The Atonement (15 page)

“None taken,” said the nurse, “If you could
just sign these Mr. Reid, you’ll be good to go.”

Jim took the pen and scribbled his signature
as best he could with his left hand. When he was done the nurse
collected them.

“Good luck, Mr. Reid, everyone,” said the
nurse before she left.

“Thank you.”

“We better get going. We don’t want to be
late.”

“Late for what?” asked Jim.

“Oh, me and my big mouth. Never mind what I
said.”

“Al and the others done cooked up a little
surprise for you.”

“Vern!”

“What? I ain’t spoiled nothin’. All I said
was it’s a surprise. I never said what the surprise was.”

“Let’s get him home before we ruin it any
more than we already have. C’mon, Jim.”

It couldn’t get any worse. Jim knew Allen and
the others probably went out of their way to throw a celebration
for him. They had done so much for him, and what had he ever done
for any of them? What had he ever done for anyone? Jim believed he
didn’t deserve a party. While the others believed his return was a
reason for celebration, Jim did not. Once his secrets were
revealed, he knew it wouldn’t be long before they felt the same
way.

Fifteen

“
WELCOME HOME!!!”

Their salutation was followed by an acoustic
assault made by plastic flutes, horns and noisemakers. There was a
large banner that read “Welcome Back” and green and gray balloons
floating around along with the aroma of barbecued chicken.”
Everyone who was there was wearing green football jerseys over
their clothes, and some had on those ridiculous looking, dollar
store party hats. The fact that he already knew about this surprise
did nothing to prepare him for the experience of it.

“Is all this racket necessary?” grumbled
Vernon. “The boy just came out of the hospital and y’all gonna send
‘im back with a ruptured ear drum.”

“It was Tamiko’s idea,” said Allen pointing
at her.

“Allen!” said Tamiko as she jabbed Allen
playfully in the stomach.

“It’s okay, Pop,” said Jim.

“Time for the group hug!” said Allen.

“Be careful with him, now. He’s only got one
good leg and arm as it is and you don’t want to break them, too”
warned Lena.

After the hug was over, they all carefully
backed away to give Jim some space. Jim was totally overwhelmed by
their outpouring of love and affection. He turned away from them
for a moment to wipe tears from his eyes.

“Welcome back, man,” said Allen putting his
hand on Jim’s shoulder.

“Al, you and the others didn’t have to go
through all this.”

“I know we didn’t have to. We wanted to.”

“Now it’s time for our surprise guest. Jim,
you’ll never guess who’s here to see you!” said Tamiko bubbling
over with excitement.

“Okay, now you got me worried. Who’s this
‘special guest’?” said Jim feeling a little diffident.

“She’s talking about me.”

The voice was unmistakable. He turned to see
her easing her way between Tim and Richard to come to the front of
the group. Jim couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Riley?”

“The one and only.”

“But how – when – what are you doing
here?”

“I heard you needed some TLC so I decided to
come up North for a spell. Are you glad to see me or what?”

“You know I am, girl, come over here!” he
said motioning to her to come over for a hug.

Jim couldn’t believe it. Riley had come all
the way from North Carolina just to see him. Under other
circumstances, he would have been ecstatic about her visit. Through
the years they had become as close as siblings, as they played
together, went on little ‘adventures’ and shared secrets. Riley was
one of the few people that really knew him, and sometimes he even
felt as if she could see through him. As such, he didn’t know
whether to feel comforted or terrified.

“
Hey, little mama!” said
Vernon, “Don’t forget about me.”

“
You know I could never
Uncle Vern,” she said stopping to greet her uncle with a
hug.

“
Oh, Riley it’s just so good
to see you. How you doin’ chile?” said Lena who had given her a
peck on the cheek with her hug “You look like you done grew about
four more inches since the last time I saw you.”

“
I’m fine, Auntie Lena.
Don’t worry, I’m still 5’10” and I hope I don’t get any taller than
that.”

“
Don’t count on it if you’re
a Sharpe. Folks on my side run tall.”

“
Don’t I know that,” said
Allen.

“Alright. We’ve done our part. I got to go
meet Smitty for the game and I know your momma got to get to the
church. Don’t make no mess while we’re gone and if you do, make
sure you clean it up.”

“Dad, we got it.”

