how stupid he can be sometimes,â vented Jayden.
âYou need to calm down, man,â said Quincy. âI love him too, but he makes these bad choices and he just doesnât care how it affects you or Aunt Shy.â
âYouâre right, but he is still my brother and I feel responsible for him. I just donât know how to protect him from himself. How do you protect a person from himself?â
Jayden put his face into his hands and silently asked God to give his father a message. Lord, ask my dad to tell me what to do to save my brother, and please watch over him while heâs behind bars.
By the time Shy arrived home, all of the anger Jayden was feeling toward Prince was replaced with concern for his mother. Shy parked her car and was not pleased to see her sister, Tara, standing on the porch with Jayden and Quincy.
Just what I need on top of everything else, her know-it-all, snobby ass, thought Shy. Jayden met his mother at her 2006 white Toyota Camry and opened the driver side door for her.
âHi, baby,â Shy said before giving her son a kiss on his cheek. âWhat has he done this time?â Shy held her breath and waited for Jaydenâs response.
âMom, Prince and Raequan have been accused of stealing a car and robbing an old lady on Market Street. The police caught up with them and arrested them both.â
Shy knew this day would come, she just wished it had happened sooner. With Prince being seventeen the state could decide to treat him as an adult despite the fact that he wasnât even old enough to vote.
âDid they take him to juvenile or the county?â asked Shy.
âI donât know, Mom. The arrogant cop wouldnât answer any of my questions and Prince hasnât called yet.â
âWhere is Baby Girl? She wasnât home to see them carrying her brother off in handcuffs, was she?â
The same day her husband was murdered, Shy discovered she was pregnant with the little girl she and Melvin had wanted for years. Melvin did not live long enough to even find out another baby was on the way. Shy had just left her doctorâs appointment and stopped by the Boys Club to get Jayden from basketball practice. After picking up a celebratory dinner for the family, Shy arrived home to find an abundance of police cars, ambulances, and spectators fixated on their apartment. What should have been a happy evening turned into the most traumatic event anyone could ever experience. Shy and Jayden kept Melvin alive by sharing stories of happy times with the beautiful little girl named Lilac Princess.
âNo, Mom, the police arrested Prince on Market Street. I havenât picked her up from daycare yet because I didnât know how you were going to receive the news and I donât want to upset her. You know how she likes to ask a million questions.â
âHow did your Aunt Tara find out about this?â asked Shy. The last thing she needed was her older sister telling her how she was failing as a mother.
âQuincy called her, Mom.â
As children, Shy looked up to her big sister and strived to be just like her. The five-year age difference made Tara appear bigger than life to her little sister. Once Shy grew up and began making decisions about her life without consulting Tara, things between them changed. With lifeâs challenges and Shy receiving a bigger blessing in life than what she did, their relationship changed from sisters to mere acquaintances. Shy was tired of Tara always judging her and pointing out her mistakes. In Shyâs eyes, Tara had gone from a cool ghetto girl to a judgmental, opinionated snob overnight. It infuriated Shy that her sister acted like she had forgotten where she came from.
âNow what are you going to do?â asked Tara without greeting her sister.
âHi, Tara, and how are you today?â Shy rolled her eyes and walked through her front door. Tara took a deep breath and followed
âYou need to calm down, man,â said Quincy. âI love him too, but he makes these bad choices and he just doesnât care how it affects you or Aunt Shy.â
âYouâre right, but he is still my brother and I feel responsible for him. I just donât know how to protect him from himself. How do you protect a person from himself?â
Jayden put his face into his hands and silently asked God to give his father a message. Lord, ask my dad to tell me what to do to save my brother, and please watch over him while heâs behind bars.
By the time Shy arrived home, all of the anger Jayden was feeling toward Prince was replaced with concern for his mother. Shy parked her car and was not pleased to see her sister, Tara, standing on the porch with Jayden and Quincy.
Just what I need on top of everything else, her know-it-all, snobby ass, thought Shy. Jayden met his mother at her 2006 white Toyota Camry and opened the driver side door for her.
âHi, baby,â Shy said before giving her son a kiss on his cheek. âWhat has he done this time?â Shy held her breath and waited for Jaydenâs response.
âMom, Prince and Raequan have been accused of stealing a car and robbing an old lady on Market Street. The police caught up with them and arrested them both.â
Shy knew this day would come, she just wished it had happened sooner. With Prince being seventeen the state could decide to treat him as an adult despite the fact that he wasnât even old enough to vote.
âDid they take him to juvenile or the county?â asked Shy.
âI donât know, Mom. The arrogant cop wouldnât answer any of my questions and Prince hasnât called yet.â
âWhere is Baby Girl? She wasnât home to see them carrying her brother off in handcuffs, was she?â
The same day her husband was murdered, Shy discovered she was pregnant with the little girl she and Melvin had wanted for years. Melvin did not live long enough to even find out another baby was on the way. Shy had just left her doctorâs appointment and stopped by the Boys Club to get Jayden from basketball practice. After picking up a celebratory dinner for the family, Shy arrived home to find an abundance of police cars, ambulances, and spectators fixated on their apartment. What should have been a happy evening turned into the most traumatic event anyone could ever experience. Shy and Jayden kept Melvin alive by sharing stories of happy times with the beautiful little girl named Lilac Princess.
âNo, Mom, the police arrested Prince on Market Street. I havenât picked her up from daycare yet because I didnât know how you were going to receive the news and I donât want to upset her. You know how she likes to ask a million questions.â
âHow did your Aunt Tara find out about this?â asked Shy. The last thing she needed was her older sister telling her how she was failing as a mother.
âQuincy called her, Mom.â
As children, Shy looked up to her big sister and strived to be just like her. The five-year age difference made Tara appear bigger than life to her little sister. Once Shy grew up and began making decisions about her life without consulting Tara, things between them changed. With lifeâs challenges and Shy receiving a bigger blessing in life than what she did, their relationship changed from sisters to mere acquaintances. Shy was tired of Tara always judging her and pointing out her mistakes. In Shyâs eyes, Tara had gone from a cool ghetto girl to a judgmental, opinionated snob overnight. It infuriated Shy that her sister acted like she had forgotten where she came from.
âNow what are you going to do?â asked Tara without greeting her sister.
âHi, Tara, and how are you today?â Shy rolled her eyes and walked through her front door. Tara took a deep breath and followed
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