Once a Dog Always a Dog!

Chapter 20

In the days following Derrick's drowning, Cheyenne and I had received word from the coroner as to the cause of his death. They listed the cause as accidental drowning. And on one hand, we felt relief because there were absolutely no signs of blunt force trauma or blunt trauma of any kind, so we knew that Derrick hadn't accidentally banged his head or been hit with anything. Yet we were still baffled and there remained this sense of mystery because Derrick was an excellent swimmer for his age. He had been swimming since he was three years old, so for him to have drowned in the calm water of a swimming pool was just something that we couldn't comprehend. The only theory that made sense was what Chris had theorized, which was that Derrick had likely had some type of cramp or a massive charley horse, which caused him to panic and swallow water and ultimately drown. Chris said that if Derrick had eaten within the hour of having gone in the pool then the chances of him having cramped up were high and that was likely what had happened. Only God knew what really had happened, but Chris's theory made the most sense, because Derrick had eaten a ton of food only a half hour or so before going into the pool. And I was sure that he had never had a charley horse before, so if he had caught a cramp while in the water I was certain that the pain from that would have freaked him out. 

So Chris's theory made sense, but yet it couldn't be verified. Eight days after the tragedy, we held Derrick's funeral in Brooklyn at the church in which me and Cheyenne were members of. It was a church called Christian Cultural Center. It was a huge mega church that seated five thousand people and literally every seat in the church was filled. Although Derrick's drowning had gotten some media attention, and it had been mentioned during the announcements at the church during their regular Sunday services, I could have never imagined seeing the sea of people at his funeral. But for Derrick's sake I was grateful that they had all come out to his home going ceremony. Cheyenne and I had discussed burying Derrick in his basketball uniform but ultimately we decided that it would be best if he were buried in a nice suit and that was what we went with. But we were sure to put a basketball inside of the casket with him along with his Riverside Hawks basketball jersey. His team had went on to win the championship down in Orlando and the team had unanimously decided that Derrick should be given the MVP award. So next to his casket stood a huge MVP trophy that was at least five feet tall. Around his neck we also placed the national championship gold medal that all of the team members had received. And what Derrick would have been the most psyched about was the issue of the Sports Illustrated Kids where his name was listed as a first team sixth grade all American, which basically meant that he had been considered as one of the top five eleven year old basketball players in the country. 

After the eulogy was given and after a highlight reel of Derrick was played on the church's huge television screens, and after everyone had walked by to view his body, tons of people lined up to approach the microphone and say something about Derrick. Cheyenne and I both never had any idea just how many people Derrick had touched, and seeing all the love that he was receiving was the most comforting and reassuring thing for us. I was the last one to speak and I had convinced myself that I would not break down and cry but as soon as I approached the microphone and opened my mouth the tears began to flow. "Derrick was more than just my son," I said as I began. "In some ways he was my mentor. And I say that because the word of God says that if we train a child in the ways of the Lord that when he grows up he will not depart from those ways. And as I stand here today, I cannot take credit for raising Derrick in the ways of the Lord. But without question I can dish out praises to my wife for the way in which she trained Derrick in the ways of the Lord. She did such a good job that he would have to remind me to pray and remind me to trust God for things. 

Everyone sees the accolades that Derrick got for playing basketball and I often used to get asked if I was one of those obsessive fathers that pushed him to play. But I was never like that. What people don't see and what most would have never realized is that Derrick fully understood the power of faith and the power of prayer and he would faithfully pray for God to make him taller and pray to God for discipline to practice and I fully believe that God blessed him in the area of sports simply because of how Derrick relied on God. But as I said, Derrick was more my mentor than I was his, and so I want to leave everyone with something that I think Derrick would want me to say. And when I say this, please know that I am saying it more to myself than I am saying it to any of you. In the word of God it says 'when I was a child I thought as a child and I acted as a child, but when I became a man I put childish ways behind me.' For all of the children that are in here today, live your life as a child. Live it to the fullest as Derrick did. But when you get older as I am, remember to put childish ways behind you and live like a man." With that, I walked away from the microphone and made my way back to my seat next to Cheyenne and she gave me a kiss and squeezed my hand. "That was so nice what you said," she whispered into my ear. I thanked her and before long we were making our way out of the church and heading to a cemetery located out on Farmingdale, Long Island. 

"Kha'Darious," Toni said to me as she touched me on my arm. "Hi Toni," I said as I turned and gave her a hug and an embrace. I was glad to see her. Toni then said hello to Cheyenne and I said hello to Toni's husband Keith. Sahara had been sitting with Toni's mom. "Can I talk to you for a second?" Toni asked as she took me off to the side. "Kha'Darious, I just want to say again how sad I am and how sorry I am for what you are going through and for your loss. And Keith and I were talking and I just wanted to let you know that you are Sahara's daddy and you're her father so it would only be right that she keeps your last name." I motioned for Keith to come to where Toni and I were standing and I shook Keith's hand and looked him and Toni in the eyes, and I said, "what I just said when I was talking, I meant it and it applies to me. I have really been acting and behaving like a child and Keith, you've always shown me respect from day one and from day one you've always embraced Sahara and accepted her and loved her as your own. Only a man who has put away his childish ways can raise another man's child as if she were his own. And so Sahara can and should take your last name. I would be at peace with that." Toni looked at me when I was done talking, and she looked at Keith and I could see a tear stream down her eye. 

Toni then hugged me and held me tight and massaged my back with her hand. "I love you, Kha'Darious," she said. "I love you guys too," I said and made sure to give Keith a pound to show him respect. We eventually did make it to the cemetery and the quick service that we had at the cemetery was also packed. I thought it was hard seeing Derrick being given CPR, and I thought it was hard seeing him on the life support equipment in the hospital, and I thought it was hard seeing Derrick's body in his casket. But without a doubt the hardest part for me was when Derrick's casket was lowered into the ground and people threw flowers on top of it. I knew then that it was officially over. I wasn't living a nightmare. My son, my own flesh and blood, was really gone. But the thing that gave me peace was that I knew Derrick was more than just his physical body. Yeah, his physical body had been placed in the ground and it would return to dust as the word of God says, but I took solace in knowing that Derricks's spirit lived on and that his spirit would never die.