Chapter 3 An Awkward Beginning
Later that afternoon, Huey, Riley, and Granddad walked across the street and walked down the path to reach the McIntosh's house.
Huey struggled to carry the heavy plastic bag of food.
"Uh, Granddad?" The older grandson asked. "What's in here?"
"Oh, I made my special bacon wrapped extra crispy fried chicken, macaroni and cheese with bacon bits, fried chitlins wrapped in bacon and collard greens with Strawberry Jam mixed in." Robert said eagerly.
Huey and Riley both grimaced, Huey especially because of health reasons. The very thought of eating such a "cuisine" made him queasy.
"Granddad, this meal will destroy their pancreases." Huey was slightly petrified by this.
As much as Riley loved Granddad's cooking, even he had to take Huey's side on this.
"Granddad, that shit sounds nasty, you trying to kill them folks before they can't even settle here."
Huey raised his eyebrow at his brother.
"Weird that you would say that Riley since earlier you were griping about how you didn't give a damn about the new neighbors."
Riley simply sucked his teeth.
"I ain't that damn heartless. I don't want to them dropping dead as soon as they bite into the stuff."
He pouted and trudged behind his brother and grandfather.
Granddad grumbled and shook his head.
"You boys acting like you never had Soul Food before."
Huey sighed.
"Granddad, eating food like this constantly can have negative long-lasting effects on the body such as diabetes, stroke, hypertension, heart problems-"
"Enough of all that yammering!" The older man roared. "You giving me a headache."
"If you lay off the salt, maybe you won't have so many headaches." Huey pondered although he much rather express it verbally.
Yet, unlike his brother, he knew when to retreat when it came to their grandfather. Some things weren't worth arguing about.
After taking a right turn they quickly arrived at house. The Freemans were at doorstep and Granddad rang the bell.
He looked at his grandchildren.
"Now you two behave and remember to say "yes ma'am or yes sir", got it?"
Huey nodded even though for the most part he knew how to be polite whereas Riley rolled his eyes once Granddad's back was turned.
The doorknob twisted and the door was opened and the Freemans were greeted by husband and wife Troy and Jackie McIntosh.
Troy was a nice looking man, in his early 30s. He was slender built and tall, probably 6'3", skin color was a copper tone. He sported a goatee and Caesar cut, his hair color appeared to be light brown-reddish. He also wore glasses.
Jackie was small in height yet had a shapely figure, very beautiful in appearance, with big brown eyes, and long black hair (Think of the actress Garcelle Beauvais).
"Hello Mr. Freeman!" Troy greeted.
"You can just call me Robert." Granddad kindly spoke and shook the younger man's hand.
"Ok Robert, this is my wife Jackie."
"Hello Robert, please to meet you." She smiled and shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you too dear." He grinned so wide it nearly filled his face.
Granddad made way for the boys.
"These are my grandsons." He spoke with pride.
"Oh, your grandsons are so adorable." Jackie gushed as she and her husband shook both their hands.
"I'm Huey," The serious one with the afro announced politely. "I consider myself a Black revolutionary left-wing radical."
"Huey, huh?" Jackie said with interest. "Do you by any chance happen to be named after Huey P. Newton?"
The afro boy was actually quite taken aback by this, although his facial express remained the same. Most people when they first met him really didn't make those kinds of connections. Inwardly, a small part of him made him a little happy.
"Why yes ma'am, I am. He's one of my heroes."
"My father is a former Black Panther. He's one of the proudest black men I've ever known." Troy said.
Huey was growing fond of the couple.
Then the man and woman turned to the younger boy with cornrows.
"And what's your name young man?" Jackie questioned curiously.
"Yo, my homies be calling me Riley Escobar but you can just call me Riley. Y'all have a fly crib Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh." He smirked.
Granddad was shaking his head and so was Huey, at least Riley was trying to act decent for once. Sometimes he wouldn't even address adults as mister and misses, so it was a step up.
"Well…it's nice to me you too Riley." Troy responded uneasily although his wife giggled, she thought the boy was charming.
"We have two kids ourselves." The wife stated.
