Chapter 8
CHAPTER EIGHT
NYROBI
Istayed with my mama until she finally fell asleep. The machines in her hospital room had become background noise by then. Every now and then she'd crack one eye open just to make sure I was still sitting there.
"You need to go home," she mumbled, barely awake.
"I will."
"You been saying that for hours."
"I know."
She smiled without opening her eyes.
"You hardheaded."
"You made me this way."
That got a little laugh out of her.
"Go home, baby."
"I ain't going nowhere until you asleep."
"I'm asleep now."
"This got damn Juanita," I laughed.
She smiled again before finally drifting off for real. I sat there another twenty minutes anyway just watching her breathe, making sure she was really resting.
The nurse walked in to check her vitals before looking over at me.
"She's doing much better."
I smiled.
"Thank God."
"You should go get some sleep."
"I plan on it."
"You sure?"
"I got somewhere to be in the morning."
She nodded.
"I'll keep an eye on her."
I leaned over and kissed my mama on the forehead.
"I'll be back before lunch."
She didn't answer. She was finally getting the sleep she'd been fighting all day. I quietly grabbed my purse and slipped out of the room.
The hallway was a whole lot quieter by the time I made it downstairs. A few visitors were still scattered around the waiting room, and the nurses behind the station looked just as tired as I felt.
After pushing through the front doors, I headed toward my Buick.
I climbed in, tossed my purse in the passenger seat, and sat there for a second with my hands wrapped around the steering wheel.
Lord...
What a damn day.
I turned the key, praying my car would cooperate one more time.
The engine hesitated before finally starting.
"That's all I needed."
I pulled out of the hospital parking lot and headed home praying my Buick act right being that I hadn’t drove it in a few days.
There wasn't much traffic on the road, which gave my mind entirely too much time to wander. Between worrying about my mama, trying to figure out how I was going to keep a roof over our heads, and hoping this opportunity with Tiffany turned into something permanent, my brain refused to slow down.
When I finally made it home, I grabbed my purse, locked the car, and headed upstairs.
The second I stepped inside my apartment, all that adrenaline I'd been running on disappeared.
I plugged my phone into the charger, laid my clothes across the chair so I wouldn't be rushing in the morning, took a hot shower, and crawled into bed.
I told myself I was just going to close my eyes for a minute.
The next thing I knew my alarm was damn near vibrating off the nightstand. I reached over, knocked my phone onto the floor, and groaned.
"Damn."
I rubbed my eyes before checking the time.
Six o'clock.
For about five seconds I forgot what day it was.
Then it hit me.
"Tiffany."
I sat straight up. Today was my first day.
I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stretched before making my way to the bathroom to take my morning shit and hop in the shower.
I grabbed the roach (small blunt) that was sitting on my counter and fired it up.
Normally I wouldn’t smoke in the house because my momma wasn’t with that shit.
But fuck it I had to get my mind right for the day and the smell would be gone before my momma came home anyways.
After a quick shower, I brushed my teeth, splashed some cold water across my face, and reached for the little jar of edge control sitting on the counter.
"If this gel don't hold today I’m fighting everybody..."
I shook my head and laughed at myself before slicking my edges into a low ponytail. I looked simple, clean and professional and that was the goal.
I walked over to the chair where I'd laid my clothes out the night before and slipped into my black work pants and plain black T-shirt. They weren't brand new, but they were clean, wrinkle-free, and they fit me just right.
I stepped back in front of the mirror.
"You'll do."
I reached for my phone and hit Kendra's name.
She answered so fast it made me think she'd been awake.
"Girl..."
I frowned.
"You sound outta breath."
She started laughing.
"'Cause I am."
"What you doing?"
"I'm leaving."
"Leaving where?"
The phone got silent.
Then she laughed again.
"A man's house."
I rolled my eyes.
"Kendra..."
"What?"
"Ain't that the same man you said got a girlfriend?"
She sucked her teeth.
"Correction."
"What?"
"She work nights."
I couldn't help but laugh.
"You ain't got no business."
"I mind the business that pay me."
"Kendra!"
"What?"
"You gone get yourself beat up."
"I ain't get beat up last night."
She sounded entirely too proud of herself.
Lord have mercy.
"You are a mess."
"And you love me."
"I really do."
She laughed before her voice softened.
"You ready?"
I looked back at myself in the mirror.
"I don't know."
"Nyrobi..."
"I'm serious."
"My stomach been in knots since my alarm went off."
"You nervous because you care."
"I need this job, Ken."
"I know."
"I need it bad."
