A/n: Apologies for the late posting. I wanted it to be perfect. Then I realized, sometimes imperfections are perfections. It all depends on who is looking. Final chapter – thanks for all your support. Take care.
"I want to call her Rose for all the blood that had to spill for her to be here. But it isn't sad. I'd prick myself with a thousand thorns to have her and hold on to her everyday for the rest of my life."
He shot himself. He placed the gun in his mouth and shot himself. The three of them stood there, eyes large and mouths gaping wide open. That moment and the ones prior to it were ones none of them would speak. Without words they made a pact. Without facial expressions, senses and only from silence they vowed the conversation was one they would never have. For Franklin's sake.
The 20 minutes before the event the alarm on his cell phone went off and Franklin found himself sleeping in the backseat of his car. Michael sat in the driver's seat, the chair pulled back, and his lids shut. Trevor, who sat in the passenger seat, was propped up by his arm. He too slept. Soundly. It was very strange. The silence was discomforting because it was too comforting.
Franklin turned over and held his hands over his head. Trevor and Michael, both with freshly open eyes stared out to the deserted dirt road. They needed a new plan. This time, the dream life their criminal habits had gained them was fading. As hard orange light of the sunrise poured through the windshield they all realized the real world was harder than any time they could have served or any heist they pulled off.
They had a man in a trunk. Though that wasn't the first time, it was the first time it was so close to home. Tanisha's husband. And not just anybody, but a doctor. Though they had done many things, the tracks of this particular job couldn't be covered by being meticulous. They couldn't kill him, though they wanted to. Michael exited the vehicle and opened the trunk. The doctor lay there, still unconscious.
"Shit man! I fucked up. How we gonna fix this!?" Franklin paced around behind Michael who stared at the body.
"Drug him." Trevor suggested from the front seat. He stretched out his legs and then arose, approaching his two comrades.
"What? No. Trev, we can't do that. This guy is Tanisha's husband." Michael stated.
"Who's been beating and raping her. I say we kill him, drug him, or do both." Trevor crossed his arms as if there weren't any other options. Franklin shook his head.
"And how do you think that would fly by Tanisha?" Franklin asked. He was becoming frantic. The behavior was unusual for his character, though understandable.
"Make him a deal." Michael said. Both Franklin and Trevor stared at Michael. "What else can we do? We can't kill him. We can't drug him. We can't even explain why he's in trunk now. So let's bribe him. He's a doctor, but men who become doctors aren't just in it to save lives."
"Money." Franklin said.
"Make him an offer. Something good. Think of it quick. He's coming to."
His eyes opened and Tanisha's abuser only took moments to assess the situation. Though his head pounded with pain he scanned the area, realized how far away from the city he was, and that he was with men he didn't know, except one – "You're a bastard." He muttered. "A mother fucking bastard."
"You should talk, fuck face. Beating a pregnant woman. How could you?" Michael said behind gritted teeth.
"She's my wife! My wife! And she fucked this guy!? How would you feel?!"
"I'd kick his ass, not hers! You never hit a woman. Never! And trust me I know. I've wanted to hit my wife a million times!" Michael shouted back.
He laughed. The chuckle became maniac laughter and the three men stared. "She told me about you man. I'm wrong for hitting her, but you – you kill people. I'm the bad guy and you bastards are murders. Am I right?"
Trevor stared at him with indignation. He grabbed a fist full of the doctor's garment, and held him up by the collar. "Listen buddy, these guys are decent. Okay? While they'd beat the shit out of you, I'd murder you, chop you into little pieces, eat them and then shit you out like the waste you are." The doctor stared into Trevor's eyes still and without fear. He snorted and hacked a large wad of mucus into Trevor's eye. Michael and Franklin twisted their faces in disgust. "Well guys, I know you said not to, but I'm going to kill this motherfucker!" Franklin and Michael both grabbed Trevor's arms simultaneously, worried that he would do just that.
"You think I'm afraid of you thugs! Huh? You think I'm scared? Come ON! KILL ME THEN!" He shouted.
