When we got to the Motel 8, I couldn’t wait to get out of my clothes, take another shower, and watch some TV. Motel 8 was a cheap, run down, motel that looked like nothing but hoodrats and prostitutes hung out, but at least it had two beds. Pops slept in the hotel chair whenever we got a room, but sometimes me and him had to sleep together because there wasn’t always a chair in the rooms we got. I hated when me and Pops had to sleep together; it just didn’t feel right to me. But Pops said Nyla being a little girl, she needed to sleep in her own bed.
I know I promised Sierra I would call her and I still planned on doing it, but it would have to wait until Pops and Nyla were sleep, because I didn’t want to get into trouble. I didn’t feel like hearing Pops yelling and going off.
“Pops, do you think we’re going to move into an apartment soon?” I asked him while he stretched across the bed. Nyla was in her bed, playing with her Barbie doll.
“I’m praying, son. This job doesn’t pay much. In fact, it’s a long way off from what I used to make, but I do have a chance of getting hired on permanent. They like my work and they have my resume’ showing I was in management. Something is going to give for us, son. I promise you that.”
Pops looked at me and I looked at him. I wanted to believe him so bad. I knew that tonight when I went to bed I was going to pray like Momz had taught me. I was going to beg God to please, please help my Pops and help us get a place to call home.
“Pretty soon, you’ll be able to get a job somewhere. Especially when it gets warm. Maybe you can sell newspapers or clean off peoples’ yards, do something. I got my first job when I was sixteen at a Popeye’s Chicken,” Pops said and started chuckling. “I know you can’t work in Memphis until you turn sixteen, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find a way to make some honest money. You know what I mean? That way you can have something of your own. Maybe have some money to get yourself your own cell phone or a new pair of jeans and a shirt every now and then. I know you miss having some of those things, son.”
Pops sounded like he really understood how I was feeling. “That’s cool. I wanna make some money. I don’t mind working,” I told him. I want to have some money lining my own pockets.
“Yeah, you got to help out in this family too, but until you can, just keep balling and keep your grades up.
”Yes, sir.”
“Nyla, go get your bath. It’s time to get ready for bed.”
Nyla didn’t say a word. She jumped off the bed, grabbed her Dora the Explorer backpack, and ran into the bathroom.
“Nyl, I know this is hard for you, living like this, not knowing where you’re going to lay your head from one minute to the next, but son, believe me when I tell you that I’m trying.”
I sat at the foot of the bed and listened as Pops kept on talking. I guess the liquor I smelled on his breath must have made him want to talk. I didn’t know which it was. I was just glad that my old Pops was back, at least for a while.
“Nyl, it’s hard out here for everybody. We may have Obama as president but it doesn’t change the fact that people are losing jobs and homes every day. That’s why I want you to do your best in school, son. I know I haven’t been the best dad lately. So much has happened that you wouldn’t understand, but I want you to know that I love you. And I’m going to make things better for you and Nyla. That’s a promise.”
It felt good hearing Pops talk. I believed what he was saying, and I was glad he was telling me that he was going to make things better.
Nyla came out of the bathroom running and ran straight for her bed, jumped in it, and pulled the covers up to her chin.
“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Pops said to her. I knew what he was about to say and Nyla did too because she got back out of the bed and got on her knees.
“Now I lay me down to sleep; I pray to the Lord my soul to keep; if I should die before I wake; I pray to the Lord my soul to take. Amen,” Nyla said and then hopped back in the bed.
Pops stood up and walked over to her bed. “That’s my girl.” He leaned over and kissed Nyla on the forehead. “Sleep tight; don’t let the bed bugs bite,” he told her and started tickling her.
I watched the two of them and couldn’t help but laugh myself. For a minute, it felt like everything was back to normal.
“You can watch whatever you wanna watch on TV, son,” Pops said and then turned and looked over at Nyla.
It didn’t take long for Nyla to fall asleep. I found a basketball game on television and Pops got up and went into the bathroom to take his shower and shave. It was the perfect opportunity for me to text Sierra.
I pulled out my phone. When I heard Pops turn on the shower, I texted her.
“Whaddup?” I texted.
“Who is this?”
“Nyl.”
“Awe hey.”
WYD?
“Homework. WBU?” she texted back.
“Watchn da game. Told u I was gon text u”
Yea. U did.
For the next few minutes me and Sierra texted back and forth. I know I was using up the minutes on the phone, but I didn’t care. I would have to worry about that later. Anyway, Pops said at the first of every month the phone got 250 free minutes. But I noticed while I was texting that every text took away one minute, so I had to be careful not to use ‘em all up at one time. The first of the month would be here in another week. If I could keep him from asking me about the phone then everything would be fine because that way he wouldn’t find out I was texting Sierra.
When I heard the water stop running in the shower, I texted Sierra one last time.
“Ck u 2moro . TTYL”
“K,” she texted back.
It was good to talk to Sierra. It made everything seem normal for a change.
When Pops came out of the bathroom I guess he noticed something different about me ‘cause he asked, “What’s wrong with you? You sitting in front of that TV grinning and looking like you just won the State championship.” He laughed as he dried off his head of hair with the hotel bath towel.
I laughed back. “I was just checking out the game,” I answered. “I hope we do go to State this year.”
“Work hard, give it your all. It’s not impossible because y’all have a good team. Playing high school varsity ball is a little different from when you played in middle school. Each level of basketball is different and gets more intense. When I get a permanent job and us a spot to live, then I’m going to start back working with you on your game. I know you probably think since I don’t come to your games like I used to that I don’t care, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. You just wait and see, son; things are going to change for the better; real soon.
