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The door was propped by the swing latch. Sway and Tyler were sitting at the foot of both beds, staring at the TV when I entered. Sway looked to me. “Baby, they’re talking about it again.”

“What?” I was laser-focused, reading the chyron as it scrolled across the bottom of the screen. “The coronavirus?”

“Yeah. You just missed it. They were showing how many people have died already in Italy. Thousands, Andre.”

I walked closer. “This shit is real.”

“But our government isn’t going to let that happen here, right? Don’t they have things in place to protect us? Agencies?”

Tyler turned to us. “We did.”

“Wait, what?”

“We did. After the Ebola outbreak…”

I cut in. “I remember that. Didn’t a man arrive here on a plane with it? He went to the hospital, and he was trying to tell them he was sick, but they weren’t taking him seriously. I think he was from Africa.”

“Yes. Once they found out it was Ebola, they quarantined everyone he’d come in contact with. Then, President Obama sent people to Africa to help with the quarantine there. It was contained…”

Sway snapped, throwing up her arms. “That’s what I’m saying. We can just send them in and let them do what they do.”

“But we can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because in 2018, Trump disbanded the Pandemic Response Team that Obama had set up. We don’t have anyone to monitor or react to an outbreak.”

“So you’re saying we’re fucked? People are going to die?”

“Unless they put something together in a hurry, hundreds, maybe even thousands.”

“I can’t fucking believe this shit.” Sway looked to me. “You were right, Andre. You were right all along.”

“Well… We can’t do anything about it coming, but we can prepare.”

Sway smiled warmly. “We have all the food we can eat. Supplies too. You made sure of that.”

“And we’re moving in the morning! It’s time to pack everything, isn’t it?”

“Yes!”

There were four gentle knocks at the door before it began to open. “Hello! Anybody home?”

I stood, walking towards it. “Cami!”

Tyler and Sway rushed past me. They circled, hugging joyously, beaming with excitement. “I know I wasn’t supposed to be here until tomorrow, but my trick had some business to take care of tonight. Besides, I wanted to surprise you bitches.”

I took her suitcase and placed it between the beds. Cami followed. She removed a thick, white sealed envelope from her handbag.

She handed it to me, smiling hesitantly. Her arms were partially outstretched. “Welcome home, Cami.” I hugged her, pulling her tight. I placed a kiss to her face. She gave me a nod before returning her attention to the girls.

I slipped from the celebration, stealing away to the bathroom. I carefully tore off the edge, fanning out the bills with my thumb for a quick count. All hundreds. Cami had come through as promised.

I folded the wad in half, placing it into my pant pocket.

My mind began to drift. Yes, I had a fresh ten grand, but with the little savings left from our bank accounts, it wasn’t going to be enough. Not for what was coming.

I was going to have to figure something out. Create a budget and stick to it.

Sway entered. “Are you okay, baby? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“You’re just standing here… I know that look. You’re worried, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Money?”

“I did some thinking, Sway. I’m not sure we’re going to make it.”

“Why? Nothing’s changed. Not yet.”

“I know, but it will. And when it does… We’re not ready.”

“We’re still working. We have plenty of money coming in.”

“I understand that, but if we can’t cover our expenses, we’ll slowly but surely be going backwards each month. We’re going to have to cut back and tighten up.”

“And that’s no problem. Whatever you say is what we’ll do. I believe in you. We believe in you. You know that.”

“I know.”

“So don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

“Let’s play it down though… As long as we can, okay?”

“Be mommy and daddy?”

I grinned. “Right.”

Sway paused, listening. “Why are the kids so quiet?”

“I don’t know.” I leaned, peeking in. I hurriedly jerked back. “Sway.”

“What?!”

“Hush, be quiet…”

“What?”

“Tyler has Cami on the bed with her pants down, eating her pussy.”

“No…”

“I swear. Her legs are spread wide open. Tyler is tearing her shit up.”

“Let me see… The fuck?”

“Did you know about them?”

“Fuck no.” Sway grinned, full of mirth. “That bitch didn’t tell me shit.”