"Marian and Arnez, come down here! We have guests!" The husband summoned the children.
Suddenly the noisy sound of two children rushing down the stairs at once grew louder. The two were racing each other to see who would be first.
"I'm gonna get there before you!" Marian shouted.
"No way!" Arnez stuck his tongue out at his sister and pushed her out the way once they reached last step.
Arnez got there first and cheered although he nearly lost his footing once he neared his parents.
"I won!" The boy said.
"No fair you cheated by pushing me you dummy!"
"Girl whatever, you mad!"
The father cleared his throat to silence the two of them and glared at them in disapproval.
"Ahem. Have y'all two lost y'all minds. Didn't I just say we have guests then you two run recklessly down here acting like you don't have any damn home training?"
The two hung their heads down feeling embarrassed.
"Sorry." They both mumbled.
"Well, don't just stand there say hello to Mr. Freeman and his grandsons." The father urged with an edge to his voice.
"Hello sir."
"Nice to meet you Marian and Arnez." Granddad greeted softly. "This is Huey and Riley."
"Hi." Huey simply said.
"Yo what's up!" Riley replied like he was trying to be hard.
"Hello." They once again greeted uncomfortably but this time to the Freeman brothers.
"I'm sorry about that Robert. They can be a handful sometimes." Jackie admitted.
"I can say the same for these two rugrats too." Granddad spoke with understanding as he referred to Huey and Riley.
"Well Robert, let's go the living room and chat for a while." Troy motioned for the older man to follow. "We'll let the kids get to know each other."
"That's fine." Granddad complied. "Oh, we brought a bag of food for all of you, Huey has it."
"I can take it to the kitchen as I go. I have to go out and run a few errands, I'll be back soon." Jackie said gleefully and took the bag from Huey but not without him gently tugging her sleeve. When the two men left out of ear shot he whispered.
"Ma'am, if I were you I wouldn't eat that slop."
Jackie was a little shocked by this.
"Why sweetheart?" She asked with genuine concern.
Huey's expression remained stoic and his tone of voice low and serious.
"Trust me Mrs. McIntosh; it's not worth your health."
Jackie knew right away that the child was honest and took heed of his advice. To be sure, she took a small peek and saw a cold greasy chitlins wrapped in just cold and greasy bacon. The sight as well as the smell made her queasy. Mostly the smell was getting to her because it hit her like a frying pan to her face.
"Okkk, we are not eating this. Thanks for looking out Huey." She headed off to the kitchen.
The four kids were on their own to entertain themselves. It was quiet for the next few minutes as they all stood and stared at each other weirdly.
Marian and Arnez were about the same height as each other, thin although the boy was a little around compared to his sister. Arnez was a light-brown complexion while Marian was a little darker but both possessed big dark-brown eyes and they seemed to have inherited their father's hair color. The girl had her hair in small cornrows and beads while the boy had his in four sectioned braids.
"So…what exactly was in the bag?" Marian managed to find the courage to spit it out.
Before Huey could speak, Riley spoke up.
"Some nasty shit that granddad made, I think there were chitlins in it and other stuff. Normally, he can throw it down in the kitchen. But I don't know what the hell that old nigga was smoke when he made that shit."
The twins laughed at Riley's rant.
"Man, I hate chitlins." Arnez grimaced.
"Me too, it smells like roadkill." Marian covered her mouth in disgust.
"That's because chitlins or chitterlings are nothing more than the small intestines of a pig. During slavery, black people were only giving the remainder of the pig parts that their masters wouldn't eat. It was a way for them to survive considering the harsh life they endured. Anyway, I personally despise pork. They harbor many worms and bacteria."
Silence fell between the kids again as everyone stared at the boy with the afro.
"What?" Huey uttered in annoyance.
Arnez broke the ice by clapping his hands in gratefulness.
"Thank you! Finally someone sees how horrible pork is. You're smarter than I thought you were, kid."
Arnez put out his fist and Huey reluctantly gave him dap.
"I keep telling people that damn pork is evil, but no one wants to hear me out."
"Same here." Huey nodded.
