17. Halo
Halo
A couple days later
S ince I had to switch days with someone in order for me to go to the game in Huntsville, I had to spend my Sunday at Lotus, something I didn’t want to do. If I didn’t show up like I was supposed to, Steven was going to be mad as hell with me. To not hear his mouth, I was preparing myself to go there later.
It was Sunday afternoon, and I was in the kitchen jamming to the old nineties R&B as I cooked dinner for me and Brave before Krissy came by. She agreed to keep him for me while I worked. Since I was gon’ be getting off at eleven, she told me that she’d drop him off at school in the morning. She didn’t want me to bother to come get him out the bed that time of night. Working the night shift was something I rarely did because I had a child. I could count on one hand how many times I’d worked the night shift. They paid great, but it wasn’t anything I was able to do with having Brave. Being a parent, you had to sacrifice a lot of shit. I wasn’t complaining though.
“Nights I couldn’t sleep, you let the sun beat you home. I ask myself over again, what am I doing wrong,” I sang and swayed my hips. Singing this song brought back memories of when I was in Huntsville with Joker. I hated the trip had to get cut short, but he said it was an emergency back home and he had to get there. That kiss though… it was everything and more. It bothered me deeply that ever since we got home, it’s like he disappeared. I keep telling myself not to overthink things, that he was just handling business, to not get upset.
Stepping to the stove, I pulled the lasagna out and placed it on top to let it cool off. I then checked the bread to see if it was done before going over to the sink to wash the little dishes that I messed up while cooking. I wanted to make sure that everything was clean before I left the house. Coming home to a nasty house after working late wasn’t happening. I knew the moment I touched the door tonight, all I was gon’ want to do was go to sleep.
“Brave!” I yelled out his name over my shoulder and grabbed a couple plates out the dish rack. I set them on the counter and fixed our food. By the time I placed the plates on the table, Brave bent the corner. “Wash your hands so we can eat,” I instructed him and went over to the refrigerator and grabbed a couple bottles of water.
I set them down on the table next to our plates and sat down. Brave sat in the chair across from me and bowed his head. Once he was done saying grace in his head, he picked up his fork and dug into his food. “Krissy will be here soon. Did you pack everything you’ll need in your bag?” I asked him before taking a bite of my bread.
“Yes,” he responded and went back to his food. My phone chimed on the counter. I didn’t bother to get up and see what it was. Whenever I was at the dinner table, I tried to keep electronics away from it.
I finished up my food. When Brave was done, I took the dishes into the kitchen and cleaned them. Grabbing my phone off the counter, I looked at the notifications and saw that I had a message from Krissy.
Kris: I’ll be there at six.
It was going on five thirty. I had enough time to hop in the shower and get dressed before she got here. Going over to my dresser, I opened the top drawer and grabbed a work shirt out of there and then grabbed a pair of pants out the one underneath it. I got a pair of panties and bra and went into the bathroom. As I stood there in the mirror, gazing at my reflection, thoughts of Joker seeped into my mind. I wanted to check on him but didn’t want to seem desperate.
Brushing my hair back out my face with my hands, I placed a scrunchie on it and turned on the shower. Stripping out of my clothes, I stepped over into the bathtub and proceeded to wash myself. Since I was pressed for time, I didn’t stay in too long.
Getting out, I grabbed my towel off the hook and wrapped it around my frame. Grabbing my EOS vanilla cashmere lotion off the sink, I went into my bedroom. I made sure to pat myself dry before lotioning my body. I never fully dried myself. In my mind, I felt like the moisture helped set the lotion in my skin.
I got dressed. Soon as I slipped my feet into my sneakers, my phone went off. It was Krissy calling.
“Hey, girl,” I answered, placing the phone on speaker so I could gather my stuff.
“I’m pulling in now. Do you need help?”
“No. I don’t have much. Whatever Brave got, he can carry himself.”
“Okay. I’ll see y’all in a few.”
The call ended, and I grabbed my purse off the dresser. Exiting my bedroom, I stopped at Brave’s door and said, “Kris outside. Come on.” He climbed off the edge of his bed and grabbed his backpack off the floor by the door. We headed to the front door and exited. I locked up and we went down the stairs to the front door.
Everyone was outside heavy because it was the weekend, and the sun was still up. The homeless man was back. He’d been gone for a few days. I thought he found somewhere else to sleep, but judging by the blankets and trash bags he had on the ground next to him, that wasn’t the case. I really wished they’d do something with his ass and everyone else that was giving Ridgeview a bad name.
“What the fuck you looking at, wanch?” he asked when he realized I was looking at him.
