- Ci Sutton
- Jan 31, 2021
Updated: May 30, 2022
It’s about 10:30 at night when Stephen’s mother Alexis was heading home with dinner for the two of them. He loved Italian food, so she went to his favorite restaurant and ordered lasagna and grabbed herself a bottle of red wine. Unlike his father, she actually noticed when something was wrong with her child and she wanted to cheer him up. Before the adoption was final, the only person he ever confided in was Miss G.; Stephen was crushed when she suddenly resigned. Once he left the group home, he kind of shut down and started to put on an act for everyone; the last thing he wanted to do was look weak. But Alexis knew better; she knew that he was still struggling to fully open up but she refused to give up on him. Even though he isn’t her biological son, the connection she felt with him was strong and undeniable.
As she’s pulling up to her home, she thinks to herself, “What the hell is going on over here? Let me slow down and be nosy!” Little did she know, the commotion was right there at her door. She gets closer, tilting her head in confusion, as she slows her car down even more. Alexis spots an ambulance pulling off with sirens and she barely throws her Tesla in park before she hops out yelling her sons’ name.
“What the fuck?! Where is my son?! Who are y’all and why the hell are y’all in my house?” She looks at the bikes laid out on her lawn, and she assumes Stephen had friends over, but with her mind wandering so quickly, she can’t think clearly enough to put together a scenario. As she’s on her lawn going off, a cop on the scene comes walking out of her house and she freezes. Not another word came out of her mouth.
He gives her a vague explanation of what he believes could have happened, while throwing in that it was gang related. Alexis knows better; she briefly snaps out of her trance to let the cop know that he’s wrong. She admits to the cop that Stephen had a rough upbringing before the adoption, but he’s far from being gang affiliated. She informs them that he’s had some trouble with kids he grew up with and tries to tell them that’s where the connection may lie.
The cop says to her, “Don’t tell me how to do my job, lady. I’m the one with the badge! I’m the one assisting with this investigation!”
At this moment, she officially snaps out of her shock and rightfully so, she goes ballistic.
“Check this out, I don’t give a damn about your rusted, Dollar Tree badge nor do I give a shit about who the hell you THINK you are. My name is Alexis Cooke, from Oakland, Ca. I have a masters in psychology from Howard University, not a flimsy certificate of completion from your local police academy! Now if you’re not gonna tell me what hospital they took my son to, and which ‘gang member’ you believe pulled the trigger, get out of my damn face before I end up in cuffs and in the back of a squad car!”
Another officer intervenes and gives her the hospital’s information so that she can get to Stephen. After a final deathly scowl at the first cop, she hops in her Tesla and speeds off to her son.
Alexis goes right to the desk in the ER, and says “Hi, I’m Alexis Cooke, I’m looking for my son Stephen Harrington-Cooke.” The nurse lets her know that he’s in surgery and has her escorted to the proper waiting area of the trauma department. She walks into the waiting room to see a handful of people, all looking distressed and somewhat out of it. She can’t keep still; her nerves are shot. There was no way possible that she could sit there in a waiting room while her only child is on a surgery table fighting for his life.
After what felt like an eternity of pacing back and forth, Alexis sees a doctor come through the double doors, moving in slow motion. The doctor enters the waiting area, clears his throat and asks for the family of Stephen Cooke. Alexis is front and center, but to her surprise, so are two other people she’s never seen in her life.
“Who the hell are y’all? How do you all know my son?!” says Alexis.
“Your son?! I don’t know what your boujee ass is talking about because I birthed him! I’m his mother!”
Alexis stares at her for a few seconds before it clicks, and she yells out, “Patricia?!”
“Yeah bitch, it’s me! Patricia, his real mama!”
Alexis pulls her chin off of the floor and tells her “Yeah okay, Trashy Trisha! Dogs give birth all the time and that doesn’t make them mothers!” and then with all of her strength she hits Patricia in the nose with just the palm of her hand. The doctor yells out for security and attempts to grab her off but Alexis’ adrenaline is thriving so there’s hardly any pulling her off of Patricia. The man who was there with Patricia, forces himself between the two of them, pushing Patricia into a corner. He tries to calm her down while he tilts her head back to stop her nose from bleeding.
Once a security guard was able to contain Alexis, the man tells the doctor that they are the biological parents of Stephen. The doctor then explains to them that for legal purposes and due to Stephen being a minor, this was a conversation for just Alexis and himself. Alexis agrees to remain calm, and she and the doctor take a short walk away from the waiting area so they can talk.
Back at the Harrington-Cooke residence, Stephen’s father, Malcolm is just getting home from his meeting at the office. Most of the commotion has died down, and people are clearing out but of course, he has no idea what he’s walking into. There’s still caution tape around his house, police in his yard and just a handful of neighbors outside.
