, Rome was touch and go for a second, but I love my godson. His mama, Mora, and I prayed over that boy a lot before she died.”

That brought out the laughter in all of us. Rome was hell, but so was Falcon. Falcon might have just been better at camouflaging it for his mother. None of that mattered now, because he was my hell now.

A Little Time Later

Is This The Call . . .

The sound of my cell phone ringing snatched me out of my sleep. My tired eyes tried to focus quickly to see what time it was: 2:50 am. If it was that time and the phone actually rang, that meant whoever it was, I’d programmed to get around my do not disturb.

Falcon’s arm was tightly around me with his face nestled into my neck. I reached out as gently as I could to not wake him. I caught the call right before it went to voicemail. “Hello?”

“May I speak with Mazikeen Phillips, please.” After I confirmed that I was her, she continued. “Ms. Phillips, I am Janice Dodds, the transplant coordinator with Queen City Medical Center. Before I continue, I need to go through the security protocol to verify your identity.”

I patiently answered the few security questions that she asked. After her last question, she went into the reason for the call. “Ms. Phillips, we may have a potential kidney available for you.”

When my back shot up from the mattress, I took the covers that covered Falcon and me, with me. My abrupt movement woke him. He sat up next to me with his eyes on me. He didn’t ask who it was. He just patiently waited.

May have a potential kidney. The structure of the sentence was meticulously formed. It gave you hope and disappointment at the same time. It held guarantee, but you never knew to which, the disappointment or the hope. “Okay, yes. What do I need to do?”

This was the first call for a potential donor that I had ever received. There were days that I forgot that I was on the waiting list. The day that Falcon came to me and told me that he was tested but wasn’t a match, I was so mad. I never wanted him to get tested because I never wanted the disappointment. It was a two-fold disappointment. First, if he wasn’t a match. The other was if he was a match, I would have denied his kidney.

“We need you to remain available,” Janice instructed. “The kidney is being evaluated as we speak. You are one of the primary candidates for the organ, so I need you to be prepared. Have you eaten or drank anything since midnight.”

I shook my head as if she could see me, then verbally responded. “I haven’t.” My voice cracked with every question she asked to verify if I had any changes to my recent health. There had been no changes, thank God.

It was important that I didn’t have any fevers or infections. I knew like she did that she knew these answers before she called me because she more than likely had my medical records in front of her. The fever was probably the only variant that she may not have known about.

“Okay, Ms. Phillips. I need you to not eat or drink anything. Make sure you have a bag packed with your medications and identification. I’ll call you as soon as I know something,” she informed me.

“Yes, ma’am, I’ll be ready.” That was all I knew to say. The sound of my heartbeat was loud in my ear.

She had disconnected the line, but I still held the phone to my ear. I sat frozen in time for a second. Falcon’s hand on my thigh pulled me out of my frozen state.

“Kee, baby, what’s up?” His voice held so much concern. When I finally turned to face him, his eyes matched his voice.

I cleared my throat. “Um, that was the transplant coordinator. There might be a kidney for me.”

It was surreal to say it out loud. All the days that I sat in the recliner and watched my blood take a journey that I felt I was forbidden to accompany it on, I never really thought that I would get here. I never really thought that the day would come when they called me and told me that there was a kidney for me.