PARADOX

PDX32

January 12th 2023
Dallas, Texas
9:45 pm

Rashad used his finger to slide the small device piece to him, once it was close enough he studied it for a second before sliding it back with the other pieces. With the information he gained by looking at the wrong piece, he gained enough clues to grab the correct piece. He looked up for a second to see Amina staring at him from the other side of the FaceTime call. "Can I help you nigga?" He lightly chuckled, causing her to do the same.

"I ain't ever seen nobody do this before." Amina spoke, she was clearly intrigued as she watched him. This was a hobby Rashad picked up during his summer in Gabon. He'd take devices apart and then put them back together, by now he was a pro since he'd been doing it for years. He'd even do it mindlessly sometimes.

"Did y'all food come yet?" Amina questioned, Rashad shook his head no. He stopped what he was doing to take a peek at the time that just so happened to pass him by while putting his old phone back together. "I feel so bad getting pizza after we had Chinese earlier—ain't shit nutritious bout that." Rashad spoke.

He had groceries, but he knew he didn't have the ingredients to make what Sa liked to eat. Rashad was very basic with his home cooked meals. Sandwiches, chicken breast, salmon, and tacos were his weekly choices whenever he decided to cook. A lot of the times he was stopping by Trader Joe's and putting together meals with their frozen selection or the whole food's hot bar.

"Kids love pizza, I promise she's not complaining." Amina replied before yawning. "I know she not." Rashad briefly chuckled as he grabbed the tinny screw driver. Suddenly, Sahara traveled down the spiral staircase dressed in her pajamas. Her tiny house shoes sounded as she walked, well, slid her feet over the hardwood floors.

"The shower got my hair wet." She fussed, "My fault—short people usually don't use my shower." He joked all while his attention was on the task in front of him. "You're such a nerd." Sahara voiced as she pushed herself up into the barstool and peeked over his arm.

"Ain't nothing wrong with that." Rashad replied as he grabbed a piece, perfect fit, he thought to himself. "Look at my bracelet Mi." Sahara instructed as she held up her arm, Rashad lowly chuckled at how she picked up on calling Amina the same nickname.

"That's beautiful." Amina replied in a sing song voice, with a smile on her smooth face. "Rashad got you a charm too." She announced. Damn Sa, Rashad thought to himself. He was gonna surprise Amina on some sweet sentimental shit, but he figured that plan was out now.

"You did?" Amina cooed, Rashad nodded his head yes. For reasons unknown to him, it made him feel warm inside. This made him happy for Amina to actually see the charm. "Aww, thank you." Amina spoke as she leaned in and blew a kiss into the camera.

"Don't be rude—blow one back, duh." Sahara spoke as she lightly twisted side to side in the bar stool. "Right." Amina agreed. Rashad hesitated for a second, before leaning in and giving Amina an air kiss through the phone. He couldn't believe it. He was a killer and doing shit like giving kisses through the phone. A knock on the door grabbed the attention of both Rashad and Sahara. Figuring that it was the food, Rashad stopped what he was doing and went to retrieve it.

"Call your moms and tell her goodnight." Rashad instructed as he headed over to the door. The exchange was quick. He handed Rashad the food and Rashad handed him an extra tip aside from the one he left when placing the order.  Rashad's FaceTime call with Amina came to an end, but he didn't plan on going to sleep until he heard her voice again.  Once Sahara finished the call with her mother, they traveled over to the couch where Rashad put on Sahara's favorite movie and they enjoyed their food.

January 14th 2023
Dallas, Texas
5:12 pm

"You know what I hate about being single?" Chalyn questioned, which caught the attention of Amina. "What?" Amina questioned back, quite eager to know. The ladies were currently at Chalyn's, relaxing after coming back from the movies. Chalyn was being a gracious host by giving Amina some sliced fruit to snack on while she prepared dinner for them.