AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“That’s the peace sign, Cam. That has nothing to do with being a scout,” Morris deadpanned.
“Oh, well, you know what I meant,” I laughed. “They will be fine.”
He still had a look of contemplation as he looked at his watch then conceded, “Okay, I will go the spot across the street. I will be right back. Skylar, Phoenix, best behavior. I will be right back,” he said while looking at both girls.
“Okay,” the girls responded.
Morris
I decided to go to the restaurant across the street from the shop. I didn’t want to be gone too long and definitely didn’t want to go too far.
I could smell the barbecue pit going from across the street. I’d seen the restaurant a million times when I went to the shop to get my haircut but had never gone in to try it. I knew it was going to be decent because there was a sign on the door that read, “once it’s gone. It’s gone.” That meant they usually sold out of meat.
The small establishment only had a couple of tables lining the left wall. Each table was large enough for two to four people with mismatched chairs and half-empty condiment bottles on them. The opposite side of the restaurant held the tall counter. Behind the counter was a wall with a hand-painted menu detailing the meats they grilled and the side options. An older gentleman appeared behind the counter.
“Can I help you?” he asked while wiping his forehead with a black towel.
“Let me get one grilled hot dog with chips and one chicken leg with baked beans. I will take the smoked pulled pork sandwich with potato salad and green beans. And…dang, I should’ve asked her if she wanted anything to eat.”
“I saw you walk from across the street. Are you talking about Tweet, Cam, Nuri, or Macy?”
I looked at the older gentlemen who reminded me of my uncle Clyde with his grey afro and black smoker’s lips. “Cam.”
“Oh, that’s easy. She gets the smoked wings with coleslaw but likes the sauce on the side because she’s not going to eat it right away, and she likes for the chicken to be hot before she adds the sauce. I will wrap her coleslaw up in some foil and put in a freezer pack just in case she forgets to put it in the fridge. She always brings them back to me,” he thoroughly explained.
“Okay, then I will take that.”
“Great choice. Give me a minute, I just opened, so my grandkids aren’t here yet to help me.”
“No problem.”
I stood by the window and looked out to the shop across the street. It was in a great part of town for easy access to restaurants and bars. I took my clients to some of the restaurants in the area for business meetings. My boss’ family’s restaurant,Untraditional, was in the same neighborhood.
I had been dreading sitting in the shop while the girls got their hair done, but it was nice. Cam and the girls kept each other entertained, leaving me to my work. Skye told Cam a story about some of the girls at her school. I’d heard the story before but had a hard time following it. There were too many girls’ names, and the story seemed muddled with unnecessary details. Cam followed the story, asked questions along the way, and then offered Skye advice on how she should handle the situation. I didn’t even understand it until Cam repeated it back to Skye. I appreciated the way she dealt with the girls.
I got my food order and made it back across the street. I heard music playing when I approached the door. I stepped into the shop just in time to see Fee, Skye, and Cam doing the floss dance. My girls drove me crazy with that stupid dance. They would start doing it in the middle of the store, in the parking lot, or wherever!
Cam quickly turned the music down when she saw me.
“I thought you said you were going to be in the exact same spot when I returned?”
Cam’s smile lit up her entire face.
“Fee was just showing me how to do this dance,” Cam responded out of breath. “I think I’ve got it. What do you think?”
She started swinging her hips and arms, simulating the dance moves.
“You got it, Cam!” Fee cheered.
“Good job!” Skye praised.
Cam high fived each girl before smiling at me.
“What?” I asked, arching one eyebrow.
“You’re not going to try it?” Cam asked.
“There are a lot of things I will do for my girls but throwing this big body around trying to do a dance designed for teenagers is not one of them.”
