Prostitute Much?

July 2012

Tuesday morning came. I was at the clinic bright and early. I was out in 2 hours or less. Amongst the tests I needed, was the TB Test. How they do it here is, they inject your arm with a jelly like substance. It’s clear in colour. You have to be back for results in 2 days or so. The Substance itches like nobody’s business. It will swell a bit, you don’t want it to swell too much because that’s how they check their results. The measure the most swollen part of your arm. It will look like a mosquito bite that went wrong. Very wrong! The swelling should be less than 10 millimetres for you to pass the test, 10 mm or more and you’ve failed. I think you then have to take TB medication for a while and redo the test in six months. I stand corrected.

I had to go somewhere else for results. Great! Just what I needed, another trip to New Haven to try and find yet another clinic. They gave me the map and phone number. I was up early that morning, I took the 7 o’clock bus to New Haven, a connection and was there before they even opened. By the Way, Americans don’t understand they way we pronounce Water. The second Clinic was on At Water Street. Nobody in the bus could understand where I said I was going, I had to twang it up and say it the American way UUuhhhhh!!! A’wat’r!

I prayed a never ending prayer as they got the ruler and were about to measure my swelling up. It was 9mm, 1 mm and I would have had to go though the entire process again. Hallelujah! It was a good day! They even faxed the results for me to the recruiting agency. I left with a huge smile on my face! Back to the library, job hunting time!

It must have been that afternoon or the next day when I got a call from T while I was in the library. I quickly stepped out to take the call. She didn’t sound happy. What now! She told me she had bad news. N had called her again and asked when I was going to move out. Oh no, not again! I tell you through all these eviction notices, I was more worried about T than myself. The fact that  I was putting her through all that stress. I quickly went on to couch surfing to see if anyone would have a couch for me. I was so stressed out. I was hoping to find a couch where I could crash for a few days, even if I would be back at T’s but just to be out for a bit. Night time came, no response from Couch surfing. After 9pm, I got a call from a guy  who sounded Indian, he told me he was home alone that night and was willing to let me crash on his couch. I told him I didn’t have transport, I asked if I could spend the weekend, he told me he would get back to me the next morning. Another one called not around 11pm to tell me exactly the same story AND he also sounded Indian. They were both students, there are a lot of Asians near I lived, which was right across the street from a university.

N never came home that night. I wasn’t really relieved because I didn’t know if and when she was going to be back. Here I was thinking we were cool, she and I. And yet I kept getting these messages that she didn’t want me there. Gees! I talked to T the next day and advised her about couch surfing, she seemed excited about that idea. That made me nervous. I called both guys the next day, they both didn’t pick up. I texted them, one responded that his roommates were back and he no longer had space for me.

There’s a man that lived downstairs, Let’s call him G. He was N’s friend. N was always trying to set him up. T told me she tried to set him up with her too. I met the guy while at the apartment, N brought him in to introduce us to each other. He was uhm, tall. That’s it! He is Ghanaian, and has been in the US for 2-3 years. Apparently he was ready to get married and was looking for his future wife. Sorry, not interested! Anyway, he wanted to take us out for dinner. N was expecting a “friend” from the internet. She asked G if her internet friend could tag along. G agreed and later cancelled the whole thing. I don’t blame him. Right?

I would see him at the parking lot ever now and again in the mornings when I was on the phone with my people from South Africa. I used to take my calls in the parking because N would still be sleeping plus I needed the privacy.  I saw him one morning in between mornings, we talked for a second, he told me the story of his life and how he has two cars blah. He asked  offered to take me to lunch some time. A few hours later, he texted me and asked how I was etc, he had just woken up. He was  doing the night shift so he slept during the day, which also explains why I always saw him in the morning pulling into the parking lot. I was busy with my job hunting and networking stuff, when he called. I didn’t pick up, I was on the phone with T. When I told her who was calling, she told me to pick up because I didn’t know if he could help me somehow with the living mess I had going on. That got me worried. Hearing her say that gave me something to talk about. She hung up, He called two more times, I was pondering when I heard the knock on the door. It was him. I felt so pressured to talk to him. I freaked out! When I didn’t open, he called me on the phone again, Gees dude, stalk much? I took the call. He was at the car and told me to meet me there in 2 minutes he was taking me to lunch. That in itself ruined my appetite. It just did!

