Authors: Lolah Lace
“Of course you are.”
“They won’t tell me about Nia. I knew you would.”
I waited a few seconds debating if I should tell him the truth or not. “She didn’t make it.”
“Damn, I wasn’t drinking this time. You believe me?”
“Yeah. I believe you.”
“My kids?”
“They’re here. I called your other kids too.”
“You did?”
“I have your kid’s mother’s numbers. They’re on the way to the hospital.”
“You are a good person. You were a good wife.”
“I was okay in the beginning.”
“Funny.”
“Is Noah here?”
“Yeah. He’s here. Lance is here. Most of the team is here. Your mother and your brother are flying up here.”
“Good. I hope they make it. The doctors say it’s not looking good.”
“Well you’re awake and talking so that’s good.”
“I want to see Noah and Lance first.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. You look nice.”
“Thank you.”
“I’m dying. Can I get one last kiss?”
“You’re not dying.”
“I am. One kiss.”
“Okay. One kiss.” I walked closer to the bed. I stood over him. I tried to avoid all the cords. He didn’t look good at all. One of his eyes was swollen shut. The lacerations on his face were deep.
“Why are you crying?”
“I’m not crying.”
“I haven’t made you cry in a long time.”
“Bullshit. You always made me cry. I just didn’t do it in front of you.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I know.” I bent over him. My pregnant stomach pressed into the guardrail on the side of the bed. I gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
“Can I see your tits?”
“Seriously?”
“Please,” He begged. I pulled down my shirt and bra. I flashed what he asked for. I covered back up right away. “Thanks.”
“Tenisha is really upset. DJ is being really strong.”
“I don’t know how long I can hold on. I’m really tired.”
“You’ll be okay. Think positive. Everybody is praying for you. There are fans outside this hospital and all around the country praying for you.”
“If I survive I will give you a divorce. I’m sorry I treated you so bad.” He blew out a long aspirated breath. “I don’t know why. I just did it.”
“That’s all old news. Focus on getting better.”
“Send in Noah and Lance.”
“Okay.” I wiped the tear that ran from the corner of my eye. I turned and headed for the door. I couldn’t let my kids see me cry.
I mumbled to Noah and Lance. They were right outside the door sitting in two of the three chairs that were out there in the hall against the wall. I hadn’t noticed them before.
I looked down on them. “He wants to see you.”
“Me?” Noah asked as he stood.
“Both of you.”
“How does he look?” Lance hesitantly asked.
“Not good.”
“Stay here.” Noah directed me to sit and I did. I needed to sit there alone. Noah and Lance walked inside the room. I looked over at the nurses at the station. One older Black woman looked over at me. She knew what was to come and her eyes conveyed that much to me.
NOAH
I walked inside the hospital room behind Lance. I noticed the room number was 3-22. It meant something to me. Deshawn’s number was 22. This was his third Championship. That number was good luck. Maybe he would pull through. I couldn’t imagine him dying of anything but old age. He was the best and the strongest player in the league. He survived injuries and another car crash earlier in the year. It just seemed surreal. Of course he was going to make it.
“Dee.” Lance called out to him. Dee’s eye’s slightly opened.
“Y’all really here?” Deshawn’s voice sounded foreign to me, maybe because I hadn’t heard it in awhile.
“Yeah where else we gonna be.” Lance tried to sound upbeat.
“No-Hart.”
“Yeah.”
“You happy to see me?”
“Yeah.”
“Bullshit.”
“No bullshit. I’m glad you still here.”
“Well not for long.”
Lance faked a chuckle. “Bro’h, you gonna outlive us all.”
“Maybe but if I don’t, I’ll need my kids to be taken care of.”
“They will.” I quickly said.
“Not money. Like father shit. Can you handle that Noah?”
“Yeah whatever you want me to do. I got you.”
“Yeah you always stepped up. Being an uncle is not like being a father. It’s better. You got a kid on the way.”
“Yeah.”
“Now I can’t fuck up the divorce. Rena is going to be a widow.”
