Sitting at the Waffle House, Santos stares at his menu, but I felt him peering at me a few times. Or maybe it's just me.
"Are you guys ready to order?" A waitress comes over with a pen and a pad ready to take down our order. We already ordered our drinks, he got coffee and I got sweet tea without the lemon.
"Yes, I would like the All-Star breakfast plate," I order and put the menu behind the napkin dispenser. She jots it down and turns to Santos.
"I will have the same."
"Great, your orders will be ready soon." She dashes off to fill the orders.
There is a bunch of clamor going on beside us due to the kitchen being there. A lot of hustling and order calling. I fiddle with the straw paper and look around. My palms are sweaty and I take a napkin, fiddle with it but really try to wipe my palms off.
"So, what's going on with you?" Santos asks as if we have been friends for years.
"Nothing much. I have been kicked out of my condo."
His eyes bulge. "Why?"
"It's a long story, but I need a place to stay...wait...I stay with my best friend, Yakira. I want a place of my own, though." I try to rephrase my words. I am stumbling all over my words.
"I know where a lot of great houses are. But, it all depends on what you are looking for." He spins his own napkin.
"I want something small but has a lot of space, you know."
He nods, understandingly. "I am sure it's out here. So, why not tell me what happened? Or is that too much too soon?"
I admire his need to want to help me also the fact that he really isn't pushing me to tell him my problems. I don't know if I am vulnerable or if I am stupid, but I go ahead. "Well, me and my boyfriend have broken up because of some bull and the condo I was staying at is under his name. So, when I got off from work yesterday I found all of my things thrown out on the ground."
He inhales sharply, "I know you were mad."
"Oh I was livid, it took all I had not to yell and cuss him outside. But, I don't have time for the cops to be coming to pick me up. So, I just picked up my things, got in my car, and went to Yakira's house." I use hand movements to explain.
"Damn him," he chuckles causing me to chuckle. "No, but for real. He is a fool for doing that to you. He could have at least gave you a bit of time to get your things instead of throwing them on the ground like that."
"He was being a child is all. He didn't like that I was working and doing things without him. He hated when he couldn't take tabs on me and when I didn't answer any of his calls from jail."
"Jail?" Santos arches his brow.
"Yeah. He went to jail for an armed robbery that may turn into a homicide. Now, I don't know how he got out of jail, but I think someone bailed him out. But, he came back with a vengeance."
The waitress places our plates in front of us, "Is there anything you guys need right now?"
"No," Santos answers, "we are alright."
"Okay," the waitress goes to help another customer.
"That is messed up. Have faith in God, Azaireyah. He will help you through anything you need."
"Well, right now, I need a place of my own." I dig into the waffle.
"Yeah, I know and I promise to help you with that." He smiles.
I look up and smile back. He has such a pretty smile. "Thanks." I am not all that confident in having men keep their promises to me. They all break them at some point and come up with a lame excuse as to why they couldn't keep the promises. Breaking a promise to me is like lying. "So, do you have any goals in life?" I am trying to get to know him since he is going to help me find a house, or I could have another reason as to why.
"I do. I have a lot of goals and dreams. My first dream was when I was 6 years old, I wanted to be a chef. Travel the world and cook beside the most famous chefs."
I giggle, "What happened?"
"At 6 years old, I couldn't cook a freaking thing." We laugh. "I thought it was so easy, but it was not. Then I wanted to be a football player when I was 10 years old. So, I played football for a while and played basketball, played it all through high school and even got a scholarship to play at a university."
"Please, don't tell me you blew it?" I drink my tea. "Please."
"I didn't. I played and did my work. But when I finished and stopped playing once I realized I couldn't get into the NFL, I went a different direction."
"Oh, what direction was that?" His goals are very different from the ones I am used to hearing. Normally all the other guys wanted to do was become a kingpin or a drug dealer. They didn't want to get educations and be someone better. They swore education was for the weak-minded fools who wanted to be brain-washed by the government in order to make minimum wage with a degree. I never saw it that way.
"The church. I mean...along the way of doing that I made some mistakes and got into trouble here and there. But, I pulled through."
