Page 20 of On Everything

Ciara

Two days later

My back was hurting something serious by the time I put the final ten pack of canned sweet potatoes on the top rack.

Tuesdays was truck days at work, where all of the collection box items were picked up and brought here to be sorted.

In my opinion, this is a job for at least ten people, yet me and Mindy had to run the operation with just the two of us.

I know the next time one of those administration positions here comes up, I’m going to go for it.

I may not have as much freedom as I do behind the scenes back here, but it will be better pay, and my back won’t feel like I got jumped into a gang every fuckin Tuesday morning.

“Mindy, all of the can goods are done. How many clothes do we have left to sort?”

I approached Mindy, who was working so hard, her hair looked heavy on her head, and her cheeks were the color of bright red tomatoes.

“Just these three boxes right here. But how about you just go ahead and go home for the day? You’re off for two days and it’s your birthday. You may as well start your celebration early with Kairo.”

I wanted to roll my eyes, but couldn’t because she still didn't know.

“No, Mindy, I don’t want you to have to stay mad late because I left.”

“It’s okay really. My boyfriend is in Utah with his family and my cat pretty much hates me. I’ll get home later, read chapter number whatever of the book I’m reading on Kindle, and then crash out on the couch later with a bucket of ice cream. Rum raisin to be exact.”

“Sounds like an exciting night, Mindy.”

I laughed while shaking my head.

“Yeah, well go ahead and get out of here. Have a wonderful birthday.”

“Thanks, girl.”

We said our goodbyes and I grabbed my lunch kit from the freezer before leaving out for the day.

The bus I caught home from work was a few blocks down from the center and I got there just in time to swipe my card and sit in my favorite seat in the back.

I played this Scrabble game on my phone that I loved and got lost in that until we were pulling up to the stop by my house.

When I got off the bus, I walked to the bodega to grab something to drink and check on Silvia because I haven't seen her sense the robbery.

“Hey, Papi, where is my girl?”

“At home, sick. She say she can’t come back here until she feels one hundred percent. She wants to be able to defend herself if they come back. How long did they chase you? We worry about you.”

“Just up to the corner and then they turned around. One of my friends scared them off.”

“Good.”

“Well, I’m glad you two are good.”

“Thanks, what can I get for you today?”

“Can I get a honey, turkey, and cheese on a roll with extra cheese. Hot?”

“Sure thing.”

He started working on my sandwich and within two minutes he had wrapped it up from the grill. I grabbed a strawberry Fanta, and a bag of jalapeno cheddar chips. Surprisingly, Papi gave it to me for free like the sweetheart he is, and I was on my way back home.

I was walking minding my business and munching on the bag of chips when I heard someone whistling from the street.

“Hey, wifey!”

When I turned to his voice, I saw it was Hov in a different car than I’d saw him in recently, holding up traffic in the middle of the street.

“Yes?”

“Don’t yes me from way over there. Bring your pretty ass over here.”

I rolled my eyes playfully and walked over to his car.

“Get inside, I only bite where you like it.”

He flashed a smile at me, and my ass was cheesing right back.

I’ve noticed that Hov smiles a lot when he’s talking to me, but anytime he’s having a conversation with anyone else, he looks cold and mean.

Shit, he wasn’t even smiling when he got out of the car with Jas after I’m sure he got his dick sucked.

She was a proud hoe and I knew her because of her hoeing her way around Brooklyn.

If I’m not mistaken, she’s related to Crew, but I don’t know how.

“Why are you on my side of town, Hov?”

“Because you’re here. I went to your job to get you at 5:00, but some white bitch told me you’d already left for the day.”

“How did you know I got off at 5:00?”

“I looked online and saw what time the center closed, and I decided to come give you a ride home.”

“What, you don’t think I know how to get home safely?”

“Nah, not being my woman.”

I pushed him playfully because I knew he was joking. I noticed Hov had a dimple on his right cheek that was much more defined than the one on the left. It was odd, but it made his face unique in a way.

Gazing around the car, I was admiring the wide dashboard, leather seats, and tinted windows from inside the car. It wasn’t until I noticed the rifle tucked on the left side of the passenger seat that it became uncomfortable in here and I started to panic.

“Oh, my Goodness, Hov. Get it away! Get it away. I’m so scared of those things! Please get it away.”

I froze up, thinking if I moved one inch now, I was going to make the gun start to fire.

