House of Cars

by Shelia E. Lipsey

  “Yes, ma’am,” I answered and nodded. Daisha walked into the classroom, without looking back and Ms. Wright closed her classroom door, leaving me standing on the other side looking in, hoping that Daisha would forgive me.

  Chapter 19

  I didn’t see Daisha for the rest of the day. I know it had to be that she was avoiding me because we usually saw each other almost every time we passed class. That was not a good sign; not at all but I told myself that I would do everything I could to make her understand that I was really sorry and that Sierra had tricked me. I sneaked and texted her during class but she didn’t answer back. So right after school, I texted her again.

  Daisha, I’m sorry. Sierra was jus tryin 2 start trouble. I do not like her. I like u. u r my girlfriend not sierra.

  This time Daisha texted me back. I believe u. 1 of da other cheerleaders told me dat Sierra said she wants 2 b ur girlfriend again. She still likes u n she wants u 2 giv her anotha chance. R u?

  “No wa,” I texted Daisha. U my girl not Sierra.

  “O is that right?”

  “Yeah u my 1 n only. u forgiv me?” I texted.

  “I guess so,” she answered back.

  Good, cause I like u n only u.

  I like u 2 , Daisha texted back.

  Boy did that make me feel good. I couldn’t believe I almost let Sierra mess up stuff for me again. But, man, was I glad to hear that Daisha wasn’t mad anymore. From now on I was going to avoid Sierra no matter what. She was not going to have a chance to mess up my life ever again.

  Later that afternoon, after we both got home from school, Daisha and I texted back and forth until my fingers were numb and my eyes were heavy as concrete. I went to sleep dreaming that me and Daisha were in college. I dreamed I was playing college ball and me and her were still boyfriend and girlfriend.

  Chapter 20

  “I got the job,” Pops said when he picked me and Nyla up.

  Suddenly, good news kept coming. I was glad Pops got a permanent job, and maybe a new woman too. Miss Mariah was there when Pops got the news to come into the office to sign his offer letter.

  Pops acted like he really liked her. I’d never seen him talk to another woman since Momz died. At first I didn’t know how I would feel if Pops met someone else, but Miss Mariah was cool in my book.

  Pops was going to start after the New Year. He was going to get back to doing something he liked and he no longer had to work temporary warehouse jobs like he had when we were homeless. He wasn’t going to be in charge like he used to be, but he was going back to be working in marketing like he said he used to do. Yeah, Pops was on his way back. And, Miss Mariah worked for the same company, just in a different department.

  I was glad to see Pops getting back to normal. I know it’s because he has a real job now, we have a place to live, but I also think it has a lot to do with Miss Mariah. Ever since they met, seems like she and Pops are always talking on the phone. I hear him sometimes late at night laughing and talking to Miss Mariah. She’s been over to the house a few times too.

  Nyla really likes her. Some weekends Miss Mariah comes over and washes and braids Nyla’s hair, and helps her get her clothes together for school. I guess Nyla needs a mother, being that she’s a girl and all. I’m not saying I don’t need my Momz, but I know she’s gone and won’t ever be coming back so I have to take it all in stride and act like a man. Plus, no one can take Momz’ place.

  Miss Mariah came over to the house a few other times, at night that is. I know because some nights that I could hear Pops and Miss Mariah smacking lips late at night. I guess Pops thought I was sleep like I was a kid like Nyla. Sometimes I think he fails to remember that I’m almost grown, and I definitely know what grown people do. But, hey, I didn’t say a thing and I didn’t let on that I heard anything. If I had my way, me and Daisha would be doing the same thing, but Daisha wasn’t having it. I mean, of course we kissed, but she said she wasn’t going to be having sex like a lot of the girls at school were doing. She would talk to me on the phone, cheer me on at the games, and sometimes we made out in the gym behind the bleachers, but she wouldn’t let me go beyond kissing her, although sometimes she let me touch her breasts. I liked it too; they felt like marshmallows.

  Sometimes, Pops and Miss Mariah go out on the weekends. When they do go out that’s when I have a chance to talk to Daisha as long as I want to. It all works out just perfect.

  All in all, Miss Mariah is cool. She’ll never be Momz, nobody will ever be Momz, but she might make a pretty good substitute. She even told me that in so many words.

  One evening when she came over to the house, she cooked dinner, just like Momz used to do. I knew she was trying to score points with Pops and probably me and Nyla. I had made up in my mind that I was not going to allow her to get too close to me, and I’m not saying that she was, but I’m just saying it’s how I felt.

  I was surprised when after dinner, Pops called me and Nyla into the living room.

  “Hey you guys, let me talk to you for a minute.”

  “Whaddup, Pops?” I sat down on the arm of the sofa.

  “Whaddup Pops,” Nyla tried to copy me.

