Split Ends

by Jacquelin Thomas

  I have a heart and I don’t judge people by their circumstances, so I’m already one up on her.

  Mimi comes to the shop the next day. She and Rhyann talk outside for a few minutes. I’m fairly sure they’re discussing me, but I don’t care. I’m done with Mimi.

  Rhyann comes back inside and says, “Do you want to have lunch with me and Mimi?”

  I shake my head. “I brought some egg salad from home, so I’ll eat here. But thanks for asking.”

  Rhyann studies my face. “It was Mimi’s idea, Kylie.”

  “The answer is still no. Rhyann, please don’t try to force a friendship between me and Mimi. It’s just not going to happen.”

  “She came here to apologize.”

  I look out the window. “Really? Is that why she barely said two words to me?”

  “Mimi feels bad about what happened.”

  I shrug in nonchalance. “She doesn’t have to feel bad about anything. She’s stuck up and she looks down on others. That’s just who she is. Rhyann, go have lunch with your friend. I’m okay. This isn’t gonna affect my relationship with you. At least, I hope it doesn’t.”

  “Girl, pleez . . . ,” Rhyann mutters. “Our friendship has nothing to do with Mimi.”

  She leaves.

  Although I would never mention this to Rhyann, I feel conflicted. A part of me wishes she had chosen to stay mad at Mimi just a little while longer so she could feel what I feel—like an outsider.

  Chandler wants to see me later tonight, but I’m not ready for that. Besides, it still bothers me that Mimi has a problem with me talking to her brother.

  I’m in the break room eating my lunch when Rhyann returns forty-five minutes later. Mimi walks in with her.

  “Kylie, I came here to talk to you, but . . . ,” Mimi says. “Well, you looked like you didn’t want to be bothered.”

  I wipe my mouth on the corner of my paper napkin. “Talk about what?”

  “I think we need to clear the air about what happened at my house.”

  “Oh, I think we’re pretty clear.”

  Mimi sits down in the empty chair beside me. “I like you, Kylie. I think you’re a really nice person.”

  “So, why do you have a problem with your brother talking to me?” I ask. “It’s not like we’re involved. We just talk.”

  “I’m sorry for the way I acted. Chandler isn’t from here, and I guess I was just being overprotective.”

  I look her straight in the eye. “Are you really sorry?”

  Mimi meets my gaze. “Yes, I am, Kylie. Even though I haven’t been acting like it, I do want us to be friends.”

  “You have a weird way of showing it.”

  Mimi glances over at Rhyann and says, “I guess I deserve that.”

  “You were wrong,” Rhyann tells her.

  “I hope that we can start over,” Mimi says to me.

  I think about that and nod. I really don’t want to cause problems between these old friends. “I’d like that.”

  She holds out her hand to me. “Friends?”

  I shake her hand. “Friends.”

  Mimi releases a sigh of relief. “Whew! I’m so glad this is over. Why don’t we go out to dinner this evening to celebrate?”

  “I guess I can do it,” I say. Dinner tonight is probably going to set me back until my next payday, but I don’t tell Rhyann or Mimi.

  Everything will be okay, I tell myself. Tonight is a special occasion.

  Chapter 10

  Chandler surprises me at the salon the next day, wanting to take me to lunch.

  Rhyann urges me to go with him. Deep down, I really want to spend time with him, so I accept his invitation.

  “I’m glad you said yes,” he tells me when we walk across the street to the deli. “We talk on the phone almost every night, but you always turn me down when I ask you on a date.”

  “This is a date?” I ask, my stomach doing a little flip.

  He meets my gaze. “I’d like it to be, Kylie. Look, I’m very interested in you, and I know you like me, too. You don’t have to worry about Mimi. This is about you and me. She’ll get over herself.”

  “I just don’t want to come between you and your sister.”

  “You won’t,” Chandler assures me.

  “Chandler, I can’t help but wonder why me,” I say after we get our food and sit at one of the tables outside.