“Chill mama, chill. This is here to protect you, not to hurt you. I have to put my finger on the trigger for it to shoot. Why you so scared of guns?”

He laughed, moving the gun to the backseat.

“I don’t know. I guess because I grew up around here, and hearing people get shot all the time got me timid as hell. And then what happened in my apartment didn’t make it any better.”

“Was that the first time you saw someone get popped?”

“Yeah, well up close.”

He nodded his head, turning the steering wheel to go around cars like he owned the road.

Hov was fine standing up because he’s so tall, but he was even finer sitting back in a slight slouch while driving this car.

He had one hand on the wheel and the other placed on the center console that was crowned with an expensive watch.

The glimmer from his watch shined just as bright as his necklace, and every motion he made caused the necklace to glisten even more in the sunlight.

Me and Kairo never had a car, so I never got a chance to experience this feeling with him.

That calm, nonchalant, passenger seat princess feeling of sitting back and not having to worry about getting off the bus or the train at the right stop.

After he moved that gun, this car was back to being the perfect shuttle.

“I hate what happened to you, Ciara, for real. I know how much seeing shit like that can fuck with someone’s head.”

“Yeah, especially with all the drama it came with.”

“What other drama you mean?”

“Nothing really, just dealing with the realization that someone wasn’t the one for me.”

“Of course he wasn’t.”

“And how do you know?”

“Because his broke ass wasn’t me.”

He glanced over in my direction before back to the road.

Hov’s phone started to ring, and the dashboard lit up with a picture of Cashmier under the name ‘My love.’

He forwarded the call and then adjusted himself in his seat as if it made him antsy. It’s funny he was just dissing my ex and then his current girlfriend calls.

“You can answer your Love, Hov. I know you’re still with her. I won’t say anything.”

“I’m really not. There is just some shit going on with her right now that I have to deal with. Trust that’s not effecting the plans I have for you tho’, mama. I wouldn’t give a fuck if the world was ending, I’m taking your fine ass out tomorrow for your birthday.”

“If you say so.”

When I glanced out of the window, I saw that we were passing up Castle Hill projects continuing past Lacombe Ave, so I was quite confused.

“Where are we going, Hov?”

“Sit back and enjoy your sandwich on the ride. I just thought of somewhere we need to go.”

“Where, I look horrible? My hair isn't done. I'm in my work clothes.”

“Calm down Ciara. Clothes don’t make or break you, Ciara. Just enjoy that sandwich baby. You know those hot sandwiches ain’t shit once they get cold.”

He was right, so I unwrapped my sandwich and went in on it because I hadn’t eaten all day since that small bowl of cereal I had this morning before work. I often worked through my lunch to try and get all my work done for the day. Especially when I knew I wasn’t coming back the next day.

This sandwich was so good that I didn’t lift my head from the paper until I was done eating.

I’ve never been too shy to get my grub on in front of anybody, and I was never a girl that tried to eat cute in front of guys.

I’m sure Hov eats much more than me with his big stature.

Still, for some reason, I feel like he’s the type that doesn’t eat just anything all the time.

I peeped the case of water in his backseat with a few bottles missing, one in the cupholder next to us.

When the car came to a stop, I couldn’t quite tell where we were.

“Where is this?”

I asked when he killed the engine.

“The gun range.”

He jumped out of the car before me and walked all the way around to my side.

“Come on.”

He knocked twice before grabbing the handle. He helped me get out of the car, and then he grabbed my hand to walk inside.

“Hov, I don’t want to go in there. I told you that I’m scared of guns.”

“That’s why we are here, so come on. I’m not letting anything happen to you.”

For some reason, his extended hand in front of me and him calling me mama made me feel like a little girl again. I stood up and exhaled through my shoulders, hoping me following in his footsteps wasn’t about to be a bad thing.

The loud pops and cracks could be heard ripping through the wind as soon as we walked in the building.

My stomach had huge knots in it thinking about the force coming behind those sounds.

The smell of smoke and oil was heavy inside, and my palms started to sweat as we approached a counter sat behind a thick glass desk.

Behind the glass was a heavy-set Hispanic chick with dark sharpie drawn eyebrows and bright red lipstick on her lips. She looks exactly how my aunts and shit did back in the day.

“Hov, how you been, baby?”

“Good. Is my booth open in the back?”