Kendra by Coe Booth

Author:Coe Booth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

I leave Adonna’s apartment and get downstairs to mine about ten minutes before Nana gets home from work. It was hard being with Adonna, because she was so sad, just crying and talking about her father and how he lied to her. And seeing her room practically empty like that was really depressing. I mean, it looks like she got robbed or something.

Nana comes right into the kitchen and starts heating up some leftovers, and even she looks kinda down today. Extra tired.

“You feeling okay, Nana?” I ask, thinking that maybe she got the flu from me or something.

“Yeah,” she says, sighing heavy. “I’m fine.”

“Is Renée coming home tonight?”

“No, she don’t have to work on Fridays, so she went to Gerard’s place. Then tomorrow, they’re going to Princeton to pack up that apartment. Because she’s moving into her new place on Saturday.”

It’s really happening. She’s moving out on her own.

Me and Nana don’t say anything for a while. I drink some more orange juice and take another Comtrex, and I sit at the table while she cooks. It’s weird, because the apartment is so quiet and it’s like Renée is missing even though she was only here for a few days, and even then she was hardly ever here. But when she’s here, it’s like the place is more alive or something. There’s always music playing and singing and the cell phone is always ringing. And now there’s nothing.

When dinner is ready, Nana puts her plate on the dinner tray and goes into the living room to watch Lifetime. She hasn’t been watching it these last couple of days, ever since Clyde started coming around. But now she’s back again. And I don’t know if this means something.

At the commercial, I sit next to her on the couch and ask, “Is everything okay, um, between you and Clyde?”

“Yeah, I suppose so,” she says. “He wanted to take me to a jazz club tomorrow night where a friend of his is going to be playing, but I told him I can’t go.”

“Why not?”

“His friend don’t start playing ’til ten o’clock. And I can’t leave you here alone, especially late at night.”

“But I’m going to be at the set striking, remember? And then we’re all going out to dinner.”

She looks at me and shakes her head. “I don’t want you coming home to an empty apartment.”

“I can spend the night with Adonna,” I say but then I remember about her bedroom set and I’m not really sure that’s gonna work actually.

“No, it’s fine. Don’t worry about it.” The commercial is ending. And as the show comes back on, she says to me, “I invited Clyde over for dinner on Saturday, so everything’s okay.”

Then she turns her attention back to the screen. Away from me.

I sit there next to her, feeling really bad for her. And guilty. I mean, I’m still the reason she can’t live her life the way she wants.

And it’s not fair. Renée was supposed to take me with her. And Nana was supposed to finally be free.

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