The Realest Ever (14 page)

“Yeah,” Do
novan said.  “Have you applied for any jobs in the school district?”

Kyra shook her head.

“Then you’ll have to set up an account,” Donovan said.  “It’s pretty easy.”

Kat took a step into the room, supporting herself with a hand on the doorframe.

“Hey, I didn’t know she could walk,” Donovan said.  He grinned at the toddler.  She really was precious, the spitting image of her mama.

“Of course she can walk,” Kyra said.
  “Hey, bookie bookie.”  She went to retrieve the little girl.  “Kat, you remember Mr. Donovan, don’t you?”

The baby
was not as shy today.  She didn’t smile at him, but she did look Donovan in the eyes.

“Hello again,”
he said.  “I hope you’re not afraid of little, old me.”

He had t
he sweetest smile on his face.  Kyra had never seen him with a child, but she knew he was good with babies.

“Hello, sir.”

Donovan turned and saw Kat’s older brother in the other hallway.

“Hey, what’s going on, big man?”  Donovan went and shook his hand casually.  “I heard you’re going to my old school.”

Quinell nodded.  “I go to Sunrise.”

“You like it?”

Q smiled.  “I like my teachers, so far.”

“You know me and your mama climbed on top of
that school one time?”

“Don’t tell him that,” Kyra said, but she was
smiling.  “I don’t want him trying to do it hisself.”

Quinell
nodded.  “She already told me.”

“What?”  Donovan gave Kyra a playful frown.  “It’s okay for you to tell him, but I can’t?”

“I told him so he
wouldn’t
try it,” Kyra said.

“Yeah right,” Donovan
said.  “Hey, have y’all eaten dinner yet?  Wanna go to McDonalds?”

“Yeah,” Quinell said.

But at the same time his mother said, “No, that’s alright.”

Quinell’s smile fell.

“Come on, Kyra,” Donovan said.  “You already cooked dinner?”

“No, but we–”

“You might as well go,” Aunt Ruth interrupted.  “We ’bout out of food anyway.”

Kyra’s eyes flashed with humiliation and
annoyance.  She turned slowly towards her eavesdropping landlord.  “Auntie, we do have something to eat in there.”

She spoke calmly, but
Donovan knew it was a strain.  He felt like he stepped into an ongoing argument.  Normally he would’ve backed out and let the women deal with it on their own, but he
really
wanted to get Kyra out of the house now, so she could tell him what was going on.

“Come on,
y’all,” he said and opened the front door.  “Y’all ready?  Where’s your car seat, Kyra?”

“It’s in the back of my car,” Aunt Ruth said.  “You can get it.  The door’s open.”

“Okay, thanks.”  Donovan took a step outside and looked back at his best bud.  “You coming?”

Kyra
’s nostrils flared.  But other than that, she didn’t look upset.  “Yeah.  Go put your shoes on, Q.”

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Donovan paid for everyone’s meal.  Kyra appeared to be in a chipper mood until they finished eating and Quinell went to play video games.  Kat headed for the bounce house.

“That was not cool,” Kyra told Donovan when they were alone.

“I’m sorry,” Donovan said.  “Honestly, I didn’t think it was a big deal.”

“Not you
.  Her,” Kyra said.  “My damn aunt.  Well, you too.”

Donovan frowned.  “What did I do?”

“Forcing us to come here with you.”

“I didn’t force you
,” he said with a chuckle.

“You didn’t give
me much of a choice.  You were already going to get the car seat.”

“Okay, I’m sorry.  I only
wanted to get you out of the house.  Y’all looked like you were going to start arguing.”

“I’m not mad at you,” Kyra said.  She sighed.  “Thanks for bringing us.  I’ll pay you back.”

“That’s okay.”

“No, for real.”

“Kyra, I don’t want you to pay me back, alright?  You think I’m gonna hold fifteen dollars over your head?”

She shook her head.  “Donovan
...  I don’t mean to take it out on you.”

“Tell me what’s going on,” he said
, “with you and your aunt.”

“She’s
trying to use me,” Kyra stated.  “And I don’t have nothing.  Ain’t that something?”  She laughed, but there was no humor in it.

“How is she using you?”

“She been bitching about me getting food stamps since I got here,” Kyra explained.  “We went to the welfare office on Monday.  She woke me up at six o’clock, so we would be the first ones there.  They gave me $300 on a EBT card.  While we were there, Aunt Ruth started asking about other stuff, like if she can get money for letting me live with her.”

“How does that work?” Donovan asked.
 

“It
doesn’t
work,” Kyra said.  “At first she wanted to know if she could get money for being a foster parent for us.”

Donovan narrowed his eyes.

“
Exactly!
” Kyra said.  “They told her she couldn’t be a foster parent because the children’s mother –
that would be me
– is still taking care of them.  They told her that’s a totally different agency, anyway.  And then she asked if she could get Section 8 money, like if she was renting her house to me.”

Donovan
’s eyes narrowed even more.

“That’s what I was looking like!” Kyra said.  “I was
thinking,
How you gon’ bring me in here for food stamps and then start asking about all this other stuff
?”

“You asked her that?”

“I did when we got back to the car.”

“
What’d she say?”

“She said if they got money to give, why shouldn’t she take it?
”

Donovan shook his head, grinning.  “I guess you can’t blame her for trying.”

“I can blame her if she’s trying to use
my
kids for her scams.”

Donovan wiped the smile off his face.  “Okay.  So you if you got groceries on Monday, why is she saying she doesn’t have any food?”

