Charlie's Angel

12

Chris
I guzzled down three glasses of milk and stared Isaiah down. He was still on his first, but he didn't feel like playing around. He was moping around again. At first I thought it was because I woke him up for school, but I knew my nephew enough to know it was something else.
I pretended to gag to get a laugh outta him, but that ain't do shit. "Man, I think I'm gonna puke." He continued to stir his cinnamon oatmeal. "Come on, man, what's up?"

He shrugged, poked out his bottom lip like he was gonna cry. "I miss Mommy and Mystery and Paris."

I sighed and ran a hand over my face. "Your mom will be back in a few months," I explained. "Now go get your book bag, it's almost time for school."

Instead of moving, he looked at me and cocked his head to the side. "How long is a few months?"

"It's not that long, man. You'll see her soon. Now go on." I cleared the dishes while he sulked up the stairs to his room. Four years old and he was already stressed as hell. And nothing would cheer him up. Not even the letters he got from his mom.

We hadn't seen Mystery and Paris in about two weeks, and Isaiah was miserable without his best friend. He and Paris had become inseparable and he always smiled at the mention of her name. That lil nigga musta liked her. Wouldn't be surprised neither. Isaiah learned how to treat a lady from me, since his dad was always stationed elsewhere and never made time to see him. He left my sister when she was four months pregnant. She didn't bother to reach out to him because she had me, Momma, and Dad.

Later I pulled up in front of his school and put the car in park. I turned to look back at him and offered a smile. "Have a good day at school, man. Maybe later we'll go visit Mystery, would you like that?"

His eyes lit up and he beamed. "Yes, thank you Uncle Chris! I love you, bye!" He opened his own door before I could and jogged into the school with a few of his classmates who arrived at the same time. I made his day.

I wasn't lying neither. I was planning on visiting Mystery today anyway, seeing as though it had been forever. Okay, maybe not that long, but I was so used to seeing her practically everyday. It was like a blank space without her.

Nigga, don't get corny.

Knowing we had some things to discuss, I sighed. I put the car in drive and drove to my momma's house.
***
My dad's Mercedes was parked in the driveway next to my mom's Escalade. My dad was making a lot of money from his job. He worked for the Books-a-Million corporation and he was the overseer of most of the stores in Georgia. My mom always nagged him about always being at work and bringing his work home with him, but it's what got her that big-ass house and nice car.

But I could see where she was coming from.
I let myself in and my dad brushed past me and out the door. "Hey son, sorry I can't stay. Meeting at the store."

"Aight," I said flatly. It wasn't that I hated my dad and he hated me, we just didn't care too much for each other and Momma always says it's because we're just alike. No real reason, but we just stayed out of each other's way. If he wanted to put his job before his family, fine.

I found my momma in the loft, reading a book. I saw Steve Harvey on the cover, musta been from her book club. I crashed beside her and she looked up with a smile. "Hi angel."

"Hey Momma, whatcha readin'?" I asked obnoxiously, gaining a slight laugh from her.

"A book for my book club, baby," she said softly. She lifted up the cover for me to see, I waved her off. "You should read a book, Christopher."

Always using my first name and shit.
"Momma, I don't have time for all that," I muttered. "Between my art, finding another college to get into, and Isaiah, I don't have the time to be sitting around and reading."