by Vivian Ward
Color Blind
Color Blind
By Vivian Ward
Copyright 2015 Vivian Ward
All Rights Reserved
This book is a work of fiction. Any similarity to real people, places, or events is strictly coincidental. This book may not be reproduced or distributed in any format without the permission of the author, with the exception of brief quotations used in reviewing the book.
Chapter One
“I’m so worried about my baby girl,” I said to Rachel as we bussed the table.
“Oh God, what weird thing has she done now? She hasn’t tried bungee jumping from the tree with her jump rope again, has she?” Rachel laughed, recalling the story as she’d heard it a few months back.
“No, no. It’s nothing like that, but I’m worried about her. At first she complained how much her knees hurt her, but she can be so goofy. After a few days, I took a peek and they were both swollen.”
My coworker nodded, “What do you think happened to her?”
“I have no clue. It started off with her knees and then she began complaining that her back was also sore, so I thought she fell and must have injured herself, but I think it’s something else.”
“How come?” she asked.
“Because she ran a fever two days ago, but it’s been intermittent. There’s nothing wrong with her, she’s not ‘sick’. She doesn’t have a sore throat, runny nose, cough or other cold-like symptoms.” I said, placing a tub of dishes near the dishwasher. “Let me grab that table. Sherry just seated a customer in my section; I’ll take his drink order real fast.”
I headed toward the Caucasian gentleman placed in my area. I couldn’t help but notice how handsome he was. His piercing green eyes stood out against his tanned skin. I approached the man smiling as she did with all of my customers.
“Good afternoon. What would you like to drink?” I asked as he looked over the menu.
His glance turned to me and returned a warm smile, “I’ll have a Dr. Pepper, please.”
“I’ll go grab that for you.”
I headed into the kitchen and motioned Rachel over to me.
“Do you see that guy in my section?”
“Yeah! Talk about a hunk! You should so get his number!”
“No way! I don’t want another relationship. I don’t have time for that. Plus he’s a white guy, my family would flip the hell out on me.” I said, rolling my eyes.
“If you didn’t work so much, you’d have the opportunity! Think of little Nevaeh, doesn’t she deserve a daddy?” Rachel joked.
“No, she needs her momma,” I stated as I left the kitchen with his drink.
“Here you go, sir. Are you ready to order or would you like to look over the menu longer?”
“Yes, I’ll have a grilled chicken salad,” he remarked as he returned the menu.
“You got it, and my name’s Kimberly. I’ll be your server today. Just call if you need anything else.”
After I had served the gorgeous stranger his lunch, Rachel and I spoke near the counter, where we couldn’t be heard.
“What are you going to do about Nevaeh?” her co-worker asked.
“I have no clue. I think that maybe she fell, but it’s hard to tell with her. She does the strangest things.”
“Yeah, she does.”
“When I go on break, I’ll call to schedule her a doctor’s appointment. It sucks because ever since we had to get healthcare coverage, my paychecks have been next to nothing.”
“I know what you mean,” Rachel agreed.
“Well, after paying insurance on both of us, my last check was a whopping $18 after all of my deductions and taxes. It hurts we’ve been so slow.”
“Tell me about it!”
“Oh, be right back again. I think he needs another drink.”
I walked over to the table. It was impossible take my eyes off of the man sitting in my section. He was so well dressed. I wondered why he was sitting alone. He had to have a girlfriend or wife—didn’t he?
“Hi sir, would you like a refill?”
“Yes, please. It’s been so hot outside, I was dying of thirst. Tell me your name again?” he inquired.
“Kimberly,” I smiled at him. “And I’ll return with your soda. Dr. Pepper, right?”
He nodded his head. A few moments later, I returned with his beverage and headed to the counter to continue chatting with Rachel.
“Okay, where were we?” I asked as we rolled silverware inside of napkins.
“Oh, we were just bitching about how we work for peanuts.”
“Right. You better hope that kid of yours doesn’t pop out soon. He needs to stay put until business picks up!” I teased my friend.
“Well, he’s still got eight more weeks,” Rachel commented as she rubbed her belly. “I can’t wait to meet him. I hope he doesn’t have his dad’s big ears,” she laughed.
“Hold on again, he’s leaving. I need to clean that table real quick,” I said, nodding my head toward my section.
“Kimberly, thank you for the wonderful service today,” he reached into his pocket. “I’d like to leave you with a tip in exchange for your phone number,” he grinned at her with a $50 bill in his hand.
“Oh, um, thank you, but I don’t give out my number.”
“I wanted to take you out this weekend. Give me your number,” he said taking out his cell phone.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” I began to pick up his dirty dishes and walk away. “And you can keep your tip.”