Franklin could not understand his audacity. Here he was, beaten, tied in the trunk of someone's car and he did not fear for his life. It was strange. It was too strange. It bothered it him. And then he realized it.
"You think you're some sort of savior, don't you?" Franklin said. He looked at the doctor, simply. His brown eyes soften when he realized just what was going on. There was no offer he could make him. There was no bribe he'd accept. "You think because you can save lives and make some money, you're better than people. You even think you're better than Tanisha."
"Now you're psychoanalyzing me? Huh? You don't know anything about me."
"I know that I was wrong. I was. I shouldn't have knocked you out. I should have called the police on your ass. That's the only way men like you are dealt with."
"Well it's too late now. I'll be calling the police and my attorney! You motherfuckers are in so much shit –"Michael doubled his fists and punched the man right in his mouth. A loud groan came from Tanisha's doctor husband and Franklin shook his head.
"Tell you what. I don't have much to offer you, but I think we can work things out." A single tear slide down the doctor's cheek as he tried to hold in his cry of pain.
"The baby, I'll take it. I'll take it, and Tanisha and take care of everything. No responsibility falls on you."
The doctor looked at him in awe as did Trevor and Michael.
"Frank – taking care of someone else's baby? Kid, you're too young –"
"I'm not a kid Mike. I'm not." Franklin held his gaze to the doctor who stared back at him.
"So, on the birth certificate, you'll claim it?"
"My baby or not. I'm claiming it."
"And I can just disappear?"
"Yes. You can. I'll pay for it all too."
"Yeah? Yeah? You know what that sounds like a good idea."
"So you'll do it?"
"No." The doctor smiled wickedly and stared at Franklin hard and long. "No. No. The only way for me to get back at you is to fuck and beat Tanisha like the whore that she is."
Franklin had lost his good heart then. The ending he had dreamed of would not be his. Tanisha would never forgive him, nor would she ever love him again, for in the blink of an eye, his pistol was shoved into the doctor's mouth.
Though he said no words, the doctor's mouth curved around the weapon to give the appearance of a smile. As if he wanted Franklin to do it. What else could be done? He'd kill a man, who even in death, would look down on him. Look down on him and everyone he loved. Franklin took the gun from his mouth and threw it aside.
He untied the doctor. The man scrambled out the trunk and quickly grabbed the gun off the ground. He pointed it at Franklin. Michael and Trevor watched silently. They did not fear the doctor with a gun, or had reason to. They were both more than capable of killing him need be.
"Yeah, that's right." He said. The doctor's eyes narrowed as he looked at Franklin. He didn't acknowledge his comrades.
"I'm sorry." Franklin said. He stood there facing him, his arms to his side and unmoving. "I fucked up. But I love Tanisha. I love her so much I want to kill you, and I can't knowing it'll kill her."
"You fucked my wife! My wife!" He shouted. "MY WIFE!? HOW DARE YOU TOUCH ANOTHER MAN'S WOMAN! HUH?!" The doctor shouted and his voice echoed in the distance. The canyons of Blaine County were filled with the sound of his rage and not short the sound of his sorrow.
"I was wrong. We both were. We all are. Me. You. Her. But this isn't about us. There's a kid involved and truth be told, it doesn't matter who the father is – it deserves a good life." Franklin felt hot tears welling in his eyes. His rage was getting the best of him. "I feel like I should kill you for what you did to her. I should bury you right here, right now, but I won't. Now here we are, wrong on both of us. There's no safe option for you, but one. Leave. End your marriage with Tanisha and leave."
"You want me to just uproot my life here and go?"
"Yes. Go so I don't turn myself in to the cops for murdering you." The doctor stared at Franklin long and hard.
"So that's it? Huh?" The doctor looked at the three men. Beads of sweat formed on his brow and he felt hard knots in the back of throat. "I'm supposed to vanish? You ruin my life and I vanish? Is that the way it's going to be?"
"Take your leave or I'll make you." Trevor said as he took a step forward. With that the doctor took a step back.
