Damon and Rochelle

I love writing stories, especially short stories! Below is an excerpt from my latest short story. It is part one of a series I am working on. I hope you enjoy!

I honestly was hoping to talk to Rochelle tonight, but I wasn’t going to tell Donny that. When the music festival started to die down around 8, I suggested we should leave, and of course, Will and Donny wanted to stop to get food even though they could have gotten food at the festival. I got home around 10. I didn’t want to be rude by calling so late, but I also didn’t want her to think I forgot about her, so I decided to just send her a text.

Hey, it’s Damon. Sorry I didn’t call earlier. It’s probably too late to call now. Just hit me up tomorrow. Lock me in.

I threw my phone on the bed and took a shower. When I got out, I was surprised to see she had called me. I called her back.

“Hey, I didn’t think you’d be up,” I said.

“I’m always up at this time.”

“Are you a night owl?”

“Yep. How was the festival?”

“It was cool. How was lunch with your girls?”

“It was cool. My friend is pregnant and always tired, so it was nice hanging out with her today.”

“She is? She must not be far along.”

“Oh no, not the friend you saw today. The friend we went to go and meet. She is seven months pregnant.”

“That’s what’s up. Is it her first?”

“No, she has two other kids. She has two boys, so she’s hoping this one is a girl, so she can be done.”

“Well, I hope she gets her girl. Do you have any kids?”

“Nope. Do you?”

“Nah, how old are you?”

“I’m 25. How old are you?”

“26. I thought you were younger, like 23. When’s your birthday?”

“April 28th,” she responded.

“Oh ok, so you just turned 25 a couple of months back. My birthday is in April too.”

“Really? What day?”

“The 22nd.”

“That’s what’s up. I don’t meet too many people born in April, and we’re not that far apart. I know a lot of people with birthdays in June.”

“My brother’s birthday is in June.”

“My dad’s too. So what did you do for your birthday this year?”

“I had an art show. I’m an artist. I rented out a gallery and had a show and dinner there.”

“You’re an artist? What type of art?”

“Mostly painting, but I also draw and create sculptures.”

“I would like to see some of your work.”

“Alright. I’ll show you next time I see you.”

“Ok. Do you do that full time?”

“No, but I want to. I work in construction until my art picks up more. Until then, I help build homes for people. Sometimes the homeowner will ask me to paint murals on their walls or customize paintings to fit their decor. I really like painting, but I also like building things.”

“That’s cool, so you can build homes and paint. What’s the biggest home you help build?”

“Over 30,000 square feet.”

“Wow, that sounds huge. Was it a custom-built home?”

“Yes, it was for this woman. She’s obviously very wealthy. I still keep in contact with her. She is one of the few people who has asked me to do custom artwork in her home.”

“What did you do for her?”

“She loves art and made one of her rooms dedicated to it. I did a couple of sculptures for her. One is her holding her grandson and the other is her holding her granddaughter. I also did a few paintings of her family.”

“That’s what’s up. That’s really great. I’m happy you were able to make that contact. I’m sure it will lead to other opportunities.”

“Thank you. I hope it does. So, what do you do?”

“I am actually in real estate. I got my license not too long ago.”

“Congratulations. Are you independent or under a company?”

“I am under a company. I would like to be independent.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“Well, I was hired on the spot, and I make decent money where I am. I guess I don’t want to lose my benefits and fall behind on rent and bills. Starting a business and building a company will take time. I don’t have enough savings for that time. Bills can’t wait, ya know?”

“I hear you. That’s where I am with my art. I do know someone that can help you though. He is really good at advertising. He helps people get a lot of clients.”

“Really? Would you be willing to introduce us?”

“Of course. I’ll set that up tonight.”

“Thank you. That’s really sweet of you.”

“No problem. I’m sure you’ll do well at selling homes on your own, especially since you got hired right away.”

“You know, I never thought about that. Thank you. I will put in a good word for you when I meet someone who needs artwork.”

“Thanks. We make a great team already,” I smiled. “So tell me something fun about you.”

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. Uhh… What’s a food you eat that you’re embarrassed about?”

“Oh gosh. Umm… Vienna sausages.”

“Really?” I laughed. “Why are you eating grandma food?”

“Because my grandma raised me,” she laughed. “It just stuck with me after all these years.”

“I’m not gon’ lie, I used to eat those all the time when I was a kid. My grandma used to always eat those.”

“I bet all black grandmas eat that.”

“What’s that other meat in the can that they eat?”

“Potted meat?”

“No, not that one. The thick one you can slice.”

“Spam?”

“SPAM!!! Yeah, that shit looks nasty, but it was fire back in the day,” I said as we both laughed.

“Spam is still fire. What you mean? Fry that bad boy up and make a sandwich. Bomb.”

“Ugh,” I laughed. “You still live with grandma, don’t you?”

“I just moved out,” she laughed.

“That’s grandma’s baby,” I said imitating a grandma.

“I AM,” she continued laughing. I loved hearing her laugh. I imagined her beautiful smile as I listened to her. We ended up spending the whole night on the phone. I really like her. I hope she likes me too.

I will post more excerpts of other stories soon, but if you want to find out more about this story, click here!