The Baker And The Queen Pin

01.) Brutal Queen/Troubled Baker

~~~Booker

I'm finishing my second batch of bread. I had been so focused on the phone call. I should have been paying more attention. I was almost shocked at what Booker was doing. He's been doing nothing but showing his ass in school. I tear myself from the thoughts of my belligerent son and focus on the batter for the banana nut muffins. I had frozen the bananas and got ready to blend them. I remember having my two children help me bake in my store. I remember how their mother helped me build this store.

I am exhausted and worn out beyond belief. I chopped the walnuts, and I dropped them into the mix. I turned the oven up to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. I placed the food inside and began to rehash the conversation with Mrs. Fairweather. Mrs. Fairweather was an assistant principal at Glasgow High. She had been impressed with Junior's academic skills, but lately, he has been lacking. The problem is I don't know how to tell them; it's my fault. She thinks he is just rebelling as a teenager, but I feel like this is more my fault than I'd like to say.

Ever since Booker and Belle had returned from their mother's house, they've been lashing out at me. More specifically, Booker. I try to talk to him, but he ignores me. He's even been blatantly hostile towards me. At one time, he also told a teacher he hates my guts. That was the second time they called me. He had gotten into a fight with another boy in school, and from what I hear, he started the entire fight. Why was he lashing out at me so harshly?

I then think about Belle and how she used to help me check the oven. I remember how I had to mop these floors over and over again because she wanted everything to be perfect. It was almost as if Belle was running the store sometimes. God, I miss my little girl. Why did Keisha hate me so much? Why was she so unforgiving, and why did she have to weaponize our children? She knew that she was hurting them. She knew all of this, and yet, she still used them to attack me.

Keisha and I had been together for close to 10 years. High school sweethearts, everyone thought we were going to be a power couple. I wish I would have stayed the fuck away from her. I walked to the bathroom, and I run my hand through my beard. I realized I had been getting old, or maybe my son is just stressing me the hell out. I had another few streaks of grey hair throughout my beard, and my eyes were tired, but I still pressed on. The bakery closed early today, mostly because I'm only ever open from 6 am to 5 pm. I stretched my body, spreading my arms out, remembering how old I am. I'm feeling 42 a lot more than I'd like to say.

I looked at my face in the mirror, and I remembered my dark skin getting darker. Even though it wasn't summer yet, the spring heat gave a false impression. I went back to rethink about those calls, listening to the complaints Mrs. Fairweather brings to me and rightfully so. The few being Booker is failing. Booker came to school, smelling like smoke or the most recent one, Booker started shouting matching with his teacher. These calls were apart of my day-to-day routine, and I got a call at least three times a week. Often, I wonder if Booker is doing this out of boredom.

I hear my cell phone ringing again. This time, it's dragging me entirely out of the bathroom. Was my son upset, or was he just lashing out? I answered the phone, hoping it wasn't another debt collector. The call was blocked, so I couldn't see who it was. Hopefully, I could get the muffins out in time. I hoped it was not another problem on the other end of the phone. I'd been having a lot of those in the past six months. It would be nice if it were some kind of reprieve.

'Hello Booker,' I heard the familiar voice, her grizzly tone from years of smoking. It was Miss Paulette, Keisha's mother. She was one of the few sane voices in all this chaos though she was always firmly on the side of her daughter's. I wonder was this another emergency? Though she could have called her daughter for that. "Hello, Miss Paulette. What's wrong?" She sighed, almost disappointed that I was getting straight to business. 'Keisha wants to talk to you' I almost hit the end call, I almost laughed her off of my phone. 'Listen. I know you all have a bad history, but the least you could do is talk to her.' "I don't have the money for that, Mrs.Paulette, plus I had to pay for her lawyer, too." She sighed. She was disappointed in my cold reaction. The sad truth was I didn't want to put up with Keisha anymore. If it wasn't about our kids, I had no reason to talk to her. 'Listen, Booker. I know she's given you a lot of trouble, but if you can just hear her out without the lawyers, I'm quite sure you can work something out,'