When We Were Young Ch. 21

"Nana says the gangs would fight over KJ's chalk, and will be in here five minutes after we leave to pick it clean. She would like to get everything to the church, but doesn't know how," Lin said.

We went into the kitchen, which consisted of a two-burner hot plate and a mini-fridge that was older than we were. We made a pile of pots and pans, glasses, etc., and another of food, neither big, then I unplugged the hot plate and the fridge and set them on Nana's twin bed. I folded up KJ's cot and added it to the pile. That just left the two lamps, Nana's rocker, two plastic chairs, and the little TV.

"Tony."

I turned, and Ruth, a wizened elf of a woman, was looking up at me.

I knelt, and she hugged me, hard, then hugged Linda.

"You take care of that child, you hear me?" staring daggers at us.

We nodded, and she smiled. "God bless you," she said, then left.

Linda went to the door and asked Roger to step inside. Pointing at the pile on the bed, she said, "How do we get that to the church?"

He frowned, held up a finger, and stepped outside.

"Don't forget this, Tony," KJ said, and handed me a little backpack, an ancient stuffed dog sticking out of the top, then went over to Nana.

"All done, Nana," he said, and pointed at his drawing.

We pushed Nana's rocker across the concrete floor so she could see, then stood behind her. Linda gasped, one hand covering her mouth, the other squeezing my hand.

At the top of the drawing, two black, smiling faces rested on a cloud. Next to them was another cloud, with a winding staircase coming down out of it. Halfway up, Nana was smiling and waving down to KJ, who was holding the hand of a tall, white man in tan pants and a white shirt. On the other side of KJ was a short white woman in a flower print skirt and a pink blouse, her hand resting on his shoulder. All three were smiling and waving.

"It's beautiful, honey, you're getting really good at faces," Nana said, and KJ nodded.

"They're hard."

Linda scooped him up and hugged him, and I hugged them both.

Roger knocked and came in, followed by a priest.

"Look who I found loitering outside," Roger smiled.

"I heard there was private security here and thought I might be of use," Father David, a thin man around thirty, said.

Nana introduced us, then shooed us away so they could talk.

"His van is outside. I'll get Mac and we'll load it up. You two stay inside. The fewer people see you the better. White folk don't usually come down here to help," Roger said.

While that was happening, sirens sounded in the distance. A minute later, the ambulance came to a stop outside, two police cars right behind it. I peeked out the window and saw the crowd had grown, including several young men about our age. Jason was talking to one in particular, who must have been a leader of some sort, who was doing all the talking and pointing at the house.

Mac came in to grab the last of what was going to the church. "Rooster's here. We should leave the bed and get moving," he said to Roger, who nodded, and went outside, returning with two paramedics and a gurney.

While they carefully moved Nana onto the gurney, Father David came up to us. Linda had KJ on her hip and a wary expression on her face.

"Thank you," was all he said, and shook my hand, then Lin's, then hugged KJ and said a little prayer.

"I'll go see if I can help keep everyone calm," he smiled at us, then started outside.

"Father, wait. Do some good with this, okay?" I said, and handed him two thousand dollars of the five I had brought with me.

"Thank you, son. Be well," he said, put the money away and stepped outside.

The paramedics had Nana ready to go, and I handed each one five hundred dollars. She looked very frail, and we could tell she was in pain.

"Be careful, please," Linda said, and they promised they would.

"I wanna go with Nana," KJ said.

"That's a good idea," Roger said. "Hold her hand and stay with her, okay son?"

KJ nodded and went out the door with Nana.

Roger went outside, the house suddenly empty.

"You okay?" Linda asked, tucking her arm through mine.

I let out a breath and nodded. "You?"

She smiled, nodded, and hugged my arm.

I peeked out the window again. The elderly and most of the little ones had melted away, leaving fifteen or so gang members, I suppose, divided into two groups, about fifty feet apart.

Father David drove off, one of the police cars following, and then the ambulance, followed by the other police car.

Which left two white people, four heavily armed security guards, and two gangs.

And then the damnedest thing happened. Roger stuck his head in the door. "Got someone who wants to have a word. Well, two someones. Just be polite, and everything will be okay," and he was gone.

"Where's Nana's gun?" I joked and tried to smile.

"In my pocket," Linda replied, dead serious.

