The New Billie......

Wayne had a surprise for me and my sister when we first moved into the new house. He came home an handed us two ticket to a Motley Crue concert! We had no idea! My mom never would have let us go, but somehow Wayne convinced her! He was kind of a tough guy. Later mom said he paced the entire time we were gone. I have never forgotten that night! We had such a blast! Being so close in age, my little sister did a lot of the things I did right along beside me. That way, she couldn't snitch me out.

When Wayne was murdered, I felt like I had lost two dads. Something happened the last night I saw him, which is what made me believe that often times, people know when they are gonna die. I was getting ready to go out to the local dance club, then on to my Aunt's house to watch my cousins for the weekend. Wayne knew I smoked pot and cigarettes, and he knew I was a drinker. He told me to never trust anyone, if I wanted pot and something came up missing at the house, it was no big deal. I guess that was his way of protecting me. I know it sounds strange, but he was making sure that I didn't get some crazy laced shit that way. He knew I was gonna do it anyway, so why not.
As I was getting ready to go out, ( I could go out as long as I took my younger sister with me everywhere) he said "hey, check the weight of this package for me, I think it's over, it shouldn't be when it comes back." I laugh at that a lot these days. Then, he said, " We need to talk. You know you can be anything you want in life. All you have to do is believe. You need to take care of your sister and always respect your mother." I already knew that, he told me that all the time. He hated my father for the things he had done to my mother for so long, so this next part blew me out of the water. He said, "Putty, (my nickname...lol) I know your dad hurt your feelings, and you know how I feel about him, but you need to call him and make things right. You never know when your last day is here, and you don't want something to happen without fixing what's broken. He's your dad, I can be here for you and I can be your papa-son, but I can never replace your dad. Be safe tonight, and think about what I said". That was the last time I ever spoke to him.
My sister and I went out that night. The next night, we went to a party at my cousin's house. I was getting bored and wanted to hit the beach to see what was up. Back then we could still have tailgates at the beach, there was always something going on. My sister wanted to stay at the party. We went back an fourth a little and decided I would go to the beach and she would stay at the party. She was 11. I went down town, found a few friends, sure enough, big party in the woods. I went back to get my sister and she just wanted to go back to my Aunt's house, so we did.
The next day, my mom was supposed to pick us up in the morning. We were sitting on the couch when the phone rang. As my Aunt answered, something told both of us that Wayne was dead. We both knew before we were told. I can't explain it to this day, but we knew. While my Aunt was on the phone with my mom, my sister tells me she had lost her virginity the night before. Something was wrong in the way she said it though. To me, her age was no major deal, but something she said bothered me. She had been raped! I couldn't believe it!! My head was spinnig, my mother was just a mess, my sister made me promise not to tell mom. We were afraid it would push her over the edge.
There I was. I had no choice but to keep my sisters' secret for fear that my mother would kill herself. She got up every morning and poured two cups of coffee and just stared at the front door for weeks. She had nightmares and would just scream this unimaginable scream. She had found him just as the cops did on the side of the road beaten to death. Cause of death, his false teeth had lodged in his throat causing him to drown to death. If those teeth hadn't been in his throat, he would not have died. Autopsy showed no damage to anything but his face, if he had been on his stomach he would have lived. The man that killed him admitted in court to listening to him drown before he left him just 2 miles from his home, and was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.
My brother was in prison when all of this occurred. He was told over the phone, and not allowed out for the funeral. I don't believe he has ever had any kind of closure. The man that murdered Wayne got out of prison in 2009.
My sister started acting out a lot within a short time. She was much closer to Wayne, and with everything that happened to her, she was a mess. I mentioned before that she had been sick most of her life..... stress had a major effect on her. I did what I could, but within a week of Wayne's death, I remembered what he had said, and I called my dad. My sister still wouldn't speak to him, but at that time, I needed him more than ever before.
We talked on the phone a couple of times, then came the day I went to see him. It was February, a couple weeks after my birthday. We went for a walk so we could be alone and talk. My dad asked me if I wanted to grab an ice cream from the local ice cream shop. This was big, my dad didn't do public places after I was 10. He just had a major dislike for crowds. We walked in and he told the guy, "Give this girl anything she wants! Today is Father's Day!!!" The man behind the counter looked at him kinda funny and said, "Sir??" My dad smiled and said, "This is my father's day, I got my baby back today!"