A Second Helping Read Online Free PDF Page B

summer.”
    â€œThat’s rough. Sorry to hear it. She and I didn’t get along at the end, but I wouldn’t wish nothing like AIDS on her. That’s too bad.”
    â€œYeah, but she told Jean she was going to die happy because she got to see her daughter Crystal back in the fall.”
    â€œCrystal? My baby girl?”
    â€œYeah. Nikki told Jean that Crystal was set for life. Got some high-class, rich sister as her foster mother now.”
    â€œReally? Did Jean say where they lived? CPS took Crystal from me and Nikki when she was little. Haven’t seen her since.”
    â€œJean said something about Kansas.”
    â€œKansas?”
    By then Ray was at the cashier. He handed the kidbehind the glass a twenty, and asked for five Easy Picks for the big Lotto draw tomorrow night. He turned back to Walt. “You think if I called Jean she might be able to tell me something more? Be nice to see Crystal. Let her know her daddy’s been thinking about her all these years.”
    Walt shrugged. “I don’t know, man.”
    The clerk handed Ray his change, the bagged wine, and the Lotto tickets. Ray reached in his pocket and took out a business card. “Here, give her this.”
    Walt grinned. “Look at you. Business cards.”
    â€œYeah. Own a cleaning company. Doing pretty good too.”
    â€œOkay. No guarantee she’ll call you, though. You know how she felt about you when you and Nikki were together.”
    â€œTell her I’ve changed. Go to church now and everything.”
    â€œYou in church? Hell must be freezing over.”
    They laughed, and after another short talk about back in the day, they promised to stay in touch and parted ways.
    As Ray headed up the street to his apartment, he smiled. So his daughter Crystal was living large. He liked the sound of that, and would like it even more once he found out where they were. Yeah, Ray had changed, but only because he’d grown too old to pimp. Life had reduced him to a gigolo and he trolled for victims in the Black churches where he had his pick of lonely, single Black females with good jobs eager to pay his bills in exchange for his affections. Yeah, he’d changed, but as in nature, a leopard never changes his spots.

CHAPTER 3
    M ost of the mail on Bernadine’s desk pertained to the new school. Before going on vacation, Lily had e-mailed some requests for info on textbooks and other educational equipment. Apparently word had spread because in response Bernadine was looking at enough un-solicited catalogs to supply a school district the size of New York City’s. Some specialized in school uniforms, others featured desks. There were big fat ones devoted to science labs. Five had glossy pictures of gym equipment, and in another stack were piled the ones pertaining to textbooks and teacher supplies.
    By the time she opened the catalogs selling school buses, her head was spinning. A knock on her open door caused her to look up. Mayor Trent July stood on the threshold. She could’ve kissed him for offering her a distraction. “God, I’m glad to see you. All this mail’s about to give me a stroke.”
    Meeting her greeting with a smile reminiscent of his father, he took a look at her piled-high desk and cracked, “Welcome back.”
    â€œYeah right,” she tossed back in response to his obvious sarcasm, but her eyes were twinkling with amusement. “How are you?”
    â€œI’m fine. Thanks for bringing my Lily home in one piece.”
    â€œMost welcome. She and Crystal had a great time. Have a seat and you can catch me up on what’s been going on.”
    He eased down into one of her fancy chairs and made himself comfortable. “Dad said Florene quit?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œIn this economy, you don’t want anybody to be without a job.”
    â€œTrue, but she wasn’t a good fit for our needs. Told us she wanted the freedom to run her