A Chance at Destiny (4 page)

“Who will cook for them when you’re gone?” Tyler wondered out loud.

“I've been trying to prepare my sister. But ...” she trailed off quietly.

“But....she knows you'll do it. Right?”  He sat up on the sofa using his longer stronger leg to nudge her smaller shorter over.

“Right. I don't know what else to do. Tyler when I leave-
I have to leave
- I’ll suffocate and die here if I don't. But what will happen to Lilly and Lyle? I'm scared. Scared that she won't get it. She won't take care of them.” She finally admitted it. She'd been holding the thoughts in her heart not wanting to speak them but she had to be honest. Lilly and Lyle were part of the reason she was hesitant about this plan.

“We’ll have to work on it and prepare her before we leave. Okay?”  He said trying to reassure her.

“How?”

“Start spending more time with me here. I still have to work. I'm off today but tomorrow I’ll bring you here after school. My brother, James, can take you home if you need to go or you can wait till I get off work.”

Destiny felt conflicted. She knew she should have a life but having a life of her own meant letting go of the life she knew. She sat. Contemplating what to do when she heard Tyler's stomach growl again. “I can cook for you. Your dad needs to eat, right?”

“You don't have to take care of us. But, if you can find something in there, go for it. Otherwise, I'll eat a sandwich.” Tyler didn't want her to feel obligated to do anything for him but he'd watched her cook at her unit. He wanted a home cooked meal.

“I don't mind, really. I actually like to cook. I'll see what I can find.” Destiny stood and walked into the kitchen. Tyler watched as she pulled out a few things-some cans and something from the freezer. He watched her move about the trailer as if it were her home. He continued to work on the essay. Soon he moved to his study guides for his final exams. Once the food was in the oven, Destiny pulled out the books she needed to study. She was sitting at the table to study when the door to the trailer opened.

A dark haired plump man walked through the door. He eyed Destiny and then looked to his brother curiously. James had wispy hair. He wore glasses that were a thin dark square frame around his dark eyes.  His face was adorned with a scruffy beard and mustache.

“James. This is Destiny. The girl I told you about,” Tyler looked up from his papers scattered about on the sofa.

“Hi,” Destiny spoke kindly looking up from her books on the small dinette.

“Hello,” James waved his hand slightly. He looked to Tyler, “I need to see you. Now. In the room.”

Tyler stood and walked into the bedroom with his older brother. James knew about his plan to marry Destiny. He knew why. So what was the problem? “She's black?”  James asked with a scowl.

“Ummm...yeah. Always has been,” Tyler replied. He thought the comment was funny but his brother thought otherwise.

“And you think folks are just gonna accept that?”

“Whatdaya mean?”  Tyler was genuinely confused by the question. In a town of working class people, race rarely played a part in their lives. Money is what separated the people. The haves and the have nots determined how people were treated.

“I know interracial dating is the new 'it' thing to do, but everybody don't like it. And bro, everybody won't accept it,” James explained.

“Oh. I see. You didn't think I knew she was black? You really thought I didn't know that some folks would have a problem with this?  Well, by the time they know, Destiny and I will be leaving town.” He paused and looked closely at his brother. “Oh....I get it now....you have a problem with this. Right?” Tyler asked his brother. Tyler couldn't believe this. He'd been in the trailer park all his life. He was practically raised by the Hispanic family who took pity on him growing up with his mother and all her drama. Bring them meals when they were hungry. Giving them warm coats when it was cold. James had seen this first hand. He ate the same food and played with the same kids. Tyler was confused by his brother’s thought process.

“I love you so I'll accept whatever or whoever you bring home. But I would've chosen a nice white girl.”

“Wow!” A nice white girl? Did he really just say that, Tyler thought to himself? “Okay. You sound very close to a racist James. You know like the ones you said you wouldn't become. After you and Tracy started dating you promised you would not become like them."

Tracy was James' on again off again girlfriend. She reminded Tyler a lot of his mom. He didn't really care for her but didn't tell James. That it was his choice, his life. She grew up in the next county and was raised by a bunch of ass backwards fellas who didn't have enough education between the lot of them to equal the fifth grade. Tracy barely made out of high school.

“Bro, this is me talking. Not them.” James met his eyes.

“I’ve never heard  you talk  like that and now....” Tyler shook his head,  “you sound just like 'em.” He walked out the room

Destiny sat at the table trying not to listen to the conversation in the other room. She tried to focus on her notes. Then she checked on the food in the oven. She startled when a voice from behind spoke.

“Don’t worry. James is older and bigger but Tyler is smarter and wiser,” Mr. Duggan sat in the wheelchair speaking with calm resolve. “Tyler used to want to please his brother all the time. Now he wants to be better. He wants out of this trailer, out of this town. And you want out too. I can see it in your eyes. You want a better life. Tyler has always wanted it and I know he can have it.”

“Oh, I understand that,”  Destiny nodded in agreement. She defiantly understood. She'd spent years dreaming of leaving and having a real life in the real world.

“What’s cooking? Smells great.” Mr. Duggan making his point clear and was moving on to the next topic.

She stood and opened the oven to show Mr. Duggan, “Chicken and rice.”

“Will you take some home to your family?”  He asked. She knew what he was asking. He wondered about her family situation. Especially since Tyler had spoken so harshly about Destiny’s sister.

