Logs:Eat, Drink, Stay Black, and Live

Eat, Drink, Stay Black, and Live
Dramatis Personae Avi, Nevaeh
In Absentia	juneteenth "But that can start tomorrow. Today, we stay free."
Location <NYC> Harlem River Picnic Area - Harlem
It's not quite so hot anymore as it was earlier today. There's music blasting because of course there is -- Earth, Wind & Fire's "Let's Groove" at the moment. Probably all the many (many) Black folks here are not actually Avi's family but they've all been greeting him with the warm familiarity that suggests they are. Admittedly, they aren't much less warm (or much less familiar) with Avi's out-of-town guests; since arriving from the festival down the street they've been inundated with invitations to games, terrible dad jokes, endless stories from the many elders circulating around the group. Some time ago Avi wandered off in search of food and now is returning, holding two very loaded plates. His pockets are bulging -- a can of coke in each side pocket of his jean shorts -- and before he bothers taking a seat he's angling one soda-loaded-pocket for easy access before offering the second plate out. "Yo grab your drink. Aunt Sheree would not believe when I said enough so unfortunately you gettin' real stuffed today. Or fortunately, I dunno, all that dancing earlier maybe worked up an appetite." Nevaeh is still grooving kind of casually, perched on the waterfront bench where Avi left her. She's wearing a red sundress, her sandals tucked neatly under the bench along with her bag. "Oh, thank you!" She takes the coke and then accepts the plate. "Okay I was planning to say 'I saw that coming' all smooth and mysterious, but this is more than I predicted." This doesn't sound like a complaint, though. "Besides, it wouldn't have been mysterious. Everyone's got an aunty like that, hopefully, and I bet you got like half a dozen." "My whole block packed with aunty like that." Avi drops down to the bench beside Nevaeh, then immediately stands back up so he can pluck the second Coke from his pocket. He settles back down, setting his plate down on his knees. "You coulda pretended, though, I woulda believed you." He drags a forkful of mac n cheese through some barbecue sauce and makes a very pleased face when he pops it into his mouth. "You know, every year that passes," he's saying this weightily like he's talking about a very long trial, "seems more'n more a mistake this whole federal holiday shit." