Rest Easy

3. salvation

Naya arrived home in the afternoon to find her mother watering flowers on the front lawn. She looked up from the bed of fuchsias and shielded her eyes from the unrelenting sun before turning off the hose. "Hey, Yaya. How was school?"

"It was fine. I had a biology final today. I think I did well."

"That's what I love to hear. Honey, you're a little pink. Did you check the forecast before you left the house? The sun's quite intense today. You could've done with one of your UV shirts."

"I'm not going to turn into a pile of dust in the sun, Mom."

"Okay, okay. I'm just looking out for you."

"I know, I know."

She went inside to the kitchen where she stood for a moment, taking in the coolness of the air conditioning. Then she took out a bag of chips from the pantry and sat on a stool, eating them slowly. She put her earbuds in and played her favorite song that week, "C U Girl" by Steve Lacy, and thought about the party that her friends were attending that evening. The bud of resentment in the pit of her stomach began to sprout; in her sixteen years of life, she had never been given the go-ahead to socialize at events that weren't church-related, and she knew that things weren't going to be any different in a new town. Still, she decided that she might as well test the waters; being told no would be the worst-case scenario, which was already the default. After hesitating, she yanked her earbuds out and left her phone on the kitchen counter before walking back outside.

"Hey, Mom. Do you need any help with the flowers?"

"I'm fine, darling. I'm almost finished, actually."

"I can help. It'll be done quicker."

"Are you sure? It's hot out here."

"I said I'm fine. It'll only take five minutes."

Her mother paused before nodding. "Okay. If you insist. Could you grab the watering can over there? Just keep the hydrangeas and the ice plants wet for a couple minutes." She turned and stooped down, patting the moist soil beneath some newly planted flowers.

"Okay. Uh . . . by the way, I was invited to a birthday gathering this evening. I was wondering if it's cool for me to go?"

Her mother stared at her. "Who invited you?"

"My new friends. Tori, Amber, Jasmine, and Evie."

"Is it any of their birthdays, or someone else's?"

"It's a classmate's." Naya frowned, already knowing where her mother was going with her line of questioning. "Why does it matter whose birthday it is? That's not the point. Can I go?"

"You say 'gathering.' That's code for party, correct? Because if that's the case, no. You have a curfew for a reason."

"I can come back before curfew ends. Just a couple of hours, Mom. Come on."

"That's how it always starts," her mother said, shaking her head. She turned the hose off and stood with her hands on her hips. "It's just one party for just a couple of hours, and before you know it, you're intoxicated, knocking on the door at three in the morning. Forget it, Naya. You'll have your chance for parties. Right now, you've just got to focus on excelling at school. You have finals."

"I can manage my work. I don't need to be babied. I can work hard and I can also have fun."

"There are plenty of other ways you can have fun, baby. I've invited you so many times to the youth choir here and you always turn it down. The kids there are lovely. You'd expand your social circle if you gave it a try."