Chapter 14 - February 2010

Super Bowl forty-four. I sat in the Allan’s living room pinched between Aaron and Prince on the loveseat, their legs hanging over the armrest. Isaiah and Joseph were back in town, along with Carol, Paul and all the wives. Allan sat on a folding chair, his legs propped up on the coffee table.

            He was losing his strength, the pain in his legs unbearable at times.

            “Ten bucks the Colts win by thirty,” Prince said, taking a bite of a hamburger.

            “No way dad,” Joseph said, lying on the floor with his chin resting in his hands. “Drew Brees is a beast. Saints win by at least a touchdown.”

            “Who wants another hamburger before I leave?” Carol asked from the kitchen. A few hands went to the air and she collected their plates. “There you go,” she said, handing the plates back and wiping her hands on the apron tied around her waist.  

            “Give Mama our love,” Aaron said.

            Carol removed the apron and hung it on the wall. “I will. Enjoy the game everybody.”

            “Thank you,” we all said, waving as she exited the house.

            “Everyone remembers the rule, right?” Joseph said, sitting up and looking around the room.

            Confused, I turned and shook my head. “The rule?”

            “Yeah. This dummy won a bet four years ago that he could eat an entire medium pizza, a side of garlic and cinnamon bread sticks all by himself,” Prince said. “Only my son would do something so stupid.” The room rumbled with laughter.

            Joseph went to his knees, throwing his arms out to the side. “That’s what you get for challenging me.”

            “What did you win?” I asked, still uncertain.

            “I said he could have anything he wanted, within reason. You’d think, a mid-twenties, single guy trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life would choose someone like, I don’t know, money. A new car. A trip somewhere. Nope. He said he wanted to create a rule for our annual Super Bowl Party. No one is allowed to talk during the commercials.” Prince shook his head in shame.

            “What?” I said, even more confused than before.

            “Yup. Not a word. The game is good and all, but the commercials are what the night is really about.” Joseph laid back down, a sense of accomplishment rolling of his back.

            “You should have invited Katrina,” Elizabeth said as the game started. She sat on the floor beneath Prince, a blue ribbon tied in her hair and a blue sequined shirt to match.

            “I asked. She said she had plans with some of the ladies from the soup kitchen.”

            Liz nodded her head. “Prince tells me things have been moving forward with you two.”

            “Yes, but very, very slowly. I’m extremely busy at the office and at the hospital with Mary-ann. It doesn’t leave a lot of time to be social.”

            Aaron accidentally bumped my arm as a pass was intercepted.

            “I see. Well, Kat is a wonderful woman. Don’t wait too long.” Elizabeth smiled and turned back to the television.

            As the game progressed, the room was, aside from commercials, at a constant volume of ten. I even found myself shouting at the screen when there was a missed tackle, or dropped pass. New Orleans ended the second quarter down four and we quickly dispersed throughout the house, uninterested in, The Who’s, halftime performance.

            “I tried to tell you,” Prince said, standing by the kitchen table snacking on a bowl of potato chips. “The Saints just don’t have an answer. They don’t have a star player that’s going to put them at the next level.”

            “Two words dad. Drew...Brees,” Joseph said, taking a can of soda from the fridge.

            “I’m starting to agree with your father,” Aaron jumped in. “Drew Brees is good, but this is a big game and the guys under six feet tall. I don’t know how he’s going to handle the pressure.

            “Just wait and see.” Joseph flipped the can through the air and caught it as he walked back into the living room to find his seat.

            “Oh!” Joseph shouted, jumping to his feet at the start of the second half. “I told you.”

            “They may have recovered the onside kick, which is one of the riskiest plays I’ve seen in a Super Bowl. But now they have to capitalize,” Isaiah said.

            New Orleans took the lead after a Pierre Thomas touchdown reception and the house began to shake. Joseph threw himself into the air, landing with a resounding thud and running around the room looking for high-fives.

            “If my house falls down I’m going to whoop that black a*s of yours,” Allan said, wagging a finger. His mouth flew open and his laugh shot out like a cannon.

            The look on Joseph’s face was enough to get the entire room rolling, tears of laughter streaming down each of our faces.

            Although the Colts retook the lead, New Orleans outscored them eighteen to nothing the rest of the game to win 31-17.

