Two Times I Shared The Name of Someone’s Baby Daddy
a job story
I remember two times when women told me I had the same name as their baby daddy.
The first was a customer at the storage facility in Savannah, Georgia. She drove up from Florida in a Ford F-150 with a 6 inch lift kit, a truck bed full of furniture, and her man resting from a gunshot wound a week ago in the passenger seat. She jumped down and burst into the office, full of energy. He waited in the car.
She was charismatic so I tried my best to keep up. She sang. She danced. She said she liked my hair—I had an afro at the time. I said thanks. She asked if I’ve ever braided my hair. I said no. She asked if I was too tender headed to braid my hair. I said I didn’t know, since I’ve never braided my hair. She laughed.
The conversation went on from there and my memory resurfaces with her quizzing me on a plot point of Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married asking: Why did Sheila get kicked off the plane? I couldn’t remember. “Sheila was too fat to fly,” she said. I laughed. I liked her.
Before she hurried off to assist the man in her car without going into too much detail about what exactly happened with him, she learned my name and said, “Oh! That’s the same as…yeah…” She smiled. “That’s my baby daddy’s name.”
The second time was a coworker, Cherrell, about a year later. We worked in a storage facility together in Atlanta. Got along with her just as well but she was reserved. On days we worked together, I was the talker and she tried her best to keep up with me. She didn’t like the job but she worked harder than anyone. She had a 17 year old daughter. She said her friend got a good job as a 911 operator and was thinking about switching. It was a $2 an hour pay bump. She probably would’ve been the best at that job too.
She revealed little about her personal life only when it came up in conversation. One day, she told me she was going to Pappadeaux’s Seafood after work. I asked what for? She said it was her birthday. I said happy birthday. She made me guess her age. I guessed. She didn’t believe me when I guessed ten years younger. I didn’t believe her when she said she was ten years older. Still don’t. But it was true.
The company spread us thin. There were 14 locations and 16 employees. On days we didn’t work together, we’d text. I still have the conversations saved.
Cherrell: Good morning! Did you deposit the checks already from yesterday close of day? For 160 and 310?
Me: Yeah i did em. Theyre in a stack near the printer
C: I see them I just wasn’t sure if they was done already or not. Thank you!! Also make sure you endorse the back of them with the correct bank stamp. One of them you put the store stamp on the back😂😂
Me: Oh fuck! I keep doing that shit
C: It’s ok I thought it was soo funny 😂😂 Oh and Mrs lee gone 😂😂😂her unit completely empty
Me: Thank god
C: Yess!!
The conversations went like that until a few weeks later when I received this text from her:
Cherrell: You blocked me off Facebook? For some reason I can’t see your page😂😂🤦🏿♀️
I didn’t understand. I assumed she was trying to friend me and couldn’t since I was inactive.
Me: Oh yeah I’m on instagram only. I made a facebook just for a writing group i was in once haha
She sent a standalone thumbs up and another text.
C: At this point it’s all good! For you to be upset with me for not being able to come to your party is bs! Even know I couldn’t make it I made sure my sister came. I begged her to go since I couldn’t. I have had several other reason that I could have been upset with you but I wasn’t. Like when you got that car pawned and i could have gave it to naudia. It hurted so bad but I still considered you as a friend. And that just one reason. But it’s cool. No need to text back
I felt the need to text back.
Me: This is robert from work
thid is robert from work