Page 6 of The Road to You
“As far as the thing on the shelf, they’re anchored down, and I take them down when I need to. The bar across the books holds them in place,” I told them. “What are y’all names, so I know them in case y’all try to rob me and I have to kill you? I want to know the names of my foes.”
The super fine one let out a deep, hearty laugh. “Damn, you coming like that, sweetheart? I respect that. My name is Euri. These are my brothers, Derrick and Aaron.” He stuck his hand out for me to shake. “I see you got power, and it’s nighttime. How you get that when the sun isn’t out?”
“Oh, battery storage. The power that I don’t use during the day is stored into a battery that’s under my bed so I can use it at night.” I was super proud of my setup. When he asked me how much the panels set me back, I thought about it. “I wanted to make sure I had enough to store energy, so I went with two 400-wattage panels, which was just under a thousand with installation.”
When using solar panels, how much power needed had to be considered. Most of the energy that I used was for my small refrigerator. Anything that I didn’t use, I left unplugged. At night, I used small wireless lamps that ran off batteries. When I first got the panels, it took some getting used to, but I’d perfected my usage over the years.
“That’s real cool, Bruqlyn. I never met a person that lived in their vehicle, and it was nice like this. Shit, I guess a nigga can’t call you homeless or no shit,” Derrick said.
I snickered. “Nah, you can’t. This is how I choose to live. Contrary to popular belief, it’s quite cost-efficient.” My shoulders lifted. “Well, gentlemen, it was nice conversing with you, but it’s time for me to leave.”
Euri stared at me for a moment. “Alright, make sure your ass stays safe out here, sweetheart. It’s a crazy world,” he said.
I agreed before I climbed inside and closed my side door. It was time for me to get to my lot. It was about fifteen minutes from Gloria’s Kitchen. I used to park where I could find a place until one of the customers at the grocery store where I worked told me about an RV park where I could park.
When I first got there, I wasn’t sure how I would be able to afford it on a continuous basis. Eighty dollars a night was expensive, but the amenities spoke for the pricing. After the second week, I went to the owners and struck up a long-term deal. One thousand dollars a month with a one-year contract was what we agreed upon. That was nothing but God that they agreed because they were losing money. It also helped that I paid for the entire year’s lease upfront. That allowed me to stay ahead.
I pulled into the park, then backed into my lot space. There was only one other family that stayed there on a semi-permanent basis. They traveled around for parts of the year. Before I could get out of my driver’s seat, there was a knock at my side door that drew a smile from me. When I pulled the door back, a beautiful, curly-haired girl stood there.
“Bruq, I missed you all day. My mama got Casper from day care!”
I knew that because they called me to let me know. “Well, where is my big baby? Majesty, oh, look what I got you!” I pulled the to-go container of her favorite red velvet cake from the front seat.
She outstretched her hands. “Gimmie, gimmie! Thank you! I’m going to go get him now.”
I laughed as I watched her run off. While I waited for my baby, I gathered what I needed for my shower. My shower shoes, disinfectants, night clothes, and hygiene products. I loved this park because the owners took exceptional care of the facilities, grounds, and just everything. There was a playground, a place to relax, a cookout, and even a basketball court.
The sound of fast-running feet caught my attention. I braced myself for impact. “Casper! Hi, boy!”
My boy was just over six years old now, but that didn’t slow him down at all. He was an important part of my life. Casperwas my companion and my trained protector. During the day, he went to doggy day care. I wanted him to socialize. He licked my face and jumped all over me.
“Hey, girlie, how was work?” Norma asked me from my door. I loved Norma and her husband. She was a retired school principal who homeschooled their ten-year-old daughter, Majesty. Her husband, Grant, was a retired police officer.
I turned my nose up. “It was good until stupid bitches came in to try to make my day bad. You already know how I do it.”
She put her hand on her hip. “Bruqlyn, Grant has told you more than enough times about pulling your gun on people. One day, someone is going to call the police on you, girl.”
I placed my hand over my heart. “Norma, I felt threatened, so I took the steps necessary to be prepared to defend myself. I’m a single, petite woman out here, trying to survive.”
She side-eyed me then laughed. “Little girl, don’t make me slap you. Stay your little ass out of trouble before I have to jump on someone. Oh, what I tell you about bringing that little girl home cake this late at night?”
“I mean that’s what aunties do,” I said with a giggle. “Let me take this shower. I’m getting up early to take Casper to day care, workout, then get to work.”
She asked me if I had eaten at work and told me to get a plate if I hadn’t before she left Casper and me. He was relaxed on my bed, where he always was. When he climbed into the van, I washed his feet off like I always did.
When I purchased my van, I wanted to make sure it was big enough to fit a king-sized bed so my baby would fit too. He also had a pillow between the driver's and passenger's seat. For a moment, I thought about getting a short bus to outfit, but the van was more inconspicuous. There were things that I felt were worth spending money on, and those were my solar panels, thevan itself, and my six-thousand-dollar mattress. I already lived in a van; there was no need to be uncomfortable.
“Casper, come on, so I can take a shower. Bring Gizmo with you.” I grabbed everything that I got together and climbed out with Casper on my heels.
He always sat outside of my shower with his Gizmo stuffed animal. I wasn’t sure why he loved that toy, but he slept with it and took it everywhere but day care. He did once, and it wasn’t a good situation at all. Another dog tried to take it from him, and it became a big to do. When we got to the showers, he took his place while I disinfected it. For an RV park, the showerheads here were chef’s kiss.
After my shower, I got dressed and walked over to Norma and Grant’s humongous RV to get my plate. Norma was Creole and cooked her ass off. A lot of people thought she was white because of the fairness of her skin, and that was fair because I did too. Her husband was Haitian. They were quite the duo.
I ate my food, cleaned up, then took my ass to bed. The gym that I went to, Leota Fitness & Fight, was twenty-four hours a day. I had to be at work at nine, so Casper would be dropped off by six. My workouts usually lasted forty minutes to an hour. I took a shower at the gym before I went to work. I made good money in the deli for the lifestyle I lived. I wouldn’t complain about the fifteen dollars an hour I made. When I started at the grocery store over two years ago, I was only making twelve an hour.
“Good night, Casper. I love you.” He did a little whimper, then lay his head in his spot next to me. “God, please continue to watch over me. Keep me blessed and safe. I love you, God. I love you too, Mommy.”
The Full-time Gig…
