Finding Grace

Chapter Eleven

"Is there any way I can get Rome?" Jerome asked.

"No." Jess said sternly. "We'll be back after his season is over though.

"I thought he was dead for 15 years. I find out he's not, and he can't come home."

"Jerome. Even if he could he wouldn't want to. We live two very different lifestyles and he has better opportunities in New York." Jess said.

"Why would he not wanna live with his real family?" Jerome asked.

"So I heard Jerome's a drug dealer?" Rome asked Camiella.

"Yeah, don't even wanna talk about it." She said. "So is Saint, and everybody else I fucking know. They all work for Grayson."

"I heard about him. He's my uncle." Rome said. "How can you be around all this. It's dangerous."

"Well, it's either stay here with my dad or go live in Montgomery with my depressed mother." She said.

"Oh. Well, I wish I could invite you to live with me, but I can't."

"Where are you from?"

"New York City." He said. "It's really great up there."

"I was thinking about going to school up there."

"Cool. I wanna go into Criminal Justice." Rome said. "Imagine me handcuffing my own father." They both laughed.

"Maybe he'd learn his lesson." Camiella joked.

"My mom's a detective and my dad's some kind of special agent." Rome said.

"Well, my mom's a hair dresser, but I wanna be a medical researcher." She said.

"Maybe you'll find a cure for something amazing." Rome told her.

"I hope so."

"So Jess," Jerome said. "Tell me about yourself."

She smiled. "What you don't trust me?"

"Give me a reason to." He said. "You showed up out of nowhere at my house with my son."

"It's not my fault. If he didn't find his birth certificate then we wouldn't be here." Jess said. "Yet."

"Then good thing he found it." Jerome said standing up.

"Where are you going?" Jess asked standing up also.

"I'm just calling Camiella. I want her to meet us for lunch." Jerome said.

"Ok." Jess said sitting back down.

"So tell me more about Saint." Rome said.

"Why? You like him?" Camiella joked.

"Hell no. Don't try me on no gay shit." Rome said.

"Your uncle's gay." She said. Rome shrugged.

"I don't care about him. I have a "girlfriend" anyways. I haven't asked her yet, but I'm working the courage to."

"She'll say yes. How can she say no." She said picking up her phone. "It's my dad." She answered and Rome pulled his up looking at the text from his mom. He responded and Camiella smiled.

"They wanna meet for lunch." She said. "He said Grayson will be there. You should invite your sister and we play operation hook up."

"That's a good idea I'll invite her now." Rome said. "What should I say to make her come?"

"Tell her Saint's hot."

"How can I say that without sounding gay?"

"Say Camiella said her brother's cute and single and will be at the lunch." Camiella said as Rome typed.