He steps over the tape, and shows the cops his driver’s license to prove he lives there. The same cop that Alexis yelled at about an hour ago is still on the scene and unfortunately is the one breaking the news to Mr. Harrington. Unlike Alexis, he has no words; he’s in a totally different state of shock. He turns around and walks to his car thinking, “My son… Stephen, in a gang? That can’t be! This is insane!”, so he decided to go back to the officer to clarify what he heard. The cop says, “Look, I already told you. And just like I told your wife, your precious son was more than likely involved with a gang and it looks like a meetup gone bad.”
Malcolm Harrington doesn’t have an ounce of the street smarts that Alexis has. He grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood just outside of Santa Monica. His father was a politician, so his family name meant a lot and carried weight back then. Just like with many other politicians, after scandals and schemes come to light, the name gets tarnished and everyone involved has to live with the aftermath. As far Malcolm knows, while he was away at UCLA, his father had an affair with an assistant and once it hit the media, the drama followed him and his family.
In addition to Malcolm having zero street smarts, he’s almost completely oblivious, perhaps in denial of Stephen’s life prior to being in their care. In his mind, the group home was a safe haven that supposedly rescued Stephen from his biological parents and dangerous home. While Alexis did most of the footwork in finalizing the adoption, Malcolm was too busy working and wasn’t as involved as he should have been. Because Stephen stayed in such great spirits all the time, he had no idea of what he was going through at school with other kids.
Stephen was twelve years old when he was adopted by Malcolm and Alexis. Prior to that he had lived with two other families, none of which were capable of taking care of him so the group home was the last resort. He wasn’t a bad kid, but he suffered from ADHD and he didn’t trust anyone; not the homes he had been assigned to, nor the counselor he was forced to keep seeing. Stephen never believed that anyone truly ever had his best interest at heart. His mind was made that his mother was nothing more a selfish drug addict, and that his father only cared about fast money.
Patricia, who also goes by Trish, was fighting an opioid addiction throughout the pregnancy and shortly after; while his biological father Reggie was constantly on the run; he never stayed anywhere for too long. He was wanted for everything from conspiracy to commit murder, credit card fraud, identity theft, and battery charges against Trish.
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After my interview with Detective Walsh I ran to the restroom, holding back tears one I learned I couldn’t get any update on Stephen. All we know is that he’s in surgery, and he may be for a few hours. We didn’t really know how bad his injuries were, if they were life-threatening, nothing. From a bathroom stall, I called the hospital and told them I was Stephen’s aunt, and I had received a call that he was there but they must have known it was bullshit. Not only am I a terrible liar, but his mother was already there so there was no way they’d disclose anything to me. In all honesty I knew good & well that they wouldn’t tell me any info over the phone but I had to try anyway.
As worried as I was, and as many times that I called the hospital, I couldn’t get myself to go up there. I spent the early years of my career with this young man that trusted and counted on me! No matter what, he knew that he could count on me, and now I feel like I’ve let him down. Maybe I was selfish for leaving in the first place… Maybe I could’ve stopped this shit from happening.
I broke down about two or three times before getting myself together to finally get the hell out of this precinct. Coming out of the stall and looking into the mirror, I see my red and slightly puffy eyes, an eyelash holding on for dear life; but most importantly I saw myself. I saw the young, broken, and indecisive young woman I was after college. When I began working at the group home, I vowed to myself that I would never allow anything or anyone to break me that way again. Yet here I am, in a raggedy bathroom at the police station, crying my eyes out because I didn’t keep my promise to myself.
Looking in my purse, I pull out my mini toiletry bag so that I can freshen up and try to look just a little presentable as I check out and walk to my car. After running my fingers through my hair one last time and applying some lip balm, I pulled the door open and standing on the other side of it was Detective Walsh.
“Hey Detective Walsh, uh is everything alright?”
“Yes, everything is fine on my end, but call me Maurice. And everything is fine, I actually came to see if you were okay. After we finished up, I saw you run in here.”
Thinking to myself, “He cares?! He came and waited outside for little old me?! Whew!”
I say, “Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it, but you didn’t have to do that. And you can call me Bethany.”
“But I did… I knew that if I didn’t come over, I’d probably never get to see you again, Bethany.”
My chin? On the floor.
“Can I take you out sometime? You know, to ask you questions about yourself, and not about this case? I can already tell you’re a genuine person, and there’s more to you than what meets the eye; if you let me, I’d love to get to know.”
It took no time at all for me to agree to a date and give him my number. As he’s walking me out of the building and to my car, my phone rings. I look at it, and put it back down. I look at Detective Walsh to not only thank him for walking me out, but also to let him know that I’m looking forward to our date. My phone rings again; it’s Jackie. I say out loud “You gotta be fucking kidding me!”
He looks at me, raises an eyebrow and says “Excuse me?” I apologize and tell him it’s her calling and I need to take this. Walsh lets out a cute chuckle and says he understands. He closes my car door for me, and waits for me to pull off before walking back inside.
