With the few customers taken care of, I picked up a rag and proceeded to wipe down the empty tables. I stepped out onto the sidewalk in front of the book store's coffee shop and wiped off the outside tables. Someone had left a newspaper on one of the tables. As I picked it up, the small headline at the bottom of the first page caught my eye: Local Reverend Investigated for Tax Fraud
My mouth fell open in surprise as I skimmed through the article. After all, it's not every day that you see the name you share with your estranged father in print. "Reverend Walter Rockdale is being investigated by the IRS for alleged tax violations.... Allegations of channeling charitable funds into his failing real estate business...."
I folded up the paper and tucked it under my arm while I looked out across the street. A tall muscular man with perfect brown skin and a smooth shaved head walked out of the instant oil change shop. The mechanic raised his beefy arms over his head and stretched. He looked up and down the street, waiting for business I imagine. He turned to the coffee shop and spotted me. I smiled broadly and lifted my hand and waved my fingers.
He grinned at me, and held up his two fingers. His hand slid down to his crotch and he cupped it suggestively for a brief second.
Oh, yeah. I was going to get some tonight.
I nodded my head towards the coffee shop and he tipped up his chin in acknowledgment. I watched him poke his head into his shop and I turned and went back inside. I moved behind the counter and made three large coffees, plus one hot chocolate.
The bell over the door jingled and I looked up to see my handsome man walk in. I put the drinks into a carrier and set it on the counter.
"Hi, Jacks," I said quietly.
"Hey, Wally," he said low and deep, nearly a growl.
"This one's yours," I said pointing to the hot chocolate.
"You so good to me, baby boy." He glanced around and leaned over the counter and whispered seductively, "You got time to go into the back room for a bit?"
He licked his bottom lip as he reached over and ran a large, thick finger over my smaller hand. For a split second I was mesmerized by the contrast of his dark skin touching my pale hand. Remembering where we were, I blushed wildly and my eyes darted around hoping that no one had seen or heard him. "Jacks," I hissed as I pulled my hand away.
"I'm just playin' wit' ya," he said with grin. "I can wait 'til we get home."
He wiggled his eyebrows at me. He dropped a five into the tip jar and leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the forehead, and then picked up the drinks. As he pushed through the front door, he turned back and flashed me one of his charming smiles.
I had a big grin on my face as I watched him cross the street, thinking back on the day that I first met that big hunk of man...
***
The loud pounding on my bedroom door had me nearly falling out of my bed.
"JUNIOR!" Dad yelled through the door. "Get up now! You're wasting the day."
I scrambled out of bed, glancing at the clock. 6:42 AM.
It should be a crime to have to get up this early on a Saturday, especially the one a week after graduating from high school. But I would expect no different from my father. It was my responsibility to make sure the church grounds were taken care of every weekend.
I pulled on a pair of cargo shorts and a t-shirt. I hurried across the hall to the bathroom. After going pee, I washed my face and brushed my teeth.
When I got downstairs, Dad was waiting impatiently in the kitchen. Reverend Walter Rockdale was a formidable man. He was slightly taller than me, and was a bit overweight, but he had a commanding presence. Even though it was a Saturday, he was still dressed in a suit, but he dressed it down by not wearing a tie.
My mother was in the kitchen washing the dishes. She was wearing a knee-length yellow dress with a frilly apron over it. Even at seven in the morning, her hair and makeup were done flawlessly. She looked very much like a Stepford wife. She looked over her shoulder at me and frowned. "You missed breakfast. You'll have to make do with a banana or apple."
I grabbed a banana from the bowl on the kitchen table and ate it quickly.
Dad looked at his watch. "Let's go, Junior. The day is wasting. You'll have some help this weekend. The church has voted to participate in a community outreach program. This man is performing community service. I want you to be careful around him. He just got released from jail."
"Jail!" Mother exclaimed as she clutched her chest. "Is it safe for Junior?"
"Junior will be fine," Dad said with a dismissive wave. He turned to me and motioned with his head. "Let's go."
I followed Dad out the back door. The parsonage we lived in was connected to the church next door by a sidewalk that ran along the back of the church. When Dad saw the young black man in front of the church, he bristled visibly.
The young man was standing in front of the church. The first thing I noticed about him was how big he was. He was taller than me, probably about 6'2" or 6'3". He was also built wide and muscular. His hair was cut extremely short, with the sides and back shaved bald. He wore a small goatee on the end of his chin. He had smooth mocha skin. He wore a white Polo shirt, baggy black jeans and tan Timberland boots.
I figured that he was close to my age, maybe older, but I didn't know him. He must have gone to a different high school.
Up close, I could see that he had dark, chocolate brown eyes and was extremely good looking. His eyes looked me up and down, but his face was expressionless.
Dad looked at the man and introduced me, "This is my son, Walt. Uh, what's your name then?"
"Jackson Carter."
"Right. He'll get you started." Dad looked down at his watch. "I have to run downtown, and then I have a board meeting."
Dad walked off, leaving me with the young man. I swallowed nervously. "I'm Walt Rockdale," I said quietly.
I shook his hand. His big hand practically swallowed mine up. He had a very firm grip and squeezed my hand to the point that it started to hurt.
"Jackson," I said with a nod as I pulled my hand from his. "Okay. I usually mow first. So maybe you can mow and I'll do the weeder?"
Jackson shrugged. He followed me next door to the tool shed located in the back yard behind the parsonage. I opened it up and propped the door open with a rock. He grabbed the mower and I grabbed the weed whacker and we got to work.
I finished with the weeder at around 11:30. My stomach was rumbling and I decided it would be a good time to break for lunch. I walked around the church and found Jackson mowing his last stretch.
He had taken off his polo shirt and shoved it into the back of his jeans, letting it hang behind him. The white wife-beater he wore was soaked with sweat and showed off his muscular chest and big arms. His stomach was nearly flat, and it looked hard. He had a gold chain around his neck and it sparkled and glinted in the sunlight.
Once he finished, he let go of the handle and the mower shut off. He wiped his brow with his forearm and nodded his head towards me.
"Hi," I said. "I was going to take a lunch break. Um... Did you bring anything for lunch? You're welcome to eat with me. We have plenty... If you want... I guess."
Jeez, I felt like a babbling moron. But the big, handsome man made me nervous.
He looked like he was debating back and forth over my offer for a few seconds. Then his stomach rumbled. Loudly. I pretended not to notice and after a few seconds, he finally nodded. "Sure."
He followed me around the back of the church and we walked up the walkway to our house. When we stepped into the back door, Mother looked up and gasped.
"You scared me, Junior," she said as her eyes darted between me and Jackson. I knew that it wasn't me who scared her and it wasn't because I startled her. Jackson ducked his head down and shoved his hands in his pockets.
"We were going to have our lunch break," I said, looking at her with a slight frown.
"Oh, well, you can't come in here looking like that. Go out back. I'll bring it out."
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't. I ate lunch at the kitchen table all the time 'looking like that' and she never cared before. No, she didn't want Jackson in the house. I thought it incredibly insensitive.
I went to the fridge and grabbed two cans of Sprite and two bottles of water and nodded for Jackson to follow me. Our patio was made up of stone pavers and we had a little table and chair set complete with a patio umbrella to provide shade over the table. Jackson and I sat down and I gave him the soda and a water. We popped the sodas open and took a big drink.
