“I’m not made of money,” he exploded, “and I’m not the government. I can’t go and print up more money when we run low.”

  Lisa had been in her room folding all her new clothes and packing them in her new suitcases when her dad started yelling. Her parents rarely argued, but Lisa hated the few times she heard their disagreements. While her mother always tried to remain calm and reasonable, her dad would raise his voice, shouting and jumping around like a buffoon.

  Lisa couldn’t let her mom endure the disagreement by herself, not when the money was spent on her. She opened her bedroom door and took the stairs two at a time until she reached the parlor. Her parents were in the living room.

  Her mom said, “Will you keep your voice down before Lisa hears us?”

  “I already heard Daddy screaming.” Lisa was standing in the parlor, a step or two away from the entry of the living room. Her parents swung around, looking as if she had caught them misbehaving. Daddy was definitely cutting up, and he needed to chill.

  Her mother motioned her hands as if she was pushing Lisa away. “Go back upstairs. This is between me and your daddy.”

  “But, Mama, you bought those things for me—said you wanted me to have some nice things to take with me to school so the other kids would know I come from a good family.”

  “You do come from a good family,” her daddy interjected. “New clothes and shoes don’t determine what kind of family you have.”

  “But, Daddy, most of my tuition is covered, so why is it such a big deal for me to have a few nice things? My roommate will probably have a nice cover set and trash can.”

  David’s head swung back around to Brenda. “You bought this girl a trash can? Doesn’t that high-priced college have their own trash cans?”

  “They have trash cans outside, but the students have to bring their own smaller trash cans for their rooms,” Brenda answered.

  David shook a finger at Lisa. “You don’t have a full ride, young lady. Your mama and I have to fork over three thousand each semester, so don’t tell me about no scholarship when I’m talking about all this extra money your mama spent, when we don’t have it like that.”

  Lisa’s mouth tightened. Her dad was so cheap, she never got any of the things the other kids had in school. She and her mother normally shopped at thrift stores so they could save money for college. She always got good grades. She didn’t want her parents to pay her tuition. Was it her fault NYU didn’t give her a total free ride?

  “And another thing,” David Whitaker said, continuing his tirade. “Why does this girl have to stay in the dorms when she is going to a New York school? Why can’t she bring herself home every night and save us some money?”

  “Why do you have to be so cheap all the time, Daddy? Can’t you be happy for me?”

  David puffed out his cheeks, blowing out hot air. “Don’t you disrespect me, young lady,” he said, finger still wagging as he approached her.

  Brenda grabbed his arm. “David, calm down. I’ll work some overtime and pay off the credit card.”

  “Didn’t you hear how this girl talked to me? She might be going off to college and thinking she’s grown.” He looked pointedly at Lisa when he said “thinking she’s grown.” “But I’m not going to let her disrespect us in our home.”

  “Apologize to your daddy, Lisa,” her mother said.

  Lisa’s eyebrows scrunched. “For what? All I said is he’s cheap. I’m not lying, Mama . . . if he wasn’t cheap, you and I wouldn’t always be shopping at thrift stores.”

  “What’s wrong with thrift stores?” David demanded.

  Lisa raised her voice. “The other kids at the Boys and Girls High School were always going to Macy’s to shop. I never asked for that. I knew we were trying to save money.” Lisa’s nostrils flared, the same way her dad’s flared when he got angry. “Why are you giving us such a hard time about this?”

  “Keeping a roof over your head and paying the rest of your tuition is more important to me than whether or not you have brand-new clothes or the latest sneakers.”

  “But, Dad—”

  He shook his head. “Don’t ‘but, Dad’ me. Your mother offered to work overtime at her job to help with this bill, so unless you want to give up dorm living, I suggest you put in some extra hours at the store before we drive you to school.”

  Nostrils flaring again, Lisa’s fists balled as she yanked her arms in a downward motion. “Fine!” she shouted before running upstairs and slamming her bedroom door.

  She was so amped up about her father threatening to not pay for her dorm room she couldn’t sit down. She paced the floor of her room. Took pillows off her bed and threw them at the wall. The four walls of her room felt as though they were closing in on her. She had to get out of the house.

