The Realest Ever - By Keith Thomas Walker Page 0,36
I don’t have nothing. Ain’t that something?” She laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“How is she using you?”
“She been bitching about me getting food stamps since I got here,” Kyra explained. “We went to the welfare office on Monday. She woke me up at six o’clock, so we would be the first ones there. They gave me $300 on a EBT card. While we were there, Aunt Ruth started asking about other stuff, like if she can get money for letting me live with her.”
“How does that work?” Donovan asked.
“It doesn’t work,” Kyra said. “At first she wanted to know if she could get money for being a foster parent for us.”
Donovan narrowed his eyes.
“Exactly!” Kyra said. “They told her she couldn’t be a foster parent because the children’s mother – that would be me – is still taking care of them. They told her that’s a totally different agency, anyway. And then she asked if she could get Section 8 money, like if she was renting her house to me.”
Donovan’s eyes narrowed even more.
“That’s what I was looking like!” Kyra said. “I was thinking, How you gon’ bring me in here for food stamps and then start asking about all this other stuff?”
“You asked her that?”
“I did when we got back to the car.”
“What’d she say?”
“She said if they got money to give, why shouldn’t she take it?”
Donovan shook his head, grinning. “I guess you can’t blame her for trying.”
“I can blame her if she’s trying to use my kids for her scams.”
Donovan wiped the smile off his face. “Okay. So you if you got groceries on Monday, why is she saying she doesn’t have any food?”
“I don’t know,” Kyra said. “I think she sold those food stamps. I never saw her bring a bunch of groceries in.”
“Didn’t you get groceries when you left the welfare office?”
“No. Aunt Ruth said she had to run some other errands. She dropped us off first.”
“Why didn’t you keep the card, so you could get them yourself?”
“It’s kinda hard to get $300 worth of groceries home on the city bus.”
“Kyra, I’m trying to help you. Why you getting an attitude with me?”
“I’m sorry, Donovan.” Her features softened. “I don’t mean to. I get frustrated. You’re the only person I can talk to about this stuff.”
“It’s alright,” Donovan said. “Did you ask her what happened to your card?”
“I was going to, but you were there. I’ll ask her when we get home.”
Donovan thought for a second. He checked his watch. “Hey, let me take you to get some groceries when we leave here.”
Kyra’s mouth fell open. She shook her head emphatically. “No, Donovan.”
“Kyra, stop it.”
“No, that’s not right.”
“Why can’t I buy you groceries?”
“’Cause she already got that card! She should’ve bought the damned groceries herself.”
“So what do you wanna do, go home and argue with her? You gonna accuse her of selling the card? Is it really worth it? Kyra, you told me you don’t have anywhere else to go.”
“But that doesn’t mean she can steal my money like that.”
“You can’t right all the wrongs in the world,” Donovan said. “You just have to be the best person you can be and let God deal with everyone else. I’ll get you some groceries today, and then when you get your card again, call me and I’ll take you to get some more. That way it will always be food in the house for you and your kids.”
Kyra’s eyes glossed over. She looked towards the ceiling and managed to keep the tears in this time. “Why don’t you take your own advice?” she asked when she met Donovan’s eyes again.
“What do you mean?”
“You can’t right all the wrongs in the world.”
Donovan smiled. “I don’t want to right all of them. Just yours.”
Kyra’s heart swelled with love and foreboding, but mostly love. “Do I remember what?” she said.
“Huh?”
“On the phone you asked if I remembered when… something. You said you’d tell me in person.”
Donovan’s smile grew broader. “Well, now I don’t think it’s appropriate.”
“You said you would tell me.”
Donovan snickered. He looked down at the table sheepishly. “I was gonna ask if you remembered when you stole Tabitha Spencer’s dollar, and I had to walk you home because she and her friends wanted to beat you up…”
Kyra laughed at the memory. “I thought I told everybody I didn’t do it.”
“You did,” Donovan said. He looked into her eyes. “Except me. You told me the truth.”