"I'll go peacefully. Okay?" The doctor looked up into the sky that was void of clouds and painted by sunlight that chased away the night. The few stars that remained in the sky he stared at, hard. He smiled. He looked to the ground and then opened his mouth wide as he placed the gun inside.
"Wait - NO!" Franklin shouted, but it was too late then.
He shot himself. He placed the gun in his mouth and shot himself. The three of them stood there, eyes large and mouths gaping wide open.
Her lids were heavy and she opened them to see Franklin sitting to her bedside. She could not think or say much. Her eyes felt heavy once more and she closed them again.
Hours later she awoke and saw Frankin to her right, standing in the sunlight holding something she was not sure of. He walked over to her and carefully handed to a bundle of joy that she held naturally. Though she was not sure what happened she knew what was taking place then and there.
"This is mine?" She asked.
"She. And yes. That's the baby."
"She's okay?" She asked. Tanisha's eyes welled with tears as vague images of being rushed into the emergency room blinked before her eyes. She saw Lamar in her memories. Heard his voice saying 'you'll be alright'. Her mother as she screamed. Though she would have liked to know what took place, she was glad she didn't have proper recollection of the moment. She worried they'd take away from her happiness.
"What should we name her?" Franklin asked. Tanisha hadn't looked at her child until he said those words. Her long lashes. Her head full of dark hair. Her full and rose pink face that peeked out of the hospital wrap for newborns. Though she only needed one look to know the answer to that question. Only one.
"I want to call her Rose for all the blood that had to spill for her to be here." Franklin looked at her and his expressions became grim. Tanisha looked at him with tears in her eyes. Hot tears that took over and made her voice tremble. "But it isn't sad. I'd prick myself with a thousand thorns to have her and hold on to her everyday for the rest of my life."
Franklin covered his mouth as tears of his own slid down his cheeks.
"Where's Troy? Where's my husband?" Tanisha asked.
It was time. I didn't know I'd be so nervous. I didn't know I'd feel so on edge. My family was growing. It was growing and becoming every single color of the rainbow. It was strange. Strange and a little funny. I had faced all sorts of violence in the face of these colors. Men and women of my own complexion. Men and women of another complexion. Now, blended together, we would all be one big happy family. Men and women of both complexions. Here we were.
Sometime more than a year had passed since the funeral of Tanisha became a widow and I sat poolside with Chop at Franklin's luxurious home. My feet hurt a bit from playing soccer earlier that day and I soaked it in cool chlorine water. It was something after five or six on a Saturday and the sun was less brutal than usual. Chop's tongue hung from his mouth as it does for a dog. I pet him and he expressed his joy with an excited woof. Then he proceeded to pant.
Inside the house Amanda and Tracey unwrapped various plates of food. They both seemed at home in Frank's kitchen, taking to the surroundings well. I was a little bit amazed by the way Michael's wife maneuvered and set up everything on the large counter in a very orderly and quick fashion. I had thought all those well off white women would have maids do the housework. So it was a little surprising. Tracey took pointers from her mother and the two glided across the kitchen floor making everything perfect. In the middle of it all, a birthday cake sat with two candles.
Moments later there was a ring at the door bell. Amanda opened it up and Jimmy came in, followed by a man in a costume dressed as a popular kids character; a large Orange Rabbit named Binky Bunny, though it was clear, he was a rabbit. He was far too grown to be a bunny, smelling like kush and all. That must have been some good shit though. The smell was almost as strong as the chlorine water.
"Dear God, he could have showered before he came." Amanda said to Jimmy who seemed rather annoyed.
"He's doing this for free, so can we really complain?" He responded. It didn't seem to me like a young man should talk back to his mother that way but Amanda rolled her eyes and headed back to the kitchen to finish setting up. Apparently white kids got along differently with their parents. My own mother would have slapped me in the mouth.