“And y’all can drink anything you want in
there, but don’t drink my Royal Crown cola.”

“It’s okay dad. We have our own drinks.”

“And don’t forget to leave some of them eats
for me and your momma. We didn’t fix all that food just to get a
work out.”

“Don’t worry, Pop Vernon, I’ll definitely
make sure of that” said Tamiko.

“See you later, baby,” said Lena who kissed
Allen on the cheek before leaving. “Have a good time everyone!”

“But not too good!”

Allen and the others said their goodbyes to
Allen’s parents before they gathered to give Jim personal
greetings.

“Hey, Jim. We missed you so much,” said
Tamiko taking her chance to get another hug.

“Missed y’all, too.”

“Yeah. Who else is gonna help us keep it
real, dude?” said Tim.

“Thanks, Tim.”

“Hey, Jim,” said Callie stiffly. She paused
before giving him an awkward hug.

“Hey,” replied Jim, who didn’t bother to hug
her back.

“Lemme pay my respect to the six-billion
dollar man here!” said Richard.

“I don’t know about all that,” Jim
smiled.

“Nah, man. You pulled a Lazarus on us. We
gon’ celebrate that.”

“But before we do, there are some more people
who want to shout at you. You remember Davis Martinez, right?” said
Allen.

“Yeah. Nice to see you again, man.”

“Same here,” said Davis.

“And you know Daniel.”

“Lil’ Rev, how you doin’?” asked Jim, pulling
him in for a man hug.

“Good. How about you?”

“I’m makin’ it.”

“Good to hear.”

“And last, but not least, this our new friend
Chris.”

Jim stood frozen. He hoped he was the only
one who could hear how hard and fast his heart was beating in his
chest. It became hard to breathe. There was no doubt about it. It
was him - the guy he used to call ‘Way-lo.’ He had his hair had
grown out a little and shaped into a curly Caesar cut. He was
wearing a gray, long-sleeved tee underneath his football jersey,
and gray jeans with green and white suede sneakers. Chris looked a
lot younger now that he had gained even more weight and developed
some tone to his physique, which made him blend right into their
set. He could tell that Chris was just as shocked as he was. So now
Jim knew the church crowd Chris had been running with – Jim’s own
crew. “Just keep cool,” Jim cautioned himself.

“Nice to meet you,” said Chris with a bit of
diffidence as he extended his fist for the pound.

“Yeah. Nice to meet you, too,” said Jim,
greeting him back. It was taking a tremendous amount to affect the
nonchalance of a blind, initial encounter.

“Chris just joined our church a couple of
months ago,” said Allen.

Another specter from his past had emerged and
settled itself right in the midst of his own home. So far, it
seemed Chris wasn’t going to call him out on their past
relationship, and he wondered why. ‘Was this part of a revenge
plot?’ he wondered anxiously. Then he thought about their last
encounter before he got shot. At that time it seemed that Chris
bore him no ill will, but could he have changed his mind? Jim began
to wonder about what Chris had told them already. Had Chris spoken
of the things Jim had said and done to him? If he had, how long
would it be before everyone figured out Jim was the man Chris had
talked about? How would they react when they found out Jim was a
drug dealer? Now Jim was tense. This was supposed to be a relaxing
day with his friends but it was turning into a huge ordeal. Now Jim
would have to spend the next several hours pretending to be happy
and carefree when he was anything but, and hope that Riley wouldn’t
notice. Though the celebration was just getting started, for Jim it
couldn’t be over fast enough. “Jesus, please get me through this,”
he prayed within himself. Meanwhile, Allen began to direct the
festivities.

“Now that everyone’s gotten acquainted, I
want to welcome you to the Jim Reid homecoming day celebration!
Whoo-hoo!”

Everyone clapped and cheered along with Allen
in response and some blew their horns and noisemakers. When the
noise died down, Allen continued.

“
I am going to be your MC
for the afternoon and evening, and as such, I want to let you know
what’s going on. First we’re going to mingle a little bit because
it’s kind of early and the food’s still heating. During our mix and
mingle period we’re going to have a few appetizers and a quick game
of ‘guess my picture.’”

“Say what?” asked Chris.

