Page 6

Vanessa Porter (Brian’s Mama)

Vanessa was in the front yard of her mansion planting flowers.

She planted a bed of sunflowers and roses in her flower beds.

Half of the front yard was already done, and it looked nice.

Her son, Brian, gifted her the mansion after being drafted into the NBA.

It was the least he could do for his mother who often raised him on her own.

It was often just her and her three sons’ home while their father was in and out of jail.

Raising three boys wasn’t easy for Vanessa.

She raised her children on a vocational nurse’s salary.

She would often have to work double shifts to keep the bills paid.

She knew how to live on almost nothing and with everything.

When Vanessa and her husband weren’t home the boys went bad.

They ran wild doing what unattended children did.

Most of the times Brian’s older brothers would be out stealing or fighting other kids.

Brian on the other hand was too busy on the court playing basketball in his free time.

He could be found on the court at the neighborhood park out scoring everyone.

Coach Brad Hicks picked him up daily for basketball training, mentoring, and games to help his mother out.

Once Brian went to college, Coach Hicks died from cancer.

Brian built a recreation center in his honor and named it the Brad Hicks Recreational Center.

Vanessa spends some of her free time there with the children.

She also hosts a live podcast show in the center for mothers of sports athletes.

She interviews other mothers of current and upcoming athletes.

The guests provide advice to other mothers.

Other guests on the show include coaches, sports agents, and recruiters.

Vanessa stopped gardening to see Hazel pull up in the driveway with her music blaring and the bass banging.

She sighed when Hazel hopped out of her Jeep, tossing her long knotless braids that cascaded down past her waist.

It was hot outside, so Hazel wore a spandex bodysuit that showed every curve on her body.

Mama Porter shook her head in embarrassment as Hazel walked towards her house.

Vanessa was a sophisticated, classy, educated woman devoted to her family.

She did what was needed to keep her family’s lives in order.

Brian gave her enough money to retire from nursing since he’d been playing in the NBA.

She made a number of investments during her retirement that would ensure she lived comfortably.

“Hi, Mama Porter.” Hazel greeted Vanessa while giving her a hug.

“Your flower garden is looking good. I hope you can do mine once I have my own home. Anyway, I’m here because your son sent me over here for money. I don’t know if he’s told you, but he’s in jail in Paris.”

Mama Porter darted her eyes toward Hazel and gasped.

“Lord, what did my baby do this time?” She kneeled in prayer, “Jesus, help my son.”

“Come on Mama Porter, let’s go inside the house. Hazel took Vanessa’s hand and led her inside the home to sit down. “Calm down.

Everything will be alright.

I’ll call his lawyer and get him out.

In the meantime, he asked that I get twenty two thousand, four hundred and four dollars and seventy cents twenty thousand dollars from you to put on his canteen.

”

“My Lord twenty thousand Euros is a lot of money! I’ll go ahead and give it to you sweetie. I pray you’re going to do what he asked for with his money. I can’t do anything but trust God to handle this situation. Hopefully, my baby will call me soon and let me know what’s going on with him. I haven’t heard one word from him in jail. Stay right here and wait while I get the money.”

“Okay, Mama Porter. If it makes you feel better, he was just booked into jail last night. I’m waiting for his charges to appear in the system. It probably has something to do with Bella. She’s been trying to get him locked up since she found him cheating with me.”Mama Porter watched Hazel look around her mansion.

She had just finished decorating the house with white, black, and gold throughout.

She had just placed a new art piece on the wall painted by famous artists Picasso.

She wanted her house to look like a museum.

She wanted the family pictures, trophies, and degrees to showcase her family’s personal triumphs.

Vanessa stopped walking and looked back at Hazel.

“Paris jail?” She replied in shock while shaking her head.

“Lord, what am I going to do about Brian? When will he leave that girl alone? I told him that she was tired of him hitting her. I’m sure Bella’s the cause of the charges. I asked him to let her go. Now he’s in some more trouble. Sit there for me baby, I’ll be right back.”

Mama Porter stepped inside her room and locked the door.

She then stepped into her closet and opened Brian’s safe with its special code.

It was filled with thousands of dollars.

She put money into the electronic money counter machine inside her closet, until she had the exact twenty-two thousand, four hundred and four dollars and seventy cents.

She let out a deep sigh of relief.

Vanessa would do anything for her children, but Brian caused the most problems out of all three of her children.

