sittinâ here memorizinâ my lines.â
âCongrats, brutha! Whatâs it about?â
âGlenn Burke. He was a baseball player.â
âAh. What was he, another Jackie Robinson or somethinâ?â
âUh . . . in a way.â
âCool. You deserve it, man. You done paid your dues, overtime. We gotta celebrate. And I just happen to have comps tonight for that spot I was tellinâ you about the other day.â
âNah. I just wanna chill tonight.â
âYou just wanna chill every night.â
âI got a jood reason. Iâm gonna be carryinâ a film. I gotta prepare.â
âI know you donât start filminâ on Monday.â
âNo, but I canât take any chances. I also gotta rest up for the party tomorrow.â
âAll you gotta do is be there, yo.â
âDealinâ with a house full of teenagers? Iâm gonna need all the rest I can get.â
âYou need to get outta that house.â He sounds like Raheimâs father. Theyâve both been on him about holding himself prisoner in the apartment. âCome on. We can have a victory dinner before. My treat.â
He ate not too long ago but never turns down free food. âAâight. Where you wanna meet?â
âYou gonna drive into the city?â
âYeah. Itâll be a hassle findinâ a parkinâ space, but I donât wanna be bothered with public trans.â
âAâight. You can come by the job to pick me up. Iâm gonna be in the office for another hour.â After graduating from Baruch in 1999 with a degree in business administration, Angel won an internship at Nickelodeon that turned into a full-time gig as a production assistant. Last November, he became an assistant producer on The Brothers Garcia .
âIâll be there around nine.â
âJood. See ya in a bit.â
âAâight.â
âOne.â
âOne.â
Chapter 7
âW ell itâs about time, Mommie Queer est!â
âGene greeted Mitchell as they embraced at the bar in Dayoâs, a Caribbean/soul-food restaurant on the outskirts of the Vill that the Children have claimed as their own on Friday nights. Mitchell was meeting Gene and his other best friends, Babyface and B.D., there for dinner. Now that all their lives had become so much more busy, they always set aside one night on the weekend each month to get together.
âIf Iâm Mommie Queerest, youâre Auntie Mame,â Mitchell shot back.
âIndeed. But the Rosalind Russell version, not Lucille Ball. We all hated Lucy in that. You donât have the kiddies this eve, so why are you late?â
âJust because the kiddies are away doesnât mean there isnât work to be done around the house.â
âAnd just because youâre a housemaker with two-point-five children does not mean you become a hermit.â
âPoint-five?â
âYes. Goldie.â
âOf course.â Gene had purchased a goldfish for Destiny for her fifth birthday.
âAnd how is my Baby?â Thatâs how Gene refers to Destiny; heâs one of her four godfathers (Babyface, B.D., and Raheim being the others), but knows heâs number one.
âSheâs jood. Are Babyface and B.D. here?â
He turned to the left. âOver there.â They were seated at a booth. âI had to get my drink.â
âWhereâs the waiter?â
âWeâve been waiting for him to come back for ten minutes.â
A buffed Latino gent sauntered by, grinning at Mitchell. Mitchell nodded at him. âWell, food and drink arenât whatâs really on the menu up in here.â
âIt shoâ nuff ainât. But our waiter is not a smart cookie: I asked for a cranberry and orange juice and the boy brought me a glass of orange juice and a glass of cranberry juice.â This is the strongest thing Geneâll drink: he gave up the hard
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