Family Sin

1 The alarm clock beeped, waking Karim out of a dead sleep. He was never a morning person, but he couldn't take any more of the mechanical screaming. He moved his son's tiny feet from his forehead and reached over and slapped at the clock. He closed his eyes again but the alarm screamed again. He sat up and stared at the electronic aggravator as if his gaze alone would put an end to the madness. "Baby," Lisa, his girlfriend and mother of his four-year-old son, said as she walked into the room and turned off the alarm. "It's time to get up. One more snooze and you'll be late for work." "Who came up with that?" Karim said, frowning at the clock. "That's a horrible way to wake somebody up. Just jarring you awake like that can't be good for the heart." "When I had it on radio, you slept right through it," Lisa said, sitting down beside him. Karim ran his eyes over his woman's curvy figure. Her thick runner's legs, smooth chocolate skin, and nice plump breasts were his kryptonite. Lisa caught him staring. "You see something you like?" she asked. "Of course I do. And if I didn't have this headache you might be in trouble," he said, lying back down on the bed. "Men," Lisa said, punching him on the leg as she jumped up from the bed. "You know they say if a man goes out and comes home drunk and won't make love to his woman that he's cheating." "I was cheating," Karim said, rubbing his throbbing head at the temples. "With this little short lady named Patron." "Why are you drinking so much?" Lisa asked, obviously unaffected by the slight. "I don't know." "Leo had to drag you in here last night like some old alcoholic. I don't like that," she said, shaking her head. "I know," Karim moaned. He had heard this speech before, and unfortunately he was beginning to hear it a little too much. "Well, you better get up," Lisa said, moving on with her morning rituals. "If you don't want to be late for work again." Karim closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "Karim," Lisa called from the bathroom. "Yeah." "You wanna talk?" "About what?" "Anything." "Nothing to talk about," Karim lied. Lisa sighed and walked out of the bathroom and over to the bed. She reached over Karim and grabbed the sleeping Dominic. "Come on, little fella. Time to rise and shine," she said, shooting Karim a questioning look. Dominic, who'd inherited Karim's morning moodiness, frowned and tried to crawl to get under his father. "Oh no you don't," Lisa said, grabbing her chubby little boy before he could get away. "You have to go to school, little buddy." "Noooooo," Dominic said as he desperately tried to get away. "Karim, I meant to tell you, Nadiah called while you were out. Sounded like something was wrong, but she didn't share with me," Lisa said, picking up the telephone and checking the caller ID. "It was around two-thirty." "She must need something." "Well, call her back," Lisa said, taking Dominic into the bathroom to wash him up. "She is your only sister." "That she is," Karim said, still lying down, rubbing his head. The doorbell rang. "What the . . . ? Who is that at this time of morning?" Karim said, jumping up and stomping his way over the cold hardwood floors of their Stone Mountain townhouse. He cursed as he hustled down the stairs, through the foyer, and to the door. He peeped through the tiny glass and cursed again. "Karim," the voice on the other side called. "I see you."[read more]