Desmond sent Jaden a text to tell her they'd arrived at the penitentiary. He couldn't take his phone with him so he wanted to make sure she was okay before he went inside.
She text back immediately and assured him she was fine, and that her and Marquis would be watching movies and hanging out, so he didn't have to worry.
Marquis was still going through some things of his own, but he felt comfortable talking to Jaden. He said he wasn't the type for therapy, but after killing a man, he needed to open up to someone and not feel weak about it. Desmond appreciated Jaden for being there for his best friend.
Desmond locked his and Jace's cellphones in the glove box and got out of the truck to open the door for his mother to get out. He pulled about fifty dollars worth of ones out his pocket to make sure he had enough money to last the visit. It was barely 10 am and they planned to be there until 3 pm.
The visiting area held vending machines for the family's to purchase food, drinks, and other snacks but they only took cash or coins. Desmond had to make sure he bought himself some candy, for the sweet tooth he'd developed with Jaden's pregnancy, and he never forgot his father's favorite snack, honeybuns.
He patted his pocket one last time and made sure he had the photos he was leaving with his father. That included some pics of him Jace and Marquis, the ultrasound, and one of him and Jaden.
He decided he'd bring her for a visit one day in the future, but for now, he wanted his pops to know who she was.
"Hey, Mama Dee," one of the guards greeted Desmond's mother as she walked into the lobby with her boys behind her. Doreen visited her husband faithfully, every Sunday, the entire fifteenth years he'd been in that facility.
Desmond let his mother and brother go through search first as he stepped out of his running shoes and took off his jacket.
"The prodigal son has returned." Kenneth hollered across the visiting yard with outstretched arms. He stood 6'2 with dark chocolate skin, and a thick gray and black beard covering half his face.
Desmond smiled widely nearly running into his father's arms, causing his limp to become more noticeable. Like a little boy, he held tight in their embrace. "I missed you, pop" was all he could muster, while holding back tears.
"I missed you too, boy. I heard you out there living up to your nickname." His father chuckled, patting his son's back.
"Nah, not anymore." He said as they released one another.
Jace hugged the man next, "Hey pops."
"How are things going? You the first billionaire of the family yet?" he asked his youngest.
"I'm working on it, old man." He laughed.
"Hey, Baby." Kenneth caressed his wife, gripping her booty as if they were a pair of horny teenagers.
"Y'all better knock it off," Jace said covering his eyes.
"How you think you got here?" Ken said before taking a seat at their table.
"The stork brought me. Speakin of the stork..." Jace nudged his brother.
Desmond took the photos out his pocket and handed the ultrasound to his father, "You gonna be a grandpop." He announced before sitting down.
Kenneth looked at the photo then put it closer to his face to see it clearer. The old man's sight ain't what it used to be. "Well, I'll be damned. Congratulations son. I was beginning to think I wasn't getting any grandkids outta you." He smirked.
"Oh, you got jokes." He said laughing.
"Mommy, you wanna get some snacks?" Jace asked, rubbing his stomach.
"Sure. Honeybuns for my honey bun?" Doreen winked at Kenneth.
"You know what I like." Ken, grinned.
Desmond fetched the money out his pocket, "here." He passed it to Jace.
Once they were out of earshot, Kenneth spoke, "So, how you feelin?"
"I'm good pop, getting better every day."
"I see your limp. One in the leg, one in the chest huh? Shit ain't no joke."
Desmond nodded.
"You feel alright enough to take a walk around the field?"
"Yeah, it's good for me to walk," Desmond told him.
The father and son walked around talking while Jace and Doreen gathered up some board games and snacks for the group.
"So from what I hear, Frank can't bring himself to pull the plug, even though he's braindead. It's been months now. No sense in keeping him in that state." Kenneth explained, speaking of Bishop's vegetative state.
"Yeah, but Frank's a coward, he wanted me to do it."
Kenneth nodded, understanding. "That Xavier nigga came outta nowhere, snaked his way up the ranks. How's Tank doin with the aftermath?"
Desmond sighed, "He seems alright to me, but he doesn't talk about it. Jaden's a Godsend, she's been there for him. She's easy to talk to, doesn't judge." He smiled talking about her.
"So tell me about your fiancé. I'm happy for you son. Gonna be a married man, with a baby."
Desmond fished the photo out his pants pocket, "She got me good, pop." He shook his head just thinking about it. "Soon as I laid eyes on her, I was a goner."
"Don't I know the feeling? How far along are y'all?"
Desmond scratched his goatee, thinking. Jaden just told him the other day when they were reading the baby book. "19 weeks now... I think." He said.
"So what are you having?"
Desmond chuckled and shrugged, "We don't know. She wants it to be a surprise."
"Well, that's one way to do it. Takes some of the pressure off. What are you hoping for?"
"At first I wanted a boy, of course. But now I'm okay with either."
"When's the wedding?"
"I think we're gonna wait until the baby's born so she can do all that planning shit." Desmond scratched the back of his neck, "You know I don't know nothing about that."
Kenneth chuckled, "I'm proud of you son."
"Thanks pop." Desmond said, before clearing his throat, "I heard some stuff, from a friend at the district attorney's office."
Kenneth's face went serious, "We may have heard the same thing. I know it sounds good, but I don't wanna get my hopes up."
"If it's aight with you, I wanna hire someone to look into it further. If there's a chance that they fucked up something in your case like they mishandled some of the others, we can get you the fuck outta this place."
"If you do, I don't want you telling ya mama and brother about it. Keep it between us because I don't want anyone getting disappointed, alright?"
They shook hands and hugged, "Aight, now let me whoop yo ass in some dominos."
They headed over to the table, as Kenneth laughed,
"You must not know bout Big Ken!"
♟•••••♟
YOU ARE READING
All the King's Men ( An Urban Love Story )
General Fiction*COMPLETED* EDITS COMING SOON. "I'll go to war with God behind you." Desmond King grew up a product of his environment but with street smarts and a little book smarts on his side, he found a way to survive and feed everyone around him. He's been abl...
