Deal With It (17 page)

Indigo

The
mediator in juvenile court thought that Jade and I could benefit from a few hours of community service. She thought it was a good idea that we spend forty hours at a homeless shelter for women and children. Why? I didn’t know, but our parents thought it was a wonderful idea, too. The next four Saturdays and Sundays of our lives would be dedicated to working in a food kitchen, reading books to little homeless children and performing odd jobs as needed.

Plastic yellow gloves on my hands and a bandanna on my head, I swung the handle of the mop across the wooden floor in one swoop. The bathroom smelled like pee as I mopped the floor around the toilets. Jade, wearing similar plastic gloves, poured Pine-Sol onto the countertops and wiped them down with an old rag. After mopping and cleaning the bathrooms, we washed our hands and headed downstairs to the kitchen to serve lunch.

I tied an apron around my waist and stood behind the mashed potatoes. A plastic serving spoon in hand, I plopped
mashed potatoes onto the plate of each person who passed through the line. Their faces looked so sad, especially those of the children. There were even a few teenagers who lived there with their mother, a family with no place else to go. I couldn’t even imagine living in a place like that, and I felt sorry for them.

“Thank you,” said a little girl with big brown eyes as I gave her a spoonful of mashed potatoes. “I like your hair, and you’re very pretty.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. She was sweet.

This might not be so bad, after all, I thought. A few weeks of this wouldn’t kill me. I helped clean up the kitchen, folded my apron and placed it on the countertop. Stood downstairs and waited for my daddy to pick me up. Jade did exactly the same thing, and we stood there in silence. We still weren’t on speaking terms. I just wanted to get my forty hours done and get off punishment. That was my only goal. I missed Marcus like crazy, and I needed my cell phone like the children in Africa needed food.

“Thank you, ladies,” said Maria, one of the counselors at the shelter. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Maybe you can read to the children in the morning. I think they would really like that.”

“You’re welcome.” Jade and I said it at the same time.

As soon as I got home, I rushed upstairs to my room, threw a Skittle at Marcus’s window. I needed to see his face. When he didn’t respond, I threw another one. A few minutes later, he raised his blinds.

“What took you so long?” I asked.

“I was in the shower.” He smiled. With a towel wrapped around his waist, he brushed his waves. “So, how was it?”

“It was stupid!” I said. “Some of those people are so pitiful. I would never end up in a place like that.”

“Never say never, Indi. You don’t know where life will take you. You can’t judge people like that,” he said.

“It’s a shelter for women and children. Some of the women are battered. Wouldn’t you know that your husband was an abuser before you even hooked up with him?”

“Not necessarily,” Marcus said. “Think about it, Indi. Remember when you hooked up with Quincy Rawlins? Did you know that he was a cheater?”

“No!” I said. What kind of question was that? “If I had known that, I wouldn’t have hooked up with him in the first place.”

“Exactly,” Marcus said. “He made you believe that he was cool just so he could get into your pants. And even after I told you that he was no good, you still wanted to be with him.”

“It’s not the same,” I said. “He never abused me. That’s different.”

“It’s somewhat the same,” he argued.

“But after I saw him at the movies with Patrice, I dropped him. I didn’t keep going back to him, like a retard,” I said. “These women keep going back, even after their husbands nearly kill them.”

“So what? People do crazy stuff for love,” Marcus said. “You can’t judge people, Indi.”

“I’m not judging anybody. I’m just saying, I wouldn’t end up like them.” I stood firm.

Marcus decided to change the subject. Sometimes we had to agree to disagree. “What’re you about to do?”

“Clean up the kitchen and then start on my science project,” I told him. “What about you?”

“Me and Terrence are going to the mall later.”

I was jealous of Marcus’s freedom. I couldn’t wait until I was free, too. This being grounded thing was starting to get old—fast. However, I could see a light at the end of the tunnel. I had to stay on task and make sure I walked a straight walk. It wasn’t all bad. Recently I’d turned in more homework assignments than I had all year, and I’d learned that Daddy actually knew
more about algebra than I’d thought he did. He wasn’t a bad tutor, after all. I missed my cell phone and my social life, though, and my handsome boyfriend, who was busy having a life without me.

“Cool. Have fun,” I said sadly.

“Keep your head up, beautiful,” Marcus said. “It won’t be long.”

“It seems like forever since we hung out,” I whined.

“Be patient. I’ll be right here waiting when you get out of jail.” He smiled.

“You better,” I insisted.

“I’ll even bring you something back from the mall,” he said. “What do you want?”

“Can you just bring me a Big Mac from McDonald’s?”

“I’ll see what I can do, Madam Inmate,” he teased. “Now get that science project started, and I’ll see you later.”

“The usual place?” I asked.