I got up and headed inside. I dried my feet with paper towels and headed on downstairs to see what the other members of my new family were up to. I've seen some silly things in my life, but this was by far one of the most ridiculous. I stood in the doorway watching Michael, Lester and crazy dude bicker. The sort of energy put into the discussion seemed like a meeting of the minds. They needed every bit of brainpower to attend to the very urgent matter of how to properly gift wrap a large stuffed giraffe. Now that is some dumb shit.
Trevor threw himself on the floor and began kicking and screaming. "AHHH! Fuck! I told you we should have gotten it gift wrapped at the store! But, NOOOOO, leave it to sugar tits to pretend he's godfather of the year and try to wrap this shit himself."
"Trevor, if you don't want to help, you don't have to. I'll just take all the credit myself." Michael struggled to wrap the tall stuffed giraffe. He laid it down flat on the bed, as if he knew what he was doing - though it was obvious he did not know where to even begin.
"Maybe we should have purchased a large gift box and just tied a bow on top." Lester chimed. Lester was cool, and smart, but he still creeped me out a little. Not as much as crazy dude, but a lot. Why did Frank pick up these outlandish men for friends? I thought to why Franklin and I were friends when we were so different. Then I understood. F always did attract weirdos. Since it seems like he's the ring leader, he's mostly likely the biggest weirdo of us all.
"You know how to tie ribbon?" Michael asked. Lester shook his head left to right. "I didn't think so."
"You know how to wrap a giraffe?" Trevor asked Michael while he lay on the floor. Michael sighed loudly. "I didn't think so, either!" The two argued, though they didn't have much time to spare.
"Can I help?" I asked. Why I volunteered, I didn't know. It seemed like the right thing to do. I was godfather numero uno. Couldn't let these chumps show me up, I suppose.
I stood outside my house breathing heavily. I held the little essence of me tight to my chest. No sounds. Tanisha rubbed my back and then reached out touch my hand. I looked at my new thick silver ring on my left hand; on top, a sprinkle of diamonds. 'Manglam' Tracey called it.
"Ready?" Tanisha asked. She looked to me with warm eyes and I smiled back to her. Her hair was short in a cropped cut that I took some time to get used to. She wanted to be a different woman she told me. A new woman, so she could be a better wife. It took too long for us to reach that point, but better late than never.
"Yes." We stepped into the room to see warm faces and smiles. I walked towards the kitchen counter and stood near the birthday cake. I bounced my little bit of joy until her lids opened and her honey brown eyes were wide. I held her so she could see her family. The group broke out in song and Binky Bunny began breakdancing. He fell multiple times, but none of us paid him much mind.
"Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to you. Happy Birthday to Rose, happy birthday to you." We sang the wonderful words into the ears of my little dream. She was my miracle. My essence. My world. Her and her mother. Tanisha was now my wife, and everything was as it should have been. Everything. Finally.
Sometime after the passing of Franklin and Tanisha wed. Baby Rose, though biologically the doctor's daughter, was now Franklin's bundle of joy. At night he stayed awake with her, and rocked her to sleep. In the day brought her and Tanisha to the park, where they would watch Chop play. On Sunday they went to church together and after a short while, they decided to have the baby christened. When receiving her invite in the mail, for the first time Franklin's aunt called to say she was proud. When seeing the baby eye to eye, she told him "Your mother would be proud."
Franklin's crazy comrades were made Godfathers. Though Franklin would never say so, he didn't think any of them qualified to take his daughter and in the worst case scenario would have one of Tanisha's girlfriends become guardian. But that was a secret between him and his wife. Or so they thought.
At the dinner following the occasion, everyone sat together at the De Santa household. There were many smiles and laughter. At no point did Franklin let go of the child. She was his everything. She was his new world.
As if seeing everything flash before my eyes in the blaze of the birthday candles for Franklin's daughter, I realized all my dreams had come true. I was happy. They were happy. We were happy. All of us. For once, I felt like a normal person. For once.
I hope it never ends. I and hope that you can come back and say one day that you are really are proud of me mom. It was something I had always dreamed about as a teenage boy.
Love,
Trevor.
A/n: Thank you for your support.