"Did you and Jazmine struggle when you moved to Washington?" Huelene asked.
"Yes, there was a lot of struggle that came with moving to Washington," Huey answered.
"Like?" Huelene asked wanting to know more.
"Like, adjusting to paying bills, getting to know people in the area, going to parties where the Howard kids were at, getting paid less because of our gender and race, trying to find time to spend with each other, dealing with diseases that were going around at Jazmine's job, learning to trust each other, and trying to be a couple that lived together," Huey named.
"Wow, that seems like a lot!" Huelene said being surprised.
"How did you guys adjust to bills?" Huelene asked.
It was difficult to adjust to bills that came from the left to the right. We had to pay rent, water, power, natural gas, phone, trash, and the mailman, among other things.
Bill after bill came in the mail. And Jazmine and I would occasionally avoid paying our landlord, the mailman, and other debtors until we could come up with the money to do so.
We both tried to inform them of our condition in terms of relocating to the area and starting new employment, but they were unmoved. They informed us that this was the real world and that the real world would not be kind to newbies.
Almost every week, Jazmine and I would sit down at the table to plan how we would spend and save our money. We used it primarily to pay our bills, then saved for our college tuition, leaving us with little money to spend on food.
Mrs. Johnson, our widowed next-door neighbor, would always appreciate me and Jazmine's company, and she was aware of our predicament and would offer to feed us.
Of course, I didn't like give away's, so I would deny her offers, but she wouldn't take no for an answer.
So she would feed Jazmine and me, and we were able to save up money from buying food on most occasions.
Whenever we were late with our other bills, Jazmine and I had to use our looks to pay for less.
I know it sounds bad, but this was the only time Jazmine and I both agreed to flirt with other people.
Our landlord was a guy who was already married and had kids, but he would check out other women behind his wife's back.
Since his wife had kids, her body had changed and it didn't look like what it used to look like when they first met. He was disgusted by it!
But, he honestly didn't have room to judge because he didn't look his best either.
I hated men like that!
They always had room to judge and disrespect their wives for their bodies. It makes you realize the ugly truth you find out about a person you fell in love with.
I wonder if men like him are ever thankful for them bringing their children into the world and loving them. But his actions answer my question.
I didn't like him checking out Jazmine and I honestly felt guilty for encouraging her to do it.
But if you were us, you'd probably do it too, especially if you're struggling to pay bills, and the landlord is offering a discount.
And to make sure that he kept giving us discounts, Jazmine and I always acted as if our relationship was bad because he didn't like us together since he showed interest in Jazmine.
I always noted to stay inside of the house and not invade, and if I did invade Jazmine would act upset so he'll feel bad for her.
In my case, I had to flirt with the lady at the gas station. Since Jazmine and I were always using the one car we had, we would run up a lot of gas throughout the week.
So whenever I would go to the gas station to pay for gas, the lady at the cash register would always check me out and occasionally flirt with me.
Jazmine witnessed this and got upset, but once she realized the lady gave us a discount, she gave me permission to flirt back.
She said as long as I didn't make any physical contact with her I was good, and I gave her the same rule about our landlord.
Then when it came to our house appliances where we often had either stolen from our jobs or took advantage of the things they had.
For instance, Jazmine would always steal toilet paper, body wash, lotion, first aid kits, toothpaste, toothbrushes, razors, etc.
She even would take our clothes and wash them at the hospital so we wouldn't have to go to the laundry mat.
At my job, people would usually either give away their car or have us try to fix it.
What I would do is, I would look under their seats, dig through the seats, and try to find money they would leave.
On most occasions, I was able to find a lot and the customers never came back to question me about it.
Whenever it was given away, I would take a few car parts and fix them up so I could place them on my car. And when my boss and coworkers weren't looking I would steal some of the tools and take them back to my place.
I couldn't do as much as Jazmine did, but I tried my best.
"Oh, so my parents were thieves?" Huelene questioned trying to be funny.
"I wouldn't call it being a thief. I would call it finders keepers and losers weepers, and also borrowing," Huey defended as Huelene cocked her eyebrow at him.