Creole Gaudet

If you enjoyed this content and would like access to all my books, stories, and series episodes, please visit my Patreon page.

Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.

No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.

MARCH 8, 2020

KNOCKOUT SPORTS BAR – NORTHWEST HIGHWAY – 1:38 p.m.

Sway and I decided to have our meals packaged for take-home. Sway glanced the Lyft app, eyeing the driver’s progress. “They’re less than a block away. We’re looking for a twenty-twenty Toyota.”

We’d stepped through the door when Tyler spotted the bright red Camry. “Here it is.”

“I’d held open the rear driver’s side door. Tyler slid in first. As Sway settled, I handed her our food and took my place next to her.”

“Hello!” The driver, a chubby older lady with short gray hair, turned, lowering her hot pink prescription cat-eyes, peeking at us individually. She continued. “I’m Sandra!” She smiled wide, flashing a set of stained dentures. “Can I get you anything? Ice cold water in a bottle, candy…chips?”

“No thanks, we’re okay.”

“You’re sure, young man? I have plenty.” She looked to Sway and Tyler. “Nothing?” The girls were silent, avoiding eye contact.

“Okay, here we go!” As we turned onto the highway, Sandra reached for the radio, turning up the volume.

Sway looked to me. “Really? Religious music? I didn’t know they were allowed to do that.”

Tyler added. “Totally against policy.”

I leaned forward. “I can’t help but notice the new car smell, Miss Sandra! It’s brand new, right?!”

Sandra lowered, still clutching the knob between her fingers and thumb. “Yes. I just got it two weeks ago.”

“This is really nice.” I eyed the interior. “Really nice.”

“I’ve been blessed with the blood of Jesus! All good things come through him and him only!” She grinned. “Don’t ever forget that!” Sandra cranked to the max, singing along in an operatic style that reminded me of mating cats.

Like mischievous children, the girls snickered and giggled.

Tyler, holding back tears, changed the topic. “Were our clocks set forward or backward last night? I keep forgetting which way it goes.”

I chuckled. “It’s Spring forward, Fall back.”

“I never heard of that, Andre. I won’t ever forget now.”

“So I taught you something this time, huh?”

Sandra objected. “You shouldn’t be changing your clocks!” She eyed us from the rearview mirror. “Altering the Lord’s time…”

Sway dipped, looking towards me. “She heard that?”

Sandra continued. “Jesus Christ, my savior and my Lord, is in control of everything… Everything.” She angered. “All this changing god’s time…”

Tyler countered. “The time is not actually changed, ma’am…”

“Oh yes, it is! Every year, they mess with it; you can see it. Look how it starts getting darker later. Every time they go messing with it. They’ll pay for their sins come judgment day.”

“Ma’am, that’s got nothing to do with daylight saving time. Even if we didn’t change our clocks, it would still get darker later.”

Sandra roared with laughter. “You sound like a fool.”

Tyler sharpened. “Lady, again, it has absolutely nothing to do with clocks!”

“Okay, tell me what it is. What it has to do with? I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say… I’m listening.”

“It’s the tilt of the Earth that causes it to appear…”

“Oh! I’ve heard this one before! The Earth goes around the sun, right?”

“It does.”

“And it’s hotter in the summer because the Earth is closer to the sun on its orbit, right?”

“That’s actually incorrect. The Earth, in our hemisphere, is farther from the sun during the summer months. It’s closer in the winter…”

“See! Even your own science don’t work. The closer you are to the sun… Wouldn’t that make it hotter? Isn’t the sun hot?” She smirked sarcastically. “Wouldn’t it make sense that if you’re closer, it would be hotter?”

“No, it’s because the Earth is tilted.”

“Riiiiight…” Sandra chuckled.

“I’m not going to try and educate you, ma’am. Google is your friend. Do your own research.”

“I don’t have to look up anything on the Google when I have the Lord right here in my heart.”

“Yet you use it to find addresses…all day.”

“That’s just maps like the old paper maps. They’re programmed into the phone. That’s all that is.”

“That information is real-time and it’s from satellites orbiting the Earth.”

