A Woman’s Work: Street Chronicles (6 page)

Before walking into Justin’s I stopped, straightened out my one and only outfit, and reapplied my makeup and perfume so that no one would guess that my fly dirty ass was a pauper beneath all this beauty.

I walked through the front entrance of the restaurant in complete amazement at how elaborate it was. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and chic furniture and flat-screen televisions were displayed throughout. From the very moment I entered, I knew this was what you call fine dining, which frightened the fuck out of me because I would probably spend my life’s savings in here on a glass of water. Feeling overwhelmed and out of place, I turned to walk back out just as the hostess arrived to seat me.

“Table for one?” she politely asked. I felt like Florida Evans from
Good Times
because although I was smiling, in my mind I was screaming
damn, damn, damn!
God knows I wanted to walk out, but the captivating aroma of all those lovely soul-food meals was holding my stomach hostage. I guess I could just order something from the appetizer menu and drink a glass of water.

“Yes, I’ll be eating alone, thank you,” I replied as I followed her to my seat.

“Here’s your table, ma’am.” She walked over, stood in front of the table, and pointed at my seat. “Okay, ma’am, your waitress, Amanda, will be over shortly. If you need any assistance before she arrives, just let me know. Enjoy your stay here at Justin’s.” I smiled and thanked her for the hospitality.

Although I didn’t really want to be there, I found comfort in my surroundings. As I looked around at everyone eating their meals, seemingly without any cares or worries, I kept telling myself that I would be in that state of mind very soon.

“Hello, welcome to Justin’s. I’m Amanda. Can I start you out with an appetizer and a drink?” Start me out with an appetizer and a drink? I wanted to tell the bitch that’s all I’d be eating, so she could start me out and finish me up with an appetizer and some water, to be exact.

I looked down at my menu and saw that the cheapest appetizer was the Caribbean egg roll, which was seven dollars. To be honest, the prices were extremely reasonable, but I didn’t have room
to splurge, and on my fixed income $7.00 was over the top. I had plenty of time to come back here and eat lavishly after I got my record deal. I couldn’t afford any appetizer, so I simply ordered a side order. “Yes, I’ll have an order of rice and peas with any kind of gravy on top and a glass of water without ice.”

“You want an order of rice and peas with gravy and nothing else?” she sarcastically asked while looking at me as if she was waiting for the punch line of a joke. After waiting for a moment and seeing the self-conscious look on my face, I think she caught on that I was dead serious. “Will that be all tonight, ma’am?”

“Yes, I just ate about an hour ago. I’m just trying to kill time before meeting some friends. I heard the rice and peas and gravy is to die for.”

“Is that right?” Amanda replied with a look on her face that assured me that she knew I was lying my ass off. “So that’s one order of rice and peas with gravy and a glass of water with no ice? Would you like some lemon with your water?”

“Yes,” I replied, feeling extremely embarrassed about my situation. I felt lower than the belly of a pregnant worm.

I sat at the table for about ten minutes stressing over my situation and was about to just swallow my pride and walk out when Amanda returned with my order. She had placed my plate on the table and started to walk away when I noticed that she had messed up big-time.

“Umm, excuse me, Amanda,” I softly called out. “This isn’t what I ordered. Remember I ordered …”

“You ordered the rice and peas with gravy,” she interjected. “There’s rice and peas with gravy on your plate.”

“Yes, but there’s also fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and collard greens on there. Plus, I ordered water and this looks like iced tea.” How could someone fuck up an order so simple? If she thinks she’s going to trick me into eating this shit and then being stuck with the bill, she had another think coming.

“Look, sweetie, I’ve been working here long enough to know that no one orders off the side menu
alone
unless they can’t afford what they really want. Try that chicken. It’s very popular here.”

“But Amanda, I can’t afford any of this,” I replied with tears in my eyes. “I barely have money for the rice and peas and water.”

“I figured that much. Don’t worry about the bill. I got you covered. Eat up. It’s on the house.” She winked and walked over to another table as I sat speechless and utterly thankful. I hadn’t eaten in almost two days, and I didn’t know where to dig in first. If I’d had the power to stuff the entire plate into my mouth, believe me, I would have. Amanda just didn’t know what she’d done for me tonight. She was truly a lifesaver.

