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“Mary,” Josiah looked up at the ceiling, “something. Why? Do you need to talk to her?”
“Yeah. I need to speak with her about something since your mom’s busy.”
“We can go to the park near Theo’s school,” Josiah said. “She’s always there with her great-grandsons. Don’t tell Ma, but one of them said something bad about Theo, so I pushed him down in the dirt.”
“What did he say?”
“That Theo’s not my real brother.”
“Then he deserved a face full of dirt.” He headed for the school’s exit. “Just don’t tell your mother I said that.”
“I won’t.”
“Do you know the way to that park from here?” Joel asked.
“Yeah!” Josiah bounced in his seat. “It’s not even that far. I can tell you where to go.”
“Thanks, Siah.”
“No problem, Joel.”
CHAPTER16
“Is your name Mary?”
A woman much older than he’d been expecting, and too old to feasibly handle a child with Theo’s level of energy, raised her head.
“My name’s Mary.” The woman rose from her bench seat, gaze flicking to Theo in his arms. “Who are you?”
“Did you tell Ayesha Savea that you don’t believe Theo’s Curtis’ son?”
“I, uh…who are you now?”
“Theo’s stepfather,” he lied, a little too smoothly. “I’m Ayesha’s husband.”
She glanced at the ring on his finger. “She didn’t tell me she remarried.”
“Is she required to?”
“No, but—”
“I’m not here to chat. I’m here because I don’t,” he paused, “f-u-c-k around when it comes to the woman and children I love. Now, do you want to tell me exactly what you said, or should I visit you at home?”
She swallowed, taking him in from head to toe. “I didn’t mean anything by it. By any chance, were you the man with her at the grocery store?”
“Who else would be with her at the store but her husband? Don’t change the subject.” He crouched, set Theo on the ground, and kissed the top of his head. “Go play with your brother, buddy. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Theo ran off, calling for “Jojo.”
Joel stood again. “Now, what the fuck is wrong with you? Don’t you have any couth? Any fucking decorum? Ayesha’s out here doing her best, and your judgmental ass tries to shame her for it? She’s a good woman, you fucking harpy. A wonderful mother. Curtis thought so, and I think so. I’m not in her life to replace him, but you better be damn sure I’m going to take care of her, even if it means visiting people like you to set them straight. Don’t let another negative word about Ayesha come out of your mouth, and if someone starts talking about her, how about you grow the fuck up and defend her? This shit isn’t easy. And, if you can’t do that, I’ll come back here, and I will fucking murder you.”
The woman’s face paled. “What?”
He leaned closer. “I will. I swear to God, I will. As long as I’m walking this earth, nobody is going to disrespect Ayesha or our boys and live to talk about it. So, the next time you see her, apologize.”
Mary’s mouth trembled. “Yes. I will.”
“And if you catch someone talking shit about her, defend her. Defend her like you personally know how difficult it can be to be a woman with a career raising children, never mind raising them on her own. Defend her like you know what it’s like to tragically lose someone you love, repeatedly replaying whether the last thing you said to them was enough, and if they took how much you loved them into their final moments. Defend her like you know she’s a damn good mother who, like the rest of us, has hard days, and it would be fucking helpful if people would show more kindness and civility than cowardice poorly disguised as bad manners.”
