"Life is a journey that must be traveled, no matter how bad the roads and accommadations."
~ Oliver Goldsmith
South Central was her home and part of her was glad to be home. The city was known for its violent crime, gangs, drugs and riots. So it wasn't the safest place to live in the world and when she got the opportunity to move in with the Harris', Carla took it a ran with it.
At the time it was the best decision she could make for herself and accomodations were easy. Until she begun to think with her heart instead of her brain. It was situations like this that always determined a bad outcome, but in this case, something beautiful came out of it.
As she opened the oven door, she grabbed pot holders to take her blueberry muffins out. They were Rae's favorite and hoped that it would put a smile on her face like it did whenever she made them for her back at the Manor. She understood that this would be a difficult process for Rae to go through, but had faith in her that she would come back on top and get use to it.
As she placed them on top of the stove, her house phone rung. Carla took off her burgandy pot holders and placed them on the counter. Dusting her hands on her peach apron, she walked out her small kitchen and into her family room. Her house wasn't as big as the Harris's.
Carla didn't have ten thousand dollar paintings and statues, Persian rugs and custom made furniture. What she had was peace of mind, or so she thought. Sitting down on her dark chocolate sofa, she picked up the receiver that was on the glass end table.
"Good morning," she spoke politely.
"How are you?" Frank whispered into the receiver as he sat on the edge of the bed. Glancing at the terrace, he saw his wife getting some fresh air.
Hearing his voice made her smile. "Can't complain," she responded. "How are you holding up."
"You know me," he laughed. "I can take just about anything, but you're not as strong as you always claim to be. So i'll ask again. How are you Carla?"
She leaned back against the sofa and craddled the phone with her shoulder. He thought he knew her so well.
"Despite what you think Frank I'm doing fine," she answered. "I'm back at home and living more comfortably then ever."
"So I didn't take care of you back at the Manor?" He questioned her. A pint of hope was in his mind.
Carla sighed. "That's not what I meant Frank," she told him.
Frank opened his mouth to reply back but the words couldn't form. He peeked out to the terrace and watched his wife pace back and forth. "I tried Carla," he said. The only words he could speak.
Leaning back and glanced up at the ceiling she closed her eyes. She believed him, but she also believe he didn't try hard enough. "Yeah, I know," she whispered.
"How's my princess?" He asked, deciding to change the subject. He wanted to know how his baby girl was doing, but he had a slight inclination that she was blowing a fit.
"I was just about to go over there and see," she told him. "Hopping on a plane and coming here to see where she was going to live wasn't easy."
"Nobody wants to go from the Beverly Hills to crack houses and hoes," Frank snorted. "Riches to rags, huh?"
His laughter was lightly heard through the receiver, but Carla wasn't laughing. What he claimed wasn't funny. She knew the day she meet him that Frank had a cocky mentality and looked down on some, but never her and where she came from. To her, hearing this, it made her think deeply if he always thought this way.
"Watch over her Carla," Frank told her in begging tone. Like a mother who loves her daughter, Frank knew that Carla wasn't going to let anything happen to Rae and trusted her to the fullest.
"Don't have to ask," Carla says. "Its already taken care of."
"I'll call you later Carla," Frank said, cutting their conversation off.
Without another word, Carla hanged up the phone and cradled her head in the palm off her hands. She didn't want to come of to Frank as an ungrateful person. She was very thankful, but she was also glad to be home. Knowing that he looked down from where she came from hurt her but she couldn't let it show.
She thought that things would be different this come around, but it was clear. It never would be and she would never get that one chance.
Daisy came from outside and closed the French doors. It was becoming quiet chilly outside and she decide it was time to return inside. She heard his whispers and knew exactly who he was talking about and to whom. She wasn't dumb at all.
Remaining silent, she shot her husband a glare that she wished could cut through his flesh. "Are you hungry?" He questioned her
"No, my appetite is quite lost from the conversation you had on the phone," she held nothing back, but her stomach had a mind of its own.
"I was trying to contact Desiree and see how she was holding up," he answered, picking up the room service menus next to the room phone. "Knowing our daughter I know she's probably having a fit right now."
"Our daughter?"
