Music Heals All Wounds

Chapter 9

Amon

"Where everybody at?" I asked as I entered my mother's home. Every week she made it her mission to have the whole family over for a day so we could bond and shit like that. My family was kind of big, so we would always have a house full whenever we had any get-togethers.

Growing up, it was just me, my sister, and my mom, but I had alot of aunts and uncles and alot of cousins. Some of the family had already made it over, flooding the house with good vibes and good food.

"Please tell me you didn't forget to get my Patti pies. I've been thinking about sweet potato pie all day, so you're gonna have to go back out and get them." My mom, Kerry Johnson, said as I walked into the kitchen. My aunts, Valerie and Robin stood around the island along with my younger sister, Kennedy.

"No, I didn't forget to grab those nasty pies." I said, setting the bag with the pies down on the kitchen counter. I gave my mom and my aunts a hug before going through the aluminum trays they had lined up on the island.

My mouth watered instantly looking at all the food. One tray contained barbecue ribs, the others had macaroni and cheese, baked beans, jambalaya, candied yams, and collard greens.

"So mama what do you think? It's a good idea right?" I heard Kennedy ask our mom, sparking my interest. She wouldn't be Kennedy if she didn't have some new random idea every other day. These masterplans that she comes up with are either really terrible ideas or nothing but trouble.

"I gotta hear this. What's the bright idea you came up with now?" I asked as I looked around the kitchen for a plate to fix my food.

"I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to my mother, thanks." She rolled her eyes.

"Ken, I don't know why you can't just sit still. You're in school and you're doing good right now. You're only nineteen, I don't think you need to rush into getting an apartment." Our mom said.

"An apartment? With who?" I asked as I finally found the plates, but before I could start fixing my food, Aunt Val popped my hands.

"We're not eating until your uncle finishes up on the grill." She said taking the plate out of my hands.

"What? Who said that?" I was way too hungry to be waiting on my slow ass uncle. I reached for my plate, but she slapped my hand away.

"MaKayla and I already talked about this, she's trying to move out of her mom's house in the next couple of weeks and so am I." Kennedy said, but our mom didn't look too convinced.

"MaKayla? Ain't that the same girl who sat there and watched you get jumped that one time and didn't do shit?" I recalled the time my sister called me crying about some lil hoes jumping her and I guess her friend didn't give a fuck enough to fight with her. "And don't MaKayla have like two kids?"

"Everybody's not a fighter Mon' and she only has one kid, he's two."

"It doesn't even matter, you don't need to get an apartment with that girl. Leave her where she's at." I said as I poured myself a glass of juice since I couldn't get any food.

"None of this is up to you." She replied and I could tell she was getting irritated, which only made me want to fuck with her even more. I was right anyways.

"And how are you gonna get an apartment when you don't even have a job?"

"She's gonna get me on at her job."

"McDonalds?" I laughed as Kennedy picked up a rag and threw it at me. "You know what, I'mma leave y'all to it."

I didn't have time to go back and forth with Kennedy. I had more important things I needed to focus on, like what the hell was taking my uncle so long on this damn grill.