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The child snuggled into Tazeem’s arms once they were in the cab, and rather predictably, Tazeem melted. How could he not melt when it seemed like Jay was finally opening up to him? With a smile, Tazeem held his son tighter and patted his back.
By the time the cab dropped them off in front of the storage yard, Jay had stopped crying. Still, he clung to Tazeem as Tazeem went through the process of getting his car released. Half an hour later, they were in Tazeem’s car.
Since it was now too late to take Jay to school, Tazeem drove to a park. The father-son duo sat on one of the benches watching the joggers, playing kids, running pets, and all the other park visitors as they quietly licked their ice-cream cones.
Jay broke the silence. His head bent and his voice trembling, he asked, “Will you stop coming to see me?”
Tazeem didn’t even hesitate. “No”
Jay snuck a look up at him. “But I made them arrest you.”
Tazeem smiled. “I know.”
No more words were needed after that. Jay shuffled even closer to Tazeem and set his head on his arm. Tazeem’s grin widened even as he adjusted their position so he could curve an arm around his son’s small shoulders.
Something told him that he’d won the war.
A FEW HOURS AFTER THE skirmish with Derrick and Felicity, Chess received a call saying that Jay had skipped school. Immediately, she called Tazeem to find out why their son was missing school. Tazeem hemmed and hawed before saying that he and Jay had decided to have a father-son day.
It was a good excuse, but not one Chess believed.
After all these weeks of co-parenting with Tazeem, she’d learned many things about him. One of those things was that he was very responsible and trustworthy when it came to their son. There’s no way he’d decide to pull Jay out of school without notifying her.
Something must’ve happened.
Her suspicion, that all was not well, increased during dinner. She noted how clingy Jay was towards Tazeem, and how he was avoiding her, like he was afraid that she’d do something to him. As soon as they were done with dinner and Jay was tucked in bed, she dragged Tazeem into her bedroom.
Tazeem tried to be evasive about what had happened, but she was a master interrogator. Barely three minutes in, he folded like a cheap suit.
“I’m sorry, what?” Chess’s jaw was practically on the floor as her brain tried to wrap itself around the incredible story Tazeem had just told her. “Did you just say that he accused you of being a pedo and got you arrested?”
“It sounds bad, but it really wasn’t. And Jay didn’t think that it would end up being such a big deal. You should’ve seen how scared he was,” Tazeem, who was seated on her bed, rushed to defend their son. “So you don’t have to worry at all. I handled it.”
“You call taking him to the park and buying him ice-cream handling it?” Chess stared at him in goggle-eyed shock. “You must be kidding.”
“That’s not all I did.” Tazeem added, “I also told him that he’d lost all his electronic privileges.”
“Electronic privileges aren’t the only thing he’s losing.” Chess strode to her closet and grabbed a belt. She’d never whooped Jay since he was born, and now she regretted it. Maybe if he’d had a taste of the belt, he would have more common sense. Flexing the belt between her hands, she threatened, “He’s about to lose his skin.”
“Chess, I don’t think that’s the way to deal with it.”
“And you - Mr. Only-been-a-parent-for-one-minute - know how to deal with it?” She scoffed. “Sir, your negligence is why we’re where we are today. If you’d handled him earlier, when his pranks were still harmless, like I kept telling you to, you wouldn’t have been arrested.”
“Okay, maybe you’re right,” he admitted. “Maybe I should’ve done something earlier.”
She arched her eyebrows. “Maybe?”
Ignoring her sarcasm, Tazeem said, “But one good thing came out of today’s fiasco. I think he and I have officially called a ceasefire, and things will be smooth sailing from now on.”
“Smooth sailing, my ass.” She kissed her teeth. “You don’t know your son. He’s just lulling you into letting your guard down before he does something worse.”
“I don’t know.” Tazeem insisted, “I think this will be the last time he does something like this.”
“Well, I’llreallymake sure this is the last time he does something like this.” Belt in hand, she moved towards the door.
Tazeem intercepted her before she could reach the door. Standing in front of the door like a guard, he insisted, “You can’t whoop our son.”
“This belt says I can,” she retorted. “Now move.”
