A Woman’s Work: Street Chronicles by Nikki Turner Read Free Book Online Page A

of the deal; what more could a girl ask for?
    After surrendering to my sexual appetite, I decided to treat myself to a real meal to ease my hunger pangs. My body couldn’t go another hour without putting something hearty inside. After all, I was not used to this kind of deprived living, and it was beginning to take a toll on me. I remembered someone telling me that Peachtree Avenue was the place to be and even mentioning that P. Diddy had a soul-food restaurant named Justin’s on the block. That was right up my alley because I could get something good to eat and possibly run into Diddy himself.
    I walked back to the garage, got in my car, and asked the parking attendant for directions to Peachtree Avenue. I followed his directions until I pulled up in front of the restaurant.
    When I got there, I parked my car about fifty miles away from the restaurant. I couldn’t afford to pay for parking because my money was getting low and I had to preserve it. So I sucked it up and hiked to my destination.
    Before walking into Justin’s I stopped, straightened out my one and only outfit, and reapplied my makeup and perfume so that no one would guess that my fly dirty ass was a pauper beneath all this beauty.
    I walked through the front entrance of the restaurant in complete amazement at how elaborate it was. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, and chic furniture and flat-screen televisions were displayed throughout. From the very moment I entered, I knew this was what you call fine dining, which frightened the fuck out of me because I would probably spend my life’s savings in here on a glass of water. Feeling overwhelmed and out of place, I turned to walk back out just as the hostess arrived to seat me.
    “Table for one?” she politely asked. I felt like Florida Evans from
Good Times
because although I was smiling, in my mind I was screaming
damn, damn, damn!
God knows I wanted to walk out, but the captivating aroma of all those lovely soul-food meals was holding my stomach hostage. I guess I could just order something from the appetizer menu and drink a glass of water.
    “Yes, I’ll be eating alone, thank you,” I replied as I followed her to my seat.
    “Here’s your table, ma’am.” She walked over, stood in front of the table, and pointed at my seat. “Okay, ma’am, your waitress, Amanda, will be over shortly. If you need any assistance before she arrives, just let me know. Enjoy your stay here at Justin’s.” I smiled and thanked her for the hospitality.
    Although I didn’t really want to be there, I found comfort in my surroundings. As I looked around at everyone eating their meals, seemingly without any cares or worries, I kept telling myself that I would be in that state of mind very soon.
    “Hello, welcome to Justin’s. I’m Amanda. Can I start you out with an appetizer and a drink?” Start me out with an appetizer and a drink? I wanted to tell the bitch that’s all I’d be eating, so she could start me out and finish me up with an appetizer and some water, to be exact.
    I looked down at my menu and saw that the cheapest appetizer was the Caribbean egg roll, which was seven dollars. To be honest, the prices were extremely reasonable, but I didn’t have roomto splurge, and on my fixed income $7.00 was over the top. I had plenty of time to come back here and eat lavishly after I got my record deal. I couldn’t afford any appetizer, so I simply ordered a side order. “Yes, I’ll have an order of rice and peas with any kind of gravy on top and a glass of water without ice.”
    “You want an order of rice and peas with gravy and nothing else?” she sarcastically asked while looking at me as if she was waiting for the punch line of a joke. After waiting for a moment and seeing the self-conscious look on my face, I think she caught on that I was dead serious. “Will that be all tonight, ma’am?”
    “Yes, I just ate about an hour ago. I’m just trying to kill time before meeting some friends. I heard