Ch. 16: Rush Hour

A Chapter by Tina Bee

Myra hurries home, but will she make it on time for her date?

"M**********r" Sonny muttered as we passed David.

I said nothing and rummaged through my purse to get my cell phone out. There was a missed call and four texts.

The call was from Mom and the texts were from Daisy, Ricky, and Greg.

I avoided reading the one from Greg and moved onto Daisy's.

"Hey you busy?" Daisy asked.

"No, why what's up?" I asked.

"Nothing just bored. You want to hang out tonight?" Daisy asked.

"Not tonight, but definitely tomorrow night" I said.

"Oh why not?" Daisy asked.

"I'm busy" I said.

"Busy doing what?" Daisy asked.

I ignored that and moved onto Ricky's text which he had sent ten minutes ago while I was talking to David.

"Hey are you ready?" Ricky asked.

"No not yet" I said.

He didn't respond so I moved on to Greg's text.

"Hey Myra I'm so sorry about yesterday. Please call or text me when you can forgive me" Greg said.

I didn't respond to that either. I couldn't get over Greg's dramatics last night and so many things were going on that I didn't have time for drama.

Sonny merged onto the freeway. It was nearing 7:30 PM and Ricky was to pick me up at 9 PM. I was itching to get out the car.

"Please drop me off at home first!" I shouted to Sonny over the blaring music.

"Yea" Sonny said.

I sat back and my phone buzzed. It was Ricky.

"Me neither, but I'm about to get in the shower. I can't wait to see you. I miss you" Ricky said.

"I miss you too" I responded.

I sat back and closed my eyes. I was still reeling when I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. I let it go to voice mail. When the voice mail sign popped up on my phone I called and checked it.

"Hey you boyfriend stealing b***h you know who this is. I heard about Ricky, you know my BOYFRIEND, taking you out tonight and I just want you to know it's not going to happen" It was Laura.

How she had gotten my number was a mystery to me. I saved the voice mail and planned on playing it for Ricky when he picked me up.

We got home a little before 8 PM. I ran inside ignoring all the people Kevin had over. Up the stairs I went with my purse and shopping bag. I had thirty minutes to shower and another thirty to do my hair, make-up, and then get dressed.

When I got into the bathroom I made sure the door was locked. I didn't want another surprise tonight. I climbed into the shower and washed off. The scent of that garage clung to me and I scrubbed my skin roughly to get it off. I didn't wash my hair because it would be too much of a hassle to dry it and then fix it. I planned on flat ironing it so it could straighten up.

When I got out the shower I went to my phone which I had set by the sink. I had a text from Ricky.

"I'm leaving in ten minutes. You gonna be out there?" Ricky asked.

"Yea" I responding.

The flat iron was hot and I wiped the steam off the mirror and then went to open the bathroom window. The night was still so very hot, but a slight breeze blanketed the room.

I worked quickly on my hair. Then I went to my vanity and got my lotion. I was completely dry at this point and so I applied it all over.

I took my dress out the bag and put it on a hanger I had inside my bathroom closet. Then I went back to the mirror to apply some eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lip gloss. By the time I was done my phone was ringing. It was Ricky.

"Hey" I said answering.

"You ready?" Ricky asked.

"Yea are you out there?" I asked feeling my stomach growing tense.

"Give me ten minutes. I'm on my way. I can't wait to see you" Ricky said.

"Yea me neither" I said.

"Ok I'll call you when I get there" Ricky said.

"Ok" and I hung up.

Finally I had my make up perfect. I went to put on the dress. It fit like a glove and was exceptionally beautiful. I put on my shoes and grabbed my purse and headed for my bedroom.

While inside my room I heard more people heading upstairs. One of my brothers was hosting a party. I could tell by the volume of people inside and I could hear some on the back patio. Mom really loved socializing and she allowed these get together's to go on. She had a hired maid who would clean up the entire house so cleaning up was not a worry.

My only concern was that mom kept expensive things everywhere. Sometimes she'd misplace items and then we'd have to go through an interrogation and lock down until the item was either returned or replaced. It had been awhile since someone had stolen anything from here. I guess they all realized that Sonny would hunt down anyone who would rip us off. He had done so on plenty occasions. Mom never stopped him either.

There was a gentle knock on my door. Mom came in with Buster in her arms.

"So you're going?" Mom said coming in and closing the door.

"Yup" I answered.

"You look gorgeous" Mom said.

"Thank you" I said.

"You can model. You have the body Myra" Mom said.

"I know, but it's not something I want for myself" I told her.

"I understand. Well have fun and make sure if you do decide to have sex to make sure he wears a condom" Mom said.

Buster lept out of mom's hands and began sniffing around my room.

"I'll let you know and thanks for the money. This dress is the ish" I told mom.

"It's wonderful. Now call me if this guy turns out to be a sleaze. I'll go pick you up no matter where you are no questions asked" Mom said.

"Ok I will" I said.

"Come on Buster let's go. Mama has to make sure those kids downstairs behave themselves" Mom said and Buster went to her and she left.

It was good a party was happening. Chances were none of my brothers would notice me leaving.

My phone rang.

"Hey" I said.

"I'm out here" Ricky said.

"I'm leaving" I said.

"See you" Rick said.

I hung up and grabbed my charger. I had extra cash on me as well just in case. As I left my room I looked back before turning my light off somehow I knew when I came back from this date everything would be different.

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