Читать книгу The Hip Hop Murderer - Dwayne Bowen - Страница 9

Two weeks later, it's Monday morning and Joe and Bruce are saying their final goodbyes before hopping in the cars with their wives to head home for the rest of their lives. Joe and Bruce look at each other, knowing this is not going to be the last time they see one another. They've got too much history together to fall out of touch.

Lisa and Leslie get out of the car to embrace each other with a warm hug.

Leslie says, "Oh, Lisa, it's so great to see you, honey. How are you holding up?"

"I've been okay; been taking it one day at a time without Bruce by my side. I'm just so glad he's retired now so we can finally have some time together," says Lisa.

"You and me both, though clearly for different reasons—the twins are getting a little difficult to deal with as they reach their late teens. They are at the point where they're going to need a firm hand," Leslie says. Realizing that she is going on and on about the boys, she stops but not before she notices Lisa starting to get teary-eyed.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sweetie! I didn't realize I was rambling on so much about the boys. I just..."

Lisa interrupts, "No, Leslie, please—it is totally fine. I just miss my Bryson is all; but this is good for me. I can't continue to hide my emotions around people just because I don't want to be constantly consoled by complete strangers. I would prefer it if Bruce and I were consoling each other."

"I understand. Well, at least you two will be together now," says Leslie.

Joe stands directly in front of Bruce and says, "You've been the greatest brother to me anyone could ever ask for."

Bruce gives Joe a strong hug. "We've shared many good and bad times together and I hope we can continue to share many more. Please don't lose touch with me. We're 177 all day, every day, Joe. I want to thank you for taking me to church so I can open up and be the strong husband Lisa needs me to be. I'd like you to call me every day just to check up on me and make sure I'm still alive and kicking, man," Bruce says seriously.

"Hey man, whatever you need, I'm here; 177 baby," Joe says as he slaps Bruce's hand and pulls him in for a bear hug.

Lisa and Leslie give each other a hug and kiss on the cheek goodbye. Joe calls the ladies over to join him and Bruce so they can all hear what he says next.

"Bruce, once I get settled in at home, I'm going to take a trip to Washington DC and talk to someone at the FCC about this music they're playing on the radio," Joe explains.

"You know, you don't have to do that—what is done cannot be undone, Joe. No matter how much you try, they're only going to regulate the music so much. They're not going to listen to us Joe Shmoe's...no pun intended," Bruce says.

"Look at me, Bruce, I swear to you just as sure as I have breath in my body that I will go to the FCC."

Bruce says to Joe, "I know that no matter what I say to you, you aren't going to listen to me so just do me a favor and be careful, man."

Lisa leans in to Joe to hug him and whispers a thank you in his ear. When he pulls away from her, he gives her a nod. As Lisa and Bruce get into the car, Leslie and Joe stand in front of their car to see them off. Bruce starts to drive away slowly but not before Joe could get in his final words. "Trust me, I'm going to make a change, Bruce, and you're going to hear about it!"

Leslie and Joe continue to wave goodbye until they can no longer see their car. Then, catching Leslie's eye, Joe picks her up and swings her around like they're teenage kids in high school again.

"Daddy's home, baby, Daddy's home!" Joe says excitedly, still swinging Leslie around in the air.

"Yes, my love, finally! Now, how about that trip to the Dominican Republic you've always promised me? Let's talk about it, shall we?" Leslie says as Joe slowly puts her back on her feet.

"Geez, woman, I'm just retired and you already have plans for my pension! But a promise is a promise...I'll take you to the Dominican Republic, baby."

As Joe drives up Interstate 95, he glances over at Leslie and asks, "How have the boys been the past couple of weeks?"

Leslie shakes her head from side-to-side in disappointment. "Bryan is off the chain, as they say. He doesn't want to listen and comes and goes as he pleases and doesn't respect me. His girlfriend follows him wherever he goes and I hate seeing her make such poor choices too."

Raising an eyebrow, Joe firmly clutches the steering wheel, "What do you mean he doesn't respect you?!"

