Gangster Momma

Chapter Eight

Mascina and Sydny watched Jhonnie as she rested in the pale,washed out,blue sheet covered hospital bed.

Mas touched her baby's face and smiled a bit. She was ok. She didn't care that she was falling apart inside. Her baby was ok,and that's all that mattered.

"Mas are you ok?"

She ignored the doctor's question and continued stoking Jhonnie's hair.

There was a loud clash in the hallway then a bundle formed itself at the doorway. Mas looked up to find her crew. Josh and some of the older ones stood in the door looking like utter idiots with smiles on their faces and teddy bears,flowers,candy and balloons in their hands.

Mas put her hand to her forehead and shook her head at them. From her view they looked like thugs who lost their calling and turned soft, a funny sight to her. But she wasn't the only one in the room, and the other person thought differently.

"Aw. Look at you idiots,"Mas exclaimed going up to them and pinching their cheeks.

"Haha very funny. We are here for Jhonnie," Kieran,one in the group, explained.

"Ouch. I'm wounded," She feigned.

Doctor Jagan was on the other side of Jhonnie's bed. He had been very confused as to why Mascina knew and interacted with these illegal people. He had to admit,he was a bit scared. 

"Oh. Guys this is Doctor Jagan. Sydny these are my guys. "

Sydny merely gave them a nod and sat at the other end of the room as they moved towards Jhonnie,ignoring his greeting gesture.

"I'm gonna fuc-"

"Shut up. She might hear you," Mas scolded.

"Sorry mama,"Daniel said sarcastically.

Doctor Jagan was appalled at the behaviour of her friends and was ecstatic when they left.

"Aren't my boys cute? Bringing flowers and teddies for Jhonnie," Mas said sitting beside Sydny and smiling.

"Why are you friends with those people?"

"Excuse me."

"They are the same kind of people that would irritate the problems you have now because of your ADHD. I don't like you hanging around them they are the wrong crowd."

Mas was outraged,there he was again with the telling her what to do.

"And what is the right crowd?! Your posh uptown white folks? Or I dare to say,friends. I've never seen you or heard you talk about any friends so that means you have no damn right to tell me who to befriend or who not to!"

"You're being so irrational. Look at those guys. Look how dangerous they are. Are these the people you want to hang out with? What about your treatment? I bet that's why you stopped taking the pills."

Mas was about to respond with the fact that every morning she would get reminder texts from one of the boys or Gia to take her pills, but she was too upset.

"Leave."

"What? Why?"

"Leave Sydny!! And don't come back!"

"I'm not going anywhere. I came here Jhonnie and I'm not leaving till she wants me to. "

With that he took a seat across from her.

***

Sydny was fast asleep but felt something move against him,like a head on his chest. He slightly opened his eyes to see a sea of black hair crowding his vision.

"Mascina?" He tried to ask without getting any hair in his mouth and failed miserably.

There was no response but the head shifted a bit to look up at him.

The eyes held a wall of emotions; Anger,sadness,fear,distress.

He knew that with her neglecting the medication, her stubborn state would be washed away and the mood swings would kick again. And that they did.

"I'm cold and I just thought we could warm ourselves up,"she explained.

"Ok."

He was almost asleep again but his name was called. Not by Mascina,she was fast asleep but a younger voice. He looked over at Jhonnie's bed and saw her missing but called down when she appeared in front of him.

"What is mommy doing?"

"She's sleeping."

It was as if he told her that her mother had died and gone to an afterlife because her face looked horrified.

"But I must sleep there!"

He tried to make a little space for her without waking Mas but the child had other plans.

Mas jumped up when a little high pitched scream filled her ears.

"Jhonnie?!"

The little girl got her way and sat on Sydny's lap joyfully as her mother rubbed her ears.

Mas watched Jhonnie as she cuddled up to Sydny. They have been here for almost two months and they have known Sydny for a month and they had gotten so adjusted to him,it was beyond even her belief.

Sydny made a bit more room for her but she shrugged him off saying she'd let Jhonnie be comfortable.

"Mas-"

"No, let's not talk about it,"she brushed off.

"No Mas. I'm sorry about my words earlier. I was rude and being a bit prejudice and I," his sentence cut short when he stopped talking.

"You what?"

"I was jealous. You had all these guys here and they were nice and not thug like and had big muscles and I'm just a scrawny white man you've gone on a few dates with that can't do anything but prescribe pills. "

There was a silence before Mas sat back beside him. She didn't say anything,just stared into his eyes. Then she gently kissed him for the first time, moderately of course, Jhonnie was still there.

"I like you Sydny. You know why? You're not a man that just prescribes pills. For goodness sake you save people Jagan! You saved me. And what girl doesn't fall in love with her saviour? You changed my life and I like you for that. Not to mention my own daughter is beating me up for you. You've changed our lives for the better and I wouldn't have it any other way."

Sydny stared at her some more.

"Mascina Dominique Hunter."

"Yes Sydny Jagan?"

"I want to go see your parents with you in Jamaica."