Rhonda was raised by her grandmother in a luxurious retirement community in Arizona.
Raisa took charge of raising her only grandchild when Rhonda's mother Billie was arrested on drug possession charges in a raid on a Lombard Street "horse" den in San Francisco, and swearing that she would never give Rhonda back to Billie, the 66-year-old grandmother took complete charge of her 4-year-old granddaughter, making Rhonda the one and only year-round child resident of the Shining Canyon Village right outside Phoenix, Arizona. She'd had to go before the Village Board of Directors to plead her case, but without much protest or resistance (except from that one pesky woman named Dorothy who lived down her street), Raisa was granted permission to bring her "poor, drug-addicted - from-birth orphaned granddaughter" to live with her: it would give Shining Canyon Village a mission, and distinguish it from all the other carved-from-the-desert retirement communities surrounding them. They would have their very own child for the entire Village to raise.
Gladstone Payton - the Jamaican doctor who had delivered Rhonda in Arizona, and had subsequently become her obstetrician in Shining Canyon Village - used to joke with Rhonda that he and she were the only two "outsiders" in the otherwise white, elderly, conventional population there, and from Dr. Payton, Rhonda learned about the wider world. He was the only person of color throughout her childhood, and at first, Rhonda thought he was that dark because he had spent a lot of time out in the sunshine. But eventually he explained to her about where he was born - his beautiful Jamaica - and even at an early age, Rhonda determined to go there, visit its gentle rolling hills and wide ocean, and maybe even live among the kind, colorful people, all of whom, she imagined, were as interesting as Dr. Glad.
Another thing she decided, as she grew into her teen years, was to one day settle and live in a place that had cloudy weather, and that also had people younger than 66 years of age. As much as she adored her grandmother, who, by the way, did not allow her to watch television more than one hour each evening, it didn't take Rhonda long to realize there was a entire world full of difference out beyond the flat desert confines. She soon knew way deep within that she would simply have to leave all that was familiar as soon as she could, and go find her mother, who kept having her sentence prolonged because of bad behavior in her correctional institution near San Francisco.
So, on a day soon after her graduation from high school, Rhonda got into her used Ford Focus - a graduation gift from the Retirement Village - and drove the twelve hours it took to arrive in the City by the Bay. Her San Francisco life was soon to begin.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Jerome the Third
Sallie's upbringing in Villejo had been meagre, and from childhood she had the sort of skinny body that fat would never even consider clinging to, but then, a strange thing happened when she met Jerome the Third. An energetic thief, whose every crime was petty, Jerome the Third made a big deal out of everyone calling him Jerome the Third, as if calling him that would at least sound important, no matter how unimportant he always felt. He referred to it as his "calling card"that would distinguish him from his cronies, and even Sallie had to admit when she first met him, she'd had visions of a Jerome the First and Second who may have somehow been wealthy, and that some of that wealth might trickle down to the Third. But, of course, like everything else with Jerome the Third, this fantasy soon wafted away, and what she was left with was a mean man who nonetheless liked to take her out to fancy meals.
And, like never before in her life, Sallie began to put on weight. Making love with Jerome the Third, bumptious and not always pleasant, seemed to magically change her metabolism, and soon, all the angles that first attracted Jerome the Third to her disappeared under mountainous curves of soft flesh, and mere months after getting together, Sallie was healthy, happy with how she felt, and getting fatter without regret. Jerome the Third, at first in love with her bony body, now fell deeper in love with her as she began to bloom larger, and he was especially turned on by the fact that each and every meal he bought her gave her such intense happiness that, for the first time in his life, he felt he had a true purpose: to find finer , more exotic restaurants to take her to, so he could watch her devour every rich morsel of the food laid before her. Sallie ate, and Jerome the Third was nourished.
Then, as of the ground had been sufficiently prepared, Sallie got pregnant.
Without even knowing if it was a boy or girl, they decided to name it Chaz. Jerome the Third wanted no Fourth to eclipse him, and Chaz sounded smooth and sexy to them both, so their son (no thought of a daughter, really) would be named Chas on his arrival into their world, for which Jerome the Third began to plan and connive: a next "job" had to be found, and this one had to be his largest petty crime yet.
