Not Losing Sleep
“Who was the president after Trump?”
Carla looked over her phone and moved her knees so that she could see Devin. “Trump the first or Trump the second?”
Devin raised an eyebrow and scrolled his phone’s screen up and down looking for the information. “There was more than one of them? I thought it was just the crazy one. This doesn’t say that there was more than one. I think everyone would remember if we had 16 years of Trumps in office.”
He and Carla sat in silence for a moment before she started laughing.
“I’m bullshitting you,” she said. “I don’t think that college admissions people are going to be asking you to name all the presidents. But if it’s something that you’re just dying to know then it was Bernie Sanders for four years.”
“I’m studying for the ACT, actually. Need to get a 22 so I don’t end up at some JUCO in the middle of bumfuck Mississippi. I should’ve taken it last year so I wouldn’t have to worry about that but here we are.”
Carla sat up, draping her legs over Devin’s lap. “I thought that football players got people with similar names to take the ACT for them. Your name is Devin. Surely, there is a smart girl out there somewhere named Devin.”
“That’s a basketball player thing, first of all. But I’m not going to cheat. I think I can manage a 22. It’s not that high. What’d you get?”
She shrugged. “I haven’t taken it yet. I got alright scores on the prep tests. Let me know when you sign up and I’ll go take it with you. Then we’ll know what junior colleges are going to accept us as a package deal.”
“There you go trying to use my football talent to get yourself a trailer out next to Betty Sue and Jimmy.”
“Oh yeah. I haven’t done my slumming it stage yet and there is no better slumming than getting a trailer park in the Alabama backwoods. Get myself a couple kids, knock out a couple teeth, let you smack me around a bit. Sounds like a good ol’ time.”
“Didn’t know you were into BDSM. Today I learned.”
Carla kicked him in the side. “You’re dreaming if you think I’m going to give you an excuse to beat me.”
The doorbell rang through the living room.
“Chris!” Carla yelled. “Go get the fucking door!”
Devin glanced at the door and then at Carla. “You’re like ten feet away, though.”
Chris jogged through the hall, holding his middle finger up to Carla as he passed by. He opened the door and stepped back. Kaley stepped inside, giving him a wide berth.
“Hey, cuz.” He reached out to give her a hug.
She patted him on the back and shoved him away before he was able to. “Hey, Chris.”
“Go pull the wings off a moth or something, Chris. No one wants you around,” Carla called, sinking down some on the sofa.
“Go pull the wings off a month, Chris,” her little brother mocked before he turned and went back down the hall.
Carla looked at Devin. “He’d love to be in Alabama.”
“So, no one would look at him funny for going in his room and jacking off to his cousin?”
“That’s something that I didn’t need to hear. I’m going to have to start wearing a moo-moo and no makeup when I come here,” Kaley said as she walked into the living room and sat on an Ottoman. “What are y’all up to?”
“Just living our best life,” Carla said. “Shouldn’t you be in New Orleans or something?”
“No, that was only for a few weeks.”
“And you’re just coming here? How rude.”
Kaley looked at Devin who sighed and looked down at his phone. Carla noticed.
“You knew she was in town?” Carla asked.
Devin nodded slowly. “Yeah, I saw her after practice a couple times with Caesar. I figured you knew already so I didn’t say anything.” He looked at Kaley. “I’m surprised that Caesar lets you drive his car. Isn’t it pretty expensive?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Carla scoffed. “Damn, you’re already part of the family. Working fast, huh? What’s next? Getting knocked up?”
“C’mon, Carla. Don’t be like that,” Devin said trying to diffuse the situation.
“I’m just trying to be happy for once. I don’t see what’s so wrong with that. You should be happy that I’m not with David anymore. You hated him.” Kaley flipped her phone over in her hand, glanced at the notifications then laid it down next to her.
“If I had to choose between David and Caesar, I’d tell you to start fucking women,” Carla said. She tossed her phone onto the coffee table. “So, if you’ve been playing house with Caesar for weeks then what are you doing here? Sent you on a grocery run? Oh wait, they definitely have someone to do that for them.”
Kaley sighed. “Well, I need to ask you for a favor.”
“Oh no. The last time I did a favor for you, I got caught up in all your shit.”
“You could’ve said no,” Devin pointed out.
“Supposed to be on my side.”
Devin held up his hand. “My bad. Just stating the obvious.”
