Chapter 13

Zoe walked into the shelter carrying a large box. "A little help?" she announced and looked around the room. She spotted Anna coming toward her. "You're early!" Anna said, walking quickly up to her.

Anna helped her carry the box to the table. "Wow, this is heavy. What's in here?" she asked. "Fruit cups," Zoe answered. "I have more at the restaurant."

Anna looked at her curiously, then opened the box and looked inside. "Why do you have all these fruit cups?" she asked.

"Long story," Zoe said.

They both sat down at the table. "Okay Anna, I've given it a lot of thought, and I want to move forward on the fundraiser. I think we should do an open mic. We can bring in local talent and have them perform. We could charge at the door; maybe. But I'd be willing to give part of the night's receipts to the shelter."

Anna didn't speak; instead, she just reached out and hugged her. "Thank you, Zoe. I really mean it."

Zoe hugged her back. "It's my pleasure, Anna. You do good work here. I love helping out. I thought we could do some initial planning today. My girl does PR, so I'm hoping for free marketing. Tallulah…well, she writes for Big World. I'm going to ask them to donate some ad space."

"You are amazing," Anna said, then stood up. "I have some stuff in my office that may be of use. I'll be right back." She left the table and walked to her office. Zoe sat patiently, waiting for her to return when she suddenly heard singing.

"Must be Lily," she said out loud.

She stood up and followed the sound of the singing, which led her to a small room next to the kitchen. Lily was sitting in a chair, staring out the window. Her voice was melancholy and soft. Zoe listened to the words as she stood in the doorway of the room.

When Lily was done, she spoke to her. "Lily, that was so pretty. What was that song?"

Lily didn't turn around; she just continued to stare out the window. "It's just something I wrote a long time ago," she replied.

Zoe walked over to where she was sitting. "You sing so beautifully. I'm having a fundraiser for the shelter. It's going to be an open mic."

"Open mic?" Lily said, turning her head towards her.

"Yes. An open mic is where different artists, like singers or musicians or poets, come and perform. It's called an open mic because anyone can do really whatever they'd like."

Lily looked back out the window and hummed the song she was singing. "Would you like to sing, Lily?" Zoe asked.

She stopped humming. "Sing?" she replied.

"Yes, sing. Everything we raise goes to help out here at the shelter."

Lily had a vacant look on her face. She faced Zoe and spoke. "Amanda stopped me from singing."

Zoe looked confused. "Who's Amanda, Lily? And why would she stop you?" she asked. "She found out what he'd done, so she punished us, Mama, me, and Clyde."

Zoe looked around the room and found a chair. She pulled the chair next to Lily and sat down.

"Who's he?" she asked.

"My father. I didn't know. We didn't know. No one told us. I didn't take the money. I left it there. Clyde, now he took the money. He said we were due. That we should benefit from our father's name."

Anna walked into the room. "There you are. I have some information that should help us. Lily, are you okay?"

Lily nodded her head and went back to staring out the window.

"We were just talking. I asked Lily if she'd like to sing at our fundraiser," Zoe said. "That's a wonderful idea. What do you think, Lily?"

Lily didn't answer. She just hummed and looked at the window.

"Lily," Zoe said, "would you sing at the fundraiser?"

Lily stopped humming. "I don't know. I don��t know if I can."

Suddenly, she stood up. She was shaking and had a wild look her in eyes. She backed away from Zoe and Anna.

"Why are you doing this? I already told you!"

Anna reached out for her and hugged her tightly. "It's okay, Lily. You don't have to sing. We want to help you." Anna released her and stepped back. Lily stared at them. "I want to sing, but I can't," she said.

She put her head down and walked out of the room, leaving Zoe and Anna standing there, speechless.

"What just happened?" Zoe asked.

"She's becoming more agitated," Anna said sadly. "She's been drinking more. Ever since the liquor store thing, she hasn't been coming around much."

Zoe sighed. "Well, all the more reason to get this fundraiser going." She touched Anna on the shoulder and smiled.

"Let me show you the information I have," Anna said.

They both walked out of the room.

