1 : New Spaces
I hate this.
I never want to move again.
I dropped the last box onto the living room floor and wiped the sweat from my forehead for what felt like the thousandth time. “If I have to pick up another cardboard box in the next ten years, I’m going to lose my mind.”
My dad laughed as he passed me, hauling another cardboard box onto the coffee table that we just pieced together. My mom walked in shortly after, dressed in full athletic wear. She pushed her designer sunglasses up onto her head and pursed her lips as she stared at me, “No one told you to move out.”
If only I could tell her that I didn’t have much of a choice.
Instead, I settled for waving her off. “I was tired of hearing you and Daddy getting it on,” I said sneakily while trying to run across the room. Immediately, I tripped over another goddamn box.
A couch pillow hit me square in the face before I could recover.
In reality, my room was down the hall from theirs, and I couldn’t even hear a peep from their room. Thank god. “Alright, ladies of my life, it’s time to get to work,” said my Dad as he shoved his phone into his pocket.
Typically, I wouldn’t listen to a man. Though, since this one pays my bills and my rent, for now, and maybe because he’s also my dad, I’ll let it slide. So we all got to work. Unpacked for hours. We filled the silence with small chat, but the reality of the move was replaying in my mind like a movie rather than a memory. It didn’t feel real.
A few hours later, we were seated in my kitchen. Dad gets extremely grumpy if he hasn’t eaten, so as a treat for all the moving, I’ve decided to cook for them both. Luckily, while we were unpacking, my mom decided to grab groceries for me since she knew that I tend to put myself last.
I seasoned the meat using the all-purpose seasoning, crushed pimento seeds, black pepper, cayenne, cumin powder, and my favourite curry powder, then, using the cutting board, I sliced up some sweet pepper, white onion, scotch bonnet pepper, and garlic cloves. I waited for the pot to heat up, then I added a little vegetable oil to it. While I waited for it to heat up, I separated some of the garlic cloves and potato cubes. Once it was at a temperature that I liked, I carefully placed them into the pot, then sprinkled some curry seasoning into the oil. Before it could darken, I poured the seasoned chicken into the pot.
As I stirred the chicken in the oil and the aroma rose up in the kitchen and stained my nose, I couldn’t help but think to myself.
God, I love my culture.
Once the chicken was evenly stirred, I placed the pot cover over it and stepped away from the kitchen. Sometime while I was in the kitchen, my parents had slipped out, so I decided to check in on them. I found my Dad in the living room setting up the TV with my mom standing behind him, as if they were attached at the hip.
It was rather cute.
Noticing my presence, they called me over, and I followed their call. I hooked arms with my mom and began observing my dad’s handiwork. My dad made eye contact with me over his shoulder and gestured at my room with his chin as a pointer. “There’s a mirror in your bedroom that was here when we got here. What do you want me to do with it?”
I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion and peeped into the hallway like I could see into my room from this angle. Maybe it was a gift from the landlord or something left behind. Either way, I’m going to give Lira Williams, the landlady, a call to inquire. “It’s fine, I’ll take care of it when I get a chance.” He gave me a look like he wasn’t sure if he should believe that I’ll get to it, but it was about time I became more independent than having them keep doing things for me. Especially now. To put more emphasis on it, I added, “I will!”
My mom clears her throat and unloops her arm from mine so she can look me in the face. “I think your dad is just concerned that you wouldn’t be able to lift the mirror.” Her eyes travelled the length of my face, and both eyes as if she was searching for something she couldn’t see. “You know you haven’t been going on our morning walks as much anymore.” I rolled my eyes. The morning walks were taking more from me than anything else. There were better things I could do with my morning. Like sleep.
“I’ll join you again once I settle in.” Every week since I’ve stopped going to her morning jogging club, she’s complained about me being ‘weak’ even though the morning jogs barely even help with my so-called strength. However, they’re really good at helping me network with all of my mom’s friends and their daughters. The whole heap of them is a lot and simply just draining.
In comparison to my mom, the social butterfly, I was more reserved. I had my own friend group that was in the same circle, but between being an adult and school, it was hard for us all to hang out. The person I hung out with quite a bit was my mom. However, when we were around her friends, it was almost like she became a whole new individual until we were home. Unless it was after church on Saturday, then they’d all drive to our house for a dinner party or sometimes to one of their houses. The gossiping was never-ending. Sometimes I feared I couldn’t even share my own business with her.
“Leave the girl alone, Leah.” My dad chipped in. Luckily, my dad was sometimes non-judgmental ear. “She’s been joining me at the gym in the free weight room. She’s about to beat you in the strength department sooner rather than later.” My dad also works out after work, in the evening, when my brain is more active. Not only that, he lets me jam out while somewhat of a body double. I’ve always needed someone to be there to help me get things done. It just helped. Not that I couldn’t, it just helped me work faster.
She faked a gasp. As if she didn’t know this already. “Not with that weak core of hers.” I shook my head and laughed.
About an hour later, I was plating their food up with my new plates that I picked up from Target a few weeks before I was preparing to leave. My favourite hobby and therapy is shopping, no matter what I’m going through.
Holding the hot plate with both hands, I carried it to the living room where my parents were sitting. My Dad had finally set up the TV. They were watching a show on HGTV. They were about to reveal the house. I handed the plate to my mom since she was sitting the farthest from me, since it made sense in my head to go far then closer first. However, my dad didn’t seem to like that.
“Why is she getting her food first?” He complained. My mom giggled while she started digging into her curried chicken and white rice. “Is it because she gave birth to you?”
“I mean, yes, but the matriarch gets her food first.”
“The matriarch? I pay the bills!” Too bad I was already heading towards the kitchen.
Once they both got their dinner, I got mine and sat next to my Dad. “Can we actually watch a movie tonight?” Before I could properly get the sentence out, I was shoveling food into my mouth. I was starving.
“Let’s watch a classic Hallmark movie,” said my mom. She and I love good Hallmark romance. It doesn’t matter if they were all the same; the outcome would always have us in tears in the living room. My dad, knowing how much we enjoyed them, and he as well secretly didn’t make a sound when my mom took the remote from him and put ”The Christmas Doctor" on.
And as we sat there watching the movie, I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
Once they were done eating, I took the plates from them before they could do it themself. I was an apartment owner now, and they are my guests. I put the plates down in the sink and pursed my lips.
Note to self: Put them in the dishwasher.
Now that I’m thinking, I can’t find my phone.
Another note to self: find phone.
After three goodbye hugs, two rounds of Psalms, and one guilt trip about how I’m going to “miss their company,” I finally got them out of the apartment. If they stayed any longer, they would convince themselves to crash for the night, and that was something I couldn’t afford, as much as I loved them. The door closed behind them with a soft click. I leaned against it and closed my eyes. Enjoying the beat of silence in the apartment.
Yep. Just me and my thoughts.
The evening sun peeked through the windows to say its last goodbyes, and I welcomed its last few words. From the sofa, I watched the golden shimmer fade to a violet blanket.
