Not that anyone one could hear me. The radio in my car didn’t work and I couldn’t afford to fix it or get a fancy new CD player. One day, though, when I had my degree in business administration and could finally make something of myself, I’d get a shiny new car. One that didn’t require ten Hail Marys and five Our Fathers in order to get it started every morning.
Seeing a gas station up ahead, I hit my blinker and drove my hand-me-down, four-door, fifteen-year-old Honda Civic up to a pump.
Digging through my purse I found a crumpled up twenty-dollar bill. “Woo hoo!” I did a little chair dance as I opened my wallet and grabbed the two fivers I’d received from a couple of nice people who had tipped me more than expected this evening. Thirty whole bucks on gas…AMEN!
Knowing I didn’t have enough in my bank account to use my card, I dashed into the store, waited my turn in line, and spent my last thirty bucks on gas for my car.
“Thanks, brother.” I waved and headed outside.
While my gas was pumping, I pulled out my phone and scanned the texts.
From: Sonia
I have a dinner in the city next month. Want to be my plus one?
I cringed as I read the message again, thinking of a way I could get out of it. I definitely didn’t want to get all dolled-up prim and proper to go to another one of my sister’s boring political dinners. Sonia was my only living blood relative and also happened to be a state Senator. Yep. The real deal. She managed hundreds of people and an entire state and has been doing so for the last four years. Youngest Senator there ever was. And here I couldn’t even hold down a job at a crummy diner that paid minimum wage.
Skipping over her message I reviewed the next from my foster sister Addison, Addy for short.
From: Addison
Will be in town this weekend. Coming back from a photoshoot with Blessing. She’s down to hook up too. Let’s party!
Now that sounded like fun. Hitting the clubs with two of my foster sisters was exactly what I needed to lift my mood. With fast fingers I responded with a Hell, yeah, and moved on to the next message.
Trey. Ugh.
From: Trey
Hey babe. Sorry about earlier. Still friends?
I rolled my eyes and snarled under my breath, ignoring his text too. God, I hated men like him. They broke your heart but wanted to stay friends? What was that? Then again, it’s not as if I was crying in my ergonomic tennis shoes over our breakup either. The kind thing to do would have been to let him off the hook. After the day I’d had, I was not interested in doing the kind thing, or even the right thing. I was going to let him stew in his crap a little longer, because in truth, the punk ass deserved it.
Making that decision had me feeling a bit more upbeat about everything. Not much, but a little.
The pump clicked that it was done refueling. I replaced the pump, grabbed my receipt, closed the gas cap, and moseyed into my car. As I turned around and got into my seat, I saw the cashier waving both his arms in the air. Weird. I squinted and noted he was making a “come here” gesture.
Whatever it was, I did not have the time to deal with it. So instead I waved wildly and smiled, slammed my door, and motored off into the night toward home. I needed sleep, tequila, and the other half of a burrito I saved from my Chipotle run yesterday.
Mmm. I could already taste the meat, rice, and bean-filled goodness that would hit my belly soon. A little squirt of lime, maybe some sour cream…heaven. My stomach growled and I pressed harder on the gas.
I got about ten minutes away from home, and a good five miles from the gas station I’d just left when suddenly sirens started blaring. I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw red and blue lights flashing behind me. Unfortunately, the car was focused on me and not trying to go around.
Dammit to hell in a handbasket!
What next?
I inhaled full and deep as the tears started pricking the back of my eyes. I could not afford a speeding ticket.
Please, Lord, let him give me a verbal warning. Please, please, please. If you do, I’ll go to that stupid dinner with Sonia and take one