House Guest

“Enough about that entanglement. Tell me more about you.”
“Well…I just graduated with my M-S-W.”
“Congratulations! Mom mentioned that. And you chose to come work in Saint Mary County?”
“I did. I like the area. I like the people.”

“That’s fair. I do too. So I’m guessing you’re single.”
“I am,” she lit up.
“I’m sure these local yokel’s won’t let that be the case for long,” he chuckled.
“Now I’m the one blushing,” she tee-heed.
“I do be blushin’,” he continued laughing.
“Don’t tell me you’re a fan of ‘Insecure’,” she beamed.

“I actually am. A group of girls in my ninth-grade physical science class got me into it when it first came out. We’d discuss it every Monday.”
“I bet they loved that.”
“Actually, they did. It ended up being four of ‘em that stuck it all the way to A-P Physics with me.”
“That’s impressive.”
“One of ‘em is a mechanical engineering major at North Carolina A and T and another is doing biology at Xavier in New Orleans.”
“Dang! You’re putting all the Black girls in STEM.”
“Nah. Those young girls were just brilliant.”
“But having a great teacher certainly plays a part.”

“True!”
“There you go blushing again.”
“You caught me! I can’t believe that muthafucka let you get away.”
“How do you mean,” she pressed, leaning forward.
“Well, I don’t wanna be too forward, but you’re easy on the eyes and you got a great personality.”
“Well…it was timing.”

“Yeah! That shit gets in the way, but in the end it’s never good timing for anything. You just gotta do what Nike says.”
“That sounds like some sage advice.”
“I got it from my pops.”
“Nice! I’d almost forgotten I was in this li’l outfit.”
“I’m not complaining.”
“You’re a mess,” she gently flicked his forearm.

“So what idiotic reason made him walk away from you?”
“Umm…I was born a boy.”
Roderick’s eyes bugged. “For real?”
“Yes, sir!”
“Damn! You could’ve fooled me.”
“Uhh...Thanks!”
“No offense. I mean you look like a woman. Some don’t. You look real natural, not exaggerated or manly.”
“Oh…okay…thank you! Well, I’ll let you get back to tinkering with the lawn mower.”