"Of All The Girls I Loved Before"
When people ask me about my time living in Richmond,
sometimes I get asked if I have any regrets after having lived there
for three-and-a-half years. Usually, I tell people that I regret
staying there two and a half years too long, considering the sour
taste that that place left in my mouth. But, if I have to be honest
about regretting one thing about Richmond, it's about a particular
lady that I left behind.
Wrote a story about it. Wanna hear it? Like a here
it, here it goes...
For those of you familiar with my job at “Da Liquor
Sto' ”, I was hating life something serious. The pay and the hours
were crap, and my boss at the time was a fucking bitch. Luckily for
me, one of my coworkers at the ABC store had a primary job working at
one of the local hospitals. She knew that I needed the extra money,
and that I wasn't getting it at the crappy job, so she offered to
help me get a position at the hospital she worked at. I gladly
jumped at the chance to get the hell away from that wretched job, and
sent it an application. Considering the fact that I had applied to
that same hospital once before and got shot down, I felt that my
chances were better this time around now that I was being referred by
someone who already worked there, and knows my work ethic. After
jumping through a few hoops, and having a few strings pulled, I was
hired part time as a PRN (glorified hospital kitchen gopher).
I
have
to
admit,
I
loved
that
job!
It
wasn't
so
much
the
work,
but
I
enjoyed
my
coworkers
in
my
department.
We
came
in,
did
the
dirty
work,
and
had
FUN!
Every
morning
while
riding
the
bus
on
my
way
to
work,
I
would
always
hear
the
theme
music
to
the
television
show
“ER”
playing
in
my
head.
It
was
MUCH
better
than
my
liquor
store
job,
not
to
mention
that
it
helped
to
keep
me
AWAY
from
the
liquor
store.
Every
day
my
coworkers
and
I
would
joke
and
laugh,
play
around,
and
handle
our
business
with
getting
the
food
out
to
the
patients
and
hospital
staff.
Other
than
dealing
with
the
occasional
racist
ass
nurse
(and
some
of
them
damn
kids
in
our
department),
I
loved
that
job.
The
paycheck
was
consistent,
my
supervisor
“Tee”
was
cool
as
hell
(not
to
mention
foine!!!),
I
got
THE
HELL
away
from
the
liquor
store,
and
I
got
to
chill
with
my
best
friend
at
the
job.
Let me stick with my best friend at the job for a
minute...
“K-Dogg” was cool as all hell. Cat was all types
of funny, and made me feel welcome from day one. If I ever felt
homesick, I could always count on K-Dogg to make me laugh, reminding
me of my peoples that I had back in NY. You never knew WHAT was
going to come out of his mouth, especially if he started crackin' on
people, especially our coworker Mr. Frank. Those two would go
at it all day, every day, and keep us all in stitches. One
thing about K-Dogg, though...he had a habit of pointing out certain
habits that you have...
I never realized that I had a 'superhero stance' until
he pointed it out to me. One day we're running food carts to the
different units, and I was waiting for the elevator to go back to the
kitchen to get the other carts. Apparently, I was in my 'superhero
stance' while waiting for the elevator.
Yo, Kev...I saw Professor X on the third floor. He
and the X-Men are gonna be battling Magneto. They want you to meet
them up there to help out!
Okay mane, you know what...?!?! [Lip all upturned]
I
also
never
realized
how
fast
I
can
eat
my
lunch.
Apparently,
I
can
eat
my
entire
lunch
tray
(entree,
big
bowl
of
salad,
dessert,
and
large
drink)
anywhere
between
5
½
and
6
½
minutes.
Seriously.
I
know
cause
K-Dogg
timed
me!
Several
times!
Mane, Ima put you in them eating contests! We can
win some BIG money. An I'll be your manager...taking my fifteen
percent cut of your winnings!
Okay mane,
you know
what...?!?! [Lip
all upturned]
K-Dogg
liked
and
respected
me
a
lot.
He
respected
my
political
beliefs,
and
always
gave
me
props
for
it.
Of
course,
he
would
crack
on
me
a
few
times,
calling
me
the
lost
member
of
Public
Enemy's
S1Ws.
He
would
be
singing
their
song,
“Fight
the
Power”,
and
imitate
the
dance
moves
that
they
would
do
in
the
video.
Okay mane, you know what...?!?!? [Lip all upturned]
Other
than
being
a
great
friend,
the
best
thing
that
he
ever
did
was
to
introduce
me
to
her...
Let's call her “Niecey”...
