20. Corinthians #3
“Sitting where?” she asked. “Hold on, let me take care of this customer real fast.” I could hear someone in her background but not what they were saying.
With the phone to my ear, I stood and walked around.
I could picture how I wanted everything to look.
The more I walked around, the more excited I got.
“Okay, I’m back. Now answer my question. Where are you sitting?”
“In my building,” I mumbled, trying not to get overexcited.
“Your shop?” she asked in surprise. “You signed a contract?”
“I did,” I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. “I signed it about two hours ago.”
“And you didn’t call and tell me?” She yelled, then laughed. “Girl, bring your fine ass to the bar so I can buy you a drink!”
“No,” I laughed and shook my head.
“No, why not?” She kissed her teeth. “Look, I know you don’t drink, and that’s fine, but you gotta come over to the bar and celebrate with me! You did it! You’re graduating barber school in a few days, and you just signed a lease to a building. You have to celebrate your success.”
“I don’t know.” I looked around the room again. Melissa was right; I did need to celebrate this, but I didn’t go out. I didn’t do clubs or bars. The last time I went out was when Bug turned twenty-one, and we all went out. I lasted maybe thirty minutes.
“Oh man, come on, Corinthians!” Melissa begged. “The bar won't even be busy like that today since it’s the middle of the week. You can go home, change, and then keep me company while I work. Nothing crazy, and when you’re ready you can go home. I want you to have fun.”
“I can't tonight,” I told her.
“But-“
“I will come next week though,” I quickly said. “Bug and I are having dinner tonight, and you know I don’t miss dinner with my sister.”
“Alright, but for sure next week. You are coming out with me.”
“I will hang out with you at the bar for a little bit while you work,” I corrected her. The thought of doing it was already freaking me out, but hanging out with Melissa was always fun. Plus, she was a good friend. I was hesitant to make friends, but Melissa was proof that some people were okay.
“Deal!” she laughed. “Now let me get off of here. My favorite big spender just walked in, and I need that money. I will call you later.”
“Bye,” I laughed, then hung up.
I put my phone in my pocket, grabbed the lease from the desk along with my keys to lock up, and left.
After I locked the doors, I walked to my car, making sure I paid attention to my surroundings.
Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, the block was busy, which would be great for business.
I was in a central area, close enough to residential and shopping areas. There was no way I was going to fail.
I got to my Jeep, unlocked my doors, got in, and started it.
I just wasn’t ready to move yet; a part of me was scared that this was too good to be true.
That I would wake up and this would all be a dream.
I rested against my seat and continued to look at my building.
A big group of people walked by my car and onto the sidewalk.
A tall, brown-skinned man stood in the middle; he stopped at the building door with another man.
The man he was with said something, and he nodded.
He was dressed in all black, with a black ball cap and sunglasses.
He looked at my car, smirked, then nodded.
His lopsided smile made my heart slam against my chest, but not out of nerves.
Even though I couldn’t fully see his face, something about him felt familiar.
His phone rang, and he put it to his ear before walking away.
My phone ringing made me jump, and I dug it from my purse to see Madea’s name.
“Hello?” I answered.
“How did it go?” she asked. “Did you like it like you thought you would?”
“I signed the lease,” I told her. She happily screamed, and I had to move the phone from my ear. “Madea, calm down.”
“Calm down?” she laughed. “Girl ain’t no calming down! We have to celebrate. I know you have dinner plans with your sister, but this is a family event now. I’m calling your granddaddy now and letting him know I’m not on the menu tonight. Well, I will be later, just not now.”
“Madea!”
“I don’t want to hear it; you’re grown. You know what the hell grown folks do.”
“Which is why all of us are grateful that you and Granddaddy renovated y’all house when we were younger and made sure the rooms were soundproof.”
“Yeah, because I be having that man screaming and moaning,” she replied. “Anyway, I will call your cousins and see what everyone wants to eat. Exodus mentioned one of his friends opened a new restaurant, we could go there.”
“Okay,” I agreed because there was no reason to argue. Madea made up her mind, and no one was going to tell her no once she started making calls. “I need to go home, shower, and then I will call you to see where we are going.”
“Alright, bye now,” Madea said, then hung up.
I put my phone back into my bag, then looked around for the man from earlier. I wasn’t bold enough to approach him, but I wanted to see him again to see if I had that same familiar feeling again. When I didn’t see him, I let the thought go and backed out of my parking spot.