My Only Son by Danee Riggs (top ten books to read .txt) 📕

Nate for standing up for Tania. DJ and Tania started bringing Nate around after the fight. Big Derek was expecting to meet a rambunctious boy, maybe a bit of a bully himself but he was a quiet kid, kind of awkward and really big for his age. He towered over the other sixth graders and most of the eighth graders and was stocky to boot. Big Derek took an immediate liking to Nate. He reminded him of himself at that age. He could imagine that Nate was teased (behind his back of course); awkward for the simple fact that he was told so many times “you can’t rough house like the other kids, you could hurt them,” and was probably afraid to interact with them much at all. The difference was that Big Derek had his own father there as he grew, to teach him how to be comfortable with his size, where as Nate’s father left him, his mother and his little sister to fend for themselves when Nate was still a boy.

Big Derek and Lynn had only seen Nate’s dad a few times before he left but it was clear that Reginald Evans was Jack the jerk ten times over. Most people just ignored it but Lynn was having none of it. She invited Angela Evans over to their house after they saw her out several times with gobs of make-up on, trying to cover up the still obvious bruises inflicted by her husband. “Angela please, if there is anything we can do, just say so. This can’t be good for you and the kids,” Big Derek overheard Lynn saying between the sounds of his miter saw. The kids were out playing in the backyard and he left the women to go work on a project in the basement. He wasn’t really trying to eavesdrop and was just about to turn the saw back on, when he heard Angela say in a loud voice, “What you can do is stay out of it!” This is a woman’s thing, he reminded himself. Still, he didn’t like to hear anyone speak to his wife that way. She was the gentlest soul he had ever known and he couldn’t remember the last time she raised her voice. Now he listened purposely. Wanted to make sure he didn’t have to go and escort Angela out of their home. Lynn’s voice remained kind and compassionate. “You know I would never say a word to anyone." All of the cooking sounds had ceased as Lynn stopped making lunch and turned her full attention to Angela. “I’m sorry Lynn,” Angela said, “but Reggie takes care of us. He’s the only reason we were able to move from the ghetto to a nice neighborhood like this and, well he loves me and the kids regardless of what people think.” In a sad voice Lynn answered, “Sure seems like a painful kind of love, dear heart. I’m not judging. I just need you to know that I am here.”
That was the last time that Angela came by the house.

Two years later, Nate was in his room listening to the nightmarish sounds of his mother being beaten to the floor. His little sister had run into his room crying with her hands covering her ears. “I was mad that she had to keep hearing that,” he told DJ one day. “I figured it was time for me to make sure she didn’t have to hear that mess no more.” He walked into his parent’s bedroom. His mother was huddled in the corner next to an overturned end table, his father standing over her. “Get the hell outta here and mind your business,” Reggie turned and yelled at him. He walked over to his father and stood eye to eye with him before rearing back and punching him so hard that he broke his nose. He thought his father was going to kill him but his adrenaline was pumping so hard (though he would say the “nerves in me” instead of adrenaline when telling DJ the story) that he didn’t feel scared. Nate ducked faster than he knew he could when his father, in shock and probably slowed in his drunkenness, swung for Nate’s chin. Nate came back up with a solid left to the gut and the fight was over. Reggie puked up whatever was in his stomach and slid down the wall behind him. From somewhere far away, Nate could hear Angela screaming at him to stop. He never looked over at her and instead backed up to the opposite wall and stood there, watching his father. When Reggie got his wind back he calmly told Angela she should clean up his vomit and began throwing clothes into a duffle bag. She begged him not to leave. “Oh, I’m going. If you didn’t want me to leave you should have made your man keep his hands to himself. You know you can’t have two men at one time, Angie. He wants to be the man of the house, then so be it.” Reggie didn’t look over at Nate. “Please Reggie, I need you. He didn’t mean it,” Angela said and grabbed at his arm. Reggie snatched away from her so hard that she almost fell backward. Only then did Nate move away from the wall. Reggie finally turned to him saying, “no need, my man. She fell on her own. You think you’re better than me?” he laughed. “Yeah right, you’ll never be but you got this.” Nate just stood there watching as his mother, wiping away her own blood from her lips, followed his father out of the room.