And, like never before in her life, Sallie began to put on weight. Making love with Jerome the Third, bumptious and not always pleasant, seemed to magically change her metabolism, and soon, all the angles that first attracted Jerome the Third to her disappeared under mountainous curves of soft flesh, and mere months after getting together, Sallie was healthy, happy with how she felt, and getting fatter without regret. Jerome the Third, at first in love with her bony body, now fell deeper in love with her as she began to bloom larger, and he was especially turned on by the fact that each and every meal he bought her gave her such intense happiness that, for the first time in his life, he felt he had a true purpose: to find finer , more exotic restaurants to take her to, so he could watch her devour every rich morsel of the food laid before her. Sallie ate, and Jerome the Third was nourished.
Then, as of the ground had been sufficiently prepared, Sallie got pregnant.
Without even knowing if it was a boy or girl, they decided to name it Chaz. Jerome the Third wanted no Fourth to eclipse him, and Chaz sounded smooth and sexy to them both, so their son (no thought of a daughter, really) would be named Chas on his arrival into their world, for which Jerome the Third began to plan and connive: a next "job" had to be found, and this one had to be his largest petty crime yet.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Sallie
She moved her large body gracefully between tables, and slapped the check down on the corner booth table, populated by the party of seven, (five of whom were kids all under the age of 16), and after a dull stab of sympathy for the grey-with-exhaustion mother, and an indulgent moment of deep dislike for the florid and loud father of the group, she chirped a bright "Thanks, and have a great day in San Francisco", as she sailed her way back to the front check-out register to let that nice couple from table five pay and get on with their day of sightseeing and buying every souvenir in sight.
The staff of Larry's Cafe were all trained to say that, "Thanks, and have a great day in San Francisco" , with as much sincere cheer as they could muster, and were judged harshly by Larry and his wife Lorraine if it ever came across as false or forced. All in all , not a bad thing to require of the wait staff, since it did seem to nudge the tips a bit higher, especially if said with a true smile, and after all, no one around Larry's had to wear any of that tacky crap ("bling", they called it?) on their uniforms like the poor guys over at Beach Street Diner had to wear, (the more the obnoxiously merrier), so a bit of genuine cordiality and friendliness - (a slogan of Larry's: " Larry's Cafe, the cordial and friendly family place") wasn't so hard to manage. And she really meant it for that poor Mom of five. If she could find five minutes of alone time to sit peacefully by the Bay, it would be worth her entire vacation. So Sallie hoped that the grey-looking woman could lose the kids , and that overbearing Dad, for a good solid five.
"Uhm, pardon me," another, forgotten, customer from the back room table for one quietly interrupted. "Uh, could I have that coffee and Diet Coke any time soon? I am dying of thirst after all the walking , y'know...".
"Oh God, so sorry! That hasn't come yet? I'm compin' you on those, Hon, and they'll be right there. So sorry! Jorge! Coffee and Diet C at number 11? Where IS that?" , Sallie yelled over her shoulder, smiling at the customer, but mad as hell at Jorge, who seemed to be back in Mexico this morning, rather than at Larry's, where he kept screwing up orders making Sallie's life that much rougher. And her headache sharper. She needed to find a moment to gulp some Ibu's, or her head would snap off her neck. "Jorge, coffee and Diet C, please! Number 11!"
The placated customer slunk back to her table for one, and dove back into a stack of unwritten postcards. Sallie liked her, as she seemed to understand the busy rhythms of the early morning breakfast rush, and had moved courteously from a four-top to her solo table, when asked to do so, and made no fuss about it. Sallie like people who seemed to understand the unspoken rules. Jerome the Third never did, Sallie thought, then silently chastised herself for letting that quick memory of her last boyfriend sneak into her head. Immediately, she countered its effect by saying out loud "Rhonda! Rhonda...Rhonda!"
It's one of the things that had attracted her to Rhonda: Rhonda understood , and when she didn't , she re-wrote the rules, and simply expected Sallie to understand the changes. It was like they could read each other's minds. No arguments, no drama, just a nice quiet living together, raising the kid, cooking the meals, watching favorite TV shows, getting up and going to work, coming home: Sallie knew what to expect, and she liked it that way. She never wanted it to be any other way, ever again.
It's one of the things that had attracted her to Rhonda: Rhonda understood , and when she didn't , she re-wrote the rules, and simply expected Sallie to understand the changes. It was like they could read each other's minds. No arguments, no drama, just a nice quiet living together, raising the kid, cooking the meals, watching favorite TV shows, getting up and going to work, coming home: Sallie knew what to expect, and she liked it that way. She never wanted it to be any other way, ever again.
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