My heart skipped a beat as I walked away. This wasn’t my typical kind of guy, yet I was so drawn to him. My father had been shot and killed by a crooked white cop. There was no way in hell I’d ever consider dating a white guy. My entire family would disapprove of that kind of relationship, despite his wealthy appearance. No amount of money would ever change my family’s opinions on interracial relationships. Plus, this cocky rich guy who was trying to shell out a generous tip was most likely out of my league. I’d dated my fair share of thugs, which is why I’m single now.
Once, I dated a guy who worked at a gas station—for six weeks. When he lost his job, he came up with a reason we should “take our relationship to the next level” and ended up living on my couch for three months after I broke up with him. Then there was Troy, who was Nevaeh’s dad. He was a piece of work. The relationship between us started out great until I discovered he had anger issues. We had been dating for about a month when he became angry with me for not being home when I said I’d be there. He kicked in and dented my front door. After a few apologies and his excuse of having a bad day, I was dumb enough to forgive him. A few months later, I wound up expecting—with Nevaeh—and that’s when everything grew ugly.
Knowing that I was pregnant, he knew he had me on a hook and that I wanted him to stay; his true colors came out. Sometimes I would come home to my living room all smashed up and other times I’d find my dog beaten. I tried to work things out for Nevaeh’s sake but decided that this was not the environment I wanted my daughter growing up in. I mustered up the strength for a restraining order and kicked Troy to the curb. After the sheriff’s department removed him from the residence, I never saw him again.
I didn’t bother filing for child support since Troy hardly worked. I also knew that he was the type that even if I applied, he’d likely quit his job to elude making payments. Additionally, I worried that he might feel a sense of entitlement to my daughter if he paid and try to weasel his way back into our lives. I wanted no part of that. As a result, I began working ful
l-time hours as a waitress and pick up extra shifts as much as I can.
Lorraine, my life-long friend, helped me; we’ve been best friends for almost 20 years since we were nine years old. I am very particular in who takes care of Nevaeh—I wouldn’t let just anybody watch my baby. My daughter is my pride and joy; my whole world. Lorraine and her husband Tyrone babysit any chance they can to help us out. They love Nevaeh and would do anything for us. They’re wonderful towards my little girl, treating her as if she was their own child. He even built a swing set in the backyard for Nevaeh during the times she was there, which was practically every day.
I marched back into the kitchen, leaving the hot, cocky customer standing at the table with a $50 bill in his hand. How dare he demand my phone number like that? He don’t know me! Who the hell does he think he is?
“What’s wrong?” Sherry asked as she watched me try to compose myself.
“You see Mr. Handsome out there?” I pointed to the table he was now slowly walking away from, “He was trying to demand my number so he could take me out this weekend. I told him I don’t give my number out, but he got all cocky and arrogant. I think he was even trying to bribe me with a $50 tip!” I explained.
“Are you for real?” Rachel asked, checking out his ass as he walked away. “Girl, you’re crazy! That man’s got to have some money! Look at his suit and God, look at that body! You know he works out,” she laughed.
“Well, I don’t care how much he works out or how much money he has. Some men need to learn respect. Just because he’s got money doesn’t mean he can walk up in here and demand phone numbers.”
“What? Why not?” Sherry challenged.
“Because you can’t.”
“Girl, if some rich dude was asking me for my number, I’d give it to him. Why don’t you go out to the parking lot and give it to him before he leaves?” Sherry asked.
“I’m busy,” I announced.
“Doing what?” Rachel contested.
“Working and taking care of Nevaeh. I don’t need no man in my life, especially a white one. My momma would skin my ass if I ever brought him home.” I paused for a minute, “Speaking of Neveah, I need to make her a doctor appointment real quick. I’ll go make it now since I have no tables at the moment. Will you keep an eye out for me?” I asked my friend.
Rachel nodded that she would. I dashed into the manager’s office to use the phone. As it rang, I wondered how I would even explain these symptoms. What would I say? My daughter has swollen knees and a fever that’s been coming and going for the last few days? Those hardly seemed like reasons to call, but being my child, it was every reason.
“Dr. Herber’s office, Janice speaking. How may I help you?” his assistant answered the phone.
“Hi Janice, this is Kimberly Harris. I was wondering if the doctor could examine my daughter Nevaeh this week. She’s been complaining that her knees hurt, and she’s been running a low-grade fever the last few days.”
“Okay, um, let me check the schedule to see if I can fit her in. Do you have any idea why they might be swollen?” Janice asked as she tried to shift around the appointments to make room for them.
“No, I thought maybe she fell, but she keeps complaining about them. The real reason I wanted to bring her in is because of the fever; that concerns me.”
“Well, sometimes children can catch a bug or a virus and run a low-grade fever as their body fights the infection. You guys are welcome to come in on Thursday at 4:30 in the afternoon. Does that work for you?”
