Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97951 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 490(@200wpm)___ 392(@250wpm)___ 327(@300wpm)
“Okay, I hear you.” Dad gritted his teeth as if in pain. “All of that aside, he’s gonna send proof of your mama’s past. We can’t let that happen. Your mother would roll over in her grave.”
“And you think she ain’t rollin’ around in her tomb right now from the idea of her husband, the father of her children, tryna sell his only son into family slavery?! You think she’d approve?! She hated Grandpa’s guts!”
“…But she loved her family, and I’m not tryna sell you at all! If you worked for your grandfather, your struggles would be over and you know he’d never do anything to you! He loves you. He wants you protected.”
“Protected like you? Are you protected right now, Daddy, or do you need protection?” The temperature in the room seemed to plummet.
“Family was everything to your mama! They’ll be destroyed if you don’t do the right thing. Lenny, please…” Dad put his hands together as though he was praying. “I know you think that—”
“I DON’T WANT TO END UP LIKE YOU! In a big ass beautiful house all alone! Afraid to ever love again, not because you don’t want to or no woman is good enough, or compares to Mama, but because of your father’s control over you! You know it may drive that lady away, or even better, she’d be just like Mama and stand up to the old man! You don’t owe me shit, but to ask me to do this is unreal after all I have done for this family! Haven’t I done enough to sacrifice for you?!” He balled up his napkin and tossed it across the kitchen. “I was the father I needed to not only myself, but to Silva.” He pointing to himself, his body jerking forward, as his anger unleashed. “I’m the one who risked goin’ to prison to keep the bills paid because all you wanted to do was crunch numbers and feel sorry for yourself! You’re only semi-sober right now because the day isn’t quite over. ’Round ten o’clock tonight, you’ll be drunk and your demons will be swimming in the best whiskey and gin that money and your soul can buy! You didn’t deserve Mama. And she deserved better than the sorry likes of you!”
“LENNOX! Watch your fucking mouth! You’re goin’ too damn far!”
“I ain’t gone far enough! You think a damn meatball sandwich is gonna clean up all the wrong you’ve done to me and your daughter? Save the day?!” Dad hung his head. “The neglect from being with Grandpa, helping to run his crooked endeavors instead of coming to Silva’s plays, and my football games? Every time I looked out in the stands, I saw my mama. She was supposed to be at work! She had patients who needed her! But no, most of the time she was right there—rain, sleet, or snow. The only time you had the balls to stand up to Grandpa was on the crooked back of grief. Mama died. You cried. Grandpa lied. You absorbed some of her strength, somehow, some way. She must’ve left you a little behind. A last gift. You used it up too fast, and turned back to your spineless self as soon as things got hot again. Couldn’t even stand on business and let Grandpa know that you weren’t going to take his shit anymore. YA HAD KIDS! WHAT ABOUT US?!”
“More of this!” Dad slammed his fist against the table. “A circular conversation. You think everybody can be some gotdamn Superman?! YOU THINK EVERYONE IS CUT OUT TO MAKE PENNIES AT SOME RESTAURANT OR WORK AT SOME FUCKIN’ GYM ALL DAMN DAY, THEN WORK YOURSELF INTO A STUPOR AT NIGHT AT THAT STUPID DANCE CLUB?! You live in a little house in a workin’ class neighborhood. Wildes don’t live like that! You’re exhausted, and what do you have to show for it?!”
“Daddy… I’ve got love, to show for it. I’ve got self-respect, to show for it. I’ve got a plan that God has blessed me with, and made my dream a reality, to show for it! I’m a realist. I’m a peaceful person until I can no longer be. I’m a praying man. I’m somebody’s soon-to-be future husband and father, and I take that shit seriously! I’m now a business owner due to all of my hard work, prayers, and perseverance. You’re lookin’ at the upcoming owner of R.S.S. GYM – Rain, Sleet, or Snow.” Dad’s lips parted, and his eyes widened. “That’s right. I finished my certifications. I’ve got my degree, finally putting it to use… and I did it all by myself. No hand-outs. No blood money. I made my OWN money to pay for them classes, my house, and everything else. You talk down on my jobs I do to make ends meet. You make fun of my house – but I paid for it outta my own pocket. Too bad you can’t say the same.