* * *

Tallulah sat in front of her laptop at the kitchen table. She fixed her long dreadlocks and patiently waited. Her laptop chimed, and she clicks on the video chat.

"Hi, Tallulah," said Sharon. "Is this still a good time?" Tallulah shifted in her chair and smiled. "Yes, this is great."

Sharon held up her article. "I read your article. It'll run in the next issue. We're doing a whole makeup series, so this will go nicely with what we have."

Tallulah smiled and replied. "Thank you. It was a change from what I normally write about. But it was good. No worries."

Sharon shuffled papers around. "Okay, so next time I'd like to see something on weight loss. There are a lot of new fads out there, maybe you can pick 5 or 6 and do some research?"

Tallulah nodded her head as she wrote down Sharon's request. Sharon continued. "Oh, by the way, how's your shelter article going?"

"Well," Tallulah said, "slower than I thought. But my friend is doing a fundraiser at her restaurant, so I'll be able to include that in my piece.��

Sharon smiled. "Sometimes a good article takes time, Tallulah. I'm sure it'll be good." Tallulah nodded. "Thanks.

"Okay, so weight loss, 5-6 diets or fads. You've got some breathing room on this, so not due for 40 days."

"Great. I'll send you a rough draft in about 2-3 weeks. Thank you for the opportunity, Sharon." Sharon smiled and clicked off.

Tallulah closed the laptop and sighed. She picked up her bag and dug out her small notebook, then flipped the pages until she came to what she'd written at the record store. She read the name out loud, "Owen Katz, producer." She opened a new browser and searched his name, then scanned her search results and tried Twilight Records. It yielded one promising article.

She found a small announcement on an archive newspaper website. She clicked the link and started to read out loud.

"Twilight Records studio, owned by Owen Katz, burned yesterday in a fire. Police suspect arson and no arrests have been made. Mr. Katz was not available for questioning."

"A fire?" she said. She continued. "The studio was home to several negro musical artists."

She conducted another search but didn't find anything. She pulled out her cell phone and called Marc. He picked up on the third ring.

"Hey, it's Tallulah. You got a second?"

"Sure," said Marc. "What's up?"

"So, I did a search on the producer of Lily's record and didn't find anything. Then I did a search

on Twilight Records and found a small announcement saying it burned in a fire and was home

to several negro artists."

"Is there more?" he asked.

"No, that's it," she said. He could hear the frustration in her voice. "I was hoping for more. But I do have a location of where the studio was. Maybe I can access the public record," she said.

"Maybe," he said. "Hey, what are you doing now?" he asked.

"I gotta go to work at the restaurant."

"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed.

"We usually hang out when it closes. I know it's late, but you can come by. We usually have some wine, food, and talk," she said as her voice quivered a little.

She liked him. She hadn't had the best luck with relationships. The last guy she dated just disappeared, ghosted, stop calling. She was hurt, but not in the sense that she was in love or anything. She was hurt that she didn't know why he stopped calling.

She'd sent a few texts and left some messages, but Chloe had put an end to that.

"Stop chasing niggas, T. You deserve better. If that man can't see and appreciate you, then fuck him. What you want from him? You wanna have his babies? Marry him? Girl, please. No more texting. Definitely no more calling." She then took Tallulah's phone and deleted his information.

She waited for Marc to reply to her. She thought, for a moment,that maybe she shouldn't have mentioned it to him, but then he answered her.

"Sure. That sounds nice. Do I need to bring anything?"

She felt a quiver in her stomach. "Just yourself. It'll be after closing. We close around 10, so is 11 pm okay?"

"It works. See you then," he said.

"Bye," she said and clicked off the phone.

"So, how did you do tonight?" Zoe asked Tallulah

She was counting her tips at a table in the back of the restaurant. Zoe was sitting across from her, sipping a glass of much-needed wine.

"You know you how they say Black people don't tip?" she said while counting the dollar bills. Zoe nodded her head. "Well, they're wrong. I did really good tonight. This will pay the electric bill, and then some."

Zoe smiled and replied, "Well, they aren't always right."

Tallulah continued counting her money. "Hey," she said, "I invited Marc to stop by around 11 pm. I forgot to say something to you. I hope it's okay."

