“I can’t go out and celebrate with you tonight. I have to work.” Sabrina headed for her car.
“Yeah, no worries. I have some things I need to take care of.” Like her place. She needed to figure out how she was to fund her design.
“So, I can’t give you a ride.” Sabrina stopped outside her car.
“Oh, ok. That’s all right. I need time to think. See you later.”
Madison headed to the bus that would take her to the train that would take her out of the city and into the neighborhood where she lived. For now. She racked her brain for what would get her the fourteen hundred dollars.
There was no way her mom still had it, and even if she did, she wouldn’t give it back. She had learned that the hard way after too many piggy bank raids.
Her mom was the epitome of a trophy wife, but one on a middle-class budget. She would do whatever she could to get her hands on more money to buy more lavish outfits or whatever she had seen someone else wear, eat, or drink. Her mother wanted to keep up with everyone.
The bus jostled her side to side, and she held her design bag close. All she had done in the internship led to this moment. She had had an idea of what she wanted to do if selected, but now she wanted to do something different. Something wilder. If only she could free up some mental space to work on designs.
Madison boarded the MARC train and sat down. She had taken a seat alone until a man decided to sit by her even though there were plenty of other open seats. She looked at her phone, willing it to tell her how to get the money she needed and to keep the guy from talking to her.
She wasn’t in a relationship and didn’t have any plans or time to even if she wanted to. But she wasn’t a good liar and didn’t like to tell the guys she was in a relationship to get them to back off. They then said, “Oh, your man doesn’t let you have friends?” It would just become a headache.
She’d prefer to be honest and let them know she wasn’t interested, boyfriend or not. She could move to another seat, but she didn’t want to seem rude. It was something she tried to work on. To put herself and her feelings in the top space instead of as an afterthought.
A message popped up on her screen.
—Sabrina: Hey, I know you weren’t planning on working, but something just came up with Randy that I need to do. Can you sub for me pretty please—
Madison’s shoulders relaxed, and she took a deep breath in relief.
—M: Sure, yes of course I can sub for you.—
Things were looking up.
****
Madison changed her clothes and headed to the hospital to visit her brother, Henry. He had been in a regular room but had been moved back to the intensive care unit that day. He just couldn’t seem to catch a break. The breast cancer had spread, and he would get sick between bouts of chemotherapy. He had to fight off pneumonia now. Last month it was bronchitis.
He had used all he earned as a pro NBA star. He received some medical assistance, but it wasn’t enough to cover all of his bills. Madison did her part to help out with the extra expenses as best she could. But her brother still hadn’t learned how to manage his money, so she paid his bills directly when she made payments.
Inside the room, he was hooked up to tubes and wires. The doctors said his kidneys were failing, and he would need a transplant. Madison was a match, but each time the operation was scheduled, Henry came down with an illness and it needed to be postponed. Maybe she couldn’t afford to take a week off.
That would be selfish when Henry needed so much. She sat down beside his bed and touched his hand. He took after their dad. Henry had the same toasted brown skin color and the height. He was asleep but woke up. They weren’t super close, not because they didn’t get along, but because he was ten years older than her. So, they were always in two different stages. It was only now that they started to connect when he had received his diagnosis.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Not too—” He coughed. “—bad.” He did his best to sit up and she rose from the chair to help him.
“Here.” She picked up his water from the beside table and handed it to him. She also plumped up his pillows so he could be more comfortable.
“Thanks.” His voice was raspy with sleep and dryness. “How was work today?”
“It was good. I moved to the next round.”
“Congratulations, I know you’ve worked hard for this since you were little.” Henry fist bumped her hand.
“Thanks.”
“Weren’t you supposed to take a week off?”
“I am.”