Marian and Riley rolled their eyes at the two.
"Boy whatever, I'll keep eating pork, just as long as it isn't chitlins."
"Right. Ain't nobody else agreed to all that other bullshit you two talking about." Riley snorted.
Huey and Arnez ignored their siblings.
"Anyway, why we just standing around? Me and Marian can show you our playroom." The twins directed the brothers to come along and all the kids headed down the hall.
"You guys have a playroom?" Huey questioned.
"Yeah, is there a problem here?" The girl sassed.
"No, it's just that we don't have one at home."
"Hell, we don't have our own room, me and Huey have to share one while Granddad get's to have his own room." Riley scoffed and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"Aww," Arnez said with sincerity. "That sucks, me and Marian haven't shared a room since we were babies."
"Yeah and I prefer it that way, I see enough of you everyday, I need my privacy." His sister partially joked.
"I feel the same way." He remarked and received a jab to the arm.
"Ouch!"
"Don't think I forgot you pushing me earlier dumbass." She chuckled at herself getting revenge.
"Girl just watch. I'm gonna get you back later." He hissed.
The kids arrived to the playroom and it was very spacious. There was a couch, beanbag chairs, and a large T.V. set with a Nintendo 64 and PlayStation. There was also a small stereo system and next to it was a mini shelf filled with CDs. One wall had posters of famous black heroes like Marcus Garvey and Malcolm X. There were even artists such as Nas, Fela Kuti, 112, Raekwon, and Bone Thugs N Harmony. The other side of the room had a huge bookshelf but with only one section filled. The room was unfinished as there were still some boxes on the floor.
Even still, the room was amazing. Huey couldn't help but feel a tinge of envy since him and Riley only had their room and the living room to occupy during leisure time.
"Man!" Riley screeched in excitement as he ran over to the game systems. "This room is fly as hell!"
"It's decent." Huey muttered as he went over to the bookshelf.
"Thanks." The twins said in unison.
Marian grabbed the remote and turned the T.V.
"So Riley, which system you want to play?" She asked.
"Umm, I'll play the Nintendo. What games you got Marian?" He snatched up the Nintendo controller and plopped down on the beanbag chair.
"Well we got Mario Kart, Banjo Kazooie, GoldenEye 007-" She listed off until the cornrow boy interrupted.
"Aww, man! You got 007?! Let's get this shit started!" He jumped up energetically. He always wanted to play that game.
"You gonna play knucklehead?" She asked her brother who was sitting on the couch shuffling his Pokémon cards.
"Naw, that's cool, I'm gonna go over and talk to Huey in a minute."
As Marian and Riley started up the game, Arnez put up his cards and walked over to where Huey was.
Huey was too preoccupied with a book he was reading that he didn't notice the boy twin was behind him until he spoke.
"I figured you would read that book." The boy observed.
The afro boy was thrown off guard but swiftly regained his composure.
"Uhh, yeah, I really like Huey P. Newton. The government was behind his death." He voiced lowly.
"Our Grandpa was a Black Panther." Arnez informed with a smile.
Huey nodded humbly. "Your dad told me. I bet your Grandpa isn't thrilled about y'all being here."
"He ain't he was mad as hell!" Marian blurted out from the other side of the room which prompted her brother to laugh.
"Well, I have some more books like that in one of the boxes, even some African history books if you're interested."
"I wouldn't mind seeing those." Huey was honestly intrigued and then he and the boy searched through the boxes while their respective siblings got into an insult match as they tried to overcome each other in video games.
Later on the kids became more relaxed around each other. They ate snacks like cookies, chips, and soda, while Huey preferred water and carrots.
At first they chatted about small stuff like games, cartoons, and typically kid stuff. Then the twins opened up about how they ended up in Woodcrest.
The twins told the Freeman brothers that their father's job gave him a raise and transferred him over to Maryland from New York and that their mother just landed a teaching job at Woodcrest High School, since she taught 10th Grade math. They also expressed their dislike of being around so many white people.
"I mean it wasn't like we never been around white people, but to be in a place where we're one of the few black folks around is strange." Arnez confessed while busy re-arranging his CD collection.
