mallorys

tonya with navaeh, mai mai and pree pree.

i met tonya while dating her brother for a little bit. while that relationship is more than dead, i still get calls from tonya to hang out. we get along pretty well -- she likes talking about work and sharing cigarettes on the porch with me. we've come across some tension because of her brother, but now we both agree that he's just full of nonsense.

there's at least three kids [on crazy days, you can find up to seven] under the age of 8 at any given time at the house, all of them way too hyper for their own good. she lives in a public housing complex. the neighbors are mostly crazy and are always leaving their kids at tonya's.

she has two daughters, champreese [pree pree] and mainique [mai mai]. "i just made the names up at the hospital," she says.

she also takes care of her two of her sisters kids, ty and honesty. then there is her boyfriend gian [G], who works a ridiculous amount of shifts at olive garden and also has another daughter, navaeh.

i cringe sometimes watching tonya give pree pree pop tarts or letting her sip on mountain dew. while hanging around them now, being who i am today, i find myself judging her decisions sometimes. besides the junk food, she also liked keeping the oven running to heat the house and i would get nervous when the kids would be running around in the kitchen.

but then i remember that i wasn't raised that differently. my mom, not really knowing any better after getting to this country, never hesitated in keeping a steady flow of junk food in the house and would leave me to baby sit my two younger sisters when i was only eight. i really shouldn't be judging because i know what matters is that she's doing what she needs to do.

when it comes down to it, there's a legitimate reason that i enjoy going back to the house. her brother moved out about a month ago and that has made it much easier on me to just go back and play with the kids and let tonya vent about her shitty job at save-a-lot. she also makes some mean collard greens and stuffing for me.

tonya and g are 12 years apart. he's actually younger than me at 22. "man, tonya bagged up a young one," i said to him once. "bagged? tonya done snagged me with a harpoon," he said. he carries a lot of responsibility providing for four kids, but he does it without flinching.

and i have too much fun with pree pree. she likes playing with my hair, dancing with me to BET and pressing her face up to my lens when i bring my camera.