  Lisa’s billfold was on her dresser. Next to it was her Social Security card. Her mother had given it to her when she went to get her state ID.

  “You’re eighteen now, so I’m trusting you with your important documents, but if you don’t think you can handle it, I need you to return your birth certificate and Social Security card to me after you get your ID.”

  “I can handle it, Mom. You gotta start trusting me with stuff.”

  Her mom kept her Social Security card in her billfold. So Lisa took her Social Security card off her dresser and put it in her billfold, along with her new state ID. She threw her billfold in her purse and opened her bedroom door.

  Her dad was standing there with his hand raised as though he was about to knock. “We need to talk about your schedule at the store.”

  Lisa lifted her hands to halt him. “Daddy, please. I’m angry right now, and I need to cool off. Let me take a walk and then we can discuss it, okay?”

  Her father nodded. Stepped out of her way. “A walk might do you some good.”

  Stepping out of her room, she rushed down the stairs. Her father was behind her. She loved him dearly, but right now she was so mad she didn’t want to be anywhere near him. All this fuss over some school clothes and items for her dorm room.

  Her father said, “Your mother tells me I should apologize for all the yelling.”

  Lisa opened the first set of entry doors. She turned to her father. “Mom told you to apologize, but do you really believe you owe me an apology?”

  “No,” he admitted. “I actually think you and your mom owe me an apology for spending our money on frivolous things without consulting me.”

  “Okay, Daddy. I’ll see you at the store later.” Lisa opened the second set of entry doors and left the house. It was weird to her that brownstones had two sets of entry doors. But Daddy told her the doors were built to keep the heat out in the summer and the cold out in the winter.

  She walked down the block, kicking at rocks and sticks on the sidewalk. She turned on Lewis Avenue and headed for Dana’s place. The beep-beep-beep of car horns, which she hardly paid attention to on Halsey, was blaring in her ears as she walked down Lewis Avenue.

  When she reached Dana’s place, Lisa opened the gate to the lower level, knocked on the door, and waited. Music was playing inside the house, so she knocked again. The door opened, and Dana’s mom stood in front of her holding on to the door with an irritated look on her face, like Lisa had interrupted her.

  Dana’s mom looked so different from the way she had when they were kids. Everyone used to say Ms. Vida was the prettiest woman on Halsey Street. That had been when Ms. Vida and Dana lived above the barbecue spot on Halsey. Lisa had not liked those comments. She thought her mom was pretty also, but everyone kept talking about how all the men were after Ms. Vida.

  Ms. Vida’s skin looked like it was lacking in lotion and a good vitamin—it was ashy. Her cheeks were sunken, and her eyes looked bigger now since her face had lost the effect of the roundness it once had.

  “Yeah. What you want?” she asked Lisa.

  “Um, hi, Ms. Vida. I’m here to see Dana.”

  Without saying hello back, Vida hollered over her shoulder, “Dana, you got company. And keep it down. I have a headache.”

  “Okay, Ma, dang.” Dana rolled her eyes, then gestured for Lisa to come inside and closed the door behind her.

  Vida turned off the record player and walked to the back of the house. Dana and Lisa sat in the living room. “I thought you were packing for college.”

  “Girl, I had to get out of the house. My dad was trippin’.”

  “I’ll take your dad over my mom any day of the week.” Dana headed for the door. “This place is wack.”

  They walked up the stairs from the basement unit. Dana pointed toward the stairs of the main house. They sat down.

  A group of kids from the house next door got their jump ropes out and started doing double Dutch. Lisa pointed to them. “Remember when we used to jump rope at the 262?”

  “Yeah, I remember. Sad to say, but elementary was the best time of my life. Seems like everything has lost its beauty since then.”

  Lisa pointed toward Dana’s apartment. “What was up with your mom? Did I do something to her?”

  “You didn’t do nothing. Vida is mad at herself.” Dana’s lips tightened. “We’re getting evicted again.”