What should have taken me thirty minutes to eat I consumed in less than fifteen. I even chewed the chicken bones until they were damn near nonexistent.

Amanda walked back over with a form and a pen and said, “Here, fill this out and give it back to me when you’re done.”

“What’s this?” I asked, feeling very leery about signing anything. Signing shit without reading it is what got me in this predicament in the first place.

“One of our waitresses quit today and we’re short staffed. If you’re looking for a job, fill this out. I’ve got pull in here, and can get you working as early as tomorrow evening.”

I couldn’t believe the words coming out of her mouth. I’ve heard of being in the right place at the right time, and I know that God works in mysterious ways, but this was unbelievable. Finding a job had never even crossed my mind but it made perfect sense. I was incredibly appreciative of all Amanda’s help, but I couldn’t help but wonder why she was so caring and supportive to a perfect stranger. And most important, how does she know my situation so well?

“Not that I’m being ungrateful for what you’ve done for me,
because I’m truly thankful, but why are you helping me so much when you don’t know me?”

Amanda quickly looked around, took a seat at my table, and began to explain. “I’m being so nice to you because I was in your place about two years ago when I moved here to pursue my modeling career. I see a lot of people come through these doors with hopes, dreams, and no money. Shit, girl, I was living out of my car for three month before I got this job. I know the state of mind I was in and wouldn’t wish that on my worst enemy, so I try to offer people the help I never got. You look very young, and Atlanta could chew you into a million pieces and swallow you if you’re not grounded. I don’t know what your motivation is for being out here, but take my advice, always put reality before fantasy.”

Amanda then got up and continued to do her rounds. I sat there thinking about the knowledge that she’d just dropped in my lap. I hurried to fill out that application as if my life depended on it; well, it actually did.

When I finished completing the application, I motioned for Amanda to come pick it up. She looked it over, gave it back, and pointed out that I had missed a very important question. “Umm, sweetie, you forgot something very important. You need to put an address down. You don’t have to actually live there; just ask a friend or family member if you can use their address for employment purposes.”

Again I sighed as I came to another wall in front of me. “I don’t have an address, and I don’t have any friends or family living out here. I literally just came off the highway from Pennsylvania a few hours ago. As a matter of fact, the only clothes I have are the ones on my back. I planned on living out of my car until I found somewhere to live just like you did.”

“Oh, you think it’s that easy?” she asked. It was as if she’d jumped out of the nice-waitress role into that of a protective
mother. “I’m telling you, you’re heading down a dangerous path, little girl.” She stood and stared into space like she was contemplating something. She kept looking over at me and shaking her head just like my parents used to do. Then, after an extremely long deliberation, she threw a generous offer on the table. “Listen, I live not too far from here. I planned on looking for a roommate in the near future anyway, so if you want, you can stay with me rent free for a month. After that we have to split everything fifty-fifty. I’m talking about rent, utilities, cable, phone, groceries, and anything else to do with the apartment. It’s a one bedroom, but the couch in the living room folds out into a bed. That’s the best I can offer.”

“That’s more than okay with me,” I replied. I felt overwhelmed with joy because my luck was finally taking a turn for the better. “Amanda, I truly think you’re my guardian angel. You’ve shown me more love than I’ve ever known. Thank you, girl. I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

“Yeah, I may seem like a guardian angel now, but trust me, I can be a bitch too. You just hold down your end and keep your promise and you won’t see that ugly side of me. I’m about to get off in thirty minutes or so. You can wait for me outside until then.”

This girl could have been a bitch, a witch, and a snitch and it really wouldn’t have mattered to me. She had a roof over her head and very soon so would I. Amanda proceeded to walk off but suddenly stopped to ask, “Hey, roomie, by the way, what’s your name?” We had already sealed the deal regarding being roommates without even formally introducing ourselves to each other.

We both burst out laughing and I answered, “It’s on the application. My name is Melissa … Melissa James. You’ll be hearing that name on all the radio stations very soon.”