Frank observed his wife and rose up. She was still beautiful to this day when he meet her over twenty-five years ago. Her coffee colored hair was down and flowing to her shoulders. He used to love running his fingers through. Twenty-four carat white gold diamond earrings shined bright in her ear, as did the white gold necklace to match.
She was dressed in a pair of Donna Karen slacks and a green blouse. Yea, she was beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, he lost taste in her. He just hoped their financial troubles would bring them together, but it was day one and it didn't seem to be going that way.
Strolling over to the cart, he took the crystal topper off the decanter and poured himself a glass of scotch. "Yes our daughter," he grumbled, annoyed. "Let's not start this today."
Daisy watched him bring the glass to his full lips and take a big gulp. "Don't you think it's a little too early for alcohol Frank," she argued.
"If you keep nagging to me I might as well drink the whole damn bottle Daisy," he retorted, taking another gulp and filling his glass back up.
"This is ridiculous," she stated. "I should go live with my mother until you figure this shit out."
A scowl displayed on his face. "Your mother?" Frank questioned her. "We're married Daisy! We're suppose to weather the storm together, not abort each other in our times of trouble."
"You caused this storm so you should be the one to fix it," she yelled. "I didn't ask for this!. I don't wanna be stuck in some hotel room, eating raw burgers and fries and watching basic cable. This isn't how my life is suppose to be."
"Do what you wanna do," he told her, walking back over to the door and reaching for the remote. "But if you leave don't come back through that door and expect me to welcome you with open arms. You married me, not my money."
At this point he couldn't worry about Daisy. and her decision to leave. He had bigger problems concerning his daughter.
He knew this day was coming soon and wanted to kill himself for wasting this long. It was his fault for spoiling Rae rotten. Those things he could admit and it made him feel like he failed her as a father. A father was suppose to teach his child the ins and outs about life. How tough it could be and if she happened to fall flat on her ass to get back up and try again. His late father did the same thing so why did Frank wait this long?
He prayed that it wasn't to late for Rae to grow up on her own and not depended on him. She was always going to be daddy's little girl, but she needed her own independence. Frank closed his eyes and sighed, he knew it would be hard for her to get accustom to her new life and wanted to curse himself out because of it.
But it was for the best.
Walking up in a unknown place could be scary for anyone. To have no one to lean on or help you in your time of need. The first time in whole her life, she was alone. All by herself and just the loud music above from her, to wake her up. This was out her element and Rae would give anything to be in her master bedroom, laying on her California King size bed with her two thousand thread count Egyptian sheets against her skin. But she couldn't. It felt like the walls were peeling off. Literally.
Slowly, she got up from the hard mattress and groan from the pain in her lower back. She looked around her and saw nothing but shit. Everything looked like shit and she didn't want to live her. She had to talk to someone. Clearly her father wasn't talking to someone to get this straighten out. Maybe she could and everything would be back to normal before she knew it.
How could her father just leave her here in a dangerous apartment and people. He was suppose to protect her from this. Rae had to call him. It was mandatory to get to the bottom of everything. It wasn't even twenty-four hours yet and she was bound to lose her mind.
She had nothing. Just a suitcase filled of nothing but clothes and the ones on her back, she had nothing else. No toothbrush, deodorant, or cell phone. Hell there wasn't even food in the refrigerator. She couldn't open that refrigerator again. An awful smell reeked out as soon as she did. What was she suppose to eat?
A knock on the door broke her from her thoughts. She ran to the door and looked through the peephole to see who it was. She opened the door, and hugged Carla tightly.
"Jesus Christ!" She shouted. " I knew you wouldn't leave me! You truly love me Carla!"
Carla pried her arms off of her and begun to breath normal again. "I told you last night Rae that I live across the hall," she reminded her. She sniffed the air and took a look at Rae. "Did you shower yet?"
The question was a rhetorical one as she saw Rae in the same clothes. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and her makeup was running like she had cried herself to sleep. Clearly, Carla knew this would be an emotional journey for her but never did she think that she would cry.
"I got nothing Carla," Rae complained.
"Get your clothes so you can shower over here," Carla told her.
She ran back to her apartment and grabbed her suitcase, rolling it across the hall and into Carla's. Shaking her head, Carla let Rae by and stepped across the hallway to close her door.
