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I stopped when I saw that she was knocked out in my bed. She had the right idea. I was exhausted, and the old saying was to sleep when the baby slept. Well, Precious wasn’t a baby, but she was my baby. I lay my body across the end of the bed and closed my eyes. In no time, I was joining my niece in a peaceful slumber.
Chapter Fifteen
Pasha
“Aye, Ms. P, let me show you this new dance!”
I sat out back in the break area at the grocery store where I worked part time. I’d been here for about two months now, and I was still getting used to working with a bunch of kids who had after-school jobs. They were so different from my girls and me at their age. All they wanted to do was take pictures and videos or dance. I couldn’t be annoyed with them because they were just having fun.
Tucking my phone away, I looked up at Marshawn, the bag boy working my line today.
“Go on,” I said.
He put on some music I was familiar with and started moving and gyrating. I covered my mouth to stifle a laugh. The song he was listening to was something from my era of music, but the dance was nothing like the original.
“Whatchu laughing at, Ms. P?” he asked, grinning.
“Marshawn, where did you learn this dance?”
“The internet. It’s popular. You gotta get with the times, Ms. P.”
“First of all, that dance is so far left from the original. I’m not sure what that was, but it wasn’t it. Second, exactly how old do you think I am?”
He shrugged. “You ain’t no spring chicken, as my grandma would say.”
I scoffed. “Whatever. I may not be a spring chicken, but I’m not old enough to be your mother.”
“My mama is thirty-five, and I’m sixteen. She was barely old enough to be my mama when she had me.”
“Well, that’s not my business. Come on, break’s over. We only have about an hour left until closing.”
He kissed his teeth. “All right. Don’t start speed-sliding me those groceries like you do, either,” he said, grinning as he opened the back door.
“Well, don’t bag so slow.”
We headed back to our register. While I had no customers, I took the time to straighten up a little and wipe down so I didn’t have too much to do after counting down my register. Marshawn stood in the bagging area, scrolling through videos on his phone and trying to copy dance moves. I shook my head. He was so easily entertained.
“Pasha?”
I heard my name being called. When I looked up, embarrassment flooded my face. Raymond’s best friend Carlos and his wife Emily were at my register. We used to have dinner with them at least twice a week. I’d been on vacation with these people. They knew things about me, and seeing them right now was overwhelming. Still, I was at work, and I had a job to do. Pulling back my emotions, I began scanning their items.
“Did you find everything okay?” I asked, avoiding eye contact.
“Yes...” Carlos answered slowly.
“Do you have a loyalty card?”
His wife handed hers over, and I scanned it before handing it back to her.
“Um... We heard what happened,” she said quietly. “I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t,” I said firmly.
“We didn’t know,” she continued. “It wasn’t until he brought her over for dinner that we even had a clue things were over between you two. We’ve cut contact with him, Pasha.”
“Well, I hope you didn’t do that on my behalf.”
“We did it on principle and morals. He was wrong on all fronts, and we can’t condone that type of behavior. You were always such a sweetheart. I’m sure you’re no saint, but I do know you didn’t deserve that. If we knew, you would have been welcomed in our home.”