“Same place, same time,” Marcus said, referring to our creek in the backyard, “and don’t be late, Indi. I’m not playing.”

“I’ll be on time,” I insisted, and before he could reply, I shut the window and stuck out my tongue.

I would be counting down the minutes until I saw him again.

Sunday after church, it was back to the grind again. The children at the homeless shelter gathered around me in a circle on the floor. Dr. Seuss’s book
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins
in my hand, I read to them, and they giggled when I got to the funny parts. I rushed through the ending and shut the book, letting Jade take over with her book. She read them a different Dr. Seuss book,
The Cat in the Hat,
and they giggled like it was the first time they’d ever heard it. At the end of the story, they clapped, and it felt good. Who would’ve thought that a simple Dr. Seuss story would bring laughter to a bunch of little kids? I didn’t think it was that serious, but obviously, it was to them.

Jade and I washed our hands and headed for the huge kitchen. We placed aprons around our waists and prepared to serve fried chicken, rice and green beans to the residents.

“I’m so glad that you girls are here,” said a woman as she approached us. She looked as if she might’ve been pretty at one time in her life. But her eyes looked worn, and she just looked tired. Her hands were burned, and I wondered if her abusive husband had had anything to do with it. “My daughter used to be just like you. A normal teenager.”

Jade and I gave each other a puzzled look. A young girl who looked like she was about fifteen or sixteen approached the woman. The woman wrapped her arm around the girl’s frail body. Her eyes were so sad.

“I’m Rita,” the woman said. “And this is my daughter, Jamina. We’ve been here for about three weeks now. This is our fourth shelter in two months. Looking at you two gives me such hope for Jamina. I can’t wait until she’s back to being a normal teenager again. She hasn’t been in a long time.”

I wanted to ask her what happened. I wanted to know why Jamina wasn’t normal anymore, but instead, I asked, “Would you like some fried chicken?”

“I want some of everything, sweetheart,” Rita said. “What is your name?”

“Indigo,” I said. “Indigo Summer.”

“And yours?” She turned to Jade.

“I’m Jade Morgan.”

“It’s so nice to meet you both,” Rita said and smiled. “Tell the girls hello, Jamina.”

Jamina just looked at us with her sad eyes. Never mumbled a word. She was strange, and it was hard to believe that she had ever been normal like us. I slapped a spoonful of rice onto Rita’s plate and then onto Jamina’s, and was glad when they moved on so that I could serve the next person in line. I couldn’t wait
to get this day over with, get home and finish my homework. Maybe even catch a glimpse of Marcus in his bedroom window.

I felt sorry for Jamina, but unlike her, I had a life.

At the end of the afternoon, I sat next to Jade in the day area of the shelter, where we both waited for our parents to pick us up.

“Jamina was strange, huh?” I asked her. These were the first words that I had uttered to her since our fight at Macy’s.

“Very,” she said.

Honestly, I hadn’t expected her to respond, but I exhaled when she did. I was glad to have a conversation with her again, even if it was just a few words. Although I would never admit it, I missed her. And somehow I could tell that she missed me, too.

“Uncle Ernest is here,” I said when I saw her father pull up.

“Thanks,” she said and zipped her coat up. “I’ll see you.”

I watched as my ex–best friend ran outside, hopped into the back of her daddy’s SUV. Life was tricky sometimes.

Tameka

Roni’s
bags sat at the front door, right next to mine. She was already up, showered, dressed and ready to go. Her nerves were on edge, wondering how my mother was going to pull this off. I wondered, too. My mother wasn’t Aunt Helen’s favorite person, and I wondered how she was going to convince Aunt Helen to let her take her only daughter to Atlanta to live with us. I didn’t see Aunt Helen agreeing to such a deal. But Mommy had promised that she’d handle it, so I had faith that she would.

“Are we ready to go, girls?” Mommy asked as we both came down the stairs.

Confused, we looked at each other and both answered, “Yes, ma’am.”

Aunt Helen came out of the kitchen, carrying a cup of coffee. I braced myself for the confrontation that was about to take place.

“Did you pack your inhaler?” Aunt Helen asked Roni. “I know you haven’t had an attack in a long time, but you never know.”

It was no secret that Roni was prone to have an occasional
asthma attack. She’d just about grown out of it, but every now and then the asthma would flare up. Aunt Helen seemed agreeable to Roni going back with us, and I was shocked. What had my mother said to her?

“I got it in my bag,” Roni said. She was just as shocked as I was. I could see it on her face.

“I’ll load the bags into the car,” Daddy called. He came out of the kitchen and picked up my overnight bag on wheels and Roni’s, too. Took them to the car.

