Kevin K. Evans - Songs in the Key of Love: A Love Journey

Chapter One

Bless His Soul

A person like youyoure one of a kind.

T he first thought that came to mind was when I used to see my cousin Tina get treated bad by her boyfriend when I was around ten years old. Even though Tina is my cousin, we were like a brother and sister to each other, and her mother Margaret (everyone called her Dolly) was like my second mother. Her father, Major, died when I was around five. I had a dog with his name, and when my auntie called and told me that my uncle died, I said, Im glad my Major didnt die. I didnt realize how wrong that was until I recalled the conversation as a teenager.

I was sleeping in Tinas bed, when I was awakened by her boyfriend Bruce hitting her and yelling about her being with another man. I stayed still in fear that Bruce would hurt me as well if he knew that I was awake. He made her call her other boyfriend to tell him that she would not be seeing him again. I felt bad for both of them because she was a cheater and he was abusive. My young mind tried to figure out why would anybody cheat on someone and why would a man treat a woman like that. Those moments and thoughts lingered in my mind forever, and I still think about it to this day. There isnt much that I remember as a child, but thats one of my strongest childhood memories.

The second thought was of my sister Kems relationships. Im the youngest of two sisters and a brother (Kem, Lolita, and Rory on my mother Margos side) and the youngest of two sisters (Rosalind and Cheryl) on my father Tituss side. My father married a woman named Clothilde (everyone called her Clo) when I was around five years old, and that gave me two stepsisters Vicki and Phyllis and a stepbrother Marquis. Clo and his sisters called him Marky sometimes, but I called him by his full name, or just Quis. Rosalind is my fathers daughter from another relationship. and she lives in California with her mother and her two kids. My father and stepmother had a child when they were in high school; thats Cheryl. They separated afterward, and she got married for a while and had my three stepsiblings.

I was the closest to Cheryl out of all my siblings. My parents were never married to each other. My mother was married to Lolitas dad, and thats where we got our last name, Evans, but he wasnt around anymore, and they never got a divorce which is how I got his last name. Strange, since I never even met the man. He left my mother before I was born. Kem took our last name for some reason. She had her and Rorys fathers last name, which coincidentally was the same as my mothers maiden name. She also didnt like the berly part of her name and changed her name from Kimberly to Kem when she got older.

The memory of one of Kems relationships came about a year after the situation with Tina. Kem had a fiance named Frank. He moved in with us after their engagement. We lived in a nice high-rise building on the Shore Line of the city. Our mother really grew fond of him along with me and Lolita. Kem had a year-old son name Lamar from another relationship. Frank stayed in my room so we got to know each other very well. That year, Franks birthday was on a Friday, but he had to work, so he was going to be gone for most of the day. When night came, he never showed up. He didnt show up until Sunday night. Kem ran to the door as he entered.

Where have you been? Kem exclaimed.

My brother took me back to my hometown in Detroit. We partied for the whole weekend. Im sorry I didnt call or anything, but I was drunk the whole time, and it slipped my mind. Please forgive me, Frank quickly explained.

I know you dont think that I would believe one word of that bullshit! Get the fuck out my house! Go back to your hometown! The wedding is off!

I heard everything, and it hurt me deeply when I saw the disappointment in my sisters face. I saw Frank as a brother. With my real brother always in jail and my stepbrother always harassing and teasing me, I really felt that I finally knew what it was like to have a brother. The only memory I have of Rory at the time was when I saw him and his friends outside the house smoking weed. My brother asked me if I wanted a hit, and I said yeah, but when he gave it to me, I threw it down and stomped on it and ran. I have been wondering if he caught me and knocked me out because thats all I can remember.

Why do men try to hurt women? I thought to myself after seeing my sister getting hurt. I will try my best to never hurt any woman I be with when Im older. Ill show them how a man should treat a woman. Those thoughts and feelings would be with me forever. I hated seeing people get hurt, so I planned not to hurt anyone.

I felt disappointed by so many people in my life that I felt like Charlie Brownalways being let down by my friends and family. I had to find my comfort and happiness in music, comic books, and TV. Watching the Three Stooges , listening to Michael Jackson and reading comic books was the best way to make me feel better once I was a teenager. I really started having my mind set on having a girlfriend just so I can treat her right and show these men how it should be done. Watching all the TV got me into wanting a family also.

The one show that affected me was The Six Million Dollar Man. That show inspired me in two different ways. He was a hero and that made me want to be a hero and help anyone I could. He was also a loving person. When his love, Jaime came on the show, he showed me how a man should love a woman. He wasnt aggressive with her or controlling as I have seen from the men that was in my life. He was very loving, and it was how I determined to be in a relationship.

As a child, I always wanted to be a doctor or a firefighter. In my teenage years, I still had the ambition to be a fireman. I didnt want to be a doctor anymore when I found out how much school I had to do. I mentioned it to family and friends about being a firefighter, but they all discouraged me, saying that I wouldnt pass the physical exam because of my weight. I just listened to them and never pursued it. I wish I hadnt. I could have gotten into shape. Someone could have worked out with me.

I grew up with my mother on the South Side of Chicago. We stayed in a neighborhood called Jeffrey Manor on Merrion Avenue. I really liked that neighborhood. Everyone took care of everyone. If I did something wrong outside the house and a neighbor would catch me, they would whoop me, and when they would take me home, my mother would whoop me again. As they say, It takes a village, and our neighborhood stood by that. Now we dont do that anymore, and they put a scare into parents who whooped their kids; we have kids being disrespectful to adults, cursing in front of them, at them, and shooting up schools and churches. It has gotten out of control.

I dont remember too much about those days. We left the neighborhood when I was, like, six or seven. I do remember when they were painting our vestibule and I wanted to help. I was around five. My mother let me and told me to not get paint on my clothes. As soon as I was left alone near the paints, I took a brush and put paint dots on my clothes. I remember doing that because I saw people who paint have paint spots on their clothes. I was trying to look like a real painter.

Another memory was when I saw Kem have a bad accident. She was trying to hang a door mirror to her bedroom door. Somehow, the mirror shattered, and all the sharp glass fell on her fingers. It was a horrible sight for me. I had to be around five years old. My mother came running downstairs to her. She called for an ambulance, and we all went to the hospital, where they sewed her fingers up. She still has those scars on her fingers. Another memory of hers was her right arm. She has dots all lined up neatly right below her shoulder. She said its from being vaccinated back then. Im just curious as to why shes the only one of us that got the vaccine shots and scars.