Fresh Out Ch. 06

It was weird to watch him as an adult. Neville had convinced himself that Brion hadn't changed much in the near decade since they'd last spoken but he had clearly been wrong. With a whistle between his teeth, Breeze ran the kids, the youngest 5 and the oldest 9, through the drills he himself hated and complained about all their lives. He embodied all the qualities they had appreciated in their coaches without losing his own comedic personality. Brion was never one to take himself too seriously. When he made varsity as a freshman, he shrugged it off to good luck. And when he made all-state as a sophomore he joked that his father probably paid some people off. Even when he made all-American his last two years of high school and had recruiters from all over the country coming to watch him play, he made it clear to Neville that he wasn't going anywhere without him. He was getting the same kind of attention but there was very little overlap for the two to enjoy success on the hardwood and the gridiron.

They ended up staying local at a relatively small division-1 school that was happy to add two homegrown stars to their ranks. At least until Neville's fuck up, but he never faulted the administration or his coaches for his unceremonious booting. Brion stayed and graduated with a degree in Sports Management. He had no illusions of NBA success and used his talents to travel the world, playing professionally in two countries while he earned another degree in Sports Medicine. From a very early age Brion knew that he wanted to open a gym for kids like them, well like Neville, who didn't have much support with their athletic endeavors. Neville had always admired that about him, his drive and self assurance to see to his goals. Sure they partied as much as any other campus celebrity but Brion never missed a class and graduated with a very respectable 3.6 GPA.

Neville watched from the bleachers with a few parents as Brion lived his dream, directing the 20 or so kids and his three high school aged assistants through layup lines and ball handling drills. He even ran the kills at the end of the session with them, backwards, shouting words of encouragement to all the kids by name. At the end every kid got a sports drink, a high-five, and an attaboy before they went to change back into their street clothes. He chatted with the adults while they waited for the little guys to return, occasionally glancing over in Neville's direction. Unfortunately he couldn't tell if the red in Brion's face was from blush or exertion, but he was fine with either. When all the kids were gone Brion, with the help of his assistants, returned the gym back to it's pre-practice emaculance. Neville would have helped but he was enjoying watching too much, and listening to Breeze be Breeze. He teased the lone girl among them about her prom date prospects, telling her, "It might be hard for you to find a date who ain't intimidated by that mean cross of yours. But if you gotta let a man win to get him to notice you, he ain't worth your time babygirl." Neville noticed one of the boys' quick glances at her and smiled thinking, she might not have to look as far as she thought. When they were done Brion followed them out and locked the door behind them. With a cocky smirk on his face, he sauntered over to Neville and pulled off his shirt.

"We got time for you to get ya ass kicked if you want," he said as he grabbed a stray ball and dribbled a little, lazily putting it through his legs a couple times before he turned and shot a fadeaway jumper from well beyond the three-point line.

"Naw bud this ya world," Neville said as he climbed down from the bleachers to retrieve the rebound and send the ball back to Breeze with a bounce pass. "This is a pretty nice set up you got here though. I'm proud of you man."

"Oh stop it," he said as he took another shot from just beyond the top of the key. Another swish and Neville again rebounded and sent it back. This time he made a pass that Brion had to run to catch but he made it and the turnaround jumper that followed. "I'm just doing what I feel like I was put here to do. Nothing really noble about that."

"You kill me with that shit yo," Neville said as he took a shot of his own, which of course didn't go in but Brion tossed the ball back to him and nodded for him to take the shot again. "Can't a brotha just be impressed by his boy doing his thing." The ball came through the net with a swish. Brion caught the rebound, put it on the floor twice, and two hand dunked it. He did a little dance when he landed and Neville shook his head. "Always a show off," he said with a chuckle and Brion shrugged his shoulders.

"What? You know I'm kinda a nice wit it," he said as he tucked the ball under his arm. "Lemme go grab my stuff before Pop start calling and shit." A few minutes later, Brion returned in sweats and a t-shirt, smelling like body wash and cocoa butter. Neville wanted to lick him but he settled for a playful shove instead which Brion returned.

