Isaiah's story, but he sensed that Isaiah was going to continue whether he wanted him to or not.
"I got sent to juvie for the first time when I was eleven. For shoplifting. Trying to cop some steaks at the supermarket. Mama loved steaks, you know? It wasn't my first time getting busted so they sent me to juvie, and when I was there, I got my ass kicked on the regular. Kids can be worse than grown-ass cons, man"
"I'm sorry," Gabriel said. He didn't know what else to say.
"Juvie was just the beginning. I was in trouble all the time. Been to prison twice. I just got out again at the beginning of the year."
"What were you in for?"
"Murder," Isaiah said. And when Gabriel's eyes widened, he laughed. "I'm just fucking with you, man. I've never killed anyone. I was in for armed robbery. I did five years on this last bid."
"I'm sorry," Gabriel said again.
"This past April, Mama was gunned down at the crib. Right in front of me. Can you imagine that, Gabe? Watching your mother die in your arms?"
Gabriel shook his head.
Isaiah dragged his hand down his face. He reached into his jacket pocket, withdrew a photo, and tossed it onto the desk.
"There's your last bit of proof," Isaiah said. "I'll take a blood test if you want"
Gabriel picked up the picture. It was an old, faded photograph, but the subjects were clear. His father, probably in his midtwenties, sat at a restaurant table with a pretty, young black woman. Both of them were grinning in the way that Gabriel recognized from pictures he'd taken with Dana; the grin reserved for lovers only. The caption beneath read Ron ofJapan, Chicago, Illinois.
Gabriel slid the photo across the desk, like a man paying his life savings to a debtor. Isaiah tucked it away in his pocket again.
Gabriel blew out a breath. "Okay. What do you want from us?"
Isaiah settled in the chair again. "I'd like to get to know you, man. All my life, I've always wanted a brother. And don't you have a sister? I'd like to get to know her, too"
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"We're family, Gabe," Isaiah said. "Flesh and blood. I have a right to get to know you and all my kin."
"That's all you want? To get to know us?"
"I'd love to become a VP in the company, too. Get me a big house here in ATL and a pretty girlfriend and .. ." As Gabriel's mouth fell open, Isaiah broke into laughter. "Damn, I'm kidding. Relax!"
"Let's try this again: what do you really want?"
"I want to know my roots," Isaiah said. "Do you know how it feels to be cut off from half of your family for your entire life? You don't, do you?"
"No." Gabriel sighed.
"Then you don't understand" Isaiah dropped a card on the desk. "My cell number's on there. I'm staying at a hotel in Marietta. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the Reid clan-my peeps"
"Give me some time to think about this, okay?" Gabriel said. "This is a lot for our family to deal with."
"My family now, little brother." Isaiah winked, turned, and strode out of the office.
Gabriel cradled his head in his hands.
The ground had broken apart completely. There was only a yawning pit beneath him.
He didn't know what to do next. There was the temptation to do nothing, in the vain hope that he would wake up and realize that all this was a terrible nightmare.
But couple minutes later, he rose. There was one thing he could do.
Talk to his father.
Chapter 14
pdgewood Avenue in downtown Atlanta, recently dubbed "The Edge," was a neighborhood that had seen better days. Part of the Fourth Ward, it had been in disrepair for decades, rife with crumbling buildings, closed storefronts, vagrants, and crime.
But lately, like much of in-town Atlanta, investors had begun to funnel money into the area, birthing an ever-growing community of shops, loft condos, and restaurants. A textbook case of the gentrification trend that was sweeping inner cities across the country.
Pops was holding a business meeting at a coffee shop on Edgewood called Javaology; Gabriel spotted his
"I got sent to juvie for the first time when I was eleven. For shoplifting. Trying to cop some steaks at the supermarket. Mama loved steaks, you know? It wasn't my first time getting busted so they sent me to juvie, and when I was there, I got my ass kicked on the regular. Kids can be worse than grown-ass cons, man"
"I'm sorry," Gabriel said. He didn't know what else to say.
"Juvie was just the beginning. I was in trouble all the time. Been to prison twice. I just got out again at the beginning of the year."
"What were you in for?"
"Murder," Isaiah said. And when Gabriel's eyes widened, he laughed. "I'm just fucking with you, man. I've never killed anyone. I was in for armed robbery. I did five years on this last bid."
"I'm sorry," Gabriel said again.
"This past April, Mama was gunned down at the crib. Right in front of me. Can you imagine that, Gabe? Watching your mother die in your arms?"
Gabriel shook his head.
Isaiah dragged his hand down his face. He reached into his jacket pocket, withdrew a photo, and tossed it onto the desk.
"There's your last bit of proof," Isaiah said. "I'll take a blood test if you want"
Gabriel picked up the picture. It was an old, faded photograph, but the subjects were clear. His father, probably in his midtwenties, sat at a restaurant table with a pretty, young black woman. Both of them were grinning in the way that Gabriel recognized from pictures he'd taken with Dana; the grin reserved for lovers only. The caption beneath read Ron ofJapan, Chicago, Illinois.
Gabriel slid the photo across the desk, like a man paying his life savings to a debtor. Isaiah tucked it away in his pocket again.
Gabriel blew out a breath. "Okay. What do you want from us?"
Isaiah settled in the chair again. "I'd like to get to know you, man. All my life, I've always wanted a brother. And don't you have a sister? I'd like to get to know her, too"
"I don't think this is a good idea."
"We're family, Gabe," Isaiah said. "Flesh and blood. I have a right to get to know you and all my kin."
"That's all you want? To get to know us?"
"I'd love to become a VP in the company, too. Get me a big house here in ATL and a pretty girlfriend and .. ." As Gabriel's mouth fell open, Isaiah broke into laughter. "Damn, I'm kidding. Relax!"
"Let's try this again: what do you really want?"
"I want to know my roots," Isaiah said. "Do you know how it feels to be cut off from half of your family for your entire life? You don't, do you?"
"No." Gabriel sighed.
"Then you don't understand" Isaiah dropped a card on the desk. "My cell number's on there. I'm staying at a hotel in Marietta. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the Reid clan-my peeps"
"Give me some time to think about this, okay?" Gabriel said. "This is a lot for our family to deal with."
"My family now, little brother." Isaiah winked, turned, and strode out of the office.
Gabriel cradled his head in his hands.
The ground had broken apart completely. There was only a yawning pit beneath him.
He didn't know what to do next. There was the temptation to do nothing, in the vain hope that he would wake up and realize that all this was a terrible nightmare.
But couple minutes later, he rose. There was one thing he could do.
Talk to his father.
Chapter 14
pdgewood Avenue in downtown Atlanta, recently dubbed "The Edge," was a neighborhood that had seen better days. Part of the Fourth Ward, it had been in disrepair for decades, rife with crumbling buildings, closed storefronts, vagrants, and crime.
But lately, like much of in-town Atlanta, investors had begun to funnel money into the area, birthing an ever-growing community of shops, loft condos, and restaurants. A textbook case of the gentrification trend that was sweeping inner cities across the country.
Pops was holding a business meeting at a coffee shop on Edgewood called Javaology; Gabriel spotted his
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