"He has a curfew but refuses to abide by it. I give them both chores to do, but Bryan refuses to do them. He goes straight to his room when he gets home and blasts that rap crap all day and all night. It makes me sick to my stomach because it's full of cursing and degrading lyrics. I'd turn it off myself but he keeps the door locked."

"Wait, he keeps the door locked? In the house where we pay the mortgage to keep a roof over his head?! There's only one way to change that...and that is to remove his door. He may not like you as his mom right now because he's going through this selfish-teenager-phase, but he will respect you in my house!"

Leslie chuckles. "You can't take his door off, babe—then you're invading his privacy."

"Okay, it's either his door or his head, you choose! The only privacy in the house should be in our room." Joe says, his voice jumping octaves higher.

"All right, sweetie, but he's not going to like it."

"Good, that's what I want!" Joe says.

Bryan and Ryan are sitting on the stairs in front of their house, awaiting the arrival of their dad. The last time they saw him was on their Christmas vacation. Ryan is anxious to see him...but Bryan feels otherwise.

"Dang, man, I can't believe Dad is finally retired; things are going to be so much better around here. And I would advise you to get your stuff together too, man, 'cause Pops don't play that," Ryan says to Bryan.

Bryan replies, "You do what you gotta do, but I'm not going to kiss his ass when he comes home like you're clearly puckering up to do."

"Bryan, seriously—he's our dad and I haven't seen him since Christmas so it isn't kissing his ass, it's called showing some love and respect. You should try it some time."

"Man, forget, you!" Bryan says, dismissing him.

Before Bryan and Ryan's argument can go any further, their parents pull up. Ryan runs to greet his dad while Bryan sits and waits with a disgruntled look on his face.

"Attention!" Joe yells out to Ryan, giving him a salute before standing directly in front of him.

Ryan stops immediately and gives his dad a salute back. "At ease, soldier; come give your dad a hug!"

Ryan hugs him and says with excitement, "Hey, Pop, it's good to see you again. Welcome home!"

"Thanks, son, it's good to be home," Joe replies.

Grandma and Grandpa walk out of the house and onto the porch. They walk past Bryan as they go to greet Joe with open arms.

They call out in unison, "Welcome home, son!"

As Joe walks to the back of the truck, Ryan follows him and says, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll get that."

"Are you sure? There are a lot of combat weapons of mass destruction in that bag you got there," Joe says.

"Really?!" Ryan asks as he pulls his dad's bag out of the trunk.

"No, not really—just a whole lot of laundry heavier than you," Joe says.

Joe glances at Bryan sitting on the porch and notices the unpleasant look on his face. "Hey, Bryan, aren't you gonna come greet your dad?!" Joe yells out.

Without responding, Bryan slowly gets up from the stairs and, turning his back on Joe, walks back into the house. Joe looks at Leslie and the rest of the family in confusion.

"What was that about?!" Joe asks.

Leslie responds, "I told you...and now you have your work cut out for you."

"No, my love, Bryan has his work cut out for him. I think now would be a good time to execute that plan we were talking about."

"No, Joe, let's just get settled in and washed up for dinner because your parents have worked really hard to make a feast for you," Leslie says.

Joe kisses her on the lips and hugs her with one arm, as he carries his duffle bag in the other. "What would I do without you?"

After unloading the trunk of the car, the family heads into the house to get ready for dinner. Before entering, Joe looks up to the sky, saying aloud, "God, please grant me the strength and the understanding to deal with my son, Bryan." Joe is the last to come in the house, shutting the screen door behind him. No more than three seconds afterwards, he hears a knock at the door. He turns to see a pretty young lady standing in the doorway.

"Hello, can I help you?" Joe asks.

"Hi, I'm Phaedra, Bryan's girlfriend. I was wondering if he was around so I could talk to him," she responds.

"Oh yes, of course. I'm his dad, Joe Baskerville," Joe says to her as he walks out of the house again, closing the door behind him.

