Timberwood: Short Stories Edition - Vol. 35
I, Nola Bordelon, tried to give "renting a room" another chance, even though I've been burned by crooked people in the past. It came with the whole package. Seemed too good to be true. A scam? Maybe. Maybe not. Let's give it another try.
I saw a sign about a job opportunity, which I was also looking for. Full-time job, along with free room & board. The advertisement made it like as if ANYONE can apply & is a good fit. I took my shot. Feeling hopeful.
I took a picture of the ad with my phone, & then called the number once I got somewhere quiet. Mr. Ken Rojas answered. I couldn't tell whether or not he was Hispanic or Asian, but come to find out, he was Filipino.
I talked to Mr. Ken on the phone & told him my situation. He told me, "Ms. Nola. I'm sorry about your situation. However, we've hired the maximum of workers. I can rent a room to you for $650/a month. But you have to keep it clean. No smoking, no drugs, no drinking, no visitors, no fighting, you know. Just keep everything peaceful."
I said, "Ok. Thank you so much for helping me out of the cold."
He responded, "No problem. Cornelius is going to pick you up."
I told him, "Ok."
Later on, Cornelius showed up in his blue Dodge Ram truck. He had a BIG, dingy, dirty, white dog in the back seat, named "Rock". His friend, Rock (Rodney Johnson) named the dog after himself. That was Rock's dog. The dog, Rock, kept excitedly wagging his tail & barking at me like I was his long lost best friend that he hadn't seen in years. That was a friendly, big dog, but he looked SO scary! He looked like he rolled around in a lot of dirt or mud or something. I didn't want him to get close to or touch me. Cornelius had just come back from jogging with the dog at the park, as a favor for Rock, the man. The dog's actual owner.
I kind of struggled to get in the truck. I had my backpack. The dog kept barking so loud in my ear, trying to pet my hair. I really think he wanted a hug. Lol!
Cornelius laughed & apologized. He said, "Girl, don't pay dat dog no mind! He ain't gon' bite."
We finally made it to the house where I rented the room. I didn't have to worry about dinner. It was Thursday, so Tracie, Mr. Ken's oldest daughter, brought over food, like she does every Thursday. She also cooks food at the house every Sunday after church. That day, she made some homemade chicken afritada with rice, fried eggplant & lumpia. She slipped in some New Orleans crawfish beignets & Taschika's favorite key lime pie on the side. The key lime pie had whipped cream on it, so I didn't want it. I HATE whipped cream! 😝🤢🤮
When I first got to the house, I was given a warm welcome from COMPLETE strangers! They treated me like a long lost best friend that they haven't seen in years, just like the dog did. I tried to offer to pay Mr. Ken the $650, right off the bat, because that's the type of person I am. He felt emotionally touched because he said that he never saw anyone so eager to pay for the room rental. He explained that so many people are always dodging rent (the ones who aren't working for Timberwood, & have to pay). The man rents out rooms to people, both in & out of Timberwood. He told me to just hold on to the payment. I just wanted to get it over with.
It was a BIG crowd in that house. Mr. Ken's African American wife, Elaine, showed me around, while cracking funny jokes (with her Mississippi country accent) @ the same time. She enjoyed telling me about her family history & raising her biracial children. She told me that her husband has a THANG for Black women. She encouraged me to pick ANY room out of the house (that was upstairs) that I wanted. I picked the girly room with the smallest bed, since it was just me, anyway. & I didn't want to be selfish, getting a bigger bed, all for myself. I mean, what if another couple or another family came? They probably would've made me switch rooms, anyway!
Their other daughter, Trenise, had the MASTER bedroom, along with her boyfriend, Rodney (Rock) & her 5-year old daughter, Trenaiyah. Rock, the dog, also shared the room with them. The dog would wake them up @ 7:30 AM every morning, crying to go potty & eat. The dog was their alarm clock. Everyone in the house gossipped about how it was DEAD WRONG for Mr. Ken to charge his own daughter & her small family $1,200/month for that room, since they chose not to work for Timberwood. They knew it was a weird, criminal cult. Rock worked his ass off to provide for his new family. Trenise is 5 months pregnant. Trenise has a collage of pictures of her deceased son (1st born), Trenell, plastered all over the walls in her room. At least they got the master bedroom, but that's messed up that they have to pay & be treated like non-family because they don't want to work for the cult.
Sunday came around, & Tracie was just-a-cookin'! Mrs. Elaine passed by the kitchen & said, "Pickle head Tracie!", & the kids laughed. The dog sparked up. I guess he wanted to join in on the laughs & jokes. He was crying & begging Tracie for food, the whole time she was cooking. She kept ignoring him, while cooking. Wherever she walked, he followed her, begging & crying.
Marnell Walker, Kristina's sister (Taschika) & Jessica Banquero told Tracie, "Dat dawg hawngreh, yeah! (That dog is hungry, yeah! - New Orleans talk. But Marnell is from Memphis, TN.)
Tracie replied, "Y'all, I ain't worried 'bout dat dawg!"
Then later, Tracie sighed & threw some old lunch meat from out of the fridge for the dog. The dog didn't want it. He's smart. He was begging for that good-smelling food that Tracie was cooking. This time, Tracie was making some dressing with seafood, chicken & sausage, along with some buttered green beans, carrots, garlic, onion, chickpeas, celery, squash & zucchini. Even though it wasn't Christmas, she made an eggnog rum pound cake with a pineapple, kiwi & cherry glaze that everyone thought was to DIE FOR! But I don't like eggnog, & I don't like cooked fruit. Oh, & I absolutely HATE rum flavor! Tracie was always cooking some GOOD food, but she was always making desserts that I don't like. People thought that was funny. I wondered if that was a coincidence, or if she was doing that on purpose. Did she magically know what my likes & dislikes were?
It was time to retire to bed, after I took my shower. Kristina struck up a conversation with me. We started talking. We both talked about our upbringing & realized that we have so much in common. She told me that it was a blessing in disguise to never work for Timberwood. She warned me about it being a cult. I thought, "Well, you ain't gotta tell ME twice!" I took heed to her warning & didn't join. I was upset & dismayed about not getting to have a job, but that was a relief. Kristina saved me a HUGE headache!
Many people in the house got mad at Kristina for telling me the truth. Tracie's son, Tre'Marcus (Spidey-Cat), eavesdropped into our conversation & then ran & snitched to her. Tracie got on Kristina's case REALLY heavy, yelling at her & pointing in her face like a child, & then Kristina stood up to her. They were about to fight, but the guys were holding both women back until they got Kristina out of the house, & then everyone went home. Kristina & her family members didn't come around for a LONG time! I was afraid that I was going to get kicked out, too, & end up back on the streets again. Tracie got mad & said that she was going to quit cooking for everybody. Everyone begged her not to quit.
Some months later, Kristina came back around. She asked me, "Nola, you still haven't found a job yet, sweetie?" I said, "Unfortunately, nope. All those job applications that I filled out. Nope, nothing!" Then, she agreed to start paying my rent every month, in exchange for me babysitting her kids. That was a very laid-back, fun, flexible job opportunity for me, WITHOUT joining the cult.
THE END