“No one is thinking about that right now.”
“I can’t believe this shit.”
“What’s that Dee?” Lance asked.
“I’m going to miss y’all. What we built, The Magic Oreo.”
“No matter what. Our shit is forever.” I found myself getting emotional. No matter how Dee treated me in the end he was my family.
“Lance, you got to watch No-Hart. He’s real emotional and shit.”
“Yeah, he is.” Lance chuckled.
“And watch your wife.”
Lance looked back at me. “I will.”
“Noah, I forgive you. My wife is fuckin’ fine. Everybody thinks it, but nobody had the heart to cross me up.”
“I’m sorry Dee. I didn’t ever set out to go after her.”
“Yeah you said that shit. I believed you the first time. I just wanted to make you suffer.”
“I did suffer. I lost my best friend.”
“Na’aw we got all that time out there on the court. That shit is forever.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“My life was good, better than most.”
“Yeah it still is.” Lance was quick with hopeful banter.
“I need to see my kids, Lance.”
“Yeah I will get them.”
I motioned to leave. “No-Hart,” Dee called out to me. He waited for Lance to leave us alone.
“Yeah.”
“You really going to marry her?”
“I love her.”
“You got to take care of Serena. She plays tough, but she’s not.”
“Of course.”
“DJ and Tenisha are almost grown but they need a father.”
“I love your kids, you know that.”
“Yeah I do. I never thought I would be saying this shit to you.”
“You don’t have to say it. I will always have your back. I love you brother.” My voice cracked without warning.
“Get out.”
I left his room and went to the nearest restroom. I found one that was a single room instead of a community restroom. I needed a private moment to get my shit together.
I knew that was it for Dee. I knew he wasn’t going to recover. I don’t know how I knew it, but it was like the fight was gone from his voice, his eyes, his soul. I splashed cold water on my face a few times.
I left the restroom and went back to the waiting area. I briefly talked to Coach Tucker. Lance told me Serena had gone back in to see Dee with the kids. Time got away from me. Minutes turned into hours. The constant stream of people made things move fast. Somehow I was in charge of the list of people who were allowed on the hospital floor. Serena was in charge of the people that got to see Deshawn. The list was small.
The news came at six o’clock that evening. Dee had slipped into a coma. He signed a Do Not Resuscitate Order. There were no extreme measures to be taken to save him if he stopped breathing on his own. He was barely breathing, but we all had been warned. The internal bleeding was too severe. The internal damage to his organs was severe. The brain injury he suffered was fatal. The doctors could not contain the bleeding on his brain. Surgery wasn’t an option. We were all waiting for him to drift away. It was after midnight when he stopped breathing.
We were all quiet as we walked into Deshawn’s house in the early morning of the next day. DJ went up the stairs first. Serena went into the family room and flopped down on the couch. She turned on the TV with the remote. I stood in the doorway with Tenisha. She wasn’t crying anymore.
“Stay here with my mother.”
“I’m here.”
Tenisha looked down at her cell phone in her hand. “My boyfriend is at the gate.”
“Okay.”
She went for the front door and I went into the family room. I could hear the news as soon as I walked in. The TV was too loud. Serena was staring into the screen.
“Breaking news, NBA player Deshawn Jones has died due to traumatic injuries he suffered from a vehicle crash that took place almost two days ago on Lake Shore drive. The female passenger actress Nia Pillar died on the day of the crash. We reached out to Deshawn Jones longtime teammate Noah Hart for comment as he left the hospital on Friday night, early Saturday morning. Noah Hart was visibly upset and unable to speak to our reporter on the scene.”
Another newscaster took over. It was Katie Flannigan. She had been a topic Dee and I laughed about. The thought made me smile until I remembered we would never laugh about her again. Dee was dead.
