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“It’s nice to meet you,” she said as she stared at Joel.
He stood from his seat, and she walked over to him and just stared at him. “Can I hug you?”
Joel smiled slightly and lifted his arms. She fell into them, and I didn’t think she wanted to leave them. I knew the feeling. His embrace was soft but firm at the same time. In it, I felt safe, loved, and cherished. He was a protector, and I believed that was why Ice had him as a bodyguard in his organization for Fawn. He saw that in him as well.
By the time she released Joel, Daniel had come in with his daughter and wife. His daughter was the opposite of Princess Tiana. She was quiet and was sure to stay glued to his leg or her mother’s.
Daniel went to Joel and said, “So I have a big brother. This is crazy.”
He chuckled then hugged Joel. This meeting was going amazingly well. Dr. King must have done a great job explaining things to them. No one seemed to have any animosity or anger present. She joined us in the room and smiled at the sight. Everyone had a seat as she said, “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes.”
Everyone nodded, and she stared at Joel with an endearing smile on her beautiful face. “Joel, this day has been a dream come true. To finally have you be a part of the family is emotionally overwhelming,” she said as the tears streamed down her face. “I know you’re uncomfortable because of how all of this was revealed, but you’re still here. That means so much to me.”
Mr. King put his arm around her as Joel nodded. “I’ll have to get used to having siblings and nieces and a nephew. It shouldn’t be too hard since I consider Jungle and the Berotte men my brothers and their kids my nieces and nephews.”
Mr. King stood from his seat. “Berottes? It wouldn’t happen to be the Berottes in Beaumont, would it?”
Joel stood in a somewhat defensive stance. “Yes.”
Mr. King started pacing for a moment, and I got nervous as fuck. He knew the Berottes. When he looked back at Joel, his eyebrows were risen and somewhat scrunched together, expressing what looked to be sorrow. Everyone was intrigued and waiting for him to reveal what his problem was. Finally, he asked, “Is one of them named Sheldon Berotte?”
Joel frowned hard, and I noticed his fists ball up slightly. Mr. Sheldon was worth fighting about. If this man said anything negative about him, I’d jump on his ass too. “Yeah. I call him my pop now. He and his sons have been very instrumental in who Jungle and I have become as men.”
Mr. King nodded. “He’s always had his shit together. I always admired that about him, although I always threw in his face that I couldn’t be perfect like him.” He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “Sheldon is my younger brother.”
Joel’s eyes widened, and so did mine. “We lost touch years ago. I’m a recovering addict. It took my mama dying for me to get my shit together. Sheldon and I don’t have the same father, so that’s why we have different last names. Only God brought you here, Joel. I need to reconnect with him and thank him for all the talks that I didn’t listen to. This is amazing.”
The tears left his eyes, and at that moment, I knew they would be making a trip to Beaumont soon. Joel sat back down, somewhat stunned. “Should I reach out to him and tell him that I met his brother, or did you want to reach out?”
“How about we take a picture together and you send it to him? We didn’t have the greatest relationship when I left. That way, if he wants to talk to me, he’ll respond saying so.”
Joel nodded and handed me his phone. When they stood together, I took the picture and so did everyone else. That only started the picture taking session with everyone. I could only chuckle at how happy everyone was. Mr. King seemed happy and nervous. I could only hope Mr. Berotte would be receptive to him being a part of his life again. While I didn’t really know Mr. Berotte as well as Joel, I felt like he would be.
NINETEEN
VEGAS
Daniel!!!! How do you know my brother?
I smiled at Pop’s text message. I’d gotten his number from Isaiah and sent him the picture. He didn’t respond until after we’d left, but I had Mr. King’s phone number. Before I could respond, he was calling. I chuckled as I answered the phone. “Hello?”
“Vegas, my God. Where are you, son?”
“I’m in Florida. I came to meet my mother for the first time. She’s married to Daniel. He’s a physicist now, with two kids and three grandkids. I was telling him about the family I had in the Berottes, and when I said the name, he sprang to his feet. He wanted me to send the picture, because he didn’t know how you would respond if he reached out.”
“It’s been at least thirty years since I’ve seen him. I didn’t know how to even begin looking for him. Damn. Please send me his number.”
I could hear the emotion in his voice. He was happy and just as overwhelmed as I had been the past couple of days. I looked across the table at my mama and thanked God I changed my mind about forming a relationship with her. “I just sent it, Pop.”
“Thanks, son. Will you be in Beaumont Sunday?”
“Yes, sir. I leave Florida tonight.”
“Okay. See you Sunday.”
“Yes, sir.”
I ended the call to see my mama smiling at me. “What’s up? Why you smiling like that?”