I was still staring at her when the door opened and Jason stepped in, followed by the one who'd been doing all the talking, Rooster, presumably, and another young man, both of them about six-foot-six and skinny as a rail. They stood several feet apart, Jason in the middle.

"Jason said you knew KJ back in the States. That right?" Rooster said.

I nodded. "We were friends; played basketball together."

"Me and Rooster played with KJ back in the day; was real tight. Back before...everything," the other one, Mouse (we learned), added.

"Lena's a real nice lady, even after KJ died. Didn't blame us, even though she had the right. We made sure she never got caught up in our business," Rooster said.

"We was real sorry when the cancer come on, worried about little KJ. That orphanage is bad news for a sweet kid like that," Mouse said. Rooster nodded.

"Jason said you gonna help them, take little KJ with you back to the States. That right?" Rooster asked.

We nodded, and then they nodded. "You be good to him," Rooster said, both of them giving us the hard stare I imagined they practiced in the mirror...not that I didn't pucker up a little bit.

"We will," Linda replied, a hard edge in her voice that got their attention, and everyone stared at each other for a few seconds.

"He drew that this morning," I said, pointing at his drawing.

The staring stopped, and they stepped over to see.

"Damn, that's good. Sad, though," Rooster said.

"Looks just like KJ, don't it?" Mouse said, and Rooster nodded.

"Well, we'll leave you be. We just wanted to thank you for what you're doing," Rooster said, then he and Mouse stepped to the door.

"There's something you could do," I said, and they looked at me.

"Call a truce or whatever, until after Lena passes. She's weak and tired, and I don't want her to hear any news that would upset her. The doctor told her she has a month, maybe less."

They looked at each other a moment, then nodded. They exchanged bro-hugs, got their thug expressions on, and left.

Once they were gone, Jason turned to us, chuckling at the surprised looks on our faces.

"I've been doing this a long time now, and some shit just don't make no sense. You ready to go?"

We nodded and followed him out, our hands shielding our eyes from the bright sun, and got in the first jeep. The gangs had disappeared, and just a few middle-aged men and women lurked in the shadows, waiting to see if there was anything to scavenge from the house. It was depressing how desperate some people were, and I felt a great appreciation for everything my folks had done to pull themselves out of similar circumstances.

"Jason, does this area have a recreation center, sports court, civic center, or anything like that?" I asked, and Linda grinned at me.

"Just half a court up at the church. Hurricane a few years back did a lot of damage to an area like you're talking about, and there hasn't been any money to fix it up."

"Thanks," thinking that the 'Lena and Kevin Jefferson Memorial Recreation Center' had a nice ring to it.

"I love you," Linda whispered in my ear and kissed my cheek. I wrapped my arm around her and laid my head back, letting out a long sigh.

"Jason, can you see this gets destroyed, or something?" Linda asked.

He turned in his seat, Lena's little gun rested in Lin's hand. His eyebrows arched and he cautiously took the gun from her hand.

"Gives me the creeps," Linda shuddered.

"Uh, you brought this with you?" he asked.

"No," I said. "When I told Lena I had played with KJ at university, she thought I was one of the guys who, uh, hurt him, and she pulled that out of her housecoat and pointed it at me."

"But you didn't...? Hurt him, I mean."

"They hurt Tony, too. He tried to protect KJ," Linda said, a proud, protective edge to her voice.

He looked at her a moment, and then me. "Bet you didn't see this comin', huh?" he grinned, indicating the gun.

I chuckled, then laughed, and found I couldn't stop, tears in my eyes, all four of us laughing hard. Stress is a hell of a thing.

**

We pulled up to a beautiful, three-story building that looked seventy-five years old. We thanked Jason, Mac, Sam, and Roger for all they had done, then headed inside, where a young nurse was waiting for us.

"Mr. and Mrs. Webster? I'm Beth, won't you come with me, please," and she led us down a series of hallways, telling us that our rooms were ready.

"Mrs. Jefferson and the boy should be along in a few minutes. Dr. Weber is getting some information from her and contacting her physician to find out how advanced her cancer is, before treating her."

"How was she when they brought her in?" Linda asked, as we entered a newer section of the hospital.

"Okay. She said her back hurt a little, but she appeared to be in quite a lot of pain, and Dr. Weber concurred. As soon as he speaks with her doctor, we'll get her something for that, perhaps something for anxiety, as well. Here we are," she said, ushering us into a modern hospital room you would find in Chicago or New York, with a few nice paintings on the wall.

