Jayla (My Story)

Meeting "Mom"

"This is Jona." He said. " She's your real mom."
   "Hey gorgeous, I haven't seen you in years. Your such a big girl now." She said and I just looked at her. I turned to my dad and ask
"Daddy, where's Mama?"
  " She's in the kitchen. You don't want to talk to Jona? He asked me. I quickly looked back at the woman that I knew nothing about. I had about a thousand questions run though my mind but to ask them I'd have to talk to her and that was something I just wasn't ready to do. I was tired. So much had happened in the past year and we really didn't have time to heal from one before the next. All I wanted at the moment was to hug my Mama. I turned back to (b) daddy and shook my head.
"May I go see Mama now please?" I asked him and he just nodded his head. So I ran inside to find mama and away from the stranger that calls herself mom.
      "Mama" I yelled and wrapped my arms tightly around the woman that had chose to love me and raise me. To be there for me even when she couldn't be there for herself.
     " Jayla your home, how are you feeling are you OK?" She asked me her eyes filled with worry.
  " No mama I'm not OK. But I will be." I said to her repeating the words that she used to give me peace when she was sick.
   "Promise?" She asked.
   " Promise." I said.
   
I turn and started towards the room where all the kids were when Jona stepped in front of me.
  
"What, you don't have a hug for your mom?" She asked
  
I wasn't sure what to say to her. Mama taught us to always be kind and respectful but as I looked at this woman I had no kind thoughts come to mind. How do you show respect to someone that you have none for. So I said the best thing I could think of in the nicest way.
 
" I'm sorry, but my Mama taught me not to hug strangers." I said and walked past her.

I went into the room with all
my cousins and my brothers and sisters. They were all talking but a sadness had taken over. We all loved Uncle Terry so much. He always played and picked and cut up with us. Everyone always said he was just a big kids his self. I wouldn't have  changed him for anything in the world.
  I walk over to my brothers Landon who is now nine and Jamie is seven.
  " What cha doin?" I asked them.
  " Nothing, just thinking." Landon said.
" Mhmm.so...You wanna go outside" I asked
  "I guess." He answered and we all went outside to walk around and talk.
  I loved my little brothers and I wanted to do something to make them feel better. I always felt like when my brothers or sisters were unhappy or in trouble it was my job to be there and try to make it better.
      We walked around the yard sharing memories of Terry and telling our favorite stories of him.

  Flashback.....................................

  " Fat baby come here I wanna show you something." Uncle Terry said standing in the door way.

"What is it?" I ask running along beside him.

"Look," he said pointing at a mama hen walking along with a bunch of babies behind her.

" Oh! They are so cute." I said. " I want one can I have one?" I asked
 
" If u can catch it you can have it." He answered.
So I took off chasing the babies all over the yard. The mama led her babies down to my dog pen at the edge of the yard. I had them cornered. I stuck my hand through the wire and grabbed one of the babies in my hand.
The baby started chirping and that mama hen puffed up and started squawking at me and running towards me. I started running back to the house but that mama was right behind me and boy was she mad. Uncle Terry was telling me to turn it loose but he was laughing so hard it was hard to understand him.

"Let her baby go and she will leave you alone." He shouted still laughing.

Then I heard him yell for me to watch out because I was looking behind me at the mama hen. When I looked back in front of me it was to late I ran right into a low tree branch. I hit the ground and the hen was on my head. I let go of the baby and it ran back to the others with the hen behind it. Uncle Terry was laughing so hard he could barely breathe. I was so mad at him. He should have told me she would do that.

I got up and stomped back to the house not even looking at him.

"Awe I'm sorry, I love you Fat Baby." He yelled at me.

I stopped and looked at him with my mad face then went inside and slammed the door.
 .......................................................................

"Come get your plates." Mama called to us pulling us back to reality.
        Mama fixed my plate and handed it to me. I went back out on the porch to sit with my (b) dad. When I got there Jona and who I found out was her husband Donald were sitting out there too.  There was also another man that I didn't recognize. I just sat eating quietly and listened. When I heard my dad call this man Robbie I knew who he was instantly.
  
" Uncle Robbie?" I asked
" You finally figured out who I am squirt?" He said laughing.

  Robbie was Jona's husband the last time I had saw her. He was also my little sister Alicia's dad. When I was almost Two years old Jona had Alicia. It was the only reason we saw here at all after the adoption. However when Alicia was about three years old. CPS came and took her from Jona too. She was placed in the home with Jona's aunt down in Savannah GA. Boy did I miss her. I was so excited about having a little sister but it was short lived. My last memory with her was when Jona's sister had a bonfire at her house. Jess, Jena, Alicia and I were all sitting on the tailgate of a truck. We were telling stories when we heard some dogs howling. Our cousin Andy yelled out
"It's wild dogs they're gonna come and eat y'all."
  
  We all screamed and ran towards the house but Alicia was to scared to run so I put her on my back and took her inside. That is the last memory I have with her.

  " How is Alicia?" I asked him
  He looked at me and shook his head.
"I don't really know. They adopted her and she doesn't know about us."

" Oh OK." I said and finished eating.
 
  We all went back to our daily lives. Jona started coming around more and she wanted us to start coming to her house some on the weekends. Mama said it would be ok. So just as easily as she walked out she walked back in.