Page 48 of Steel

“Okay, Kerrion.”

I picked up the serving dishes of rice and cabbage before walking past him into the dining room. When I returned for the pork chops and cornbread, he was still glaring at me. Little KJ was looking around, oblivious to the tension between his father and me.

“You just gonna stand there or come sit and eat?” I asked.

He didn’t say anything, just made his way into the dining room. I left out a final time to get the drinks, and Dinah followed behind me.

“More tension?” she asked quietly.

“More tension.” I sighed heavily and hung my head. “I don’t know how we’re gonna get through this.”

Dinah wrapped her arms around me in a hug. “It’ll take some time, but eventually, things will be better. He can’t stay mad at you forever.”

“Maybe, maybe not. I just know I’m not living like this forever.”

I meant that. I’d take my father’s advice and let Kerrion calm down some, but one way or the other, he was going to have to talk to me. He needed to know the part he played in all of this. Maybe it wasn’t all his fault, but he absolutely played a part.

“Come on,Fat Man. Daddy’s trying.”

My son just looked at me and screamed at the top of his lungs. He’d been fussy for the last three days, and I’d taken him to the hospital. They told me he had an upper respiratory infection, and I felt like shit because he was miserable. I was trying my best to manage his symptoms, but he wasn’t even fucking with me right now.

Picking up my phone, I called the one person I knew was up at this hour that KJ would go to no matter what.

“What’s up, Son?” my pops answered.

“You busy?”

“Nah. Just watching a game? You need something?”

“KJ’s still not feeling too hot. I can’t get him down for the night.”

“Pop Pop is on the way.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“Don’t mention it.”

We disconnected the call, and about five minutes later, he was walking through my front door. He came straight to KJ, and my son fell out like his granddaddy was his saving grace. The moment Pops picked him up, he rested his head on his chest and calmed down.

“Ain’t that about a bitch,” I mumbled.

Pops chuckled. “I’ve raised a lot of kids?—”

“You ain’t got to tell me. I was there.”

“Shut your ass up, boy.” He slowly paced the living room, rubbing KJ’s back and talking to him. “You just needed your Pop Pop, huh? I know, Fat Man. Daddy ain’t got that special touch yet.”

He grinned and winked at me. I flipped him off as I started cleaning the living room. My thoughts began to drift and landed on Donna. Times like this I wished she were here. I was thankful I had my family, but I was sure she would have offered a level of comfort that only a mother could give.

It was about time I took KJ to visit her. I tried to take him every week. I’d pack us a lunch, and we’d sit with her while we ate. After the funeral, I’d purchased a headstone with her picture on it. Since his birth, I showed KJ his mother every morning and every night. When we went to visit her, he always smiled when he saw her picture.

I promised her I’d never let him forget her, and I’d kept that promise.

“Whatchu thinking about?” Pops asked, breaking my thoughts.

“Donna.”

“Aahhh. You missing her?”