Zoe smiled and raised her eyebrow. "Marc from the shelter?"

Tallulah smiled and nodded her head. "We went out the other day. It was fun. No pressure. Causal. We talked and walked. Oh shit, I forgot to tell you. We stopped at a record store, and I think we found Lily's record. I had the guy at the store order it for me. And Marc paid for it." She carefully folded the stack of bills and put them in her wallet.

Zoe looked at her curiously. "You know, I was at the shelter, talking to Anna about the fundraiser, and I saw Lily. She was singing some song she said she wrote. I asked her if she wanted to sing, and she said Amanda wouldn't let her."

Tallulah reached for Zoe's glass of wine. She handed it to her and continued. "Then she said Amanda is punishing her for what her father did."

Tallulah stopped drinking. "Wait, what?"

Zoe nodded her head. "She said she didn't know and she didn't take the money. She said Clyde took the money, but she didn't. She said Clyde said they should benefit from their father's name. Whatever that means."

There was a loud knock on the restaurant door. Zoe looked at her watch. "It's probably Chloe. I'll go let her in. Oh, by the way, I asked Michael to stop by."

Tallulah choked on her sip of wine as Zoe quickly walked to the door and let Chloe in. She could hear from all the way in the back of the restaurant, "Queens and bitches, I've arrived!"

Zoe followed Chloe to the back of the restaurant.

"What up, girl?" Tallulah said, handing her an empty wine glass.

Chloe smiled. "See, that's why I love you. You always looking out for a bitch."

Tallulah watched as she poured a glass of wine and took a large sip. Zoe sat next to her. Tallulah looked at her and said, "Okay Zoe, spill it. When did you talk to Michael?"

Zoe smiled and poured wine into the empty glass on the table. She poured slowly, smiling, making Tallulah wait for her answer.

Chloe looked at both of them and said, "Wait, can you catch me up? What are we talkin' about?" Tallulah looked at Zoe and folded her arms. Zoe finished pouring the wine and took a long sip, then exhaled and put down the glass.

"Zoe!" they both shouted.

"Okay," Zoe laughed, "I went to Big World to ask Michael if he'd donate ad space for the fundraiser. We got to talkin', and, well…he's coming here tonight."

Chloe threw up her hands. "Just pull the fuckin' trigger and fuck him. Y'all been mind fuckin' since college. The first time you met him, you mind fucked him. Not in a bad way, not like playin' head games. I mean, you literally fucked him in your mind. Mind fuck. Y'all do the cute, flirty thing, but damn, I'm tired of watching this show."

They looked at her. After a brief moment of silence, they broke out laughing.

"I'm serious," Chloe said, with a laugh.

"Are you blushing?" Tallulah asked.

Zoe turned her head away. "No", she said, smiling.

Chloe took a sip of her wine and said, "You're going to love me even more than you do now, Zoe." She smiled. "So my very cool, young, good looking, sexy client – the Stanley Roberts – is looking for a new charity to give his money to. He asked me to put together a list of charities he could partner with. I added your shelter to the list and did a fabulous write-up." Chloe stopped and took a sip of wine. She shifted in her seat and leaned forward. "I emailed all the info, and he got back with me. He's interested in…wait for it…the shelter!"

"What?!" Zoe shouted, "No shit?"

"No shit," replied Chloe.

"Do you know what this means?" said Zoe excitedly. "This is means a new building, more resources!"

"Okay, now don't get ahead of yourself. He's interested. I thought I'd invite him to the fundraiser, tour the center, meet Anna and the staff."

"When do you think this'll happen? You know, the tour and stuff?" Tallulah asked.

Chloe looked at Zoe. "When is the open mic? You may need to move the date."

Zoe thought for a moment. "Well, we were thinking 30-45 days. We want to get the word out. Anna said they don't really have a marketing budget, but we could put out a press release. I think the local stations would pick it up. Michael said he'd advertise for us for free."

Chloe thought for a moment. "I'm sure I can with PR, even if Stanley doesn't come through. He was headed out of the country and said he'd be back soon. So, I'll probably know more next week."

There was a light knock at the door. Zoe and Tallulah looked at one another.