Aunt Helen grabbed Roni’s face in her hands and said, “You’re gonna finish the school year out in Atlanta with Tameka. You’ll stay with Aunt Mel and Uncle Paul for a while, and when school’s out, I’ll send for you.”

Roni nodded a yes.

“You already know to behave yourself, right?” Aunt Helen brushed her fingers through Roni’s bangs on her forehead.

“Yes,” replied Roni.

“Roni’s never a problem at our house, Helen. She’ll be just fine,” Mommy said, with such confidence.

She had taken care of things just like she’d promised. But how? What had taken place between Mommy and Aunt Helen between last night and the crack of dawn this morning? And what was going to change by the time school was out in a few months?

Daddy came back in for the second round of bags and loaded them into the car. Roni and I went into the kitchen, pulled cereal bowls from the shelf and poured two bowls of Froot Loops. I grabbed the carton of milk out of the refrigerator and poured some into each bowl. I took a seat next to Roni at the breakfast table.

“What do you think happened?” I whispered.

“I don’t know, but something’s strange,” Roni whispered. “She’s not even trippin’, like she normally does.”

“I’m just glad you don’t have to stay here,” I told her.

“Me, too.” She smiled and danced in her seat. “I’m going to the A.”

“I can’t wait to show you around my school,” I told her. “It’s too late for you to get on the dance team, but I’ll introduce you to all my friends. They’re cool.”

She smiled. “I feel like I can breathe now. I don’t know what Aunt Mel did, but I’m forever grateful. And I’m glad you told her. I was mad at you at first, but now I’m glad.”

“Me, too.” I stuffed a spoonful of Froot Loops into my mouth. “Now if I can just figure out a solution to my little issue.”

“I got your back, Tameka. Whatever you decide, I’m there for you,” she promised.

I smiled. I was grateful, because I was going to need all the help I could get for this one.

In the backseat of the car, Roni’s head bounced against the window, her mouth wide open, with light snores escaping from her chafed lips. I nudged her just so she would stop storing. She sat up, looked around and then was at it again. I opened my cell phone. Sent Vance a text.

Good morning, I said.

Same 2 u.

On my way home.

Cool, he responded.

Missed u. It was true. I had.

Ditto, he texted back.

I wondered how he would feel about being a father. Wondered if he knew that his life was about to change drastically right before his eyes. It was just last night that I’d finally built up the nerve to tell Vance my news. I’d decided that I owed him at least the privilege of knowing the truth. It was the right time. I needed his input. We needed to make a decision together. I
had waited until it was late, until everyone in the house was asleep and I could barely hear a peep. I had crept into the small bathroom, shut and locked the door behind me. Dialed Vance’s number. It had rung three times before he finally picked up.

“What’s up?” he’d asked.

“Were you sleep?” I had whispered, careful not to wake anyone in the house.

“A little bit,” he’d said. “What’s up?

“I just wanted to talk to you.” I could’ve blurted it out right then. Could’ve told him about the life that was growing in my stomach, but I didn’t. Instead, I’d beaten around the bush. “How was school today?”

“It was cool. The usual. Nothing special,” he’d said. “You went to your grandfather’s funeral?”

“Yeah. It was sad,” I’d told him. “I tried calling you earlier. I had something I wanted to tell you.”

“I wanted to call you earlier, too, but didn’t know if it was a good time,” he’d said. “I had something to tell you, too.”

“What was it?”

“You go first,” he’d offered.

“No, you go first,” I’d said. “Mine can wait.”

“Grambling offered me a scholarship.” I could hear the smile in his voice. “Got my letter today.”

“For real?” I was excited for him.

“Yeah, I even told my father that I wasn’t going to med school. Told him that I wanted to be a lawyer.”

“Really? How did he take it?”

“He rolled with it,” Vance had said.

“That’s cool, boo. I’m so happy for you!” It was the best news I’d heard all weekend.

“Yeah, I’m happy, too,” he’d said. “Now what was your news?”

There was no way I could rain on his parade.

“Never mind,” I said. “It’s nothing compared to your news. I’m proud of you.”

“Thank you,” he’d said.

“Well, I gotta go. I’m sorry I woke you up. Hope you can go back to sleep,” I’d said. “Text me if you can’t.”

“Okay, I will,” he’d said. “Can’t wait until you get home. I need to see you.”

“I need to see you, too,” I’d said. “Text me later. I’ll wait up.”

“Bye.”

When I’d hung up the phone, I’d known that this was going to be much harder than I thought it would be. Vance needed to know, but the timing was definitely not right.

That was last night, and today was a new day. Today I would have to tell Vance the truth. He needed to know as soon as possible. I shut my phone and stuck it inside my Coach purse. Decided to join Roni in sleep land. With my head against the back of the leather seat, I shut my eyes. Hoped for sweeter dreams.