Endearment // Royce

ღ Chapter 23 ღ

August 7, 2016
Jai Perez

I sat board games and movies on the coffee table, along with snacks and drink. We were having Family Fun Night at Mom's. It's been a while since all of us got together and since it was Friday, I figured it'd be a great way to kick off the weekend.

  "Tete, look" Jamie said looking out the window. "Girl" He pointed at a strange woman that was walking around the neighborhood looking lost. She had a piece of paper in her hand.

  "Stay here, okay boogie?" He nodded and continued to stare out the window. I walked outside approaching the woman. She seemed jumpy and she looked like she had been crying.

                   "Excuse me, miss- are you okay?"

  "I'm looking for my babies" She sniffed. "They're supposed to be around here, but I can't find them." She ran her fingers through her curly shoulder length hair.

  "It's getting pretty late, why don't you come inside... I'm sure my parents could help you out." I said, leading her into the house. When I walked inside, mom and dad were setting up the twister mat. Just as we walked inside, I noticed Terry and Aunt Janice's car pull up in the driveway.

  "C'mon babygirl, I hope you got on your good yoga pants because this is gonna be intense." Mom squealed making Jamie clap and giggle as she stretched in the middle of the living room.

  "Yeah, yeah it's gonne be intense alright," Dad snickered to himself "When you bend over and can't get up."

  "Oh shut up. Don't worry about me, worry about those knees grandpa."

             "Papa!" Jamie giggled.

  "Your family seems really nice." The woman said. "Yeah, I guess so- mommy," she walked over to me. "This lady was looking for her kids, have you seen any kids around here?" I asked.

  "How old are your kids?"

  "The oldest is 7 and I have 2 year old... I really miss them, I had to leave them for a while but when I came back they were gone, and so was my husband." She looked down. "Can you help me find them?" She asked my mom with pleading eyes.

"How about you get some rest and when you wake up, we can start looking" My mon suggested, putting her arm around the woman and leading to one of the guest bedrooms. "What is your name?" I heard her say.

                     "Jaide."

  The name was oddly familiar but, there are plenty of people with that name.

  "Chres here." I heard Jamie scream as he ran towards the ddoor. It opened and Chresanto scooped Jamie up into his arms, tickling him. "Hey, little man." Jamie hugged him as tight as his little arms would let him. "Is your mama here yet? He isn't answering my calls."

"I thought he'd be with you." I said. This isn't like Jacob, he's never late for a family game night he's usually the first one here.

  As if he could hear us, my phone rang. It was Jacob. "Hey, where are you?" I asked immediately.

  "I'm stuck in traffic, there was a bad accident. You guys can start without me and if I'm not there before he falls asleep make sure you give Jamie his vitamins. I'll be there soon."

  "Okay, be safe." We said our goodbyes and I ended the call. I walked back into the living room seeing Aunt Janice practically undressing Chres with her eyes.

  "Jacob says he's in traffic, he'll be here shor-"

  "Jacob?" I turned around, seeing Jaide. "That was my son's name" She turned around and went back to the guest room.