  “You’re beautiful and intelligent,” he says simply. “I know life has been a little crazy for you, but you are a survivor. You haven’t given up, and if you really want to know the truth, I admire you.”

  His words render me speechless. I feel like a complete fraud right now.

  Chandler scans my face. “Kylie, what’s wrong?”

  “Your words just took me by surprise,” I say. “Chandler, I’m not perfect or anything. I’m just trying to get to the point where I can take care of myself. I want to go back to school in the fall and I don’t know what to expect, but I have to make it work.”

  He smiles at me. “You will.” He reaches over and takes me by the hand. “You can trust me, Kylie.”

  This is the best lunch I have ever had. A part of me does not want to go back to the shop, but I still need a paycheck.

  I stop at Chandler’s car on the way back, and we talk for a few more minutes before I have to go inside.

  Chandler gives me a hug and a polite kiss on the cheek. He gets in his car, and I wave as he drives away.

  Yet my happy smile vanishes when I come face-to-face with my mama.

  “Mama, what are you doing here?” I ask, trying to keep the panic from my voice. She’s wearing a dress that’s so tight, she can’t possibly have on a pair of panties beneath. I frown. “What do you have on?”

  Mama ignores my questions and looks me up and down. “So who was that?”

  “Who?” I ask, stalling for time. I pray Rhyann or Miss Marilee doesn’t walk outside the shop.

  “That boy that was all over you.”

  “He wasn’t all over me, and he is just a friend.”

  She flashes a sly smile. “I saw y’all sitting over there having lunch. Where did you meet him?”

  “Mama, he is just a friend. I have to go.”

  “Why? You can’t spend a few minutes with your mama? You haven’t seen me in a while, but I guess you don’t miss me.”

  “I have a job and I need to get back to work so I don’t lose it,” I tell her.

  She peeks inside the salon. “I guess you work here in this fancy beauty shop.”

  I don’t want to talk about that. Instead I repeat my question. “What are you doing here?”

  With her hands on her hips, she responds, “Since I was driving by and saw you, and since I don’t ever hear from you, I figured I’d stop to see how you doing. Kylie, you may have moved out of the house, but I’m still your mama.”

  “Nice of you to remember that,” I say tightly. “It’s a little too late, as far as I’m concerned.” I steal a peek over my shoulder to see if anyone from the salon can see us. I desperately hope not. I don’t want anybody to know that this woman dressed like a hoochie is my mama.

  “Kylie, so how much money you making here in this place?” she demands.

  “Not a lot,” I answer honestly.

  Mama screws her face into a frown. “Then why on earth are you working here? I thought I taught you better than that. Please tell me that you at least getting tips?”

  I don’t respond. I just want her to go away. Far away.

  “Did you hear me?”

  “I know what you want and you might as well forget about it,” I say. “I don’t have any money, Mama.”

  “When do you get paid, then?”

  “I don’t know,” I lie. “Maybe it’s Friday. I forgot to ask. I was just happy about getting the job.” I move to walk around my mother. “Mama, I really have to get back to work so that I don’t lose my job.”

  She grabs my arm just as I step past her. “Hey, where are you living?”

/>   “In a shelter, Mama,” I answer. “Where are you living? Did you get evicted?”

  “Clyde and I still live in the apartment,” she responds. “You should come by sometime so that he can meet you. You know, he might end up being your daddy. He really loves me to death.”

  “I don’t think so, Mama,” I say. “I don’t need a daddy.”

  I can tell she doesn’t like the tone of my voice. “I’m grown, and if I want to get married, I will.”

  “Getting married would be a change for you,” I respond.

  “Clyde is a nice guy, Kylie. You shouldn’t judge him before you meet him.”

  “Does he have a job?” I ask pointedly.

  “He’s self-employed,” my mama responds.

  “I hope it’s legal.”

  She blinks at that remark and takes a few moments to collect herself. I know I’ve guessed right. “Hey, do they still need any help in the salon?” she asks me. “Maybe I could do some braiding. You don’t need a license to braid hair.”

  “They already have two people braiding hair,” I respond quickly. “They don’t need any more help.”

