Page 55

Grasshoppers and Cigarette Butts

S arah’s white porch chair squeaked as she leaned back in it, allowing the setting sun to bathe her with its closing rays.

The faint sounds of gospel music ebbed from the church a few houses up.

Must be havin’ an evening service. She sat on her verandah, a lipstick-stained joint between her ring-adorned fingers, the wispy smoke drifting towards heaven.

The air was sweet as it flowed through her long silver and blonde tresses.

Her long pink nails shined like bubble gum dipped in grease, freshly painted at her favorite local manicure shop.

In her yard and driveway were parked seven pretty motorcycles.

Their owners, her misfit friends, were inside her home, breathing life into the walls with their chatter, laughing, arguing, sleeping, and enjoying life.

She loved having a home where everyone felt safe…

the place where she and her dearly departed king, the only man she’d been head over heels in love with, once dwelled.

She took a drag of her joint, blew smoke out, then lit a small white birthday candle that was jammed into a tiny grocery store cupcake.

“I miss ya so much, Kane. I wish you were here with me right now so we could celebrate in style. Happy birthday, baby. Blow out your candle,” she whispered, then dabbed her eye with a napkin, rolling hard with her emotions.

To her left was a large, old wooden cup filled with Scotch whisky and Drambuie.

A Rusty Nail, his favorite drink. She looked towards the sky as Wings’, ‘Silly Love Songs’ played.

Her tarot deck with the golden edges was spread across an old card table, warm from her touch and blessed from her spirit guides.

Sage and incense burned, and a large crystal was neatly spaced on a towel depicting the phases of the moon.

She looked down at the cards once again, all splayed out from a recent reading.

This wasn’t on the behalf of one of her clients, however.

Not a customer asking about a new lover, trouble at the job, or some ex-boyfriend who’d moved on and left them behind.

She crossed her legs and rocked her foot, making her purple, red and green leisure gown sway as she moved about.

A little jingly noise caused by her layered gold bangles and anklets, tingled her skin.

She shook her head in disbelief at the way the cards read, then grabbed her ashtray and placed her joint in it.

“Kane, ain’t this some shit?” She laughed miserably.

“You know me… I’m not the sort of lady to overreact and get excited for no reason.

I’m prayin’ you can hear me. Some say you can’t hear me ’cause you aren’t in heaven, but I know better.

” She smiled sadly. “You were a good man. A flawed man, but a good man, nevertheless. God’s got you, for sure.

You never hurt anyone who didn’t hurt you first. You believed in fairness.

Folks that say you were mean as a rattlesnake didn’t know the true you…

I did. I talk to you every day, but sometimes I’m not sure you’re listening.

You definitely need to listen up today. This is important, birthday boy.

And yes, I still want to find your killer.

My daddy swears up and down he ain’t have nothin’ to do with it.

I know that my daddy is a liar, but somethin’ tells me he might be tellin’ the truth about this.

“Besides, if he’d done it, I think you woulda showed that to me by now.

Kane, I’ve got a funny feeling. Now I will admit that I don’t know everything.

” She held up her hands. “I get clues, a lot of indications and spiritual downloads. Just like I knew that you and I were going to have a baby the first time I ever laid eyes on ya. And I knew that baby was gonna be somethin’ special.

When I told you I was pregnant, I thought you were gonna hit the roof.

Instead, you were so damn happy! You called up your buddies and told anyone who would listen.

You were so excited, and you hoped it would be a boy.

You said ’cause you wanted a little girl to be the youngest, and that you wanted one of each, figurin’ your son could watch over his sister.

Well, we ain’t get that far, now did we, baby?

” She grabbed the drink, took a sip, and set it down.

“I believe you looked after your son when he was in that horrible hospital, and I believe that you’re still protecting him still, and me, even though you’re on the other side.

I don’t ask you for much, but I’m askin’ you to still watch over him now.

He needs you. I gave you my love, my time, my devotion, and a baby, so I think you still owe me, because I’m still showerin’ you with love from Earth, and your son is makin’ you proud.

