PuristLove
Bluelighter
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2000
- Messages
- 1,694
Jake's Brother
Genesis 27:35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
Jake banged on his brother's door, ignoring the hand-carved wooden knocker. He winced and massaged his knuckles, finally noticing the knocker and being repulsed by it instantly. The plaque was a human head, the knocker a ring in the nose.
When Odion answered, Jake asked, "Still going for the Out-of-Africa Chic look?"
Odion looked at him, heavy-lidded. "It's three in the morning, what in the hell do you want?"
"You still want that loan, right?" Jake asked. "I just need you to sign this paperwork transferring possession of our father's estate to me, and then I'm sure the bank will be able to do something for you."
"I can't believe your asking me to do that," Odion shook his head.
"If you'd comb that fro, stop dressing in those tribal rags, and get a job, maybe the loan officer would talk to you without me co-signing the loan. Look, I know how much Dad's place means to you. I'll sell it back to you someday. When you’re a big-shot rapper." Jake snickered.
Odion ran a red pick through his beard, observing Jake's lack of hair. "Shit, come in out of the cold then. I'll look this over and give it to you."
"I wish I could stay, but I've got these two bitches in the car. One's a real beast, but her sister's a fine piece of ass. Just bring it by my office in the morning. I'll have the loan papers all ready for you to take to the bank."
Odion sighed, "All right."
He shut the door, tossed the papers onto the coffee-table and climbed back upstairs.
"Who was that, baby?" his wife asked. Her voice was hoarse, dry with sleep.
"Go back to bed, honey. It was just Jake."
"Did that no-good ****** bring you the contract?"
"Naww… Just that other shit. I gotta sign it and bring it back to him. Guess I'll have to get it notarized too."
"You ain't gotta do that, baby. You're almost done recording your demo. We can wait to get a house until you get signed."
"You're due in three months. We need a house. I'm gonna apply for a job at Jake's office tomorrow while I'm there. It's time I faced the facts: the kind of hip-hop I do will never make any money. People don't wanna hear a nigga rap about wisdom. If the lyrics don't include hoes, cash and guns, it isn't gonna sell."
"You can't give up like that."
A single beam of light reached into the room through a broken spot in the blinds. In the near-dark, he could still see the graceful swell of her stomach.
"It's time I grow up and take care of my family," he told her firmly.
"But it's your dream, Odion. And I won't let you let it go."
"Damnit, don't you see that I have to." He fled the room, unable to argue with her.
Downstairs, he collapsed on the couch, too overwhelmed by frustration to even cry. The urn containing his father's ashes teetered on the mantle before settling back into place. The ashes he'd promised to scatter in Nigeria, his father's homeland.
It was a promise he'd made himself. One last trip with his father, a final chance to say goodbye. The chance he'd been robbed of when his father died. Jake didn't even notify him before they pulled the plug. Odion never knew their dad had slipped into a coma.
She came down the stairs, to sit by him on the couch. "Don't do anything because of me or the baby. We'll find a way to get by Odion."
"I wish that were true. We both know it isn't."
He beat his fist against his lap. Jake was robbing him again. Their dad's property was worth a fortune, but it was so tied up in litigation that he couldn't move his family in there. It was going to take years of paying lawyer fees he couldn't afford just to be allowed to set foot in the place.
Jake, of course, would have everything straightened out and the house on the market in a matter of weeks.
Odion looked at his sweet wife, studied the concern on her face. Then, fighting back the tears that formed in his eyes, he reached for the papers on the table.
Genesis 27:35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtilty, and hath taken away thy blessing.
Jake banged on his brother's door, ignoring the hand-carved wooden knocker. He winced and massaged his knuckles, finally noticing the knocker and being repulsed by it instantly. The plaque was a human head, the knocker a ring in the nose.
When Odion answered, Jake asked, "Still going for the Out-of-Africa Chic look?"
Odion looked at him, heavy-lidded. "It's three in the morning, what in the hell do you want?"
"You still want that loan, right?" Jake asked. "I just need you to sign this paperwork transferring possession of our father's estate to me, and then I'm sure the bank will be able to do something for you."
"I can't believe your asking me to do that," Odion shook his head.
"If you'd comb that fro, stop dressing in those tribal rags, and get a job, maybe the loan officer would talk to you without me co-signing the loan. Look, I know how much Dad's place means to you. I'll sell it back to you someday. When you’re a big-shot rapper." Jake snickered.
Odion ran a red pick through his beard, observing Jake's lack of hair. "Shit, come in out of the cold then. I'll look this over and give it to you."
"I wish I could stay, but I've got these two bitches in the car. One's a real beast, but her sister's a fine piece of ass. Just bring it by my office in the morning. I'll have the loan papers all ready for you to take to the bank."
Odion sighed, "All right."
He shut the door, tossed the papers onto the coffee-table and climbed back upstairs.
"Who was that, baby?" his wife asked. Her voice was hoarse, dry with sleep.
"Go back to bed, honey. It was just Jake."
"Did that no-good ****** bring you the contract?"
"Naww… Just that other shit. I gotta sign it and bring it back to him. Guess I'll have to get it notarized too."
"You ain't gotta do that, baby. You're almost done recording your demo. We can wait to get a house until you get signed."
"You're due in three months. We need a house. I'm gonna apply for a job at Jake's office tomorrow while I'm there. It's time I faced the facts: the kind of hip-hop I do will never make any money. People don't wanna hear a nigga rap about wisdom. If the lyrics don't include hoes, cash and guns, it isn't gonna sell."
"You can't give up like that."
A single beam of light reached into the room through a broken spot in the blinds. In the near-dark, he could still see the graceful swell of her stomach.
"It's time I grow up and take care of my family," he told her firmly.
"But it's your dream, Odion. And I won't let you let it go."
"Damnit, don't you see that I have to." He fled the room, unable to argue with her.
Downstairs, he collapsed on the couch, too overwhelmed by frustration to even cry. The urn containing his father's ashes teetered on the mantle before settling back into place. The ashes he'd promised to scatter in Nigeria, his father's homeland.
It was a promise he'd made himself. One last trip with his father, a final chance to say goodbye. The chance he'd been robbed of when his father died. Jake didn't even notify him before they pulled the plug. Odion never knew their dad had slipped into a coma.
She came down the stairs, to sit by him on the couch. "Don't do anything because of me or the baby. We'll find a way to get by Odion."
"I wish that were true. We both know it isn't."
He beat his fist against his lap. Jake was robbing him again. Their dad's property was worth a fortune, but it was so tied up in litigation that he couldn't move his family in there. It was going to take years of paying lawyer fees he couldn't afford just to be allowed to set foot in the place.
Jake, of course, would have everything straightened out and the house on the market in a matter of weeks.
Odion looked at his sweet wife, studied the concern on her face. Then, fighting back the tears that formed in his eyes, he reached for the papers on the table.