"That sounds like a story off lifetime."
"Ha. I know. What about you?"
I stop eating, "Well, my home life wasn't all that good. But, I did what I was told and tried my best. But, it wasn't good enough, so I left home and started my life anew." There isn't much I can tell him without scaring him off.
"I am sure that's not all of it. If you don't want to share, that's alright."
"I mean...I want to go to college. I have always wanted to go to college and be someone." I look at the ceiling daydreaming.
"What did you want to be?"
"I wanted to be... " I try to think. "I wanted to be a lot of things. But, my first thing was to edit films and such, but I don't know. Now, I want to do medical coding."
"Well, what stopped you," he moves to his bacon.
"The guy I was with didn't want me to do anything but sit around by the phone and wait for him to call me. He wanted me to be home at a certain time and have dinner ready for him. But, when he went to jail, I had to get a job and he didn't like that."
"He sounds like he wasn't really supporting you. Controlling more so."
"He was. But, I was young and didn't see it that way. I just saw it as he loved me and just wanted to protect me." I chuckle, "Boy, was I wrong?"
Santos rubs my hand and my heart beat quickens, "Don't beat yourself up over that. You are a pretty young lady and I know you are smart as well. You will find someone that wants to take care of you but also will support you in whatever you choose to do."
A smile spreads across my face at his words, I pat his hand hoping my palms haven't gotten sweaty again, "Thank you, Santos."
"Alright. We need the check." He looks around for our waitress and signals her over. She gives him the check and Santos and I both pull out our wallets. "No," he stops me. "I got this."
"But..."
"No, 'buts'. I am paying for this and I don't care who knows it." He gives the waitress his card, pays, and we leave.
Walking outside and cool breeze brushes through my hair and I inhale grateful to feel it. "Those houses I was talking about, would you like to see one?" He takes out his cell phone.
"Yes, I would love it."
"Okay," he dials a number on his phone and puts it up to his ear. He paces the ground and says, "Hey, I need a favor on one of those houses." He waits. "Yeah. No, it's not for me. It's for a good friend of mine." He kicks a small rock. "The houses down the street from the waffle house. Okay, thanks, I owe you one." He hangs up and opens the passenger door for me to get in.
I hesitantly look at the inside of his car, "Uhh."
"Don't worry, I am not going to kidnap or bite you."
I get in and the interior is absolutely gorgeous, I know it's some kind of animal skin, I just don't know which. He gets in and the car comes to life with a roar once he cranks it. I shudder with excitement as we back out of the parking spot and pull into traffic.
We stop at this house with a wraparound deck and a 'for sale' sign in the front yard. Another car, a black Ferrari Enzo pulls up behind us. An older man with salt and pepper hair, olive complexion and a business suit steps out, he walks over to us and shakes hands with Santos. "Sup, man?"
"Nothing much. This is Azaireyah; she is the one that needs a new house, like fast." Santos explains.
The man looks me up and down and I bite my lower lip. He smiles, "Of course, I am Lewis Chambers and I will be happy to be of assistance."
"Thanks."
We make our way towards the house. "Is this what you are looking for?"
"I definitely like it." I look at the house. "What kind is it?"
"It's a Chalet, I think. But the style is more so European and Chalet. We sell these all the time, very popular." He takes a key out and unlocks the door. We enter and it is breath taking, the space is massive. "On the second level, the master suite enjoys a den, a private full bath with separate shower and tub, and a walk-in closet." He sells. "It's got 3 bedrooms and 2 baths. Your room, which is the master bedroom, has a whirl pool tub." We observe the living space and upstairs as well. I am in love with it.
"How so can I sign to buy?"
"Well, I usually drag my feet on it to make sure the house is what the customer wants. But, since you are completely sure you want the house and I do owe my man here a favor," he pats Santos on the back, "you can sign today and be moved in by tomorrow. I will run your credit and help you find the best mortgage payments and you can do your down payment tomorrow or the next day."
I hug Lewis, "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"No problem."
This truly is a blessing for me. One thing down and a few more to go.686Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡx35CcGgdse
