Alliyah

She should have been thinking about the job but as she took a bite from the sandwich, her mind was occupied thinking: she never used to call me by my first name before the tsunami. I wonder what that means.

Then shook her head off the thought:

“I don’t wanna be an artist. Well, not professionally. My art will simply be discovered after I tragically die, let’s say, from falling off a chair. Or hitting my head after slipping on butter.”

She could see Rayne trying not to laugh, as she stole a sip from her milkshake. The smaller girl then slid the cup back to her side and sat up straighter on her side of the booth:

“Okay, but do consider it. It’s well paid, and you’ll be surrounded by art, which I thought you would enjoy.”

“I mean look who’s talking, you also like art.”

“Yes and I do share my own.”

“Wait, what?!”

Rayne took her time chewing a larger bite of pancake. Then slowly took another sip of Alliyah’s beverage:

“I post my sketches online, yes. Under a pseudonym.” She dragged the words.

“That’s so cool! Do you get paid?”

“Yes, but I donate to a program that helps rehabilitate troubled young people through art creating.”

Alliyah crooked her head, her features softening:

“You may not smile at strangers like I do, but you sure as hell are as selfless and committed to making the world a better place as much as I am.”

Rayne shrugged:

“It is easy with my parents' money”.

“Yet, most rich old white dudes don’t do it.”

“Touche.”

“Don’t undermine yourself, love. There’s plenty of people willing to do it for you out there. Besides, do you think I would date someone who is anything less than exceptional?”

She winked before taking a satisfying bite off her sandwich and enjoying the taste of the runny egg yolk on her tongue.

She knew Rayne was going to protest but stopped when her phone rang:

“It’s Ocean.” She announced.

Alliyah simply gave an acknowledging nod due to her mouth being too full for her to talk before Rayne accepted the call:

“…At Punk’s with Alliyah… Ummh, okay.” Rayne handed the phone to her. “He wants to talk to you.”

Alliyah corrected:

“It’s pronounced ‘Pink’s’ by the way, baby.”

“No, it’s not.” Rayne insisted.

Alliyah turned her attention to the phone call:

“What do you want?”

“Come to the skate-park.”

“Rayne and I already have plans.”

Rayne looked at her as if asking ‘We do?’.

“Come on! I haven’t seen any of you much since you came back. Everyone’s here. Colson is trying to get Mariam high, and she’s desperately trying to explain The Quran to him.”

Alliyah almost choked on the sandwich, as she heard those words. After she stopped laughing, she asked:

“Is Z there?”

“Yes!”

“Get her on the phone.”

It took a few seconds before she heard:

“Hey, pup.”

“How’s school going? You staying out of trouble?”

“Yes…” She answered in an annoyed tone.

“Tell her you have a surprise for her!” Alliyah heard Ocean’s voice in the background.

“No, she’s with her girlfriend, you-”

“See, you gotta get in here before the scooter kids arrive.” Ocean must have stolen the phone back.

“Nah, I’ll stay with Rayne, but we’ll see you at the Halloween party.”

She hung up the phone and finished the sandwich.

“Why don’t you want to go?” Rayne asked softly, but her eyes were half-closed, her long lashes almost covering them, in suspicion.

Alliyah thought about lying, pretending, or joking but opted for a genuine answer:

“I wanna be with you.” She briefly paused. “And then I’ll do some painting or drawing, before checking out that art gallery.”

“So you are deliberating it.”

“Yes. I’m considering it. And maybe other jobs that also allow me to be around art. Maybe at a museum. I was enjoying the idea of a job at a pet store but… I don’t know. I’ll look into it, though. Thanks for thinking of me.”

She quickly averted her gaze, feeling oddly vulnerable. Thank you for thinking of me. What a thing to say to a lover.

After a moment of quiet, she restarted:

“I used to want to achieve greatness, you know?” Her eyes drifted back to Rayne’s attentive gaze. “Everyone who knew me back then insisted that I had to leave Detroit and go to college, I had to go to a big city and become famous or whatever.”

She looked down at her fingers as they fiddled with her ring:

“They made me believe that not only I had to make a bunch of money and the Smith name had to be known… They additionally made me believe that that’s what I wanted, too.”

She glanced around the diner, some customers walked in and laughed heartily; she started playing with the buttons on her overalls.

“Call me gullible, but I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m better off with a nine to five job, that gives me plenty of time to spend with the people I care about and take care of myself.“

Rayne offered a soft smile:

“I’m glad that you came... To that conclusion. I hope- no, I know that you are going to find that job and live that life. You are too amazing to be afraid of success.”

Alliyah melted into a smile and reached for her hand across the table. Then composed herself in her seat, and took a deep breath:

“Wanna walk Arrow and Snow with me?”

“Surely.”

The women strolled through the park, Alliyah’s arm around her girlfriend’s shoulders, as the dogs wandered and played off-leash. The Doberman was much more playful and energetic than the Pit-bull.

“You never told me their story” Rayne noted, nodding towards the dogs.

Alliyah took a deep breath before talking:

“Snow was about to die in a shelter… You can imagine how people view a Doberman, especially when they have their ears cropped up, or whatever it’s called.” She rolled her eyes. “But Arrow… She was being mistreated by her owner.”

“Oh, no.”

“Right there on the street, can you believe it?”

“What did you do…?” Rayne inquired but already knew the answer.

“I took her from his hands and kicked his stupid face.”

“That’s my girlfriend.” She hugged her and smiled. “I’m glad she found a happy home. Well, the happy home found her.”

They sat down on a bench.

“Wait, what about Rusty?”

Alliyah smiled, before elucidating:

“Lamar kinda demanded her for his birthday. A friend of his owned a cat who had just had a bunch of kitties, and Lamar was enamored by the tiny void with green eyes.”

“Aw, and you did it.”

“I’m as much of a softy for black cats as he is, it wasn’t too tough of a decision.”

Arrow made her way to sit on Alliyah’s feet, so Snow went and tried to make friends on the other side of the park. Alliyah examined the way Rayne leaned in, petted and looked at Arrow, such an adoring light in her eyes, such tenderness in her touch.

She was brought back to the park by Rayne’s hand on her knee.

“You weren’t listening at all, were you?”

“Of course, I was. You were saying…” Alliyah pressed a gentle kiss to her lips, cupping her face in her hand.

Rayne smiled shyly:

“That’s…” She didn’t complete the sentence, and instead, let out a sigh.

“I agree. A hundred percent, baby.”

“Shut up.” She nuzzled Alliyah’s neck and talked into it. “I asked something important.”

“What is it, baby?”

“I asked how Lamar has been doing after the shooting.”

“He’s doing better. There’s stuff he directly asked me not to tell anyone, and sorry, I can’t even tell you. But, yes, he’s doing better. He’s as strong, as he is sensitive.