Juicy put her hands on her hips and stretched her back. She felt it crack and sighed in relief. Oh that was good…"Mama I want pink bows.""Okay, Miss bossy." Jazzy was bouncing up and down on her butt in the salon chair. She was a bundle of energy. That girl could run from sunup to sundown. Troy was always there, running right beside her."She will tire out on her own as long as we let her run it out of her system," is what he would say when she would get tired just watching the tot run in circles. It was a good thing that the house they'd moved into had a huge back yard and all kinds of play equipment. Troy and Dad had even built her a little playhouse where no one complained if she wrote on the walls or left her toys on the floor.Juicy brushed her little girl's dark hair around her finger until they formed ringlets that touched her shoulders. Then she tied two big pink bows around each of the pigtails."Look at me Aunt Eboni!" Jazzy stood up in the chair.Ebonique re
Troy got behind the wheel and started the car. He had been seizure free for almost three years. And before that he'd had only one in the entire year. Of course he had to take his medication regularly, and if he noted that he was having any of the signals, like repetitive tapping of his fingers or feet then he anticipated one and could put himself in a safe position. There had been no need for that for several years.Jazzy had lost interest in her book in less than a minute and they were doing a sing-a-long. Soon Troy was singing by himself. He looked in the rear view mirror and his daughter was staring off into space. Her pretty rosebud mouth was slightly ajar and her body had gone slack. A few moments later her eyes blinked and she got quiet as she turned to the window to stare at the passing scenery. His lips were a grim line as he took all of it in.Janet had said that it was normal for kids to have absence seizures and that she might grow out of hers without the need for
Juicy was in a rage. She couldn't remember ever being so mad...well, actually, she could. Her rages were a frequent occurrence. But not like this. This time they had messed with the wrong sista.The damned homeless guy had jinxed her. She was convinced that if not for his comments everything would have turned out differently. Maybe it was superstitious, but she knew that people crossed their fingers, and said their prayers and made the sign of the evil eye in order to avoid bad mojo. Well for Juicy it was conflict that had to be avoided. Conflict would take over; sink its claws in deep then leave its permeance, its taint in place of all her good intentions.She had cut through the alley to get to the bank so that she could take care of her business before her next bus was due. If she missed this bus there would not be another for two hours. She had meant to get here earlier but had messed around too long in the mirror trying to look both business-professional and sexy.It had tak
Shit! She had forgotten all about that bum in the alley, and she had forgotten all about reporting him to the authorities. She had quite a list going of all the people she planned to report!"And you can shut your filthy mouth!" Juicy snapped while stalking past him. This time it was he that followed her with his eyes.She suddenly came to a halt. He wanted to mess with her? Then she was going to let him have it, too. Make her feel bad about herself? She'd tell him exactly what she thought about him."I'm a whore? I'm wearing a two hundred fifty dollar outfit from Macy's, hundred dollar shoes, jewelry worth even more then that...and I ain't never had to sell my ass to get what I got! What do you got?" She scowled.The man's lip twitched."Exactly!" You ain't got shit! Sitting in an alley trying to get laid and you're nothing but white trash!" She pointed a French manicured nail at him. "You're less than white trash! You look down your nose at me and you can't even kiss my black as
Something smelled so bad that it cut through Juicy's unconsciousness. Her head moved slowly from side to side. The pain in the back of her head was magnificent. She sucked in a breath before remembering that the smell was also magnificent. She tried to bring her hand up to her nose and that hurt so much that she let it fall back to the ground.No...not ground. She was lying on layers of something. What? She wasn't sure but it wasn't the cement ground of the alley. Juicy's eyes widened. Where was she and how had she gotten here?"You're not going to scream anymore, are you?"The voice was mumbled and low. Juicy couldn't see Mr. Cracker. She wasn't in the alley but inside now. It was dark, but not completely. There were candles lit.Juicy's stomach suddenly flipped and she was able to turn her head and vomit. Ahhh. And that was the source of the smell. It wasn't the first time she'd been sick.She moaned. "W-where am I?"Mr. Cracker slowly unfolded his squatting form from the shad
Juicy had liked Mr. Benson, but Momma didn't lie; she left him for someone that had a nice car. But this new man did not make her laugh nearly as much as Charlie Benson had.There were times in Juicy's life when her Momma was both her biggest love and her biggest fear. She wasn't afraid of her directly. She was afraid of what her Momma could do. White people couldn't be trusted, they were devils, they would stab you in the back. Juicy had grown up with these words all of her life. White people weren't too bad in her opinion. Her teachers were nice, the doctor gave her a sucker, the butcher winked at her and smiled.But Momma always had something bad to say about them and every time they drove through the white neighborhoods, Momma would throw her trash out the window."Momma, that's littering! You shouldn't do that!""Girl, I know it's wrong to litter!" She would snap while smoking her cigarette and looking mean. "But they dump they trash in our neighborhood and no one
"What's wrong with you?" She passed him a slice of butter cake that she had packed for him. He took it but did not make a move to eat it.He looked at her suddenly. "Juicy, when you look at me what do you see?""What?" She shrugged. "Felix, who else?"He closed his eyes slowly and sighed. He looked at her again. "No really. What do you see, if you didn't know me, what's your first impression?"Juicy munched her cake and squinted. "I see a light skinned guy, with light eyes. Sixteen. Thin build but in shape. Hmmm, dress nice-""You see a sixteen year old boy." He repeated."You are a sixteen year old boy, Felix.""You don't see a fag? A queer, a punk, a sissy-""What the hell?!" She hollered in alarm. "What brought that on?""Because that's what everybody else sees." His light eyes flashed, then he calmed and the fire went out.Juicy did not like seeing him like this. She was quiet for a minute. "Is there anybody in particular that we're talking about?"He turned to h
The world spun but not in a bad way. It was nice, like being held in Momma's arms when she was a baby. Momma¡Juicy nestled her head against the warmth; that spot under Momma's chin¡ªHer eyes popped open. Her head was being nestled under someone's chin alright...but it wasn't Momma's!Mr. Cracker looked at her. He didn't seem to be very happy. Juicy's face twisted in a grimace of pain when her head whipped around to stare at him. Mr. Cracker was carrying her and they were heading out of the building and into the dark alley that she had so recently been attacked."They wouldn't come, lady." He mumbled."What?" She asked. What was he talking about?He was carrying her like a baby and they were hurrying down the sidewalk now. How strange...Juicy wrapped in a dirty blanket being carried down the street by a crazy homeless man. Surreal was the word. She'd always read of it but never thought she'd experience it."I tried to bring them but they wouldn't come. We are invisible, you know that