ITS GOIN DOWN PART 17

[ITS GOIN DOWN] PART 17
THE SOUNDTRACK FOR THIS EPISODE...
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL946C12A8A5CA18A5

Red is tired...
Not in a physical sense but in a mental one.
When he was younger he would always go to his dad when he felt this way.
Now his dad was dead.
Red thought back to his early teenage years when he was testing the bounds of his freedom and he had pissed his mom off.
She had thrown him out and he had hung out with his boys in the cold until they went home. He had then made the long walk to the rooming house where his dad lived and his dads girlfriend had let him in.
There was a kerosene heater burning in the middle of the floor and reds dad was asleep. The flickering light on the wall had made Red think for a while before he went to sleep.
He thought about what the hell he would do if his mom did'nt let him back in.
Damn!!!
When he woke up in the morning his dads girlfriend was gone and his dad groomed himself as he talked to him.
"Boy you done fucked up now... you know that dont you? Yo mama must a been mad as hell at you." His dad chuckled as he thought of what the situation must have looked like.
Reds dad was a great joker and he could take a bad situation and make it funny as hell. He also could get real, real fast if the situation called for it.
Red had seen him make quick work of bigger men in the bars where he spent a lot of his time.
Red knew all the people in the bars. He had grown up in them as he hung out with his dad.
His dad pulled on his shoes and said "I know you hungry. lets go get us a good breakfast."
They walked down the stairs and spoke to the people who ran the restaurant that was under the rooming house and went around the corner to a bar that served breakfast and walked in.
his dads girlfriend owned this bar. She had saved until she had enough to buy it and even though it was in an old building it was nice on the inside.
He and his dad walked over to a booth and sat down and Tywana walked ovr and rubbed his head. "How you doin this mornin Red?"
"Allright."
Her brother who was also the cook came around the bar and joined in.
"If it aint my favorite lil man. Whats up Red?" he said as they went through an elaborate handshake.
"Nothin much" Red said as he sat back down.
"Man its cold out there. I think I saw an eskimo headed south."
Everyone at and around the table laughs at the joke but Red feels hollow inside.
what the hell is he gonna do he wonders as hid dad looks at him and says "Son what you want for breakfast? Get what you want. Its been a long time since we ate breakfast together."
Red orders corned beef hash. Two eggs over easy. Beef sausage cause he been hanging out with some people who say black men should'nt eat pork and toast with strawberry jelly.
Tywana and her brother who is nicknamed Cotton go to work and fix the breakfast as more and more people come in and sit around.
Some have food for breakfast and others drink their breakfast.
His dad talks to him as they wait for breakfast.
"Son I see you dont understand yo mama yet. I guess you just clueless that way. Boy you got to know how to grease yo mama. You know she rough so you gotta smooth her edges. You cant be harder than her cause she just gonna get harder. See you wanna just throw thangs at her...that dont work with a woman. You got to make her laugh and you got to show her you are a man. But you better remember you still her son and I will beat yo ass with these if you get her wrong." He holds up his fists as he talks to show what he means.
Tywana is walking to the table with the breakfast and as she put it downs she says "You over here threatening this boy Lawrence?"
"Naw I'm just telling him whats what. This world aint always a nice place and he better know that."
red says "Yes sir" as Tywana places the plate in front of him and he eats fast. He had no idea he was this hungry.
He and his dad sit around for a little while longer after they eat and his dad and his friends talk to him.
They get ready to leave and Tywana and his dad kiss before they leave.
His dad walks him to the bustop and hands him a ten dollar bill ans some change and says "Now you go home and apologise to yo mama and keep yo mouth shut. Make her laugh and you can tell her where you were at. She knows that already I bet shes looking for you now. Boy I know you growing up but you gotta respect yo mama. You hear me?"
"Yes sir."
"Allright now here comes the bus." His dad holds out his hend and they shake as the bus pull up and Red climbs on.
 He watches his dad as the bus pulls away and his dad heads off to work.
He looks out of the windows and sit back as he wonders what to say to his mom.
The bus finally reaches his neighborhood and its to early and to cold for his crew to be up yet so he walks to the house without being seen. His roadboys are nosey as hell and his plight would be all over the hood by noon if one of them saw him.
Even at this age Red is a private person and he does most of his dirt by himself.
He walk to his house and stands on the porch for a minute before his sister opens the door and says "Mama wanna talk to you."
He walks in and the house seems so warm, so comfortable.
His mom sit on the couch and she is drinking a cup of coffee and she says "Where you been?"
"With dad."
"Yeah I figured that. Did he talk to you?"
"Yes maam."
"You ready to live by my rules?"
Red wants to say something flip but he knows better and he says "Yes maam."
He sees his sisters and little brother peeking through the bars of the bannister on the stairs and his mom does also.
"Did you eat yet?"
"Yes maam."
"Red you know you the man of this house and you gotta act like it I cant be having you sneeking in and out of windows in the middle of the night. You got little brothers and sisters who watch what you do."
"Yes maam mama."
"So what you got to say besides Yes maam Red?"
"Mama it was so cold ouside last night that I saw an eskimo headed south."
His mom smiles and says "Boy you so crazy" as she sits back down in her chair and laughs into her cup of coffee.
"Go on up there and clean up that messy ass room."


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