“Jackie! What the fuck was that last night?! Do you have any idea what the hell YOU got US into?!”
“I know I ain’t shit, and I’m sorry! But girl, my spidey senses were tingling so I had to act on them!”
“The same spidey senses that got you fired or did you get some new ones?! Because of your Inspector Gadget headass, I spent the rest of my night at the police station being interrogated!”
“Interrogated? For what?!”
“Well after you decided to go chase down your suspect, one of the kids got shot and because I was a witness, I had no choice but to talk and give a statement. But Jackie, tell me why I know the kid!”
“Wait, how? You’re hanging out with minor shooters now? Shit. I knew you didn’t have a life, but this? This is beyond me. I’m telling your mom!”
“No stupid! This is why I don’t talk to you! The kid that got shot was Stephen, from the group home I used to work at. Remember he used to get picked on a lot and I started looking out for him?”
“Stephen… Stephen? Oh yeah! Oh my goodness, really?! How’s he doing?”
“I don’t know… I called the hospital but they can’t tell me anything. Detective Walsh didn’t have much information for me either, so I’ll head up there first thing in the morning. I need to go home and smoke or something before I do anything else.”
“Aht, aht! Did you say Detective Walsh?! Tall and chocolate like a young Morris Chestnut? With the waves? A tailored suit? Shiny white teeth and has a lingering scent of Gucci Guilty?”
“Well damn Jackie, do you know his blood type too?!”
“No, but I’d like to! I’ve been trying to get him since I joined the force, he is gorgeous! So that’s who interviewed you? Bitch, I need all the details! Did he smell good? Was he wearing a tie?!”
“Thirsty much? You of all people should know I can’t give you a play by play. But, we did exchange numbers and he asked me out.”
“YAAASSSSSS! Get him! You have to since I couldn’t… He wasn’t ready for a woman like me anyway. So when’s the date?”
“Well we were trying to talk about it a moment ago but SOMEBODY was blowing me up so I figured I’d take the call in case it was urgent!”
“Damn, that’s my bad. Well, at least you got a man out of all this!”
“Please get off my phone! I’m not talking to you anymore. When this is all over with, you owe me drinks, Inspector Jackie!”
“I love you too girl! I got you, call me later.”
I’m barely off the phone for five minutes before it’s ringing again but I have no intention of answering it. Nope! I’ve had enough of today, I am exhausted! Nothing else can stop me from getting into this damn house! Soon as I walk in, I’m taking a hot shower and rolling up; twice.
Finally pulling into my driveway, I let out a huge sigh of relief. The only thing I want right now is to wind down and put this traumatic evening to rest. Well, and for my damn phone to stop ringing. Whoever it is, they’ve gotta wait. I just don’t have the mental capacity for much of anything right now.
After a long shower, and a well-deserved smoke session in my robe, I found myself waking up to my phone ringing; again! Barely awake, I picked it up and in a raspy yet snappy voice, I asked “Hello? Who is this?”
“Hey, I’m sorry to disturb you Miss Graham, I mean Bethany. This is Maurice Walsh from the station. I just wanted to call and see if you made it home safely.”
I’ve never cleared my throat and gathered myself so quickly. Who was asleep? Not me?!
After thanking him and letting him know that I was home and somewhat rested, we proceeded to planning our dinner date for tomorrow night. We had a nice but rather short conversation; he had to finish up at work and I wanted to go back to bed.
No matter what day of the week, or what I have planned, I start my mornings off with coffee. Today being a non-working Saturday, made no difference. I started my coffee then headed back to my room to look for something in my closet. To the left, in the top corner, is a box of folders full of documents, old pictures, and other things from the group home. I forgot how many things were in here but I keep digging because I know what I need is in here; it has to be! I came across a pile of some old photos of all the kids, and underneath that was my old work badge. I grabbed it and threw it in my purse so I wouldn’t forget it.
Going through all the contents of this box, I have no choice but to think about my time working there and why I left and refused to come back. There’s so much bullshit behind the scenes, and a lot of the time these establishments don’t even care about the kids. Just the money. At first, it was just a stepping stone in my career, but in the end I did it for the kids. Most of them had to grow up way too fast and didn’t know what it meant to be a child, to be care-free. They were so innocent and they just needed love and guidance from genuine people.
I got dressed, grabbed a small breakfast, then headed to the hospital. Before I could go inside, I needed to get a handle of my emotions and heightened anxiety. I’ve kind of been in a constant state of panic since the shooting and I barely know which way is up. With both my heart and mind racing, I’m trying to convince myself to grow some balls and go in there. As I’m looking in my mirror giving myself a pep talk, an old man walking by stops and looks at me in confusion. Now I’m just sitting here, looking at him, as he looks at me.
“Miss… everything alright in there?”
Somewhat shook and quite embarrassed, I rolled down my window to tell Old Man Jenkins that I’m fine. Though he’s not too convinced, he walks away shaking his head with one eyebrow raised.