I called T and told her what was going on, she said, what are you calling me for? Hurry! Get going! Man, I feel like I’m being pimped out. What are my rights in this situation? He had the door open for me, the car was filthy. Well you know what they say about the falling apples and their trees? Yeah! You could tell he hadn’t showered since the day before or before that or or or. It was so hot out. Smells and heat, not a grand combination but I had to do what I had to do. I wasn’t going to turn his offer down and stay at T’s apartment when she herself had told me to go out with the guy. I know what you’re thinking, ‘here’s an idea, Brook. Maybe you shouldn’t have told T about this guy’s offer to begin with’. You’re right! You’re right! In my defence, I was telling her as a friend not a pimp, ok?

He took me to the Chinese Buffet restaurant T always takes me every Friday. He was so proud to be taking me to this $6 eat as much as you want place, you could tell by how he walked so tall. He asked if I’d been there, almost convinced it was my first time. Alas, I had to burst his bubble. Table for? Two! He sat across from me. Did I mention we took a table for two? Small and he was sitting right there! In my face! His knees could’ve touched mine, he was so close! I may have mentioned that my appetite was gone, out the window. I had a winglet here and a fry there. I took my time playing around with them, moving them around the plate. He got some food, Ate, burped, ate, Belched, Ate, talked, ate, grossed me out, ate made me almost barf, ate ate ate uuuugghhhhhh, why don’t you just shoot me in the head once and for all? I felt so dirty just being out there with him, I could have taken a shower afterwards. He was on his phone half the time. When he was done on the phone, he got seconds. Great! We’ll never leave!

I was just sitting there, trying not to throw up. Came time to pay, he emptied all his pockets  looking for change to pay the bill. He wasted his money buying me lunch, that’s for sure. We walked to the car, got in, he kept stopping himself from putting his hand on my thigh. Uhm, what is this? You almost buy me lunch, and automatically earn touching rights? Mhhh, can you say creepy? T had mentioned that I should hint to this guy that I had nowhere to stay maybe he could let me crash at his. He lived by himself. That’s one other reason that made me want to die the entire time I was out with him. I felt like he was the only person that had what I needed and he wanted something from me. Something I was in no position to give. I felt like a prostitute. I felt I had to bring the topic up. I had to tread lightly, G is N’s friend. I asked him if he knew of any cheap motels around. He freaked out and asked if N was kicking me out, offering to talk to N, we are home buddies, he have to look after one another, N shouldn’t do that, why would she do that. I was like, dude! I never said anyone’s kicking me out. I am looking for a place to stay, that’s all! He asked if it was T that was kicking me out. If so, he was going to ask N to let me stay with her, blah blah blah, gosh, this is not going as I’d hoped! You know when you really don’t want to do something, and then be places in a position where you have no other choice but to. As you’re doing it, you know it’s bound to go south, but you have to? That was me that fateful day!

G came up with an idea, I could stay with him! Ew! The smell in the car was killing me, I cringed to imagine what it must smell like in his apartment. The sheets! Bleh! I think I just threw up in my mouth. He told me he also had internet at his pace, to feel free to go over there anytime I needed to use it. I knew he had Wi-Fi , N used his Wi-Fi at the apartment, I didn’t want to intrude and ask for the password. Listen, if I really wanted to, I could’ve got the password, but I didn’t want to be that person. Plus the library was down the road, there was free Wi-Fi over there and utter peace, which I ached for.

G was working that night, he told me he would give me the key to his place just before he left for work, I could either sleep over there or just use the internet. I wasn’t comfortable taking him up with any of his offers. But I didn’t turn him down. I thanked him for lunch and ran up to the apartment. I called T with an update. She was like, “I knew it! I was wondering why you wanted to go out with that guy. I told you that guy is gross, N tried to set me up with him, I refused.” UUUUHHHHMMMM what’s wrong with this picture?

That evening, it so happened that I was outside on a call when G was leaving for work. He completely ignored me, ran to his car and drove off. I was right there! Sitting two cars from his car! I had a feeling he had talked to N. I never saw him again.

N kicked me out  one more time after that, this time to my face...