Chloe looked puzzled. "What? I –"

"It's probably just Michael," Tallulah said.

"Or Marc," Zoe added.

"Who's Marc?" asked Chloe.

Zoe stood up and started walking toward the door. "Ask T," she said.

Chloe looked at Tallulah. "Okay bitch, who's Marc?"

Tallulah smiled but didn't answer her. She could hear them talking but couldn't make out was what was being said. She waited. Chloe reached over and lightly hit her. "Who the fuck is Marc?!"

"Shh," she said, waving Chloe off.

Zoe appeared, with Michael walking behind her.

"It's Michael, y'all," Zoe announced.

Chloe looked at Tallulah. "It's Michael," she said. Tallulah motioned for him to sit down. "Hi, Michael." "Hey," he said.

Chloe passed him an empty wine glass.

"Wine?" she said.

Michael nodded, and she poured a glass. She set the glass down and pushed it over to him.

"Hi, Michael," she said.

Michael sat next to Tallulah and took off his jacket. He smiled and took a sip of wine.

Zoe stood for a moment and then said, "Okay, I have food in the kitchen. Chloe, I know you're hungry. So, I have some catfish and chicken that was leftover from dinner. Everything else is on the counter in containers. Help yourself."

Chloe stood up. "Good looking out." She smiled and walked toward the kitchen.

Zoe sat down and poured herself a glass of wine. "This bottle is done. I'll go get another one." She stood up and walked toward the kitchen.

Tallulah watched her walk away, and when she went into the kitchen, she said, "So, I didn��t expect to see you here."

She smiled at Michael slyly and winked.

He fidgeted in his chair. "Well, she came by the office, we talked, and here I am."

She held up her glass and motioned for Michael to do the same. The glasses clicked together, and they both took a long sip.

Zoe emerged from the kitchen with two bottles of wine. As she started walking toward the table, she heard a light knock.

She said, "T, I think your guest is here."

Tallulah stood up and fixed her shirt. She pulled her dreads back behind her ears and walked toward the door. She passed Zoe, who winked at her.

She unlocked the door to find Marc standing here.

He always looks so good, she thought.

"Hi, come on in," she said.

"Thanks," he replied.

He was wearing a pair of jeans, black form-fitting T-shirt, leather jacket, and Kangol hat. As he passed by, she inhaled his cologne. It was perfect; not too strong or flowery.

"So it's me, Zoe, Chloe, and Michael. I'm glad you could make it,��� she said. She led him to the back of the restaurant.

Zoe and Michael were talking and laughing when they walked up to the table. "Zoe, you know Marc, from the shelter. Michael, this is my…friend, Marc."

Michael stood up and extended his hand. "Nice to meet you, man."

Marc smiled and shook his hand. He looked at Zoe and nodded his head and waved.

"Wine?" Tallulah asked. "Well, I'm more of a beer guy," he said.

"There's some beer in the large fridge in the kitchen," Zoe said."Sit down, Marc."

He looked around the restaurant. "It's strange being here when you're closed," he commented. Zoe smiled at him. "There's food in the kitchen. Now, I know it's late, but it's kind of a tradition that we meet here, eat, and drink. So welcome. Come on, I'll show you to the kitchen."

Zoe stood up and motioned for Marc to follow her. She smiled widely as she passed Tallulah.

"Ahem hem," Michael said, looking at Tallulah.

She looked at him. "What?"

"Come on. Who's Marc?" he asked.

She quickly sat in the chair next to him and whispered, "Okay, okay. I met him at the shelter. We've had one date. It was nice. I like him so far. That's it."

Chloe emerged from the kitchen, carrying a plate full of food. "What y'all all huddled up for?" she asked as she put the plate down on the table.

"Work," Tallulah answered quickly.

"Hmm," said Chloe, then she sat down and started eating.

"Wow, that's a lot of food," said Michael.

She didn't answer; just continued eating. Soon, Marc and Zoe came out of the kitchen and joined them at the table. Zoe handed a plate to Michael.

Zoe looked around and said, "So, how's the food?" Chloe looked at her and said, "Stop playin'."

