Soul Serenade by Ollison Rashod

Author:Ollison, Rashod
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-8070-5753-7
Publisher: Beacon Press
Published: 2016-01-25T16:00:00+00:00

As spring burned into summer, children ran up and down Tanya Street screaming and laughing. They jumped rope and Double Dutched in driveways and pop-locked to hip-hop blaring from boomboxes under carports.

The summer before Reagan and I entered the sixth and seventh grades, we were holed up in the house for a month with Brandi. Dusa had dropped her off with just a diaper bag. Mama bought her pastel outfits from Walmart. During the day, Mama called every hour to check on us.

“What Brandi doin? She ’sleep? Y’all bet’ not be in there fightin’ and carryin’ on while that baby’s in there.”

Reagan took to Brandi more than I did, morphing into a little mother hen. She combed her hair, prepared her bottles, and treated her like a living doll. And Brandi took to her: cooing and grinning in her arms, her moon eyes aglow. Whenever I held her, she whined and squirmed.

“Give her back,” Reagan said.

“Here, take her.”

Shortly after Dusa finally came to get Brandi, Mama got word that Daddy had moved to Oregon. We were used to never seeing him, even when we occasionally went to Malvern on the weekends. Mama’s rule never changed: if Daddy didn’t call for us, we weren’t allowed to go to East Section Line. We heard about Daddy’s whereabouts through Mama’s gossip-loving relatives.

Saw Raymond down at Junebug’s. He ax ’bout y’all.

Hear Raymond goin’ with one of them Tony sisters. You know, the youngest one, what went to school with Kay. They say she on that stuff. Hear Raymond’s back smokin’ it, too. Wouldn’t surprise me none.

Yeah, I saw y’all Daddy. He was drivin’ Old Lady Ollison somewhere, pro’ly to the Food Center.

When was the last time y’all seen him?

Even if we didn’t see him, there was comfort in knowing he was somewhere around Malvern. Reynolds aluminum transferred him to Portland. He got a raise and our child support started coming regularly, which seemed to be the only concern Mama had regarding Daddy. As was her style, she abruptly announced his move one night as we ate pizza in the living room while watching In Living Color.

“Raymond done moved to Oregon.”

I swallowed. “Where?”

“Oregon.”

“For what?” Reagan asked.

“Work.”

“Are we gonna see him before he move up there?” I asked.

Mama reached for another pepperoni slice. “See what? He already gone up there.”

I finished my pizza and stood up.

“Where you goin’?” Mama asked.

“I’m done,” I said.

“Dusty? There’s more pizza here,” Mama said.

I ignored her and went to the room Reagan and I shared and lay across my bed. Daddy was always flying off somewhere. Was he ever coming back? Why the hell did it even matter? It was clear the only person he cared about, the only muthafucka he ever cared about, was himself. So why was I longing for him? I made up my mind to try to forget him since he had apparently forgotten me.

Despite her frequent threats to leave work one evening, drive past the house, and never come back, Mama was the only consistent presence in my life.

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