Page 36 of On Everything 2
I turned the handle down on the heavy metal door and opened it up all the way, flipping down the kickstand on the bottom. The line had already formed outside with about six people, and Mr. Albert was always the first in line on shop days. Working here over the past few years, I became familiar with many regulars who came for assistance. They even sometimes bring me gifts on Christmas and most remember my birthday.
There were of course some people I disliked seeing, but for the most part, the people I interacted with here were positive.
"Hi, Mr. Albert."
He walked into the building.
"Alright welcome in, Mrs. Taylor, Donna come on in, and Mr. Harvey, give us just a minute, and then we will be ready for you."
I cut the line off after the first three. Albert, Mrs. Taylor, and Dinna all grabbed baskets to shop, and I knew to help Mr. Albert with his basket. He turns ninety-two on Christmas Day and still gets around on these metro buses. One thing I learned about Mr. Albert is that he loves his canned green beans. Most of the time, that is the first thing he looks for.
"Mr. Albert, you will love me because I did something for you. Follow me this way."
"Okay. I'm right behind you." He slid his feet as quickly as he could behind me.
"Look, I have two big cans of green beans that came in last week, and I saved them for you. Do you have your wagon parked outside?"
"Yes, ma'am, I do. You know, you are an angel, Ciara. Thank you, sweetheart."
His Shaky voice and bad posture were the only things that were down about Mr. Albert. He was sweet, kind, and positive even through his struggles and disability. If my body couldn't stand up straight, I would probably sulk in misery even harder. People like him always reminded me that life could be a little worse.
I helped Mr. Albert around the store, and then Mindy and I allowed the line to flow as we got people checked out. There was no payment made; we just had to keep track of how many people we helped each day to continue receiving state funding. I would say out of all the centers in all of the Boroughs, we were the most effective and helpful. I'm sure before our cut-off time today at 3:00, we will have helped at least fifty people.
"Alright, Mrs. Taylor, have a good day. I'll see you next week."
"Okay, same time."
I helped her out of the back door. I peeked my head outside to call the next person in line, which was Adolph Hines, and his two chihuahuas, whom we had to tell not to bring inside every time. But before I could even say anything to him and the dogs, I caught eyes with who was standing behind him with his hands in his pockets.
"Kairo, what the hell?"
I rolled my eyes and approached him in the line.
"What the hell are you doing up here?"
"I'm in need, I'm homeless, remember. Your new man kicked me out of my spot."
His nose flared with his sarcasm.
"Uh, Mr. Adolph, you can go in now."
"Alright." He shrugged his shoulders, entering the building with his two dogs, but I was sure Mindy would handle him. Once it was just me and Kairo out here, I could really get off my chest what I wanted to say.
"Why the fuck are you at my job? You know I don't fucking play that."
"Well, I'm homeless, so I have the right to be here. Your nigga put me out of my apartment last night. I should've killed his ass." He shook his head, staring down at the concrete. Hov hadn't gone into detail about what happened when he put Kairo out, but I knew something like that would fuck with Kairo’s ego. I never thought he would come to my place of work, though.
"Kairo, you can have the apartment. I'll get another one."
"How? Oh yeah, you are going to move up to the east side with your new rich nigga? Play side piece to Cashmier's beautiful, perfect ass?"
"I'm not playing sidepiece to anything. Trust me, I'm a grown woman and I know my role in every person's life that deserves me."
"Tuh. You think you know what you're doing with Hov, but you have no idea. If you thought I was bad in high school, or my little drug charges were the end of the world, just imagine how it will feel when your man goes down for a Rico charge. Where areyou going to go then? Or will you just fall in line with the rest of the homeless people here like me?"
The door to the building opened before I could respond, and Mindy shooed Mr. Adolph's dogs out of the building.
I pressed my lips together tightly, barely opening enough to let words escape.