“Thank you Leah. Chicago Cavalier Noah Hart was considered by many to be Deshawn’s best friend. He arrived at the hospital with the Jones family shortly after the news of the crash and remained there until word of Deshawn Jones death. We got a brief glimpse of Noah Hart as he left the hospital this morning with teammate Lance Hollister, Deshawn’s wife Serena and their two children. The Jones family was noticeably grief stricken as they were rushed from the hospital shortly after word of his death. Fans of the Cavaliers had been holding a vigil outside the hospital where Deshawn Jones was taken by helicopter after the crash. This recent tragedy comes as a real shock and a blow to the three-time champion Chicago Cavilers and the many members and fans of the NBA. Many sports fans have commented with a heavy heart on this tragedy. Legendary sportscaster Marv Albert released a statement: ‘
Today basketball has lost one of the greatest players to ever play professional basketball.
’ Cavalier Head Coach Dan Tucker said:
‘Deshawn was a pioneer on the court. I feel like my son has died. The entire Cav family is devastated and grieving. The heart of our team has stopped beating and we are all in a state of utter disbelief.
’ The Commissioner of the National Basketball Association Adam Silver had this to say: ‘
Deshawn Jones was an innovator. He was an inspiration to any little boy with a basketball and a dream. He will live on through his dedication to the game of basketball. He will never be forgotten, but he will be truly missed by basketball sports fans all over the country. The NBA sends condolences to the Jones family, the Cavalier franchise and all those who have been touched by the spirit of Deshawn Superstar Jones.
’ For more on the death of a Chicago Cavalier hero please stay tuned for the highlights of Deshawn Jones career at the end of this broadcast.”
***
There was more of the same. I turned the TV to a marathon of Buffy The Vampire Slayer episodes. I stayed up until Serena fell asleep. Her health was very important. Lance and I were going to take care of the funeral arrangements. I only needed to ask Serena a few questions about what she wanted.
I knew Dee well enough to know how he wanted to be put to rest. We talked about it before. All our conversations weren’t about partying, basketball and women. There were times that we shared our darkest fears and deepest secrets. Dee was terrified of snakes. No one knew that but me. He knew things about me that Serena didn’t know.
Deshawn’s family knew me. When they arrived at the house they didn’t think it was strange that I was there. Some people thought Serena was carrying Dee’s baby. No one ever thought to correct them. It seemed inappropriate and unimportant. We were all in Zombieland and we were the zombies. The mood was somber up until the day of the funeral.
Deshawn had a viewing that was open to the public. The actual funeral was invite only. The stadium had free seats for a telecast of the actual funeral. It was being broadcast live at the Stadium. That put the pressure on us to not fuck it up.
A few of my teammates and I got blazed before the funeral. How else were we supposed to get through this ceremony? It was the off-season. We were all safe from a drug tests. The select few of us had to go up and eulogize our fallen teammate. It was my turn and I was ready. I left the church pew and made my descent up the stairs. I was at the podium and up to the microphone. I looked into the church at all the people who came to show their respects for Dee. He would be proud at his turnout. This crowd was like more than the stadium could hold. He had filled the stadium and the largest church on the West Side of Chicago.
I wasn’t going to hold up the ceremony with my yammering. But I was at the podium and it was my time to eulogize my brother.
I cleared my throat. I was high as a kite. “Dee was my friend, my best friend. He welcomed me into the Cav family eight years ago. We hit it off right away. He was exactly all the things I wanted to be, on and off the court. I was sometimes shy, he was outgoing. I wasn’t funny and he was a riot. I was afraid of the unknown and he was fearless. Losing him is, was like losing the other half of me. I grew to love him and I never stopped loving him. He was the reason I grew to love this city and call Chicago my home. I don’t have anything witty or funny to say. I don’t have any one memory that sticks out. I have too many. My mind is jammed packed with memories. If I give you one I’m afraid the other ones will disappear when they all carry the same importance to me. I want to share one thing that Deshawn used to say. It was something I’ve never heard from anyone but Deshawn but if you knew Dee personally you would have heard it. He would say it for no reason at all. Even at times when it didn’t fit into the conversation. He said,
I played basketball
my whole life so I always keep it gangsta
.
He said that and now I think I finally know what it means. ”