The Exception

23

The next morning I was up around 6 am on the phone with my mother. She had gotten out of the hospital and was living in Houston. I knew that she wouldn't be there for long but we had to start talking about the reality show and my two oldest brothers. They had gone away for a minute and now that they were coming back some moves had to be made. I knew that my mom would be the most nervous cause she talked with them almost everyday and just wanted to make sure that they got home safely and didn't end up in any trouble.

Me, "Mommy how are you? Have you taken your medicine for the day?"

Mommy, "J you don't have to stress about me, I wanted to speak to you about Travis and Brandon"

Me,"Okay, what about them?"

Mommy, "Well I've been talking to Travis and he just doesn't want to come in and take the kids back. So I was thinking that we could slowly emerge him back in. I don't want him to get overwhelmed and then head back into trouble"

Me, "Well I've been watching them for a minute so it wouldn't matter but eventually they are going to want to form some type of relationship with him, like they know who he is and they want to make some memories with him"

Mommy, "I know but he's been in there for a while and he can't just easily adjust. I know that he would prefer some time with me and his siblings before seeing the kids"

Me, "Well I'm on the road and I'm gonna have all the kids with me, so what are you going to do?"

Mommy, "I can have him come stay with me and Brandon back home for a couple weeks, let him see some old friends and make up some form of schedule. Then we can have the kids come through and whatnot"

Me, "Okay, now what about Brandon? He's been more open with his kids and they are ready for him to come back"

Mommy, "Well yeah, he's been in and out and he knows that he can't act like a child anymore. I think that you should come and speak with them, or at lest call and see where they are at"

Me, "I can call them. I got a sound check today, but after that I can call them. Do you think that they would wanna talk to the kids?"

Mommy, "Um maybe just ask them before hand, I don't want the kids to be put on the spot and force something out. I know that it's not going to be instant but at least see what they have to offer"

Me, "Okay, but you guys all need to meet up in New York cause we have the international phase and we already booked all the rooms and everything"

Mommy, "J, your brothers are coming out of jail and you're worried about me going on some plane? They can't even leave the country and I can't leave them here all by themselves"

Me, "What  are you talking about? I talked to Brandon and he said that he talked with his parole officer already and as long as he's checking in with him he would be fine. Now as for Travis he has to get some type of tracking bracelet for half the trip but he could come through too"

Mommy. "Why are we all being rushed to come on this trip? I honestly feel like something crazy is going on and you make me nervous? You know that I don't like that type of shit"

Me, "Mommy you act like you don't like when we go on family trips. I was just wondering over the country for years and now I got my shit together. Can you just come through and enjoy it"

Mommy, "Little boy you beta remember that I'm still your mother and I need to be given some respect. I just don't understand why we just flew down to Houston and you dropped that bomb on us? I don't even know this girlfriend that you have but I come and she's taking care of all the kids and running around in the house. How are you going to have some stranger up in your house running around with your family?"

Me, "Mommy she's not some stranger and you need to get used to her, like she and her whole family is coming through for the trip so work it out. Nadya is an important person in my life and I don't want to have any drama between you two"

Mommy, "Listen I have to go, the baby is crying but we aren't done talking about this. like you need to be aware of who you surround yourself with"

Me, "I don't need to worry about Nadya and if you don't like her then we are going to have problems. None of the kids have come after me saying that she did anything wrong, and she's hung around me since I started back in the games. she's actually one of the only people that's dealt with my shit and made me a better person. She's not going anywhere anytime soon so when you fly up to New York then we are going to have a serious talk, all three of us"

Mommy, "Okay, babe. Have a good day"

Me, "thanks mom, speak to ya later"

30 minutes before the soundcheck and the kids still weren't ready. I knew that this would happen but the person holding us back was Nadya. She was set on takin the kids out to the beach and they still hadn't returned. I knew that she would forget time and then they would need to get ready again. These people were going to drive me crazy but I loved them. 

So when Nadya finally came through I had to push with all my might for them to get ready. Little Zion was the first ready and he was in full on gear. My homeboy had on my tour promo shirt and these Adidas sweatpants and no shoes of course. No matter how hard Nadya and I tried to get him into some shoes he just refused. Surprisingly Nadya, Tati and Danielle were the next fastest dressers and the one person holding me back was Joshua. When we finally got into the car we were already running 20 minutes later but I didn't care.

After we finished sound-check I took the kids out for dinner and for once no one bothered us. Then as we were heading out there were all these paparazzi and it was constant chaos. Nadya rushed the older kids into the car and I had to dash into the car with Zion. He was straight out posing for them but it was a safety hazard. The cameras were all over the place and trying to drive out was almost impossible. I never really dealt with the photogs back in Houston, and LA could get a bit crazy but I wasn't out there like that. If we were going to be heading out to New York soon there would have to be some serious talks about what the kids could and couldn't do. It was going to be a nightmare but nonetheless it had to happen.