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No, is everything okay?
No and yes. Are you home? – Valentine
Yes
Can I stop by? - Valentine
Yes
I will be there in thirty - Valentine
I re-read the text messages from Samuel one more time when I was sitting on my bed waiting for him to arrive. I had planned on drinking a bottle of wine and taking some melatonin, so I could get a solid night’s sleep. I had started on the wine but hadn’t taken the pill yet. I’d started running scenarios through my head of what he wanted to speak to me about, but I couldn’t figure it out, so I waited for him to get here.
I heard the knock on my door and checked myself in the mirror before I walked to open it. Samuel stood on the other side looking like a Hershey’s bar I wanted to take a bite of.
I had too much wine.
He was in a suit but had loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top buttons of his dress shirt. I pulled the door open giving him space to enter. I closed the door behind him and wrapped my long cashmere sweater around my waist.
“Have a seat.” I motioned to the couch in my living room.
He sat down, and I sat in the chair across from the couch.
“Thank you for letting me stop by.”
“No problem. What’s up? Wait, do you want something to drink? I have water, wine, and cognac.”
“I will take the cognac.”
I went to the kitchen and poured two fingers before passing him the glass.
“I bought the bottle just in case you need more.” I placed the bottle on the table in front of him.
“My father is in jail.”
“He recently went?”
“No, he’s been there for a long time. I met him while I was serving time. We were in the same prison at Pineville.”
I didn’t respond. I folded my legs under me and listened.
“I didn’t know my father. I was raised by my mother’s boyfriend who was a good man. He died of a heart attack before I went away.”
He swallowed down the entire glass of liquor and poured himself another drink.
“Reggie and I had been cellmates for months before he finally told me he was my father. My mother confirmed it. You would think I would’ve had a lot of internal conflict with that revelation, but I didn’t. I’ve learned to adapt to changes quickly because it could be a matter of life or death in prison. With my father came this kid, Roc. I met him when he was ten and he was already acting like a man. He was already known in the streets. It was easy to see the streets were raising him, not his grandma. Nothing against her, but she was too old to keep up with Roc and his foolishness. The moment Roc and I locked eyes, he became my responsibility. I believe in family. I believe family is one of God’s greatest ideas. How smart was it on God’s part to create a group of people that are similar in looks, share the same blood and can love and support each other? Genius. I love my family. I would do anything for them. I’ve tried to protect Roc from the very thing the DA is trying to make happen, jail. I convinced him to apply himself, so he could graduate from high school. He did. Then I encouraged him to attend college. He did and graduated. I talked and talked and talked until he finally developed an exit strategy from the streets. Now after all of that, he may still follow in my dad’s and my footsteps and spend years behind bars. I don’t want that to happen, but I can’t stop it. I’ve looked at this case over and over again. Even before you came on and I can’t see our angle. I can’t see the errors in the DA’s evidence and its eating me up.”
He scrubbed his face with both hands and sat back in his chair. He sat back up and drank another shot of liquor before continuing.
“I am going to hand this case over to you. I need to step back and let you take the lead. My brother and his lady deserve it. I will tuck my ego and pride in my pocket and let you save my family. Ms. Averie Patterson, can you save my family?”
The look of desperation in his eyes made my heart ache. I knew asking for help was difficult for someone like him. It was difficult for me, and I’m not nearly as stubborn as he is, in my opinion.
“You can do whatever you need to do. You will have the resources of the entire firm at your disposal. I will move to second chair.”
“Are you sure? You don’t want time to consider what you are asking?”
“No, I’m positive, and I know exactly what I am asking.”