  “What!” Lisa hugged her friend. “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know.” A tear trickled down Dana’s face. “I need to find a job.”

  “You’ve been putting in applications. Have you heard anything?”

  Shaking her head, Dana told her, “I gave them Mrs. Adams’ phone number, but she hasn’t told me about any callbacks.”

  “Give them my number. I’ll let you know if anyone calls back.”

  “You’re leaving in three weeks.”

  “Gives us three weeks to find you a job.”

  Dana stood, wiped off her pants, and started walking. “Let’s go.”

  “Where we going?”

  When they reached the corner of Halsey and Lewis, Dana pointed left. “Let’s go to Tompkins Park.”

  Three blocks down, they came upon a group of men playing chess. A few guys were drinking next to the chain-link fence that surrounded the park. Dana and Lisa went into the park and sat down on one of the benches. The legs of the bench were made of concrete, with wood planks nailed into the seat and back of the bench.

  Dana waved toward the basketball court; Lisa turned to see Derrick waving back. “You knew he was going to be here?”

  Grinning like a fool with no good on the brain, Dana said, “He’s really good. Let’s watch him play.”

  Lisa watched the game for a few minutes, then snapped her fingers. “You know what? I’m going to ask my dad if you and Vida can move into our basement apartment.”

  Dana’s eyes brightened. “You’d do that for me?”

  Lisa shoved Dana’s shoulder. Tears were now in her eyes as well, as if Dana’s pain was her pain. “You’re my girl. I’m not going to let you end up on the street with no place to go.”

  “Derrick said he wants to help me get a place, but I don’t know.”

  “Do you hear yourself?” Lisa’s eyes shifted to the basketball court. A guy dunked, then Derrick grabbed the ball and headed to the other hoop. “Derrick’s a criminal. You need to pump the brakes with him.”

  Dana turned her head, looking away from the court like she was in deep thought about something.

  Lisa said, “Come to church with me on Sunday.”

  Dana gave a bitter laugh. She turned back to Lisa. “Church isn’t my thing.”

  “I know. But you need to focus and figure out what God wants you to do with your life. Maybe attending church will help you do that.”

  With a twist of her lips, Dana asked, “When has God ever had me on His mind? I seriously doubt He is directing my life.”

  “God allows us to choose our way. Ask yourself, are you choosing the right way? From what I saw of Derrick, it doesn’t seem like it.”

  “You don’t know anything about him. He is a real cool guy. And with as much as I have to deal with around here, I need someone in my life who cares about me.”

  Lisa had been praying about the situation with Dana and her mom, but she didn’t know how to help her friend.

  “I’m sorry things have gotten so bad,” was all Lisa could say.

  Dana nodded. “As bad as things are with me and my mom, the one thing I miss is how she used to hug me. Man, one hug from my mom, and I used to think my whole day was going to be good.” Her lips twisted. “Now I wake up to the same terrible day, like it’s on repeat or something.”

  Lisa saw the wetness at the corners of Dana’s eyes and understood the disappointment she must feel in the way things turned out for her. Then she thought about her anger issues with her father. He was a hard taskmaster, and he was cheap, but she’d also heard her mom say countless times that Deacon David Whitaker was a good man. Maybe she needed to cut him some slack.

  Chapter 5

  “Why can’t they stay here, Daddy? That’s not right.”

  “Lisa, girl, you better go ’head on with this mess. I’m renting the room out to the Parkers. Him and his wife both have jobs and they can pay the rent.”

  Lisa sucked her teeth. “Dana needs help. Her mother is being evicted.”

  David turned to Brenda. “Will you tell your daughter we pay our tithes and you volunteer down at the homeless shelter and at church, so we’re all caught up on our charity work?”

  Brenda side-eyed David and then turned to Lisa. “Hon, I’m sorry to hear this about Dana and her mother. I wish we could help, I really do, but your father has already promised our apartment to the Parkers.”

  Lisa was about to give up, but then an idea struck. “What about my room? I’m going to be away at college. Can Dana use my room?”

  Lisa had directed the question to her mother, but her dad shook his head. “Absolutely not.”