Our mouths were stuffed, filled with stolen bites from our containers, when Tyler turned to us. I cleared my throat. “Keep it going, we’re enjoying the show.”

Tyler looked to Sway. “Get her, Tyler. Stop holding back.”

Sandra probed. “Where do you fellowship? What church do you belong to?”

“Oh, you have no answer, so you…”

“Yeah, yeah, I’d love to have a conversation with you about all the science or whatever. Can you come to my church and pray with me? I promise, when you feel the spirit of the Lord, you’ll…”

“I’m good.”

“So you’re too good for the Lord? You’d prefer to burn in the fiery pits of hell for all eternity? I’m telling you, Jesus Christ is the only way to your salvation.”

“Is that where you want to fucking take it? You old bitch! I’ll play!”

“Please, no profanity!”

“So now you want to play victim? Fuck you! I’m going to prove to you that your fucking bible is full of bullshit. Who is Mrs. Cain?”

“Cain’s wife. That’s who Cain married. But you’re going to have to speak to me without the swearing.”

“Where did she come from?”

Sandra stalled. “She was there…”

“How did she get there? Where did she come from? If Adam and Eve were the first people on earth, they had two boys, Cain and Abel. Cain kills Abel, which leaves only Adam, Eve, and Cain. Where did his wife come from?”

Sandra’s voice trembled. “But that was later…”

“Where did she come from?”

“There were people…”

“Then Adam and Eve could not have been the first.”

“We don’t need to get into all the particulars.”

“Sure, we do. Adam and Eve, along with the rest of that shit in that bible you’re worshiping, are a big fucking lie. You’ve been duped, fooled…brainwashed. It’s a hustle, and that’s all it’s ever been. A hustle.”

“Young lady, please.”

“Don’t cry now! Wipe your tears.”

“I just…”

“You just never had your shit set straight. If you want to believe in whatever you want to believe in, good. I respect that. But don’t fucking try and force that shit on me.”

Sandra pulled up to the front of the hotel. She looked ahead, staring into the bright setting sun as we exited, leaving behind our trash, not even closing the doors.

As we neared the entrance, I stopped, looking back. Sway and Tyler continued. I watched as Sandra’s head dropped, her chin resting on her chest. She broke down, violently sobbing.

Tyler was three for three.

Creole Gaudet

If you enjoyed this content and would like access to all my books, stories, and series episodes, please visit my Patreon page.

Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.

No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.

MARCH 8, 2020

KNOCKOUT SPORTS BAR – NORTHWEST HIGHWAY – 12:51 p.m.

“It’s all good, Tyler.” I pointed. “Please, sit back down.”

Sway lifted our plates from the table. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to have them reheat these.”

“You don’t want to call the waitress?”

“No…” Her voice trailed as she jaunted towards the kitchen. “I got it.”

Tyler leaned in. “Is she okay?”

“Yeah, sure. She’s…a little sensitive about… Some things happened during her childhood that are still unresolved.”

“Did I hit a nerve?”

“A raw one.”

“Oh, no. I would never intentionally say anything to hurt her.”

“Don’t sweat it.”

“I’m going to apologize…”

“No! No… Just let it go.”

Tyler turned. “Here she comes now.”

I quickly stood, securing her chair. Sway grinned as she approached. “Baby, they’re making the whole order over. They thought I was angry… That the burgers were served cold.”

“I would have thought the same thing too if you’d come bursting through my shit… You should have seen the look on your face.”

Sway laughed. “Right? I didn’t even think about that.” She looked to Tyler, then to me. “So, what were you two talking about?”

“Nothing much. Just waiting for you.”

Tyler quick-glanced me before reaching across, gently placing a hand to Sway’s forearm. “I just want to say that I am so sorry. I had no idea about your past…”

“Tyler! Like fuck! I just asked you not to fucking say anything.”

“But, I needed to apologize. It would have been on my conscience…”

“What’s wrong with you? Did you even consider…”

Sway jumped in, “Hey… Come on. Let’s not fight.”

“She needs to learn to keep her mouth…”

“Baby, it’s okay. She’s just saying she’s sorry.”

“That’s not the fucking point, Sway.”