“I know you’re not judging me, sir?! It’s been a rough 24 hours, I am stressed!”
He got some pep in his step and got the hell on. I waited until he was completely out of my view before I got out of my car, I didn’t want to scare the fragile old man. It wasn’t his fault, I just need to calm down.
____________________________________________________________________________
At the local jail, both Carter and Lewis are being processed for the shooting and placed in separate holding cells. Baby brother Carter is even more nervous than he was before; it’s settling in that he’s really fucked up this time. He’s pacing back and forth, asking himself why he’s been in Lewis’ shadow for so long. All he knew was to follow behind his brother, he hardly knew how to function as his own person. Since they were small kids, he rode Lewis’ coattail and had been his sidekick since they were small children, even before the group home.
Carter always knew the things his brother did were wrong but he went right along with whatever plan Lewis had. With Lewis being his big brother and the only family he had; but he had an underlying fear of disappointing him. He was scared that if he didn’t do what Lewis said, he’d get disowned and left behind. Their parents gave them up simply because they didn’t want to be parents. In their minds, the boys were stopping them from living the lives they wanted, so they gave up their parental rights when they were just two and four years old. Carter’s reality was that they only had each other.
Where you saw Lewis, you saw Carter. For the most part Carter was fairly quiet and to himself while Lewis was the outgoing and aggressive sibling. Needless to say, when Lewis got in trouble so did his brother. Like many children in the system, he was always in trouble for fighting, caught a few petty theft charges when he was younger but only ever got a slap on the wrist. Since Lewis is older and already has a record, they made him a priority over his brother while booking. What Lewis and Carter don’t know is not only will they be charged as adults, but their fate and final charges depend on whether or not Stephen survives.
One of the officers at the station recognizes Lewis and decides to try to get in contact with their parents. Granted, they’re given the chance to make a phone call while they’re being processed, the officer knew the parents personally, and he felt obligated to reach out. After leaving two messages, Officer Alan decided to call it quits and looked further into their profiles in the system. He comes to find that Carter may have a dissociation disorder Lewis showed characteristics of narcissism but neither of them were actually diagnosed, these conditions were only notated. Unfortunately for them, their social worker never deemed it necessary for them to seek professional help.
Their adoptive parents were well aware of their antics, and never cared to discipline them. The Scott’s adopted Lewis and Carter because they heard about there being money involved; they never cared to have children, let alone take care of any. Mr. and Mrs. Scott were all for the check. They made sure the boys had some food, shelter, and decent clothes, but it stopped there. There was no structure in the home, the boys did whatever they wanted. Though they weren’t ideal parents, they knew it was just a matter of time before the boys would get themselves into something they couldn’t get themselves out of. It wouldn’t be much of a shock that they were in jail, but no way could they be prepared for what charges they were facing. These were far from the shoplifting and loitering cases they were used to dealing with.
Given the statement from Ms. G., the gun on the scene, fingerprints, gun residue and already having a bit of a record, both Lewis and Carter are held with no bail. Still unable to get in contact with their adoptive parents, Officer Alan informs his team about his findings regarding their mental states. After having a brief discussion with his colleagues, they decide it’s in the best interest of the boys that have a mental health screening, sooner than later.
The next morning, the boys are woken up and brought into separate interrogation rooms. The rooms are cold and empty with double-sided mirrors. Lewis is up first, but isn’t quite sure why he’s in there; he figured he was meeting with a public defender but asked the escorting officer just to be sure.
The officer responds, “Not quite Mr. Scott. I brought you here to meet a shrink. I heard you and brother have a couple screws loose, haha!”
“Aye man, watch your mouth about my brother. Jail or not, I don’t play that shit!”
“Yeah, okay… But guess what? I’m walking out of here to go home in a few hours while you’ll still be in a cell. So I think YOU ought to be the one watching their mouth, smart-ass.”
“Whatever.” says Lewis. “You know that’s not okay, you’re foul for that. Don’t y'all have rules or some shit about how y'all talk to us?!”
“Sure we do. Now ask me if I care… Hold tight, your shrink will be right in.”
The officer hits the buzzer to let them know to unlock the door, and he stands right outside waiting for the psychologist to arrive. Just seconds later, a tiny middle-aged man with a briefcase turns the corner and comes down the hall toward the interrogation room. He gets buzzed in, and introduces himself to Lewis as he walks in and takes a seat.
“Good morning Mr. Scott, my name is Dr. Anderson and I’ll be conducting an evaluation for you today.”
“Evaluation? For what? Oh y’all think I’m crazy huh?!”
“Not at all, besides it isn’t about what I think. It’s about what I know. Believe it or not, I’m here to help you. If you want to be rude and combative, I can write you off as another problem child so they can make an example out of you. Or you can cooperate and hopefully avoid being tried as an adult for attempted murder, illegal possession of a firearm, and breaking and entering. It’s up to you.”
