Page 49 of Intercept My Heart

“Well, we should probably get out of your way. I’m sure my boys are hungry. I guess we’ll be in touch or not, depending on the results.” The energy in the room was uncomfortable, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

“I planned on getting food too. Do you guys mind if I join you? It’ll give you and I the chance to catch up, Sun—I mean, Charae. My treat.” Charae looked to them for confirmation. Surprisingly, Moolah didn’t look at me like he wanted to bite my head off, so I supposed this was a good sign.

“Are you guys okay with that?”

“It’s fine with me,” Cashmir, aka Cash, replied coolly. I thought it was cool that their names were a play off mine. It made me wonder if Charae wanted them to have those names because she hoped they were mine.

“It’s straight. I want to go somewhere expensive, though. If he’s footing the bill, then I want my money’s worth,” Moolah interjected.

I smirked, then allowed them to walk in front of me. Once we got to our respective cars, we picked the restaurant we wanted to go to. After I got in my car, I noticed I missed a call from Uncle Ro. You would have thought in all this time, he would have retired, but instead, he had been promoted to a global distributor and a contracted enforcer.

“What’s good, Unc. Long time no hear.” It had only been a couple of weeks, but I would have liked to hear from him more often. I worried about his lifestyle because people in his line of work could be cutthroat. Of course, he would coolly explain to me that he was built for this life and would never get caught slipping. He still deposited money into my account, even though I made plenty of money on my own. In his words, this money belonged to me no matter how much I earned. Arguing with him was a lost cause, so I chose not to waste my breath.

“Yeah, yeah. You already know how things go. How have you been, superstar? How has retirement been treating you?” I appreciated the fact that he still found the time to keep up with what I had going on. It made me feel like he at least cared about my life even though he wasn’t around to see it.

“I can’t complain too much. I’ve been working out every morning, trying to find things to occupy my time. I’m thinking about taking this coaching position that I was offered. It’ll be for a high school team out here.”

“I think that would be great for you. It will give you the opportunity to be a part of the game you love without the injuries. I’m sure the kids will appreciate having an experienced coach to train them. High school is when the scouts start to take an interest, and you, being an NFL legend, will almost guarantee the attention they need.” All the things he mentioned were the reasons I considered taking the position.

When Coach Hendrix offered me the position, I was given a lot to consider. I’d been trying to figure out what my next moveswould be, and this opportunity would fill the void from being away from the game.

“Yeah, I told him to give me a few days to think about it, but I’ve already sent the contract to my lawyer to review. As long as everything checks out, I’m going to accept the position.

“I’m proud of you, baby boy. You have beaten all the odds and really made something of yourself. I know I haven’t been as present as I should have been, but know that I’ve always had eyes on you. There has never been a time when I didn’t know whether you were safe or not. You were born to shine, both on and off the field.”

“I appreciate the vote of confidence, Unc.”

“Always. Listen, I’ve got a meeting to go to, so I’m gonna get off this phone. I love you, Money. I’m really proud of the man you’ve become.”

“I love you too, Unc. Take care of yourself.” Something about his parting words seemed off. Unc wasn’t the type to express his emotions. He showed his love through money and gifts. I wondered if he was in trouble or something, but I brushed it off once I pulled into the restaurant. I made a mental note to get up with Tootie to see what was going on with him. They were no longer together, but they still kept in touch for some reason. She often delivered messages from him when he couldn’t get ahold of me. Uncle Ro was my only family, so if I needed to know something, I wanted to hear it sooner rather than later.

Charae parked a few spaces away from me, and I watched her get out of the car. Cash rushed to the driver’s side door to open the door for his mother, and she ran her fingers through his locs. I could see their love for their mother just from how they interacted with her. She was their queen, and they treated her as such. My heart swelled with pride to see two young men honoring their mother. If my mother was still here, I would have been doing the same thing.

It took no time for us to be seated, and the waitress handed us the menu. I had a taste for steak and seafood, so I planned to order the surf and turf.

When the waitress came over, we placed our food and drink orders. Of course, Moolah ordered one of every appetizer on the menu. Charae tried to stop him, but I let him rock. If nothing else, money would never be an issue for me; he could spend whatever he wanted. Charae and I engaged in small talk, which I expected. We were two completely different people than we were when we were younger. We would have to get to know each other all over again.

“I’m proud of you, Rae. You told me what you wanted to do with your life, and you did that shit, all while raising two boys by yourself. That’s some impressive ass shit.”

“I guess I get my foul mouth from you, huh?” Moolah joked. He may have thought the shit was cute, but as a young man, I would have never been caught cursing around my elders. Whether they were my parents or not. I never even cussed around Uncle Ro or Tootie growing up. To me, that was a sign of disrespect.

“I don’t know about that, but if I have anything to say, you won’t be doing it around me.”

“Oh, you want to play daddy now? Where were you when we were struggling and living in the projects? Now, all of a sudden, you want to come back like Captain Save-a-Ho when we no longer need you,” Moolah fired off.

“Cashynn, watch your mouth.”

“It’s cool, Rae. You have a right to be upset. However, you can’t blame me for something I had no knowledge of. I’ll take accountability for the role I played in your mother and I no longer being together, but that’s it. Had I known there was even a possibility that I had children in this world, you would never have grown up without me. I can’t change that shit. So, eitheryou’re gonna allow me to be here now, or you’re gonna continue to punish me for something I couldn’t control.

“I don’t do a lot of back-and-forth, so if you’ve got some things you want to get off your chest, let me know, and we can take it to the field. The ball is in your court.” The waitress, along with a helper, began to set all the appetizers on the table. I’d never tried the fried gator, so Moolah ordering all this stuff turned out to be a good thing. I grabbed a few potato skins and gator bites and scooped some spinach dip on my plate.

“Do you guys have any other hobbies other than football?” I asked, stuffing my face right after.

“I play basketball, too, and I do a little gaming when I have the time. Sports take up the majority of my time, so I don’t get to do as much,” Cashmir responded.

“I feel you. I love watching basketball, but I never played it because my mind was singly focused on football. My dream was to go to the NFL, and I refused to let anything get in the way of that. I have season passes to the Kentwood Kings though. My homies and I hit up a few games throughout the year. Now that I’m retired, I want to go to a hockey game and baseball too. I might not play every sport, but they all interest me.”

“Can I come? I love basketball. Plus, I’ve always wanted to go to an NHL game, but our mom doesn’t like to be anywhere that’s cold,” Cash inquired. Charae’s mouth fell open in surprise.

---