Next door, a queen-size bed was made up, a loveseat along one wall, and a large TV hung on another.

"Mrs. Lando, the hospital administrator, will be along in a few minutes. She asked that you wait for her here."

We thanked her and she left, then we flopped down on the loveseat, Linda's head on my shoulder.

"Did you hear Nana say KJ was going to an orphanage tomorrow? When I looked at you and you nodded, I thought you must have," I said.

"I didn't, but I had been wondering what would happen to him when I saw how ill Nana looked. And when you looked at me, I knew, I could see it in your eyes."

"No regrets? I mean, we never even talked about it. How could we, we didn't know he existed."

"No regrets, honey. That little boy needs us...and we need him."

"Shit, I forgot to call the lawyer," I said, and started to stand, when a woman in a business suit stepped into the room.

"Mr. and Mrs. Webster? I'm Margaret Lando, the administrator here at St. Mary's. Welcome."

We stood and shook hands, then she said she needed some information from us.

"You go, Tony, and I'll call the lawyer and get that ball rolling," Linda said.

I nodded, and followed Mrs. Lando down to her office and made the necessary financial arrangements, then went back to the room, where Nana was just getting settled in, sound asleep.

A tall man in a lab coat, skin as midnight dark as Thea's, was talking to Linda, KJ on her hip, his head on her shoulder, asleep. He introduced himself as Dr. Weber, then turned back to Linda.

"I just spoke with Mrs. Jefferson's doctor at the clinic, Dr. Aday, and, unfortunately, the news is not good. Would you like the details?"

"Just big picture, for now," Linda replied.

He nodded. "It's too late for any treatment that might reverse the cancer, I'm afraid. It's very advanced, and all we can really do for her is to make her as comfortable as possible. In a few minutes, we'll take her down and put in a PICC line. That will make it easier to administer pain medication and will be less painful.

"I understand you only met Mrs. Jefferson this morning?"

We nodded.

"She's one tough lady. I can't imagine how much pain she's endured these last several months. Thank you for bringing her to us. We will make her as comfortable as possible."

"How long does she have?" I asked, as I watched her sleep.

"Hard to say. Partly, it depends on her and how hard she fights, but I'd say no more than ten days."

"Keep her comfortable, but also awake some, if you can, so she and KJ here can spend some time together," Linda said.

Dr. Weber nodded. "I understand."

Just then a couple of strong aides came and wheeled Nana's bed down to put the PICC line in, and Dr. Weber went along to observe, saying it would be a couple of hours.

I took KJ from Linda, and we went and found the cafeteria, then ate a little something while KJ slept on. We bought some things we thought he would like, then headed back to the room.

It was Wednesday evening.

**

Because KJ loved to draw, Carmen had suggested we take him to an art supply store, where we bought him colored pencils and markers, as well as several large pads of paper to draw on. She said that it was excellent therapy, especially for those too young to verbalize their feelings.

He didn't like the pads, though, preferring the walls, and we relented, agreeing to have the rooms painted after we left. He drew for hours and hours every day, on every spot Nana could see from her bed. He would fall asleep beside her, and we would carry him to our bed and lay him next to us. And when we woke up the next morning, he was curled up next to her.

A couple of lawyers and a judge stopped by on Thursday and KJ officially became our legal responsibility; he was by then already so much more.

Nana was in and out a lot, but managed to tell Lin and me a lot of stories about the older KJ, which Lin recorded on her phone, stories that we could later relay to our KJ. And all the while, he drew. I went out and bought a couple of disposable cameras, and we took pictures of everything, including lots of Nana and KJ together.

I called Rich Friday evening and told him what was going on. I had arranged things such that not only did Thea, Jazz, Mama, Mar, and Sharon not know where I was sending them on vacation, but they wouldn't know they were all traveling together until they arrived at the airport at the same time. They would be at the island Saturday afternoon, and I had filled in Carol and Nat, and they were expecting them. I asked them to have fun, and we would get there when we could.

Nana's breathing had become labored, and she was agitated in her sleep. Dr. Weber said it wouldn't be much longer, and recommended her medication be increased. "It's what I would want," he added. We talked it over and agreed.

