Free West End Girls by Lena Scott

rest of the day. Maybe life could turn around, with just a little push. Just thinking about a nice man in her life made the rest of her day pleasant. She didn’t care that Marquis had “acted his ass” and refused to get on the bus with them after she’d spent the last of her food stamps in preparation for his party.
    Nothing fazed her, until the bus driver stopped for his break in the P . She’d forgotten that, from this direction, she’d hit the Palemos before the West End. It was break time for the drivers at this time of day. That morning she’d taken another bus, which sideswiped the old neighborhood, so she had avoided all this. Now the scent of the burnt air filled her nostrils as soon as the door opened. Apple was clearly excited, jumping around in the seat, as she apparently recalled her feelings. It was obvious she was remembering what she’d seen the just two days before.
    Unique thought she would die from embarrassment. But how many people really connected her with Javina Nation, who clearly favored her other children more than her? It wasn’t as if people got to see Unique grow up here. By the time she started being a real person, she was on her back, and her feet in stirrups, giving life to another poor child. Did the people think Marquis was Javina’s child? Her brother, not her son?
    Unique pushed all those dark memories to the back of her mind. She knew, if she kept thinking this way, she would be glad the house was gone, glad her mother was gone. She stared out the window, trying to pretend she didn’t hear her baby daughter yapping about the explosion, telling everyone within earshot, “The dope man blew my Big Mama’s house up!”
    Since Javina threw Unique out of that house, she had always tried to pretend she didn’t care about the house or this neighborhood, that she had no ties to it. But already she missed the house tremendously. For her sanity she knew things needed to get put back like they were. She had barely come to grips with her mother’s death. Either way, she needed to do whatever she could to get that house rebuilt. Surely the insurance company was going to help them . . . if only she could find out which insurance company Javina used.
    Unique thought about the last time they were all together in that house, Apple’s first Christmas. Nobody knew how sick Mama was, or how much trouble Larry was in. With Larry being a little slow, who would think he was associated with such bad people?
    Mama’s longtime boyfriend, Mr. Ralph, had brought by a ham. He was always bringing something good to the house like that. It seemed that every time Mama got short, Mr. Ralph was there. Unique smiled at the memory. Mr. Ralph, bald and with a braided gray goatee, liked to think he was an old-school pimp. He wore furs and a lot of jewelry and always called everybody “ Baby ,” and sounded a lot like Sammy Davis, Jr. when he did. He even called the boys that. Funny thing was, the boys respected him. There was something about Mr. Ralph that just commanded the deference.
    Mama treated Mr. Ralph like a king. Sometimes she and Mr. Ralph would disappear into her room for hours, and nobody even cared. Mr. Ralph would even stay with them sometimes when Mama went out.
    Wonder where she used to go? Unique thought .
    Suddenly the bus jerked to a start. Break time was over for the driver.
    Unique’s heart filled with emotion when she glanced over at Cammie, who was eating a Pop-Tart she’d taken from the box. She had been silent for a long time, so Unique must’ve failed to notice her digging around in one of the bags for the snack.
    An older woman said, “Po’ baby.”
    â€œShe ain’t hungry, she’s greedy.” Unique wanted to snatch the treat from Cammie’s crumby mouth. “Always into junk!”
    â€œWell, baby, you’re the mother. Don’t buy the shit.” The woman sat back in her seat,