Chapter Fifteen
Fifteen
I’d just pulled on my sweatpants when I heard the front door open.
“Eric?” I called and peeked around the door.
“Yeah,” he barked and started toward his bedroom.
“Where you been?” I asked as I shot out of the room, stopping him in his tracks. He just stared at me. He was pulling air through his nose like a bull.
“What’s wrong with you?” My voice softened. He looked so upset.
“Nothing. I’m a’ight,” he mumbled and stepped around me. I let him go.
“Well, where you been?” I gently inquired again.
“I went to the park to play ball,” he said before shutting the door to his room.
I just shook my head. Mothering was such hard work; you had to know when to push and when to pull back. This was a time I had to pull back. I could fuss at him about his responsibility later on.
“Well, I’m headed out to the grocery store.”
I waited for a response, but none came.
I moved back into my bedroom, opened the closet door, and looked down at the one pair of sneakers I owned.
The white was gray with age and dirt, so I opted for a worn pair of pink and yellow striped flip-flops.
“I’m just going to the grocery store,” I told myself as I pulled my hair into a tight ponytail.
Always look your best. You never know who you might meet. I could hear my mother’s voice in my head.
“Shut up,” I mumbled to the air. “At least I have on clean underwear.”
“What the hell!” Eric bellowed through the wall.
My heart jumped, and I rushed from the bedroom in a panic. “What’s wrong?” I was yelling when we nearly collided in the living room. I was clutching my chest and Eric was clutching the filthy sheet.
“Ma, this sheet is gross. It’s covered with all kinds of sh—I mean, gunk.”
I looked him squarely in the eye. “Yeah, it is. Maybe next time you’ll do what you’re supposed to do,” I said and snatched my pocketbook off the table and waltzed out the door.