Once You Go Back. 15
Previously. The fellas return to the city for Buckey’s last week before returning to Georgia. Buckey is expected at Rubio’s big Gala and they’ve plan to squeeze in a short trip back into the wilds. They didn’t plan on where to stay in the city so they slipped in the back gate and stayed in Buckey’s apartment in his school family’s home. .
Racism reared its ugly head Monday morning. I slipped out of bed in my little apartment and met Andréas just before sunrise for tiny cups of coffee. Our lovely routine went like this: I'd dress and walk three houses down the block in the dark. There, an old lady had a plywood bar in her yard to serve morning workmen plastic cups of sugared coffee. These little mouthwash-sized cups seemed to me to be sugar cubes with coffee poured over them.
I'd buy two and a bun and return to find Andréas on the patio with the paper and water boiling on the stove for our second coffee.
"Boca, listen to me, brother,” Alfredo put a hand on my shoulder. “I saw your friend when you came in last night. He cannot stay here."
"Andréas, I'd never offend your family or your church. I know you understand that I like men. But Wilfredo is not that sort of friend."
"Hush, Boca,” he whispered. “Listen. It's not that. You can bring a man. You could bring Rubio. But you cannot bring a black man into my house. You cannot bring a Haitian man. That will not do. He cannot stay."
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