Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 112755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112755 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 564(@200wpm)___ 451(@250wpm)___ 376(@300wpm)
Mama sat there with her short, salt and pepper relaxed hair combed all to one side—like the old-fashioned wraps from the hair salon. Her thin eyebrows were drawn in with a brown pencil, and her lips were lined in dark brown, too. Mama was small at the top, and bottom heavy. She was tall, and her ass was her claim to fame. Large gold hoop earrings dangled from her ears, and she rocked leopard print leggings with a black tank top, one of her favorite leisure time outfits. As for her perfume, she liked wearing her signature Opium, by Yves Saint Laurent. The fragrance filled the car, mingling with that of the spearmint gum she was smacking on.
“Desiree, I’m tryin’ to do this, but what if somebody hits me, or I get too close to another car?”
“Mama, you ask the same thing every time. Now, we both agreed that you ain’t gonna be the next Bubba Wallace, but if you can get to work, the store, and the doctor, then that’ll do it.”
Mama’s life had been hard, spanning years of addiction, codependency, and abuse. Now, she was working at a factory, picking and packing, and was nine years clean and sober. She’d always wanted to learn to drive, but the older she got, the more afraid she became.
“…Okay. I sho’ could use a cigarette and some hot tea to calm my nerves, but I’m ready,” she said with a smile, exposing her front gold tooth. Minutes later, she finally pulled out of the Walmart parking lot, with Desiree’s instruction.
“Keep your foot on the gas. That’s good… Okay, a light is comin’ up… brake… Mama, put your foot on the brake… yeah, you got it…” And so they went.
Desiree’s phone buzzed with a text message. She glanced at it and smiled. It was from Legend. But her smile faded when she read it. He was canceling on her—again.
They’d arranged to get together twice that week, but he kept saying she couldn’t come, and to make matters worse, he hadn’t attended the school lecture the day before. His first missed class. She’d asked him about it, and all he offered was that he’d overslept. That didn’t sound like him. Legend was pretty strict with himself when it came to school and work. When they spoke on the phone last night, he seemed fairly normal, but something was amiss.
Her mind began to play with her. Did he have a girlfriend he’d been hiding? Or worse yet, a wife?
Her stomach clenched at the thought. There were a few other women in class who seemed to suspect they were an item, and little snippy, passive-aggressive, jealous comments were sometimes tossed her way from one woman in particular who’d made it clear she had a raging crush on him. An attractive White woman who looked like a blond Kim Kardashian. Was Legend seeing her on the side, too?
This is strange… somethin’ is wrong. Now that we’ve had sex a few times, is he done with me? Is that all he wanted? She hated thinking that way, but she’d been down this road before, and the trip was never any fun. Suddenly, he was too busy for anything.
But why does he keep callin’ and texting me then if he doesn’t want me no more? I don’t like these mixed messages. Don’t nobody need this shit right now. This man chased me relentlessly, trying to get me to give him a chance, and then he turns around and starts acting like this? I’m startin’ to regret messing with him!
Even their late-night phone calls, which were typically full of jokes, sharing stories, and passion were now brief. He even seemed a bit short-tempered at times, more so than usual, as though he didn’t want to tell her what he was up to if she asked, or where’d he been. Is he selling drugs again?
“Mama, watch out!” Mama slammed on the brakes, forcing them both to swing forward.
“Well, shit! It came outta nowhere.”
A cat had run in the middle of the road, causing commotion.
“Yeah, I know. Okay, it’s gone now. Turn right at this corner, and we’ll head on back to Walmart. You did good.”
Mama started driving again, and she tried to smile, look okay, but it was hard. Her phone buzzed again, and she looked at it and sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Mama asked.
“Jacob was doing good with Kaylee, like I told you. He and I had gotten into it a few months ago about the back child support again, then he called me talkin’ about he was gonna do better, and he actually did. I was surprised, ’cause he’s said that before but didn’t go through with it.”
“Yeah, I remember you tellin’ me that. So what’s going on now?”
“He just text to tell me he might be movin’ out of state for a job opportunity. Mama, this ain’t right. He and Kaylee was just getting back on track! He hadn’t seen her in forever, then, he wanted her all the time, was comin’ to get her to spend quality time with her, and then he goes and does this.” She shook her head, feeling angry and sad at all at once. “I think he knew the whole time that he was leavin’, and just wanted to see her before he left.”