The group ate in silence. Finally, Zoe spoke again.

"So Marc, have you been to the shelter lately?"

He looked up from his plate, nodded his head, and swallowed the food he had in his mouth. "I was there yesterday. I helped fix the back door. Someone broke the lock, and Anna said the quotes from the locksmith were really high."

Zoe nodded her head. "I was over there today. You know we're planning a fundraiser here at the restaurant. An open mic. I'm hoping to get a good turnout. I even asked Lily if she would sing."

His eyes widened. "What did she say?" he asked.

Zoe frowned. "She said she can't sing. Amanda won't let her sing. She also mentioned something about her father…"

Tallulah and Marc looked at one another.

"Well, we," Tallulah said, pointing to Marc, "found a record store, and I think we found Lily's record. I ordered it. Should be a few weeks before I get it." "A record?" Michael asked.

Tallulah poured herself another glass of wine and told the story about Lily and her record. "I have the name of the producer and where it was recorded, but that's about all."

Chloe pushed her glass toward Tallulah and gestured for her to pour. "Y'all should hire a private investigator. Someone who could dig into her past, find things out. Maybe she's famous," Chloe said.

"Sounds good, but PIs take money," Marc said.

Tallulah agreed. "Yeah, Chloe, money – and last I checked, I don't have any."

"Should you really be digging into someone's past?" Zoe asked. "I mean, yes, she needs help, but like she said, she wasn't always on the street."

Chloe said, "Hmmm, well, I know digging into someone's past can be bad business." She looked at Tallulah.

Tallulah half-smiled. "Okay, okay. I'm going to speak with Lily before I write anything. I don't have any money for a PI, so there's the end of that," she said.

Michael cleared his throat. "I know a guy who does that kind of thing…you know, find people. My college roommate. He seems to be pretty good at it from what he says. Not sure what he charges."

"You mean Crazy Dave? Term Paper Dave?" Tallulah asked.

Michael nodded his head. "I can call him if you want. It's worth a try," Michael said.

"What about money?" Tallulah asked. "We can figure that out later. Besides, this story is for BW; maybe I can figure a way to write it off."

Chloe took a sip of her wine and said, "Can this Lily really sing? What's her story? Why is she at the shelter?"

Marc answered, "I'm not sure where she came from. She's been on the street for years, so she says. I've tried to get her off, but she says it's where she belongs. She once told me she was trash, and you throw trash away."

Michael said, "Well, I've donated ad space for your event. I'll call Crazy Dave tomorrow." Zoe smiled. "And if we can get Mr. Roberts to jump on board, we should have enough blessings for everyone here."

"So, Chloe tell us about Stanley Roberts. I hear he's loaded," said Michael.

Chloe smiled. "Yes, Stanley does have money, but he's a really nice guy. Very down to Earth. A bitch was lucky to get his account. All the chicks in the office swoon over him when he comes in. I keep it professional."

Michael smiled. "Professional?"

Chloe shot him a look. "Actually, yes, professional. See, they already expect a bitch to act some kinda way. So I flip the script, keep it professional. I'm the opposite of what they expect."

"And what do they expect?" Marc asked.

"Well," Chloe said, "they expect the loud, angry Black woman. The one with attitude, and the one who is unapproachable."

Zoe chimed in, "I think we've all experienced that at one time or another."

Tallulah nodded her head. "I know I have. When I was in high school, the white girls would expect me to be the expert on all things Black."

"Well, race is a funny thing," Michael said. "I get it. As an Asian, I usually get stereotyped, too." "How so?" Marc asked. "Well," he began, "I'm supposed to be very smart. Which is true. But I'm also supposed to be a bad driver and eat dogs."

"I think we've all experienced some form of discrimination," Zoe said.

"I had someone tell me I sounded white the other day," Michael said.

Tallulah turned toward him. "What?" she said.

Michael nodded his head. "I was out getting some new advertisers, and I went into this Korean restaurant. I guess it's new. Anyway, I asked to speak with the owner, Mr. Kim. He was happy to see me at first until I spoke. He told me I sounded like a white man." "What did you say?" asked Tallulah.

