I watched the passing houses as the van strolled through the neighborhood with casual regard.

“You know how my thing’ set. You good still enuh. A just through Ashley kept bothering me to come see you. So me drop her off. I am picking her up tomorrow if that is okay?” said Caroline, my ex-girlfriend.

That was great for me I supposed. I watched Ashley whipping her clasped hands across the seating in the back while blowing raspberries. “That alright. How’s life?”

“Nothing much.” Her voice carried a flatness to it.

“Anyways, I will take care of her until then. Just call me more time, you know, you kina surprise me.” Or she just wanted to avoid me which made sense.

Caroline replied, sparking some white noise. “You usually always home. So I nuh need to call you.”

“Yeeeah, things change. Me busy on the road, so yeah.”

“Since when are you so busy?”

I wagged my head in confusion at that question. “Always?”

“So you say…” I felt the scorn on her tongue. My lips curled as I swallowed the anger.

I clenched my jaw back and fought the urge to call her out on her bad assumptions about me. She still thought I was a lazy bum. “Yeah, still, call me,” I answered with much intonation to hide my frustrations.

Her next response oozed an uncaring flourish. “Next time I will.”

Part of me had to ask. “You have my number?”

A pause, then she said, “Yeah. Don’t think so. This is your number right?”

I twisted my lips in frustration. She deleted my number?! I held in the annoyance and said in as normal a voice I could manage. “Yes, it is.”

“Yeah man, alright, I’ll call you later.”

“Sure.” I held the bridge of my nose and sighed silently. The perils of being a baby father, I hated it. We were childhood sweethearts and now we barely talked to each other beyond anything concerning Ashley.

I was happy with that now, because I lost all my love for her. Things were lost in translation when you desired something that had no desire to be anywhere near you. I needed to understand that.

In a way, it took me a long time to grow up. My father and mother were not the types to make a fuss over me. That allowed me some freedom which I exploited to my demise.

We reached Baker’s shop and Ashley jumped out of the van. Benedict and I moved into the shop. We waved at her daughter as Miss Baker gave us a nod of the head and went around the back. She got the stuff and brought it around to the front where me and Benedict dawdled.

Tiredness plagued my bones from the angst of waking up.

Tanya-Gay asked, “How you guys doing?”

I shrugged. “Better than yesterday.”

Benedict laughed. “If only yesterday was good.”

“What, a man can be positive can he not?” I asked.

Benedict laughed again.

Tanya-Gay said, “You never seemed like the positive type to me.”

I made a face at her with a twisted grin. “How so?”

Ashley stepped in.

Tanya-Gay’s eyes widened and her face lit up. “Heeey! Wha gwan?!”

Ashley looked up and said, “Nothing.”

“Oh, so you staying in Battaleaf?”

Ashley nodded her head.

“Okay, that is good.” Tanya-Gay looked at me. “She looks so cute.”

I shrugged. “Yeah, just taking her out, make her get some breeze you zeen.”

Benedict was carrying foodstuff to the van now.

I said, “Oh, that reminds me. You have any ice cream? She wants ice cream.”

Tanya-Gay patted her fingers on the counter and shifted her body. “I think we do, let me check.”

Ashley was hopping with a sneaky smile on her face.

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“Stay here.” I began moving the foodstuff into the van. Once that was done, we arrived back inside to see both the mother and daughter gushing over Ashley.

They were on the other side of the shop’s patron barrier.

Miss Baker asked, “How you suh bright eh? You think you better than me?”

“Because me prettier than you.” Ashley wagged her body side to side with flair.

“You, prettier than me?” Baker feigned shock.

“Yes, my father say me pretty, pretty like diamond. Me thing lock, me thing…”

Tanya-Gay giggled. “Me thing wha'?”

Ashley turned towards me.

I said, “Thing fully loaded.”

Ashley turned and shouted, “Fully bloated.” The two women laughed.

That was, that was close enough. They gave her a plastic cup of nut-filled ice cream. They were behind the barrier now and Tanya-Gay was dealing with another customer. Miss Baker motioned us forward. I yawned as Baker asked Benedict, “What you boys doing now?”

“Taking this up to the pastor. I have to go back and meet my new employee and deal with the details,” Benedict said.

“Wha? You tun boss man Arden!” Miss Baker said.

“Nah, just trying to make a money any way we can. Hey, if you have any other work, just call me because we are ready any day of the week. Whether it be me or Terry.”