Lewis slouches down in his chair and smirks.
“Okay then Doc. Let’s go, it’s not like I don’t have the time.”
Within two hours or so, Dr. Anderson feels that he’s gotten enough information on Lewis and is ready to have a chat with Carter. Lewis gets escorted back, while another officer escorts Carter into the same room.
Unlike Lewis, Carter is obviously uncomfortable. He walks in silent, doesn’t make eye contact, and doesn’t want to sit down. Dr. Anderson is seasoned enough to understand he needs to take a different approach for this kid.
The session with Carter took twice as long as his brother’s. Not because he was being difficult or disrespectful, but Carter had to take his time to warm up to Dr. Anderson. He eventually sat down and they began their session by having a casual conversation after they each introduced themselves. It didn’t take much longer to break the ice; Carter soon became more willing to open up, even if it were just a little bit.
When the subject of his early childhood came about, he began staring blankly into space and nervously tapping his fingers on the table. He tried to tell the story of his biological parents leaving, but the story had several holes in it and it was all over the place. When Dr. Anderson asked about his relationship with his brother, Carter had a change of demeanor. He spoke as if he worshiped his brother; more than his hero but a father figure in a sense. His eyes even lit up when he said he just wanted to make him proud so they could stay by one another’s side forever.
Dr. Anderson had several notes on each of the Scott brothers and was more than confident that they each suffered from mental disorders of some sort. Right after signing out and leaving the jail, he made a call to the office of their previous social worker, hoping that he could speak with her. According to the receptionist, she was no longer working there. Curious, he asked why but the receptionist wasn’t at liberty to tell him that information.
Back at his office, he conducted his own research and learned that she was forced to resign for not only being unethical, but withholding information from the state that would ultimately better help the children she had been assigned to. It was on record that she had a habit of fabricating conditions of the homes she visited, she made false reports, and even took money under the table for placing children in certain homes. After reading all of this, Dr. Anderson understands why the Scott’s weren’t evaluated sooner; the social worker assigned to them couldn’t be trusted. Using his best judgment, he began working on a formal report for each of the boys so that they could have accurate information in their files. He made a promise to himself that day, that he would continue his sessions with them; he knew they needed all the help that they could get.
____________________________________________________________________________
As I’m walking into the hospital, I put my phone on silent since it doesn’t want to stop ringing. I make my way to the security desk and tell them who I’m here to see. The security tells me that at the request of his mother, they are only allowing family so I flash my badge from the group home and tell her I’m from child services and this is more of a welfare check than a visit. And it worked! Probably because she’s too busy on her phone to see how old the badge is, but she hands me a clipboard to sign in and she ushers me toward the elevator.
I step off the elevator and head to ICU where Stephen is. I’m slowly approaching the room when I see a bunch of people standing outside of it. Telling them the same story I told the security downstairs, Trish and Reggie step aside to let me into the room. Walking in, I make eye contact with Alexis… I can’t lie to her, so I tell her who I really am and even offered to show her my license. Lucky for me, she knew exactly who I was because Stephen had mentioned me before.
“How is he? What’s his condition if you don’t mind me asking?” I asked Alexis.
“He’s stable and lucky. Lewis didn’t hit any vital organs but he did manage to get one bullet right below his rib cage. They got the bullets and fragments out pretty easily but he lost a lot of blood and needed a transfusion. They say he has a decent chance of recovery with physical therapy. Now we’re just waiting for him to wake up.”
“Really? That’s shockingly good to hear… I know this has to be hard on you & your husband. I couldn’t imagine what you two are feeling right now.”
“My husband? You mean my roommate? Girl he’s probably out with that bitch. Business meetings my ass, he’s just like his father!”
“Oop… Uh, I didn’t know, I’m so sorry!”
“Don’t be, how could you know? It’s not like he’s ever around. You wouldn’t believe the amount of times I called him last night. He had the nerve to show up here drunk and enraged! Telling me that this is my fault! I made his ass leave and told him not to come back until he sobers up.”
I didn’t sign up for this… I came here to check on Stephen and comfort his mother, yes. But not necessarily give a free therapy session. But as rough as my night was, it didn’t have a damn thing on hers, so I kept quiet and let her vent. As she’s venting, I put my bag down and scanned the room for tissues; the good kind, not the 1-ply they like to put in these rooms. We’re both crying our eyes out so we deserve nothing but the best for our tears. I open a cabinet to find a box of Puffs, and here comes Trish and Reggie.
“Trouble in paradise? Am I hearing this right? All that money and you still can’t provide a decent home for me son?! I’ll be seeing you in court, I’ll get custody of Stephen again. Believe that!”
