“Yeah, I know,” she said. “I only picked up the phone ’cause you calling collect. What, you in trouble so you want me to help you out? And why you ain’t been back to school? Everybody been asking me if you dropped out.”

“I’m not in trouble,” I said. “But I’m not in Chicago.”

“Where the hell you at? You still pregnant?”

“Nakesha, I can’t get it into all that right now.”

“It’s a yes or no question,” she said dryly.

“Okay, yes,” I answered, hoping she wasn’t so mad that she would tell the whole world, if she hadn’t already. “I’m still pregnant, but I’m going to stay with Jewel in New York.”

“When?”

“Right now. I’m almost there. I’m in Pennsylvania.”

“Pennsylvania?! Where that at?”

“Far away. You gotta go east. I’m driving there with my friend Rasul.”

“Who the hell is Rasul?”

“That guy I had told you about, in my building.”

“You ain’t never told me about no Rasul…”

“Nakesha, I gotta go. We gotta get back on the road. But I just wanted to tell somebody where I was and where I’m going. I’m in Pennsylvania now, and we should be in New York later tonight. Can you call my mother and tell her?”

“Oh bitch you gotta lot of nerve asking me for shit…”

“Nakesha, please!” I yelled. Impending motherhood had made me more brazen. “Look, I’m sorry about what happened. I don’t know how many times I can tell you. But I was going crazy with all this stress and drama. Come on, you know you my girl.”

“If I’m your girl how come I ain’t heard from you since you left school? You ain’t called me or thought about me. Now you need something, and here you come calling my house collect. Now I’m gonna get in trouble.”

“I didn’t have nobody else to call,” I confessed. “And, you wasn’t talking to me, so I was like fuck it.”

“Well, I was mad.”

“I know, and you had every right to be. But can we just forget about that now? Damn, Nakesha. I’m trying to tell you I’m going somewhere else. I’m going to New York City, by myself, with my man.”

“Oh, he your man now?”

“Yeah, kinda.”

“When did all this shit happen? So what, you ain’t getting no abortion? I knew you wasn’t gonna do it! And can I come visit in New York over the break? Girl, I could get my hair done real fly like the video girls, go shopping …”

I knew we were cool again because she had started running her mouth.

“Nakesha, Nakesha, we’ll talk about all that tomorrow, when I get to New York. I’ll call you then.”

“Don’t forget.”

“I won’t. And don’t forget to call Ma for me.”