Moving Forward

Chapter Nine

"Mom, there's nothing really wrong. Well...um..." I glanced over at dad and winced.

"Well, what? What is the problem?"

Mom got more anxious over the phone for every second I delayed. I didn't know how to tell or ask her.

"Hello? Maliah? Are you still there?"

"Yes... yes, mom. Can you do me a favor?"

"Of course honey, what do you want?"

I didn't know how to start so I blurted out whatever came to mind. "Dad is by me homeless and needs to stay by you."

I didn't hear a response and the phone was silent for more than ten seconds. I didn't want to say anything because I was giving her time to think and process the information. When the silence got too long I hung up without saying anything. I knew she would have called back eventually, I just hope it was soon.

"What did she say?" dad asked with a concerned expression.

I shrugged, "I hung up." I didn't want to tell him that she went silent on the phone for minutes because he would have gotten upset, depressed or something worst.

While I waited, I decided to unpack my dairy products and put them in the fridge. When I was almost finished with the produce, my phone rang out.

"Yes, mom?"

"What was that about? Were you playing games with me? Are you trying to mess with me, Maliah?"

"No mom, he's right here. Your husband is homeless and needs you."

"Maliah, I just can't take him like that. He's a drunk!"

I tried to reason with her over the phone. I told her he looked good and had been off the booze, but she didn't budge. I gave a long sigh and took a deep breath. "Mom?"

"Yes?"

"If you take dad back and ensure that he stays on track, I promise to visit you once a month. As long as he is there."

"You can do better than that, hun. I'm your mother. Every weekend."

She was pushing it way beyond my limit. I couldn't do that without going mad. "Twice a month and that's final. I will just find a place for him to stay and you won't get me."

"Alright, two is good. Can't wait to see you this week."

I rolled my eyes and glared at dad for making me endure it. "I'm sending him over now. Bye," I hung up. Thank heavens she agreed. He was no longer my immediate problem.

I packed away all my groceries, and called a taxi for him. I gave him something to eat which he thanked me greatly for and then we caught up on life until the cab arrived. I paid the driver and told him exactly where to drop him off.

I timed the taxi and called mom to let her know that he would be outside any minute, and stayed on-line to ensure everything was okay. I knew how mom could be sometimes and I didnt want any mishaps. The moment mom mumbled profanities, I knew he'd arrived, "Mommy, behave."

After twenty minutes of convincing her to be nice and ensuring that dad had settled in, I ended the call and headed straight for a shower.

~~~~~

On sunday, I made a special lunch of macaroni pie, baked beans and stew chicken. It was a good leftover meal for work the next day.

The next three days, I attended work and did the pile of letters that came in last week when I was absent. Anya and I must have been in idle mode for over an hour because I had to explain the situation with dad and how I had to bargain with my mom for her to take him. I even reminded her about out beach date and she was still up for it. I couldn't remember ever being excited about someone joining me on the beach. At first, the idea felt awkward, but as the day drawed near, I got a burst of fresh energy.

Thursday seemed like a long and drawn out day because Anya and I were ready to leave for the beach. Mr Blackmon went to court and left us to complete some work. We were finished by twelve and left to die of boredom. He didn't even return until it was after four. The moment the clock struck 4:30p.m. we hurriedly took up our bags and darted through the door.

We arrived at Anya's home within ten minutes to get dressed for the beach. I wore my pink two piece halter bikini and she wore her black Nike whole suit. Anya had always been conscious of her body size. She thought she was too fat or rounded. Although she wore a size large, I thought she looked like a medium -- a sexy medium sized doll.

When we met Store Bay, the car park was as empty as I had imagined it. Anya parked closer to the facilities making it shorter to reach the flight of stairs that lead toward the beach.

Anya rented beach chairs for us, pulling them a bit closer to the shore. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea but she convinced me enough. We were ten feet away as compared to my fifteen. It still felt as the safe zone... somewhat.

We sat there, basking in the evening sun and discretely watched tourists pass by and also disembark the last reef boats.

"Oh my God! Mals look at that," Anya exclaimed.

"Look at what?"

She pointed like an eager child in a candy store, "That guy over there on the green boat."

"Huh?" I couldn't see clearly as his back faced us.

"I swear, Mals, he is so gorgeous. Look at his body! That tribal tattoo on his back."

From what I saw from the back, he was a fine piece of specimen. "Yeah, he does look good."

"You should definitely see his face. Watch until you see his face."

"Anya!" I shifted in my seat. I knew it was rude to stare, but I did it anyway. What's a little action for the evening? I barely got any entertainment, if any.

For a second, I took my eyes off the guy's rear end and gazed at the calm water. So relaxing...

"Look! Look! He's coming off the boat!"

I squinted, and when the magnificent vision became clear, I grunted in irritation.

Ugh! Rion Bowles.

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