Across town, Blanca was getting ready for her day when there was a knock on the door. She slowly walked down the hall to answer.
She opened the door to see Cubby grinning at her with excitement.
"Hello!" Cubby said brightly.
Blanca looked him up and down.
"Well," she said. "This is a surprise."
"I was just in the neighborhood," Cubby said. "And I thought it wouldn't hurt to go and visit my ex mother of Evangelista."
He then picked up a bag that he's been carrying over his shoulder. Blanca looked at him again and scoffed.
"And you want to see if I have room for you to come back and stay?" she folds her arms.
"Oh God no," Cubby laughed. "I'm here to just drop you off a week's worth of food."
Blanca's eyes widened.
"Well, mostly breakfast food," he said.
"Oh," she said, tongue tied. "Come on in."
She made way for him and he slowly walked in.
"You know where the kitchen is," she said, closing the door.
"Where is everyone?" Cubby asked.
"Out and about," she said.
"Hmph," Cubby shook his head. "I guess everyone's doing that today."
He put the bag of food on the kitchen counter. Blanca leans on the doorway.
"And you think that's new for you because?" she asked.
Cubby sighed.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said.
He started to unpack the bag and display the food for her to see.
"Damn!" Blanca was amazed. "You did all of this?"
"All I asked was to have a birthday breakfast with the family," said Cubby. "And they couldn't do that."
"Oh that's right, today's your birthday," Blanca said. "Right in the butt crack of spring."
"Yeah, and the best part is that I got a fifty dollar gas bill for a present," Cubby said, with fake cheer.
"What?" she gave him a look. "Who the hell would give you a-."
She thought about it for a moment and she put two and two together.
"Yep, by yours truly," he said.
Blanca rolled her eyes.
"She's such an asshole!" She spat.
"Yeah, what else is new," Cubby shrugged.
Blanca walked over to take a closer look at one of the dishes
"Now what you got there is the Quiche," Cubby pointed out. "When you're ready to serve all you have to do is to put it in the oven on three fifty for twenty to twenty five minutes."
"Looks good too," Blanca said. "I'll make sure to tell the others. But what about the rest?"
"The rest can be the same," said Cubby. "Unless you have a microwave. But I recommend the hashbrowns to be refried on the stove. It would make it more crunchy on the outside."
"Got it," she said.
Cubby smiled lightly as Blanca started putting stuff in the fridge.
"You know I always wondered," Cubby said. "How did you manage to leave?"
"What do you mean?" she asked.
"Like how did you have the courage to leave Elektra and the family?" Cubby asked in a serious tone."
Blanca thought about it for a moment and shrugged.
"I just got tired of her BS," she said. "Plus I knew that I wanted to be a house mother too."
"You do have potential," Cubby admitted.
"Yeah," she said. "Why do you ask?"
Cubby sighed as he leaned against the counter.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm not appreciated," Cubby admitted. "I mean I'm grateful for being part of Wintour, but-."
He paused.
"You're wondering if it's time to fly the nest?" Blanca asked rhetorically.
"Yeah pretty much," Cubby smiled. "In fact I've been thinking about it for weeks."
Blanca shrugged.
"Well then...You might as well do it."
"What?" Cubby was surprised.
"You should fly the nest," Blanca said.
"What are you talking about?!" Cubby said. "You should be saying stuff like 'have you lost your mind' or 'you're making a stupid mistake!"
Blanca shook her head. Cubby looked into her eyes for a brief moment.
"So...you're not gonna talk me out of this?" He asked hesitantly.
"I hate to break this to you, but I can't make this decision for you," Blanca shrugged. "It's up to you to decide and to figure it out for yourself."
Blanca could tell by Cubby's gesture that he was agreeing to what she was talking about.
"Yeah," Cubby finally said. "You're right."
"Yeah," Blanca said.
Cubby took a moment to let it all sink in.
"Oh my God," Cubby realized. "I'm really going to do this...I think I feel like I'm gonna throw up!"
"Boy you gonna be fine," said Blanca. "We all get to this point once in a while."
"But I'm scared, Blanca," Cubby admitted. "This shit is serious, it's not like I'm moving over to Evangelista, and to move right back when things get rough...Oh yeah, I meant to say sorry that I put you through that."
