Page 8 of Don Caselli

“Crown Heights...Off Eastern Parkway, I can direct you from there.” She leaned up in her seat and gave me directions to where she lived.

While she directed me, she called her cousin to tell her she was going home. Greene didn’t put up a fight or argue, which told me this was typical behavior for her. She continued to go back and forth with whoever in her phone.

“You good over there?”

Navy put her phone down as I exited the Brooklyn Bridge. She was trying to put her words together, and I was patient and continued to listen to my music until she had something to say.

“Have you ever been with someone and knew that the person wasn’t your forever, but at the same time, you put so much time into it with them that you didn’t want to let go?”

“Can’t say that I have.”

She heaved a sigh. “Lucky for you. Like, I know this man isn’t my forever and here I am arguing with him and rushing home to him. He’s been around forever; we went to high school together. With this new life he’s entering, I just feel like we’re not going to last and maybe it’s not supposed to. Our parents grew up together, so naturally my family considers him family.”

“You been with homie since high school?”

She smiled. “Yeah, he’s my first of everything. When he went away to college, things were harder for us. Now that he’s back and about to be drafted, it’s like we’re trying to merge our lives back together when we’ve gotten used to living apart.”

I laughed. “There’s your reason right there, Blue. You don’t wanna let go.”

Her eyes snapped in my direction. “Blue?”

“You got two names that are associated with the color blue… shit funny.”

“Well, make sure when you spell it, you spell it right.” She messed with her bracelet. “What if letting go means I lose him forever? I don’t want to lose him. We basically grew up together and have always been in each other’s lives.”

“Sometimes losing people isn’t that bad. It propels us to where we need to be. People can hold us back without us even realizing the shit.”

“Down that block.” We turned down Nostrand Avenue, and she directed me to pull over in front of a three-story walkup squeezed between a pizzeria and a check cashing place.

Navy looked down at her hands and then back over at me. “It was nice meeting you, Don. Thank you for giving me a ride home.”

“Don’t even mention it.” I got out and walked around as people on the block stared at my car casually parked in the middle of Nostrand Avenue. My hand touched my gun in the back of my shorts as I opened the door for her. She took my hand and stepped out.

“Well, I would say see you around, but your circle and mine won’t ever mix.”

I walked backward to the driver’s side. “It be like that, Bluey. If it’s meant for me to see you around, I will.”

“Navy, what the fuck you doing?” I heard a voice but never looked up because the nigga didn’t address me. He was hollering out the window at her like a crazy person.

If the nigga was so concerned with his woman getting out of another man’s car, he should have been downstairs addressing the shit with me. I wasn’t paying his ass any attention, and neither was she because she was still standing there with her arms folded, watching me.

The cool breeze blew her braids behind her, and the loose strands into her face. Before long, the coolness of spring would be leaving us, and summer would come in. “See you around, Blue.”

Her smile was infectious as she turned and walked toward the door. Using her key fob, she let herself into the building the same time I got back into my car. Watching her wave, I slowly pulled off the block and headed back to the city.

I’d be damned if I went over to Beans’ crib and played third wheel with him and Greene. It took me no time to breeze through the light traffic to make it back to my building. Valet was there to pull my car back into the garage as I tossed him the keys.

“Have a good night, Mr. Caselli,” he replied and got into the front seat, as I nodded. My building smelled like the Ritz-Carlton hotel the second you walked into it. The front desk was manned by the usual night staff, who nodded at me as I breezed by, never making small talk.

I pressed the button and swiped my card to get to my floor. As the elevator took me up to the top floor, I leaned back and enjoyed the familiar ride. A ride that was almost always taken alone.

Soon as the elevator doors opened, I walked right into my space. The doors chimed as they closed behind me, and I kicked my sneakers off, bending down to grab them up to sanitize them before putting them back in their rightful spot in my closet.

I wasn’t ready to get undressed, so I went into the kitchen and made a quick drink, filled my favorite childhood bowl with popcorn, and went into my office. Powering up my computers, I looked out at the city lights illuminating my office along with the computer screens.

I tossed a few pieces of popcorn into my mouth as I searched Navy’s name on the internet. A bunch of short form videos along with YouTube videos appeared. Then her social media accounts all filed in right after the different videos.

Her name was actually spelled Navy Bleu.

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