“Prelude to The Set-Up/Nobody Eats at Brunch”

Well…you remember where we left off, and we’re introduced to Thalia. Rumor has it that she was the lovechild of a political activist who fled to Cuba. Her mother escaped with her life — surviving a shootout —and with the love of her life; that being Cal “Cloudwalker” Terrance. A born militant that took to the righteous brothers, like The Honorable Minister Malcolm; and 13X, from the same small town he was from. Thalia couldn’t stay in Cuba — revolution was for a purpose — and Thalia was sent to live with her extended family back here.

That Thalia is her mother and father, if you ever saw a child with the exact mix of both. She loved with her heart, just as hard as with her womanly wiles and wits. And Wood acted as her whisperer, so to speak; her shadow-walker. They ended up on the same block, in the same neighborhood, on a main thoroughfare, in a small, yet densely populated and incorporated section of the most populous city in the state. You know the usual, I won’t bore you — him, broken home, her, well — but she landed with blood relatives, two aunts. And they both were married and they all lived together. Thalia, the only child in home, was provided every luxury possible.

Thalia loved her some Wood. On her 21st birthday, 26-year-old Wood was, uhm, on a vacation, let’s say. Thalia lay in a luxurious suite, her snacks assorted over crisp white linen; her hair…