"Mmhmm," Blanca folds her arms looking sassy.
"But I really think it's the right thing to do," Cubby said.
"You're a grown man now," said Blanca. "Pretty soon, you'll probably have kids of your own."
Cubby looked at her and laughed out loud.
"Okay, let's not push it," he said. "But this is gonna be tough, I'm running out of money. I stopped getting my allowance at seventeen. I've been living off of what I saved ever since."
"Damn, that is tough," Blanca said. "But you know what would definitely help you out in the long run?"
"What?"
"That three letter word that begins with a J and ends with a B."
Cubby looked at her for a second and then gasped.
"No," he moaned.
Blanca laughed out loud.
"No, I can't," Cubby whined. "Who's gonna hire me anyways. I don't have any skills!"
Blanca shrugged again.
"Sometimes you gotta start from the bottom, baby boy."
"Oh wonderful," Cubby said with sarcasm.
"You are Elektra's assistant, anyways," said Blanca. "Just find something that's similar."
"Oh hell no!" Cubby scoffed. "One Elektra's good enough. I don't have time to deal with another one."
"With you on that," she said.
Cubby sighed.
"Well, I guess this is a new beginning," he stated. "But where do I even start."
"All you have to do is to go out there and look," said Blanca.
"Damn,"Cubby said. "Manhattan is so huge though.
"It is," I said.
"But I know there are a lot of places in the city that I like going to," said Cubby.
"So, where is your favorite place to hang out?" Blanca asked. "Maybe that's a good area for jobs.
Cubby nodded as he gave it a good thought.
A few hours later after he left Blanca's house, Cubby headed down to his old stomping ground, Coney Island. He got really excited when he saw a whole bunch of landmarks and buildings. When he got to the last stop he had a big smile on his face.
"Hello, my Coney Island," he said out loud. "I miss you so!"
He took a deep breath.
"This is the best place ever!" He said proudly.
"Big deal!" a man said as he pushed past him.
"Yeah you wish it was!" Cubby shouted back.
He spent hours hitting up all the shops and stores picking up resumes and requesting interviews. He now feels his confidence is coming back to him. But he still remains cautious of getting his hopes up.
"Well, so far so good," he said. "All I have to do is fill all of these papers out."
He then found a corner for him to stand in and went through his almost wrinkled papers.
"So many options," he said, trying not to be overwhelmed.
Next he decides to stop by Dunkin Donuts to get a little snack before heading home. Just as he was about to open the door, someone comes rushing out slamming into him completely knocking him to the ground. His papers went flying everywhere.
"Hey! Watch where you're-," Cubby spat.
Then all of a sudden he paused to look up at who knocked him down. There standing right in front of him was a handsome attractive man. He was African American averaged build and stood about five feet eight to five feet 10 inches. A sensual smile crept on Cubby's face.
"My bad," the guy said, as he helped Cubby up."Oh, ah...hello," Cubby said, blushing.
The guy smiled back at him.
"Wassup," he said.
"Oh, I was just in the neighborhood doing some job hunting," Cubby said, changing his attitude."
"Job hunting?" said the man. "You know, we are a little bit short of employees."
"Oh," said Cubby hesitantly.
"The name is Troy Donovan," he said. "Store manager, and part time college student."
A big grin appeared on Cubby's face once again.
"Handsome and educated," Cubby said. "My two favorite combinations."
"Oh yeah," said Troy. "Good to know."
"Indeed," Cubby said.
Troy tries to hide his blush.
"Well, this is where I work," he said. "You know, if you want to see me again...This is where I'll be."
"Perfect," Cubby smiled.
"Alright, I gotta go run this errand," he said. "I don't know if you're gonna stick around, but I guess I'll see you soon, then."
"Ah, yeah," said Cubby. "Of course."
Troy took one last look at Cubby and walked off. Cubby smiled to himself as he entered the Dunkin Donuts.
Right away the line was super long and the crowd was getting impatient. Cubby tries to look ahead to see what was the hold up, but it was too chaotic.
"What in God's fog legs of hell is going on," Cubby asked. "It's like waiting for the damn ferry!"
"Yo, I heard that there's only one person that's working the register!" said the guy in front of him.
"One person!" Cubby exclaimed. "Oh hell to the no! I ain't going through this today!"
