A New Adventure...A New Life?

Kevin had saved his money like a miser. Forget the South! He had made as many inquiries into moving to New York as he could with the information available in 1990.

  The very few dollars that he spent were as a result of making calls to apartments, and Jobs in New York. It was slow going.

 For the first time ever Kevin had some long distance calls on his phone bill. He was certain that he had some relatives in New York city, but he was still stubbornly not speaking to his father. His mother could, and would slip him information if he asked for it. He was to proud to ask. Kevin was still as determined at 19 as he had been at 15. 

 His nights at Wal-Mart were spent in a sleep like fugue state, he performed his job of vacuuming the carpets, taking out trash, mopping and buffing the floors to a glassine shine, like an automaton. 

 He saw Yasmin often but didn’t deign to speak to her. Why? She had lied to him enough. It was like a stab to the heart each time she attempted to start a conversation. She would open her mouth and he couldn’t help but envision her with the mystery man from New York. Kevin had been leaving before she arrived for months, until the new manager told him He had to stay. Even after she moved on Kevin held a grudge. He would show her. He was going to be as extravagant as the guys he had seen on his brief trip.

 In preparation of being a New Yorker, Kevin had started letting his soft curly hair grow longer, he no longer went to the barbershop weekly to get his fade cleaned up. In fact he was considering those dreadlock things he had seen men wearing as he had walked to get his slices of that unforgettable pizza. Kevin quickly discovered that stuff in New York was expensive. The fact that he had gotten 2 slices of pizza and a pepsi for a $1 had lulled him into believing that New York wasn’t much different than Butler, Alabama. Kevin quickly realized that was wrong.

 Apartments were way overpriced, and even if he sold his house, which he was hesitant to do, he would still be far short of what he needed to live there.

  Even worse, Walmart wasn't in New York, so transferring wasn’t an option. All he knew how to do was work harder, that had always served him well in the past.  Kevin worked every waking moment, if he wasn’t at Walmart he was hauling pulpwood.

 He had no time for shenanigans, and no time for the girls that flirted with him. Kevin, didn’t want to do anything, that wasn’t directly related to getting the finances to relocate to New York.

 He could have bought one of those boxy cars he had noticed that the New York dude's favored. He could have been dripping in jewels, had he so chosen. Kevin had amassed  $26,487.62 in the bank a Kings ransom in 1990. He had lots more in coffee cans hidden inside the house. 

Saturday normally meant a full day of hauling pulpwood, but the rainstorm, that arrived midway through his Friday night shift, showed no signs of letting up any time soon. As Yasmin and her fellow cashiers, showed up on Saturday morning Kevin walked out to his Buick Park Avenue. 

Umbrella- less, Kevin slowly placed one size 14 in front of the other. The downpour, paradigmatic of the region, was like 5 gallon buckets of water being poured onto his body one per step. Although, he had parked directly in front of the store he was soaked by the time he reached his car. The wet ride home was cold with his AC blowing, punctuated only by the thump of his windshield wipers, and the sound of the cassettes he had recorded from the radio in New York. T-91 the only radio station that he could pick up in Butler that played hip-hop, was extremely far behind the music he had pilfered in New York. He had stopped listening to anything else.

 He drove through the rain to his house, slowing as he reached the end of the red clay road that led to his small house. It appeared as if someone from the Choctaw County conservation service was on top of their job, the silt that comprised his “Street” had to be continuously seeded with fine gravel to keep it from eroding into cavernous holes, and washing away in large sections. The County trucks had been out at some point the previous day, normally the trucks would dump a couple of loads and then drive over it to smooth it out for usage. His was the only occupied dwelling on that particular stretch of road so it was rare for the county to address his needs with any degree of rapidity.

 Kevin Delaney III, had been prepared to park at the end of the road named after his grandfather, and therefore him as well, however, not only was the gravel laid and smoothed out, but it was obvious that at least one vehicle had driven over it already, as there were grooves in the grey pellets, sinking them into the spongy red mud.

 Kevin didn’t recognize the cars in his driveway and pulled his long barreled .38 from beneath the seat as he parked behind the new Eagle Premier and beside the shiny F-150. He uncocked the massive pistol and began to smile as he recognized the two guys sitting on his front porch. They had been with him the night he had moved into this house. They were as much his brothers as they were his friends.

 Jay and Tony were sprawled on his wicker patio furniture, looking right at home. The pair smiled, a rare thing for Jay, as he climbed out of his drivers seat. “What are you two country ass niggas doing on my front porch?”

 Kevin asked, unable to contain the undercurrent of mirth in his voice. They looked well, he hadn’t seen the brothers in the over two and a half years since graduation. Neither of his friends had marched with him, they had dropped out and he heard gone into the military or trade college or something. 

