🥀In Loving Memory🥀

Chapter 12

"Did you and Jazmine struggle when you moved to Washington?" Huelene asked.

"Yes, there was a lot of struggle that came with moving to Washington," Huey answered.

"Like?" Huelene asked wanting to know more.

"Like, adjusting to paying bills, getting to know people in the area, going to parties where the Howard kids were at, getting paid less because of our gender and race, trying to find time to spend with each other, dealing with diseases that were going around at Jazmine's job, learning to trust each other, and trying to be a couple that lived together," Huey named.

"Wow, that seems like a lot!" Huelene said being surprised.

"How did you guys adjust to bills?" Huelene asked.

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It was difficult to adjust to bills that came from the left to the right. We had to pay rent, water, power, natural gas, phone, trash, and the mailman, among other things.

Bill after bill came in the mail. And Jazmine and I would occasionally avoid paying our landlord, the mailman, and other debtors until we could come up with the money to do so.

We both tried to inform them of our condition in terms of relocating to the area and starting new employment, but they were unmoved. They informed us that this was the real world and that the real world would not be kind to newbies.

Almost every week, Jazmine and I would sit down at the table to plan how we would spend and save our money. We used it primarily to pay our bills, then saved for our college tuition, leaving us with little money to spend on food.

Mrs. Johnson, our widowed next-door neighbor, would always appreciate me and Jazmine's company, and she was aware of our predicament and would offer to feed us.

Of course, I didn't like give away's, so I would deny her offers, but she wouldn't take no for an answer.

So she would feed Jazmine and me, and we were able to save up money from buying food on most occasions.

Whenever we were late with our other bills, Jazmine and I had to use our looks to pay for less.

I know it sounds bad, but this was the only time Jazmine and I both agreed to flirt with other people.

Our landlord was a guy who was already married and had kids, but he would check out other women behind his wife's back.

Since his wife had kids, her body had changed and it didn't look like what it used to look like when they first met. He was disgusted by it!

But, he honestly didn't have room to judge because he didn't look his best either.

I hated men like that!

They always had room to judge and disrespect their wives for their bodies. It makes you realize the ugly truth you find out about a person you fell in love with.

I wonder if men like him are ever thankful for them bringing their children into the world and loving them. But his actions answer my question.

I didn't like him checking out Jazmine and I honestly felt guilty for encouraging her to do it.

But if you were us, you'd probably do it too, especially if you're struggling to pay bills, and the landlord is offering a discount.

And to make sure that he kept giving us discounts, Jazmine and I always acted as if our relationship was bad because he didn't like us together since he showed interest in Jazmine.