Hood Ornaments

Why is it so hot already?

Dell pushed himself off of his bed and placed his hand on the floor vent. The only cold he felt was the metal grate. He sucked his teeth and walked over to the tiny closet. The hangers screamed along the metal bars as he pushed them to the side. Dell grabbed the big, light blue, box fan from the back of the closet and tossed it on his queen sized bed. He chuckled to himself remembering his mother laughing at him and Malik struggling to get the bed in his tiny room. Then he smiled because he had the first good night’s sleep in a few weeks. Yeah, the bed at Dre’s was comfortable, but his head hurt so badly he was too paranoid to sleep well.

He drug a desk chair in front of his bed, put the fan on it and plugged it in. He then sat on the edge of his bed to enjoy the manufactured breeze for a moment. He caught the scent of sausage in the air. His mouth started to water and his stomach began to growl. Dell grabbed some clothes from out of a dresser drawer and headed down the hall to take a shower. One of the rules in the Martin household is that one must be washed up before coming to the breakfast table. Since Dell was going to be spending more time at home now, he better get used to abiding by the rules.

After his shower, Dell was refreshed yet famished. He couldn’t wait to eat. He jogged down the stairs and headed into the kitchen where his father, Luke, was sitting at the small table by the window jotting sermon notes into a steno pad. He peered at Dell over his glasses pointing his head towards his wife who was standing at the stove poking at sausages. Dell gave his father a nod of acknowledgement and bent down to kiss his mother on the cheek.

“Morning, Ma.” He said as Betty rubbed his back.

“Morning, Son. Good to have you home.” Betty replied as she went back to poking the scrambled eggs as well. Dell walked back over to Luke and extended his hand for a handshake. Luke put down his pen, stood up, took his son’s hand and pulled him close for a bear hug. Luke used to be a wrestler back when he was younger and he still thought his grip was strong. Dell wasn’t too impressed but then realized that his father wasn’t angry and that anger may increase the strength of his grasp.

“Pops, I wanted to apologize…”

Luke stopped Dell with a wave of his hand, “No need. Samuel called me and told me you were with him. I don’t take too much stock in my younger brother and the minions he associates with, but one thing I do know is that when you are with him, you are safe. So good morning, welcome back sit down and eat your breakfast and tell me what you have planned.”

Dell did just that, leaving out the obvious details. But he informed his parents about deciding to go to school, he was interested in teaching and writing, and he has been secretly crafting poems in composition books for years. He sighed heavily when he was through with the explanations and verbal outlines of his plans. When he looked at his parents, however, they both had skeptical looks on their faces.

“Somatta, Ma? Pop?”

Luke put down his fork and took a deep breath, “It’s not that we aren’t thrilled that you’ve chosen a path son it’s just that…”

Dell swallowed before interrupting his father, “Look Pop, I know how you feel about Uncle Sti…Uncle Samuel. But he is gonna take care of me goin to school and even give me a small allowance until I get a job if I promise to keep my grades up.”

Luke raised a skeptical eyebrow at Betty and then back at his son, “In exchange for what?”

Dell looked confused, “I just told y’all.”

The disdain for Dell’s answer hung heavier than the humidity in the room.

“Boy, I am only going to say this once. If I so much as suspect that you are involved in anything that my brother Samuel is involved with, I will pack your belongings and drive you over there to live with him.”

“That would suck Pop because one of the stipulations for him paying for my school and allowance is that I stay away from him unless it’s a family function. But considering y’all barely speak.” Dell wiped his forehead with a napkin and gulped down the rest of his juice, “Speakin of allowance. If I helped y’all with the electric bill, could we please turn the air on?”

With that, Dell went upstairs and grabbed a hand towel out of the linen closet to drape over his shoulder. He came back into the kitchen and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry I didn’t ask to be excused, but I need to hurry up if I’m going to catch up with Malik and Tony. Then if I can, I’ma head out to the college to see what I have to do to get registered for school. Do y’all need anything while I’m gone?”

Luke and Betty wide eyed with shock just shook their heads back and forth slowly. Dell kissed his mother and patted his father on the shoulder before exiting out the back kitchen door.

“Who in Jesus’ name was that and what did he do with our son?!” Betty said with nervous alarm as she took the plates off of the table.

“Betts, I’m not entirely sure. But I do believe Rondell has had the evil scared offa him. I just pray he is alright in the end.”