What happened to the sun

 

Naoki knew Tyra didn't need for him to walk her out to the car at the hospital, but maybe it was the chivalry in her after all that told him he needed to step up. Of course, he wanted to talk to her about this generosity she suddenly shared as if she were just an extra at an improv who was obviously a fabulous actress. Seriously, Naoki didn't know what to expect next. And he certainly didn't.

"WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED!"

Her mother's old Buick Regal was a sore sight under the night lights. Someone slashed the tires and scratched up the car as if torture was on someone's mind.

"What! What is this!" She was losing breath, but nothing was going to stop her rant. "What's happening to the world! It's..It's going backwards! First, the president has to celebrate his birthday with a military parade! Who would have done this?" She walked around the car and pointed to the EQUAL sign on the back bumper. "Is it all because of this! JUST BECAUSE OF PRIDE!"

Tyra crumbled into tears. "It's my mom's car!"

Naoki put his arm around her. She cried into his fresh, clean t-shirt that she'd brought him. It felt like this night would never end.

Later, they sat around the table at her mother's, drinking a fresh cup of coffee. There were the day-old muffins from the bakery. Her mom scrambled eggs. They found out it wasn't a hate crime. Even if he remembered Tyra's very words that she wasn't a very good lesbian, after all.

This was about hate. But a personal kind. Funny, how somebody's wife thought Tyra was the other woman.

"I'm not pressing charges," her mother shook her head, no, who was picking at a blueberry muffin.

"But mom!" Tyra let out a fat lip as she looked at her cold scrambled eggs.

Naoki didn't know what else to do but finish the eggs off because he knew Tyra was in no mood to eat, but he was.

"Oh, she's going through something," her mom said. "I know her. I've watched her grow up. She was older than you girls. And I know she always thought she'd be much better off than anyone in her family. She was a cheerleader. Prom queen, those kinds of things." She told them this must have been so overwhelming. "I talked to her mother not long ago at the grocery store. We hadn't seen each other in a while. She was worried even then that Brit was going to the casinos at night, trying to find a way to get out of debt."

"That's a strange way of trying to get out of debt," Naoki sighed as he went to get the coffee pot and freshen everyone's coffee.

"Oh, I've seen it before. It can happen," Carol talked about a co-worker with a gambling addiction.

"Yeah, well, what does gambling have to do with this?" Tyra gave her mother the eye as if Carol was not on topic.

"Look, she's got problems. Let's try not to add to them. We'll be fine."

"You named that car Cyrus, Mom," Tyra scowled back. "You love that car."

"It has a CD player in it, and as long as it works and he can get me to Baker's and you to your job, that's all I need." Her mother shrugged, then sipped creamed coffee.