“Maybe. For my niece and nephew maybe,” she wasn't ready to talk about them yet.  So she didn't offer anymore.

“They live with you and your sister, huh? That’s great. I bet you’re a big help to them and to her,” he commented. She nodded her head, “Don’t put your life on hold. Let your sister be their mother. If you cook like this every day, you’re a hard act to follow. I would be worried if I had to be as good and thoughtful as you seem to be.”

Destiny sat quietly. She had a clear understanding about what Mr. Duggan was saying. Her sister shouldn't have to compete for the love of her children. Destiny loved them so much that maybe she had replaced their mother with Dasha living right in the same house.

The food was done and James left. He exited soon after the not so private conversation with Tyler in the back bedroom. Mr. Duggan, Tyler, and Destiny sat down to eat. She felt strange eating at a table with other adults. She was so used to eating with Lilly and Lyle. The men enjoyed the food. They told her so several times.

As she and Tyler finished drying the dishes, his cell phone rang. Sliding his finger across the screen, “This Ty,” he answered.  What happened to hello? Destiny thought. “Yeah. She's here. Who is this?”  Destiny waited to see what was going on. “Oh. Okay.” He pushed the phone towards Destiny. Looking at number, she was reminded that she’d called Dasha earlier.

“Hello?”

“Where are you?” Dasha was upset.

“I told you I had Finals and projects. Remember, Dasha?”

“Don’t lie to me Destiny. You have a boyfriend. A white one that who thinks he's some kind rock star or skateboarder or something with all that hair.” Destiny turned her back to avoid Tyler overhearing the conversation. “You left my kids so you could lay up with him and play house?" Dasha began yelling into the phone. She was really angry.

“Are you listening to yourself? I did not abandon your kids. I called. That's more than you do when you get off and leave them with me all night after work.” Destiny felt compelled to make her understand. She would never abandon Lilly and Lyle. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She did not want to cry. Especially not in front of Tyler Duggan, again.

“You wanna lay-up with your boyfriend? Fine. But come get your crap out my house. We don't need you or want you here. If this stuff ain't gone by tomorrow night. I'm giving it all away.” Dasha yelled in her ear.

“What? Dasha that's ridiculous. I've been gone for a few hours. You can't put me out. Where will I go?”

“Ask your white boyfriend. He's with you all the time. Ask him. I gotta go.”

The phone went dead and Destiny stood there tears streaming down her face. She looked at Tyler. His arms were folded across his chest. He was leaning against the sink. “Now what?” Destiny asked distraught.

Tyler moved to sit at the table. He motioned for her to sit on the chair across from him. “I won't let you be homeless. I'll talk to my dad. We're down to the last few weeks of school. We're getting married. It should be fine. Plus you can cook,” he said laughing to lighten the mood.

“How can you laugh at me right now?” She was terrified. Her hands were shaking and the food she'd just eaten was threatening to return.

“I could cry with you but it won't solve anything. Let me talk to dad,” he stood, and she nodded.

Chapter three

It well past midnight when Destiny and Tyler were headed back to the trailer. She was glad she went right over to see Lilly and Lyle. It was good to see them fed and ready for bed. Dasha seemed proud of herself. Destiny felt ashamed as she loaded a small clothes hamper with all her earthy possessions into the cab of the truck. She knew she didn't have much, but to see it all compartmentalized made her really take notice. She felt small and insignificant.

“Your brother won't be happy,” She finally spoke. Replaying the
‘Nice white girl’
conversation she overheard in her head.

“He’ll get over it. It's only a few weeks,” Tyler yawned. Destiny felt worse dragging him and his family into her family drama.

When they arrived back at the trailer, James was leaving. He had a duffle bag and threw it into the car he was driving. Mr. Duggan was sitting in the doorway watching his eldest son drive away angry.

“What’s going on dad?” Tyler asked grabbing the hamper with a lifetime of her possessions in it.

“Well, I called James and told him to come home so we could talk. After I told him we'd have a visitor and she was gonna be family, he was a little upset and said he'd be at Tracy's for a while.”

“That won't last long,” Tyler chuckled. “All they are good for is sex. That's all he does is stay with her long enough to have the make-up sex and their back at each other’s throat.”

“Enough about James. Come on in Destiny. Make yourself at home. I am going to bed. You kids have fun. Be safe. Good night.” Mr. Duggan gave Destiny a gentle pat on her hand.

Destiny turned Tyler, “What does that mean?  We won't be having any fun. I need a shower and I can sleep on the sofa.”

Tyler returned to her hazel gaze, “Destiny, I'm not trying to have sex with you.  I'll take the sofa and you can take the bed.”

She walked into the tiny room with a chest of drawers standing in front of her and a full size bed to her left. The width of the room was just big enough for the bed to snuggle into the wall. The bathroom was situated just across from the bed. The carpet was worn and dingy. The bathroom was aged with water spots and hard water stains. But Destiny was grateful. It had been a long time since she’d slept in a bed.

The night had been long. Destiny wanted a shower and rest. After her shower, Destiny crawled into the full size bed and began to cry. She was crying so hard she didn't feel the bed lower as Tyler sat patiently rubbing her back. She tried to stop the tears but they wouldn't cease. They wouldn't stop no matter how much she willed them to stop.