child, Alyssa, barely four years old. You don’t owe her your life now. There are plenty of reputable nursing homes in the area.”
“No, I can’t do that. She gave me power of attorney and I’m responsible for her.”
“That’s why you need to do this.”
“Is this payback, Dad, for everything in the past?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, this has nothing to do with the past or with our drama. This has everything to do with you giving up the rest of your life.”
“You know what, I can’t do this right now. I just came by to ask you to put a fan in the attic and, since it’s already done…” She slid off the stool.
“Baby,” Benjamin began, holding Alyssa’s hand gently, “Allie and I will probably never get along, but this has nothing to do with all that. This is about you and your life and how I don’t want to stand by and see you give it up like this.”
“Dad, I’m not giving up my life. I’m just moving in with Grandma, that’s all. She’s got a big old house and my apartment is the size of a shoe box. I’m over there most of the time anyway, so it’ll be no big deal, really.”
“Baby—” Benjamin began.
“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
He nodded, knowing that it was futile to argue with her. Ever since she was five, she knew her own mind. “When?”
“My lease is up at the end of this month anyway and my landlord is talking about turning the place into a condo. There’s no way I’m paying for the same place I live in now. I really like the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, but not for those prices. Besides, it’s all the way on the other side of town. I work in Anacostia and both you and Grandma live in Old City.”
“Old City isn’t the greatest, either,” her dad said.
“That’s the stigma from the 1968 riots after King was assassinated,” she said.
“That was a bad time. Looting, arson, vandalism, not good memories,” Benjamin added.
“But look at it now. It’s really come back and every yuppie in Virginia and Maryland is dying to move back and get in on the ground floor of the upturn in the real-estate market,” she said. Benjamin nodded his agreement. “See, I have it all worked out. Although I might need a little help moving…” She nudged into him to make a point.
Benjamin smiled and nodded his head. “Just let me know when. I’ll be there, you know that.”
“I know. Thanks, Dad.”
“Okay, it’s still early. How about some breakfast?” He slapped his hands together and rubbed them as if he were releasing a magic genie from a bottle. “I’ll treat you to breakfast at the diner down the street. Eggs, sausage, scrapple, bacon, hash browns, toast and waffles sound good?”
Alyssa grimaced. There was no way she’d be able to eat that much food for breakfast. “How about a rain check? I’m supposed to meet my girlfriend for coffee this morning.”
“Coffee, since when do you drink coffee? I thought it was tea or nothing.”
“It is. You know I don’t like the taste of coffee. We’ll probably meet there and just go someplace else. It’s in Georgetown so there are a million places to go.”
“Just be careful.”
“In Georgetown, Dad, I think I’ll be safe there. You know the ratio of police is three for every one civilian there.”
“Yeah, but in the southeast it’s one cop every fifty blocks, and he or she’s usually two minutes from retiring.”
“See you later, Dad,” she said, shaking her head at his remark as she left. Yeah, she had to agree that police protection was more visible in affluent parts of town, leaving the bulk of lower-income D.C. to fend, oftentimes unsuccessfully and violently, for itself.
Her father’s bar, Wingate Lounge, was in such a southeast neighborhood. It originally belonged to his grandfather, and like his father before him, he refused to be moved no matter what the challenges were, proudly living above the establishment in one of the small apartments. The bar had outlasted fires, hurricanes,
“No, I can’t do that. She gave me power of attorney and I’m responsible for her.”
“That’s why you need to do this.”
“Is this payback, Dad, for everything in the past?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, this has nothing to do with the past or with our drama. This has everything to do with you giving up the rest of your life.”
“You know what, I can’t do this right now. I just came by to ask you to put a fan in the attic and, since it’s already done…” She slid off the stool.
“Baby,” Benjamin began, holding Alyssa’s hand gently, “Allie and I will probably never get along, but this has nothing to do with all that. This is about you and your life and how I don’t want to stand by and see you give it up like this.”
“Dad, I’m not giving up my life. I’m just moving in with Grandma, that’s all. She’s got a big old house and my apartment is the size of a shoe box. I’m over there most of the time anyway, so it’ll be no big deal, really.”
“Baby—” Benjamin began.
“Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”
He nodded, knowing that it was futile to argue with her. Ever since she was five, she knew her own mind. “When?”
“My lease is up at the end of this month anyway and my landlord is talking about turning the place into a condo. There’s no way I’m paying for the same place I live in now. I really like the Mount Pleasant neighborhood, but not for those prices. Besides, it’s all the way on the other side of town. I work in Anacostia and both you and Grandma live in Old City.”
“Old City isn’t the greatest, either,” her dad said.
“That’s the stigma from the 1968 riots after King was assassinated,” she said.
“That was a bad time. Looting, arson, vandalism, not good memories,” Benjamin added.
“But look at it now. It’s really come back and every yuppie in Virginia and Maryland is dying to move back and get in on the ground floor of the upturn in the real-estate market,” she said. Benjamin nodded his agreement. “See, I have it all worked out. Although I might need a little help moving…” She nudged into him to make a point.
Benjamin smiled and nodded his head. “Just let me know when. I’ll be there, you know that.”
“I know. Thanks, Dad.”
“Okay, it’s still early. How about some breakfast?” He slapped his hands together and rubbed them as if he were releasing a magic genie from a bottle. “I’ll treat you to breakfast at the diner down the street. Eggs, sausage, scrapple, bacon, hash browns, toast and waffles sound good?”
Alyssa grimaced. There was no way she’d be able to eat that much food for breakfast. “How about a rain check? I’m supposed to meet my girlfriend for coffee this morning.”
“Coffee, since when do you drink coffee? I thought it was tea or nothing.”
“It is. You know I don’t like the taste of coffee. We’ll probably meet there and just go someplace else. It’s in Georgetown so there are a million places to go.”
“Just be careful.”
“In Georgetown, Dad, I think I’ll be safe there. You know the ratio of police is three for every one civilian there.”
“Yeah, but in the southeast it’s one cop every fifty blocks, and he or she’s usually two minutes from retiring.”
“See you later, Dad,” she said, shaking her head at his remark as she left. Yeah, she had to agree that police protection was more visible in affluent parts of town, leaving the bulk of lower-income D.C. to fend, oftentimes unsuccessfully and violently, for itself.
Her father’s bar, Wingate Lounge, was in such a southeast neighborhood. It originally belonged to his grandfather, and like his father before him, he refused to be moved no matter what the challenges were, proudly living above the establishment in one of the small apartments. The bar had outlasted fires, hurricanes,
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