"I need a cell phone Carla!" Rae whined. "How am I going to connect with the outside world. I need to get in contact with my best friend Dove! Maybe I can stay with her until things get better! She has my back I know she does."
"You have more things to worry about then getting a cell phone," Carla explained, closing her door behind her. "You need necessities. Like lotion, food, a shower curtain."
"I can get it later," Rae dismissed her. "I just need to get to a phone or buy one. I know Dove will have my back! She's my best friend."
"Don't you think if Dove was your friend she would have called you already?" Carla suggested. "The Harris family's name is plastered everywhere. She knows what's going on."
"Carla!" Rae shouted. "Now it's not the time to talk about my friend in my time of need. It's about me! She's probably just busy and plus the buff people took away my phone so she wouldn't know where to contact me."
"You will soon find out who your real friends are," Carla mumbled under her breath.
Rae walked over to her sofa and placed her suitcase next to it. "Do I smell blueberry muffins?" She asked, going directly to the kitchen.
When she came back to the family room, Carla was putting on her shoes. "These are delicious Carla," she praised, stuffing her mouth with the muffin.
"There's an extra toothbrush underneath the sink and towels in the linen closet," Carla told her. "There's soap, bath wash, and shampoo in the shower."
Rae pouted and stood there. Leaning up, Carla took a look at her and shook her head. "I told you where they are, now go before the market gets packed."
Rae sat her muffin on the coffee table. "Wait, market?" She stopped. "I thought we were going to the mall."
"The last place you need to be right now is walking inside a Tom Ford or Michael Kors store," Carla argued. "Plus we don't have that in the hood. Now come on."
She waved her off to do her morning rituals while she prayed for more patience. It was going to be a long day and an even longer stay if Rae didn't get her act together.
"Am I being cursed for something I did!?" She raved twenty minutes later, looking up to the sky. "What did I do Lord! I'm not getting in that piece of shit! It looks like it's about to fall apart!"
Carla rolled her eyes and unlocked the door to her black pickup truck. "Get in Rae or I'll leave you standing there next to the curb," she warned.
She looked better then she did before. Her hair was brushed into a tight ponytail. Rae wore denim Levis shorts, a white blouse and of Gucci gladiator sandals. Carla didn't have the energy to tell her to change her shoes. If the hood saw sparkles, everyone would want a piece of it.
Rae groaned and stomped her feet. She reached for the handle and pulled it. The door squeaked from its rust as she climbed in and slammed the door while glancing around inside the truck. Something was going to jump and attack her.
Glaring at her, Carla turned on the car and pulled off the curb, driving into traffic. "It's not that bad Rae and you're going to have to get use to your surrounds," she said. "No telling how long you'll be in this."
"Your acting like this is my fault," Rae snapped. "Again, I didn't asked for this! If it was up to me, I'd be in Aruba right now swimming with the fish." She pondered on her statement. "Actually I wouldn't wanna get my hair wet but you get me."
Carla smiled. "I talked to your father this morning," she told her.
Her eyes went wide as she stared at Carla. "Oh my gosh!" She exclaimed. "Did he ask for me? What did he say? Can we move back into the Manor?"
"No, he didn't mention anything of the sort," Carla explained. " He just wanted to know how you were settling in. I told him you were slowly getting use to it all."
"That's not true!" Rae cried. "I'm never going to get use to this. I don't wanna be stuck here in the middle of nowhere!"
"Rae you're not stuck in the middle of nowhere," Carla clarified. "You're in South Central. Still in California. You need to stop depending on your father to get you out of situations and live on your own."
Live on her own? There was no such thing as living some place else other than with her parents. The last place she wanted to be was sleeping in the ghetto where junkies and hookers lived.
"Its time to learn to make grown up decisions," Carla reminded her. "This is your life Rae and if you don't start taking control of the reins you'll lose it."
She stared at Carla as she stopped in from of a run down building. It was scary just to think about making decisions that can make her life easier than it is now or make it worse. Could she?
A knock on the dirty pick up truck window caused her to jump out of her seat and pull her seat from her thoughts. She gave Carla an evil eye.
"You coming or do you want me to get your tampons for you?" Carla joked.
