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Strike and SpareBowling Alley smelled of buttery popcorn and cheap beer.
Jude looked at his scorecard and swelled with pride. Elation seeped into his damn bones. Then, he turned and hooked his gaze on Iris. If looks could kill, there would be an old White man standing over his grave while family and friends tossed flowers on his plot in the cold ground.
The little vixen was competitive beyond words, and a damn sore loser. He’d found out the week prior, during a spirited game of Uno. Eli had apparently noticed her competitive spirit when the two of them played games, also. Then she had the audacity to not think he, the Judge of the land, could play Spades. She was wrong. He beat her ass into the ground. They’d made a wager. If she won, she got to pick dinner, more than likely that nasty Chinese food she liked. If he won, well… off to the bedroom they went, and they’d be in there a long while. He was the winner, and by the time the sun rose, she was beggin’ him for a break. He turned her body every which way but loose.
“It ain’t my fault you can’t bowl.” He cackled. The woman looked around as if to ensure the coast was clear, then shoved her middle finger in the air. She was modest, mean, and nasty. “You wouldn’t dare part wit’ dem eagle talons on your fingers. That’s why you can’t hold the damn ball. You wanna be a bird instead of a bowler.”
Her niece, Ayanna, burst out laughing.
Iris rolled her eyes and took a swig of her orange pop. Truth of the matter was, he loved her nails, especially when she dragged them hard across his flesh while he fucked her to oblivion.
He looked around. Some cheesy music was playing, and it was pretty crowded. He’d finally gotten a chance to meet Ayanna, but the young lady seemed a bit quiet. Pete couldn’t make it. The little butthead had plans to attend some party at his school with friends, so he’d decided to bring Eli. The man hadn’t bowled in a few years and seemed fairly excited. However, he fooled everyone and didn’t lift one damn ball. Instead, he sat at the table dressed in his Nike ‘fit, drinking a cola, and playing on his iPad. He seemed pretty much in his own world and wasn’t speaking much. Regardless, Jude didn’t mind. He figured the man just wanted the company.
“Ayanna, what’s your favorite subject in school?” Jude asked, trying to make conversation while they all decided if they were going to play again. The loud crash of pins echoed throughout the place.
“Um, I like science, art and math,” she said with a big, pretty smile. The young lady had caramel skin and dark brown hair with tight curls, brushed back into an afro puff. Her eyes were quite slanted, and she had a keen nose, and full lips. She reminded Jude a little of some of the old doll babies his grandmother used to collect and kept in a spare bedroom on a shelf. There were Black and White ones, old and new ones, all dressed in frilly dresses Grandma had sewn herself. That room used to scare him when he was a boy, but now, he sort of missed it. It had smelled like baby powder and lilacs.
“Math? That’s great. That was my best subject, as well.” He sat down beside Eli. “Eli’s good at math, too. Ain’t that right?”
Eli nodded but kept playing on his tablet.
“Auntie says you own a beer factory, like, you make beer?”
“Mmm hmm, I sure do.” He drank some of his cola. “Maybe one day you can come by for a tour. You and a few friends if you want. I can’t give you no samples,” the girl laughed at that, “but we’re workin’ on a non-alcoholic one, and a cider, too. It’s pretty interesting stuff, actually.”
“That sounds fun. I gotta do a book report on a local company soon.”
“Well, see now? That’ll work out just fine. You come on by and I’ll show you a good time. Is that all right, baby?”
Still miffed she’d lost, Iris grunted, then said, “Yes. I think that would be nice.”
“I think it’d be nice, too. In fact, all of us can go, and you can take pictures, do interviews, all of that stuff.”
The girl blushed, then leaned into her aunt, and whispered in her ear. Meanwhile, Eli seemed far too engaged in that video game.
“Eli, you coulda stayed home if all you wanted to do was play games.”
“Why? Yooou played… a game… too.”
Ayanna burst out laughing again. Jude figured it was kind of funny. Eli had a smart mouth, but he was always honest. He couldn’t fault the man for that.
“You know what I mean. You want another burger? Chips?” Jude drew closer, looking over the man’s shoulder to figure out what had him so enthralled.
“No. Nooot hun-gry.” The man’s fingers glided across the electronic device; his eyes fixated on some little green space monsters as he shot them with an orange laser gun.
“That’s not what I said,” he heard Iris say as she talked in a rather hushed tone with Ayanna. “…And you need to say somethin’, because if I gotta come up there, it’ll be a problem. I’m sick of these folks doin’ whatever they want to do to my baby.”
“No, Auntie! Don’t do that! I’ll look like a snitch.”
“Yeah, I’m dippin’,” Jude interjected, honestly concerned now. “What’s the problem?”
“Sheee’s… be-ing… bull-leed,” Eli blurted, still concentrating on his game.
Ayanna and Iris’ eyes grew large.
“Yeah… Eli can hear a cotton ball rollin’ off a cloud. His hearin’ is scary-good. You can’t even have a thought in your head without him hearin’ it.” Jude guffawed before taking another sip of his drink, then noticed a couple get into a heated argument a few tables down.
“Well, he’s right.” Iris huffed. “A couple girls at Ayanna’s school are messin’ with her. This has been going on for weeks, and I spoke with the principal, but it’s continuing. The girls’ parents don’t care. Hell, they’re part of the problem.”