            “I should have put money on this game,” Joseph said. “Drew Brees with 32 of 39 completions for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Easily the MVP.” He walked over to his father and leaned forward, though putting himself in a position to run quickly if he needed to. “You don’t say it often, but I want to hear it. ‘Son, you were right.’” Joseph put his hand to his ear to make sure he heard every word.

            “You were right,” Prince whispered.

            “Sorry, what? I’m not sure if I heard you.”

            “Boy you better--” Prince sprung from his seat, Joseph squealing as he tried to get away. We watched as they ran around the coffee table. Joseph eventually gave up, curling into a ball on the floor and shouting ‘mercy’ as Prince jabbed at his ribs.

            Exhausted, but with a smile on my face, I said my farewells and headed home.

 

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            “You looked tired,” Katrina said as I walked into the kitchen. The other women were already halfway through lunch preparations and the room smelled of boiled noodles and freshly chopped onions. “Did you have fun watching the game?”

            “I did. That family knows how to have a good time.” I gave her a hug and reached under the counter for a pair of plastic gloves.

            Katrina was slowly working her way back into a routine, spending a few days at Full Bellies and at least a day with Alise helping look after her mother. Monday’s were easier for her, the church service from the day before boosting her spirit and allowing her to believe there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

            “How’s Mary-ann doing?” she asked, opening a box of elbow noodles and dumping them in a pot.

            “Better, and worse. It’s hard to tell,” I said, peeling an onion.

            “How so?”

            “Well, the doctors say her brain is continuing to deteriorate. She’s forgetting more and more. At this point the only face she really remembers is Allan’s and she struggles to remember him occasionally. But, there’s this boy.” I tossed the onion into a bowl and started on another.

            “Allan mentioned something a few Sunday’s ago about a boy she’s been spending time with, but I wasn’t paying that much attention.”   

            “Landon Patrick Seawith. And the only reason I know his full name is because he has a habit of saying it several times. One of the smartest nine-year old’s I’ve ever seen. His memory is remarkable.”

            Some of the ladies began to sing, their voices like an angelic church choir. Swing low. Sweet chariot. God’s gonna trouble, the water.

            “Go on girl. Hit that low note,” a woman said. “Sound like someone hit you in the gut and you struggling to get the air out.” The others laughed, waving their towels around their heads.

            “Why is he there?” Katrina asked, looking over her shoulder and smiling at the women.

            “Brain cancer. He’s had three surgeries so far.”

            “Poor thing.”

            “Yeah. But when those two are together, it’s like Mary-ann is young again. They made snow angels the other week, they play cards, do crafts together. It’s like he has a superpower or something.” My pile of onions was peeled, so I wiped down the cutting board and began dicing them with a knife.

            “I doubt very much that that is true. But it wouldn’t be that unbelievable if she were feeding off of his energy.”

            “That’s exactly what I told Allan. He was worried at first, but he seems pretty happy with the ‘relationship.’” I nudged her with my elbow and I could see her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

            “Come on now, we’re trying to work.” she said, swiping an elbow back in my direction.

            “You’re damn right we are.” I bumped her with my hip, sending her into the sink behind me.

            She gasped, grabbed a handful of water and threw it at me.

            With water dripping from my face, I set the knife down, an evil smile clinging to my lips.

For a moment, it felt like we were alone. I chased her around the kitchen with a wet towel. Her giggle cascaded from her mouth, bouncing off the countertop and pouring onto the floor.

The sound of the room slowly came back as we stood panting, smiles still pulled to our cheeks. We stared at the other women in silence, their expressions twisted.

            “Damn, just get a room already,” Maxine said, twirling her towel around her head. Laughter bubbled and burst around the room.

            Embarrassed, Katrina sauntered back to where she had been working.

            As the lunch crowd piled in, I pulled Kat to the side. “I didn’t mean for you to get upset. I just really enjoy being around you.”

            “No Sal. It’s not you. You’re great, but it’s hard for me to smile and laugh sometimes. It feels like I’m betraying him in some way.”

            “I get that. But eventually you have to realize that he would want you to be happy.” I smiled, pulling on her elbow and landing a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Come to dinner with me tonight.”

            She hesitated, her arms falling weightless at her sides. “Fine. But nothing fancy. I’m not that kind of girl.”

            “Deal. Waffle House it is.”

            “Perfect.”

            “Wait really? I was only kidding.” I raised my eyebrows.

            “Nope. That’s exactly what I want.” She went back to the kitchen without another word.