"Hey Jazz!" I perked up immediately when she walked through the door.

She kind of paused and her smile faded a little, then she fixed her face and smiled again. "Well hi there, my favorite nephew!"

I watched her as she pulled up a chair beside the bed and sat down.

I corrected myself as soon as I saw her face. "Aunt Jasmine." I smiled at her. She smiled back and pulled out this huge packet with GED written across the front of it. "What's that?"

She gave me a look. "You know what this is, Kenney." She moved my food out of the way without even asking me if I was done eating. Then she started laying papers across the tray. She pointed to one that was asking for general information. "Fill this one out first."

I just watched her. Wallace must have put her up to this. They knew the only person that I would ever take this kind of shit from was Jazz. It was so good to see her back to her old self. Better than her old self, actually. I took the pen that she smoothly slid into my hand and started filling out the form. When I was done, she put that one in the envelope and handed me another one. After a while, I got tired and put the pen down.

"So...you good Jazz?"

She smiled and nodded. "So far so good."

I also nodded, and picked the pen back up when she tapped it with her finger. Then I put it back down again.

"Are they treatin' you ok over there? At mama's house?"

She reached out and rubbed my scar. She only did that when her nerves got too bad, which was like all the time.

I took her hand in mine.

"Yeah, Kenney. Of course. It's...different..."

"Wallace?" I looked straight into her eyes.

Her eyes always told me the truth.

"Kenney," she leaned forward and squeezed my hand tighter. "Wally B is a good man. We're all blessed to have him. All of us."

I continued to look into her eyes. "Seen Remmey...lately?"

She kind of blinked and looked away real fast, then looked back at me. "No, son. And I won't. I had to leave him behind, too..." She looked real sad about that. I was kind of sad about it myself. It was weird not having him around. Not having any of them around. I looked into Jazz's eyes, and could tell that she wasn't handling all of these changes as well as she was trying to make everyone believe that she was. "That's not my life anymore, Kenney." She was reassuring me and herself at the same time. "And I'm not that person anymore."

I nodded and let go of her hand. Then I started filling out the papers again. If getting my GED would make her happy, then that's what I would do. Jazz handed me another form when I was finished with that one. The paperwork was never ending. I paused at the question asking for the last grade that I completed. I looked over at Jazz. She leaned over and read the question, then looked back at me.

"Ninth. Half of ninth...just say eighth." Then she sat back in her chair and watched me fill out the rest.

"Why're you lookin' at me like that, Jazz...min?" I asked it without even looking up.

She leaned forward and took the pen out of my hand. Then she started rubbing at my scar.

I took her hand in mine.

"I'm just...so happy, Kenney. I'm so grateful to have you alive and here with me. I just...thank God every day for you. I get down on my knees and thank Him for you every single day, son. I do..." She nodded and I believed her. Of course I believed her. She was my Aunt Jazz. I believed everything she ever told me. I always had. "I'm so sorry about...so many things. So many things. That life...Angel..." she took her hand away and started wringing her hands together. I took her hand back in mine to make her stop. "I just..."

She kind of looked out across the room like she was watching something, and I squeezed her hand to bring her back to me. I didn't want her to go back there. Not even in her own mind.

"Aunt Jazz...it's ok." She wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye and then dropped another one. Then she nodded at me. "It's ok, Aunt Jazz. We're safe now. Everything's ok."

She nodded again and put the pen back in my hand, pointing to the paper.

Instead of writing, I watched Jazz and read her face. I read as much as I could before asking, "When are you goin' back to Virginia?"

I didn't want her to leave me, but I definitely wanted her to go back. It was only a matter of time before she started smoking again if she stayed in Houston. I could see it all over her face.

She shook her head. "I'm not going."

I put the pen down and stared at her. She had to go. I wasn't gonna let here stay here with all this shit goin' on. I just wasn't.

"You have to go, Jazz." I picked up the pen again. "You have to." I kept writing like the discussion was over.

"Kenney, I'm not leavin' you here. It's not safe for you outside of this hospital, and I won't go anywhere without you."

I gave her the side-eye. "I can take care of myself." She knew that.

Aunt Jazz nodded thoughtfully, like she was taking what I said into deep consideration, but I knew that what she was really doing was coming up with a different way to come at me.

"How, son?"

I paused and then put the pen back down. Then I blinked at her. Good question. Everything that I knew how to do...I couldn't do anymore.

"Come with me, Kenney."

I just stared at her. I didn't want to go with her. I wanted to stay in Houston. With mama and Charity, where I knew what was what.

She grabbed my hand. "Please."

I opened my fingers and let her hand fall. Then I picked the pen back up.

"I'll think about it."