Fixin’ Tyrone (34 page)

The question reminded Mia of something she told her sister a little while ago, but she couldn’t think of what it was. “No. I want to pick them up.”

“Oh,” Tyrone said. “What about tomorrow? Want me to get them then?”

“When I dropped them off this morning, I got some fliers for afterschool programs. There’s a center right around the corner from my house. They’ll pick them up from school and keep them as late as nine.”

“You want them to go to
daycare
?”

“Well, until I get things situated. For now at least.”

“Why you don’t want me to pick them up?”

“And do what with them?”

“I can take them home, or take them to your house.”

“You want to go to
my
house every day after school?”

“Just to keep the kids. So they don’t have to change their schedule.”

“No. I’d rather have them in daycare.”

“Why you want
them people
keeping them instead of me?” Tyrone asked. He sounded a little offended, but Mia was not one to hold her punches, even if she was in love.

“I don’t want you to have a key to my house,” she said.

“Why? You don’t trust me?”

“We need to talk, huh?”

Tyrone sat back in his chair. “Yeah. I guess we do.”

“Well,” Mia said, “you’re my boyfriend, right?”

He nodded.

“But you’re not my
husband
, and you’re not living with me. You understand that, right?”

Tyrone rolled his eyes. “Course I do.”

“We’re not going to be able to talk if you get an attitude.”

He nodded. “All right. Let’s talk.”

Mia smiled. “Okay. So I know it looks like I need you right now, but I really don’t. I’ve been doing just fine by myself, and I will continue to do just fine by myself.”

Tyrone started to say something, but she put a hand up to stop him. “I wanna be with you,” she went on, “but I’m not rushing into anything. You can visit me sometimes, but I don’t want you there
every day
. I don’t mind if you spend the night, but that’s not going to be an everyday thing, either. Once a week is probably too much.”

“That’s
too
much?”

“I think so,” Mia said. “For now. I want to take this slow.”

“You don’t think this is gonna work, do you?”

Mia shrugged. “I want it to, but you know I have doubts.”

“What doubts? Let’s get them out in the open right now.”

Mia looked at her wristwatch. “You done eating? We’ll talk upstairs.”

Tyrone shoved one last bite between his choppers. “Let’s go.”

* * *

They got on the elevator a lot less cuddly than they were on the way down.

Back in Crystal’s room, they surveyed Sleeping Beauty’s features. There were no changes. Tyrone took a seat in the recliner, shaking his head. Mia sat across from him in a far less comfortable wooden chair.

“I’ma kick that nigga’s ass,” Tyrone said. “Some of my peeps know where he be at.”

“I told you to let the police handle it.”

“I did,” Tyrone said. “You said they let him go.”

“It’s not over. They still have to talk to Crystal when she wakes up.”

“I said I’m kicking that nigga’s ass,” Tyrone reiterated.

Mia didn’t feel like arguing. “We still need to talk about us,” she said.

Tyrone threw his head back. “You finna back out again, ain’t you? I ain’t even did nothing, but you—”

“I’m not backing out,” Mia said.

“Then what’s the problem?”

“I told you, there are things we need to get straight.”

“Well, let’s talk,” he said. “I ain’t got nothin’ but time.”

Mia smiled. “Okay. Tell me how you plan on making a good living.”

He squinted at her. “You serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious, Tyrone. I want to be with you, but if you don’t have any plans for the future it’s not gonna work. I’m not gonna carry you. If you need help getting to where you want to be,
I’ll help you
, but you have to help yourself, too.”

“Damn, Mia.”

“What? Are you happy being an unemployed convicted felon?”

“You know I’m not. I just didn’t know I was gonna have to fill out an application to be with you.”

“It’s not as hard as you’re making it sound. Just tell me what your goals are.”

“Right now?”

“Sure.”

“Okay.” He sat up in the chair. “The only thing I’m really good at is working on cars. I figure I can get a good job at a good garage and work my way up to manager or supervisor one day.”

Mia nodded. “Where do you plan on working? Are you talking about working your way up at your uncle’s place?”

“Naw. I have to go somewhere else. I don’t think the manager makes much at my uncle’s shop.”

“Can you work on
any
kind of car?”

“Most of them. Well, the American ones, at least.”

“Did you get any training or certificates while you were in prison?”

“Naw. They don’t do that too much anymore.
They say
they want to rehabilitate us, but they only have the funds to put a one out of every hundred inmates in school.”

“Can you get a job at
any
shop, or do they check for your criminal background?”

“I think they check at all the good places.”

“Okay,” Mia said. “What else you got?”

“Um, I got this homeboy who sells DVDs. He said he could put me down with that.”

“I thought you said
legally
.”

“What? That is legal.”

“Are you talking about selling them out of a storefront or
out of your trunk?
”

“The trunk,” Tyrone said. “Oh, wait.” He knitted his eyebrows. “That’s illegal, ain’t it?”

“Big time,” Mia said. “What else you got?”

“That’s probably the same with CDs, huh?”

Mia nodded, already disappointed with the way this was going.

“I always wanted to open a club,” Tyrone said.

Mia raised her eyebrows. “Has someone in your family run a club?”

“No.”

“Do you know someone who has?”

“I know a couple of club owners,” Tyrone said. “They not my friends or nothing like that.”