He slammed his papers on the table and marched his way through the front weaving through the crowd.
"Yo, the hell are you doing," a guy said. "You're just gonna cut the line like that?"
"No one's not cutting anybody!" Cubby hollered back.
When Cubby finally made his way to the front, he saw a worker who was a teenage boy sitting off to the side flipping through a magazine.
"Excuse me!" Cubby called to him.
The boy doesn't look up.
"Hello!" Cubby.
The boy slowly looked up at him nonchalantly.
"Don't you see the long line in front of you?" Cubby asked. "Or do you need to go to an eye doctor?"
"I'm on break," said the boy.
"Yeah?" said Cubby. "So are the rest of us bitches up in here! You know the damn world out there takes and drains our energy twenty four, seven. That's why we all drag our asses here to escape, or a least get a cup of coffee."
The crowd agreed as they root for Cubby. The boy just stood there and shrugged. Cubby rolled his eyes.
"Is there any other employee that can take our order, so we can bounce?" Cubby asked.
"There is one more person that's running late," the boy said.
"Running late?" asked Cubby. "What kind of workers are you people?"
"Look, it is what it is," said the boy. "I don't know when she's gonna come in, and I'm still on my break, which I have earned thank you."
Cubby gave him a glaring look.
"Now, I'm sorry but you gonna have to wait until my break is over," the boy said. "Unless the other worker decides to show up before then. Otherwise...I don't know what to tell you."
Cubby looked back at the crowd which they started to complain again. Cubby had enough of the foolishness. So he then proceeded to climb over the counter to the teen's surprise.
"Hey!" The teen said, rushing in front of Cubby. "What are you doing?"
"Boy move!" Cubby pushed the boy out of his way. He got one of the coffee cups, went up to the machine, took out the pot and started to pour the drink. The kid looked shocked.
"Look, I will call the cops, sir!" snapped the kid.
"Well, call them," Cubby shrugged. "I'll be here, I have nothing to lose. Besides, it looks like you're gonna be a hell of a lot busy anyways! You need to be refilling these coffee pots.
Cubby then dug in his Jean pocket and pulled out a few dollar bills. He hands it to the kid.
"I believe this belongs to the cash register," Cubby smiled.
The kid reluctantly took the cash.
"So, you think you're the boss now huh?!" the kid looked at him up and down. "You think you can just waltz up in here and order people around, and take over just like that."
Cubby thought about it for a second.
"I bet you don't have a resume or anything,â the boy gave Cubby a smug look as he rolled his neck. â Youâ re just a ghetto street kid ainâ t you?â
Cubby looked at the boy for a good minute, then he chuckled, unfazed by the comment.
â Whatâ s so funny?â the boy scowled at him.
â Maybe I am a ghetto street kid,â Cubby said, as he got in the boyâ s face. â But bitch, I still outrank you! Job or no job! In or out this shop, and in these streets!â
The boy scoffed.
â Yeah, you just donâ t know it yet,â Cubby smirked.
â Youâ re crazy!â said the boy.
â Yes, I am,â Cubby admitted.
The customer thatâ s standing in front of the counter interrupted them.
â Câ mon man,â he said. â I just want a goddamn donut.â
Cubby then turned to the customer and smiled.
â You know what sir,â Cubby walked over to the counter where the donuts were. â You do deserve a donut.â
He took a plastic cloth from a box and got close to the donuts. The boy was too shocked to move.
â Now which one do you want?â Cubby smiled.
â Just a chocolate glaze,â said the customer.
Cubby picked out one of the good chocolate donuts from the donut display and was about to give it to the customer, but he turned back to the boy who still looked outraged. He then turned back to the customer and handed the donut to him slowly.
â That would be ninety two cents,â Cubby said with a smile.
â Good looks bro,â the customer gave Cubby the money.
The boy then rushes over to Cubbyâ s side as Cubby figures out to open the cash register.
â Dude what the hell are you doing?â the boy asked.
â Trying to save your ass,â Cubby whispered. â Not that you deserved it. Now I advise you to go back there and make some more coffee.
The boy was taken aback a little bit. Cubby then welcomed the next customer in line.
â Howâ s it going sir,â Cubby smiled. â What can I get for you today?â