I looked at him and nodded my head. “I know Pops. I know.”
Pops sat down in the old looking, fading green chair next to the bed and we watched the game until I saw his head lay back against the back of the chair. He had fallen to sleep. I thought about texting Sierra again but decided I would eat the rest of my chicken and fries then I was going to go to bed too. There was no telling when we would have a chance to lay in a real bed again and I wasn’t going to miss out by staying up all night.
∞
“Nyl, get up. Wake up, boy.”
“Stop hitting on me,” I yelled and popped up in what was supposed to be a full size bed but it felt more like a cot sitting on top of a pile of steel. I looked up and it was Pops. Immediately, I was sorry I’d yelled, but hey, I didn’t know.
“What did you just say?” he barked in his early morning, heavy voice that reminded me of a growling grizzly bear.
I looked around, uncertain of my surroundings. “I’m sorry, Pops. I didn’t know who was hitting me. Is it morning already?”
He nodded.
Dang, it felt like I had just gone to sleep. I had tossed and turned most of the night. So here I was again, sleepy, tired, and just plain miserable because off and on during the night I kept hearing people going back and forth pass our door. They were cussing, talking loud, and playing music. I looked over at Nyla. She was sitting on the side of the bed, putting on her tennis shoes and singing to herself like she didn’t have a care in the world. Don’t get me wrong, hearing her singing was better than listening to her screaming and crying. But times like these, I don’t know how she did it. How could she be singing when all I felt like doing was crying, but I had to keep reminding myself ‘real men don’t cry.’
“Get up, go get your shower and brush your teeth,” Pops ordered. “If we want to get some breakfast, you know the drill. We have to hurry up and get to St. Mary’s.
St. Mary’s Catholic Church was one of the places we sometimes went on Saturday mornings to get a free meal without questions being asked. Only thing, we had to get there real early so we could get close enough in line before they cut it off for the day.
St. Mary’s food was pretty good. The only thing is they always passed out the same food. It didn’t matter that it was breakfast time because we always got a meat sandwich, or peanut butter sandwich, an instant cup of soup, a soda or juice, a cookie or doughnut, a piece of fruit, and a bag of chips.
“Nyl, it’s Saturday, and I have a lot to do today. I know you have practice but you’re going to have to miss it today, or take your sister with you.”
Was my Pops out of his mind? Had he been drinking this early in the morning? There was no way I could take Nyla to practice, not again. Pops needed to find somebody else to look after her.
“What? I can’t take her with me to basketball practice, not again. I told you what Coach said the last time. If I bring her with me this time, I could get benched. What am I going to do with her?” Coach would be asking me a million and one questions, and then the team would think I was out of my mind having my little sister at practice. They would be checking me until the end of time if I showed up with Nyla tagging along behind me again.
“You heard me,” he said again. “I volunteered to work for a couple of hours. I told you, I’m trying to make enough money to get us somewhere to live. And we have to check out of this motel; unless I get a hold to some more money for us to stay another night. Now, get up and get ready. I don’t want to hear your back talk. You’re no baby, Nyl. Men do what we gotta do to survive. You hear me, son?”
“Yes, sir,” I answered. I heard him all right. And I was sick of hearing him talk about what he was gonna do. I wish he would take his own advice. If he hadn’t caved in like he did when Momz died, maybe we wouldn’t be having to live in our “house on wheels” or at these low class motels. No way would Momz have us living on the streets. If he had been the man he always preached to me about, I would still have my own room with all my cool stuff and a wardrobe that made the girls go ‘ahhh’. But naw, he had to break down and lose it when she died.
I hated to, but I got on up and did what he said. When I came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, he and Nyla were sitting on the bed watching cartoons.
“You ready?” Pops asked when I came out of the bathroom.
“Yes, sir,” I mumbled.
“You gotta problem?” Pops stood up and asked.
“No,” I answered but I ain’t gone lie, I couldn’t help it if I couldn’t sound all excited like I guess he expected me to be.
“You all puffed up, your jaws all on swoll, like you mad or something. You better straighten up.”
“Pops, I can’t take Nyla with me,” I told him like I was a grown man. “I’m sick of doing this. I’m sick of not having a place to sleep; I’m sick of having to go stand in a soup kitchen line. If Momz was…”
“Shut yo mouth!” Pops hollered. “Your mother isn’t here and I don’t wanna hear your smart azz mouth. You think I like being in this predicament? Huh? You got the answers? Come on, Nyla,” Pops kept yelling. ““So you think you just gone up and walk off from me? You think you can do better out here in these streets?” Pops yelled.
“You know what? Maybe I can. I sure can’t do any worse.” I couldn’t help it; I was mad, even madder than Pops. I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Come on, Nyla,” Pops hollered and stormed out of the motel.
I grabbed my stuff as fast I could and followed them. Pops and Nyla were already in the Yukon. When I started walking toward the truck, he started driving off.
What was he doing? Was he leaving me? “Hold up!” I yelled.
Pops came to a slow stop and I ran and caught up with him. “What about me?” I asked when he rolled down the window.
“Oh, I thought you could do better,” Pops barked.
I had to admit that I was wrong and he was right. “I’m sorry, Pops.”
Pops unlocked the door. “Get your butt in this truck.”
I did as I was told and this time I didn’t talk back.
At first Pops drove along without saying a word, but then finally he spoke. “Look, son, we need to all stick together. We don’t have time for this. Not me, and not you. We have to work together, son, not against each other. We have Nyla to look out for. We are all we have.”
I hung my head in shame because I felt terrible. He was right. Although I knew he was right; it still didn’t change our circumstances and I didn’t know what would.