Color Blind Hearts (Abandoned)

Ch. 1-Sending Jay Off To Work

The sun rolled out from behind a nearby oak tree and spilled into the unbelievably tidy room of sixteen year old Jordan Marcus Williams Jr. Lying, tangled up in his favorite royal blue blanket, his grandmother had knitted for him on his thirteenth birthday, Jordan couldn't help but feel a tad bit disappointed with the sun's appearance in his bedroom window. The bright yellow star meant that it was now morning, thus making it time for him to get out of bed and get ready to go over to his aunt's house for some good ol fashion slave labor in her garden.

Wanda, his late mother's younger sister, had assigned him the task the day before after receiving a notice from the city stating that if she didn't clean up her yard before snowfall, she'd find herself paying a pretty penny for it. So, the other day she stopped by her mother's house and gave him a mile long speech about how he owed her for all the years she took care of  him and the letter from  the city was God's way of giving him an opportunity for him to' pay her back'. Of course at the mention of her Lord and Savor' Jordan's grandmother was quick to offer him up to serve as ' the Lord's hands'.

    So, after tossing his blanket off to the side, he drug himself out of bed himself, grabbed his towel, and toothbrush,before heading down the hall to the bathroom. On his way, he made sure to take slow and light steps as he passed his grandmother's room on his way to the bathroom. Then, just as he turned on the bathroom light, his grandmother's bedroom light turned on as well.

"Baby is that you?" she questioned, her voice traveling through the hallway into the bathroom.

"Yeah big mama, it's me" he answered as he set his towel on the towel rack and exited the bathroom.

He then walked over to her bedroom door where he leaned against the door and watched her as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"I didn't wake you up did I?" he asked, a bit worried.

"No baby, I've been up for a while. I've just been sitting here thinking about ya mama and daddy" she said as she reached over to her nightstand and grabbed the framed photo of them on their wedding.

Jordan simply stood before his grandmother uncomfortably shifting his weight from one leg to the other. His mother and father have never been a topic he enjoyed talking about with anyone. The memory of their death, of just two and a half years ago, was still a bit to fresh for him to deal with. They had died during a shipwreck while on a cruise to Jamaica.
The part that hunted Jordan the most was the fact that their bodies were never found. So, at their funeral all he could think about was the fact that there could be a chance that they were still out there somewhere in the world. The curiosity of it stuck with throughout  all the years, however whenever he'd bring it up to his aunt or grandmother, they'd simply dismiss it. So over the years he'd learned to keep his curiosity about whether or not they were truly gone to himself.

      " Yeah, I was thinking about them just the other day when I came across mama's notebook." He admitted

        " Oh yeah?" She asked, eyeing her grandson with eyes of both pain and curiosity.

         " Yeah, I can't bring myself to actually read it yet, but it sits on my desk and I feel like with every passing day I get closer and closer to being able to read it." He told her, causing a smile to spill across her face.

           " Well you take your time baby. Grieving doesn't have a map or an expiration date " she told him as she turned her attention back to the photo.

Jordan then took a deep breath, not wanting the sea of emotion with in him to overflow and pour out in the form of heavy sobs and uncontrollable tears. Breaking down over the topic wasn't something he'd allow himself to do. Life was filled with far too many responsibilities and opportunities for him to simply sit around feeling sorry for himself.

        " Yeah, and everyone has their own set of steps they have to go through in order to process the loss of their loved ones" He said, reciting the words his grandmother had been saying to him for over a year now.

        " I wonder where you heard that from?" His grandmother asked chuckling to herself.

        " Some old lady, I met when a long time ago told me that" he joked earning himself a playful slap upside the head.

         " I just messing with you, you know I you taught me everything I know" He told her before leaning over to press a kiss into her cheek.

         " I know that right. Now, you want me to make you some breakfast before you leave? " She asked, turning towards him and running a hand down his baby, smooth, face.

        " Nah, I'll just make some cereal or something. I don't want you up on your bad foot" He replied, offering her his million dollar smile.

           " Alright. What do you want for lunch?" She asked, picking a piece of lint from his hair.

"Come on big I'm offended that you even have to ask that" He stated, placing a hand over his heart and acting as those he'd been shot or something.

         " So baked Mac n' cheese with some that fake meat you love so much" she stated knowingly.

" If by 'fake meat' you mean spam, than yes. Yes, I would love some mac n' cheese with spam  " he smiled, causing her to shake her head as she laughed.

" I'll make sure it's ready for you when you get home baby" She told him as she leaned over to kiss his cheek.

    " You're the greatest Big Mama. Alright, I'll see you when I get back from aunt Wanada's. I love you" He told her as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a light squeeze.

"I love you more baby" She laughed holding him for a moment before moving back a bit and placed a tender kiss on his cheek.

He then exited the room and headed into the bathroom where he took a quick shower. Thereafter, he wrapped his towel around his waist and headed back to his bedroom. There, he opened his top drawer and grabbed a pair of boxers, before closing the draw again. Then, after putting his boxers on, he tossed his towel on the drying rack in his room before going back over to the dresser and opening the second draw this time. He grabbed a pair of dark blue jeans, and a turtleneck before turning to toss them on his bed. He then grabbed his lotion from  and downstairs where he made himself two sandwiches for lunch before setting them, along with a bottle of water, a chocolate chip cookie, and a small bag of barbecue chips into his lunch bag.  Once he finished, he walked into the living room where he set his back on the couch and grabbed his leather jacket from the hook next to the front door and put it on.

"Make sure you wear a hat, I don't want you getting sick baby" Big mama yelled from upstairs

"I will " he called back, before opening the door and heading out.

Jordan then pulled the door close, unknowingly ending a chapter of his life and opening up a whole new one.