Well... shit.

Last time I popped in, we were going through a global pandemic. Today, it looks like we're going through a revolution.

To put things simply for you all on why I've been away...

I live in Minneapolis MN.

There is so much I wish to speak on, but I feel like I've got enough pages to fill a book. Hell, books. If I were to ask the black community and other people of color if the could say the same, I'm positive that they would assure me they could. That being said, I've been brainstorming on just how I could openly express this with you all.

Thank you to all the viewers who've still supported me, and to all the new readers who have stumbled upon my work during quarantine. Thank you for giving my writing a chance.
I love each and everyone one of you 💞.

Thank you to everyone who has also checked in on me. I'll be taking a day to reply to every message. My mental health has taken a serious fucking hit that's for sure, but it will never be something I can't rebuild from.
Please stay healthy, stay safe, but do not remain idle during times of injustice... speak up.
Silence is an action.

Dante

When I woke up the next morning, I knew immediately from the throbbing that my nose had gotten worse. When my fingers snaked up through the fluffed duvet comforter to give it a feel, I hissed in pain. It felt like the swelling had gone up drastically, resulting in a nose I could no longer recognize.

Sleeping on the floor was about as comfortable as you could imagine. I woke up to discomfort all morning, but I did my best to push it aside. Furniture would have to come later, when I found the time and the money. For now, I had the essentials to get me started and get me working. I wouldn't let New York's less than ideal welcome get me down.

Once I caught a glimpse of myself in the bathroom mirror, however, all that gun-ho energy quickly went down the fucking drain.

My nose looked like it had been smashed in by the front end of a train. It was bruised and swollen, taking up the majority of my face. I tried to place the cold tequila bottle on my nose the previous night, but the bottle hurt when it was pressed against the fragile skin. It also put liquor in my direct line of sight which only resulted in me finishing said bottle.

I stripped myself clean of the boxers I had slept in, and got to work on making myself presentable for work. There wasn't much I could do about this fucked up nose, but there was something I could do about this hair.

-

"What the absolute- what in the fuck-" Kassie whispered to herself in absolute horror as soon as I made it to the back room. "Your face looks terrible, Dante. Like seriously fucking terrible."

If this were under any other circumstances, those comments would have been received poorly. Considering my nose was actually beyond fucked, I took her words with a grain of salt.

"Well I made it home only to realize I didn't actually have any ice. I tried to use a bottle of tequila-" that was when Kassie's eyebrows furrowed further.

"Tequila?" She asked me.

"Well, like, the frozen bottle. I tried to press that against my face to ease the swelling but it didn't prove to be all that productive. I thought that maybe by today it would be better... that obviously doesn't seem to be the case either."

There wasn't much for me to lock up in the locker Kassie assigned me. I just placed my wallet in the bag she provided, then set that on the top shelf.

"Oh hun I'm sorry. Let me get a makeshift ice pack ready for you here. Unfortunately, I don't think I can send you out on the floor lookin like that today. Did you maybe want to take a few days off to-"

"I can't." I blurted out so quickly, I stopped Kassie before she could even finish that sentence. There was no way I could miss out on hours because hours meant money, and money meant I'd be able to afford next months rent. "Sorry, I just- I really need the hours." I explained to her.

Kassie's face was hard to read at first, but when my words settled, she gave me a warm smile and an understanding nod.

"No hours cut, got it. I mean I still can't put you out on the floor like that. Won't be too hot a look with the customers." She explained to me, as she started to pull out more books from a filing cabinet at the far end of the room. "Do you mind being my errand boy for the day? I'll fill in for the work I would've had ya do for me today, and you can fill in for the work I would've done for the day. Hows that sound?" She asked.

It didn't even take me a second to respond, as I nodded my head in her direction. Whatever she was going to have me doing was much better than going unpaid.

"That sounds like a plan!" She grinned back at me. "We'll start with some basic inventory. These are the books here, all you gotta do is check off what deliveries were made when for the last few weeks. This shouldn't take too much time, so how about you come find me when done?"

I gave Kassie another nod. "That sounds good." She had started to head back out into the restaurant, but I stopped her before she could fully disappear. "Kassie?"

Her hand hesitated on the door, as she glanced back to look at me. "Yes?"

"Thank you." I told her gratefully. Her lips twitched up into another smile as she gave me a nod.

"Don't sweat it, kid."

-

The work Kassie had left with me was actually quite simple. The books they kept here at Tidal Wave were surprisingly organized and on par with the shipping details and catelog. I didn't mean this condescendingly, but this place didn't look like the type of place to have their books up to date... or to even really keep books. Kassie was right though, I was able to complete inventory in less than an hour and a half.

Once I left the back room to grab Kassie, I was surprised to be met with a packed house. It was approaching noon now, and while the tables were filled with people munching and talking, so was the bar. My eyes widened at the group of people taking back to back shots that Kassie kept coming.

"Dante!" She called out as soon as her eyes caught mine through the busy crowd. Her hands signaled for me to come on over. I did my best not to bump into anyone as I made my way behind the bar. "How's inventory?" She asked me with the same easy going smile on her face. Beads of sweat had started to form at the base of her forehead, but she looked even more energetic than I last left her. I couldn't fathom how that was possible, considering the amount of people that had somehow managed to pack themselves into this hole in the wall.

"I think it's done." I replied, handing her the hose for one of the drink faucets.

"Oh fantastic! You're god sent. It's gotten pretty crazy here for the lunch rush, but do you think you could do me one more quick favor?" I glanced up from a discarded order pad behind the counter, to look at her.

"Sure absolutely. What can I help with?" I asked.

Kassie bent down behind the bar and reached for the handle of a glass cabinet. As soon as the door was yanked open, a back light lit up inside to reveal what looked to be packaged food in those styrofoam containers. She pulled out quite a few bags of those and handed them to me.

"Usually I run lunch up to Fight Club during lunch rush, but one of the beer taps went down and I'm going to have to get somebody out to fix it. Do you think you could bring these over there for me?" She gestured to the bags of food she had placed in my arms.

I gave Kassie a nod. I was almost quick to turn on my heel and get to work, but I stopped myself last moment. "Sorry, Kassie... I don't think I know where that gym is... or who those people are. I think you mentioned a Sammy before to a customer but I didn't know who sh-" I started, but Kassie cut me short with a hand wave.

"Oh just ask for Sammy when you get there and you'll be all set. The boxing gym is just a few blocks away on Happorn Ln. give the business a ring if you get lost but I promise you can't miss it!" Kassie had rushed that last part out as she got back to catching up on drink orders.

Of course I had more questions, but she was technically filling in for me today and it was obviously a busy day. The least I could do was figure this errand out for her, on my own.

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