Homecoming

Long line at the liquor store and I'm the only white girl. The man in front of me wears clean jeans up around his waist, laced work boots, a shiny red vest and baseball cap. He's lucid, unlike many others who frequent the store. He might be my age, 28, or older--old enough to have slowed down a little but not much. He recognizes someone farther up in line, a tall man, with a shiny head. This man looks older and little less lucid, a like he might be picking up refills for a night that's already begun. On his way out the door, he stops to  slap hands.

"Hey man, how you doin?"

"Doin aight." They exchange pleasantries for a while. The man in front of me explains that he's on his way home from work.

"Hey, you know Donnell's about to be comin home soon," says the shiny headed man.

"That right?"

"Yeah, man. He got 20 years."

The first man doesn't hear at first. Then he does. He says in a quieter voice. "Yo Donnell got 20 years?"

The shiny headed man nods seriously, on his way out of the door. "And now he's comin home."

Searching for In-laws on the D Train

I'm sitting on the D train, reading a book on the way home from work. My seat is by the window, my knees just a few inches away from the pair of seats against the wall. At 155th Street, a middle-aged black man wearing black jeans, a black jacket, and black sneakers, lowers himself into the seat in front of me, with a big end-of-the-workday sigh. His jacket brushes up against my knee.

"Excuse me," he says, very politely.

"It's OK." He is a wide-set man with a kind, intelligent face. I immediately like him.

The man puts in his ear buds, fiddles with his iPod, and relaxes. After about 30 seconds, a deep voice behind me can be heard asking: "You related to Darrell?"

The man in front of me looks over my head to the source of the question. He removes one earbud and stands up halfway. "What's that?'

"You related to Darrell?" the voice repeats.

"Nahh." He shakes his head.

"Aw, all right," the voice says. "You look like my son-in-law, Darrell. I thought you mighta been related to 'em."

The man returns to his seat in front of me.