“Is that right?” she asked while still laughing. “Just be sure to remember to show me some love when you’re doing those radio
interviews. Give a shout-out to the ‘ever so sexy’ Italian bombshell Amanda Scintilla.”

Scintilla? I knew this girl was mixed with something. She was tall and light-skinned, with beautiful bold eyes, and had long dark curly hair that fell to her ass. And it was no wonder she was a model; she had a washboard stomach and a bodacious yet toned ass and curvy hips. She was an exceedingly gorgeous woman.

“You’ll be the first one I give a shout-out,” I assured her as I gathered my belongings and exited the restaurant. I waited outside in my car for her to get off work. I used that alone time to reflect on my past, present, and future. I even thought of my parents for the first time in a long time and wondered if they were thinking of me. I remembered that my father had said the door would always be open, but I wondered if the offer still stood. The way I saw it, if they had really wanted me, they would have found me and tried to take me home a long time ago.

I thought of Tiffany, Jasmine, and Mrs. Tarsha, although those thoughts were way different from the ones I had for my parents. Those bitches were on my payback list, and I would get them for what they did to me if it killed me. I looked down at Fatz’s cell phone number sitting in my ashtray and thought about the show I had just put on in his truck. And, yes, I do feel utterly ashamed of having sex with him so quickly, but time is money, and I desperately needed his help. I compromised my body and self-respect but it was all in good faith.

Now, here I am about to live with yet another person who could kick me out whenever she pleased and I could possibly end up back on the streets again. No, I wasn’t going to let that happen this time around. I’m not getting comfortable here, and will always be on my grind from here on out because it’s about time for me to have my own. Amanda seemed like a very nice girl, but I always say if it’s too good to be true, then it probably is.

I sat in my car for a while singing and writing a heartfelt song about life as I perceived it. After that, I drifted off to sleep. I had just dozed off when Amanda knocked on my window. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” she joked. “You better watch how you fall asleep around here. This is Atlanta, girl; you might wake up with a dick in your mouth.” I quickly jumped up out of my sleep, almost forgetting where the hell I was as she sat down in my car. “Real talk, Melissa, it’s crazy out here, girl. I could have been a rapist and it would have been easy for me to get in your car, stick a gun in your side, and make you drive to a secluded area before raping and killing your ass.”

“Oh, I just dozed off a minute or so ago. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Okay, make a right at the light and then a quick left by the gas station.” I followed her directions and in less than two minutes, we were parked outside her condo. She wasn’t lying when she said she lived near the restaurant.

As soon as we entered, Amanda gave me a tour of her chic, neatly furnished condo. I could tell she had good taste. Her red-and-cream living room set and carpet complemented each other perfectly. Even her paintings and accessories were very bold and dazzling. She had pictures of herself from various magazines displayed in crystal picture frames throughout the apartment. I still couldn’t believe I was actually living with a model. I had really hit the jackpot this time around.

Amanda showed me where everything was and told me to make myself at home. I felt extremely happy, to the point that my eyes felt like they were dancing to the cheerful beat of my heart.

As soon as I walked into Amanda’s bedroom, it was apparent that she was a model. Fashion magazines were thrown everywhere, along with a million and one outfits, shoe boxes, and accessories. She showed me her portfolio, which was quite impressive. The girl was out here doing her thing, and I knew right
then and there that I was right where I needed to be. We sat up and exchanged stories about our pasts, and both promised to help each other as much as possible. I didn’t know this girl, but somehow she felt like the sister I never had. We had a lot in common, including our birthdays; how ironic is that? It totally freaked me out, but I knew God always worked things out and this was his plan for me.

I took the liberty of taking a long, well-deserved bubble bath, which felt like winning a million bucks. The heat felt soothing to my skin, and for the first time since I touched base in this city, I could sincerely say that I felt a sense of home. I wasn’t stressing or worrying about where my next meal was going to come from. I wasn’t thinking about where I was going to lay my head night after night. True, I was sleeping on someone’s couch, but I was extremely grateful.