“What’s up?” he slowly asked, causing her cheeks to lift into a grin.
“Danyelle. From Cove Tech. I lost about thirty pounds.” She giggled as recognition set in on Brazil’s face.
“Oh yeah, what’s up? You actually look the same, though. It’s been a minute.”
“Yeah, it has. How have you been?” She was seated a few barstools down from him with a glass in front of her. They had taken an English class together, and she was very quiet. Brazil couldn’t remember her having ever spoken ten words that weren’t because the professor asked her a question.
“I’ve been pretty good. How about yourself?”
Danyelle inhaled deeply through her nose. “I’ve been…”—she held her half-empty glass up—“happy divorce to me.”
Brazil saw that she clearly wasn’t happy about being divorced and that she was drinking her troubles away. The bartender appeared to take his order, and he requested a double shot of Henny and whatever Danyelle was drinking.
“Thank you.” She smiled at him after the bartender asked her what she wanted.
“No problem.”
Brazil went back to figuring out what he wanted to eat. Once he made his mind up, his head lifted, and he noticed Danyelle staring up at the TV that was mounted above the bar with a somber expression on her face. Clearly, she was in her feelings, but he wasn’t a counselor. Brazil was torn between asking her if she wanted to talk about it or simply minding his business. His drink was placed in front of him, and Brazil took a large sip.
“Do you mind if I move closer, so I won’t have to shout? Or would you prefer to be alone?” she asked. Brazil didn’t mind the company, so he jerked his head to the side.
“Come on.”
Danyelle wasted no time easing off the barstool, and that was confirmation that she desperately wanted to vent. Once she was seated beside him, she took a sip of her drink. “I’m not weird, and I’m not going to talk you to death. Just wanted to catch up a little.”
“It’s cool. I’m just in here to grab a bite to eat and have a drink or two before I go home and turn in.”
“You’re not the type to hang out, huh?”
“Not really. It has to be a special occasion most of the time.”
“Oh okay. Yeah, I don’t do much, either. I spent the last five years being a wife. I don’t have kids, and he didn’t want me to work, so I was Susie Homemaker. I rarely hung out with friends. Most I would do is go to my mom or my sister’s house.”
“Why did you get divorced? If you don’t mind me asking.”
Another sip had Brazil’s body warming just that fast. His body loosened, and he felt relaxed.
“He cheated on me and got his mistress pregnant.” Danyelle chuckled, but Brazil knew for certain she didn’t find the situation funny. “We’ve been trying for the last two years, and I haven’t gotten pregnant. I had just worked up the nerve to go to a fertility specialist. I was afraid before. Afraid that she’d tell me I was broken. That I could never have children or if I did, it would cost us thousands upon thousands of dollars that we didn’t have. I didn’t get the chance, though. His baby mama reached out to me and kindly made me aware that she was having twin boys. Double the knife in my back.” Danyelle chuckled again and lifted her glass for a sip.
“That’s tough,” Brazil countered. “I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
“I guess it’s my own fault, really. The signs were there. I just refused to see them. And even after he disrespected our marriage and hurt me beyond repair,hewas the one that filed for divorce. I didn’t want to be with him anymore, anyway, but the fact that he beat me to the punch and filed first was like another slap in the face. The sheriff actually came to the house and served me. You know how embarrassing that was?” Her voice cracked, and Brazil hoped she didn’t start crying.
“Damn,” he mumbled. “He sounds like a grade-A fuck nigga.”
Laughing through her tears, Danyelle dabbed at the corner of her eye with her knuckle. “That is a perfect way to describe him. Enough of my sad story. What did you do after college?”
“I started playing professional soccer.”
His comment made Danyelle’s jaw slack. “Really? That is so awesome. I love it. I don’t know any Black boys or men that play soccer.”
“Yeah, I love it. It’s pretty cool doing something that I love as a career. I have three brothers and cousins, so I don’t really need friends. If I’m not playing soccer or with family, I used to travel for leisure quite a bit, but I recently got full custody of my daughter, so I’m getting into the rhythm of that.”
“Congratulations. Children are a blessing. Some of us took that for granted until we started trying for our own and found out it’s not always that easy.”
Brazil finished off his drink and ordered another. When his food came, he dug in while listening Danyelle bounce from subject to subject. He could tell when she started feeling the alcohol because she seemed less sad and more flirtatious. When he was done eating, she boldly asked him what he was doing after.
“I’m gonna go home and catch up on my rest while my daughter is with her cousin.
