Suds

Suds | Season 1, Episode 5

[Last time on Suds, Leilah's left cheek was unfortunate enough to meet with granny's right hook, compliments of a case of mistaken identity. And Aunt Lisa, who adopted all seven of her sister's children found solace on her back stairwell. Meanwhile, I wonder what Shantel is up to.]

LISA sat on the enclosed back porch of her two-flat building, sucking the life out of the cigarette with hopes of bringing back her own. She closed her eyes and imagined what her life would have been like without the children. She could have been like one of Joan's Girlfriends—a sexy and successful black woman with the occasional man toy.

Lisa smiled at the thought, but thanks to her ever reckless older sister, she'd been raising Leilah since she was only fifteen years old herself.

By the time Lisa graduated from high school, Lalique and Zeniyah were born, and Jack D. was on his way. Lisa went to nursing school in the day and cared for the kids while momma worked the graveyard shift.

After Lisa earned her degree, Sheila dropped Ty and Tyler off on their doorstep. A few years later, Tutu joined the crew.

Lisa woke up one morning, single with seven kids. Leilah was twenty-one, Lalique was seventeen, Zeniyah sixteen and Jack D. was fifteen. The twin boys, Ty and Tyler were seven, and the baby girl, Tuilette, was three. And as if life wanted to prove it could always get worse, momma lost her sense to dementia.

Lisa puffed out a cloud of smoke, letting her frustration blow away in the fogginess of the injustice.

Leilah stepped out on the back porch.

"I finished the laundry, but there's a bag I was too tired to fold."

Lisa smiled, blowing smoke from the corner of her lips, "Don't worry about it, I'll have the kids fold their own." She extended her arm toward her niece.

Leilah slid into her Tee Lisa's embrace.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah," Leilah lied.
"You know all that wasn't meant for you, right?"
"Yeah," she rested her head on her aunt's full shoulder, experiencing comfort in its smoggiest yet purest form.

~

SHANTEL craned her neck, searching for Darien in the sea of people that flooded their departure ramp.
It's 9:15, where is he?

She tapped her knee high, stiletto boots impatiently as she smoothed her trench coat. It was so thin that the cold Chicago wind cut right through the khaki layer, but the look on Darien's face when he finally saw her would be worth all the cold in the arctic.

Maybe he's already on the train, she thought, and in the same breath, she rushed toward the train with her large black suitcase strolling behind.

She handed her bag to the attendant and climbed aboard, scanning each face in the car. He wasn't there. Shantel sighed, pulling her 'flat-ironed till it was bone straight' hair off her neck.

'What's up, Tel?" The voice she had been dreaming of said in a friendly tone.
She dropped her hair, hoping she hadn't messed it up, "Hey Darien."
"I thought you were riding back with your boy."
Speculating about my whereabouts? Good. Very good.

Shantel smiled playfully, smoothing strands of hair into place.
"Oh no, he's not leaving until late, and I have to study. For Finance." She pressed her lips together, raising her brows. "Do you want to sit together?"

Darien cuffed his hands together. "I don't think that's a good idea."
'Why?" Shantel grabbed his hand and pulled him toward two empty seats near the middle. "Is there a law that says we can't enjoy each other's company?" She untied her trench coat and slid it off.

Darien's eyes traced down the low-cut neck of her fitted mini dress. He closed his eyes tight.
Shantel fought back a congratulatory smirk. This might be easier than I thought. She placed a hand on her hip, arching her back to show off her curvy silhouette.

Darien looked away. "I—left all my stuff on the other car. With a friend."
"Okay, grab your stuff and come back. I'll hold your seat."
"Nah." He rubbed his forehead. "I gotta go. Catch you later, Shantel." He rushed off before she could respond.

Furious, Shantel plopped down onto the seat as the train groaned out of the station.

~

"Alright Ma, I have to head out," TERRANCE said, hoping his mother would hold onto the guilt card instead of playing it like she always did.

Mrs. Holt inhaled and forced the air back out. "Why couldn't you just go to the University of Illinois? At least then I would see you more often, not just once every other month."

Terrance gazed at the short, pudgy woman sitting at the dining room table playing solitaire.

"This is what I do, you know." She flipped over three cards. "All I do is play cards. Alone."

"Ma," Terrance groaned. "How many times we need to have this conversation?"

"And when you do come home, it's only for one night." She flipped over three cards from the deck, matching threads of black and red before pulling from the deck again.

"And less than half a day. Staying out all night with that girl. Can't even spend your last night in town with your own mother."

"Ma, please don't do this."

Still, she babbled on and on about her life
as a widow and her only son abandoning her for some pop tart who didn't have the decency to meet his mother. Even her now waning eyesight was caused by his absence.

"My poor eyes," she groaned. "They done gone bad from trying to find my only son. They forget you been long gone."

Terrance stretched out on the nearby sofa, tuning in an out of her rant. He knew he wouldn't be able to leave until later—much later.

~

SHANTEL had more than enough time to study since Darien was avoiding her like cats avoided bath water. He even pretended to be sleeping when she walked through his car to get to the snack bar.

Shantel looked out the window. Less than fifteen minutes away from the Carbondale stop and out of options. Well, at least I didn't break up with Terrance. She pulled her cell phone from her purse, sorting through numbers until she found the yellow cab.

Maybe I can read give Darien a ride back in my cab. Her hand lingered on the call button before she snapped the phone shut with another scheme in mind. Darien probably parked his car at the train station, and if I accidentally forget to call a cab, he just might offer me a ride home.

Hope fluttered wild in her heart.

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