Black Buck(113)

I made my way toward Frodo and the other SDRs who, on seeing me, began whispering. They stopped once I was within earshot.

“Hey, Frodo,” I said, extending my hand, tense.

He looked at it, then up at me, and pulled me in for a tight hug. “Oh man, Buck. Oh man.”

“I know. It’s okay, Frodo. Everything will be okay. I promise.”

Frodo wouldn’t let go of me, and I felt my shoulder getting wet. “No matter what happens, Buck. I want you to . . .” He squeezed me tighter and bawled like the big baby he was.

I patted his back, hoping he wouldn’t throw up on me. “It’s okay, man, it’s all okay.”

“People are saying the worst things about you, Buck. That you, uh, are like the Black Osama bin Laden. And hate white people. And, um, hate America. And a lot of things worse than that. I can’t take it.”

I freed myself from his grasp and held him in front of me. His eyes were red, his nose runny, and freshly cut pieces of hair covered his face; he had gotten a fade, the same style as mine. Not just that—I also realized that Frodo, however stupid and ridiculous he could be, was a real friend.

“I want to thank you, Frodo.”

“For what?” he asked, wiping his eyes with the back of his hairy arm. “It’s you who’s done so much for me, for all of us. The company wouldn’t—wouldn’t be around without you. I wouldn’t be around without you.”

“Maybe so, but I want to thank you for being a loyal friend. And for always accepting me as I am, not for who you wanted me to be.”

“I, uh, I appreciate that more than you’ll ever know, Buck. Does this”—he paused—“does this mean I can join the Happy Campers?”

“No, Frodo, it doesn’t.”

I stepped inside. There were no lines of people waiting to get in. The place was empty, and I shit you not, I pinched myself to make sure I wasn’t in some weird nightmare where I’d wake up and have to do this all over again.

“Buck,” Marissa called, skipping down the hall toward me like she was at a hippie festival. “Everyone’s waiting for you. Magic Johnson just finished the keynote speech, and you’ll be up soon! How excited are you?”

“Magic Johnson?” I asked, stunned.

“Yeah! Isn’t it crazy?” she said, looking more pumped up than Arnold Schwarzenegger on roids. “He spoke about how Sumwun is the embodiment of him. You know, overcoming life’s crazy and kooky obstacles, rising to the top, like cream, and making enough money so not even an extremely lethal disease can kill you.”

“Uh-huh, interesting. So where should I go?”

“Follow me!”

We walked down a long empty hallway. She pointed me to the green room behind the stage. “Ten minutes, Buck. Break a leg!” She reached up and kissed my cheek.

I opened the door and entered an underwhelming room that had a few chairs, standard windows, and a turned-off television hanging from the ceiling. The only shock was that Rhett was sitting there, facing the windows.

“Hey,” I said, walking over to him.

He didn’t move. He just kept sitting there with his eyes closed. A minute later, he looked up at me. “Hey, you ready?”

“If you mean did I prepare something, no, I’m not ready.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t visit you at the hospital. And I’m sorry about your friend.”

Trey, man. Fuck. Just hearing Rhett’s condolences made it all real again. The life I was entering after this day wouldn’t just be for me, Ma, or the people we’d help. It’d also be for the guy who always had my back and looked at me as if I could do no harm. For Trey.

“Thanks,” I said, sitting next to him.

More silence. Then he said, “Are you leaving Sumwun?”

I nodded without returning his gaze.

“It’s probably for the best.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t be who you want me to be, Rhett. I just can’t.”

“The only thing I’ve ever wanted was for you to be as great as I knew you could be. But now”—he stood up—“you’ve become someone else. Someone I no longer recognize.”

“So what does this mean for us?” I asked, pain spreading from the pit of my stomach. “Am I no longer your brother?”

He refused to look at me. “It means that you broke your promise, Buck. You said you’d never lie to me, but you did. So I can’t be there to protect you anymore no matter what happens.”

“What’s happening?” I asked, standing in front of him, no longer able to prevent myself from crying. I knew that everything I was doing was right, but choosing the Happy Campers over Rhett still hurt.

He cared more about Sumwun than anything or anyone else. He chose to see me as a man or a Black man when it was convenient to him. He likely picked me over Clyde because it was a better business decision. Still, I loved him with all that I had. He gave me the greatest gift in the world, one I can now give to others: an opportunity. And nothing, including what was about to happen, could ever take that away.

He dropped his head. “We have to distance ourselves from you, Buck. You’re poisoned.”

“What do you mean?” I pressed, grabbing his shoulders.

“It’s the only way.”