“Thursday?” I asked as I looked up at the schedule hanging on the wall. “Yes, that’ll be perfect. I might be a few minutes late getting her there because I don’t get off until four. Is that okay?”
“Sure thing, that’s no problem at all.”
I hung up the phone, relieved that they worked her in within the next couple of days. It was Tuesday, and I hoped that Nevaeh would feel better before Thursday afternoon so the appointment wouldn’t be necessary. I hated to rush around after work, but if it meant helping my sick daughter, I’d do it in a heartbeat. As I walked away from Kevin’s office, I saw that Rachel was taking a drink order from a two-top table. I met her in the kitchen.
“So what’d they say?” her co-worker asked as she made the customer’s beverages.
“They said they would squeeze her in Thursday at 4:30. I don’t get off until 30 minutes before her appointment, but we work together. Would you mind if I left a few minutes early?”
“No, girl. I wouldn’t care. You make sure she gets better.” She faced me and handed me the drinks, “Give the husband this diet soda and his wife asked for water.”
“Oh, thanks,” I said, taking the glasses from her before heading out to serve my last table of the night.
I cashed out and counted my money when I was off work. This was an unusually slow summer; I only made $32 in tips. Suddenly, I began wishing I would’ve taken that $50 tip from the sexy guy who’d tried getting my number. With a crawling start to the season, it looked like bills would be tight. I couldn’t afford for my daughter to be sick. My credit cards were almost full, but I could squeeze a small office visit on my Visa card. Although I hated my dead-end job, I continued to serve tables at the restaurant because it was close to home and was able to work the hours I needed for Nevaeh’s sake. A full-time day job was hard to find. Nevaeh was going into the third grade when the next year started up in the fall so it was important to me that someone greeted her as she got off the bus.
At the end of my evening, I grabbed two Styrofoam containers and made us dinner for the night. I was too tired to cook. Once I packed our meals, I hopped into my 2006 green Honda Civic and headed to Lorraine’s house to pick up my daughter. I couldn’t wait to lay eyes on my little girl, and Nevaeh would be excited when I brought home food from my work. As I pulled into Lorraine’s driveway, I spied my little sweetheart peeking out the window at me. I barely got out of my car before my pride and joy was running out the front door coming to greet me.
“Nevaeh!” I rejoiced, scooping up my child and hugging her tightly. Even though she was eight years old, she was tiny for her size.
“Hi, Momma! I missed you today,” the she attacked as she squeezed her arms around my neck. “I had so much fun while you were gone!”
“You did? What did you do?” I asked as we made our way toward the living room to gather Nevaeh’s things.
“Aunt Lorraine bought us a bunch of new finger paints and she let me paint before we had lunch!”
“That was sweet of her,” I said as we walked through the front door.
“Hi,” I said, laying my purse on the couch.
“Hey, Kimberly! How’s it going?”
“Eh, not too bad. We’re still horribly slow at work,” I complained. “But I had a customer who tried to give me a $50 tip…that I refused!”
“Fifty dollars? Was it a big group? And why would you refuse a big tip?” Lorraine wondered as they sat down at her kitchen table.
“Yep, and no, it wasn’t a big group. It was some cocky rich white guy. I think he was only trying to give me a big tip like that because he wanted my number.”
“So what happened?” she inquired.
“I told him he could keep his tip because he wasn’t getting my number and took my ass in the back. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I’m trying to raise a baby, not make more.”
My friend glanced at me, “I know what you mean, but what if he turned out to be really nice?”
“Did you not hear the fact that he’s white? And arrogant?”
“Hmmm. You always seem to attract the most undesirable men.”
“Rachel and Sherry were trying to talk me into chasing him down to give him my number. He was built and had nice clothes, but I don’t think I’m ready for a relationship right now. And could you imagine me telling my momma and brothers that I was dating a white man?”
“I don’t blame you.” My friend agreed as she got up to grab a glass of water. “Hey, I wanted t
o ask you about something. Did anything happen to Nevaeh’s knees? She was complaining about them so I checked them out and they’re pretty swollen.”
“I meant to tell you about it this morning when I dropped her off, but she had me running late so I forgot. We have no clue what happened. I called her pediatrician this afternoon and I take her in on Thursday at 4:30.”
“Oh, okay. Nevaeh complained it hurts her to walk and anytime she bends her knees. I questioned whether she fell and she replied that she hadn’t.” Lorraine explained.
“I know, I asked her the same thing. By chance, did she run a temperature at all today?”
“No, why?”
“She ran an intermittent fever on my days off work. Janice, the doctor’s assistant, said not to worry too much about it, and explained that Nevaeh may have caught a bug or virus.”
