What We Learned Along the Way by Nadirah Angail Page B

mind?”
Mariam asked.
    “You remember that guy, Langston, I told you
about? We’ve been talking for a little while and I think I want us
to be in a committed relationship, but I’m scared it might not be
the right time. What should I do?”
    Mariam was surprised to hear this kind of
talk from Aliya, but it was a good surprise. She was always worried
that Aliya might get herself into trouble by dating so many men. It
was time for her to settle down.
    “It’s hard to say, because I haven’t met the
guy. I don’t know what he’s like or what he’s looking for. Do you
think he’s been considering the same thing?”
    “I don’t know. He’s definitely mature, so he
should want something more serious, but still I don’t know.” Aliya
sounded so confused.
    “If he hasn’t at least hinted at it, then
maybe he’s not ready. Maybe you should ask him about his past
relationships. That might give you a feel for how interested he is
in getting into another one.” Aliya loved talking to Mariam,
especially about guy stuff. She always gave the best advice.
    “That makes sense. I’ll bring it up tonight.
He’s taking me out. Thanks for the advice, girl. I’m at work and
we’re about to open so I need to get off this phone.”
    “Oh, you’re at work. Is Rashad there?” Mariam
asked hopefully.
    “Yea, he’s here. You want to talk to him?”
Aliya started to walk toward the kitchen to give him the phone.
    “No, that’s okay. I know you all are probably
busy. Just tell him I love him, and tell your manager to stop
working him so hard. He had to interrupt our romantic movie night a
few weeks ago because he got called in to work a second shift.”
    Aliya thought that was odd. Their manager was
tough sometimes, but he never scheduled anyone for two shifts in
one day. If any of them worked a double, it was because they wanted
to, not because they had to. She didn’t have time to tell Mariam
all that, so she just said, “I’ll tell him,” and got off the phone.
She asked Rashad about it a little later when they had some free
time.
    “Did you tell Mariam you had to work a
double? You know Tone never makes us work doubles. Only if we want
to.”
    “What are you talking about?” he asked as he
turned around from the cutting board.
    “I don’t know. It was a while ago, I think.
Mariam said something about you interrupting you guys’ movie night
because you’re manager called you back to work.”
    “Oh,” he said. “Yea, I know we don’t have to
work them, but I just had some things on my mind. I needed an
excuse to get away. You know how relationships go. You got your
good times. You got your bad times.”
    “And your romantic movie night was one of
those bad times?” she questioned, looking at him suspiciously.
    Before Rashad got a chance to answer, Tone
walked into the room and started barking orders.
    “Ten minutes ‘til show time, guys. Get those
tables set, and that floor swept. Michael, you turn on the front
lights. John, I noticed a little trash outside out front door. Go
pick it up.” Tone always sounded angry, even when he wasn’t. His
6’5, 300 lb body couldn’t help but to produce such a roaring sound.
He was an okay boss. He paid them well and didn’t hassle them when
they wanted time off, but Aliya didn’t like the way he looked at
her sometimes. He had asked her to stay late and help him go over
the books a few times, but she always managed to get out of it. She
didn’t know how many more times he’d believe that she had to wash
her hair.
    Just like she wanted, Aliya’s shift went by
quickly. She was in a rush to get home, so she didn’t stay around
to bother the guys like she usually did. She put on her favorite
Sade CD and lit some candles. She liked to set the mood when she
was getting ready for a big date. After her shower, she stood in
front of her closet and stared at it like she had never seen it
before. Though she had tons of clothes, all of which looked like
they came off