Over the next couple of years, Nate got arrested and then dropped out of school. The last time, Big Derek bailed him out for DJs sake and told him, “When someone says you’ll never amount to anything the best thing you can do to prove them wrong is to prove them wrong. My son thinks of you as a brother but he’s my responsibility. You have a little sister to think about. Who’s going to protect her? Big Derek didn’t mention Angela. Though she was the one who called him when Nate was in lock-up, he knew that she blamed Nate for Reggie’s leaving. She started drinking heavily after he left and Big Derek also knew that Nate blamed himself for that. It was DJ that got Nate playing basketball as a way to blow off steam. DJ taught him the fundamentals and was the first to see the potential that Nate had on the court. He introduced Nate to his high school coach. Together, they convinced Nate to come back to school. With his size and speed, he was a natural. With hard work and practice he became a force on the court. He and DJ both made it into The University on athletic scholarships. Like DJ, he made quite a name for himself. Unlike DJ, he had a new girlfriend every week. Big Derek didn’t think much of it, figured maybe he was just making up for the time he spent isolated from his peers. Then again, Big Derek didn’t have a daughter, let alone one that Nate was interested in. He could see how Shawn would play his best defense when it came to Tania. In spite of all the setbacks in Nate’s life, he turned out to be a pretty good kid. Still, in light of DJ’s situation and some of the choices Nate had made, Big Derek could understand Shawn’s concern.

When he came back into the living room with his food, it was just as quiet as when he left. In the days before DJ was sick and before Shawn knew that Tania had feelings for Nate and vice versa, they would have made such a raucous while watching the game, Lynn would tell them that she’d be the one to call the cops if the neighbors didn’t. “So what do you think, Nate?” Big Derek asked. “Do you see Jordan as a future hall of famer too?” Shawn stared straight at the television. “Well,” Nate said looking directly at Shawn, “I’m a big man, and like you Big D, I like the big men when they handle their business on the court. Wilt the Stilt, Larry Bird, you know. When people first saw them they didn’t expect them to be the great players and uh, the great men that they turned out to be. As for Jordan, yeah, I believe that he has greatness in him. Some say he has a lot to learn but when he does learn how to relax into his natural self and not react to what others think or expect of him, well he has the potential to change the game. Look in his eyes, you’ll see. He has the love, the passion for it. That’s what it takes.” Both Big Derek and Shawn were looking at Nate now. Neither of them had ever heard him speak more than a few sentences at a time and never with so much enthusiasm. “Well, I guess that’s that then,” Big Derek said, looking over at Shawn. “Um hmm,” was Shawn’s response. Of course Nate would have to do much more to prove that he meant what he said about “changing the game,” but from the slight smile Big Derek saw as Shawn turned back toward the television, he certainly started off on the good foot.

“Well son, this sure has been a day huh?” The sun had gone down hours ago. Lynn was taking a long bath after being swayed by her husband who had run her bath water, filling the tub with scented bubbles. Shawn, Deb and Tania had left together a few hours before, each with the promise that they would be back at some point the next day. Nate was the last to leave after sitting with DJ until he came downstairs, eyes blood shot from crying. He mumbled, “I have an early class but I’ll be back tomorrow,” and was out the door before Big Derek or Lynn could stop him.

Big Derek thought that it would be hard talking to his son this way but once he started, he went on for hours. He talked about the happenings in their home over the last twenty-four hours, moved on to his thoughts about the playoffs - thanks to the reanimation of their television set- and everything in between. He talked until his mouth was dry and his eyelids drooped. When he woke up the next morning he was still in the chair, covered with the blanket from the foot of the bed. “Thank you God for my wife, my son and my hope.”

The next few days were filled with a refreshing end to the depressing repetition of the previous few weeks. Shawn, Deb, Tania and Nate visited every day, individually and sometimes all at once. It was getting late on one of the evenings that they were all over together. Lynn was upstairs with DJ and the others sat in the living room. They were reminiscing about the times before the kids went to college, when Shawn looked over at Tania and Nate. “Speaking of school, you two should really spend more time studying. Finals are coming up, right?" Tania and Nate, who were deliberately sitting on different sides of the room, looked at each other in surprise. Tania was the first to speak. “You’re right dad, but trust me we study all the time when we’re not here or in class. Nate and I both know how important it is for us to do well.” Nate concurred, “Yes sir, we do.” Deb smiled. Big Derek thought both Lynn and DJ would be happy with this turn of events. He’d tell them both about it later.

A few neighbors even dropped in to say hello and ask about DJ. Though Lynn was spending