Damian looked like he was about to protest again when there was a knock on the shop’s door. The four of them turned in unison toward the interruption with what may have been a bit of relief. But the relief turned to surprise when they saw the intruder was a young kid of about ten. He was medium-brown skinned with short-cropped hair, extra faded on the sides and a little higher on the top. He wore basketball shorts that were slung low, though maybe that was mostly due to his thin frame and not to his trying to make any sort of fashion statement. The boy had paired the shorts with a white tank top, which also looked at least one size too big. He looked at them through the door with wide brown eyes while one hand clutched a brown paper bag.
Lucas pointed at the sign on the door. “Sorry, we’re closed,” he said through the doorway.
“I know,” the kid yelled to the door. “Um, yeah. I know you’re closed. I was just hoping I could come in for a moment.”
Lucas turned around and looked at Jesse. “You know this kid?”
Jesse took a step forward. He didn’t recognize the kid, but he did recognize the shakiness in his voice. Jesse shook his head. “No, I don’t. But he’s young and looks harmless. Open up to see what he wants. Maybe he’s selling candy bars or something.”
“As if we want or need some candy bars?” Lucas said.
“I could use a candy bar,” Noah countered.
Jesse shook his head. That was his brothers. Ready to go to blows over something serious one minute, and minds on candy the next.
Lucas sighed. “Fine. Lemme see what he’s got. If he’s got the ones with almonds, we can get some.”
Damian snorted from over to his left while Lucas opened the door. “What is it we can do for you? Are you selling candy or something? I’ve got two dollars, but I don’t want any if you don’t have the ones with nuts.”
The boy shook his head and swallowed. “Um. You’re one of the Strong guys, right?”
Lucas grinned, then flexed. “I’ve been told I’m all right.”
The boy gave him a “Really, are you serious right now?” look that made Jesse’s morning, then shook his head. “I mean you’re one of Ms. Joy’s sons, right? The Asian fireman one.”
Ouch, kid. Jesse could only imagine Lucas’s face at that one. He hated being singled out as ‘the Asian one’ out of the four of them, having gotten plenty of it most of his life. It barely let up now that he worked for the FDNY. But it seemed to be the kid’s day because Lucas gave him a pass. “Yeah, I guess I’ve been called that. Though ‘firefighter’ is good enough.”
“You’ve been called worse,” Jesse yelled, and got a sharp look from Lucas that had him quickly turning back to the boy. “What can we do for you?”
“You’re another one,” the boy said.
“The one without a job,” Damian mumbled.
Jesse then noticed just how tightly the boy held on to the brown paper bag in his hand. He clutched it at his side, crinkling the top, while he twisted his feet over on the sides of his sneakers nervously. “Yeah. That’s right. I’m Jesse, and these are my brothers.”
The boy looked up and around at the other three men with what seemed like awe and a bit of fear. Still, he swallowed and continued to talk. “I’m Errol Miller and, well, I just wanted to tell you that I’m very sorry for your loss.” The boy swallowed again, and Jesse could tell he was now fighting back a tear.
“Thank you. We appreciate that. Did you know Mama Joy well?”
The boy looked at all of them nervously once again and it seemed as if he was wondering how much was safe to say. “Well, not all that good. I had just started to come here with the summer program. And I, um, I liked it. So, she said I could come back anytime. I did, well, a few times. She was nice. I heard some of the kids talking about what happened to her and it made me sad.” He got a hitch in his voice. Jesse looked at Lucas, catching his brother’s eye over the boy’s head. “Real sad,” the boy continued. “So, when I told my mom about it, she said it would be okay if I came by and gave my condolences. That it was the right thing to do.”
It was then that Kerry walked by the back kitchen opening, and she paused at the doorway. “Errol! What are you doing here?” she said, stepping into the main lounge.
The boy brightened at the sight of Kerry, his entire face opening up and his demeanor changing as he smiled at her. But then, as if remembering his mission, he quickly sobered. “Hi, Miss Kerry. I just wanted to come by to say how sorry I am about Ms. Joy.”
Kerry stepped forward and took the boy into her arms in a hug. “Oh, Errol. Thank you so much. That is so kind of you.”
Errol pulled back and unclenched his fists from the bag he was holding. He looked up at Kerry with a sad longing in his eyes and Jesse could see he was debating a question. “Will the shop be open again for us kids to come in for a lesson?”
Kerry looked around at Jesse and his brothers, then back at Errol. “Errol, I’m not sure. The family has to do some figuring out about that.”
Errol let out a breath and looked at Jesse. The boy nodded soberly as if he fully understood, despite his young age. Once again, he clenched the brown paper bag tightly.
As if she knew he wanted something more, Kerry questioned him. “What you got there, Errol? Is it anything I can help you with?”
Once again, Errol looked at all the brothers, and it was then that Jesse could see the embarrassment as it bloomed across his features. He looked at Kerry and put his shoulders back before reaching into his bag and pulling out a small set of circular knitting needles and what appeared to be the beginning of a hat cast on, though Jesse could see he had gotten himself into a tangled mass of dropped stitches. “I think I’ve made some mistakes here and could use some help, so I was hoping there would be another class,” Errol said.
Kerry’s smile was warm and nonjudgmental as she gently rubbed the top of his head. “Yes, it looks like you do have a little bit of a mess here.”
She looked across to each of them, a hint of warning in her eyes before they softened. Lucas, then Noah, then Damian and finally stopping on Jesse. “But don’t worry, it’s just a few dropped stitches. In knitting there’s never a problem that can’t be fixed. It’s only yarn. Now, why not come back to the kitchen with me and let’s see if we can’t work this out.”
Jesse watched as the boy let out a breath and seemed to brighten, as if the weight of the world was lifted from his shoulders. He followed Kerry to the back, and Jesse could hear her as she gave the boy a snack and then began to patiently teach him how to fix his mess.
Jesse turned to his brothers. “Just give me a few months. Let me try to keep the shop open for a few months—six months to a year at most—and see if I can’t keep it afloat. The shop is our legacy, and one that meant too much to Mama Joy and the community to just let it go. Not without giving it a try at least. Hell, it’s our last name on the awning,” he said, pulling his hole card by bringing up the Strong name they all collectively took on when Mama Joy became their official adoptive mother.