Last Sunset Over Mexico by Monica Richardson

Author:Monica Richardson [Richardson, Monica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Rose Gold Press LLC

Chapter Nine

Frankie took a quick glance in the rearview mirror, then adjusted the side mirror a bit. She maneuvered the truck into the right lane and kept a steady pace. She wasn’t used to driving. Even in Atlanta, she barely owned a car. She routinely took the Marta train to and from work, and anywhere else she needed to go in between.

Everything she needed had been within a one-mile radius of her apartment: the Kroger supermarket was in walking distance, the dry cleaners, the bakery that she frequented every morning for her apple fritter and mocha latte. Her favorite black bookstore, with its African artifacts and jasmine incense, was only one train stop away.

Even her favorite Thai restaurant, that had the best basil fried rice and coconut shrimp she’d ever tasted in life, was a two-block walk. And even though they delivered, she usually picked it up, just for the exercise. It was imperative she stayed in shape.

She would miss Atlanta, particularly the festivals and other cultural things it had to offer. She’d miss brunching with her girls in midtown or catching some spoken word at her favorite little spot on Ponce. It was where she’d met Lenny. He had been a regular there, and she would pop in some days just to see if he was there. He almost always got on stage to grace the crowd with his poetry. Had encouraged her to do the same, but she was shy at first. Not as confident about her art, but he helped to ease her fears.

“You don’t strike me as the shy type,” he said the night they met.

“I’m not shy at all. I’m just a little nervous about getting on stage, in front of all these people.”

“Just relax. Pretend you’re in front of your mirror at home. You’ll be fine.”

Eventually she was fine and spitting poetry had become her life. Had her thinking she was Maya Angelou or somebody. And soon she was spending more time with Lenny than she’d imagined she would. Lenny—with his long, beautiful dreadlocks and gorgeous smile. She was sure he had charmed the panties off of plenty of women with that smile alone. Before she had come along, of course.

They were inseparable at first, visiting every museum and art festival that Atlanta had to offer. They’d shopped the yard sales in Ansley Park and strolled Piedmont Park every Saturday morning. It became their routine. Soon he was transporting his clothes and other personal items into her studio apartment in Little Five Points. It wasn’t long before they outgrew the space and decided to splurge on a bigger, more expensive condo they could barely afford.

Life happened. Money was tight. Making ends meet became more difficult than either of them expected. She’d felt him drifting away, but she was helpless. She couldn’t save them on her own, she needed his help. Though he was there physically, he’d long abandoned her. It wasn’t long before he’d crept out of her life. Hadn’t even had the decency to say goodbye.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.