Love/Fate by Tracy Brown Page B

“His pops and my mother were friends. I guess birds of a feather and all that. Anyway, they were friends with benefits. Leo was hitting it, even though she knew about his wife and his family. She was the other woman, and she got pregnant. And she said that when she told him, he told her he ain’t want no more kids. He denied me, and he raised another son the same age as me. Good old Leo Graham. She dropped this bomb on me after me and Born were already really good friends. She told me that Ingrid didn’t know about me. Leo never toldBorn’s mother about me, because as far as he was concerned, my mother was just looking for someone to blame for her situation. She said that my father had denied that I was his child. And she was a loose woman, so she wasn’t surprised. But when I met Born, and I saw how he lived, and how his mother was different from my mother, that shit bothered me. He grew up with his father, and the same man denied me as his child. That shit hurt.”
    â€œDoes Born know about this?” Jada asked.
    â€œNah. My moms made me swear not to say nothing. Remember, Leo was still alive at the time. I guess she didn’t want to start no shit, and I respected her wishes. I kept my mouth shut. But it was strange being at Born’s house and getting to know his mother. All the while knowing that her husband was my real father. Then my moms died two years after Leo did, and by then, me and Born weren’t on speaking terms no more.”
    â€œHow do you know that your mother was right about him being your father? No disrespect, but you said yourself that she was kind of loose. Maybe she just
wanted you
to be Leo’s son—”
    â€œI thought about that. I mean, all I know is what she told me. She said that he was my father, and that he ain’t want nothing to do with me. I didn’t ask for no DNA test, or no shit like that, so all I can go on is what she told me. Leo never acted like he knew who I was, or knew who my mother was. I don’t think he was really thinking about shit like that at that point in his life. He was just as strung out as my mother was at that time.” Jarnari smiled bitterly, as he thought back on how he felt seeing how Born was living. “But the nigga had them living like royalty at Born’s house. They had VCRs, video games, a floor model TV, nice furniture. I never had any of that shit growing up. I used to borrow clothes from Born all the time, spend the night, and all that. Just to have an up-close and personal look at how the other half lived. I used to lay awake in Born’s room while he slept, praying for what he had, and wishing that my moms could be how Ingrid was. There was always food in their refrigerator and in their cabinets. But not at my house.”
    â€œSo were you jealous because of all that?” Jada asked, already knowing the answer. She was amazed, because she knew that Born felt differentlyabout his childhood. Born was so caught up in not having his father there for him like he needed. But one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Jamari had obviously wanted what Born had.
    â€œI never said I was jealous.”
    â€œBut you keep talking about all the things he had that you didn’t have. It sounds like you were jealous.”
    â€œI wasn’t jealous. I felt like I got a raw deal. Born got two parents, while I had one. All I had was my moms, and she was fucked up.”
    â€œI understand what you’re saying. But even though he loved his father, Born was disappointed in him, because he was an addict. It’s not like Born grew up with the Huxtables, or anything.”
    â€œBut at least Leo was there for him. The nigga was never there for me. I didn’t think that shit was fair. That Born grew up with his father and a good mother, and I didn’t.”
    Jada frowned. “Well, it’s not Born’s fault that he had a good mother. And it’s not his fault that