The Boy She Illegally Brought To The Lavender Field (bwwm)

Page 57

"Sirius."

Sirius stopped what he was doing and looked at the man that called his name.

His boss, Mr. Thompson, gestured his head towards his office.
Sirius followed behind him as the rest of the men watched in wonder.

"Take a seat."
Sirius shut the door and nervously took a seat at the desk.

"What's goin' on here?" Sirius asked, worried.
"Relax. I'm not lettin' you go."
Sirius could finally breathe.
"I heard about your boy."
He didn't respond.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry to hear that." said Mr. Thompson.
"Yea. We're dealin' with it as best we can."
"I hear ya. And we'll be prayin' for you."
"Thank you. I'll tell my wife and I'm sure she'll appreciate it, Mr. Thompson."
"Good. Now...listen."
Sirius sat back to listen.
"After letting two people go...we're gonna need you to work overtime until we get someone to take their place."
Sirius's brows furrowed. "Beg pardon?"
"It's no big deal. Just askin' you to put in a few extra hours. Maybe three or four."

Sirius wanted to argue with the white man. He wanted to know why they'd fire people before having their replacements. He wondered why they asked him of all people.

"I ain't too comfortable with that, Mr. Thompson. I get off at night anyway and after what happened to my boy, nobody's there to protect my wife and daughter when I'm not home." Sirius explained.
"Oh, come on, Sirius. It's just a few hours. The girls'll be alright." Mr. Thompson scoffed and leaned back in his chair.
"I don't think so. Not after what's been happenin' to us. I'd rather be at home with them."
"Sirius, listen." Mr. Thompson leaned over his desk and clasped his hands together. "If we can't get someone to fill those hours, we're gonna lose money. Which means we're gonna lose money to pay all of you. Then we're gonna have to let even more of y'all go. Is that what you want? It's not what I want, that's for sure. 'Cause I know if I let you go, you wouldn't be able to get a job for a long time. Nobody's gonna treat you as well as I do here. You don't have an education and I still took you in. Not many people do. All I'm askin' is that you do me a favor."
Sirius stared at him.
"And after what y'all been doin' in the streets, all that marchin' and shit, negroes aren't gettin' jobs like they used to. I'm nice. I'm on your side. Just do me a solid, huh? What're those same women gonna do when they don't have income comin' in anymore because the man of the house was afraid of a few hours?" Mr. Thompson chuckled as if it were a funny joke.

"So what'd'ya say, Sirius? Will ya help me out?"
Sirius stared at his boss's desk in thought.

•~~~•

Nancy, Daniel, and Stephen sat at the dinner table in silence, eating the meal Diana fixed for them.

"Fish is too salty." Nancy complained and broke the silence.
"Tastes fine to me." Stephen argued.
"Mhm." Daniel agreed.
Nancy stared at them. The men continued eating.

"You've put on weight, Stephen." she pointed out.
"You should be happy. The city thinks it's you who's been feeding me well. I suggest you take my size as a good thing."
"Are you saying she's been feeding you well?" Nancy questioned.
"I've put on weight, Nancy."
Nancy huffed.

"He's not fat. What does it matter? It's probably from all of that beer." Daniel joked and ate his green beans.
"You're not too far off from where I'm at."
"I don't drink like you do." Daniel argued.
"You think that until a few more months pass and that girlfriend of yours starts complainin' about your stomach."
Both men froze when they realized.

They looked at Nancy.

"So you really do have a girlfriend." she smiled.
"No." Daniel lied then took a bite of his fried fish.
"What's the point in lying if your father just said it? Why do you keep changing stories? First you did, then you didn't, now you do?"
Daniel shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Talk about his girlfriend or somethin'."
Stephen slapped his son's head.
Daniel was unfazed and continued eating.

He just cared about getting the focus off of himself.

Nancy looked at Stephen. "You're what?"
"It was a joke, Nancy. Calm down." Stephen commanded and kept eating.
"I really don't think it was, Stephen."
Stephen sighed.
"So you're cheating on me now? Is that it? Explains a lot."
"Explains what, Nancy?!" Stephen asked through a scowl.
"Your complete disregard for me! The way you act like I don't fucking matter! WE HAVEN'T HAD SEX IN YEARS, STEPHEN!"
"I'm fuckin' eating here?!" Daniel shouted in disgust.

"Sorry. GOOD sex."
"That's not what the problem was in that sentence!" Daniel yelled.

"Nancy, shut the fuck up and let the boy eat! Can you just go one evening without starting a fucking problem?! Is that so hard for you?!"
"Oh, fuck you, Stephen Ross! It's so like you to make me the fucking bad guy!"
"OHH MY GOD!" Stephen groaned. "YOU DON'T WANNA FEEL LIKE THE BAD GUY? STOP BEING THE FUCKING BAD GUY!"
"IS THAT WHAT'S GONNA MAKE YOU STOP YOUR AFFAIR?! HUH?! IS ME ASKING MY SON ABOUT HIS SOCIAL LIFE MAKING ME THE EVIL VILLAIN?! YOU WANT ME TO STAY OUT OF HIS LIFE?!"
"HE WOULD'VE BEEN BETTER OFF IF YOU DID!"
"HOW DARE YOU?!"
Daniel rolled his eyes and got up from the table. He grabbed his keys before heading towards the front door.

"WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!" Nancy asked and followed him out.
"LEAVE THE BOY ALONE, HE'S A GROWN MAN!" Stephen followed her.
"SHUT UP, STEPHEN! DANIEL, WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
Daniel continued walking quietly to his truck then hopped inside.

He looked in his rear view mirror and saw his mother standing there and his father behind her.

He quickly drove out of the driveway and onto the road.

"HE HATES ME AND IT'S YOUR FUCKING FAULT!" Nancy shouted as she stormed back inside the house.
"YEA, BECAUSE YOUR PERSONALITY MADE IT SO EASY TO FUCKIN' LOVE YOU!"
Stephen walked inside as well and slammed the door shut.

~•~

Daniel arrived and parked a few hundred feet down before walking the rest of the way.

He sighed under the moonlight and just enjoyed how quiet it was outside.

Then he reached the window, crouched down, and knocked.

The smile that slid onto his face when the window lifted was genuine.
"You're here awful early, Mr. Ross." Annie smiled sweetly.
"Yea, I missed you."
Annie happily got out of the way and let Daniel climb inside.

The two kissed sweetly before pulling away. Daniel held Annie by her waist and they looked at one another.
"My dad refers to you as my girlfriend." he snickered.
Annie gasped. "Well...does he know I'm me...?"
"Yea. He knows almost everything. Had to tell somebody. It was either you or him. Or my mom. And I definitely wasn't tellin' her."
She giggled. "So...he's okay with it?"
"Yea. He said you're beautiful and sweet. And he's right."
"Wow. I wish my parents were like that..." Annie frowned.
"It's alright. I know why they aren't. I don't hold it against 'em."
Annie rested her head on Daniel's shoulder while he held her.