5. Pluto Monroe #2
I had started writing out backup plans, googling donation sites and looking up private foundations that offered grants for pediatric surgeries.
I had even called a woman at one of the Chiari support organizations, and she told me she’d email me a list of hospitals with payment plans, but the tone in her voice said it all.
Even with help, it still wasn’t going to be enough.
By the time the sun went down, and the sky faded into a burnt orange mess outside the living room window, I already knew what it meant. Nobody was calling. Nobody was emailing. My name wasn’t on the list.
It was close to ten when I finally gave up for real. I had taken a hot shower, rinsed the conditioner out of my curls, and changed into one of my stretched-out t-shirts. I didn’t even bother putting lotion on. I just felt heavy, and tired in a way that lived deep in my bones.
I walked down the hallway and peeked into Zurie’s room. She was laying on her side, facing the wall, her little blanket pulled all the way up to her chin. Her room was dim, lit only by the soft blue glow of a nightlight in the corner.
When she heard me, she turned her head a little, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Sissy, can you read to me?”
I forced a smile and nodded. “Of course.”
I sat on the edge of the bed and picked up the same book we’d been reading for months now, Luna and the Skyflower Tree . The spine was bent, and the pages were soft at the edges from so much use, but Zurie loved it. She always asked for the same parts, and I always read them the same way.
I opened to the marked page and started reading, my voice soft and calm.
“Luna walked through the meadow where stars grew on trees, their petals glowing in the dark. She wasn’t afraid of the shadows anymore, because she had magic in her pockets and light in her heart.”
Zurie shifted closer to me, her head resting on her folded hands as I kept going.
“The wind told her stories about girls who had wings, and the moon gave her secrets that only brave children could understand. She followed the glow, one step at a time, until she reached the tallest Skyflower Tree in the forest…”
As I turned the page, my phone buzzed on the edge of the mattress.
I glanced down, not thinking anything of it, until I saw the name on the screen.
Trill-Land Selection Team
My whole body froze.
I stared at the notification for a second, my heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. For a minute, I didn’t move. I just stared at the screen like maybe I had imagined it.
Then I picked up the phone, my hands shaking, and tapped the email open.
Dear Pluto Monroe,
Congratulations. You have officially been selected as one of the final Diamonds of Trill-Land. Further details and travel instructions will be sent within the next 48 hours.”
I blinked, reading it again, then again and again.
It didn’t feel real, but it was.
I had been chosen…
It was really happening…
I looked down at Zurie. She had already drifted off again, her body finally still and breath slow and even. I didn’t want to wake her, but I felt this burst of something I hadn’t felt in weeks—hope.
I set the book on the nightstand, leaned over, and kissed the top of her head.
Then I whispered to the room, not expecting an answer, “Okay… we might really have a chance now.”
I sat there a little longer, the phone still in my hand, my heart still racing, my mind already turning toward whatever came next.
We had one more day left until it was time to fly to Trill-Land, and my nerves were starting to get loud.
The past week had been a blur of shopping trips, hair appointments, nail salons, and last-minute prep runs with Kashmere.
She had dipped into her savings to help both of us get right since I didn’t have it like that, and I hated accepting it, but I knew I had to.
We hit every mall from Gulfport to Mobile, trying on dresses, two-piece sets, heels that looked good but hurt like hell, and sleepwear we’d probably never wear but packed anyway just in case we ended up in some camera-ready moment.
Kashmere made it feel fun. She kept the energy high, laughing at how long I took in the dressing room and dragging me into stores I would’ve never stepped foot in on my own.
She made me try on things I didn’t think I could pull off, telling me over and over again that I was a bad bitch and I needed to walk like it.
We got our nails done together, her choosing long pink coffin tips while I went with something short and simple.
We got silk presses and matching edge wraps.
I even let the lady arch my eyebrows, even though I winced the whole time.
Kashmere kept calling it our pre-rich-girl glow-up, saying we had to be ready to step into the mansion like we belonged there from the beginning.
But no matter how many bags we came home with or how good I looked in the mirror, the heaviness in my chest never let up.
Zurie was still here, and I was about to leave her behind.
When we got back to the apartment that evening, Kashmere helped me carry in the shopping bags, both of us out of breath by the time we got everything inside.
Mama was laid across the couch, a cigarette balanced between her fingers and her foot bouncing uncontrollably.
Her nerves were always bad when she ran out of pills.
The second she saw Zurie walk through the door, she sat up and smashed the cigarette into an ashtray, reaching her arms out.
“Hey, my baby,” she said, like she hadn’t seen her in years.
Zurie gave her a soft smile, but she leaned into me instead. I guided her down the hallway to her room while Kash followed behind, helping set the bags down on my bed before meeting me in Zurie’s room.
I helped Zurie out of her jacket and tucked her into bed, pulling the covers up and adjusting her pillow.
Her body was still fragile, and her energy stayed low throughout the day.
I sat on the edge of the mattress and ran my fingers through her curls while she looked up at me with those same tired eyes that had started to feel older than they should.
“You still gotta leave?” she asked, her voice soft and barely there.
I swallowed, trying to keep my smile from shaking. “Just for a little while. Six weeks. I’ll be back before you know it.”