"I told him I was born in America and my parents immigrated from Japan. He didn't seem to care. He then asked me if I spoke Japanese. I know a little, but my parents wanted me to learn

English, so we didn't speak much Japanese in my house. Needless to say, Mr. Kim was very disappointed. I didn't get his business."

"Because of how you sound?" Chloe asked.

Michael nodded his head.

"That's just fuckin' stupid," Chloe said.

"Yeah, well, Mr. Kim didn't think so," Michael said.

Marc said, "I had the opposite happen to me. I own a very small fleet of cars. I'm starting a limo business."

"How small a fleet?" Zoe asked.

Marc smiled. "Okay, I own two cars. Anyway, I picked up a white man at the airport. He was heading to the financial district. At first the ride was quiet, just some small talk. Then he asked me where he could get some weed n' shit. At first I thought he was joking. But he kept on. He finally said, and I quote, I know you people know where to get the drugs. Now, at first, I let it slide. But when he said it again, I finally had to let him know all Black folks don't do drugs. He laughed it off."

"Well, hell, since we're telling stories, I got a good one for ya," said Chloe. "My boss, who is a white woman, asked me to come to her office. It was our weekly meeting. So I go, we talk. Then she says, 'I want to ask you a question, non-work related.' Now, you know when your white boss says some shit like that, it's gonna be race-related. So anyway, I say, 'Sure, what's up?' Then this bitch tells me she's dating a Black man and wanted to know if I could spare my Black Man Manual. You know, the book on how to handle a Black man. She also wanted tips." Everyone laughed. "True story," said Chloe.

"See, we all have stories," Tallulah said.

"We do," Zoe added.

The group sat and talked for a few more hours. Michael was the first to leave.

"Well, I really appreciate the food and drink, but I gotta get going. I've got a layout to finish, and I'm waiting for a so-called reporter of mine to finish her article." Michael looked at Tallulah and smiled.

"I'll walk you out," Zoe said as she got up.

"I really like your place," Michael said. "My favorite is the pie." Zoe smiled. "Yes, my pie is good."

When they reached the door, they both were silent. Michael broke the silence.

"Hey, I know you're busy with your business, and now this open mic, but there's a jazz festival this weekend. Do you want to go?"

Zoe blushed and looked down at the floor. "Ah...sure, I'd love to go. I'm not sure if I can get away. I'm training a new cook, and he's pretty good, but…"

Michael laughed. "You're not ready to give up the reins. I get it. No pressure, Zoe."

Zoe looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you. I really want to go. I can meet you there, say later in the evening."

Michael nodded. "Sure, whatever works for you."

As she leaned past him and unlocked the door, Michael gently kissed her on the cheek, then walked out. She watched him walk down the sidewalk until he turned the corner. She could hear laughter coming from the back of the restaurant and went to join her friends.

Zoe sat down, listened for a moment, then said, "So Marc, how did you get involved with the shelter?"

Marc's face turned serious. "Well, when I was a kid, we lived at a shelter for a little while. Not that shelter, but a shelter. They really helped my mom. Now, I was embarrassed when the kids at school would ask me why I was wearing the same clothes or why I didn't have the new fresh Nikes, but the people at the shelter were always nice. I always said I'd give back when I was able. I don't have a lot of money, but I have time, and I cook a little…well, until you came. She puts my shit to shame."

"A bitch can cook," Chloe said.

"I like it," he continued. "Besides, the limo business is a little slow, so I try to keep myself busy. I've been doing a lot of small repairs for Anna."

Chloe sat up. "Hey, if you need a limo gig, I can help. I plan on taking Mr. Roberts to tour the shelter. He drives like a madman, so I could use a driver. Got a business card?"

Marc smiled. "Hell ya, I got a business card!"

He pulled out his wallet and passed the card to Chloe. She took it and smiled. "Great. I'll be in touch. Soon." Marc nodded his head. "You got it."

Tallulah, Zoe, Chloe, and Marc ended the night around 2:00 a.m. when Marc drove Tallulah home. She wanted to ask him up, but she hesitated. Instead, she kissed him lightly on the cheek and told him goodnight. Marc smiled and watched her enter her building, then drove away.

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