Rae sighed deeply, a hand drastic placed over her hand. "That would be good and also some-"
"No!" Carla screamed. "Rae get your ass out of the car!"
Quickly jumping out of the car and closing it, Rae glanced at Carla. "I thought-"
"Jesus, were you paying attention to anything I was saying back there," she whispered to her, placing her arm around her shoulder and walking towards the entrance.
Uncle Pete's Market was a small hole-in-the-wall liquor store that had all you needed for cheap. Although it smelled like dead rats and burnt cigarettes, it was the closet liquor store in the city than going to another or the mall. The bell above the door chimed as the ladies walked in.
"I think I'm going to regurgitate," Rae said, her nose catching the awful scent lingering in the air. She covered her nose, but it helped nothing.
"It ain't that bad child," she said. " Grab a basket."
Rae looked at the basket and dug swiftly in her crossbody purse for hand sanitizer abs a tissue. She poured some in her hand and on the handle, rubbing it in her hands and using the tissue to disinfect.
They went down each isle and Rae didn't have a clue what she was doing. People always shopped for her necessities. She frowned when she reached for Suave deodorant instead of Secret out Dove. They had no Pantene shampoo but Suave and Agua-Fresh toothpaste instead of Crest Pro-heath. Everything in the basket was cheap and off brand. From the tampons to the kitchen utensils, this was hell. Cheap hell.
"Ms. Hayes!" A older dark chocolate man yelled from behind the counter. "Good ta see ya back in des part of town."
"Thanks Pete," Carla nodded too the store owner.
Rae said nothing, but glanced down at the counter and saw candy bars and small bags of chips, lottery scratchers through the glass case, skull flasks and hookah pens. Behind the man were different types of alcohol, cigarettes, and a small t.v. showing the weather. Rae pointed to the assortment of Mexican religious candles.
"I thought these were only seen in the movies," Rae giggled.
"Ya making fun of my business little girl, huh?" Pete sneered, an eyebrow raised in question. "Ya fucking think my business is a joke princess?"
"I'm s-sorry," Rae stuttered, stunned at his outburst. "I wasn't-"
Pete chuckled and punched Rae in the shoulder, knocking the wind out of her. "Im fucking with ya my Nubian princess," he cleared. "Damn Carla ya gotta toughen her out or she aint gone last a week in da hood."
"That's enough Pete," Carla told him. "What's the total?"
"Fifty- eight, thirty-sev," he read.
"Sixty dollars!?" Rae exclaimed. "For off brand products, that's obsurd!"
Pete looked from Carla to Rae. "Da fuck is up wit dis big vocabulary?" He asked Carla, pointing his thumb over to Rae. "Did she just call me some shit?"
Carla sighed. "No, Pete," she groaned. "Pay the man Rae."
Bitting the inside of her lip, Rae dug deep in her purse and pulled out the envelope that Carla gave her. Carla glared at her and shook her head. She had so much to learn and wasn't doing any good pulling out a wad of cash in front of people. Rae handed over sixty bucks.
"Peter, have someone put the bags in my car parked out in front," Rae voiced, turning around and leaving.
Pete glared at her. "Da name is Pete and I ain't-"
Carla held up her hand to stop him. "Don't mind her," she stated at he handed her Rae's change and dozens of bags
"Who is she ta ya?" He asked, curiously.
She paused at the sudden question, stopping at the door. Carla looked over her shoulder. "Someone special to me," she replied.
She put the bags in the back of the truck when she got outside. Rae was standing next to the truck waiting for her to unlock her door.
"I need to make a stop at the post office," she said, as she handed the keys to Rae. "Take the car back to the apartment and unwind. You remember the way?"
"No I can go with you," Rae suggested, not loving the idea of being split up with Carla at a time like this.
"You'll be fine," Carla said, patting her back." Make a right on Rosecrans and another on Prairie, the apartments are on the left. "
"Are you kidding me?" Rae laughed, nervously.
"I have a life on my own," Carla said. " Go back to he apartment Rae. I'll catch the bus home."
The bus?
With that Carla turned around on her heels and left. Rae stood there stun, in the middle of the hood.
And no! She didn't remember the way!