“You need to watch your fucking mouth around my son.”
“Says the one who’s using curse words.” I gave him the bird finger and ushered Brave toward Kris’s truck. She was standing in front of it with a pocket knife in her hand.
“You good?” she asked me, and I nodded.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” Brave climbed into the back seat and I got into the front. Kris slipped her knife into her pocket and got into the driver’s seat. “I swear I’ll be so glad when I get from out here.”
Kris backed out her parking space and asked, “Where’s Jah?”
That’s when it hit me. I hadn’t seen him in a minute. “I don’t know. I might need to call and check on him. It’s not like him to be gone so long.” I pulled my phone out and went to Jah’s number. I pressed dial and placed the phone to my ear. It rang out to voicemail. Normally, he would’ve jumped to answer the phone for me. “He didn’t answer. What if something’s wrong with him?”
“I’m sure if something was really wrong, you would’ve heard about it by now.”
“I guess you’re right.”
I fell silent as she pulled out into traffic. If I didn’t see Jah soon, I was gon’ have no other choice but to go out and search for him. Krissy may have eased my mind for the time being, but that’s only gon’ last for so long.
We finally made it to Lotus. Kris stopped in front of the door and I turned to Brave who sat in the back seat with his tablet in his hand. “I love you. Be good for Tee-tee Kris,” I told him and opened the door.
“I love you too,” he replied, and I turned my attention back to Kris.
“I’ll call and check in on him later.” She nodded and I shut the door.
I entered the building and the first person I saw was Steven. He was standing at the podium, talking to Rachel. “Hey,” I spoke and kept trotting.
“Can you fix your attitude?” he asked. I wanted to roll my eyes at him but opted out of it. I flashed him a fake grin and kept scampering. One thing I wasn’t about to do, was let him get underneath my skin tonight.
Entering the kitchen, I spoke to Will, “Hey,” and headed straight to my locker and then placed my purse inside. Grabbing my apron, I tied it around my waist and closed my locker back.
“I was waiting on you to get here. You’re the only thing that’s gon’ get me through this busy night,” Will said as he sauteed some shrimp.
“Same,” I told him. “I really don’t even want to be here.” With all those games Brave was going to have, I might as well get used to taking up other people’s shifts so that I could make it to them. No way I was going to miss a game or practice. Krissy and I were the only ones he had ’til Ma got out in a couple months. It didn’t even sound real, thinking about it. My mama was really about to come home. That’s another reason why I needed to get on my A game. She was going to be getting treatments and was going to need my help to take care of her. Hopefully, by the time she got out, I’d be in a better situation.
“It’s gon’ fly by, trust me,” he said and plated the shrimp.
“Let me get on out there.” Sighing, I strolled to the kitchen doors and pushed them open. As I stepped out, there was a couple being seated in my section. I pulled out my pad and pen and strutted in their direction. “Hey, I’m Halo and I’ll be your server for the night. What can I get started for you?” The woman’s face was buried in the menu, but her nigga was eyeing me as if I was on the menu. He licked his full lips and stroked his beard. I could tell he was undressing me with his eyes. That’s nothing I wasn’t used to.
“Um, I think I want to get the vodka spritz,” she said, and her eyes shifted to me.
“Okay, and you, sir?” His eyes never left me.
“Let me get a Long Island,” was his response.
“Why are you looking at her like that?” the woman questioned him, finally breaking his trance.
He mugged her and asked, “What the hell are you talking about?”
Nasty attitude. I almost felt sorry for her, but if he was acting like this toward her in front of me, it wasn’t anything new to her. She chose to stay in the situation. I’m sorry, but my man was gon’ have to respect me. That’s one thing about Joker. I never saw him eyeing another woman when in my presence. I really had to go find him after tonight.
“Why do you always have to talk to me like that?” Her eyes searched his.
“I’ll be back with your drink orders.” Whatever they had going on, I didn’t have nothing to do with it. I bounced away from the table and went over to the bar to place the orders.
“Can I have a Long Island and vodka spritz?” I asked Cynthia and slid onto one of the barstools.
“Coming right up, beautiful.”
I eased my phone from my pocket to see if I had a call or text from Joker, and nothing. The overthinker in me was beginning to take control. Going to Facebook, I searched up his name and got nothing. I tried his government and nickname. He still hadn’t even told me how he got the name in the first place. After coming up emptyhanded with Facebook, I tried Instagram and he immediately popped up. He didn’t have many posts on his page though, nor a recent one. At least I knew he wasn’t no social media comedian and didn’t have to worry about him entertaining other females. Nutt had me psychotic as hell. I’d check his page a million times a day and it still didn’t show that he was married. Every time he posted, there were several bitches reacting to his post. I knew his wife hated that shit.
