Free Abide with Me by E. Lynn Harris Page B

Peaches said.
    “So this Enoch is more than a business partner … huh? Now, don’t tell me Miz Peaches got a man,” Nicole teased.
    “Mind your own business, Miss Nicole. I swear. You ain’t changed a bit,” Peaches smiled. “Not one damn bit.”

14

    “Campbell is getting kinda weird,” Basil said.
    “What do you mean?”
    “The other day we went out to lunch and she brought up my mother again. All she wanted to talk about was a mother I didn’t know.”
    “And that makes her weird?”
    “Don’t you think it’s weird? I mean, asking me if I ever saw a picture of her and did I know what she looked like.”
    “Have you ever seen a picture of your mother?”
    “Naw. My pops said he had one, but he lost it during a move. Said he had one taped to a truck he was driving and someone stole it. From what I can tell, I mean from the way he talks about her, she must have been really good looking. I know I got my eyes from her, ’cause ain’t nobody on my pops’s side got gray eyes.”
    “Does it make you miss your mother?”
    “That’s a dumb-ass question,” Basil said angrily.
    “What’s that response about?”
    “How in the fuck can you miss something you never had?” Basil said. “I asked you that the last time. Explain that to me!”
    “Has Campbell said anything about her own mother?”
    “She said her mother was dead.”
    “Maybe that’s why she keeps asking you about your mother.”
    “I don’t see why.”
    “You don’t? Did she say how long her mother has been dead?”
    “I didn’t ask. Look, I don’t want to talk about Campbell. I ain’t gonna hit the guts, so why should I be wasting my time?”
    “So you’re not interested in relationships with women unless they are sexual in nature?”
    “You got it, Doc!”
    “What about with men?”
    “You know, I got my dogs … my boys. The ones who ain’t interested in riding my jock. I certainly don’t consider those gay mofos who want the beef friends and no way I’m going to be hanging out in public with them. When I say my dogs, I’m talking about some of the guys I used to play ball with and some I’ve met since I’ve been working at ESPN. But I don’t want to talk about them either.”
    “Then what would you like to talk about?”
    “I don’t know.”
    “What about your father?”
    “Don’t want to talk about my pops.”
    “Your uncle?”
    “Hell the fuck no!”
    “How’s work?”
    “Work is cool. They love me over at the network, but I got bigger fish to fry. ESPN was cool for a starting job, but CBS just signed an exclusive deal with the Southeastern Conference and the Big Ten, which means they will be doing more games and they’ll need some new talent,” Basil said.
    “So you like what you’re doing?”
    “Yeah, it’s a cool gig. I study a little the Friday night before the game. Talk to the coaches and some players. Get up the next morning, put on a sports jacket they provide, and make a few intelligent comments and I pick up a nice paycheck. What’s not to like?”
    “Then what part of your life makes you unhappy?”
    There was a long silence and then Basil said, “The dumb shit I let my jimmie get me into.”
    “Your jimmie?”
    “You know, my dick,” Basil said with a smirk. His hands were folded over his lap and he hunched it upward for emphasis. “Now, Doc, I’ve told you once before what a jimmie is. Now, if you gonna hang with me you’ve got to keep up.”
    “And how does your jimmie cause you problems?”
    “Takes me places I don’t wanna go.”
    “I don’t understand.”
    “Makes me deal with mofos I have no bizness having in my life.”
    “Are you talking about men?”
    “I’m talking about one man,” Basil said sternly.
    “Raymond?”
    “Naw, that mofo Monty,” Basil said with a grimace.
    “Refresh my memory. Who is Monty?”
    “Monty is the wanna-be pop singer who I was hittin’ when Yolanda walked in on us. The mofo who ruined my one chance at happiness. Remember I