Onjray Ave.: Larry for Short

By Kyle J. Lashley

Onjray Avenue is host to a plethora of short stories and long lessons. This is just first.
In Larry For Short; Lawrence Coak is just a simple man trying to balance fatherhood, celibacy and business. His aunt, Keya Coak, does her best to remain an honest source of wisdom in Lawrence's life despite the distractions of maturing frim a boy into manhood. The mothers of his two sons, the Olympus twins, provide constant source of bi-polar motivation & comedy.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 27, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664171596

Book preview

1

13th Bornday Present

The cleanliness of the kitchen rivals that of a model kitchen found in most popular magazines. Spotless, polished and so clean that it’d be difficult to believe that it was ever used. In the center of the kitchen stood a square table accompanied by 2 chairs. In one of those chair Keya Coak sat quietly smoking a freshly rolled joint and sipping tea. On the table across from her is two steaming plates of food; a thick, juicy, steak, baked macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes, string beans, shrimp and salmon.

Keya- Lawrence! Lawrence come downstairs, your breakfast is ready!

The hurried thumping of footstep after footstep finding their way to the staircase vibrate through the ceiling of the kitchen toward the living room. The staircase sounds as if it is taking a punishing from a stampede of startled stallions. Lawrence Coak enters the kitchen, stares at the feast before him and before sitting down he hugs and kisses Keya.

Lawrence- Thank you, thank you, thank you Aunt K! I thought I was dreaming when I smelled the food upstairs, but I’m glad I wasn’t.

Keya- No nephew, you were not dreaming at all. Happy Thirteenth Bornday, Lawrence. Sit down and eat up. We have much to talk about.

Lawrence sits and stares at his plates trying to figure out where to begin. With a fork in one hand and a knife in the other, he cuts into the steak like an angry, unskilled surgeon. Before fully chewing and swallowing the chunk of steak he has shoved into his mouth, he already has a forkful of salmon ready to be hastily eaten.

Keya- Slow down, slow down young man. It is not going anywhere and it is not for anybody else. Today…today I will tell you about my brother, your father and your wonderful mother.

Lawrence stops chewing and looks wide-eyed at his aunt. Keya puffs her joint and ashes it in a small tin can. Lawrence knods, blinks and resumes chewing.

Keya- You were too young to remember your parents and I promised your mother and father that I would tell you were you came from. He wanted you to know a bit of the history of your people and the power within your skin.

Lawrence slows his chewing and looks at the back of his hands. Even at this age he has the hands of man who could crush coconuts with little to no effort and think nothing of it.

Keya- That dark skin you are staring at comes from our people. The Nilotic. We are from the southern region of Sudan in Africa. Our beautiful skin is said to be the darkest on the planet. And it was that dark skin that attracted the attention of a dark skinned American country girl-your mother. Her skin was like a cloudless night sky above the ocean, a dark glow. But your father, me and our side of the family…well(puffs joint) well our skin is like the abyss…to a blind shark with coal for eyes.(grins)

Lawrence laughs hard until tears roll down his food stuffed cheeks. He finishes chewing his food, muffling his chuckles trying not to let any food spew out from his mouth and fly all over his aunts emaculate kitchen.

Keya-You have a gift, Lawrence…a glorious gift. You have not received it yet, but you will.

Lawrence- Is it hidden? I have to search for it? I’m like a bloodhound, Aunt K. I can sniff out anything.

Keya- (laughs) No, no nephew. This gift will come from within and find you when the time is right.

Lawrence- And when will the time be right, Aunt K?

Keya- Eh, eighteen or so…give or take a few days…weeks maybe.

Lawrence- Five more years…Seems like a long time.

Keya- And for as long as I live I will be here for you. I will be here as you go through the trials and tribulations of life, especially these teenage years. As hard and hurtful the truth can be…I will not lie to you, I-

Lawrence- How did my parents die?

Keya drops what is left of the joint into the tin can and grabs another rolled joint from behind her ear. She smiles as she lights the joint and inhales deeply, staring at Lawrence. She knods her head while exhaling a large cloud of smoke from her nostrils.

Keya-Your parents were in a nasty car accident. Carolina Cotton Company.

Lawrence- Carolina Cotton Company?

Keya- Yes. The truck that hit your parents was owned by the Carolina Cotton Company. The driver was drinking, but apparently trying to stay awake by snorting cocaine. It was a head on collision. You were two at the time. When I got the phone call, I got dressed and drove to the accident scene as fast as I could. I left the house so fast that I did not know I was barefoot until I stepped on a piece of glass at the scene of the accident. Your parents, both of them, were pinned to the hatch of the trunk of the car, still alive. They seemed so calm among the chaos…they were holding hands. When they saw me, I froze solid. Your mother was the sister I never had, but always wanted. She reached out and waved for me to come. That felt like the longest walk of my life. The medics had to hold me up…my legs were so weak. Your parents looked up at me…grabbed my hands and smiled the biggest smile I had ever seen. That’s when I heard some yell out Over here, there is a baby over here. That baby was you. You had been tossed from the car and somehow landed in some bushes. You were still in your carseat, with your blanket…and not a scratch on you. You didn’t even look scared. No panic in your eyes. Just calm.

The medics brought you over to your parents (clears her throat) they released my hands to touch your face one last time. The three of you seemed to glow so bright. They both whispered to you…and whatever they whispered made you laugh so loud. They turned to me and said He is yours now. A wind blew out of nowhere…and with that wind, your parents closed their eyes and you fell asleep holding your blanket. The same blanket that you have hanging on you wall in your bedroom.

Lawrence- You mentioned that I have a gift. I wasn’t hurt in the crash. Am I invincible? Is my skin-

Keya- Your skin is a sun kissed blessing and your gift is a blessing of growth. You are on your way to becoming a man. And no, you at not invincible. If you were, you would not have felt all of those butt whoopings and spankings growing up(laughs). Life has an odd way of working, Lawrence. Your father was my brother. Your mother was my sister. I could not have a child of my own and through them dying…I gained a nephew whom I would care for as my own son. They gave me the gift of being a mother…and I am here for that journey. You are a teenager today. And I am here for your growth development, Lawrence.

Lawrence- Larry.

Keya- Huh? Larry?

Lawrence- Yes. Larry for short.

2

13 Onjray Avenue

A champagne colored Bentley convertible is gliding through sparse late night traffic like a glass marble rolling on silk sheets for the better part of thirty minutes. The driver hasn’t said anything for as long as the wheels have been rolling on the road. The passenger however, hasn’t stopped talking at all.

Eesha- …and I really can’t believe how good that food was. It was so good. Really good. Damn good. I never knew that restaurant was even there either. The waiters were so polite, they had accents…they had all their teeth. How did you find out about that place?

Chance- I own it.

Eesha- You own it? Like, you own it, own it?

Chance- Yes. I own it, Eesha.

Eesha- Oh shit! All this time you’ve been asking me to come over your house and watch movies, you could’ve just taken me to your own restaurant and spent money on me…bought me more wine and stuff.

Chance- (sighs) Spend more money on you, huh?

Eesha- Yeah, oh course. Spending money on me is a good thing. It’s like telling me how much you appreciate spending time with me. More money. The more you like me.

Chance- Really?

Eesha- Yeah.

Chance-