"If you borrow something you return it," Huelene corrected.
"Fine I would call it a grant," Huey said as Huelene frowned at him.
"Okay, anyway, what was it like going to the Howard Parties?" Huelene asked as Huey sighed at the memory of it.
Jazmine and I wanted to meet some of our future classmates and people with whom we might cross paths on campus. So, some of our friends who went to Howard knew we were going after a year of working, and they felt it would be a good idea for us to come to the Fratiertiy parties so we could meet some people. And perhaps consider pledging.
As a result, Jazmine and I decided to attend one of the parties when we got off work early. Of course, Howard was recognized not only for its academics and for being a predominantly black school, but also for its parties. And the gathering we attended was not a disappointment. It was in one of the Frats' houses, and when I walked in, I immediately felt at ease. Everywhere I looked, African American students were aspiring to achieve something in the future rather than being caught up in gang violence and staying at home.
Everybody just had a want to be there!
One of my dreams was finally coming true. I was here, and it felt nice to be here.
It made me want to work harder at work and save up more so Jazmine and I could go here.
I couldn't wait to go here and do all the activities they did as a whole and for our people. This felt like my type of school and I didn't want to turn back from it.
I met so many good people!
I met some of the people who protested, who were future activists, who wanted to build an organization to help our people, then some dancers wanted to preserve some of our ancestor dances alive by performing them, then some people got high, and so on. It felt like home because there were so many nice people there. It just seemed like I was in the company of myself, but as a vast variety of people.
And every now and then, I'd cast a look across the room towards Jazmine, who was also mingling. Many individuals would approach me and ask about Jazmine. They stated she had an exotic appearance, but in a pleasant way.
I didn't know how to react to that!
And it made me start looking at the people around her. Some people admired her while others were disgusted by her, and it made me oddly confused.
Then there were some guys and girls that would come up to me so they could get with Jazmine. I had to let them know she was mine.
Others were bold enough to approach her and start flirting with her. I was fully aware of this and kept notes to watch after those people when we start going here.
Other girls approached me and began flirting with me and attempting to sleep with me. I had to decline and inform them that I was dating Jazmine. They walk away disgusted by me, but I believe this was one of the reasons why some of the girls were envious of Jazmine.
She was taking some of the brotha's attention away from the other girls.
Jazmine went to settle down on one of the couches towards the end of it all, exhausted. I checked the time to see if it was late, and she was starting to fall asleep. It was time for us to go home and get ready for work the next day. I went and got her so we could go back home and sleep.
When I was driving us back home she looked as if she was in a daze.
"You okay?" I asked her as she zoned back in.
"Yeah, I'm just tired," she answered.
"Okay, well, how was your experience there?" I asked.
"At first, I didn't feel like I belonged there because I didn't see anybody there like me. It felt strange being the only mixed kid there, but I realized that I'm used to this type of feeling. And as I was there, I had to remember the real reason I wanted to come here," Jazmine explained.
"It felt nice getting to know new people and trying to come out of my shell. My parents never informed me about my other half and I just want to know the history behind it. I know enough about my mom's side, and now I feel it's time for me to get to know about my dad's side," Jazmine shared. She started to feel calmer as she explained how she felt.
When Jazmine and I were talking about universities, I was surprised when she indicated she wanted to go to Howard University instead of Yale, Harvard, Princeton, and other prestigious schools where the majority of students were white. She explained that she wanted to travel there to learn more about her origins and communicate with her other half. She stated she wanted to know how it would feel around her other half of the people because she had always put on an act for white people.
At first, I worried for her when we got to the party, but she assured me that everything was fine.
"Well, that's good!" I said proudly, for her coming out of her shell.
I just couldn't wait to go here with her!
"That's kind of heartwarming and sad at the same time," Huelene said zoned out.
"How so?" Huey questioned.
"Because at the end of all of this, she never went to school, and you went in at Howard alone," Huelene said almost causing Huey to tear up at the memory.
"Yeah, I know," he said sucking it up.
Thank you for reading!