Chapter 7 #2
She looked down at the assignment sheet spread across her desk before slowly dragging her finger across each nurse’s name. I stood there rocking back and forth, trying not to rush her while every second felt like a minute.
Finally, she looked back up. “How much longer?”
“Maybe another hour?”
She stared at me for another second before smiling. “You know what,” she closed the clipboard and sat it on her desk. “I think we can make that work.”
The relief that washed over me almost made me hug that woman. “You just saved my life.”
She laughed again and pushed a peace of her blonde hair behind her ear. “I doubt it.”
I smiled to myself instead of saying anything else because again, she had no idea.
I clocked out for lunch, grabbed my purse from my locker, and took one last look around the break room before pulling the door shut behind me while everybody else was either eating, complaining about patients, or counting down the hours until they could finally go home.
Normally I'd be doing the same thing. It was like my feet barely touched the floor as I walked through the employee parking garage.
The envelope with the cash in it was safely inside of my purse.
I unlocked my Benz, climbed inside, and tossed my purse on the passenger seat before letting out a deep breath. For a moment, I just sat there with both hands on the steering wheel, smiling like a damn fool. I couldn't remember the last time I'd been genuinely excited about something.
My first stop was the bank. I walked inside, requested the cashier's check, signed where I needed to sign, and carefully slid the nine-thousand-dollar check into the large envelope the teller handed me.
I treated it like it was made out of glass, laying it flat on the passenger seat before pulling out of the parking lot.
"Lord," I mumbled, rubbing my rumbling stomach. "I’m so damn hungry."
I laughed as I cut across two lanes and pulled into the Chick-fil-A drive-thru. The line wrapped halfway around the building per usual. While inching forward, I rested my elbow on the door and looked over at the envelope again and every time I looked at it, my smile got bigger and bigger.
I didn't want to experience today by myself so without giving it another thought, I picked up my phone and pressed Tasha's name. She answered on the third ring, and before I could even open my mouth, loud music blasted through the speaker.
"What?" she yelled over the music.
I laughed. "Well damn, hello to you too!"
"I'm working," she snapped, sounding out of breath. "Why you calling me in the middle of the damn day? You know I'm on day shift."
I smiled even wider listening to her crazy ass. "I need you to meet me somewhere."
There was a brief pause before she spoke again, her voice dropping just enough for me to tell she'd walked away from the music. "Navy?”
"What?" I asked.
"Gir, you alright?" She quizzed as if something was wrong. Knowing her, she probably thought Rome kicked my ass again.
"I've never been better."
She didn't answer right away like she had to think about what I said. "You crying?"
I laughed again. "What? No Tasha."
"You only laugh like that when you crying or when something crazy done happened."
I shook my head, watching the line move up a little more. "Meet me at City Furniture."
"City Furniture?" she repeated. "For what?"
"I'll tell you when you get there."
"Girl, if you don't stop playing and tell me what the hell going on..."
I bit down on my lip, trying my hardest not to blurt it out. "Just come."
She sighed loud enough for me to hear it through the phone. "I got customers."
"I know and fuck them customers right now. Matter fact I’ll pay you whatever you may miss."
She sucked her teeth. "You owe me. You better not have me leaving this job for no bullshit. I'm serious." I could hear a door swing open on her end before the music faded into the background. "I done walked outside because I know your voice. What happened?"
"I got approved."
"Whattt?" She squealed.
A smile spread across my face. "Yes."
"Oh my God." I heard a car door slam somewhere near her before she started laughing. "Quit playing with me."
"I swear."
"Oh, hell no." She was talking so fast she was tripping over her own words now. "Hold on, hold on, did you sign already? When are you moving? Did Rome find out? Wait, where are you at right now?"
I laughed. "Damn, can I answer one question before you ask six more?"
I shook my head as I pulled up beside the employee standing outside with the handheld tablet taking orders. I gave her my meal, thanked her, then eased farther up in line before picking my phone back up.
"I don't care about none of that," Tasha shot back, and I could picture her pacing back and forth outside the club with one hand on her hip.
"Answer the important ones. Matter fact I don't even care.
" She sniffled once before clearing her throat.
"I'm so damn happy for you, Navy. So, either the bank gave the money back or Lulu gave it to you? "
Those words were different coming from her because she knew everything.
She'd been there the night I packed a suitcase just to unpack it because I got scared.
She was there after Rome drained my bank account.
She was there every time I swore I was leaving and somehow ended up staying.
She knew this wasn't just an apartment. It was my way out.
“I got my money back,” I lied, which was something I’d never do to Tasha. However, I was smart enough to know not to ever incriminate myself. Some things just weren’t meant to tell. “I still can’t believe this is real.”
"It is real." She paused for a second before adding, "Now tell me where you at."
"I'm sitting in the Chick-fil-A drive-thru."
She laughed. "So, you celebrating with nuggets then, when you should be having a Mai Thai somewhere. ?"
"Excuse me," I said, trying to sound offended. "It's a number one with extra pickles and a lemonade."
"See..." she teased. "That's why your little ass stay little. Any time something good happen, your celebration meal is a damn chicken sandwich instead of lobster and steak."
"I happen to like my little celebrations."
"I know you do." She chuckled. "So, what's the plan?"
"I'm heading to City Furniture as soon as I leave here and like I said, meet me there."
"I am, but what’s the rush Nay?"
"Girl, Lulu done put a battery in my back." I told her. "She told me not to bring one fork, one towel or one pillow from that house. She said she wants everything brand new."
Tasha got quiet for a second. "I mean, she’s right."
"I know."
"No, I'm serious." Her voice was serious now. "Don't carry none of that man’s energy into your new place. Leave every bit of that mess right where it's at."
"I plan on it."
"No, but do you hear me?"
"I hear you."
"And don't you let him sweet-talk you into changing your mind either."
The smile on my face faded. "He won't."
There was another brief pause before Tasha let out a long sigh. "Okay then, I'm coming, but if I walk in there and catch you picking out some ugly ass furniture, I'm taking over."
“You just want a reason to takeover,” I teased.
"No," she said giggled. "I'm about to help you spend every last penny. Matter fact don't even look at no price tags. Today isn’t the day for that."
I glanced down at the envelope. "I wasn't planning on it."
Tasha laughed so hard at how nonchalant I was being, and I had to pull the phone away from my ear before the girl working the drive-thru window handed me my food. "Thank you," I told her before setting the bag on the passenger seat.
“Okay Tash… see you in a minute,” I said before hanging up.
I laughed at myself damn self before pulling out into traffic tearing those damn waffle fries up.
The closer I got to City Furniture, the harder it became to sit still.
By the time the giant City Furniture sign came into view, my heart was racing all over again, and I felt like a kid in the candy store.