him.
"You think he's a saint or something? Our dad's a man. Every man, given the opportunity, is gonna cheat"
"Not every man," Gabriel said absently. In spite of himself, he was remembering things. He'd never seen Pops cheat on his mother, never heard of such a thing happening but he'd been lying if he said he thought it wasn't possible. He'd noticed, many times over the years, how Pops liked to flirt with women when he and Gabriel were in public together. In particular, Pops had always loved the strip clubs: Magic City, Club Nikki, Jazzy T's; when one club would close, Pops would find another spot. He'd take Gabriel with him to those places to discuss business. "Boys' Night Out," he'd call them, and while they discussed company matters, Pops would spend hundreds of dollars-sometimes thousands-on lap dances and special attention. And the dancers and club owners knew Pops well. He was a regular, a great customer whom they made sure went home happy.
Gabriel had never told his mother about their gentlemen's club business outings. He figured Mom probably knew. He'd assure himself that it wasn't as though Pops was really cheating on his mother frequenting a strip club didn't mean he was fooling around-but Gabriel, watching how much Pops enjoyed the attention of the ladies, could not help but wonder if Pops had ever taken his fascination with other women to the next level....
"You're starting to admit it to yourself, aren't you?" Isaiah asked with a knowing smile. "I see the gears turning in your head. You know our father is a player."
"I haven't admitted anything to you"
"Chew on this, Gabe. My birthday is June sixth. I turned thirty yesterday. Just like you."
Another blow rocked Gabriel. He reared back in his chair.
"How'd you know that?" Gabriel asked.
"A little research" Isaiah waved his hand to indicate the framed magazine and newspaper articles about Gabriel and his father. "You've been written up quite a bit over the years, Mr. Black Enterprise."
"You and I having the same birthday doesn't mean anything."
"What time were you born?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, a few minutes after midnight--"
"I was born one minute after midnight," Isaiah said. He grinned. "That makes me older than you; that makes you my baby brother, and it makes me our father's firstborn"
"It makes you a goddamn liar!" Gabriel shot to his feet and reached for the phone again. "I've heard enough of this shit. If you're trying to extort money, we'll-"
"T.L. already paid me"
"What?" Gabriel stopped short of grabbing the phone.
"Three months ago, I contacted our father for the first time. I'd always wanted to talk to him, but Mama would say he didn't want anything to do with me, that I'd only get my feelings hurt. But I couldn't hold back any more-I'd gone through some rough shit and had to find out the truth on my own. So I called him. Want to know what happened?"
Gabriel didn't say a word. He was feeling ill.
"T.L. paid me fifty grand to stay away from him and his family," Isaiah said. "He didn't want to meet me. Nothing. He just wanted to pay me off to stay the hell out of his life. I gave all the money to Mama. She deserved it for all the shit she put up with over the years" Anger flared in Isaiah's eyes.
Gabriel sagged into the chair.
The ground was crumbling away, piece by agonizing piece.
Isaiah rose. He dug his hands deep in his pockets and paced across the floor. "You have no idea how bad Mama and I had it. Growing up in the projects" His gaze found Gabriel, but Isaiah seemed to be looking through him, seeing other places and people. "Mama worked two jobs, sometimes three, to make ends meet. Shitty jobs, man. Cleaning white folks' houses and waiting tables and changing pissy bedpans at nursing homes for smelly-ass old people. But it was never enough. We were always on the edge. And be cause Mama worked so much, she wasn't around much for me, so, of course, I got into my share of trouble."
Gabriel was silent. He didn't want to hear
"You think he's a saint or something? Our dad's a man. Every man, given the opportunity, is gonna cheat"
"Not every man," Gabriel said absently. In spite of himself, he was remembering things. He'd never seen Pops cheat on his mother, never heard of such a thing happening but he'd been lying if he said he thought it wasn't possible. He'd noticed, many times over the years, how Pops liked to flirt with women when he and Gabriel were in public together. In particular, Pops had always loved the strip clubs: Magic City, Club Nikki, Jazzy T's; when one club would close, Pops would find another spot. He'd take Gabriel with him to those places to discuss business. "Boys' Night Out," he'd call them, and while they discussed company matters, Pops would spend hundreds of dollars-sometimes thousands-on lap dances and special attention. And the dancers and club owners knew Pops well. He was a regular, a great customer whom they made sure went home happy.
Gabriel had never told his mother about their gentlemen's club business outings. He figured Mom probably knew. He'd assure himself that it wasn't as though Pops was really cheating on his mother frequenting a strip club didn't mean he was fooling around-but Gabriel, watching how much Pops enjoyed the attention of the ladies, could not help but wonder if Pops had ever taken his fascination with other women to the next level....
"You're starting to admit it to yourself, aren't you?" Isaiah asked with a knowing smile. "I see the gears turning in your head. You know our father is a player."
"I haven't admitted anything to you"
"Chew on this, Gabe. My birthday is June sixth. I turned thirty yesterday. Just like you."
Another blow rocked Gabriel. He reared back in his chair.
"How'd you know that?" Gabriel asked.
"A little research" Isaiah waved his hand to indicate the framed magazine and newspaper articles about Gabriel and his father. "You've been written up quite a bit over the years, Mr. Black Enterprise."
"You and I having the same birthday doesn't mean anything."
"What time were you born?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, a few minutes after midnight--"
"I was born one minute after midnight," Isaiah said. He grinned. "That makes me older than you; that makes you my baby brother, and it makes me our father's firstborn"
"It makes you a goddamn liar!" Gabriel shot to his feet and reached for the phone again. "I've heard enough of this shit. If you're trying to extort money, we'll-"
"T.L. already paid me"
"What?" Gabriel stopped short of grabbing the phone.
"Three months ago, I contacted our father for the first time. I'd always wanted to talk to him, but Mama would say he didn't want anything to do with me, that I'd only get my feelings hurt. But I couldn't hold back any more-I'd gone through some rough shit and had to find out the truth on my own. So I called him. Want to know what happened?"
Gabriel didn't say a word. He was feeling ill.
"T.L. paid me fifty grand to stay away from him and his family," Isaiah said. "He didn't want to meet me. Nothing. He just wanted to pay me off to stay the hell out of his life. I gave all the money to Mama. She deserved it for all the shit she put up with over the years" Anger flared in Isaiah's eyes.
Gabriel sagged into the chair.
The ground was crumbling away, piece by agonizing piece.
Isaiah rose. He dug his hands deep in his pockets and paced across the floor. "You have no idea how bad Mama and I had it. Growing up in the projects" His gaze found Gabriel, but Isaiah seemed to be looking through him, seeing other places and people. "Mama worked two jobs, sometimes three, to make ends meet. Shitty jobs, man. Cleaning white folks' houses and waiting tables and changing pissy bedpans at nursing homes for smelly-ass old people. But it was never enough. We were always on the edge. And be cause Mama worked so much, she wasn't around much for me, so, of course, I got into my share of trouble."
Gabriel was silent. He didn't want to hear
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