“You’re right, I get what you’re saying. But it’s okay. It’s just a misunderstanding, that’s all.” She turned to Tyler. “So where did you learn about all the white privilege, racism, and how women, white women are treated?”

“In school… My first semester, I took a class called The Black Man and the White Woman in America. It broke down the challenges, obstacles, and inner dynamics of interracial relationships between black men and white women and the effects on our society.

“We went way back, starting with Frederick Douglass and Helen Pitts, all the way to Sammy Davis Jr. and May Britt.

“I also studied and researched black activists such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, W.E.B. Du Bois, Sojourner Truth, Marcus Garvey, and the Black Panthers.”

“The movie?”

“No, the political organization formed by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in Oakland. But I lean more to James Baldwin.” A subtle warmth came over her. “I’ve read everything he’s ever written.”

“Who’s that?”

Tyler reminisced. “Baldwin was a novelist, a playwright, a poet, and an activist.”

“He was?”

“Yes. He died in France, December first, nineteen eighty-seven, of stomach cancer. He was only sixty-three.”

“He sounds like he was an important man.”

“He was, Sway. One of his unfinished manuscripts, Remember This House, was made into a documentary called I Am Not Your Negro.

“If Beal Street Could Talk…”

I cut in. “Now that was a movie. I saw it at The Angelika.”

Tyler paused, sensing my desperation for relevance. “It was a novel first.”

Sway smiled proudly. “You know, Andre was a great writer in high school. His teacher was very proud of his work.”

“Wait. You’re black and you’re a writer… And you’ve never heard of James Baldwin?”

My insides were gutted. I was hollowed; emptied. Sway snapped in defense. “You know, Tyler, you really have a way with words.”

“I was only saying…”

“Bitch, shut the fuck up! You didn’t know any of those people either until you stepped onto a fucking campus.”

I stood, heading for the door. Sway trailed closely behind.

My hands were shoved deep into my pockets as I stood along the walkway. Sway ran her arm through mine. “Now the bitch has got me all fucked up.” I laughed. “She’s something else.”

Sway comforted. “I’m sorry. I should never have invited her.”

“No… It’s not her fault. She’s getting an education, and I have to respect her for that.” I panned aimlessly, watching the moving cars, the people walking, even the birds flying across the sky.

“You know, Sway… My teacher was right. She warned me, saying that I should matriculate. Over and over again, matriculate, matriculate. That was her favorite word.

“I could still do it if I put my mind to it. I know I could. I have the discipline, but I’m not there.

“She warned that if I didn’t and got out into the world, if I let it, life would begin to get in the way and that if I wasn’t careful, it would begin to steer my course.”

“Do you want to go? I can support you. I can support us.”

“She also said that whatever I decided to do, to do it on my own terms and to stick to it. To have a plan. To stay focused and not get distracted. I’m sticking to our plan, Sway. I want to continue what we’re building.”

“What do we do about Tyler? I can’t have her disrespecting you.”

“If it comes to that… Let’s just deal with it and not take anything personally. She’s already dissected our biggest weaknesses.”

“Without even trying.”

“There’s nothing else left. Those demons are long gone right about now. We can learn a lot from her. Let’s let it play out…and see where it goes.”

Creole Gaudet

If you enjoyed this content and would like access to all my books, stories, and series episodes, please visit my Patreon page.

Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.

No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.

MARCH 8, 2020

KNOCKOUT SPORTS BAR – NORTHWEST HIGHWAY – 12:16 p.m.

Sway was halfway across Northwest Highway when I caught up to her. I nabbed, securing her by her hips. Her legs were still in motion. “Sway! Stop!”

Tires screeched, horns blew. The traffic jammed. “Sway!” I turned her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. “Sway!”

There were snipes and jeers. “Get the fuck out of the street, asshole!”, “Why are you playing in traffic?!”, “You’re going to get someone hurt”.

I held her close, comforting. “Baby… Come on… Let’s go.”

She looked around, then to me. “Okay.”

As I took her hand, a silver sedan slowed. The window powered down. I stepped in front of Sway as I eyed the driver. A middle-aged white man with a salt and pepper Caesar cut and matching beard. Dandruff sprinkles rested securely atop his shoulders, embedded into the mesh squares of his faded medium blue polo.

