“Nah, I’ll see you tomorrow,” I affirmed.
“Don’t make your mom mad. She cares. That’s good. I’ll be okay.” She placed her head down.
“Dyami! You lil hot ass fuckin in my house!” I heard a female voice. I looked up and saw her mother.
“Oh my God! Please just leave.” Dyami’s heart sank as her mother approached. Her hair was all over her head. Dyami gave me a push to move me along. I didn’t want to, but there wasn’t much I could do.
“I hope you ain’t laying down for free! At least pay some bills if you gone get fucked in my house!” Her mom snapped, and that was enough to stop me.
“We didn’t have sex in your house. You should respect her.” I demanded.
Dyami’s eyes widened.
“Boy, who the hell are you? You some big man because you got your dick wet? Matter fact, give me some money since you such a big man.” She stuck her hand out and placed it against my chest. Dyami stepped up and swiped it away. Dyami’s eyes pleaded with mine, but I didn’t like that shit at all.
“Oh, you a big man. I got you. I’ll call the police on yo lil ass!” Her mom said stepping inside the house.
“Please, Marcos. Just leave. I don’t want you to get in trouble. That’s just how she is.” Dyami whispered.
The last thing I needed was my mom to pick me up from the station, so I started on my way home.
The walk was long and full of thoughts. I knew what my mom wanted for me, but my life was my choice. I wanted more than I was getting. And now, not only did I want more for myself, I wanted more for Dyami. Whatever I had to do to help her, I would. If that meant dealing with the consequences from the street, then so be it. It wasn’t even a choice. I had to. I would besorry for breaking my mother’s heart, but the truth was Dyami Taylor had mine.
Dyami
June 2015
“Dyami! Wait up!” My manager called over my shoulder just as I was about to walk out the door.
I turned to see Ms. Annette jogging after me. A short woman with old-school, freeze curls, she never let go. Many people here didn’t like her. I loved her. She was fair, firm, and on her shit.
“Can you come in early tomorrow? Preston called off. I can split it between you and Brandon. Is two too early?”
“No, I got you.”
“Thank you, baby. I tell you what, you are more mature than these damn adults working here. I can’t wait until you graduate because I promise to promote you.” Annette said.
“Promote? Dyami ain’t going to be wasting any time around McDonald's. She is going far away to college and not thinking about our ass!” Tanisha, the other manager, chimed in from the opposite side of the lobby.
“I’ll be here tomorrow.” I pushed out the door. Tanisha was right. I was out of here on the first thing smoking. Getting a job at 16 was one of the best things that happened to me. It got me out of the house, which was the biggest bonus. McDonald'swasn’t a career, but it helped Trina and me get the things we needed. It helped keep the lights on when my mother fell short and gave me some savings. On graduation day, I was out of here. So, all extra days I could pick up, I would, especially since school had just gotten out.
I scanned the parking lot and my breath caught in my throat.
“What the hell?” I said as a smile slowly crept on my face.
Marcos was in the corner of the lot, sitting on top of a car. I ran up to him.
“What are you doing? Ms. Lyn let you drive?” I asked.
“Nah, this is mine.” He stood up to his full height. I stepped back and threw my hand up to my face to hide a blush.
“What do you mean by yours? You don’t have enough money to buy a car.” I countered.
“Who don’t? Come on. I’m gone take you home.”
I slipped into the passenger seat. In all my 16 years, I hadn’t been in a car that I could remember. That was crazy to even think about. My mom never had a car, so I would either walk or catch the bus everywhere I went. I was ready to catch the Clio Rd bus and see him waiting for me at the stop like he did every day when I got off. If it were late sometimes, he would even catch the bus up to my job so that we could catch it home together.
“This shit nice, huh?” He asked, putting the car in reverse.
