“Good, you’re home.” Lyric appeared from her bathroom just as I approached the door.
“I am. Were you so bored without me in the next room being bored, too?” I asked her.
“No. I’m just glad you’re here so that we can hit the road. My brother, Laike, was supposed to be picking up my oldest brother in the morning, but he can’t make it. Something has come up so he’s asked me to. I figured we could turn this into a mini vacation. You know? A girls’ night out in another city? It’s only one night, so that it’s not overwhelming for either of us. You need a little fun for once, Ever.”
“I don’t know, Lyric. The girls have school in the morning. My mom might have something to do tomorrow.” I tried talking my way out of the impromptu trip, though I knew it was pointless. Lyric had made her mind upandpacked our bags. There wasn’t any talking myself out of this one.
I’ve already called your mom to see if it’s OK for the girls to stay until we get back tomorrow evening. She said she’d take them to school in the morning. By the time they’re out, we will have been back for at least a few hours. He will be released at eight in the morning. Possibly earlier.”
“Released?” I could feel my brows center on my forehead as I asked.
“Yes. Released. He’s been gone for eight years. I’ve mentioned this one to you before, Ever. Don’t get slow on me now. We need to get going.”
“Okay,” I agreed, still trying to recall a time when she’d mentioned anyone but her brother, Laike, whom I’d yet to meet. He seemed busy enough and hardly ever sat still long enough, but I was sure it would happen with time.
“So, you’re in?” Lyric smiled.
“I don’t think I have much of a choice and maybe you’re right. I could use a real break that isn’t Baisleigh’s House.”
“Now you’re talking,” Lyric sang. “I’ve already booked our room and packed our bags. Just hop in the truck. We have four hours until we’re there.”
“Where is there?”
“Cadet.”
“In Azul?”
“Yes, in Azul. Not very far. I’ll drive the entire way. You focus on getting some rest because we’re going outside tonight. Maybe you’ll meet one of them Cadet men. I heard their pockets hang low and not just from their pistols. From their paper, too.”
“Hooray, good for them. I’m not interested. Dewayne was the first and last of that kind I’ll ever deal with. Give me a square. The one not everyone wants and the one that can treat me like I need to be treated.”
“The way Dewayne treated you had nothing to do with his occupation, unfortunately. He’s just a shitty person. He could’ve been selling insurance, and I promise he would’ve been the same asshole. It’s embedded in him. He’s wired that way.”
“Maybe you’re right, but I’m not going to try to find out. Aside from how he treated me, the lifestyle itself is just scary. Living in constant fear just isn’t my cup of tea anymore.”
“I get it, Ever, and I don’t blame you.”
“Let me slip into something a little more comfortable and then I’ll be ready. It’ll only take a few minutes,” I said to Lyric as I looked down at the Baisleigh’s House uniform I still wore.
“Of course. Meet me outside. I’m going to load up the truck and wait for you out there.”
“Wait. I don’t have anything in my closet that seems suitable for a night out so what did you pack exactly?”
“I didn’t even check because I figured there wouldn’t be anything. After I got the call from Laike this morning, I visited the shopping centers and got everything we’d be needing for the trips so we’re both good.”
Lyric was a dream. She always took matters into her own hands when it came to taking good care of the people she loved. She wasn’t overbearing and neither was she nonchalant about anything when it came to her circle of friends and family. I just prayed that I’d one day be in the same predicament so that I could be the blessing she’d been to me.
“Thanks, darling.”
Before leaving her room, I leaned forward and kissed her red cheek. Her high yellow skin was smooth like a baby’s bottom because she took care of it like it was one. Each night, she was painting a mask on her face or exfoliating. She’d even gotten Essence into a small skin care routine that she followed faithfully each morning.
“Don’t mention it.”
“I should’ve lied.I should’ve done it. I should’ve given away all my love.”
“Or maybe I… I should’ve played you because you don’t appreciate me, no,” I sang along to Keyshia Cole’s track with Lyric as we crossed Azul’s state line.
With Cadet being on the edge, it was the first city we entered. Lyric had cut the four-hour trip down by thirty-five minutes withher heavy foot. She’d gone one hundred miles an hour the entire way when the speed limit was only seventy. What was supposed to be a chance to rest for me became a bonding experience for her and I.
