The written rules were simple.
Uno. Go to the P.O box the 1st of every month.
Due. Do not open it until I return home.
Tre. Spend the cash however I want.
The unwritten rules were anything but.
When I first received the letter with instructions, I w...
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"Awe, you got her her first hoops!"
I smile at Aeisha. "Yeah, all of us need a pair. I know her ears aren't pierced but you can get them done one day."
"Baby girl, you didn't need to do that. You should be saving that money."
"I am, I am. Promise. I just thought she needed something nice from her auntie. Speaking of which, lemme have my niece."
Hours have passed and we are cleaning the dishes from the baby's party. Trevon and his girl are next to me, drying the cleaned mugs. I sigh and place my hands on the side of the sink. "Ma called today."
"What? That bitch hasn't called you in months and the only time she does is when she wants money."
I chuckle. "Yeah, but this time she said she was getting some help."
"And let me guess, she wants money?"
I nod at Trevon. He scoffs again.
"And you're gonna give it to her, Lucia?"
I nod again. "Look, ma used to be...different. She used to be affectionate and hard-working. She just fell off the bandwagon. We all go through issues."
"You right. Even I had a problem with the dust, but I know better than anyone," Trevon objects. "The only thing she will do with that money is get high and the only way she will ever get clean is when she knows there is no one to rely on. Hard shit but it's true."
"I know you're right."
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Two months later
I sigh as I come to the apartment. It's in the middle of downtown Philadelphia; a place I grew up loving but learned to hate. The concrete steps are worn with a hole on the right. The porch, while once nice, is clearly not taken care of with chips in the wood and the banister broken.
"Aye, Lucia! How's the uptown life?"
Turning, I smile at Compton. "Shut up, I'm still slumming it."
He smiles as he rides off on the bike he got for Christmas a few years back. He's a few years younger than me, but we were tight before I went to college. Last I heard, he was going to trade school for plumbing. After he got his high school sweetheart pregnant, he promised to be a part of the baby's life. A valiant and noble promise, I think.
I knock on the door. No answer. Shit, it's cold out. I knock again. No answer. I go around to the alley on the side of the apartment to see if ma is outback smoking. I didn't see her on the usual step she sat at when taking a smoke. I open the screen door and knock again. No answer.
"What the fuck, mom."
The screen door slams shut behind me as I pull out my phone. When the call goes to voicemail, I speak up. "Yo, ma, I'm here, but you're not answering. I'm outside. Come open the door I don't have no key anymore. I-"