"Yeah, I feel ya!" Riley said while concentrating on the game.
"You never really get used to it but you have to find a way to adapt in order to survive." Huey stated.
In turn, the brothers told the twins of how they arrived here and how much of a culture shock it was for them.
"We ain't never been around that many white folks back in Chicago so when we got here, we were like whoa!" Riley bluntly stated.
"We been here since last summer, haven't been back to our hometown but Granddad said we'll go during the summer." Huey concluded while never taking his eyes off the Huey P. Newton book.
"Well, it's good to know we all came here unwillingly." Marian joked bitterly.
This time Riley and Marian were playing Mario Kart.
Then they moved onto the next topic.
"So Marian and Arnez," The older Freeman began. "We already know you guys met Michael Caesar and his family. He happens to be a friend of mines, what did you two think of him?
"His parents are cool, his father is Jamaican, I can tell from the accent. Michael is overall cool and laidback kid."
"Although he did keep shouting "Brooklyn's in the House!" Marian imitated and chuckled.
"Too bad he found out we were from Yonkers." Arnez smirked and was now doing tricks with his yo-yo.
"Or that we never set foot in Brooklyn. He was practically crushed." Marian added and then cheered as she beat Riley in the race.
"YES! I'm a winner and you a loser!" She boasted and formed the letter "L" with her index and thumb.
"Aww man" Riley pouted and tossed the controller. Still, he had to admit to himself, she was really good at video games.
"Want to try again?" She asked.
"Sure." Riley shrugged. "This time I'm playing as Mario." The two of them went back at it.
Arnez went over to Huey.
"So, are there any other black folks around here?"
Huey lowered the book and shifted irritably. He didn't even know where to begin.
"Hmm, there's this self-hating overweight pain in the ass named Uncle Ruckus."
Arnez gave him the side-eye. Marian paused the game to hear about this "Uncle Ruckus" person.
"Self-hating?" Arnez cautiously asked.
"The man is a pathetic mess, he actually believes he's white and his never-ending praise for white people is disturbing. He's always talking about how black people are monkeys, jigaboos, and other racial slur. He once said that slavery was the best thing that ever happened to black people."
Arnez felt rage surging through his vein.
"That asshole lost his damn mind!" He replied.
"Yeah, what kind of sick thought process is that?" Marian crossed her arms and growled.
"I actually feel sorry for him." Huey pitied.
"I just ignore that old ass nigga." Riley declared flatly and gestured for the girl to continue their game.
"If that man ever comes up to us, he's gonna wish he never met us." Arnez was still ticked off by that.
He was aware of self-hating folks but he had never heard of someone being such a way in that extreme. It almost sounded like that man could be mentally ill.
Then Huey broke his train of thought by saying.
"Uhh, we haven't seen him in a while so maybe y'all be lucky to not cross paths with him…ever."
He went back to reading, he was somewhat tense after mentioning Uncle Ruckus, the very thought of him made his eyes see hellish orange-red fire burning with passion. He sighed and did the best he could to put it out of his mind.
The boy twin felt like there something else Huey was holding back. Arnez wasn't sure if he wanted to know more after hearing that.
"Huey, you need to tell them about Tom and his fam." Riley chuckled.
Him and Marian stopped playing Nintendo. He lost the majority of the games they played but he actually had fun playing with her. Although she teased him for his losses, he tried to brush it off and decided on playing goldfish.
In meanwhile, Huey tightly held the book and sighed heavily.
"oh shit…" He mused and said.
"Yeah about that…"
"What's wrong with him and his family?" Marian queried while passing cards to herself and the younger brother.
"…How can I say this…"
"Nigga if you ain't gonna spit it out, I'll do it for you." Riley had no tact whatsoever. He continued where his brother left off.
"Tom is basically an Uncle Tom. He's an uppity ass nigga that lets his white wife walk all over him like a doormat and their daughter Jazmine don't know what the fuck she is."
Everything got real quiet within a millisecond.
