Free Push The Button by Feminista Jones

she was fine as she wanted to be!” Eric paused to chuckle to himself and appeared to be stuck in a memory for a few seconds.
    “That woman saved my life.”
    “What do you mean, Dad?”
    “Just what I said. Ya mama saved my life. I wasn’t shit then. Hell, I still ain’t shit, but… for the time God blessed me with being with her, she saved me. Even when I treated her like shit, she loved me. Took me back. Fed me. Took care of me. I ain’t deserve   none  of that shit, ya hear me? I cheated on her. Beat on her. Gambled away all her money. My money. Everything…”
    Eric slumped further down into his seat, feeling the weight of his confessions. He reached out and placed his hand over his son’s on the steering wheel. When he could have squeezed it, he pulled back, defeated. Intoxicated. Sick. Wasted. Life, wasted.
    “I remember,” David said, finally.
    “I… I know you do son. You and your brother. He still won’t talk to me, yanno? I tried calling him a few times but…he won’t call me back. Why won’t he call me back, son?” Eric looked caught at the intersection of sadness, dejection, and hope.
    “He’ll come around, Dad.”
    “No, he won’t. I don’t even blame him. Listen…you got a girlfriend yet?”
    “No.”
    “Well, good. Keep your head in those books. Women take a lot of out of you. They can change you, for the better if you let them. For worse if you let yourself go too far.”
    “Dad, I’m not trying to have a relationship convo with you right now. I’m really not. You are the  last  person who needs to be doling out relationship advice.”
    “Maybe you can learn from my fuck ups, son. Maybe I can be of some use to you somehow…”
    David looked straight ahead and focused on driving. Eric said little for the next 20 minutes or so, and David turned up the volume on the car stereo.
    “Whenever I feel like giving up. Whenever my sunshine turns to grey. Whenever my hopes and dreams are aimed in wrong directions, she’s always there, telling me how much she cares…”
    “When you find that one…that one woman that makes you wish for more hours in each day, makes the sun shine brighter on rainy days… that woman who, who really just lifts every single part of you up towards the heavens…because…because she believes you to be as close to God as she’ll get… That woman who wipes your tears, irons your clothes, and feeds you your favorite meals, laughs at your stupid, stupid jokes, and opens the door for you… even when you’ve done next to nothing to make her feel special… don’t let her go. Don’t fuck that up. Don’t abuse her. Don’t use her. Don’t you dare take that woman for granted or mistreat her because believe me, oh boy believe me, son, she is the ONE! Ya gotta take care of a woman like that, buy her nice things, take her out to nice places, come home at a decent hour, and rub her feet every now and then. I swear to you, boy, that woman will worship the ground you walk on if you just take care of her. Just…take… care of her, you hear me?”
    “Yes, Dad. I hear you.”
    I hear you.
    ****
    Christmas Day 2012
    “Nicole?! Baby girrrrrl!! Long time no see, long long time!” Joseph exclaimed as he walked over to Nicole, who stood practically frozen in a corner of the living room. With extended arms, he pulled her into an embrace that startled her out of her stunned silence. She obliged him and returned the hug with what little energy she could muster. Looking over his shoulder, she could see Marcus looking almost as uncomfortable as she felt and for some reason, she relaxed a bit. He was avoiding eye contact with both her and David.
    “Girl, let me look at you! Whewwwweeee! You’re looking good girl! Lost a lot of that chubby chub you had going on there, didn’t ya? Not that you looked bad,” he corrected himself.

“But wow! You look like one of them Next Top Models of America or whatever they call them girls on that big headed one’s show.