  I laughed, and so did Pops and Miss Mariah.

  I wonder what he had to say. That he’s going to hook up with Miss Mariah? I thought. Who cares? Long as he’s not going to tell me that I have to treat her like she’s my Momz, then I’m cool.

  “Nyl, it’s really not your father that wants to talk to you and Nyla,” Miss Mariah said. “It’s me. Nyl, you especially.” She looked me dead in my eyes. “Nyl, I like your father, and I believe he likes me.” She turned and gave Pops one of those ‘I’m crazy about you kinda looks.’ “At least, he says that he likes me.”

  “You know I do.” Pops squeezed her hand. They were sitting next to each other on the sofa couch. Nyla had went and sat down right next to them so I was basically left sitting in front of the three of them.

  “And what’ she’s trying to say is me and her are going to be spending a lot more time together. I guess, I’m saying that Miss Mariah isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.”

  “Cool…is that it?” I asked and shrugged my shoulders. I was about to stand up because if that was all they had to say then I didn’t understand the need to call this so called family discussion.

  “No,” Miss Mariah said. “Nyl, I’ve heard a lot about your mother. Your father told me what a special woman she was and what a great mother she was to you and Nyla.”

  I didn’t like where this was going. Why was she talking about Momz, and what had Pops been telling her?

  “Look, all I’m saying is that I want to get to know you, and Nyla more, to spend more time with the two of you as well as your father. But what I really want the both of you to know is that I know I can never take your mother’s place. I wouldn’t dare try to. But I feel like I owe you a certain amount of respect.”

  Now Miss Mariah had my attention. Where was this conversation headed?

  “I hope to be around a long time.” She looked at Pops again and they smiled at each other. “So, what I want to tell you, the both of you is that I want you to accept me for who I am and I will do the same toward you. I hope you try to understand that, and I hope you just give me a chance.”

  “Sure, Miss Mariah. I think you make Pops happy, and if Pops is happy, then, hey, you know that’s all good in my book.” I laughed and stood up. “Is that it?”

  “Yes, that’s it. Oh, one more thing.”

  “Yes, ma’am?”

  “Can I have a hug, Nyl?” She stood up, reached out her arms and I walked over to her. She hugged me and for a minute, I felt like it was Momz hugging me and telling me that everything was finally going to be okay.

  “What about me? What about me?” Nyla said and ran up to us. Miss Mariah bent down and hugged Nyla, and I did too while Pops stood up with a grin on his face.

  Chapter 21

  I can’t believe it, but today is my birthday. Mane, I’m fifteen years old!
Pops, Nyla, and Miss Mariah took me out to one of my favorite eating spots. They had a cake for me and the servers came to the table and sung happy birthday. Pops gave me a hundred bucks to do what I wanted, so when we left the restaurant I asked Pops to swing by the mall so I could buy me some fresh gear, because later tonight, I was supposed to hook up with Daisha, Juvaun, and Juvaun’s girlfriend Tasha, at the Paradiso. We’re going to continue my birthday celebration. I definitely wanted to be fresh. My swag was back!

  Now that basketball season is over, I have lots more time to hang out with my friends, and with Daisha. Our team didn’t make it to State but we did have a decent season. I promised myself that I would try even harder next year because I wanted us to go all the way to State and come back with a championship.

  Pops picked up Juvaun and drove the two of us to the Paradiso, and we met Daisha and Tasha. My birthday was better than I ever expected. I wonder how things are going to go from this point forward. I guess I’ll try not to think about it too much. Right now, it feels good to be fifteen because fourteen was tough.

  School would be over in a few weeks and things couldn’t have been better. Pops was enjoying his new job and we were still living in the house. Pops said Coach had mentioned that he and his sister and brothers were talking about putting the house up for sale, and guess what, he told Pops if he wanted to buy it then he could. Pops said he wanted to work a little longer on his new job, get some bills paid off and get us all the way back on our feet, and then he might try to buy it. Until then Coach told Pops he could rent the house as long as he wanted.

  Pops and Miss Mariah spent lots of time together, and I really really liked her. I was also glad for Nyla because to me she really needed a mom in her life, and Miss Mariah treated her like she was her little girl, even though Miss Mariah didn’t have children of her own. I was used to seeing her come over to the house now, and I loved her cooking.

  ∞

  Time passed by real quick. We had a week left before school was out. The end of the school year Spring formal dance was this weekend. It wasn’t a prom but it was sorta like one ‘cause we had to dress in tux and girls had to dress up in gowns and stuff.

  A few weeks ago, I was celebrating my birthday and now here I was getting ready to go with Daisha to the dance.