  * * *

  “I’m sorry, Dana, my dad already rented out the basement apartment.”

  Dana’s stomach dropped, but she kept a straight face so she wouldn’t make Lisa feel bad. “No biggie. But thanks for looking out. My mom’s out right now. Hopefully she’s looking for a place. I know she’s not going to be able to pay Mr. James so much back rent.”

  Lisa’s lips twisted like she wanted to say something else.

  Dana pointed to the newspaper on the kitchen table. “I’ve seen a few jobs that only require a high school diploma.”

  Lisa’s eyes lit up as she glanced at the newspaper. “Really? Do you know what you want to do?”

  “I like doing hair, but you need a certificate to get into a hair salon.” Dana hunched her shoulders. “I need a paycheck.”

  “It’s already late in the afternoon, and since tomorrow is Saturday, I don’t think you’ll have much luck with applications. Maybe we should go to a couple of those places on Monday or Tuesday.”

  “Yeah, you’re right.” Dana closed the newspaper. “Let’s go sit outside.”

  They sat on the stoop watching people walk by. Others were out on their stoops talking to neighbors.

  Mrs. Smith from down the street ran out of her house, chasing Mr. Smith with a broom. “Get away from here, Jerry. Go on somewhere.”

  Dana and Lisa laughed. Then Dana said, “This is the second time this week she chased him out of the house. It’s a shame to see. They used to be so happy.”

  “Mr. Smith has a drinking problem. I’ve seen him sitting out by the store with some of the other winos.”

  Rolling her eyes, Dana asked, “Have you decided on a major yet?”

  “I’m doing liberal arts with a minor in social work.”

  Dana lifted an eyebrow. “You not going to college to be some broke social worker. Naw, not for you.”

  “I don’t see it like that,” Lisa told her. “There are people out here who really need help. Need someone who can guide them in the right direction and get things done to build up the community.”

  “Yeah, but why social work?”

  “I believe God is directing me toward this path.” Lisa smiled. “And like Elsie Richardson told me, somebody has to be a change agent in our community. Why not me?”

  Dana scrunched her nose. “Why would God care what you do with your life?”

  Lisa nudged Dana with her shoulder. “Instead of asking me all these questions, you should come to church and get a word from God yourself.”

  Dana thought about it for a moment. She admired how Lisa seemed to know what she wanted to do with her life. She didn’t think social work was for her, but maybe she did need a revelation on what came next. “I might attend with you Sunday.”

  “I’m serious, Dana. This is the last time I’m going to ask you. And I won’t be here much longer.”

  Dana put her elbow on her thigh and then a fisted hand under her chin. “I’m thinking on it. Chill. I might come down there.”

  They continued sitting on the stoop until Derrick came over. Lisa stood up. “I guess I’ll get to the store. I need to put in some hours.”

  “You don’t have to leave. Why don’t you stay so you can get to know Derrick?”

  “Can’t.” She waved at Dana as she headed up the street. “See you tomorrow or at church on Sunday.”

  “You’re going to church?” Derrick asked as he sat down next to Dana.

  “I’m thinking about it. Lisa invited me, and she won’t be here much longer since she’s leaving for college soon.”

  Derrick put an arm around her. “Don’t go getting all holy on me. I’m not with all that church stuff.”

  “What’s so bad about church?”

  Derrick smirked. “I told you what I’m about. I don’t need no guilt trip coming from my woman.”

  God help her, she liked hearing him call her his woman. Dana grinned and snuggled close to him.

  * * *

  Lisa loved coming to church the Sunday after Evangelism Week. She was able to see how many new faces showed up for service. Most of the people who came to church after Evangelism Week were like the ones who attended on Resurrection Sunday—here today, gone tomorrow. But a few received the word Pastor Jonathan delivered, and it stuck like hot caramel to popcorn.

  Lisa was always so happy for the ones who discovered joy in Jesus. She prayed Dana would walk through the church doors this morning. Maybe something in Pastor Jonathan’s sermon would give her friend the motivation needed to change her life.