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“She can’t hear you.”
“Aw,shit, butI ain’t never rode first-class.Big baller.”
“It was bought for me.”
One of his friends appeared behind him, making me turn my nose up. I couldn’t stand none of his friends.
“Who’s that? Oh, what’s up, Quinci?I been telling your brother that we are meant to be, but hekeepsshutting it down. Tell him what’s upbetween us.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Nigga, move.”
Quest Jr. was only two years older than me at twenty-six. He wasa guidancecounselor at our old high school. He loveditbecause he thought he knew everything and because he got summers off.
“Yougon’ hit up your homegirl when you get out there?”
“Who?”
“Fiona.”
“Man, I hadkindaforgot she’d moved out there.”
“Who?” Both my mama and granny said at the same time.
“Theyso nosy, but yeah. Y’all don’t talk no moreor something?”
“Honestly, not much. We were talking a whole bunch, but then she got a new job and got super busy. Now it’s just tags and comments on social media sometimes.I’ll text her when I get there and see if she’ll respond.”
“Yeah, even though I’m happy yougettingaway from CG, you still need a friend in thatbig ass city. But text me when you make it. Love you, kid.”
“Love you, too.”
He ended the call.
I listened to my mom andgranny talk untilI saw the airport exit sign, and that’s when it hit me. I was moving to a whole different city, away from everyone I know, for a job that I’d never done before.The closer we got, the more my heart started to poundinside of my chest. I was regrettingnot taking that edible from Kemba. I knew it would have helped with my anxietyabout flying, but I was paranoid about walkingaround a busy ass airport. Looking at my watch, it was a little after nine, andmy flight didn’t start boardinguntil eleven. My mom came to a stop in front of the Delta signand popped the trunk.
“I wish we could come in, baby, but we left too late,” my mom said.
“You and Granny Jo were the ones whokept passingthe wine and moonshine around. Thank God the sheriff was there to help people get home.”
She busted out laughing. Those tipsy nights with my family and friends were one of the things that I would miss the most. She got out to remove the bags from the trunk, while I grabbedmytote that carried my laptop, iPad, and other little things that I’d normally put in a purse, and the small, plasticStyrofoamcooler that held theplastic sealed oranges and lemons. My mom had packed it for me because, “New York ain’t got the same oranges and lemons.” She knew we could fly with that because she’d read and reread the TSA rules. I only had two suitcases: one for my clothes and toiletries, and the other for my shoes.
“Alright, let’s take a few pictures,” my mom directed, tapping her phone screen.
After she took a few of me, we all hugged tightly.
“Make sure you send me your address so I canbe sure to send you some oranges every other week.”
“Okay, Mom.And send me those pictures.”
“Okay, doing it now.”
It took mea few momentsto figure out how I was going to carry my tote, the cooler, and rolltwo suitcases in at the same time.
“Okay, got it. Alright, Mom. Granny. Take care of Dad. Love you both.”
I had to scootaway from thembefore I started to sob.I couldn’t even turn around when they blew the horn because I’d probably throw my things back in the car. Inside, I got checked in, then went andstood in the longTSA line. Now I understood why they wanted you to get to the airport at least two hours in advance. Even though the line was long, it movedpretty fast, and I was able to get through with time to spare.As I walked through the airport looking for my gate, it seemed like everyone was staring at me.
