Thinking About You

Chapter 8

My dad walks slowly into the office, raises his hand, which car keys are dangling from. He couldn't help it, his face breaks out into a huge grin. I was confused.

"Well, don't just sit there, come see your new car."
I lean forward and say, "My what?"
He laughs, I stand up with a smile. He wraps me in a hug.
"I love you son, Happy Birthday."
"This for real?" I ask while backing up.
"You want to see it now?"
I laugh.

It was a brand new, orange, Ford Mustang.

"What the fuck?!" I say with disbelief. I couldn't stop laughing.
"I got tired of seeing you without a car, boy."
I open the driver's door.
"How you paying for this? Because if you expect me to, then let me hand these keys back to you."
"Boy! Get in that car and leave now. Take the day off."
My eyes flew open
"Leave before I change my mind."
I shut the door and put the keys in the ignition.

The first and only person I told about the car was Cruz. It was my birthday and he wanted to hang out like old times.

Later that night I got freshened up. It was pretty warm for a December night but I wore jeans, a black t-shirt with a black bomber jacket and black Tims.
I went to go pick up Cruz, he got his first look of the car, seeing me pull up in it. He stood out front in a crisp white t-shirt with a shiny/silky looking dark blue light weight jacket and jeans. He started oooing and dancing, getting an all around look at the car.

"Look at them rims, nigga! They spinning, nigga, they spinning!" He did a Chris Rock impersonation. I was cracking up.
"Your dad handing out anymore favors?" He asks when he finally gets into the car. I shake my head.
"Nope, I know he broke after this." I start pulling off.
"He's mad cool for this." I nod to him. "Nothing I do can compare to this." I brush him off. "So I'll pay for your meal."
"You ain't even got to do that," I say while hitting a corner.
"But I'm going to," he sings.

It felt like old times again. We went to Johnny Rockets to get a burger, fries and shake.

I shake my head at him from across the table.

"There you go again," I say. He was dipping his fries into his vanilla shake.
"Don't start that shit." He makes a funny face at me.
"I always hated that nasty shit."

He dips a fry and tries to give it to me. I smack it out of his hand and it goes flying... into a woman's hair, pretty much at the top of her head. Not falling out. Cruz laughs so loud, he puts his head into his arm to stifle the noise.

"None of this shit would have happened if ya ass kept them nasty fries to yourself." I couldn't keep the smile off my face.

Cruz was trying hard to stop laughing but it didn't work and his face was still pink.

"So how's school? You're almost on break, right?"
"Yeah, starts next week but I'm almost done! I just got these finals." He was shredding his paper straw cover, then he looks at me and breaks into a boyish smile. "Then graduation!"
"Oh shit, that's right! When's that?"
"Next month."
"Man, I'm coming to that shit."
"You fucking better!" He says playfully through clenched teeth.
"That's crazy, you finally graduating."
"Took me about an arm and a leg."

I was staring at him, he had his head down. Everything about him—

"I'm happy for you," I say, cutting off my thoughts.
"Thanks and I got my internship all set up. I think it might become a job from there."
"That's real good! If only Damantaé had the same ambition."

Cruz's eyes flew open as if he couldn't wait to start talking about his ass.

"You know him and Linc still ain't talking."
I roll my eyes.
"All over some chick."
"Linc told me that Damantaé was still fucking the girl."
Now my eyes jump open.
"I don't know, man..." Cruz trails off.
"Damantaé still got a job?" I ask. Cruz pursed his lips.
"Linc ain't say, he ain't the only manager there. They probably don't see any real reason to let him go."
"That's fucked up."
"Linc says he just ignores him and he changes his shift so they don't work like that together."
I nod.