I had been mentoring him for the last year, and we had grown close. I had barely saved him from joining a gang, as he was heading down the wrong path when we met. He still had some anger and resentment about himself, but nothing like when I first met him. It was mostly because of his financial struggles these days.
“They’re doing good. My little brother is on the A-honor roll still, and my dad got a promotion on his job.”
“That’s what’s up. How about you? How are things looking on the job front?”
He shook his head. “Not too good, man. I feel like I’m running in circles and running out of options. Nothing has panned out. Graduation and my eighteenth birthday are right around the corner–two days apart, in fact—and I have no plans. Let alone figuring out how I’ma take care of my little guy.”
At seventeen, he was about to be a father. He couldn’t find a job, and his grades weren’t good enough to get him into a traditional college.
I pulled my wallet out and handed him a few business cards. “Check in at each of these places. You might find that your luck will change. If you need anything else, just let me know.”
He stared at the card, bobbed his head, and smiled for the first time since his arrival. “Thanks, H,” he declared, dapping me up.
“A’ight. Call if you need anything at all, Hollis. I’m not playing.”
“I know,” he replied, nodding again before he ran off to catch up with his friends who had already left the gym.
“You still thinking about hiring him at the barbershop?” August asked after Hollis left.
“I am, but I want him to put in the work to try to do this on his own first. It’s like I said, nothing will come easy for these kids. Their lives are a far cry from mine, and I want them to be strong and prepared for the stuff life throws at them. I’ve got his back, but he needs to learn the value of hard work and good work ethics first, not to mention perseverance.”
“There you go. You’re on the right track,” August replied. “Just remember to maintain boundaries; otherwise, you can become too caught up in their problems.”
When I initially thought about hiring him, August told me to slow up and think about it. He didn’t say why, other than that he wanted to make sure that I was making the best decision for Hollis and myself. I had often given Hollis odd jobs, but he needed something stable.
“You’re right.”
“A’ight, man. I have to get out of here and get home to Rose. She’s got something special planned for us this afternoon.”
“That’s wassup. I need to head out and pick up a few things for someone myself.”
“Anyone I know?” he asked with a sly smile.
“Nah. She’s someone new, but I’m determined to be all up in her space, if she lets me.”
“Good luck.”
We dapped each other up, and I headed to the mall to pick up a few items. Before I got to the mall, I stopped at a specialty cooking shop for restaurants to pick up a few baker gifts. While shopping there, I found a cute matching pink bib apron and chef’s toque with yellow piping and a set of rolling pins.
After leaving the store, I headed into a personalized and custom gift shop to drop the items off. I requested that her name be stitched on the center of her toque. I requested they place a sticky bun with the words “Baby Got Buns” on the center of her apron, and I wanted her name stitched at the top of the bib.
The items wouldn’t be ready for a couple of days. I grabbed a bottle of champagne and flowers before I headed back to our side of the town.
I had a few appointments that I needed to take care of before I went to see her. Time seemed to drag by while I was cutting hair, and I wished that it would speed up so that I could see her. Professionalism was everything to me, and no matter how bad I wanted to see her, I wasn’t about to fuck up any of my clients on a rush job. I prided myself on precision and the best cuts in the city.
I didn’t get out of my shop until a few minutes before five, and I whispered a prayer of thanks when I saw her car still parked in its usual spot. There were a few other cars there, also, and I assumed they might belong to her new staff. The contractors usually parked out back, close to the dumpsters.
I headed across the street and tapped on her shop door when I saw them sitting at tables, kicking it. She was leaning against the pastry case, and she smiled when she saw me.
That little reaction caused my heart to do a little backflip like I used to do when I was a kid. I couldn’t help but smile. I barely knew this girl, but I couldn’t lie; she had my head gone already.
She pushed off the case and walked to the door to unlock it.
“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked, holding the door open for me.
“Just checking in on you, seeing how things are coming along,” I replied, looking around at the group of nine people. “Did I interrupt a staff meeting?”
“No, we were finished. We were just sitting around and kicking it. Harlem, this is everyone. Everyone, this is Harlem. He owns the barber and beauty salon across the street,” she introduced with a beatific smile when she looked at me again.