Her bottom lip poked out slightly, and I leaned down to kiss her forehead. She didn’t say anything after that, but just turned over slowly and held her teddy bear closer. I stayed there for a few more minutes, watching her breathe.
That guilt sat heavy in my heart, and it didn’t let up no matter how much I tried to rationalize it.
I knew I was doing this for her. I knew the only reason I was going to that estate was to try and win something that could save her life, but I also knew what kind of condition I was leaving her in. And that’s what kept eating at me.
Mama wasn’t stable, and that was the truth.
As much as I wanted to believe she could handle a few weeks of keeping Zurie fed, clean, and safe, I knew better.
I had watched her zone out too many times, nodding off in the middle of a sentence or losing track of what day it was.
Daddy wasn’t no help either. He came and went like a storm, loud and wild, breaking things and demanding money, never once asking about his daughter’s health or what the doctors had said.
If anything happened to Zurie while I was gone, I’d never forgive myself.
I stood up and left the room, walking back to my bedroom and grabbing my phone. Kash was laying across my bed, going through outfits again, but I barely heard her. I was too focused on the number I hadn’t dialed in years.
I took a deep breath and called my Uncle Lionel.
It rang twice before he answered. “Yeah?”
“Hey, Uncle Lionel. It’s Pluto.”
“Oh, hey, baby girl. Everything alright?”
I sat on the edge of the bed, pressing the phone tighter to my ear. “Kinda. I need to ask you something, and I know it’s last-minute, but I didn’t know who else to call.”
He didn’t say anything at first. He just waited.
“I… I got selected for something. A program that’ll take me out of town for a little while. Six weeks or longer, and I can’t take Zurie with me. I don’t feel right leaving her here.”
“What’s going on with her?”
“She’s sick… real sick. It’s her brain. The doctors say she needs surgery, but it costs a lot, and I’m trying to find a way to get the money.”
I could hear him breathing on the other end.
“I don’t trust my mama to watch her,” I admitted. “I wish I could, but I can’t, and if something happens while I’m gone…”
I trailed off because the thought of it made my chest feel like it was cracking.
“I just need her to be somewhere safe.”
My uncle lived in Chapel Grove with his wife. I knew it wasn’t perfect, but it was better than here.
“I was wondering if you and Aunt Deanne could take her. Just for the time I’m gone.”
He didn’t answer right away. Then he said, “Hold on. Let me speak with Deanne.”
He put the phone down, and I sat there staring at the wall while Kash slowly sat up beside me. Minutes passed before he came back.
“Yeah. You can bring her.”
I closed my eyes, relief washing over me so heavy I thought I might cry right then.
“I know it’s last-minute,” I said quickly. “I leave tomorrow morning. Is it okay if we drop her off tonight?”
“Yeah. Just pack her some clothes. If she got extra blankets, bring those too.”
“Thank you, Uncle Lionel. I mean it. Thank you.”
After I hung up, I walked past the living room and went straight to Mama’s room. She was now sitting on the edge of the bed, lighting another cigarette.
“I’m taking Zurie to Uncle Lionel’s,” I said, already bracing for the argument.
“The hell you mean you takin’ her somewhere?” she snapped, standing up. “She’s my damn child. You didn’t even ask me.”
“I didn’t ask because I knew you’d say no, and I’m not giving you the option, mama.”
Her eyes narrowed. “You think I can’t take care of my own daughter?”
“You can’t,” I said, blunt and cold. “You’re not well, Mama.
You take pills and fall asleep with lit cigarettes in your hand.
You argue with Daddy while Zurie’s in the next room, scared out of her mind.
You forget things. You lose track of time, and I’m not about to leave her here knowing she could have another episode, and you won’t even hear her call your name. ”
“You don’t get to talk to me like?—”
“I’m not arguing with you,” I said, cutting her off. “If you want to see her, she’ll be at Uncle Lionel’s. That’s where she’s staying. Period.”
I left before she could respond, walking back to Zurie’s room and quietly packing her bag.
I folded all her clothes, tucked in her favorite pajamas, her teddy bear, her toothbrush, her pink slippers, her medicines, and the backup list of everything the doctors had told me.
By the time I zipped the bag closed, Kashmere was already outside waiting in the car.
We made the drive in silence, Zurie sleeping softly in the backseat. When we pulled up to Uncle Lionel’s house in Chapel Grove, the porch light was on. He and Aunt Deanne were standing at the door waiting for us.
“Thank y’all,” I said once we were inside. “For real. Whatever money I get while away, I’m sending it straight to y’all.”
Aunt Deanne smiled and touched my shoulder. “Don’t worry about that. Just focus on doing what you need to do.”
I handed them the list I had written out—everything Zurie needed, what to do if something happened, the hospital contacts, the medications, the symptoms to watch for. Uncle Lionel looked it over, then said, “You know Deanne’s a nurse, right?”
I froze. “Oh my God… I forgot.”
“She’s been one almost fifteen years.”
And just like that, something inside me let go. That weight I’d been dragging around…It lifted.
I hugged them both and kissed Zurie’s forehead one more time before we left.
On the way back home, I looked out the window, feeling something I hadn’t felt in a long time… relief.
Now all I had to do was get on that plane in the morning.