“Here you go,” Cynthia said, bringing me back to reality.
“Thanks.” I picked up the glasses and took them back to the table. As I approached, I saw them still arguing like they were when I left. They probably hadn’t even looked at the menu to figure out what they wanted. “Here’s your drinks,” I said and set the cups down in front of them. “Are you ready to order or do I need to give you a few minutes?”
The woman’s eyes shot in my direction, and she said, “What I want is a new waitress.”
“Excuse me?”
“You heard me right. I want a new waitress.”
“But this is my area.”
“I understand, but my boyfriend…” her eyes darted to him as she continued, “he can’t seem to keep his eyes off you. Ain’t that right, Michael?”
“And how is that my fault?”
“Just get us a new waitress.” She slouched back in her seat and folded her arms over her chest.
“Fine.” I marched away from the table and saw Lisa coming out the kitchen. Stopping in front of her, I said, “My table wants a new waitress. You think you can cover it for me?”
“Why? Something wrong?”
“Her nigga can’t keep his eyes to himself and she wants to take it out on me.”
“Okay. I’ll handle it for you.”
“Thanks.”
I stepped out of Lisa’s path and she took the food she had in her hand over to one of her tables. After, she stepped to mine with her pen and pad. The woman shot to her feet and stormed out of the restaurant. Her dude stayed behind with his phone out, probably trying to get Lisa’s number. A smirk plastered on my face. Lisa was thicker than a bowl of grits. She worked at Fantasy Land on the weekend and waitressed during the week. She was all about her paper. I admired her, actually.
Rachel placed another customer at another one of my tables, and I sighed before heading in that direction. I could tell it was going to be a long night.
Later that night
My night had finally come to an end. All the customers were gone and most of the staff. I was finishing up cleaning off my tables when Will emerged from the kitchen. He draped his bag over his shoulder and said, “I thought you were gone.”
“I’m about to leave now,” I made known and got up from the table I just wiped down.
“Be careful out there. Do you have a ride home? You want me to wait for you?”
“I’m good. I ordered an Uber. They should be arriving soon. Thanks though.”
“A’ight. I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said and strolled out the door.
I treaded to the kitchen and dropped the towel in the hamper. Removing my apron, I went over to the locker to grab my purse. The kitchen doors opened, and I jumped. When I turned around, Steven was standing there with one of his hands shoved into his pocket.
“I heard you were giving another one of my customers a hard time tonight.”
Rolling my eyes, I turned and grabbed my purse from the locker and shut it. “Well, you heard wrong. I did exactly what they asked,” I replied and went to step around him. He caught me by the forearm and halted my strides.
“I’m really sick and tired of you causing problems in here. I should really fire you.”
“On what grounds?” I yanked away from him and asked.
“That attitude of yours. Customers are always complaining about you.”
“That’s a lie. I’ve only had a couple incidents,” I responded and folded my arms over my chest.
“I can look past it if you give me what I want.”
His eyes roamed my frame. “Uh-uh.” I pushed him out the way, and he caught me by the wrist. Steven slung me into the counter, and it hit me in the ribs. I winced and rubbed my side. “Are you fucking crazy! You know you can get in trouble for assault, right?”
“Who’s going to believe your nigger ass over me? Huh?” He took a step closer to me and closed the gap between us. He was so fucking close that I could smell everything he ate for dinner, seeping off his breath.
“You racist piece of shit. Get the fuck out my way.”
“You’re fired.”
“Nah, I quit. Fuck you,” I said and shoved the kitchen doors open. I stormed toward the exit and could see my Uber sitting outside, waiting for me. Leaning down, I waved, grasping the driver’s attention. “Hey, Jacob?”
“Yeah,” he answered, and I opened the back door, slipping into the seat. Pulling my phone out, I went to call Krissy and let her know what just happened. My thumb hovered over her name. It was late. I didn’t want to worry her. I was on my way home and could let her know what happened in the morning. My eyes shifted to Joker’s name. I pressed it, placed the phone to my ear, and waited for it to ring. It rang three times. Knowing that he wasn’t about to answer, I removed the phone and then saw the zeros above his name, letting me know that it connected. Placing the phone back to my ear, I said, “Hello?” and swallowed hard.
“Halo?” My heart erupted, hearing his voice coming through the line.
Tears cascaded down my cheeks. Unbeknownst to me, Joker had become my safe place. In this moment, I needed to be near him, so I said, “I need you.”