Double Trouble by Erosa Knowles Page A

doors.
    “Wait a minute…hold on. You can’t go back there, only immediate family members are allowed,” the woman said, standing as she spoke to Blaine and Donnie.
    Belinda smiled at Blaine’s calm, yet firm, reply. “No problem, we are his father.”
    The sputtered sounds from the woman were silenced as the door closed behind them. Seeing the numbered spaces, she searched for her son’s spot and moved quickly toward the placard with the number 15. Before she reached the curtained area, Solomon, the owner of the landscaping company, stepped out. His smile and gaze landed on her first, and then flicked over the two men who bracketed her on both sides.
    “Ms. Moore—”
    “Belinda,” she said, waving off the formal tone. “How’s Adam?” she whispered.
    “I can hear you, Mom. I’m okay, a bit bruised and waiting to go home,” Adam said from behind the curtain in a strong voice.
    The knot of tension that had been coiled inside her relaxed as she quirked a smile at Solomon. “What happened?”
    “Goofing around on a job, jumping off some equipment that he had been told not to play with…” He shook his head and motioned her away from Adam’s bed. “He’s a good kid, but I can’t have this type of thing happening on my jobs.” He paused as he met her gaze. “I already told him, and planned to contact you later, but I’m releasing him from the company.”
    His words took a moment to penetrate and then her gaze sharpened. “You’re firing him?”
    He nodded. And to his credit, he appeared pained over the situation.
    “Okay, thanks for letting me know and for all the time you’ve spent with him.”
    He held up his hands. “Oh, I am still his mentor; he just won’t work for me, that’s all that’s changed. We don’t give up on our guys that easily. No, we will still get together for talks and hang out. I told him that, please remind him as well.”
    Squeezing his hand, she nodded glad that her son wouldn’t be losing everything at the same time. “I will and thanks, Sol.”
    The older man nodded, looked briefly over her shoulder and then back at her. “If you need anything, call me. I can spend some time with him at the house. You got your daddy and Abe… don’t be stubborn about this.”
    He nodded and walked off. With his offer, the reminder of her dad and other son ringing in her head, she turned to find Donnie and Blaine glaring at Solomon’s back. They did not appear pleased at all. Shaking her head at their actions, she walked past them and pulled back the curtain.
    “Hey you? How do you feel?” she asked her son while trying to stop the wince that struggled to surface. A large white bandage covered a portion of his face and another was on his shoulder.
    “Uncomfortable. The doctor said I was lucky, it could have been worse.” He turned his head to the side and stared off. “I haven’t ever been lucky,” he murmured.
    Her heart ached at the defeat she heard in his voice. “Oh? What about me?”
    He turned to face her. “Huh?”
    “You have me…and Abraham. I guess we just aren’t enough for you to feel blessed,” she said, playing the same card he had a moment ago. It was low, but years of dealing with his swinging moods had taught her to fight fire with fire.
    “Aw Mom, I didn’t say that. It’s just…I keep messing up. You never have to go to the police station or hospital for Abe, why can’t I get it together?” His eyes filled with tears as they met hers. “I mean I try…I really do try to follow the rules, but I get bored or something catches my eye and before my brain kicks in… I let God and you down.”
    She moved close to his side and touched his hand. “I can’t speak for God, but you’ll have to talk to Him yourself. But you’ve never let me down. I understand you like sparkly new things, always have. You are not Abe, stop comparing yourself to him. He wishes he was more like you and you wanna be more like him, while I am soooo thankful to have each