Tainted (Oh Captain, My Captain 7)

“What are you wearing tonight?” Mona asks once my nails are soaking in the lavender oil.

“Well,” I have no fucking clue. I have to stop at Goodwill when I leave here. “I’m not sure yet.”

“What color are you thinking for your nails, then?”

“Let’s do a royal blue. That way I’ll know it goes with anything I have.” By that I mean, the four outfits I own.

“It sounds perfect.” Mona smiles and we begin to chitchat about the weather and the new car she bought.

A car.

Oh, how I would love to have a car someday. It’s one wish I would love to have come true. I wouldn’t have to wait on the damn bus or walk everywhere. Not like I have many places to go, but it would be nice to have one.

Mona goes on talking about her kids, her husband, and her perfect life. She only does nails part-time to get her out of the house a few hours a day. She calls it her ‘play money’. I try not to roll my eyes when she says that, but really it sounds a bit ridiculous to me.

“How’s work going for you?”

I giggle. “Oh, you know, same-ole-same-ole.” If she only knew the truth. I have never told her what I really do. I mean, come on; this is my pretend time. I just tell her I work from home. I’m not sure what she thinks I actually do, but it’s not a big deal.

When she finishes and my nails are dry, I pay her and head out of the Love Spa. I walk down several blocks to catch the bus and make sure no one sees me. Once I sit down on the bus, it’s back to reality. Back to my life at Greenwood. I stare out the window and watch the pretty houses and perfect schools with Norman Rockwell families fade from downtown. With one swift turn to the left, the potholes become more abundant and the druggies start making their appearances on the corner.

I shake my head as I pull the cord for the bus to stop on the next corner. I hop off and walk over to the large Goodwill. I walk in and quickly thumb through the racks.

Fuck, I need to find something that will work for tonight. I should just suggest going to Burger King for our date. At least then, I won’t need to dress fancy.

I come across a long sweater dress for eight dollars. I have a pair of tights that aren’t fish netted that I could wear along with some boots. It’s not super classy, but it might work.

It’ll have to work because there are no other options.

I pay for the dress and walk to my apartment. I can’t afford another bus fare because I still need to get to work this week. Even though the money Valo gave me covered my rent, I need to think about my other bills and food.

The sun is slowly going down as I walk up the sidewalk to Greenwood.

“Well, if it isn’t Baby Jade.”

I groan and look up, seeing Rick on the corner with his two bodyguards.

“When you gonna leave Mike and come work for me?”

“Never,” I bark at him and start to walk faster.

“Your momma already works for me. She can show you the ropes,” he hollers at me.

I turn to him. “That’s disgusting. That’s my mother you’re talking about.” Only I can talk bad about her. I’ll beat everyone else’s ass if they do.

“Oh, right.” His smirk shows his gold teeth and he points over his shoulder. “There she is showing a young man some directions.”

Directions? Can’t he just say the truth?

Without meaning to, I look over at the beat up pickup truck he’s pointing to and I see my mother’s head bobbing up and down. I turn my head and swallow back the nastiness in my throat. It’s not the first time I’ve seen Mom in that position, but it’s still sickening.

“I’ll leave a slot open for you,” Rick says smoothly to me.

I turn my gaze up to him. “Take the slot and shove it. I’m not fucking working for you.” I spin on my heels and make a beeline for my apartment, making sure the doors are locked after I get inside.

I have an hour to get ready and get down to Valo and I don’t have a moment to spare or to think about my mom’s activities.

I style my hair and my curls seem to be out of control, even when I try to tame them. I think about going heavy on my makeup as I usually do, but stop myself and keep it light and soft. I don’t change my contacts, however. I like my purple eyes. It keeps my bluish-green eyes hidden from others. The sweater dress is a little snug in the hips, but overall fits fine. The tights are a little thin, but will have to do, and I use the black Sharpie on my ankle boots to hide the scuff marks.