ChapterSixteen
Joseph
I am being extremely lazy this morning as I lay in bed holding Joy. Last night was amazing and not just the sex but the whole night. I loved how she pampered me with dinner and the movie, but the shower and hair took it over the top. And if that wasn’t good enough, I got a nickname and her love. So, forgive me if I don’t want to get up just yet.
“Get your ass up in there, it’s family day!” Asher yells through the door. And I hear Joy chuckle alerting me that she was awake as well.
“Fuck all the way off!”
“So, you not coming down?”
“No!”
“Uncle Seph, you’re not going to come spend time with us?” Skai says and I curse because I know I am getting up now.
“I’ll be down in a minute, baby.”
“OK,” she says with a smile in her voice.
“So, I take it we are getting up?”
“Looks that way. They brought in the big guns and are obviously not fighting fair today,” I say as she and I begin to climb out of bed.
“About time y’all made it out here!” Anson says.
“Well, what’s on the agenda?”
“Well first we need to upgrade your equipment,” Jabarri says as he presents me with a new wheelchair. “The motor has been tweaked a little so be careful,” he says, and knowing him it probably goes as fast as a car.
“First up, our annual football game! And Seph, no worries, we have a substitute for you.”
“Please god tell me it’s not Savvy or True.”
“Hey!” they reply in unison.
“Naw Uncle Seph, I got you,” Saint says, and I know my spot is in good hands.
“The losing team has to take the entire family on vacation anywhere in the world. They have to plan and pay for it all on their own, no asking the wives, girlfriends, or any other woman for help and no using our travel agent,” Jag says.
“You’ve got to be kidding me! Do you know the logistics involved with something like that for all eight of us?” Asher declares.
“Oh, you have already misunderstood the assignment, I said the entire family. Including Mom and Dad, Savvy’s parents, all the kids and grands plus Savvy’s sisters and friends, Megan, Peter and Lennox, Brooklyn, Joyce and her partner T and her wife. You know the whole family!”
“That’s a huge undertaking. That’s like thirty people!”
“Stop whining. Peter has hotels and resorts all over the world. Tell him which one you want to go to and buy the damn thing out for the time we are going to be there. That’s half your problem solved right there,” Jag says.
“Alright, stop your complaining and let’s play!” Anson says as he takes the field. I call Saint over.
“What’s up, Uncle Seph?”
“Don’t lose,” I tell him.
“Great pep talk, Uncle Seph,” Saint says sarcastically and jogs out on the field.
They take the field, and I join Josh, Jaasiel, and Jabarri to perform the Haka, the ceremonial dance in the Maori culture. Haka’s have been performed before games since the late 1800’s but became super popular when the Rugby team The All Blacks performed the dance before their games. Our dad taught all of us the ceremonial dance but when we play each other, the J brothers do the dance alone. After I leave the field, Saint takes my place and the game begins! It is the fourth quarter, three minutes on the clock, and no one has scored. The A team has the ball on the five-yard line and will probably put some points on the board and win the game. They snap the ball; Atlas throws to Anson, and right before he catches it, Saint plucks the ball out of the air and takes off running in the opposite direction. He dodges all attempts to tackle him, and once he is clear, they can’t catch him. He crosses into the endzone, scoring the only points of the game just as the buzzer sounds, winning the game for the J team. Everyone explodes and cheers for Saint winning the game. After that, we race in the go-Karts and the A team wins that race with Asher bringing home the win for that. Everyone eventually branches off to do their own thing, and Jaasiel begins to barbecue the meat since he has already cooked the sides. I prepare to go to the backyard to keep Jaasiel company since I cannot participate in most of the activities. However Joyce’s voice stops me.
“There is one more race left, Solo,” she says. I see Jabarri bring her a blue wheelchair that’s just like the new one he gave me.