I interject to tell her that right now isn’t a good time to antagonize Mrs. Cooke and to also remind her that she signed over her rights so this fight could be out of her league. She looks at me, rolls her eyes and Reggie grabs her by the arm forcing her out of the room. He comes right back in to apologize, and says he’ll come back later without her. He then grabbed a marker next to the nurse’s chart on the wall, and wrote his phone number in the bottom right corner. He thanked us both, and walked out.
I tell Alexis, “For an ex-felon and abuser, he has decent manners!” We both giggled which seemed to make the tears to ease up. I sat with Alexis and Stephen for hours; I offered to stay behind in case she wanted to go home to shower, get clothes or whatever else she needed to do.
“Thank you Bethany, but no thank you. You’ve done more than enough already. I know you were there for him at the group home, you were there for him when he was shot last night, and you’re here with the both of us now. I can’t ask anything else of. I just couldn’t; as far as I’m concerned you’re family.”
“Wow. That means so much to me; Stephen means a lot to me. He’s a very special kid and we had a great bond at some point. I left him once already, I couldn’t do it a second time. Family takes care of family. Can I at least get you something to eat from the cafeteria?”
“You know… I’m typically not one to turn down a snack! But nothing too big, I don’t have the greatest appetite at the moment.”
“You got it, I’ll be right back.”
I pick up my purse and head to the elevator so I can go to the cafeteria. I walk past the security guard again, who’s still on her phone and I just shake my head. They let anyone do security, sheesh. Walking into the cafeteria, I see a line almost out the door so I did what any other impatient yet hungry person would do; turned around and went back to the vending machines. To my surprise, they had some pretty good options but I wasn’t exactly sure what to grab Alexis. I failed to ask what kind of snacks she likes, so I got some of everything, and stuffed my purse. The last items I grabbed were bottled waters and coffees before heading back to the room.
The elevator doors open and I hear a bunch of yelling. Naturally, the first thing that comes to mind is that Trish has returned with her bullshit. I re-activate my code-switch and power walk down the hall to be surprised yet again. I hit the corner and I see Alexis, her husband, and a random woman. I just know shits about to go down.
“Really Malcolm?! I tell you to sober up and get your shit together and you have the balls to show up with another bitch?!”
“Oh so it’s a crime to bring a colleague of mine to see my own damn son?
“It is when you’re sleeping with her!”
I cannot get down this hallway fast enough. I run past the nurses at their stations and every one of them is tuned in, and turning down their mics. I finally made it to Alexis and Malcolm and I managed to get everyone into the room before we’re all kicked out.
“I just can’t believe you Malcolm. I always suspected it, but this is a new low. You chose now, while our son is recovering from surgery to pull this shit? You should’ve just come back drunk. That would’ve been easier to digest.”
In a corner, I’m emptying my purse of snacks while saying to myself “This is messssyyyy, wait until I tell Jackie about this!”
The alleged mistress tries to speak her peace but Alexis kicks her back with the force of a Spartan himself and sends her flying into the corner with me. I’m trying to help the girl off of the floor and she looks back at me like I had something to do with her getting the wind knocked out of her body.
“What the fuck was that for, Alexis? I’m not even sleeping with her!”
“Yeah right, that’s what you said about the last colleague. You remember how that ended don’t you?”
“You wanna know why she’s here… When I got home last night and learned what was happening, she was right behind me in the car I bought for Stephen. I wanted to surprise him with his first car, and I had her drive it to the house for me. I was scared to come here and see him like this, so I went and had a few drinks first. She took my keys and drove me here last night.”
With a church finger raised, I try to excuse myself from the room but there’s too much commotion for anyone to notice so I stayed in my corner with the snacks.
“Scared?! How do you think I felt? Malcolm, I was terrified, but I didn’t put alcohol or anything else before our child! I came straight here, like you should’ve as a parent!”
“I get that, I messed up and I’m sorry. But I’m here now.”
Malcolm takes off his coat and his body language says he’s there to stay. He even had a duffel bag of clothes for the two of them. The assistant reaches into her pocket, grabs the car keys and tosses them at Alexis. As she’s walking out of the door, she tells Malcolm to find another assistant because she quits.
“Hey girl, you need a ride? I’m heading out too!” I asked her. In my mind it was the best escape plan that I had. I love tea as much as the next person but once things get physical, it’s time for me to go. The assistant turns down my offer, obviously; back to my corner I go. I did what Reggie did and wrote my name and number on the board, and just eased out of the room.
As I’m leaving, the nurses are all hushed trying to figure out what’s going on. I yell out, “Mind your business, and give that family some privacy! So unprofessional!” Immediately after stepping into the elevator, I pull my phone out to spill the tea to my good sis Jackie. Dialing her number, I saw what time it is, and I don’t even have time to gossip right now. I have a date to get ready for! Not that I’m super anxious, or desperate, but I definitely sped home.
Driving home, I’m planning my outfit in my head: all black. It is a fool proof look after all. Silk black top, distressed black and high waist jeans, with a fitted leather jacket and red heels to match the lipstick. Perfection. The closer I get to my house, the more nervous I am; I don’t even remember the last time I went on a date... Lord, don’t let me blow it.