Miss Baker turned her head upward and tapped her chin. “You know there might be work for you guys if you’re interested. You can carry people?”

Benedict said, “Yes, sure, we already got the license and everything.”

Miss Baker leaned forward. “Well, It looks like Donavan needs some help. You know Donavan right?”

Benedict rolled his eyes in thought. I interjected, “The guy that own the football team. Yeah, we know him.”

Benedict looked at me and said, “Oh, him.”

I nodded my head. “Yeah, what him want?”

“Transport to Portmore, Saturday. His team going up against another team.”

I cocked my head to the side with a scowl. “Hold on, since when. I thought he always carried the team himself?”

Baker’s smile died a bit. “That a the thing. His car got mash-up by some thieves.”

Benedict and I traded looks of surprise.

Baker continued, “So he is in a tough spot. He was asking around for help up ‘til today.”

“Eh uh?” I made that sound then looked up at Benedict.

Benedict nodded his head. “Call him, I am sure we can work out something. We can make it a regular thing if he wants. Charge a fee that will be affordable for him. You have mi' number?”

“Yeah man,” she answered.

“Alright, give him my number and tell him to call me.”

“Alright, him supposed to come a the field in a few hours. So I will tell him. Respect hear?”

I nodded my head in approval.

On our way to the church, Benedict asked, “Oh, yes, hm, how much you have for the electric bill? I already paid the water, so I broke.”

I looked at him with disdain. Air escaped my clasping teeth and sounded like a dense hiss. My head ached with the overall pressure of the moment. “Take the same woman salary money and pay it.”

He plastered on a momentary frown when he turned to me. His eyes focused back on the road and he said, “We need her Terry.”

“You need her, not me.”

“Dog—“

“No dog me. Is only two grand me have to me name and the house empty. Me nuh even know how Ashley is going to eat tonight.” I leaned closer to the window of the car seat quite flamboyantly in my frustration. “I am not going to dad. You beg him, not me.”

He replied, “All I asked is what you contributing? Besides that, I am working here. Why are you getting angry at me? We work a money now didn’t we?”

“Then we will spend it on food. Dog… yuh nuh understand. The problem is not that we are not making money. We are, the problem is we are not making a profit. If your cost equals your income. You made no profit.” I wagged my finger at him. “You hiring a worker is going to make sure we make no profit. So we will always be broke. That is my problem.”

“We’ll be fine. If we get this work from Donavan then that can tie us over.”

I groaned, for my brother had too much wishful thinking. My eyes flung to the rearview mirror and I took in Ashley’s silent eating of the ice cream. The innocence and carefreeness of being a child, I missed it. That was not a lie.

We did our duty and arrived back home. Parking, Ashley shivered as a dash of ice cream dropped on her skirt. Ashley brushed into it making a big wet spot up to the hem.

I gave her a disapproving glare and Ashley averted her gaze. She stiffened, then she said, “Pretty…”

I looked in Ashley’s direction and noted the woman that was sitting on a brick next to our home. She was light brown in her skin tone with freckles that peppered her face like fine cuisine. Those hazel eyes bounced within eyelids denoting an Asian heritage.

It could not be denied, she was pretty, God-ordained beautiful if I was overthinking about it. She wore regular clothes and made them look like she was royalty even with that basic blue jeans pants.

A small purple handbag was perched on her lap with black double strapped high slippers curated her feet.

As I departed the van with Ashley in hand, Benedict said, “Oh yo, you will have to run that trip too.”

“Which trip?” I asked.

“The trip to carry his team on Saturday. I won’t be able to do it. I have business to do.”

“Alright, whatever, but you damn well know they won’t call you.”

“Why you say that?”

“Because that team broker than dog. They ain’t going to hire us.”

“You never know,” he said with a shrug.

“How much you a bet me?” I asked.

The girl stood as Benedict reached beside her. I looked between the both of them and had to ask, “Wait, you know her?”

Benedict nodded with a grin. “This is Vanessa.”

Wow, this is—well, okay.

I nodded my head with approval and a restrained smile. “I see.”

Vanessa smirked and gave me a narrowed side glance. I straightened and held out my hand. Vanessa smiled with more brightness than the sun. “Nice to meet you.”

Mini-Glossary

Bright - Rude, disrespectful

Respect hear? - used at the end of a sentence to convey admiration or appreciation

Dog - means 'friend', 'brother' (mostly used by males in reference to each other)