  Pops rented me a tux, and he rented a limousine too! He had the limousine to pick up Daisha, Juvaun and Tasha. When we got to the dance, I felt happier than I had in a long time. I walked in with Daisha. Right away, I spotted Sierra inside the gym, all alone, except for her usual, you know it – her crew, at least the ones who, just like Sierra, didn’t have a date.

  When Daisha first told me that no one had asked Sierra to the dance, I couldn’t believe it. I mean, like I said, Sierra was a beautiful girl, but Daisha said not too many boys trusted Sierra after what she did to me. She said they said if she was foul like she was toward me then she would probably do something foul to them too. I guess Momz was right when she used to say, ‘What goes around comes around.’

  The dance turned out to be the best night of my life. Everything was perfect. Daisha looked smoking hot! Even better than Rihanna! I took Daisha by the hand and we walked back on the dance floor when the DJ said it was the last song. Finally, I felt like a normal guy again. What a way to end the school year.

  ∞

  There was something that had been on my mind a lot, something I felt like I really needed to do, so the next morning, following the dance, I got up bright and early. I had already talked to Pops about my idea. I asked him if I could bring Daisha along and he said that I could. Miss Mariah came along too. We got in the truck, went and picked up Daisha, and from there we went to St. Mary’s.

  I was the first one to get out of the Yukon. I helped Daisha and Nyla get out the truck and then we went inside. Only this time, we didn’t get in the long line of people who were waiting to get a meal. This time, I proudly went to the director of the food kitchen.

  “Ms. Blackstone, we’re here,” I told her.

  Ms. Blackstone smiled. “I was glad you called me the other day. It was good to hear from you, Nyl. I’m glad to hear that things are working out for you and your family.”

  Pops walked up, with Miss Mariah standing next to him. Miss Mariah was holding Nyla’s hand.

  “Thank you for everything,” Pops said and shook Ms. Blackstone’s hand. “Now, tell us where you want us.”

  “You can start at the beginning of the line,” she instructed.

  I put on the plastic gloves she gave me and stood behind the counter. With pride I prepared the food for all the people who came through the line. I felt better with each meal that I was able to pass out.

  I think that Momz is up in heaven smiling down on me, Nyla and Pops. I believe she is proud of me and that she’s happy that Pops has someone like Miss Mariah in his life that makes him happy again. Yep, things were definitely good and everything was finally right. Maybe Momz had a talk with God up there and if so, then that was just fine by me.

  My family and I have been through a lot but looking back on this past year, I finally realize that what we went through will only make me a stronger person and a better young man, and make our family stronger. Through everything I’ve been through there is one thing that I disagree with Pops about, and that’s when he says, ‘real mean don’t cry.” I think that the sign of a real man is that he can cry sometimes, because tears are a sign of strength, not weakness. That’s just my take on it.

  Anyhow, you know, now when I see someone homeless, I look at them differently. I don’t laugh, or frown at them like I used to do before all of this happened to me. I understand that anyone can be homeless; anyone can fall on hard times. That doesn’t mean they’re lazy or on drugs, or that they’re a bum; it just means that sometimes we all go through something. It’s hard to explain, but I’m sure as I get older that it will become even clearer to me.

  The End

  Book Discussion Questions

  Do you think Nyl was wrong for being ashamed about being homeless?

  What would you do if you and your family were homeless? Would you tell your friends? Why or why not?

  Was Sierra wrong for posting that Nyl was homeless on FaceGroup and Tweetgram?

  What do you think about Sierra? Do you like her? Why or why not?

  Would you have done like Nyl and gone to the movie with your friends without asking your parents?

  Have you ever stolen from your parents? Why? Did you get in trouble for it?

  What do you think about Daisha? Do you like her? Why or why not?

  Was Zach a true friend who just made a mistake? Why or Why not?

  Was Nyl’s father a good dad? Why or Why not?

  What would you do if you knew someone you went to school with was homeless?

  Contact Shelia E. Lipsey

  mailto:books@shelialipsey.com

  twitter @shelialipsey

  SheliaELipseyReaders (Facebook)

  http://www.bonitaandhodgepublishing.com

  http://www.shelialipsey.com

  Other books by Shelia E. Lipsey

  A Christian’s Perspective: Journey Through Grief

  Always Now & Forever Love Hurts

  Into Each Life

  Sinsatiable

  Against the Grain (Bended Knees Anthology)

  Show A Little Love

  Beautiful Ugly Series

  Beautiful Ugly (book 1)

  True Beauty (book 2)

  My Son’s Wife Series

  My Son’s Wife (book 1)

  My Son’s Ex-Wife: The Aftermath (book 2)

  My Son’s Next Wife (book 3)

  My Sister My Momma My Wife (book 4)

  My Wife My Baby…And Him (book 5)

  Book 2 in the Fairley High Series

  Coming Summer 2014!

 

 

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