Riding shotgun was a pale-skinned Rubenesque with a jet black bouffant. Her icy blues darted behind a stiff, puffy, collagen-injected mask.

The fiery four-carat on her left hand told me it was his wife.

“Who the fuck do you think you are? Go back to the hood where you belong…” The insult was saddled with an N bomb ending in a hard er.

He topped it off by spitting at us, grinning as he drove away.

However, he’d made a mistake. The traffic light had just turned red. He was trapped.

I paced towards him, zoned, enraged, seething with anger. There were no horns blowing, yelling, or shouting, only questions in my head.

What did he mean by back to the hood, where I belong?

Did this motherfucker somehow know my dream and my goal?

Did he know I was risking my life and my freedom out here on these same streets to reach my tower in the sky?

Was it somehow written across my face?

His bitch noticed me first through the rear window. She was wide-eyed, terrified. I knocked along the panels as I approached.

“Get out of the car!” I tugged at the handle. The door was locked.

He shook his head behind the glass. “No!”

“Get out here and face me like a man, or I’m going to fucking break the window and pull you through it!”

“Go away!” He glanced at the light. The sedan crept a few inches.

He watched obediently as I stepped back, pointing to the glob at the bottom of my pant leg. His wife clutched behind him. I removed my pullover and wrapped it into a tight ball around my fist.

He was clipped by the DART 528 turning from Technology Blvd.

The bumper of the big bus tore open his quarter panel as the mounted twelve-speed spun from the rack, crashing into a mangled mess in the middle of the intersection.

I stood watching as the silver sedan turned onto the Stemmons on-ramp and slowly disappeared. “Scary ass bitch! I’ll see you again!”

Sway was next to me. She tugged at my hand, leading me to the sidewalk. We stood as I tossed on my shirt. She adjusted my sleeves, evening the tail. “I was so scared. I thought he was going to shoot you or something.”

“No, no… It’s okay, don’t cry.” I pulled her to me.

“It was all my fault.”

“No, it was not. Don’t say that.” We began to walk.

“I’m so sorry, Andre…”

“For what?”

“I just lost it. I don’t know what happened. It was like reality hit me. I’d never considered it that way…from that perspective. Hearing it from someone else, I guess.”

“Sometimes we don’t see so well when we’re in the middle of it.”

“But I saw it and didn’t see it. Does that make sense?”

“Of course it does. You were born into it. It’s how you were raised.”

“We try to think of our parents… We have to love them, right? We have to believe they only want what’s best for us, don’t we?”

“Sometimes they are raised the same way.”

“But they have to know it’s not right. They don’t have to stay that way. My parents are educated and smart. Somewhere along the way, they learned better. They must have.”

“I think that when the system favors you… When you have an advantage… You play the game.”

“And just ignore everything going on around you?”

“You lived in a white…”

“A white neighborhood. I went to white schools.” Sway paused. “Can’t… You don’t have to see it if you isolate yourself. Then you fucking do everything in your power to make sure minorities, no matter how hard they claw, you make sure they never make it.”

“It’s a fucked up game.”

Sway grinned. “I could have killed myself…and you too. You came for me.”

“I will always come for you. I would give my life for you.”

“I love you, Andre.”

We paused. “Look at this. Look at her, Sway.”

“She’s still staring at them.”

“The thieves.”

“Shit! Our food is getting cold, Daddy!”

“It’ll be okay.”

“Maybe they can reheat it for us!”

“I’m sure they can. Just relax.”

“I’m going to ask!”

“Hey, don’t worry about the food… My only concern is you.” We smiled. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

We caught Tyler’s attention as we entered. She stood. “Was it something I said?”

Creole Gaudet

If you enjoyed this content and would like access to all my books, stories, and series episodes, please visit my Patreon page.

Copyright ©2020 by Creole Gaudet. All rights reserved.

No part of this chronicle may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system – except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review to be printed in a magazine or newspaper – without permission in writing from the publisher, Creole Gaudet.