  The last thing I want is to have my mama working with me. I am not about to let her embarrass me up in there. She is too lazy to work, anyway—I don’t know who she is trying to fool.

  “I have to go, Mama.” I try to walk around her, but she’s not giving up.

  “Kylie, I know how you are about money. I just need a few dollars. I can give it back to you tomorrow. Clyde’s picking up his payment tomorrow.”

  My arms folded across my chest, I ask, “What exactly does he do?”

  “What does it matter?” she responds. “The man makes a living, and he gets paid a lot of money. We’re already looking at houses. Kylie, we’re gonna be a family.”

  I’m outraged that she would think that way. “Mama, why weren’t we a family before? How does having Clyde in your life make us a family?”

  When she does not respond, I say wearily, “I really need to get inside, Mama. Oh, and please do me a favor. Don’t come up to my job anymore.”

  “You still haven’t told Marilee the truth?” Miss Lucy asks after I tell her about seeing my mother outside the salon earlier.

  “No, ma’am,” I admit. “Miss Lucy, it’s because I don’t want her to think badly of me. I know that she had to see me standing outside the shop talking to her. Do you think she’s gonna ask me about my mama? Like who she is and how I know her?”

  Miss Lucy shrugs. “She might, and then again, she might not. I don’t know for sure, but I do think that if you’re so worried about it, you need to sit Marilee down and tell her the truth.”

  There is a knock on the door, startling both of us.

  Miss Lucy looks at me. “Are you expecting someone, Kylie?”

  I shake my head.

  “Bring me your bat,” she whispers.

  Yet we won’t be needing any bats. I sigh in frustration when I hear my mama’s voice whining, “C’mon, Kylie, open up.”

  I walk to the door, opening it. I gasp in surprise at the sight of a man standing beside my mother. This has to be Clyde. He is the same man I saw her with that day at the shops.

  “How did you find this place?” I ask. “What are you doing here?”

  I cannot believe she actually came back up to my job and followed me home like a spy. Mama brushes past me, along with Clyde, her current flavor of the month.

  Mama glances around the apartment. “Kylie, I thought you said that you been living in a shelter. Why you lying to me and trying to be all secretive?”

  She eyes Miss Lucy up and down and asks, “Is this your place?”

  “I don’t know you, and I don’t owe you any answers.”

  I notice the way Miss Lucy is inching over to the sofa. She’ll pull that bat out in a flash if she deems it necessary.

  “This is my mama, Serena,” I say to Miss Lucy. “Mama, this is Miss Lucy.”

  Mama introduces Clyde, then says, “If my child is living here, you’d better tell me something. Somebody gonna tell me something. I mean that.”

  “Mama, leave her alone,” I interject. “Miss Lucy is kind enough to let me stay here with her, and I won’t let you harass her.”

  “Why you being all charitable to my daughter? What do you want from her?”

  I can tell Miss Lucy is trying hard not to cuss my mama flat out. “She don’t want nothing from me,” I say. “She’s just letting me stay here until I can afford to get my own place.”

  “This is nice,” Mama says to Clyde. “It’s on the small side, though.”

  “It has a roof and doors,” I respond. “I appreciate it, and I’m happy here.” I start walking toward the door. “You’ve seen where I live, so now you and Clyde can go be happy in your apartment.”

  “What you doing about school?”

  As if she really cares.

  “I don’t go to school.”

  Mama folds her arms across her chest. “Oh, so you gonna be a sixteen-year-old dropout now?”

  “I’m planning to go back to school in the fall or find an alternative school Miss Marilee was telling me about.”

  Frowning, Mama questions, “Who is that?”

  “She’s the lady I work for.”

  “If you gonna be doing all that, you might as well come back home with us so that you can help your mama out,” she says firmly. “I gave you life and you owe me that much.”

  Miss Lucy is bristling, but she holds her tongue. I know she’s trying not to lose her religion.

  “Mama, I’m not going anywhere,” I reply. “I like living here with Miss Lucy. I really don’t want to live with you and your boyfriend. Been there, done that.”