Their Mother wasn't Kevin's biggest fan, and didn't talk to him much. She was too much of a southern bell to not speak at all.

 “We came to save you from yourself.” Jay piped up his face remaining the emotionless scowl, that he most often wore. Tony nodded his concurrence, but all 32 of his teeth were showing, in fact he looked as if, he had borrowed extra for the occasion.

 His ultra deep bass seconded the statement his paternal twin had made. “Yup, mama said that you is becoming a hermit. We bout to take you to the city and show you what life is.” Kevin laughed, he had noticed the Louisiana tags on their vehicles, and  Louisiana was as backwoods, backwards, and country as Alabama and Mississippi, what could these clowns be thinking. “Yeah right.” 

 Kevin dug into his pocket and lit up a Kool extra long, he offered the open pack to his friends.

 Jay was dressed better than Kevin had ever seen him. He had on pinkie rings, and sported two thin gold chains, and one thick herringbone, a gold watch and bracelet. Flashing his jewelry obnoxiously Jay pulled out his own pack, and refused with a slight shake of his head.

 His twin reached for, and pulled out one of his brothers cigarettes without ever taking his eyes off of Kevin. “Say Kev, I used to think you knew everything but believe me when I tell you New Orleans is the business.” Tony’s voice echoed like the thunder rolling off in the distance as the storm moved away.

 Tony was a lot less flashy then his twin, but Kevin could see the quiet quality of his clothes and knew that Tony was making money. Kevin argued good naturedly with his childhood friends until Jay said “Don’t take our word for it just get dressed and lets go.” 

As it tended to do at that time of the year, the rain dried rapidly. The twins had rushed Kevin to get dressed but insisted that he had to be fly.

 Kevin had fallen asleep almost instantly once the sedan hopped on the I-10. He didn’t see the seemingly endless rows of trees, give way to the patches of swamp, didn't see the pelicans lining the expressway, he missed the ugly broken roads outside of Slidell, in fact Kevin snored softly until the trio were approaching the Mississippi River bridge.

 When, he awoke the smell of burnt coffee assaulted his senses, but the view struck him like a slap in the face. The Greater New Orleans Bridge might have paled in comparison to the sites he had witnessed in NYC but she was magnificent in her own right. He had no idea why he personified the bridge as female but it felt right. 

Kevin yawned, his mouth tasted dreadful, and he was hungry. “Aye home can we hit up Mickey D’s or something?” He asked Jay, who was driving, the question, as he stifled yet another mighty yawn. Both of the twin brothers laughed at their friends naivete. “Say bruh, this Nawlins don’t nobody eat at McDonalds, No.” Tony’s voice sounded like he still wanted to laugh more.

 “What ya say Jay, Anita’s, We never close, or McKinsey's?”

 Jay sucked his gold teeth, and hit the gas, the Eagle Premier's large engine roared as he muscled into traffic. He exited off the interstate at Tulane avenue, and adeptly parallel parked. 

The tiny restaurant was a time warp, definitely a greasy spoon, complete with a juke box, it was a hole in the wall, with a shoe shine chair, and it smelled amazing.

  At the counter sat an albino security guard, arguing with another man of a similar age to himself, the duo had elephantine plates of food before them and steaming mugs of coffee. Kevin’s friends approached the guard and spoke to him with familiarity. “Hey Larry, what’s happening bruh?” You staying out of trouble?” 

The middle-aged man laughed as he responded to the twins good natured chiding. “Not if I can help it young brother, ain't no fun if it ain't no trouble, No.”

 The waitress was old enough to be Kevin and his friends mother. It was apparent that she was familiar with Jay, and Tony, and cared for them as if they were her own children. Kevin was loving the way she called them Bay-Bee, the term of endearment gave a stronger impression with the way she pronounced it.

 He normally didn't care to be touched but the old waitress played with his hair and Kevin loved every minitue it. 

The entire eatery had a cozy familial vibe, and Kevin was infatuated with the comfort level. After a ponderous breakfast, Tony and Jay took Kevin to their townhouse. Jay occupied the ground floor and Tony the upper. Kevin discovered that the brothers had gone to job corps. They were both certified welders, and were making good money working at the shipyard.

 They showed their friend all the things about their city that they loved. They sipped daiquiris as they walked around in the French Quarter. They ate Bengets, and "Hot sausage" Po'boys, and drank more daiquiris, finally, they went to a night club atop a downtown hotel known as the “Rainforest” and by the third redbone with green eyes that forced him to  dance with her to this new Southern Rap music, Kevin had a new city to plan to move to.

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