Page 2 of Search My Soul
“Mrs. Mayes, do you have the confirmation ticket with your estimated pick-up date with you?” Her eyes widened, and she began to frantically search through her purse. Once she retrieved the paper, she held it out for me. After checking the dates, I realized where the confusion came from. I recognized Roderick’s chicken scratch right away and it was damn near illegible. I had gotten on him about it countless times because some of his numbers looked similar. Her car was due for pickup on the sixteenth, but the paper looked like it said the twelfth.
“It seems like there has been a mistake on our end. The date on the ticket is supposed to say Thursday, the sixteenth. Based on the ticket, I understand there may have been some confusion. Here’s what I can do for you. I’ll pull your vehicle and work on it today, and then I’ll personally deliver it to you this evening. It won’t help you get to your event, but if you’d like, I can send oneof my drivers to escort you and your food wherever you need to go.”
“You would really do that for me?”
“Absolutely. Our goal here at Taylor Auto is to provide the best quality of customer service to everyone who chooses our business. We go above and beyond to make sure you are completely satisfied with your service because we appreciate everyone who takes a chance on us.” I already knew Macy and the crew were behind me, ready to roast me. I kept telling them that you had to have two sides to you when it came to business. You can’t be quick to go off because that’s not how you maintain a successful business. Now you can’t please everyone, and there are some customers who couldn’t be helped, but I worked my ass off to make sure that satisfaction remained high. We had won several awards for our efficiency and customer satisfaction ratings. I might be a street nigga, but I knew how to handle myself on the business side as well.
“Wow. I don’t even know what to say. I expected this conversation to go a completely different way, but now I see why people speak so highly of you and your business. I’ll accept your offer to have my car delivered. You don’t need to send a driver, though. I’ll get one of the deacons from my church to come and grab my food. Thank you for your kindness, young man. It’s people like you who help build our community, and I’m grateful for it. I’ll be sure to recommend your business to everyone at the church.” She reached up to cup my cheek, and I offered a smile. The moment she made it out of the door, the whole room burst with laughter.
“Y’all are childish as hell.” I scoffed.
Macy expressed, “Boss man, I don’t care how many times I witness it, I’ll always be fascinated by the way you code switch. Not only that, you have these women about to toss the pussy at you as a form of payment. It’s truly a gift.”
“I keep trying to tell y’all that you have to handle some customers differently. Even if they are the ones in the wrong, you have to make them feel as if they aren’t. The semantics really don’t matter at the end of the day because we are getting paid to provide a service.” They hung onto my every word, even though I knew we would experience a situation like this again. Most women ran on emotions rather than logic. In most cases, it was okay, but when you had to deal with an irate or emotional customer, it was important to try to meet them with a level head. Allow them to get out their frustrations and then do what you can to resolve the issue. Another lesson my grandparents taught me.
“Well done. Now get to work on old lady Gertrude’s car before she comes back up here with her pantyhose wearing posey,” Angel teased.
“All of y’all can go to hell. And, Roderick, you need to take some damn handwriting classes or something. You write like a three-year-old hyped up on sugar. Don’t let this shit happen again.”
I headed to the garage to get started on the car. The work could be time-consuming, but I loved what I did. My father used to have Pure and I under his old cars every weekend, teaching us a new skill. Pure hated it, but I found it fascinating. I learned how to take a car apart and put it back together by the time I was eleven. It kind of reminded me of a giant puzzle piece. Every single part was essential in its own right, but when placed together, it served a greater purpose. I put on my headphones and got to work. This was one of the few places that brought me peace, and with the kind of life I lived, I needed every second of peace I could get.
“Damn,baby. You’ve got the best pussy in the world.” Tone grunted as he wiped my juices from his beard. I swiftly gathered my things so I could make it to my hair appointment on time.
“You say that every time.” I giggled while I shuffled over to the bathroom so I could freshen up. We hadn’t had sex, but I still needed to clean myself. Honestly, I had been avoiding having sex with him because I had this weird feeling in my gut. We weren’t in a relationship, but I also wasn’t messing around with anyone except him.
“Hey, I’ve been meaning to holla at you about something,” he called out while standing in the doorway of his bathroom.
“What’s up?” I wrung my towel out and began to wash up. My momma taught me to carry an extra washcloth and an extrapair of panties in my purse, just in case of an emergency. She rarely had anything nice to say to me, so I held on tight to the few lessons she gave me.