She got quiet for a second.
"Then go show Tiffany she made the right choice."
I nodded even though she couldn't see me.
"I will."
"And stop doubting yourself."
"I'm trying."
"No. You gone do it," she corrected me.
A smile crept across my face.
"You always know what to say."
"I know."
She laughed.
"Now get off my phone before I gotta explain why I'm still sitting outside this man's house."
I busted out laughing.
"Girl, bye."
"I love you."
"Love you too."
We hung up, and I felt a lot less nervous.
I grabbed my purse, my lunch bag, and my keys before heading out the door.
The first thing I did when I got downstairs was pop the hood on my Buick.
"Come on, baby, work with me today," I mumbled.
I unscrewed the radiator cap, poured the gallon of water into it, then stood there watching.
"So far, so good."
I wiped my hands on an old towel I'd kept in the trunk before climbing behind the wheel.
I turned the key and the engine stumbled once then settled into a smooth idle.
I smiled.
"See...I knew you still had a little life left in you."
I pulled out of the apartment complex, keeping one eye on the road and the other on the temperature gauge every few minutes. To my surprise that old Buick didn't give me a single problem. By the time I pulled into Walker Property Preservation's parking lot, it was 6:42.
I looked at the building, took one deep breath, then grabbed my purse.
"Alright, Nyrobi."
I smiled to myself.
"Let's see what today got for us,” I whispered.
The office was already buzzing by the time I walked through the front doors.
People were coming in and out carrying supply bags, talking over each other, filling coffee cups, and clocking in before heading back outside.
It felt like organized chaos.
I had barely closed the door behind me before Tiffany looked up from her office.
"There you are."
"I told you I wouldn't be late."
She smiled.
"You were early."
I couldn't help but smile back.
"I wanted to make a good impression."
"You already have."
She motioned for me to come into her office.
I closed the door behind me and took a seat across from her desk. She opened a folder with my name on it before sliding a couple papers toward me.
"I need your signature on these, then we'll get you on your way."
I signed where she pointed without even reading half of it.
"You trust people too easy."
I looked up.
"Huh?"
She leaned back in her chair.
"You signed that awfully fast."
I laughed.
"I figured if you wanted to take everything I own..."
I looked around her office.
"...you would've changed your mind once you seen my bank account."
That made Tiffany laugh.
"I like you."
"I've been told I'm alright."
She stacked the paperwork neatly before folding her hands on top of the desk.
"Now let's talk about where you'll be working."
I sat up a little straighter.
"Our biggest hospitality contract is with Stylez Grand Stay."
She slid a photo across the desk.
The hotel looked like something straight out of a magazine.
It had tall glass windows with a fountain in the front and Luxury cars lined up beneath the entrance.
"Damn..."
The word slipped out before I could stop it.
Tiffany smiled.
"That's usually everybody's first reaction."
"I'll be working there?"
"You will."
I looked back down at the picture.
"This place look expensive."
"It is."
She smiled.
"And because it's expensive, our standards have to match,” she added.
I nodded.
"I understand."
"You won't be by yourself."
She picked up another paper.
"For the next couple weeks, you'll be shadowing Casey," she added.
I nodded again, trying to remember the name.
"She's one of my best trainers. If she teaches you something, pay attention."
"I will."
"The hotel also has their own Director of Housekeeping."
She glanced down at the schedule.
"Her name is Tia."
I listened carefully.
"Tia doesn't work for me."
"She works directly for the hotel."
"Every morning she gives our crew the room assignments, tells us what's expected, and keeps us updated on VIP guests, inspections, and anything else we need to know."
I nodded.
"So basically...I answer to Casey...And Casey answers to you?"
A smile spread across Tiffany's face.
"Now you're catching on."
She stood up and grabbed her keys.
"Come on."
I frowned.
"We leaving already?"
She laughed.
"That hotel ain't gone clean itself."
I laughed and stood up.
"Yes, ma'am."
Tiffany held the office door open while I followed her outside. The parking lot looked even busier than it had when I first pulled in. Company vans were lined up side by side, and people were loading carts with fresh linens, cleaning supplies, bottled water, and boxes of little shampoos and soaps.
I frowned.
"Damn...I ain't know cleaning came with this much stuff."
Tiffany laughed.
"Baby, this ain't no regular hotel."
She walked over to one of the white cargo vans with the Walker Property Preservation logo stretched across both sides.
Casey was already standing beside it with a clipboard tucked underneath her arm.
"There she is," Tiffany said.
Casey looked up.
"The new girl?"
"The new girl."
I smiled.