  “Now that you got a lil’ job, you think you better than us, huh.” She walks over to Clyde and says, “Can you believe this mess? You see how she treats me?”

  “I don’t think I’m better or anything,” I say. “I just want to live without worrying about an eviction notice. I don’t want to worry about the lights being off because you’d rather go shopping than pay the electric bill.” My chest is getting tight, but I force myself to continue.

  “Mama, I’m tired of moving from place to place. You’ve ruined your credit and mine. I’ve had more stuff in my name, but none of it was for me.”

  My mama draws back her hand to hit me, but Miss Lucy springs into action, stepping between me and the woman who gave me life. “There will be none of that in this place. Serena, you’ve said your piece, but it’s long past time for you and Clyde to leave.”

  “I’m not leaving without my child,” Mama tells her nastily. “She belongs at home with me.”

  “Do you really want us to call the police?” I warn her. “I don’t know if Clyde has any legal issues, but I do know you got some outstanding warrants. You’ll end up in jail, and I’ll have to go into foster care. Miss Lucy will apply to be my foster mother and I’ll only end up back here anyway.”

  I can tell from the expression on my mama’s face that she is furious. “You need to stop telling all my business.”

  I meet my mama’s gaze straight on. “Maybe if you stopped breaking the law and pay your bills, then I wouldn’t have anything to tell, would I? I don’t want to be mean or disrespectful, but you won’t leave me alone.”

  Clyde heads toward the door. “C’mon, baby. If she don’t want to come with us, let her stay on here. You don’t need all this drama.”

  Mama looks like she isn’t going anywhere.

  “Kylie will be fine,” Miss Lucy tells her. “You know where she is, and she isn’t going anywhere.”

  “She’s my daughter,” Mama shouts. “Just so we clear on everything.”

  “Then you need to start acting like her mama,” Miss Lucy retorts.

  “I’m grown,” my mama responds. “I can do what I want to do. Kylie is a child. She has no right trying to dictate my life.”

  Clyde takes her by the hand and leads her to the door. “Let’s get out of here.
”

  I run into Miss Lucy’s arms as soon as they leave. “I don’t want to go home with her,” I say. “Miss Lucy, we’ve got to find a way for me to stay here with you.”

  “I didn’t like the way that man was eyeing you,” Miss Lucy tells me. “He was looking a little too hard at you. Don’t worry, Kylie, we’re gonna find a way to make this work out.”

  Chapter 11

  Last night was a bad night for me. I didn’t sleep well at all because of that visit from my mama and Clyde. I can’t help but take their showing up the way they did as a bad sign. Now that they know where I live, I won’t ever be able to escape them.

  I steal a peek at the clock on the table and nearly freak out.

  I overslept and am going to be late for work if I don’t get a move on.

  “Kylie, you awake?” I hear Miss Lucy ask from across the room. “You need to get up, don’t you?”

  I swing my legs to the edge of the sofa bed. “I’m up.”

  I run to the bathroom, take a shower, brush my teeth, and comb my hair back into a ponytail.

  “You tossed and turned all night long,” Miss Lucy tells me when I come out wearing my robe.

  “I didn’t sleep too well.” Fast as lightning, I slip on my black pants and shirt. I’m so glad I ironed them last night. “I kept thinking about Clyde and my mama.”

  “They can’t hurt you,” Miss Lucy assures me. “They can’t even get into this apartment without you inviting them inside. You just keep that in mind.”

  I nod, but inside I’m scared. She doesn’t know how my mama can get.

  “Don’t forget your lunch,” she reminds me. Miss Lucy makes a lunch for me almost every night and places it in the refrigerator. Most of the staff at Crowning Glory bring their lunch because eating out all the time can get expensive.

  “I won’t,” I respond, grabbing the bag from the fridge, then picking up my backpack. “I need to get out of here so I can make my bus. I’ll see you this evening.”

  I send up a prayer of thanks when I run into Lisa at the elevators.