You already know this, but I just have to say it anyway.

I am so proud of our son.” She glanced at the cards on the table, then looked out at her front lawn. “Kage has got his own business.

“He has a crew that works for him and everything. He’s got a beautiful house, too, and a shitload of land. He’s an amazin’ hunter and fisherman, has your gift of drawin’, what you used to call just doodling, and now, he’s found him a girl.”

She took another inhale of her joint, then set it down.

“I called Kage last night, and his lady was over there.” She exhaled.

“Her name is Poet. Isn’t that pretty? Now, I haven’t met her yet, but I spoke to her briefly on the phone.

She seems real nice. Kage said she’s got some impressive job at the natural history museum, and is a professional taxidermist. Ain’t that somethin’?

You know Kage though… it’s hard for him to completely open up to people sometimes, ’specially after his divorce.

” She shook her head. “He just wouldn’t settle down, out here chasin’ tail, but I guess he was just passing the time until someone real caught his interest.

“I think his new girlfriend makes him feel like he can just be himself.” She smiled, reached for Kane’s drink and took a sip before placing it back on the table.

“I don’t think our son has been this happy in years.

I could hear it in his voice. He was just uh laughin’!

” She chuckled at the recent memory. “Kane, you shoulda heard him. There’s just one thing, though.

I know your racist ass mama and daddy wouldn’t approve,” She grimaced.

“Hell, they hated me ’cause of my daddy’s reputation, but had no problem takin’ his money.

Anyway, that’s neither here nor there, God rest their souls…

“Back to the topic. I don’t know what she looks like yet, but Kage told me she looks a bit like Sharon Leal.

Seems based on her job, she’s smart, too.

That’s another thing Kage is attracted to—smart women.

That’s what I used to tell him when he first started datin’.

I’d say, ‘Kage, pretty girls are a dime a dozen. Get you a girl with something workin’ in her head.

Someone honest. Someone nice. You don’t respect no girl who won’t curse you out every now and again, and make sure she likes to fish and do outdoor activities, too.

Kage looked at me and said, ‘ Mama, that sounds like you want me to get a woman just like you! ’” She chuckled.

“Kane, you and I was raised a certain way, but we took the good stuff and left the bad. That’s one of a million reasons why I loved ya so much, Kane.

You were your own man. An independent thinker.

You were strong in mind, body and spirit.

Nobody could hold a candle to you. You had a lotta haters…

jealousy was all around you… and… and I see that with our baby, too.

There’s folks that are jealous of him, Kane.

Like my father. My father has always been jealous of folks, so this ain’t nothin’ new—especially of other men that appear extra special, gifted, and touched by God.

Daddy always wants to be the most important person in the room.

” She sucked her teeth as a door slammed in the house.

She turned in the direction of the sound.

“Everything okay in there?!” she hollered.

“Yeah! I can’t find the flour though. Wanna fry some chicken!” Andrea called out.

“Third cabinet from the right!” Sarah responded, then clasped her hands around her knee.

“…I see it! Thanks!”

“Welcome, sugar.” She was quiet for a minute, trying to find her thoughts again.

“Kane, we got a problem on our hands, and his name is Cyrus, my daddy. You know what I had to deal with. If that old man can’t trump the competition, then he wants to own the competition, possess them like some damn voodoo doll.

He did it with my brothers, now he’s doin’ it with some of my nephews, Lennox and Roman, and now, he’s doin’ it to our son. ”

She leaned forward, looked down, and shook her head.

“Kane… I am askin’ you again, begging you for some assistance.

Something is afoot! I don’t know what you can do, but help warn him at least before my daddy does somethin’ so bad, it is irreversible.

Kage’s life is finally lookin’ up. He ain’t in no trouble.

He’s making good money. And now, he’s found love.

I want him left the fuck alone!” She slammed her fist on the table, and fought tears.

“I can’t stop my daddy from doing what he’s doing.

In fact, if I try to, he may double down.

I won’t help him trap my son, though. I won’t help him destroy that boy’s life again!