Niecey
was
one
of
the
cooks
in
our
department.
She
was
also
a
transplant
New
Yorker,
now
living
in
Richmond.
She
had
moved
down
several
years
ago,
from
the
Bronx,
and
has
been
in
love
with
the
place
ever
since.
Funny
thing
about
me
an
Niecey...?
It
took
us
a
while
to
get
together.
When
I
first
started
working
there,
we
basically had a hi/bye relationship,
speaking
to
each
other
only when
spoken
to.
She
pretty
much
kept
to
herself,
and
I
was
just
trying
to
feel
everybody
out
(though
I
was
lusting
after
our
supervisor
Tee).
Not
to
mention...she
wasn't
even
in
my
top
five
of
women
at
the
job
that
I
wanted
to
hook
up
with
(obviously,
my
supervisor
was
number
one
on
that
list).
It
wasn't
until
K-Dogg
formally
introduced
us
that
we
really
started
talking
to
each
other...
Funny thing about that first meeting. I was working as
the pot washer that day, and K-Dogg had gotten us to speak to each
other, being on that whole New York vibe. She came over, dropped off
her pots for me to wash, and then we had a nice little conversation.
Then after our conversation ended, she walked back over to her
station, and I noticed something...
????????????
Damn...she
got
a
REALLY
nice
walk!
That
was
the
beginning
of
me
and
Niecey.
She
was
older
than
me
by
a
few
years
(okay...more
than
ten),
and
was
a
widow.
But
the
more
I
got
to
know
her,
the
more
attracted
to
her
I
became.
And
for
anybody
who
knows
me,
I
usually
wear
my
emotions
on
my
sleeve,
and
let
my
feelings
be
know.
Hell,
my
supervisor
Tee
was
one
of
the
first
people
to
encourage
me
to
talk
to
her
like
that.
I tried to be discreet in the beginning, but me being
me, that act of tact didn't last very long. I ended up kinda putting
myself out there one day in front the rest of the staff. It was on
one of our weekends that we had to work. Since work is slower on the
weekends (depending on the patient count), we have more added time to
relax and chill. I was running carts that day with Mr. Frank, while
K-Dogg was rotated onto pots. I remember that I was walking around,
trying to find something to do until it was time to go pick up the
carts. I walked over by Niecey's station, and asked if she wanted me
to dump her garbage for her. She just smiled her pretty chocolate
smile, and said that I could go with her to dump it.
Hell...I just wanted to spend some time with her. Of
course I went!
It's a bit of a trek to get from the kitchen to the
dumpster. You have to go through a few twists and turns of the
hallways, and a short elevator ride to get there. I was walking
along side Neicey, conversating with her along the way. After we
turned the second corner, somehow she ended up pulling up ahead of
me. That's when I noticed her walk again...
Man...she has a really, really, REALLY nice walk. That
thing was swinging EVERY which way!
You
send
me
swiiiiiiiiiiiiiiining!
Oh,
you
send
me
swingiiiiiiiiiiin!
Hey! If YOU would've seen what I saw....you'd be
acting the SAME way too! I started having a Charlie Brown moment at
the same time.
Wah
wah,wah
wah
wah
waaaaaaaah!
Whatever we were talking about, I soon forgot it, and
was too busy focusing on her...walk. Of course, I gave the
occasional “uh huh” and “yeah” to let her think that I was
paying attention, but I was too busy focusing on her...walk. After
we reached the dumpster, I made sure to let her walk ahead of me just
a little bit so that I could watch that walk of hers. We make it
back to the kitchen, and she heads towards her work station. I'm
still focusing on her...walk...when she catches me. She continues
talking, stops, turns to me, and responds with, “...Don't you think
so?”.
I pause. I finally look up.
She
stands
there,
looking
me
dead
in
the
eye...trying
to
hide
the
smile
that
I
know
she
wants
to
wear.
Yeah...I
saw
you
looking
back
there!
BUSSSSSSSTEEEEEEEEEEED!
What could I do? I came clean.
“Okay,
I
gotta
be
honest...I
ain't
hear
not
one
word
you
was
saying...”
Her response? “Uh huuuuuuuuuh...”
“I'm
saying
though....I
was
distracted.
Can
you
blame
me?”
“Uh
huh...okay...”
Niecey just shakes her head, and walks back over to her
work station...finally smiling. I go back to my own work area. But
not before I hit her with this...
“Hey
Niecey...”
“Yeah...?”
“...You
have
a
really
nice
walk!”
She laughs. “You so silly!”