“I don’t know,” Kyra said.  “I think she sold those food stamps.  I never saw her bring a bunch of groceries in.”

“Did
n’t you get groceries when you left the welfare office?”

“No.  Aunt Ruth said she had to run some other errands.  She dropped us off first.”

“Why didn’t you keep the card, so you could get them yourself?”

“It’s kinda hard to get $
300 worth of groceries home on the city bus.”

“Kyra, I’m trying to help you.  Why you getting an attitude with me?”

“I’m sorry, Donovan.”  Her features softened.  “I don’t mean to.  I get frustrated.  You’re the only person I can talk to about this stuff.”

“It’s alright,” Donovan said.  “Did you ask her what happened to your card?”

“I was going to, but you were there.  I’ll ask her when we get home.”

Donovan thought for a second.  He checked his watch.  “Hey, let me take you to get some groceries when we leave here.”

Kyra’s mouth fell open.  She shook her head emphatically.  “No, Donovan.”

“Kyra, stop it.”

“No, that’s not right.”

“
Why can’t I buy you groceries?”

“’Cause she already got
that card!  She should’ve bought the damned groceries herself.”

“So what do you wanna do, go
home and argue with her?  You gonna accuse her of selling the card?  Is it really worth it?  Kyra, you told me you don’t have anywhere else to go.”

“But that doesn’t mean she can steal my money like that.”

“You can’t right all the wrongs in the world,” Donovan said.  “You just have to be the best person you can be and let God deal with everyone else.  I’ll get you some groceries today, and then when you get your card again, call me and I’ll take you to get some more.  That way it will always be food in the house for you and your kids.”

Kyra’s eyes glossed over.  She looked towards the ceiling and managed to keep the tears in this time.  “Why don’t you take your own advice
?” she asked when she met Donovan’s eyes again.

“What do you mean?”

“You can’t right all the wrongs in the world.”

Donovan smiled.  “I don’t want to right all of them.  Just yours.”

Kyra’s heart swelled with love and foreboding, but mostly love.  “Do I remember what?” she said.

“Huh?”

“On the phone you asked if I remembered when… something.  You said you’d tell me in person.”

Donovan’s
smile grew broader.  “Well, now I don’t think it’s appropriate.”

“You said you would tell me.”

Donovan snickered.  He looked down at the table sheepishly.  “I was gonna ask if you remembered when you stole Tabitha Spencer’s dollar, and I had to walk you home because she and her friends wanted to beat you up…”

Kyra laughed at the memory.  “I thought I told everybody I didn’t do it.”

“You did,” Donovan said.  He looked into her eyes.  “Except me.  You told me the truth.”

He smiled.  Kyra wanted to kiss him so badly right then.  His lips ha
d a magnetic force that was pulling her face straight to them. 

Give it a few weeks
, she told herself. 
You’ll be able to look at all of that delicious man flesh over there without batting an eye
.

“I could’ve beat Tabitha
up,” Kyra said.  “If it was just her by herself.”

“I know,” Donovan said.  “I never
doubted that you could take care of yourself.”

Kyra raise
d an eyebrow.

“It’s true,” Donovan said.  “Now let’s go get your groceries.”

≈≈≈≈≈≈≈

Donovan took
them to Kroger’s and filled Kyra’s basket with everything from fruits and vegetables to Totino’s Pizza Rolls (Quinell’s favorite).  When they got to the register, Kyra felt sick to her stomach when Donovan swiped his debit card for the $174.35 total.  It was one thing for Ruth to scheme the county out of welfare funds, but Kyra would be damned if her mean-spirited aunt would pull another slick one on Donovan.

Donovan
noticed Kyra’s unease as they stood at the register.  He reached and put an arm around her.  He gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.  This was the first time he touched her outside of the hugs they exchanged in greeting.  Kyra felt the same electricity she felt when they embraced on Sunday.  She was comforted by Donovan’s touch.  His eyes told her,
Everything will be fine
, and Kyra believed him.  As long as she’d known him, Donovan never let her down.

When they got
home, the look on Aunt Ruth’s face as Kyra, Donovan and Q brought in bag after bag of provisions was priceless.  A few minutes later, Kyra couldn’t help but grin at Donovan as she stood on the porch, bidding him farewell.  Donovan stood in the lawn looking up at her.

“I like to see you happy,” he said.

“I know,” Kyra said.  “You been telling me that for as long as I can remember.”

“Don’t forget to check out those papers I gave you,” he said.  “There
’s a lot of jobs in the school system that you don’t need a degree for.”

“I will,” Kyra promised, then, “What’s your girlfriend going to say about you spending $200 on me?”

“I reckon she won’t like it,” Donovan admitted.  “I hope she doesn’t ask.”

“Aren’t you going to tell her?”

“I, I don’t think I’ll volunteer the information,” Donovan said.  “Why, do you think I should?”

Kyra shrugged.  “I don’t know.  That’s
your
woman.  I just don’t want her getting mad at me, like I’m the one who told you to do it.”

Donovan laughed softly.  “
I don’t think she can dislike you any more than she already does.”

Kyra
pondered his dilemma.  “Nope.  I wouldn’t be able to do it.”

“Do what?”

“Let my man spend time with another woman like that.  Like
this
.  If I had a man.”

“
What if she was your boyfriend’s best friend?”

“I don’t care who he said she was.  Ain’t no haps.”

“What if you still lived in Arkansas,” Donovan ventured, “and I was the one who came to your city.  And I looked you up on Facebook, and I didn’t have any friends in Little Rock except you.  You wouldn’t spend time with me?”