September Tango Read Free Page A

and meandered towards the Car Rental sign at the opposite end of the airport. There was no one waiting for him at the airport, because his parents had passed a couple of years ago and his grandparents were much too old to make the drive. No one trusted his little sister to make the drive, so he was forced to purchase a rental car for a while.
    When he arrived at the counter, the lady standing behind it smiled widely. She was a larger black woman with an unbelievable up do, golden chains hanging around her neck, fake fingernails so long it would make Wolverine jealous and a nameplate on her left breast that read “LaTisha”.
    “ How can I help you?” She drawled as he put his bag down on the floor and lounged against the counter.
    “ I need a car,” he replied quietly, rubbing his eyes.
    “ Well, that's the reason you came here, ain't it?” She interrupted before he could finish.
    He blinked. “Um, yes?”
    “Alright, boy, I'm gonna hook you up, for sure. What kinda car you need, hon?” Her drawl was doing nothing but getting worse.
    “ Um,” he paused, fighting to keep a straight face. “It's just gonna be me so I don't need anything too big. Probably just the smallest thing you have.”
    “ Alright, I gotcha, I gotcha.” She replied, bending her fingers awkwardly to touch the buttons on the computer in front of her. The click-clack was enough to drive him mad. She glanced at him curiously then back to the computer screen, chewing the bright red lipstick off her bottom lip. “So, where you comin' from? Yo dirty ass look like you just rolled outta the sandbox.”
    “ Um,” he started, shaking his head, “I'm on R&R from Afghanistan heading back to Major to visit my grandparents for a little bit.”
    “ Oh, so you one a the ones fightin' for our rights and all that shit, I thought so with that uniform. LaTisha loves a man in uniform.” She paused to fan herself before continuing. “Well good for you, son. I bet you's one a them proper gentleman types and what not. Know how to treat a lady right, huh? You ever thought about takin' a sister out?”
    “ Um... What?” He asked in horror. His look was not lost on LaTisha, who frowned before responding.
    “ Never mind that. Anyway, son, I got you a Chevy Spark, smallest thing we got. That gonna be good for ya?”
    “ Yes, that'll be fine.” The sooner he could get away from LaTisha and her advances, the better. He took another deep breath to keep from busting out into hysterics.
    “ Alright, kid, that's gonna be thirty nine ninety five a day, you gonna have to pay that now. How many days you need this thing? Where you say you goin'?”
    “ Heading down to Major.” He slowly drummed his long fingers on the counter. “I need it for fifteen days.”
    “ Alright, alright, okay. Like I said, you pay that now. I'm gonna run back there and let Jerry know that he need to bring that car up to you. Go out that door right there,” She pointed, “And he's gonna meet you out there with them keys. Oh, yeah, and I need your license and your card, you sweet young thang.”
    “ Oh, okay.” He stuck his hand in the pocket of his uniform, grabbed his wallet and pulled it out. As he opened the wallet, a picture fell out. It was a picture of the last time he was with his parents, which was five years ago. A funny look crossed his face as he stuck it back in his wallet and pulled out his license and debit card. He handed them to LaTisha. She looked at the license for about a second and handed it back. Another awkward bend of the finger to press more keys on the computer and run his car. Once she finished, she handed it back. She finally gave him an awkward glance, as if wondering why he was still standing there. Once the light upstairs turned back on, she turned, grabbed a set of keys and went to the back room.
    “ Jerry!” Calvin heard her yell. He looked around to see if there was anybody who heard that, but there was no one there. It was a few minutes before she