All She Can Take

F O R T Y - S I X

Sid stood in the chicken joint. The better part of an hour was spent in the last two businesses. One was the laundromat she hated. Half of the washers and dryers were always out of service. She wondered many times before how they managed to stay in business with everything in such disrepair but now she knew. The employees eyed her for a while before shuffling her to a room with moist pipes stretching overhead and the thick scent of a gas station restroom tugging at the nostrils.

They grilled her about why she was there instead of Phil. The last thing she wanted to do was waste precious time convincing these people that she wasn't the cops, but was instead being held hostage and controlled just like they were. The only thing that stayed her patience was reminding herself that these were just people who probably set out with the humble intentions of running a family business. Not expecting Kru to guerrilla it away from them. After a random family member vouched for seeing her around the way with her kid they let her make the drop.

The process repeated at the hair supply store only it took much longer because of the language barrier between her and the Korean store owners. She was not making any headway until the one random black girl who worked in the wig section tucked in the back of the store called Bomb and he gave the OK. Exhaustion nestled in Sid's bones by the time she made it to the chicken joint. Through the glass, she saw a few customers milling about waiting for orders. She lumbered through the door and sank onto the familiar wooden booth shoved on the corner and waited for the place to clear out a bit. 

If she closed her eyes she could see Aiden sitting across from her, his lips curled into a smile as he tried desperately to make her laugh through a veil of sadness. For the first time in a long time, she wished it was just like that again. She threw her head back and stared at the ceiling. She understood now. This is what he was talking about. That void that she was walking around with wasn't just for her dad. It was for Aiden. Her mother, and her youth. So much was banished to nothingness after her dad died but yesterday she had reached in there and pulled something out. Her and Aiden had begun to repair something. It gave her hope that the other things could heal as well.

She heard the door close and opened her eyes. The place was empty. She made her way toward the bulletproof glass that spanned the entire counter.

"What can I get for you?" The same older dude greeted her, but this time a lot less sweaty and agitated. A younger version of him moved around in the kitchen behind him, dropping another bag of fries into a basket before submerging it in sizzling oil.

"I'm dropping off something for Kru." She whispered, listening for the door to open again. She was wired and anxious. Her senses could pick up a bee landing on a flower five blocks down at this point.

"Kru?" The guy was instantly suspicious, following the script of everyone else. "Why are you here? Where's Phil?" his voice got louder as if he suspected this was some prank show with cameras around. Sid saw his son's movements stop in the back.

"He... can't come. So Kru sent me. Look, I just need to give you this and go." Sid pleaded with her eyes for him not to make this difficult. Her body was tired and her mind was scrambled. She still had one more drop to make after this one and then she still had to figure out a way to drag her ass into work this evening. She needed this done.

"No, I don't take anything from you. Only Phil."

"Come on, man." Sid felt her body sag and tears prick her eyes. Should I tell him that there will be no more Phil if he doesn't take the goddamn bag? Sid flirted with the idea of screaming at him but it seemed futile. She could see that his son had made his way around to the counter from the kitchen eyeing her suspiciously and speaking in fluent Arabic to his father. A groan escaped her throat. She really didn't want to be told to go away in two languages. After some back and forth between the two the Father held up his hands and proceeded to the back while the son stepped over to her.