Synergy by Georgia Payne Page B

or not, so after a few
minutes of deliberation, she typed out a reply.
    ‘ Sure. Call me later to arrange
time.’
    After her text sent, she actually checked the time as she
originally planned before putting her phone back in her pocket.
Still keeping her eye on Tushaun, she reached into her bag and
pulled out a pack of cigarettes, taking one from the box and
resting it between her lips. As she lit it, she inhaled it deep and
sat back against the bench, knowing she could relax for a few
minutes before it was time to get Tushaun home.
‘ Home ’ she
thought, thinking of the reality of that situation. When she and
Trey had split up, they were living together. When he then moved
out and left her and the baby in the house, she had hoped to stay
living there with her son. She hoped she could provide for him on
her own, but the reality was her low paying job couldn’t cover
everything she needed for herself and a baby. She found herself
having to choose between paying rent and buying food. Buying
diapers or buying electric. It was clear to everyone she wasn’t
coping well so her mother had done all she could do, she invited
them to come and live back at home.
    Dee had
grown up with her mother in one room, her brother in another, and
Dee and her sister in the third and last room. Adding a baby to
that mix wasn’t easy on space, so they had set up a crib in her
mother’s room, and the two women temporarily swapped rooms, her
mother moving in with Dee’s sister. It was simply too much for her
mother to be bunking with a crying baby when she had three jobs to
attend. As Tushaun progressed to a ‘big boy’ bed, the bed was put
in her mother’s room too. Now he was a little older, her mother was
back in the room with Tushaun, and she loved having the company.
Dee felt like a failure that she couldn’t provide for her son on
her own the way she’d planned to, but she’d had no choice but to
move back in with her family, and she was glad for the extra
support. After finishing her cigarette, she went and got Tushaun
from the play area and told him it was time to go. Her mother had
made them dinner in between two jobs and she wasn’t about to be
late for it. She knew even at 22 not to mess with her
mother.

Chapter 7 – Famous
    Jason
    Jason was surprised, to say the least, that they had ended up
back at the spot where they started all those weeks ago. They’d
gone out pretty early because, even though the both of them wanted
to have a good night, they didn’t think a late, heavy night before
their flight tomorrow was a good idea, so they settled for a meal
and then headed to a few bars early on. It was now around 10pm and
just before Jason and Tom were ushered into the club by the
security, Jason took a look up at the neon sign above the door,
squinting from the brightness.  Club
X, really?  He thought. Personally,
he’d thought it was a bit of a dive last time he’d came in here but
then he remembered going home with  her , and he smiled for a second. He
wasn’t expecting her to be in here tonight though; he figured two
nights would be too much of a coincidence.  
    As they
headed inside the club, his attention turned to the main stage
where there was a buxom blonde twirling around the pole in her
underwear. Tom gave him a look and he laughed aloud. He felt
relaxed, especially knowing she wasn’t here for any awkward small
talk and that he was headed home for a while tomorrow; it was a
good feeling. As if to mirror the same behaviour the weeks
previous, the extra security on the door walked into the club and
led them to a private booth separated from the rest of the club by
a rope, which he lifted for the two of them to step through. On the
table once again was an array of beverages set out for them, though
Jason expected they wouldn’t be getting through them tonight.
Nevertheless, he took a cold beer out of an ice bucket, opened it
and took a large swig. He winced slightly at the coldness of it,
licking his lips