I get home, turn on some music to get me going and begin to get dressed. While I’m finishing my hair and make-up, I get a text from the Detective, letting me know that we’re going to a different spot but at the same time. I click the address and see that it’s still not too far from me so I don’t mind it. I put the finishing touches on my outfit, take a few selfies and I’m out the door.
My nerves have clearly gotten the best of me because after all of that, I’m actually early to this date. Does that make me look eager? What if too many people see me by myself? Maybe I’ll take a seat at the bar? I order a lemon drop, with the intent to loosen up a little. With just a few sips into my drink, in walks the detective, looking just like I remembered him from the precinct. He greets me at the bar, and tells the bartender to add it to his tab before walking us to our table.
“This place is really nice, thank you for inviting me out.”
“No, thank you for coming. It’s not an everyday thing for me to meet someone like you so I couldn’t let the opportunity slip away.”
I’m trying not to blush, but I am truly flattered. I take another sip of my drink to hide this silly grin on my face.
“So, tell me about yourself. What do you do? What made you leave the group home?”
“I’m a traveling nurse. And well, to make a long story short, there were a lot of selfish and unfit people involved; not enough people cared about the kids. I really tried to stick it out, but once one of the program directors assaulted me I knew I had to leave.”
“What?! You were assaulted by a director at the group home?!”
“Yeah, I was. I guess I turned down one too many of his sexual offers and he decided to get physical with me. One day I was getting ready to go on my morning jog, he caught me alone in the hallway, grabbed me by my arm and pressed me against the wall. He told me that he doesn’t take no for an answer, especially not from someone like me. I didn’t even know what to make of that. I reported him to a social worker but nothing ever happened.”
“I’m so sorry that happened to you. I can’t believe no one did anything. How long after the incident did you stay or did you leave immediately after that?”
“It took longer than I’m proud of to get out of there. I was fresh out of college and may have been a little naïve at first; for a while I figured that I was overreacting. One day my mom called me, and after explaining everything to her, I reached my breaking point. I packed my bags that night and never looked back.”
Before Maurice could respond, the waiter approached us and asked if we were ready to order. I hadn’t even looked at the menu yet but he took the initiative to order our appetizers. A nice gesture, yes, but he ordered a shrimp cocktail and I’m allergic to shellfish. I politely told him about my allergy and that I can’t have it at the table; he tells me “It’s fine, I’ll just keep it here on my side.”
“It’s not okay, please don’t order that.”
“Oh a crybaby? Okay, well forget the shrimp. Lemme get uuuhhhh chicken tenders to share. And two waters. Thank you.”
No he didn’t. He did not call me crybaby, not let me order and then ask for chicken tenders?! Can’t be. I tap the waiter before he can fully turn around and ask for another drink. I’m going to need it.
“And you’re a drinker… Okay, I see you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Oh nothing, I just figured you can party. You know how to have fun.”
“Speaking of fun, what are your hobbies, Maurice? What do you do for fun?”
It was at this moment, I had fucked up. He spent the next half-our talking about Call of Duty and how his dream is to quit his job and become a YouTube sensation.
“YouTube, oh wow, how… interesting! What would you talk about?”
“I don’t know about the content just yet, probably cheat codes for other video games. My nephews love that stuff. Do you wanna watch some right now?”
Saved by the waiter, he comes back and says “I’m sorry about the wait you guys, our kitchen is short staffed tonight but here are you guy’s chicken tenders. I brought a few sauces because you didn’t mention what you wanted.”
Maurice says “Just ketchup, that’s fine.”
“Can I get some entrees started for you two?”
I made sure to move quickly this time. I decided on the chicken Parmesan; Maurice looked up at me with an eyebrow raised as he poured ketchup all over his plate. All over it. Only a psychopath covers the plate in ketchup! I excuse myself to go to the restroom and I tried to take my time without making it too obvious. I couldn’t believe that the date I was a nervous wreck for, was going to shit. On my way back out, I saw the waiter and asked that they pack my meal to go. I had a plan; Jackie. If anyone could get me out of here, it’s her crazy ass.
The first thing that came out of Maurice’s mouth when I sat back down was, “Drank too much huh? Lightweight.”
Instead of clapping back, I just sit back and let him dig himself into the realm of “I’m never seeing him again”. I gave a half-ass apology about taking so long and he says, “Don’t worry about it, I actually found the video for you to watch about Roblox” and hands me the phone. I politely declined and he proceeded to watch the video by himself. I then pull my phone out to send Jackie my 911 text. After hitting send, I get a news alert in regards to Black Lives Matter.
I said, “Hey listen to this,” and read him the headline.
He cuts me off and says, “Well I don’t believe in that narrative… What about us as officers of the law? In reality, all lives matter.”
