Jaylin's World by Brenda Hampton Page A

man in the world.
    For the last few days, I’d been in touch with Nokea. I told her that my trip was taking more time than expected. As much as I wanted to be home, I just couldn’t get there. I missed my family like hell, and three long days away from them was enough.
    Later that day, I said my good-byes to Mackenzie, but again, made her a promise that I intended to keep. I would see her soon and we would once again live together as a family. She seemed so happy, but definitely not as happy as I was. I was on my way out the front door, and just as I stepped onto the porch, a gray Lincoln MKT truck pulled into the driveway. I wasn’t sure who was inside it, because the windows were tinted. The door opened, and I swore it was Boris Kodjoe himself getting out of the truck. The brotha resembled Mackenzie, so I suspected that I had finally come face-to-face with Bruce.
    â€œWho the fuck are you?” he asked, closing the door to his truck.
    I walked up to him, holding out my hand. “Let me formally introduce myself to you. I’m Mackenzie’s father, Jaylin. Jaylin Rogers. You must be the muthafucka who abandoned your kids, right?”
    He turned up his lips. “This is one hell of a surprise. I assume you were just inside fucking my wife, but that’s cool with me. Have at it, bro. Since you’re here, maybe she’ll stop talking about you all of the time. Maybe I can stop being compared to a muthafucka I do not know, or have never met. Maybe you can be a father to her son that damn sure looks nothing like me. As far as Mackenzie is concerned, good luck with that. She’s spoiled as hell, and the shit just drives me crazy.”
    He walked away and went into the house. I wanted to say something, or even go after him, but I was stopped dead in my tracks. That brotha had some issues, and I could tell that he and Scorpio had a tumultuous marriage.
    I got in the rental car, and as I was driving, my mind started to wander. I played back everything Bruce had said to me, and did he suggest that his son, Bruce Jr., looked nothing like him? The words that Ann, the nurse, said came to mind: “ You’re Mackenzie and Bruce’s father, aren’t you? They look just like you, especially your son. ” Then my mind traveled back to what Mackenzie had said: “He’s handsome, just like you are, Daddy. ” I didn’t even know how old Bruce Jr. was, but I quickly thought back to that night with Scorpio. I was so caught up with the thoughts of my dream on that day, I pumped all kinds of juices into her. Years ago, we’d tried hard for her to get pregnant, but nothing ever happened. I know damn well she didn’t get pregnant that night, and if she had, she would have been anxious to tell me. Even within the last few days, she would have said something. Wouldn’t she? I thought about how many times Scorpio played around with lying to me about my child she claimed to be pregnant with, but wasn’t. Actually, it was someone else’s baby. About her lying to Shane about being pregnant by him, and now, obviously, Bruce had some concerns too. Maybe he was just bitter about their marriage not working out, but the harsh look in his eyes said there was more to it. I made a quick U-turn in the middle of the street, making my way to Cardinal Glennon Hospital.
    It was already going on six o’clock, so I knew I’d miss my flight back to Florida. Maybe I could catch a later one, but for now, I had to see what was up.
    Very impatient, I tapped my foot on the floor of the elevator, while stroking my goatee. My thoughts were all over the place, and when the elevator opened at the third floor, I got off and went straight to Bruce Jr.’s room. I was surprised not to see Scorpio in there. When I looked at the bed, there he was. His head was turned to the side—beautiful curly hair lay on his head—and I watched as his chest slowly heaved up and down. I could see