Free Mama's Boy by Reshonda Tate Billingsley Page A

him!”
    â€œJamal, what are you doing in there?” Elton hissed as he peered into the dark closet. “Come out here now!”
    Jamal eased out of the closet. Thankfully, he’d cleaned up someand had put on a fresh T-shirt. He still looked weary around the eyes.
    â€œAre you hiding him here?” Elton snapped at Gloria.
    â€œGood to see you, too, Daddy,” Jamal said, his voice a mixture of sarcasm and exhaustion.
    Elton took a deep breath and pulled his son into an awkward hug, then quickly released him. “Of course I’m glad that you’re all right, but somebody needs to explain to me what’s going on.”
    â€œI just found out that he was here,” Gloria replied as Jamal continued to look at her like he couldn’t believe that she had betrayed him. “Baby, I’m sorry, but your dad needed to know.”
    â€œYou’re doggone right!” Elton said. “You got your mama running around putting her freedom on the line! How would you feel if they threw your mama in jail behind this?”
    Jamal bit his bottom lip as a thin mist covered his eyes. Over the past year, he’d become defiant whenever Elton chastised him, but now, he’d returned to his childhood response to his father’s wrath—looking away in shame.
    â€œHe didn’t have me doing anything, Elton,” Gloria protested. “We’re trying to figure this out.”
    â€œThere’s nothing to figure out. You have to turn yourself in,” Elton said.
    â€œSee, Ma!” Jamal exclaimed, a look of panic spreading across his face.
    â€œYou just have to cause havoc!” Elton said. He shook his head as he paced in the small bedroom. “Do you know the shame you have brought to this family?”
    â€œIt’s all about the shame,” Jamal mumbled.
    Elton spun toward him, jabbing a finger in his face. “Don’t youdare get smart. Do you know what the last few days have been like for us? A nightmare! And the police are following us everywhere. They’re even at church! Defiling God’s house. Harassing the members. Harassing us. They were convinced we were hiding you somewhere!” He turned and glared at Gloria. “Little did I know they were right.”
    â€œDad—”
    â€œDon’t dad me,” Elton snapped, turning his venom back in Jamal’s direction. “Do you know your mama could’ve been arrested if they caught her coming here?”
    â€œElton, now is not the time!” Gloria snapped, trying to cut off his rant. “We need to help our son.”
    â€œThis is ridiculous. I’m gonna help him all right. Let’s go,” Elton said, grabbing Jamal’s arm.
    â€œGo where?” Jamal asked as his father literally dragged him toward the door.
    â€œWe’re about to go to the police station.”
    Jamal broke free and darted across the room. “Mom, see, this is what I’m talking about!” he cried. “This is why I didn’t want him to know where I was!”
    â€œSo, on top of everything else, you wanted your mama to lie to me?” Elton said.
    Panic swept through Gloria’s body. “Stop it! Just calm down. Both of you,” she said. “We need to talk about this.”
    â€œThere’s nothing we need to talk about.” Elton looked back and forth between the two of them, then settled his gaze on Gloria. He took a deep breath and stepped toward his wife as if he desperately wanted to reason with her. “He has to turn himself in, Gloria. There is no other way. They’ll come in here shooting at me and you.” Heturned back to Jamal. “I’m not going to let you ruin this family, son.”
    â€œI am this family,” Jamal cried. “Does anyone care about me?”
    â€œOf course we do,” Elton said, “but we’re not going to condone you shooting a police officer.”
    â€œI didn’t mean to shoot him!”