The Hip Hop Murderer. Dwayne Bowen
cannot be undone, Joe. No matter how much you try, they're only going to regulate the music so much. They're not going to listen to us Joe Shmoe's...no pun intended," Bruce says.
"Look at me, Bruce, I swear to you just as sure as I have breath in my body that I will go to the FCC."
Bruce says to Joe, "I know that no matter what I say to you, you aren't going to listen to me so just do me a favor and be careful, man."
Lisa leans in to Joe to hug him and whispers a thank you in his ear. When he pulls away from her, he gives her a nod. As Lisa and Bruce get into the car, Leslie and Joe stand in front of their car to see them off. Bruce starts to drive away slowly but not before Joe could get in his final words. "Trust me, I'm going to make a change, Bruce, and you're going to hear about it!"
Leslie and Joe continue to wave goodbye until they can no longer see their car. Then, catching Leslie's eye, Joe picks her up and swings her around like they're teenage kids in high school again.
"Daddy's home, baby, Daddy's home!" Joe says excitedly, still swinging Leslie around in the air.
"Yes, my love, finally! Now, how about that trip to the Dominican Republic you've always promised me? Let's talk about it, shall we?" Leslie says as Joe slowly puts her back on her feet.
"Geez, woman, I'm just retired and you already have plans for my pension! But a promise is a promise...I'll take you to the Dominican Republic, baby."
As Joe drives up Interstate 95, he glances over at Leslie and asks, "How have the boys been the past couple of weeks?"
Leslie shakes her head from side-to-side in disappointment. "Bryan is off the chain, as they say. He doesn't want to listen and comes and goes as he pleases and doesn't respect me. His girlfriend follows him wherever he goes and I hate seeing her make such poor choices too."
Raising an eyebrow, Joe firmly clutches the steering wheel, "What do you mean he doesn't respect you?!"
"He has a curfew but refuses to abide by it. I give them both chores to do, but Bryan refuses to do them. He goes straight to his room when he gets home and blasts that rap crap all day and all night. It makes me sick to my stomach because it's full of cursing and degrading lyrics. I'd turn it off myself but he keeps the door locked."
"Wait, he keeps the door locked? In the house where we pay the mortgage to keep a roof over his head?! There's only one way to change that...and that is to remove his door. He may not like you as his mom right now because he's going through this selfish-teenager-phase, but he will respect you in my house!"
Leslie chuckles. "You can't take his door off, babe—then you're invading his privacy."
"Okay, it's either his door or his head, you choose! The only privacy in the house should be in our room." Joe says, his voice jumping octaves higher.
"All right, sweetie, but he's not going to like it."
"Good, that's what I want!" Joe says.
Bryan and Ryan are sitting on the stairs in front of their house, awaiting the arrival of their dad. The last time they saw him was on their Christmas vacation. Ryan is anxious to see him...but Bryan feels otherwise.
"Dang, man, I can't believe Dad is finally retired; things are going to be so much better around here. And I would advise you to get your stuff together too, man, 'cause Pops don't play that," Ryan says to Bryan.
Bryan replies, "You do what you gotta do, but I'm not going to kiss his ass when he comes home like you're clearly puckering up to do."
"Bryan, seriously—he's our dad and I haven't seen him since Christmas so it isn't kissing his ass, it's called showing some love and respect. You should try it some time."
"Man, forget, you!" Bryan says, dismissing him.
Before Bryan and Ryan's argument can go any further, their parents pull up. Ryan runs to greet his dad while Bryan sits and waits with a disgruntled look on his face.
"Attention!" Joe yells out to Ryan, giving him a salute before standing directly in front of him.
Ryan stops immediately and gives his dad a salute back. "At ease, soldier; come give your dad a hug!"
Ryan hugs him and says with excitement, "Hey, Pop, it's good to see you again. Welcome home!"
"Thanks, son, it's good to be home," Joe replies.
Grandma and Grandpa walk out of the house and onto the porch. They walk past Bryan as they go to greet Joe with open arms.
They call out in unison, "Welcome home, son!"
As Joe walks to the back of the truck, Ryan follows him and says, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll get that."
"Are you sure? There are a lot of combat weapons of mass destruction in that bag you got there," Joe says.
"Really?!" Ryan asks as he pulls his dad's bag out of the trunk.
"No, not really—just a whole lot of laundry heavier than you," Joe says.
Joe glances at Bryan sitting on the porch and notices the unpleasant look on his face. "Hey, Bryan, aren't you gonna come greet your dad?!" Joe yells out.
Without responding, Bryan slowly gets up from the stairs and, turning his back on Joe, walks back into the house. Joe looks at Leslie and the rest of the family in confusion.
"What was that about?!" Joe asks.
Leslie responds, "I told you...and now you have your work cut out for you."
"No, my love, Bryan has his work cut out for him. I think now would be a good time to execute that plan we were talking about."
"No, Joe, let's just get settled in and washed up for dinner because your parents have worked really hard to make a feast for you," Leslie says.
Joe kisses her on the lips and hugs her with one arm, as he carries his duffle bag in the other. "What would I do without you?"
After unloading the trunk of the car, the family heads into the house to get ready for dinner. Before entering, Joe looks up to the sky, saying aloud, "God, please grant me the strength and the understanding to deal with my son, Bryan." Joe is the last to come in the house, shutting the screen door behind him. No more than three seconds afterwards, he hears a knock at the door. He turns to see a pretty young lady standing in the doorway.
"Hello, can I help you?" Joe asks.
"Hi, I'm Phaedra, Bryan's girlfriend. I was wondering if he was around so I could talk to him," she responds.
"Oh yes, of course. I'm his dad, Joe Baskerville," Joe says to her as he walks out of the house again, closing the door behind him.
"Hello, sir, and welcome home," says Phaedra.
"Aw, why thank you," Joe replies. "Before I head in the house to get Bryan for you, do you mind if I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure, Mr. Baskerville, I don't mind at all," Phaedra replies.
Now they are both standing outside in the driveway, talking.
"So is my son treating you well?" Joe asks.
Phaedra smiles. "Yes, he treats me good and respects me. The only thing that concerns me is the crew he hangs out with...and that he smokes weed all the time."
Joe replies with a surprised look, "Weed, is that right?!"
"But, please, Mr. Baskerville, don't tell him I told you," Phaedra pleads.
"No, of course not—his mom had already filled me in, sweetie. So, is he doing any other drugs?" Joe asks with concern.
"Not that I know of, no. But he is getting worse with smoking so much," Phaedra replies.
"Why does he smoke weed anyway? He has a roof over his head and a pretty girlfriend like you—it seems like he's got it all," Joe replies.
"He says he smokes because it helps him write better music and puts him in deeper thought," Phaedra says.