Free Holidaze by L. Divine Page B

and beyond for me when I need him, like following me to my mom’s house, even though I know he’s as tired as I am. Who said chivalry was dead?
     
    When I finally arrive at my mom’s apartment, it’s dark and vacant, as usual. I turn the lights in the living room on and drop my bags on the floor by the door. I guess she and Karl had plans. I miss hanging with my mom on the weekends, but I understand how being in love can be. All I really want is the tea she promised and to go to sleep.
    I take the large bottle of horse-sized pills Dr. Whitmore gave me out of my weekend bag, and immediately decide against taking them tonight. It’s just something about swallowing these large things that makes my stomach turn in the worst way. Besides, I don’t want to mix the tea my mom mentioned with the doctor’s medicine. But since my mom isn’t here to make her concoction, maybe I can find the recipe in her spirit notebook.
    “Now, do you think I’d leave my baby hanging like that? When you get settled, your tea is in the pot on the stove. Don’t add anything to it. Karl and I have a tennis match tonight and a tournament this weekend. I’ll check in with you tomorrow. Sleep well, baby.”
    “Thank you. I’m going to drinking this now so that by the time I’m ready to go to sleep I can just fall out,” I say aloud. My mom needs a pet, because when she’s not here I have no one to talk to. I don’t want the neighbors to think I’m crazy. I walk into the kitchen and take a mug out of the dish strainer and fill it with the warm, fragrant brew on the stove. I wonder what’s on television tonight. There must be a Girlfriends marathon on or something to keep me company.
    The couch looks so inviting, with all of the fluffy pillows and the velvet throw draped across it. I’ll make it up into my bed later. Right now I just want to sit down and unwind. I could sleep in my mom’s bed when she’s not here, but I feel like I can’t hear everything if I’m in the bedroom—not that I want to hear too much of anything tonight. If this elixir does the trick I should be down for the count soon, tired feet and all. My cream pumps have been pinching my feet since I got in my mom’s car to come here. I guess my Kenneth Coles don’t agree with pressing on a clutch.
    “’Cause I’m a boss, boss, boss,” Kelis sings, announcing a text message as I sip on my drink. It’s Jeremy, wanting to know if I’m all right. I guess not seeing me for two days has made him miss me a little bit. Good. He needs to miss what he could’ve had if he’d acted right. Both he and Rah have a tendency to take me for granted, and that’s changing as we speak.
    As soon as I’m back on my A game, they both won’t know what hit them, because Miss Nice is about to be replaced by a new and improved Jayd Jackson—no nickname needed, even if my license plates will read LADY J when they arrive. Rah and I already applied for them when we registered my old hoopty. I just have to get the registration transferred from that vehicle to my mom’s, if she decides to let me take it over completely. It all depends on how long Karl lets my mom roll his second ride. If things continue to go as smoothly between the two of them as they are now, I should be able to drive my mom’s car indefinitely.
    Speaking of taking over, my head is starting to feel heavy and the room is spinning slightly. Barely able to place the tea back down on the coffee table, I look down at my half-empty cup and lean back into the couch pillows. What’s in this stuff? I’m feeling overwhelmed by my tiredness all of a sudden, so I’ll have to worry about researching the ingredients tomorrow. Tonight I’m going to surrender to this feeling and let it lull me to sleep.
     
    “And for my beautiful girls,” my dad says, passing my mom a red box with a large gold bow on top. They’re seated by the Christmas tree, which is next to the fireplace. My father still puts up the tree in the same place