“Ma’am, our parents work early mornings. Why they can’t call you or something?” I tried to think of everything. Cassian’s slick mouth almost slipped and told her that he would make sure the same that happened to our dad would happen to her if she didn’t get out of our house.
“Listen kid, you’re coming with me. There is an officer who will be…” “That won’t be necessary.” A deep voice sounded behind us.
“Clover!” Atlas jumped off the couch and took off running to her and Mitch who stood in the doorway.
His presence startled me. I had no idea why he was here. I hope he wasn’t here to tell this lady that I ran drugs on the corner. I know that would be him snitching on himself, but all of my thoughts were running together and I could barely think.
Evelyn West pushed up her glasses over her nose and squeezed her barely there lips together. “And who might you be?”
Clover smiled and kissed Atlas on the cheek. “We’re their guardians. Clover and Mitchell Kalmin. Amell called us when you first arrived but we were with his dad getting him acclimated in the rehab facility. Here, all of the documentation is there. That is your copy.”
Mitch stood behind Clover not saying a word. Ms. West took the papers and flipped through them. With each flip of the papers, it felt like my heart kept beating faster and faster. I didn’t know why Mitch was doing this and how he got those papers, but I just wanted this lady to be forever gone out of our lives.
“Well then, everything checks out and looks fine. I’m truly sorry for all of this. Our office received an anonymous phone call about the children living alone and I see now that it was all a misunderstanding. Children, take care.” She grabbed her briefcase and headed towards the door.
“I tried to tell your pale ass that, but you didn’t listen. Like how I told you that your lipstick is on your teeth.” Cassian shrugged and rolled his eyes at a now red-faced Ms. West.
“Cassian.” Clover narrowed her eyes. He straightened up in the chair he was sitting in. “Apologize.”
His eyes almost popped out of his head. “But…”
“Boy, what did she say?” Mitch stepped around Clover and I swear everyone in the room took a step back.
“Oh, that’s not necessary, Mr. Kalmin. You all have a good night.” She tried to open the door, but she kept dropping her folder.
“Cassian,” Mitch spoke calmly with enough demand to make ten armies march
Sighing, Cassian walked over to Ms. West. “I’m sorry aight?” Mitch glared at him. “I’m sorry, Ms. West for being disrespectful.”
Finally managing to open the door, she glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “Thank you. Bye.”
Once she left, I asked the question I wanted answers to. “Why did you do that? I didn’t think you were going to help us.”
Mitch and Clover shared a look before she smiled and sat down with Atlas on her lap. “Mitch came home last night and told me what you boys were going through with DCF. I’ve grown to love you like my own and it almost made me cry thinking that I’d never see you all again. So, Mitch made some phone calls to a few friends of his and we picked up the papers on the way here. Those are real documents, Amell. We’re your legal guardians.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask them why they did it, but I kept my mouth closed. My brothers and I were going to stay together. That’s all that mattered. As I looked around at them, Atlas laughing with Clover and Cassian standing across the room with this weird look on his face as he watched Mitch, like he was in a battle of whether or not to trust him, I realized that their sacrifice came with a cost.
“Step outside with me, Amell.” Mitch walked out of the house not waiting for me to respond.
Clover winked at me like it was supposed to reassure me, but I felt the opposite. Our conversation from yesterday played over and over in my head. He asked me about working for him, and though I never verbally said no, what he had done kinda sealed that deal.
“I guess I have to work for you now.” I blurted it out before I closed the front door all the way.
Mitch’s wide frame leaned against the post, his eyes taking in the traffic of the block. “I’m taking you in because I see something in you, Amell. Will you be working for me? Yes. Working for me has nothing to do with paying a debt because of what Clover and I have done. No longer will you be on the corner but shadowing me. Tomorrow after you all come from school, we’ll be here to take you to our house. Say goodbye to your friends from school because all that is going to change.”
At that moment Clover stepped out of the house and hugged me. “I hope you’re excited about furniture shopping. I can’t wait to decorate you boys room.” The unknown feelings I felt in my heart towards Mitch had almost gone away by Clover’s niceness.
She was a beautiful chocolate lady with the longest black hair I’d ever seen on a black woman. It came to the middle of her back. She had big eyes like a baby doll and a pretty smile. Odom and Pacino would always whisper and joke that if Mitch ever slipped up, they’d take her from him and give her some loving. They said she reminded them of Mrs. Parker with the perky titties and big butt from the movie Friday.
Compared to her husband, who’s large size frightened people miles away, they were opposites. Mitch was a shade lighter than me and looked a lot older than he was, but I think it had to do with his grey and black beard that was like a bush on his face.
“Thank you, Mrs. Kalmin.”
“Have a good night, Amell.” She leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Everything is going to be okay. I promise.” She whispered before taking Mitch’s hand and walking to their car.
I had no doubt in my mind that everything was going to be okay. Clover gave off that kind of peace. What had me worried was the deal I felt like I signed with the devil. Telling Mitch that I’d work for him if he took my brothers in sounded good at the time. I was desperate. But now my heart was growing in anger for the change in my life that I never had a choice in.
Back in time (cont.)
Amell
Tonight was the last night that I’d ever sleep in the house that I grew up in. When I told Atlas and Cassian about us moving into Mitch’s house, they were excited. No one knew where they lived or seen pictures of their home. All day and night I thought the worst but knowing how Clover dressed and the car Mitch drove, I knew they didn’t live in the hood like we did.
Part of me was anxious about our new life especially watching my brothers pack up all their toys and clothes. The other part of me was angry because everything we knew was about to change. New schools meant new friends and that meant new bullies to fight.
A whimper made me jump. I’d been sitting on the porch in the dark staring out into the night thinking and enjoying my neighborhood. No one was out of their houses but that didn’t stop the light traffic of cars coming through.
The whimper came again and I stood on the porch slowly stepping down until I reached the front gate. The closer I got I realized the noise came from across the street, from the Ryans’ house. I knew it wasn’t Odom because I saw him going inside about an hour and a half ago.
Walking over real quiet and slow I approached the side of their porch and saw this ball figure rocking back and forth crying.