As they cruised through the city, Neville thought he might be nervous about the possibility of bumping into a relative but Brion's presence in the passenger seat eased his anxiety. It wasn't that he didn't want to see anybody but the probability of confrontation was pretty high with some of his more zealous family members. He avoided his old neighborhood where he knew his father still lived and he noticed Brion almost comment on his detour. Instead he patted Neville's thigh and turned up the radio, keeping his mouth shut.

Eventually they pulled up in front of Brion's childhood home and found his father puffing a cigar on the front porch. It wasn't much, a typical inner city row home but some of Neville's greatest childhood memories happened under that roof. He was excited as he found a parking spot a few doors down. Brion's dad watched them park from the porch. He had been seated until they got out of the car, but when he saw Neville he jumped up and tossed the cigar away before he made his way gingerly down the steps.

"Hey Pop look who I found," Breeze said as they walked up to the older version of himself. He opened his arms to hug his father but was shoved aside by the man responsible for his handsome smile and light eyes.

"So you listened to me for once in your life. Only took you 28 fuckin' years," he barked but there was a huge grin on his face as he took Neville into a bearhug. "I told his punk ass to go see you but he ain't listen."

"They wouldn't let me on the list Pop..."

"Fuck a list boy. You should have found a way," came quickly from his father with a hard slap to the back of his head.

"It's cool Mac I wasn't in no shape to see nobody no way. Him coming to see me the other night was enough."

"You out clean...no PO visits?"

"Yes sir," Neville said with a smirk, knowing full well where this visit was going. "Did every day minus eight months of good time. I ain't want no tether."

"That's what I'm talking bout," Mac said with a hard pat to his back before he pulled him into another hug. This one was less intense but Neville still appreciated the love. "Well shit lets get in the house before Margie come looking for me."

At the mention of Mac's new girlfriend, a frown came to Neville's face and both men noticed. Brion's mother passed away from a stroke during the first year of his incarceration and it weighed on him that he wasn't there to see his best friend through it or to pay his respects to the woman who was like his mother. He even called her momma, unlike his stepmother who he unaffectionately called Ms. Pru.

"It's cool young fella, Margie takes pretty good care of me these days. She a good woman..."

"Gotta be to put up with ya old ornery ass," Brion said with a laugh even after he received another cuff from his father.

"Now don ya two be startin' that nonsense ya hear me," came from the kitchen in a slight island twang and the MacIntosh men laughed.

"Sorry Margie," came from them both in unison as an older dark skinned woman came through the open kitchen door. Brion went to her and kissed both her cheeks. He had to stoop a little, she couldn't have been more than 5'3" and she reached up and hugged him tight.

"And who dis big handsome man who come we you...He face look familiar," she said as she looked at Neville with squinted eyes.

"Put your glasses on baby you might be able to see him," Mac said and Margie swatted him away. "This here's my other boy, Neville. He ain't come from me but he damn sure spent enough time here for me to claim I raised him." Neville laughed at that as the little woman reached up and greeted him as she had Brion.

She held his face in his hands and smiled up at him. "Got a little island blood in ya too don't ya baybe?"

"My mother was from Trinidad," Neville said of the woman who birthed him but never had the pleasure of meeting. She died shortly after his birth. His father didn't talk much about her when he was growing up and now that he was an adult Neville wanted nothing more than to find his relatives that remained on the island.

With a pat to his cheek she said, "She be proud of the man you become. Don't let no one tell you different baybe." Margie kissed his forehead and hugged him tight, when she released him Neville's eyes were wet. "Go now hang with the men, I'll call when the curry done."

It was Mac who pulled him away, with a hand to the back of his neck and laughed a little. "Margie got a little bit of the sight. I learned a long time ago if she tell you something heed it. Right, son?"

"If I did, I could have saved myself some paper on divorce lawyers," was his simple response as he led the way down to the basement. It warmed Neville's heart to see it didn't look any different than when he was a kid, except there were now two recliners. They were in much better condition than the tattered plaid one that he remembered and he laughed as the MacIntosh men eased into them with long sighs. Brion leaned his all the way back and turned on the massage feature. A smile crept across his lips and turned his head to Neville on the couch. With his eyes closed he said, "Don't worry bruh I'mma let you have next. All that work you been putting in I'm sure you a little sore."