We went over to where KJ was drawing an incredible likeness of JoJo, his favorite nurse, who snuck him cookies after everyone was asleep, and Linda picked him up. We explained that Nana was going to go to Mommy and Daddy in heaven real soon, and he should say goodbye. He nodded, and Lin laid him down next to her. Then he asked us to go in the other room, so he could 'tell Nana his secrets'.

Nana passed away the next morning, Saturday, KJ snuggled up against her in her bed, surrounded by two dozen of his drawings.

We took him for a walk down on the beach and he told us Nana was happy now, and would watch him every day, so he had to be good and listen to Tony and Linda, 'even when I don't want to', which annoyed him greatly.

We ate fish tacos on the beach, then made our way back, where we packed up, thanked everyone for being so nice (JoJo snuck a few packets of cookies in his new backpack), and headed to a hotel.

Jessie and the elder KJ had been cremated, and Nana wanted the same thing, so no funeral, but our security guy Jason got in touch with Father David and arranged a memorial Sunday afternoon at the church.

We went clothes shopping, which KJ hated; he couldn't remember ever wearing anything besides shorts and T-shirts. We spent the evening watching cartoons, which he had pretty much never seen. It was nice to see him laugh and giggle, and to see a little of his personality coming out.

Roger and Jason drove us to the church in Roger's minivan, and I couldn't believe how many people were there. Three or four hundred, at least. Father David led us up to the front, KJ in my arms, and we settled in. KJ kept squirming and pulling on his collar until Lin relented, took off his bowtie, and unbuttoned the top button of his shirt, a ripple of laughter rolling through the pews.

I'd never been to a Catholic anything before, so I wouldn't be able to explain most of it, but Father David talked about Lena's spirit, her love for her neighborhood, despite all its challenges, and the people who lived there. Her son's death had hit her hard, but she'd never lost faith. Her grandson, little KJ, had been a blessing as she battled her illness.

Then he asked us to come up front and join him. KJ clung to Linda and buried his face in her shoulder, as a sea of faces looked at us. Talk about uncomfortable.

"The last time we spoke, Lena asked me to ask everyone to please understand why she wanted her grandson to go and live with this white couple none of you know, if she loved this neighborhood so much," and I saw fifty or so unsmiling faces nod.

"She told me her son and Tony here were close friends when he was in the States, and endured many difficult times together. Kevin told her Tony was his big brother, and fought for him every day, until Kevin came back home, a decision he later regretted.

"Tony would have done anything to help me, Kevin told her, and when he and his wife, Linda, showed up out of the blue, wanting to help however they could, wanting to adopt KJ when they learned he was going to the orphanage, she felt Kevin's presence inside them and knew they would love him as their own. To Lena, they are family."

I wiped a tear away, and KJ sat up and leaned his arms toward me. I took him from Linda, and he kissed my cheek, then rested his head on my shoulder and looked out over the crowd, which did as much to change hearts and minds as anything Father David said, I imagine.

After the service, we kept an eye on KJ while he played with a little girl his age.

"That's Alice. She's in our orphanage, and KJ and her went to preschool together last year," Father David said.

There was a reception after the service, and a lot of people came up and thanked us, which was uncomfortable. I mean, that wasn't why we did it. But the people were nice, a few asking rather pointed questions, and then it was over. I saw Rooster and Mouse, and thanked them, separately, for keeping the peace. We exchanged phone numbers with them and promised to send pictures and updates on KJ after he got settled. They were actually quite pleasant, and we remained baffled.

**

KJ slept as Roger and Jason drove us to the airport, where Della was waiting to take us to the island, with a brief detour so KJ could see his house and neighborhood from the air. It was his first time in a plane, and Della let him sit beside her, which seemed unsafe, until she explained she had four or her own and "could handle this sweet one, no problem". He loved it, and Della, and they exchanged a big hug before she took off.

"Is that?" Linda asked, as two jet skis rounded the island and headed towards us.

"What did you do?" she asked, smiling and waving as Sharon and Mar came close.

"I thought everyone deserved a vacation," I grinned.

"Who is 'everyone'?"

Sharon and Mar came beside the dock in the jet skis, and it felt like it had been six months since the last time we saw them. They had been completely surprised to find everyone was coming together, and how beautiful the island was.

KJ clung to Lin's leg as we exchanged hugs and kisses, but before long was laughing and giggling as Sharon tossed him in the air over and over again. She turned out to be wonderful with him, Mar more reserved.