Page 86 of Girl, We Go Together
“Make sure you don’t send the ones with Brandi in them, please.”
He turned around and stared at me. I locked eyes with his ass. It was a liberating feeling to address this shit without the emotion attached to it. His eyes softened, and before he could even open his mouth, I pulled the door out of his grasp and opened it wider so he could leave. He just shook his head up and down before walking fully out the door. I closed the door and locked it so quickly that I was sure I closed it on his back.
“Whew…” I sighed as tears started to build in my eyes.
I wasn’t going to let them fall, though. I got all that pain the fuck up off me, and now I was in a better position.
Everything in life seemed to be going right for me; the only thing I had to do was obtain my dream job, and then I felt like my entire life would be back on track.
“Let’s get you cleaned up, little girl.”
I sat Oriana down and quickly put the candle out. I didn’t need her roaming around and accidentally burning herself. I ran her bathwater and tossed her favorite toys in. The house was cleaned up, dinner was done, and once I had Oriana cleaned up, I just had to worry about myself and wait for Kassidy to come back.
Kass
By the time I finished running around with Nana, I was exhausted. She had my ass go to BJ’s, Food Bizarre, and a couple of corner stores. It was just me and her in the house, but shealways made sure to stock up. When we were on Pitkin Ave, I saw this cute little Doc McStuffins toddler bed that I just had to get. Realizing that I was coming to spend the night, I wanted to make sure Oriana had her own special space to sleep. I wasn’t too sure if Cayla would be okay with all of us in the bed, so I was making sure not to overstep. The furniture store had given me a deal on the bed, mattress, and the matching sheets. Her rag in the bathroom was the same character, so I figured it was something she liked. I told the manager in the store that I would come back for it because I didn’t have any space in the car.
Nana had all her groceries in my trunk and back seat. When we made it home, I brought in all the bags and helped her unpack them.
“You're moving all fast. Where are you rushing to?” she asked when I quickly unpacked three bags and started placing the items on the kitchen counter.
“I’m gonna stay by Cayla’s tonight.”
She stood there, smiling at me.
“What?” I stopped unpacking to look at her.
“You do know you have an entire two-bedroom apartment down there, right? With your own entrance.”
“I do.”
I didn’t understand what she was getting at.
“You might have a need to finally put that kitchen down there to use. I already see that staying there and here will wear you down. Down the line, making one place home would be smart.”
I kissed my teeth before I finished unpacking the groceries.
“Alright now, old lady, everything is out of the bags. I’m out of here.”
I walked over and kissed her on the head before rushing downstairs to pack my bag. I made sure to have my work uniform. Usually, I would take the leftovers that Nana made for lunch, but I figured I would spend money on lunch the next day.I tossed everything in my car and headed to the furniture store before they closed.
As I drove over to Cayla’s, what Nana said played in my head. Ever since we had the basement apartment renovated and I moved down there from upstairs, I had probably turned my stove on twice. I didn’t even know if Cayla knew how to cook, but shit, it didn’t matter either way. I was sure Nana wouldn’t mind teaching her a thing or two. Then I thought of the vacant spare bedroom that I had down there. The apartment as a whole was spacious; it was just empty because I didn’t put much in there. I had a futon in the living room space with a television. And a bed in the bedroom with another TV in there.
Honk!
I was zoned out at the light. I felt that Cayla would think I was crazy if I asked her to move in with me this early on. The crazy thing is, this thing between us didn’t feel early or new simply because I knew her for what felt like forever. I’d wanted her since high school. As I parked in a spot right in front of her building, I figured I would wait. I couldn’t bring everything up in one trip, so I decided to come back down for little Mama's mattress. My backpack and her actual bed could come up this time.
Instead of giving Cayla a call, I pressed the buzzer and waited to be let in. When I made it to her floor, she was already standing in the doorway, wearing colorful checkered pajama pants, an oversized black shirt, and some black furry slippers.
“What is that box?” she asked with a raised eyebrow as she held the door open wider for me.
When I got inside, I dropped the box on the floor along with my backpack.
“Ooooo,” Oriana said as she walked over to the box.
“Hi, little mamas… this is for you,” I said with a smile as I turned the box in both of their directions to show what it was.
The sticker on the side of the box had a picture of the Doc McStuffins bed assembled.
