Heading Home - Chapter 2     

As Tyre drove south on the Kennedy Expressway towards his place off of North Avenue, he thought of the tasks ahead. Merging the two apartments was something that took a designed plan. Just as the reality was taking root, Herb Kent, the Chicago deejay, came across the airways with his silky, smooth voice.

He looked over at Phoenix and he smiled. She smiled back. They were truly home now and doubly anchored and equally yoked. Roberta Flack started singing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.” The car was totally still on the inside and the only sound, other than Flack’s voice, was the beat of their hearts in unison. Tyre quietly opened the sunroof to let the early afternoon Sunday sun in and Phoenix quietly toyed with her new rings with admiration.

There were no words needed. Herb Kent changed the tempo and put on James Brown’s “The Big Payback.” Tyre picked up his speed and rhythm and put on his Chicago edge to assertively flow with the high-paced traffic. They both bobbed their heads in tune with the beat.

They looked at each other and laughed out loud and sang the chorus, The Big Payback! They got a little louder as they had a mini-party along with the show-stopping James Brown, better known as JB. Tyre thought of people like his old nemesis Hank or the Reign of Terror with Flora and he felt like screaming, “But look at me now!”

March 7, 2026