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I was sitting on the couch in the living room next to his mom, who was thumbing through old photo albums, proudly showing me pictures of Lorenzo. He was sitting across from us in an easy chair, his hand covering his face.
“I’m a thug. I ain’t never been adorable in my whole life,” he groaned.
His mother shot him a look. “I thought you were through thugging.”
“I don’t do nothing but be up in the house writing and stuff. Dang!”
“Mm-hmm,” his mother said with a smirk.
“When is Mel gonna be back? I can’t believe you let her take the baby with her to that dude’s house,” Lorenzo muttered.
“That dude is Loren’s father, and don’t be mad because they got back together after you chased him away before Loren was born. That’s a nice young man.”
“A nice young man who got your daughter pregnant.”
“Zo, that boy is a year younger than Melyssa. You really need to quit, and I know you’re just trying to distract me from showing Renee these pictures. You ain’t slick.”
He stood from his seat. “I’ma go see what Rell is doing.”
“He’s outside sitting in that car, running your battery down listening to the radio like he always does, and you know it. He ran up out of here as soon as we finished eating.”
Lorenzo basically didn’t acknowledge what she said by saying, “I’ll be back.”
“He’s such a big baby,” she said, shaking her head. “Will go to pouting in a second.”
I laughed. “I noticed.”
She flipped the page in the photo album. “Oh, here he is in fifth grade.”
I smiled at the class picture with Lorenzo standing in the back, towering over the other students. “He was so tall! But he looks the same.”
She nodded. “Mm-hmm. So much like his father…” She wore a faint smile as she fingered the edge of the photo album page.
“Do you have a picture of him? You know Lorenzo doesn’t have any pictures around his house.”
“Hmm, that boy. I bet if you gave him a picture of you, he’d hang it up.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Why do you say that?”
“Because he loves you. I have a feeling he’d love to be able to look at your face all the time, even when you’re not there.”
“He loves you and Melyssa, too.”
“True, but that’s different. Never seen him like he is with you. Now, let me get that picture.” She stood and walked over to a bookshelf in the gorgeously-decorated living room. Where Lorenzo’s home was huge and oversized in every way, his mother’s home was much smaller and cozy with mismatched, but expensive, furniture covered in yellow and light green fabrics. I had noticed the bookcase but had not paid attention to the framed photo she removed and brought back to the sofa with her.
“Here’s my Clarence.”
I took the photo from her and stared at it for a moment. He was smiling, standing in front of a car. He was big and tall just like Lorenzo, and the resemblance was almost frightening. “He was handsome. Wow.”
She nodded. “And I was as crazy about that man as you are about my Zo.”
I lifted an eyebrow. “It’s that obvious, huh?”
“Mm-hmm, it’s written all over you, and I’m glad about it. He needs to be in love and be loved. He’s a good man, just took him a while to get there, but one thing I know: he takes care of those he loves. He doesn’t need a driver, but he loves Tyrell like a brother, so he gave him a job. He loves me, so he’s taken care of me ever since he was a boy running the streets. When Mel’s father thought he was gonna put his hands on me? Honey, Zo took care of him real good. Scared Loren’s daddy so bad after he found out she was pregnant, he stopped calling Mel for months.”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I know he’s definitely protective, maybe overprotective. Rell’s been driving me to work because of it.”
She chuckled. “I’m not surprised. Better he be overprotective than indifferent.”
“Yes, ma’am. That’s true.”
We were both quiet for a moment until she said, “Renee, will you do me a favor?”
With a slightly furrowed brow, I replied, “Yes, ma’am.”
“Stick with him. He loves you. You love him, and he never really got over losing his father. And Lord, he lost so many friends when he was running the streets. He has a big fear of losing the people he cares about. Things might get rocky, because he’s not perfect, but I can promise you he won’t do anything to hurt you. He needs you, and I believe you need him, so please stick with him.”
I reached over and rested my hand on hers. “I will. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without him.”