“I was wondering if—” His words were interrupted by the sound of someone banging on the front door. I glared at Tone, wondering what kind of drama he was into.
“Stay right here. Let me see what’s going on.” I wasn’t dressed yet, so I reluctantly agreed. I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with bitches over the years, but he swore things were different now. I didn’t care about what he did outside of me, but the women he dealt with weren’t as understanding.
Tone and I have known each other for a long time. He used to be a big-time hustler in my neighborhood, and I had the biggest crush on him. We were eight years apart in age, so I never even bothered to try to get his attention. When we ran into each other six years ago, we instantly hit it off, and the rest was history. He was getting to the bag, so he didn’t have time for a relationship, which was perfect for me since I didn’t want one either. Tone would give me money and random gifts whenever we were together, and his sex game was out of this world.
Naturally, like most men in the streets, he ended up getting caught in a sting and was sentenced to three years. I wasn’t the type to put money on a nigga’s books or do jailhouse visits. The dick was good, but not that damn good. However, the moment he touched down, we picked up right where we had left off. I enjoyed his company overall. For a street nigga, he could hold a decent conversation. Plus, he was generous with his money, so being around him had its perks. When we first started messing around, he was always on the move, which made it easier for me to do my own thing.
He hated the fact that I danced and had offered to pay all of my bills. I allowed him to shower me with money, but I never liked the idea of relying on anyone to take care of me. Mostrelationships were conditional, whether platonic or romantic. All it took was one misunderstanding or fallout for all of the perks to disappear. I’ve lived most of my life on conditional love, so I knew how things worked. For that reason, I chose to enjoy things for what they were in the moment and leave the false hopes and promises at the door.
I continued to clean myself and get dressed in the room. After a brief moment, I heard what sounded like someone arguing downstairs. I prayed things didn’t get too out of hand because I wasn’t in the mood to fight. I’d just gotten a fresh wig install, and my favorite nail tech did her thing on my new set. The last thing I wanted to do was beat someone’s ass because they didn’t know their place.
Since my business was done there, I grabbed my purse and headed out of the room. Their voices grew closer and louder as I descended the steps, instantly ruining my vibe.
“I’m sick of this shit, Terrence! I’ve been holding you down for nine years, and nothing I do seems to be good enough. Do you know how many niggas I’ve curved over the years? Too fucking many. I could have been happily married with a man who loves me, but instead I’ve wasted all of these years chasing after your ass. I’m tired of this. What do I have to do to make you love me and only me? Why am I never enough?” Her voice cracked, but I rolled my eyes. Her familiar, whiny voice irritated me.
Moniece had been a thorn in my side on multiple occasions, and it had gotten physical a couple of times. I would give her credit because she took her ass whuppings like a real bitch, but she clearly had no respect for herself. There was no way I would be at a man’s house asking why he wouldn’t do right by me. I’m sorry, but there were too many men out there to settle for one. Especially someone like Tone. He was fine with a big dick and aneven bigger bag. She would have been better off letting him do his thing and enjoying the benefits while they lasted.
“Ahem.” I pretended to clear my throat as I stepped into view. Moniece’s eyes glared in my direction, but I wasn’t the least bit pressed.
“I thought I told you to wait in the room?” Tone uttered while scratching the back of his head. Nervousness radiated from him because he knew what I was capable of. However, he had nothing to worry about because I wasn’t on that type of time anymore.
“I have places to be. Don’t worry, I’ll let myself out.” I headed toward the door, but her voice stopped me dead in my tracks.
“You know he’ll never choose you? It doesn’t matter how many times you open your legs for him; his heart will never belong to anyone but me.” She huffed with fake confidence in her tone. I bit the inside of my cheek before responding. I noticed her protruding belly, which only made this conversation even more pathetic.
“You’ve been chasing behind this man for years, love. If this is what love looks like, then I never want to experience it. You were down here begging this man to take your relationship seriously after he just finished eating my pussy and ass for the last hour. Sis, you might need to learn how to love yourself a little more before you start trying to give out advice.” Her jaw fell open as I turned to walk out the door. I hated the idea of losing my favorite eater, but a baby was too much for me.
Tone had been begging me to take our situation seriously, but I refused to go there with him. Men were selfish by nature. They only did what felt good to them without regard for anyone else’s feelings. I wasn’t built for that kind of life. The day I found love, I wanted it to be for me and only me.