“You know what, you’re absolutely right. You know what else matters, my time!”
“Pardon?”
“Oh look, there’s our waiter with my food.” I got a $20 bill from my wallet and gave it to the young waiter for being so kind and professional. “This is for YOU, thank you so much!”
Gathering my doggy bag and coat, I say “Well it was nice meeting you, but I better get going. I need to go walk my goldfish”.
Looking a little perplexed, the man asks me “So how do you want to divide the bill? Your food costs more than my chicken tenders so 50/50 isn’t really fair.”
I have no choice but to laugh in his face and head for the door. The audacity. The embarrassment. The waste of time! It’s all too much for me.
“Wait a second, let’s pay the tab and then I’ll walk you to your car.”
With my back turned I said “I think I’ll make it just fine, Detective. Thank you for an evening, I’ll never forget” and haul ass to my car.
Before I could call Jackie, I sat there a minute to process the day I had. From the old man staring at me, to the drama at the hospital and now the date from hell. Honestly, what am I to do with myself at this point? What am I doing so wrong for all this bad juju coming my way?!
“Hey Siri, call Jackie”
It only rang once before she picked up.
“Girl… what happened, I saw the text, and I was just waiting for the green light!”
“I… I have to start from the beginning. So I got up this morning and went to the hospital right? Met Stephen’s mother Alexis, and his biological parents too! Let me tell you, it wasn’t pretty. I had to intervene and play social worker so the lady would leave!
“You did not! So we’re going undercover now? Child, that’s something I would do… See, you’ve been around me too long. I’m rubbing off on you.”
“That must be it! So we calm that down, they leave now Alexis and I are in the room having a nice heart to heart or whatever, then I decide to go to the cafeteria. Now tell me why, I’m heading back to the room, her husband came back to the hospital with another bitch?!”
“Noooooo… wait. Wait. Wait, hold the hell on! The man showed up the NEXT day, with another woman?”
“Yes Jackie, he did. And shit just went left from there. They’re yelling back and forth, I’m in a corner watching then the alleged mistress got kicked in the gut! Sparta ain’t have shit on Alexis!”
“I knew I should’ve come up there with you. I need visuals for this story, it’s not enough just to hear it!”
“You should have! It was like watching a movie! Hold on for a second, let me see who this is calling.”
“Hello, this is Bethany Graham.”
“Hi Miss G., this is Alexis, Stephen’s mom. I’m sorry to call you so late!”
“No, no, don’t be! I’m happy to hear from you. How is everything? Are you guys okay?”
“Well, I’m alright. Malcolm and I decided to separate for a while… but that’s not why I’m calling.”
In a confused and concerned manner, I say “Okay, so what’s going on?”
“Stephen is waking up… He’s kind of mumbling but we know he keeps saying ‘Miss G.’; we think he wants to see you. Could you come back? The doctor says it could be good for him cognitively because you were one of the last faces he saw.”
“Yes! Of course I can, I’m on my way!”
I click back to my other line with Jackie and tell her about the phone call.
“Uh, you’re not going back up there without me! Let me put on some shoes and a jacket, come get me!”
“Say less girl, I’m an exit away! I’ll honk when I get outside.”
Jackie gets in my car holding a blunt in one hand and a flask in the other. She turns to me and says “So what happened next?!” I give her the short version because I still have to tell her about my date with the detective. Before I knew it we were already at the hospital, so we didn’t get to cover everything.
I guess because I was there earlier that day, we didn’t have any trouble getting past security or anything. Jackie and I make small talk, and to change the subject so we don’t walk in looking like we were talking about them. We walk by the nosey nurse’s station from earlier, I only recognized about two of them from earlier, and they’re both looking at me weird. Approaching Stephen’s room, I open the door and walk in first. Jackie followed behind me.
“Hi Bethany, thank you so much for coming up here so short notice. I really appreciate it!” and Alexis extends her arms out for a hug.
“You’re welcome, you know it’s no problem. I told you I’m here for you guys and I meant it. I hope you don’t mind, but I was out with my friend and didn’t have the time to take her home; this is Jackie she was also with me when the incident happened. Jackie, this is Alexis.”
They shake hands and exchange short but polite greetings.
Stephen is awake, but not very vocal. I go to his bedside, and as I hold his hand I say “Hey Stephen, it’s me, Miss G. I’m here. Everything is okay.”
In a deep, and somewhat familiar voice, I hear a man say “Miss G… I thought that you.”
I turned around to see who could be claiming to know me, and I froze.
“Bethany, this is Mr. Charles, he’s the newly assigned social worker to Stephen’s case.”
“You’re Mr. Charles? I’ve heard so much about you!” Jackie says while staring him down and twirling her mace between her fingers.
“You two know each other” asks Alexis.
“Oh yeah, I know exactly who this is. He was the program director at the group home when I first started out and met Stephen; long time no see huh?”
To be continued…