Mr. Tan

Chapter 26: The Darkest Before Dawn

I spent the rest of the day in a funk after visiting my mother, pondering over everything that she told me earlier. She had another daughter, my little sister in the system, her and Clyde's divorce, and most importantly about her dying. I barely ate anything, I didn't answer my cell phone, or leave the house. I wasn't even in the mood for Earl later on that night when he entered my bedroom. When he took my shirt off and began kissing on me, I felt nothing. All I could do was lay there in my bra and blue denim shorts as Earl laid down beside me. He gazed deep into my eyes with a look of concern.

"I'm sorry", I said, turning on my side to face him.

"That's alright", he replied as he pulled me closer to him, placing a soft kiss on my forehead. What did yo' mamma say to ya?

"She told me that I have a little sister, her husband and her got a divorce, and that.....she's dying", I replied.

It took every ounce of me to control the tears that threatened to come. 

"She started getting into drugs months before I left", I said. When I saw her, I barely recognized her. Just maybe if I would've stayed......

"Shhh, shh", he said gently. If you woulda stayed, you'd be in the same hole she'd be in, if not worse. Ain't no tellin' what would've happened to you if ya stayed in dat environment. You leavin' was da smartest thang you done did fo' yo'self. You left cause you wanted betta fo' yo'self and da baby if he survived. 

"You mean that?", I asked.

"Hell yeah, I mean dat", he replied. Lookit cha, smart as a whip, doin' good in school, makin' friends, this singin' thang workin' fo' ya, settin' goals. You grown into a beautiful woman, one I'm lucky 'nough to come home to every fuckin' night. You went from a skinny and scared lil thing, to whatchu is now. 'Member sump'n, a rose ain't gon' flourish if it's bein' stuck in mud and trampled it's whole life. Its gotta be nurtured and fed, and exposed to sunlight. 

I looked up at him teary eyed and smiled, as he caressed my face with his warm hand. He kissed me softly before he left my bedroom. I stayed awake all night, not being able to sleep much. I don't remember falling asleep, but the next day, I awoke around 12:00 in the afternoon. It was a Monday and Earl already left for work, perhaps an hour ago. I went in the kitchen and did my usual, letting Duke outside and giving him fresh water and filling his bowl with dry food. Earl left me a plate of some food wrapped in aluminum foil. He left a post it note stuck to the foil, it said "have a better day, please eat & stay safe". I unwrapped the plate to find two pieces of leftover fried chicken, a slab of jalapeno cornbread and fried potatoes. It was leftovers from last night's dinner. I was so down in the dumps that I didn't bother eating dinner last night. I let Duke back inside after he found a spot to do his business. I recently befriended a 19 year old girl that moved into the trailer across the street from us two weeks ago. Her name is Danika Albright and she had an adorable 5 month old baby girl named Monica. Her live in boyfriend Tommy was a long haul truck driver that was due to get back on the road and haul freight all the way to Chicago in the next few days. Danika, in the mean time didn't work. She was a stay at home mother. Danika is a tan colored black girl who is an inch shorter than me and a bit plump. She wore her hair in chin length dread locks dyed blonde that framed her round pretty face. Her boyfriend Tommy  Armstrong is full blooded Native-American, and he drove a motorcycle. The big shiny Harley was parked in front of the solid white trailer. Danika drove a dark purple station wagon. I was about to place the plate of food in the microwave until I heard the doorbell. Since I was still walking around the place in the my bra and shorts that I fell asleep in, I quickly ran into my room and threw on the solid black baby tee I had on yesterday over my bra and answered the door. I opened the door to find Tommy standing on the other side. His long dark hair was slicked back in a braid that stopped at the middle of his back. A few loose strands swayed in the afternoon summer breeze. He was tall and lean and wore a plain black t-shirt and basketball shorts.