“Hey...I
like
what
I
see!”
Of course, I end up doing that in front of most of my
coworkers. I actually had one pull me aside and ask me point blank
if I liked Niecey. Quite obviously, I wasn't doing a good job of
hiding it. The good thing about it though...everybody like it , and
encouraged it. Of course, personally, I wouldn't have given a shit
WHO liked it or not; the only thing that I cared about was that I
really cared about this woman, and wanted to get to know her better
on a more permanent basis.
I wouldn't say that it was a whirlwind romance, but
quite obviously, we were very attracted to one another. People had
jokes about how I was always around her work area, just leaning
around her, flirting, laying on the charm. K-Dogg caught me with a
good one once; since sometimes some of the other cooks on staff give
Niecey a hard time, I remember making a comment one weekend we worked
about taking out anybody that was giving her a hard time during the
shift. He started calling me “The Bodyguard” after that, singing
Whitney Houston....
And IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII......wiiilll
alllllwaaaaaaaays loooooove yooooooooooouuuuuuu....
Okay, really mane?! You know what.....?!?!?! [Lip all
upturned.]
Things were going pretty good, and it was obvious that
Niecey was just as attracted to me as I was to her. Hell, when I
wrote my first book, she was the first person that I showed it to.
Despite our age difference, it seemed like I was FINALLY going to
have somebody special in my life for a looooong time. But anybody
who know about my life, knows that with the good, comes the bad. We
ended up hitting a rough patch....
She did something that really hurt my feelings. Not to
mention, the job started cutting my hours (officially, I was only a
part-time employee), so I was only there a few days a week,
working only three hours a day. That really hurt me
financially, especially since I had finally left that wretched liquor
store job. Not to mention, I was stuck working the evening shift
with them damned kids.
If I ever really, really wanted to move
the hell out of Richmond, it was right then and there. I wanted out
of that place, like last year!
That particular hell lasted almost three months. I was
miserable, financially struggling, and now extremely lonely. I
stepped up my efforts to move the hell away from Richmond, and get
the hell away from this darkness that I was experiencing. I hated
having my hours cut, and I hated working with most of those kids even
worse. It got to the point that I really, really wanted to
walk off the job. I left New York to get away from bullshit like
this, and here I was, basically back where I started.
After a while, my hours started to pick back up.
Having had my hours cut, Niecey and I really didn't get to see each
other. Once my hours started coming back, whatever issues that she
had had about us were now nonexistent. Issues be damned, she wanted
us to get back to the way we were. It took a bit of effort on her
part; I still felt hurt from the way that she had treated me before,
and wasn't trying to go through that again. But, slowly but surely,
we got back into each other's good graces again. I ended up getting
her a few gifts, and even asked her out a few times ( she said
maybe...maybe is good; it's not a 'no').
But alas....it didn't last....
One of the jobs that I had applied for in Maryland
finally gave me a callback. It paid me more money, it was full time
with benefits, NO weekends (which ended up being a lie), and it got
me the fuck away from Richmond. Suffice it to say, I jumped at the
chance. Now I had to break the bad news to Niecey. Quite obviously
she was hurt that I was leaving, but tried to brush it off, and hide
it. EVERYBODY knew that she was sad and hurt that I was leaving, and
I felt like an ass for doing it. She had already lost her husband,
and now that she had finally opened her heart to someone else, I hurt
her again by leaving. She was somebody who I could have seen myself
with for the rest of my life. Looking back in hindsight, even if I
already knew the answer, I should have at least asked her if she
wanted to come with me. She deserved as much to have a say in a
decision as important as this. I felt like I started something that
I knew I couldn't finish, and cheated her out of something better in
life, some happiness.
SO....
I gave my two weeks notice, made my plans to move, and
said my goodbyes. I got the contact numbers of all the people that I
was cool with, and left on my last day with my head held high.
Though I don't regret moving out of Richmond, I do
regret not trying to make a life with Niecey. I often think about
her, and reminisce over our time spent together. Sometimes, I think
about hopping on the bus, and making a surprise visit at my old job,
just so that I could see her one more time. The least that I could
do is apologize to her for the way that I left. I just hope that
she's now happy, and in a good relationship with someone who deserves
her....
….Or, still be single so that I can have
another chance with her.
This has been brought to you by the numbers o9, and 10.
And Facebook.
Forever my lady, (ohhh, yeah!)
It's like a dream...
I'm holding you close, keeping you warm, (Ohhh, ohhhh)
If this is ecstasy.......