He’d become just like his dad and the money made him worse.

After all the money was accounted for, she put rubber bands around each stack and put it in a big manila envelope.

Then she got on her knees and prayed to God.

“Father God, we need you again. My son Brian is in a situation. He’s been put behind the prison door, but I believe that you can open those prison doors for him. Change him oh God and make him over to become more like you. I ask that you heal his heart and take away everything that is not like you God. In Jesus’ mighty name. Amen.” Vanessa wiped the tears from her eyes.

She gave her worries away to God and believed he would take care of the rest.

“Here is the handout you asked for Hazel. I mean the money my son asked you to get for him.” Vanessa made an exaggerated eye roll.

She thought Hazel was a gold digger and she didn’t trust her.

But she was there when Brian needed her, so she gave her the money.

I prayed about this, and I hope everything works out.

“Please tell him to call me the next time you speak to him.”

“Okay, I will Mama Porter. Hazel reached out to take the brown envelope of cash and gave Vanessa a hug. Taking care of Brian’s needs made Hazel feel like she was his wife. She didn’t care that she wasn’t the one he really wanted. The one he really wanted was Bella. Instead, Hazel was an accessory helping to pay for a hit on Adonis. She didn’t even know Brian had her helping him with hiring a hit man.

Typically, most NBA players had their attorney to take care of legal matters, but Brian trusted her to handle it. Hazel was used to paying for Brian’s petty speeding tickets. Vanessa peeped out the living room window to watch Hazel. She was sitting in the car on her phone. Her hope was that Hazel was finding out information on Brian’s charges. Vanessa took the opportunity to do her own research. She searched the internet about how to wire money to a Paris jail. A quick internet search pulled the results indicating the prison has online platforms to deposit and receive money. Vanessa decided to tell Hazel the information before she drove out of the driveway. She ran to Hazel’s car. “I want to tell you the information I just found out about the Paris jail system.

You will need to contact the prison’s registrar of personal accounts to obtain the jail’s bank details.

Then you’ll fill out a transfer order and specify the inmate’s name, surname, and prison number.

You’ll also have the option to deposit funds using their online platform.

Please call the Paris jail for the information.

”

“Thank you, Mama Porter. The information you gave me helps. I’ll call the jail and the lawyer now.”

“Good, I’ll wait while you make those calls.” Vanessa replied while she stood by the door waiting.

It took some time, but Hazel was able to speak with the prison’s registrar.

“Everything’s settled Mama Porter. I’ll go and add the money to my bank account for the bank transfer to the Paris jail. Then I’ll call you back when I have more information. I’ll talk to you later.” Hazel waved goodbye and drove away.

Although Hazel said she would call Brian’s attorney, Vanessa took the initiative to call Brian’s lawyer also.

After several rings, there was no answer, so she left a voicemail for a call back.

He had the best attorney on his payroll, Craig Davis.

The only problem was the attorney was a celebrity attorney with a busy client list.

It made it hard to contact him.

Once Mr.

Davis received the voicemail, Vanessa was sure he’d get to work on Brian’s case.

She hung up the phone and went back to her gardening.

It kept her mind free from the stress of being Brian’s mother.

Thirty minutes later Vanessa’s phone rang.

Looking at the caller ID, she saw it was the lawyer.

“This is Craig. I’m sorry I missed your call. I heard your voicemail, and I did some research about Brian being in Paris’s jail. I called the court staff in Paris’s jail to find out when his court date would be. he judges in Paris to find out when his court date would be. The court staff informed me that Brian didn’t have a bond or court date now. Usually, I’m able to get my way but not this time. It was understood that Brian made the officers angry in Paris. Apparently, they are taking their time on his case. Once the court staff returns my phone call then I’ll contact you. Don’t worry Mama Porter, I’m working on it.” The lawyer hung up the phone without allowing Vanessa the opportunity to reply.

She took the phone from her ear and shook her head.

After he hung up, Vanessa took the opportunity to research more about Paris jails.

She found out that in Paris, bail exists as an alternative to pre-trial detention, but it’s not a right and bail bondsmen are not part of the system.

She prayed that Brian would be granted bail.

She prayed that he wasn’t charged with a very serious crime because then only the High Court could grant him bail.

“Vanessa bawled her eyes out all night. She missed her son and didn’t know when she would see him again. Her stomach began to growl from an empty feeling. She curled up on her couch with her phone in hand awaiting to receive a call from someone with good news.