"Yeah Paris told me you been working construction," Mac said and Neville tried his best to avoid his eyes as Brion smirked. "Good crew?"

"Yeah, Garrett Restoration," Neville answered, deliberately avoiding Brion's gaze as he told his father of his new job. "It's just a few guys but they work hard. Pays well, good benefits. Boss is a good guy, invited me to stay up at his place when Paris had the baby a day before I got out..."

"And he ain't never moving out," Brion added with a smirk.

"What he got a daughter or something?"

"Naw, nothing like that," Neville said to Mac though his eyes shot daggers at Brion who only laughed. "Its out in the sticks, real quiet you know. Me and his nephew have gotten to be pretty close. It's no bullshit over there. If I stayed with Paris, it wouldn't have been coming from her but I'm sure there would have been something, and with the baby, I ain't want to put that on her. Plus it's cool to be in a different environment. Less tense," Neville said finally and looked up to find both men smiling at him. It was Brion's gaze that made him look away, luckily the sports news was on the television, providing the perfect distraction.

"I hear that young fella," Mac said as he reached under the side table between the two recliners. He came away with a cigar box and sat it in his lap. "That must be why you seem relaxed. I ain't never seen a mufucka been out couple months so collected. That in itself is an accomplishment. I got to admit I wasn't so sure what to expect, I mean you ain't no street cat..."

"Really Pop," Brion said in Neville's defense.

"He know I don't mean no disrespect," was Mac's response as deftly rolled a joint. Neville laughed at that. He knew what he meant and it wasn't the first Neville heard such a thing. His entire life had been a prison that his incarceration freed him from, once his bid was up, Neville was more free than he'd ever been in his life. "I'm just saying I know guys did half as much time and come out all fucked up and shell shocked. I'm just happy you made it through, son."

"Thanks a lot Mac," Neville said, of the sentiment and the joint that came his way. He hadn't smoked in years and never with Brion's father. Neville knew from their early teens that Mac enjoyed a little chronic every now and then but he wasn't the type of parent that shared his questionable habits with his children. Neville remembered very vividly the dressing down they received when Mac caught them smoking cigarettes in seventh grade, a habit that he developed when he was about their age. "Nobody gave enough a shit about me to tell me I was a moron. I love you two too much to allow you the privilege of stupidity." Of course they did it anyway but they stopped stealing his to enjoy the taboo.

All the talk seemed to be done as the joint moved from man to man. True to his word Brion switched seats with Neville, even set the massager to a setting he thought he might like before he stretched out on the couch. He got up occasionally to change the channel at his father's request without making too much noise, other than a heavily drawn breath or rolled eyes. Being in this house with them was the one thing he missed from his old life. He could feel himself getting emotional again and pushed it away with a hard sniff, but when he felt Brion's hand on his there was no holding it back. Neville let the tears flow and Mac grabbed the back of his neck.

"I wasn't bullshiting up there with Margie," Mac said as he squeezed his neck. "You as much my boy as that one over there. I talked to your father not to long after your trial and let him know just how much a jackass he was for not showing up for you. Sure you pissed away your talent and deserved to know just how disappointed you made all of us but that don't mean you deserved to go it alone. Now I'm not usually the type to judge or talk about about folks but we just as much family as your own blood..."

"More," Neville said quietly and wiped his face. It was then Mac noticed their hands, fingers laced tightly together but he didn't say anything about it. "I'm sorry I never wrote back."

"You never told me you did that Pop."

"I ain't gotta tell you shit boy," was Mac's playful reply and Brion smirked. "And I wasn't looking for a response. I just wanted you to know that you had somebody that's all. I've heard brothas say you can't worry about the outside while you in there but those the same ones who come out and can't live out in the world again. I ain't want that to be you son. You made a mistake. You paid for it. Now it's time you move on from it."