“You don’t even have to do anything, Carla. I just need someone to be able to say that I am somewhere that I’m not going to be. In case, my mom calls. But you know she won’t. She’ll be at the casino or something like that.”
Carla rubbed her hand across her face and then through her hair. “What in the world are you getting yourself into, Kaley?”
“I’m going to Ohio with Caesar and his family. I need you to say that I stayed here if anyone asks.”
“To the Hall of Fame ceremony?” Devin asked.
“Yeah, why?” Kaley raised an eyebrow.
He shook his head. “So, it’s going to be you, him, his parents?”
“And his grandparents. People his dad knew and stuff.”
“Already part of the fucking family,” Carla said. “Fine, but only if your mom asks. If anyone else asks, I’m telling them where you are. Not like it’d be hard to figure out anyway.”
-*****-
Devin handed Hasan his cell phone as the two of them got out of Devin’s car. Hasan flicked his finger across the screen a few times and shook his head before handing Devin back his phone.
“It’s fuckin’ crazy that coach is already givin’ us a whole agenda for when we go to Shreveport in like a month. What he expect us to do? Go out in that hick ass town and go find some farmer’s daughter to run train on?” Hasan asked.
The two of them climbed the steps onto Jamie’s porch. It had somehow gotten more dilapidated since the last time they were there months ago.
“You know that Shreveport isn’t in the boonies right?”
“Is it in Louisiana?”
“Yes.”
“Then it’s the fuckin’ boonies. The shit is basically a home game for them. We might as well keep going to Dallas and just play them there. You ask your dad why we even playin’ them?”
Devin shook his head. “Not him, but I heard that it’s some shit that Deion Jenkins is part of so that’s probably how we end up playing. Trying to get his son some TV time.”
“I want to know what it feels like to have everythin’ on a platter.”
“Must be nice.” Devin stepped forward and knocked on the door. A pair of dogs started barking. He looked at Hasan and raised an eyebrow. Hasan shrugged.
Bart swung the door open, kicking two pitbulls away when they tried to go outside. He walked out onto the porch and closed the door.
“Y’all niggas took y’all time getting here, huh?” Bart reached into his pocket and pulled out a blunt. He sparked it and took a long drag.
“You the one just poppin’ up back in Houma. Why the fuck you left Trinity, motherfucker?” Hasan asked.
“School not for me.” He held the blunt out to them but they both declined. He shrugged and took another drag. “Besides, Jamie fucking pregnant again. You know how much a bitch blow your phone up when she pregnant and taking care of another kid. Don’t get no bitches pregnant y’all.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Devin said. “So, you’re just done with school altogether?”
“Yeah, fuck that shit. I’ll slang some dope or something. You know them white people still go crazy behind that meth and heroin.”
“You a stupid nigga, but I guess if you like it then I love it,” Hasan said. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a couple cannisters of Enfamil. “Shouldn’t your kid be eatin’ real food by now?”
Bart balanced the cannisters in one hand so he could continue to smoke with the other. “He do. We got stamps and WIC for that. I’m just trying to stockpile some shit for the next one coming. I tried to get her ass to abort it, but you know they don’t listen.”
“Damn,” Hasan and Devin almost said in unison.
Jamie’s voice could be heard calling Bart from inside the house. He sucked his teeth and flicked the cherry off the end of the blunt before putting it in his pocket.
“Thanks for the shit. Y’all come through more often.” He dapped the two of them up before opening the door, kicking the two pits away again and shutting the door behind him – shouting at Jamie the entire time.
“That nigga really fucked his life up behind some mediocre pussy,” Hasan said, shaking his head.
Devin raised an eyebrow. “How do you know it’s ‘mediocre?’”
“Caesar fucked her. I figure he go with quantity not quality considering how many he knockin’ down.”
“You know Carla was with Caesar before right?”
“Oh right, my fault.”
Devin got into the car and turned the key. Hasan pulled on the door, but it was locked. He knocked on the window, but Devin put the car in reverse.
“You leavin’ me?!”
He stopped at the end of the driveway and let Hasan walk to the car and get in.
“My fault,” Devin said when he got in.
“You a bitch on the slick.” Hasan buckled his seat belt. “Let’s go grab some grub. I’m still tryin’ to figure out this agenda shit. I think better on a full stomach.”
Devin shook his head. “It’s not even that serious.”
Devin pulled out into traffic and headed away from the beat-up yard with the rundown house standing in the center of it.