“What makes you think you’ll be good at running a club?”

“I’m good with people,” Tyrone said.

“
Okay
,” Mia said. “Got any other ideas?”

“I can buff floors,” he said. “I can cut grass and plant flowers.”

“You want to get into landscaping?” Mia asked.

“I guess.”

“That might work,” she said with a smile, but Tyrone was frowning.

“Look, you ain’t gotta make me look stupid,” he said. “If you wanna break up with me, then just do it.”

Mia looked into his eyes. “Is that what you think this is about?”

He shrugged.

“Tyrone,
we’re together
. You’re my man. I’m not trying to break up with you. I just want to figure out what we’re going to do with you. I want the best for you.”

“But I can’t do shit. You said so yourself.”

“I didn’t say that. Some of your ideas need to be
refined
, but I never said they were no good. Except the bootleg thing, that’s no good.”

He smiled. “So, how do you plan on
refining
me?”

“Well, it looks like the automotive industry would be your best bet, unless you really want to cut grass . . .”

“Naw, I like working on cars.”

“You’re pretty good at it?”

“I’m the best,” he said.

“All right. We can focus on that. But I don’t want you under cars for too long. You have to think bigger.”

She had his attention now.

“I want my own shop,” Tyrone said.

Mia smiled. “That’s what I’m talking about. But you can’t just go out and get a shop. You have to put in a lot of work first.”

“I need to go to school,” Tyrone acknowledged. “I know a lot right now, but I have to know a lot more if I want to run my own shop. I saw this commercial for ATI the other day. You think I should give that a try?”

Mia’s heart fluttered. “That would be great, Tyrone.”

He nodded. “If I get a degree from ATI, I could work anywhere.”

“And then you could save up some money for your shop.”

“Your really think I can do that?”

Mia frowned. “You’re the one who told me, ‘
This is America. I can do anything I want
.’ ”

Tyrone grinned. “You right. But if I’m gonna get my own shop, then I need to know about more than just cars. I think I should go to the community college, learn about running a business.”

Mia couldn’t have been more pleased. “You want to get an associate’s degree?”

“I didn’t say all that.”

“Come on, Tyrone. You’re almost there. You’ve just about got this worked out.”

He sat back and rubbed his chin. “You know that program at ATI takes a long time, right? You want me to do two years in college after that?”

“Tyrone, you’re only thirty-two. Plus that’ll give you time to save up your money.”

“I know, but that’s still a long-ass time.”

Mia cocked her head. “Tyrone, this was your idea. Why are you trying to back out?”

“I’m just, you know, what if I don’t make it?”

“I’ll be there for you,” Mia said. “If you get a degree from ATI, get a good job, and get your associates, I’ll help you get your shop opened.”

His smile was puppy dog cute. “No shit?”

“No shit,” Mia said. “And speaking of
shit
, we’re gonna have to work on your potty mouth, too.”

He shook his head, still smiling. “You serious, ain’t you?”

“Your vocabulary will change when you get into school, but in the meantime I do want you to make an effort to watch your cursing. Especially the N word. Everything can’t be
nigga
thi
s
and
nigga
that. TC will start to say whatever you say, and I don’t want him talking like that.”

Tyrone rolled his eyes. “You’re pushing it.”

Mia tried a little sensitivity. “Please, baby. Try it for me . . .”

Tyrone melted like butter on a skillet. “Mia, if you’re gonna help me through this, I’d be a fool not to want to do it for myself, too. I’ma take care of my business, girl. I told you when I got out, we’re meant to be together. I’m not gonna be the one to fuc—I mean,
mess
that up.”

Mia was extremely giddy. “
Awww!
Give me a hug!”

Tyrone stood and wrapped his arms around her like Mia was a life preserver.

“Y’all niggas corny,” Crystal said, or at least Mia thought it was Crystal. She pushed Tyrone away and rushed to the bed, her heart thumping in her chest.

But Crystal’s eyes were still closed. She hadn’t moved. Mia looked to Tyrone quizzically.

“Didn’t you hear something?”

“I thought I did.”

“I said y’all is corny,” Crystal said again, and this time Mia saw her lips move.

TOUGH LOVE

Tyrone and Mia left the hospital at two o’clock. They went home to get a few things, and came back with the kids an hour and a half later. Crystal was wide awake by then, already complaining about her substandard living conditions.

“
I don’t like this
. What is this supposed to be?” She stared at a spoonful of dressing drenched with white gravy.

“That’s turkey and dressing,” Mia said. “You sure don’t have a problem with it at Thanksgiving.”

“That’s the problem,” Crystal said. “It’s
not
Thanksgiving. You not supposed to eat this stuff this time of year. There’s no telling how long they’ve had it sitting around.”

“Can I have it?” TC asked. He hung on his aunt’s bed like a starving puppy.

Crystal looked a lot better now. Her color was back, along with her sense of humor. She sat up in bed on her own and had already had her catheter removed. She’d been on her feet already and couldn’t wait to get back home. The doctor said she would probably be released in a few hours.

The only obvious lingering effects of her slight overdose were her drowsy, sleepy eyes. She looked like she was still nodding a little. Plus, she had on no makeup at all. She had her hair tied back in a ponytail, and it was nowhere near as dashing as normal.