"That you ain't gotta worry bout Mac. I'm in a much better place now than I ever was," Neville said having collected himself. He took a deep breath and squeezed Breeze's hand before he let it go. He hadn't even realized they were holding hands until he let go. Neville looked at Mac but the older man showed no signs of even recognizing the contact and he breathed a sigh of relief. "I got good people around me now. Lots of support. Yall ain't got to worry about me losing my mind again. I'm out and plan to stay that way."

"Well that's the best news I heard all week son," Mac said with a smile. "I saw Paris the other day at the market with that big ole baby boy of hers. She told me you were doing well, said you were a little reluctant to come back around but I'm glad you did son."

"She meant my peoples and it's more than reluctant," Neville added with a laugh. He didn't want to say he was flat out not going anywhere near them, figuring that might be a little much.

"Well it's their loss. You always welcome here son, no matter what, and don't you forget it."

Almost on cue, Margie yelled down from the top of the stairs for them to "Come on, get it," and they all jumped up. It had been years since Neville smoked and the three little tokes he took had his head swimming a little bit. He was the last up the stairs and he took the opportunity to give Brion's ass a grope.

"Quit playin," he said over his shoulder with a smirk as he swatted Neville's hand away.

Neville had assumed Brion would hide their affection from his father. Granted it wasn't overt but the subtle touches and quick glances weren't hidden as they sat beside each other at the dining room table. They didn't go unnoticed from the older couple either. Mac and Margie shared a few glances of their own as Brion moved his chair closer to Neville's and when Neville dropped a piece of coco bread on Brion's plate before he deposited one on his own. There was something going on between them, it was obvious, but like his son, Mac would let them tell it if it needed to be said.

Aside from the absence of the matriarch and Brion's sisters, dinner at the with the MacIntoshes wasn't any different than it had been in his childhood. Mac teased Brion about all aspects of his life and the son returned the favor as usual. Margie filled in well enough as the mother figure, telling them both to leave the other alone in turn and Neville laughed so hard at times that he choked. Breeze was there to pat his back but he didn't pull his hand away once Neville recovered, keeping his arm draped around the back of his chair. They had come to the end of the meal by then and Margie excused herself to clean up the dishes and pack up some of the leftovers for the boys to take home. Neville tried to decline but she wouldn't hear of it and came back with two paper bags full of curry goat, rice and peas, cabbage, and plantains for each of them.

"This is their way of telling us it's time to go. It was a cialis in that fistful of pills Pop just took," Brion laughed as he got up from the table, taking both bags with him. And Mac didn't deny it.

"Once you get my age you gotta do what you gotta to keep the one you with happy," he said with a smirk. The wording wasn't lost on either of the boys but Neville was the only one who thought to explain. He opened his mouth to do so and Mac held up his hand. "I might be old but I'm not old school. I had my suspicions about you two for a long time. His reaction to your departure from his life only confirmed what I already knew. He was heart broken and not from him thinking you might have put the moves on his girl. I asked him and he tried to deny it but a father knows his son, even if he ain't know himself yet."

"But he's not gay," Neville said with a smirk and Brion rolled his eyes.

"But you are," Mac said and Neville nodded, his eyes dropped to the floor but Mac grabbed his chin and made him hold his head up. "Ain't nothing wrong with who you are son. Church folk like to shout about God not making no mistakes but they twist it all around to fit they own closed minds. He don't make no mistakes, that's true, and I'm sure He could give a damn about who you taking to bed so long as they go willingly. If yall together, I'm happy for you. If not, have fun. But you make me have to come pick him up off the floor again like I did then I'll forget how much I love you boy." The last he added with hard eyes on Neville before he patted his shoulder and laughed. He grabbed them both around the shoulders and led them to the door. "Now I don't know about yall but curry makes me sleepy if you know what I mean," he said as he opened the door for them.

"Aight Pop that's enough sharing for tonight."

"I'm just telling it how it is boy," was his quick reply as he shoved Brion through the door. Neville got a more civilized farewell, another warm hug before he said, "I meant what I said son. You always welcome here, with or without him. This better not be the last time I see you."

"No sir, it won't," Neville said as he pull away. "Tell Margie I said thank you for dinner."