"Hello, sir, and welcome home," says Phaedra.

"Aw, why thank you," Joe replies. "Before I head in the house to get Bryan for you, do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure, Mr. Baskerville, I don't mind at all," Phaedra replies.

Now they are both standing outside in the driveway, talking.

"So is my son treating you well?" Joe asks.

Phaedra smiles. "Yes, he treats me good and respects me. The only thing that concerns me is the crew he hangs out with...and that he smokes weed all the time."

Joe replies with a surprised look, "Weed, is that right?!"

"But, please, Mr. Baskerville, don't tell him I told you," Phaedra pleads.

"No, of course not—his mom had already filled me in, sweetie. So, is he doing any other drugs?" Joe asks with concern.

"Not that I know of, no. But he is getting worse with smoking so much," Phaedra replies.

"Why does he smoke weed anyway? He has a roof over his head and a pretty girlfriend like you—it seems like he's got it all," Joe replies.

"He says he smokes because it helps him write better music and puts him in deeper thought," Phaedra says.

"Where did he get that from?" Joe asks.

"I'm not sure. I think he heard it from other rappers. Some use this method to enhance their writing abilities but don't recognize the long-term disadvantages it can have on their mental health," says Phaedra.

"I see he's got a smart girl, too," Joe says, smiling at Phaedra and patting her on the shoulder.

From his bedroom, Bryan looks out the window and notices his dad talking to Phaedra. Panicked, he rushes out of his room, sprinting down the stairs, and emerges from the house. He grabs Phaedra's hand and pulls her away toward the front yard, interrogating her. "Why are you talking to him? What did he say? What was he asking you?!"

Joe decides to maintain his cool despite Bryan walking away again without welcoming him home or giving him any kind of acknowledgement. He shakes his head as he walks back into the house, only to hear the rap music Bryan left blasting in his room.

Joe pops a peppermint in his mouth and storms up the stairs into Bryan's room. The music is so loud; he rips both speaker wires from the radio, snatching them from the wall. He starts to go on a rampage, tearing the posters of rap artists off the wall. He also decides that now is as good a time as any to remove his door.

As Bryan and Phaedra make their way back inside the house, they hear vulgar obscenities coming from his bedroom. A few moments later, they hear the sound of a power drill. Everyone in the dining room runs upstairs to see what the ruckus is all about.

"Yo, what you doing, man? That's my room!" Bryan yells out, standing in the doorway.

Joe turns around and walks over to Bryan. "There's one thing I will never tolerate in this house and that's disrespect! You've done nothing in the last half hour but show me your ass and it's only by the grace of God that I haven't put my hands on you yet. You continue to disrespect your mom, this house, our family and now you're showing time in front of your girlfriend. So, being that you like showing your ass, you don't need a door to hide it."

"What? This is crazy, yo! Ma, what about my privacy?!" Bryan yells out as he looks back at his mother to intervene.

"Ah, I was hoping you were going to say that," Joe begins. "You see, son, the way I see it is you live in my house with my door. Until you can abide by my rules, you have no door and, right now, you're lucky to even have a room. So here's what I want you to do: I want you to walk out of this house and think about what I just said and come back civilized enough to eat dinner," Joe explains.

Bryan decides to keep his mouth shut and just walk away, but not before Joe gives him one last lesson on respect.

"Hold it! Since you can't acknowledge me as your dad and address me as such, you are to address me as 'sir'. In addition, you are not to turn your back on me until I have dismissed you; is that understood?" Joe says in a stern voice.

Bryan looks his dad straight in the eyes, his nose flaring in anger, as Joe talks to him.

"Yeah, understood," Bryan says, scowling.

"Yeah, what?" Joe asks aggressively.

Bryan replies, "I mean, 'yes sir'."

"I expect you and your pretty little girlfriend back here in fifteen minutes to eat dinner. We will not start eating until you're at the table. You're going to learn the meaning of having love and respect for your family by sticking together," Joe responds.