“No. He makes the days better. Even when he’s tripping,” Remedy shared, looking at Ernie work his way around the jukebox. “You just got to live in his world with him. It’s that simple.”
“That’s not logical.”
“It’s not about being logical anymore. It’s about making the time he has left here enjoyable.”
5
Twenty-seven thousand dollars, due by April 4th, were the words typed in red on her phone screen. Although her grandmother’s house was handed over to her with no fight during allocation of assets, the land trust it was supposed to go into was never fully prepared by her father. He’d put his own mother into conservatorship and did a poor job of ensuring the matters were handled. Now, she was stuck with a bill she didn’t even have half the money to take care of.
It couldn’t have come at a worst time. Being fired from the club meant she was going to be right back at the diner pulling doubles to afford basic necessities. The irritation of all this was evident on her face. Whatever was happening on the movie screen was irrelevant compared to what was happening on her phone. Ernie had passed out thirty minutes into the movie like she knew he would, the unwelcomed chaperone was pecking away on his phone and Remedy was consumed by all the things that would fall apart if she didn’t figure out how to make something shake.
She recalled being in this place a year and a half ago when the iron gates closed behind her. At least the pole was a place she could forget the pain, betrayal, and embarrassment and make enough money to support herself.
Remedy: Any gigs?
Desi: There’s a rapper, YN3Dub. He’s having a party at his spot. A band?
Remedy: when?
Desi: end of the week
Remedy: I’m in
Locking her phone, she looked up to see the movie credits rolling and Ernie pulling himself out of his nap. There was nothing more she wanted than to be free of Erys’ stare. It was all consuming like he was trying to bare into her soul and see whatshe was made of. Ever since that bloodied, battered day, she’d sworn off men, no matter how captivating he was.
“Ready to go home, Ernie?” she softly asked, stretching and standing to her feet.
He nodded, then asked, “Can I get some smothered pork chops for dinner?”
Remedy nodded, unable to ever tell him no. Even if she didn’t have it, she’d make a way. For him. Still she found it crazy that her best friend was a man nearly double her age with dementia.
“Sure. Can I get a nap and clean my house before I cook?” she queried.
“Yeah,” he buzzed, walking toward the exit behind her. “Erys, you eat pork or are you going to have wheatgrass or some shit.”
“Depends, can she cook?” Erys asked.
“For who she wants. She might fuck around and poison you,” Remedy shot back. “It’d kill you to be decent, wouldn’t it.”
“I paid for breakfast and the movie, I’m decent,” Erys shot back.
Remedy was growing increasingly annoyed by his presence and personality. Hot and cold and only one of the Moore men had a viable excuse to be a dick. “Nigga, I’ll give you you’re funky sixty-eight dollars and twenty-three cents back. Fuck you getting at?”
“That I’m decent,” he snipped back.
Remedy groaned and walked away. “Yeah, Ernie, I’ll bringyousomething to eat.”
She wanted to be sure that her emphasis was understood. She ordered the minimal amount of food she would need to make Ernie his requested dinner. When they got back to their corner of Trae Way, she hopped out, grabbed her bags, and quickened to her house.
A sigh of relief fell from her lips as she dropped her folded laundry by the door and kicked her shoes off. Dropping herphone and keys, she roamed down the hall to wash the day off. Clothes were put away, house was straightened up and she was starting on the dinner for one. When everything was packaged up, she walked across her yard into Ernie’s. Erys was on the porch with the phone pressed to his ear.
Remedy wasn’t trying to hear whatever he was saying but couldn’t help but overhear it.
“Soon as possible would be great. He doesn’t need a full suite, just a room for him and his things…from my understanding he roams at night…how soon? Tomorrow morning? Yeah, that’ll work,” Erys spoke, feeling Remedy’s eyes bearing into him.
She nodded when she locked eyes with him. Nothing but unmistakable anger on her face as she whisked in the house finding Ernie knocked out on the couch. Remedy put the Tupperware bowl in the microwave and hurried back outside, not caring if Erys’ conversation was over or not.
“You came back to drag him off to some nursing home?” she snapped. “Do you know what that place will do to him?”
