No Pain No Pleasure: Chapter 3

Andrele and his family sat in one of Grady Hospital's waiting rooms, many thoughts and emotions flood his mind. Caught up on the realization that his actions toward his father could possibly be his last were seriously attacking him. But his ill will toward his father made him numb to any hysteria. Although he was caught between emotions, seeing his family so sad made him feel for his father's situation.

 "Lord please let him be ok!" Pam said weeping.

Seeing  his mother so distraught made him question his emotions toward his father even more. He thought to himself why is she able to throw what he did out the window like nothing ever happened. How could she simply accept him back after he left her with two kids to raise on her own for years. He dabbled at the idea of asking her why but figured the time wasn't right, but the hunger of knowing wouldn’t let him ignore his anxiousness.

"Mama could I ask you a question?" he asked wiping her tears.

"What is it son?" she replied.

"How is it that you are able to accept Pat back into our lives after what he's done to us?" he asked. "All those years he wasn't there...All the things you had to endure because of him walking out...How are you able to forgive and move on?"

"Well Drele I can tell you that it definitely was no easy...Things were very hard when he left us and I even questioned him actually leaving again..." she answered. "But it was not all his fault...Me and your father had been going through a lot between the time your sister was born and when he left...We began to struggle and I became very irritated by your father's immaturity...Well I wouldn't call it immaturity...He just didn’t' really know how to do "motherly" things that I just couldn't do at the time because of my post labor...I gave him a very hard time about the smallest of things and he felt like he couldn't take it anymore."

"But just because he felt like he couldn't take it anymore that justifies him walking away?" he asked.

"No  Drele, it definitely didn't make it ok and he knew that...he tried to come back and I just would have it...I told him that he would never see his kids again..." she said. "And after a while I didn't hear from him at all and at that time I realized that I had made a big mistake but my pride wouldn't let me go back to him..." she said.

At that moment Andrele, eyes wide in amazement, sits straight up in his chair.

"Then one day he called and I swallowed my pride enough to answer the phone...He called to check on us and he apologized for everything that happened between us...We sat there and talked for hours catching and I noticed a difference in him...In his tone...in his dialogue...He was a broken man..." she added. "The way that he asked and talked about us I could tell that he had been broken by not being able to see his family...he asked to come by and visit us during the conversation and I allowed it..."

Andrele was a loss of words. "What...Wha...How..."

"That is the reason I tell you that that man is a good man...yes he has made his mistakes but we all do...When he started to be back around and you started to take a bad vibe with him I offered to him that I would tell you the whole story but he chose against it...He told me that he would bare he blame so you would still have me to confide in need be..." she continued.  "That man has always wanted to be in you and your sister's lives and I respect and support him in his endeavors..."

Thrown for a loop by the information that his mother has shared with him, Andrele is very confused about his feelings for his father. On hand he is thinking about how his father wasn't in his life so many years, but in the other he now knows that the reasons for his hatred toward Pat aren't exactly valid anymore. Yes his father left hem but it wasn't completely his fault and when he wanted to come back initially his mother didn't want Pat to.

"Honestly Pat is my soul mate...The bad times that I've shared with him are nothing compared to the wonderful times I've enjoyed with him...I'm so happy to have him back in my life and I think you should be too..." she added.

At that moment a nurse walked into the waiting room.

"Pamela Driek?"

"That's me...How is he doing?...Is he ok?" she asked nervously.

"Well ma'am he is in critical condition right now...Mr. Jones suffered a mild heart attack...he will need to stay under our care until we can be sure that his health is stable enough..." he nurse answered.

"Well can we at least see him?" Pam asked.

"He is actually sleeping but you may go see him." the nurse said.

The family all gathered together to follow the nurse to Pat’s room. With so much going through his mind, Andrele’s steps were very hesitant. All he could think about was how much he resented Pat for almost no reason at all. How could he face him after treating him so wrongly. Getting closer and closer to Pat’s room, the family grew more hopefully as Andrele himself grew more hesitant.

“Ok his room is right here…” the nurse said as she entered his room. “Let me just check everything to make sure that everything is everything.”

Andrele was he last member to walk into the room. As Pat lay in bed motionless, it was immediately noticeable that he was in awful condition. Pam began to cry seeing him in such bad shape. Andrele was in a state of shock. He just couldn’t believe that all this time he had wrongly accused his father and now he is about o potential lose one of the people that he wanted in his life the most, his father.

“Nurse, how long do you think he will have to be here…like an estimate time frame?” Pam asked.

“I honestly wouldn’t be able to answer that question for you right now…it’s going to depend solely on how fast his health level increases.” The nurse answered.

Andrele just stood this quietly as if he wasn’t even there. Then the nurse begins again.

“Umm excuse me ma’am, I know it may not be the right time but I have some paperwork that needs to be signed…financial purposes…”

“Ok…thank you for everything…” Pam replied.

As he nurse hands the pen and clipboard to Pam Andrele grabs it from this mother’s hands.

”I got it mama…don’t worry bout…” he said to her.

This shocks Pam and as Andrele begins to fill out the paperwork she begins to smile.

 Andrele completes the paperwork and followed he nurse into he the hall way. But before he could get too far out into the hall, Big Mama comes behind him and stops him.

”Drele you did a good thing back there…I know things have been rough between you and your father but your mother was right...” she said. “He has been trying to do everything he can to make sure things could be made right….I know things made be hard to understand right now but give him a chance… I don’t think you will regret it suga...”

     "I hear ya Big Mama..." Andrele replied.

     Andrele wasn't very sure what would transpire between him and Pat but what he was sure of is that he had to at least try to make things right. Or at least make something of the situation.

     Andrele's phone begins to rings.

     "Hello?"

     "Yea Drele what happened to you calling me back?" Tanya said.

     "Mercy I had some family issues today...I apologize." he said.

     "Nigga don’t lie to me...you probably been somewhere frappin' off." she said.

    "No really I did have family issues...no flex...my father had a heart attack...I been at the hospital since like 11." he replied.

     "Oh I'm sorry to hear that...he ok?" she asked.

     "At the moment yes...I don’t know how long he will be here though." he said.

     "Oh ok...well are you ok?...Are you even feeling up for this appearance tomorrow?" she asked.

     "I don’t know how to feel right now honestly but I'ma be aight...I need to make this appearance cause I'ma take care of the expenses." he said.

    "Well aight...what time do you wanna meet up tomorrow?" Tanya asked.

    "Just give me the normal wake up call." Andrele replied.

     "Ok...Try to get some rest...I'll talk to you later on..." she said.

     Andrele then walks back in the room.

     "Mama I gotta go...Got an appearance to make in the morning...Call me if y'all need anything..." he said.

     "Ok I'll call U...Be careful on the way home." Pam said.

    "Ok...I love y'all...Later..."

     His day was definitely not supposed to unfold like it did but he would get some rest and try to sleep it off. Another day gone, another day to start anew.