“It’s corny, but it’s fun. At least that’s
what the entertainment committee told me,” said Allen sending a
wary glance over to Tim and Tamiko. “At any rate, it’ll be quick.
Then, after the mix and mingle, we’re going to start the dominoes
tournament, followed by dinner and a movie. Sound good
everyone?”

Tim blew his horn, which made the other’s
laugh. Daniel and Tim helped Jim over to the couch to sit and the
others went to attend to matters related to the party. Allen and
Davis went into the kitchen and a few minutes later Davis emerged
with the appetizers: spinach rolls, fried zucchini, and a dip
platter. Then Tamiko and Tim went around handing out construction
paper hats to all of their guests. Soon after picking up
appetizers, everyone began to get into groups and have
conversations. Jim was trying to keep track of Chris when Riley
approached.

“I’m sticking to you Jimmy. I’m not tryin’ to
parlay with these other folks.”

“Still anti-social, I see.”

“’Til God changes me. I got you some eats,”
she said handing him a plate with a spinach roll and some zucchini.
“Oh, and here’s your game hat.”

“Thanks. You didn’t want anything for
yourself?” asked Jim before taking a bite of his spinach roll.

“
I hate spinach, and I
tasted that fried squash thing and it wasn’t for me. I’m saving my
appetite for the barbecue. Anyway, how you feelin’ now?
Tired?”

“Not as tired as I was of being cooped up in
the hospital.”

“When do your casts come off?”

“In two weeks. After that I’m gonna have to
do rehab. They had to put pins in my knee and leg to reconstruct it
and I gotta learn how to walk on it.”

“Sounds like you’re gonna need some help.
How’d you like it, if I was your unofficial home health aid?”

“Rehab’s going to take a while. How long do
you plan on staying?”

“Til just before Thanksgiving. Just in time
to see you up and about I hope.”

“That’s a lot of time out here. You’re not
worried about your job.”

“I’m more worried about you.”

“You don’t have to be. Look, Rye, I don’t
want you to feel like you have to sit around and take care of me.
As much as I appreciate you being here right now, I don’t want you
neglecting your situation for mine.”

“Gee, I just got here and it sounds like
you’re trying to get rid of me.”

“I’m not. I just don’t want to be poor
Jim.”

“Jim, I’m not here because I feel sorry for
you. I love you, man. I just want to see you back to the way you
used to be – you know – happy.”

“I am – and I’d be even happier if I knew my
friends were taking care of themselves.”

“That means you don’t have
to worry about me and mine. We’re fine. Daddy and Mamma Shirley
just celebrated their 20
^th
Anniversary. Wilson just
started working for this new computer software developer, and yes
he’s still trading toys with his annoying geek friends. Bennett
talks to us now and can do more for himself, plus he doesn’t do as
much hand flapping as the doctor calls it, and Junior nailed the
SAT, and is thinking about going to Al’s old Alma Mater. Me, I’m
still doing hair, and before you hear it from Miko, yes, me and
Marcus broke up.”

“Glad to hear you all are doing well. Except
for that last part.”

“Breaking up with Marcus is good news in my
book. He’s not even worth talking about.”

“There’s more where he came from.”

“I hope not. Marcus was bad enough. If
there’s any more like him I hope they go extinct.”

“You know what I mean. There are plenty of
other guys out there to choose from.”

“I know. Right now, I don’t mind being by
myself for a while. It’ll give me time to figure out why I keep
picking losers. Speaking of losers, what’s your take on Al’s new
girlfriend? I know already you don’t like her,” said Riley lowering
her voice.

“What would make you say that? Callie’s been
friends with us for years.”

“You didn’t look like you were glad to see
her.”

“I’m just not thrilled about Allen taking on
so much responsibility, that’s all.”

“I don’t think anyone is. Miko says Allen
knows he’s not the daddy. Any of you know who the daddy actually
is?”

“Riley, let’s not be all up in Allen’s
business. Callie’s his choice and if that’s what he wants, then
just be happy for him and leave it alone.”

“Okay-okay, I wasn’t planning on starting
anything,” said Riley, who was so taken aback by Jim’s abrasive
response she was speechless for a few minutes. Jim, realizing how
he had overreacted, tried to ameliorate the tension. He didn’t mean
to put her on the defensive. That would arouse her suspicion, which
was the last thing he wanted.