Huey put his hand to his forehead. He couldn't deny the truth his brother was spouting. Yet, it was the way he said it that made it so…distasteful.
"Riley, sometimes, I wish you were mute."
"Wait a minute, so this Jazmine girl doesn't know she's half-black or something." Marian was horrified by that.
"I mean…I guess you can say that. Can't blame her though, her parents are the culprits."
"That sounds like a nightmare." Arnez ridiculed and accidentally dropped his yo-yo.
"I mean Jazmine is not that bad…"
"Nigga, what? You a lie." Riley burst into a fit of laughter until Huey went over to him and swatted him in the back of his head.
"Oww! Nigga why you do that?" He rubbed his sore head while the twins laughed out loud.
He turned to his brother gave him a look that said "I'll hit you again if you try me."
"Like I was saying," He cleared his throat. "Jazmine isn't all that bad. Once you look pass her tragic mulatto complex and her unbelievable nativity she's ok."
"Why you defending her so hard?" Riley stood up and dug his finger in his brother's chest.
"Is it because you like her?"
The McIntosh twins cooed in anticipation.
Huey trailed back to the couch and flipped to the page he was reading.
"Jazmine is only a friend."
"Nigga yousa lie. You got a thing for little Jazzy." Saying that actually tickled Riley but Huey pretended he didn't hear him.
"I'm not gonna lie. Ya'll two are scaring me. This place sounds like a land full of crazies." Arnez sat on his beanbag chair and examined his nails.
"I agree, the way Riley described this Jazmine girl, I don't know if I could be in the same room with her." Marian shivered.
Huey was becoming worn out by this conversation.
"If it makes you two feel better, Jazmine and her family will be coming back here on Saturday from vacation. When ya'll two meet her, both of you can formulate your own opinions."
And with that, the discussion was over and everyone went back to their activities.
About an hour later, it was time for the Freemans to leave.
"It was a pleasure having you over here, Robert." Jackie said and shook the older man's hand.
"It was great meeting you two." Granddad grinned.
"Robert, don't be afraid to come over." Troy also shook his hand.
"You'll be seeing me from time to time."
As the adults were saying their goodbyes, so did the kids.
"It was fun having the both of y'all here." Arnez smiled awkwardly.
"Yeah, it was good being here." Was all Huey said.
"Yo Marian! The next time I come over, I'm gonna kick yo ass in Mario Kart." Riley warned playfully.
"Yeah, good luck with that Riley." She rolled her eyes.
"Oh, Huey I wanted to give you this." The boy twin handed the older Freeman the book his was reading earlier.
"Oh, well…thanks. I'll give it back to you when I finish."
"Naw, it's yours. Keep it." Arnez swayed his hand.
Huey nodded.
Afterwards, everyone shouted and waved goodbye. When Troy closed the door behind them he faced his twins.
"So, what did you think of Huey and Riley?"
The twins looked at each other then back at their father with a shrug.
"They're ok." They didn't make much of a deal about it.
When the Freemans neared their home, Granddad asked his grandsons the same question.
To which they replied.
"They're ok."
"They're not as bad as we thought they were." Riley dragged his feet against the sideway.
"We? Nigga You the one who was judging them." Huey was quick to say and groaned at his brother's annoyance.
"Ok, I'm gonna let you have that because I know you miss your girl Jazz and shit-"
Before he could finish, the younger boy felt his head throbbing from the older boys smacking him in the head with a book for the third time.
"OWWW! Nigga you need to stop doing that shit! Granddad! Huey hit me!"
"Boy hush, you probably deserved it anyways." Granddad was in no mood for their mischief. They got home and went on about their business.
Riley gave his brother the middle finger like he did earlier today.
"I'm gonna get you back for that." He mumbled and ran upstairs.
Huey didn't care though. He focused his attention on the twins. They had a rocky start but once he got to really know them, he honestly enjoyed their company, more so Arnez.
One thing for sure, he was relieved to know that they were nothing like Jazmine.
A/N: Hey! Thanks for the comments and support so far, I love feedback. I'm glad people like this story so far. If you have any questions or concerns or just want to talk, PM. Peace!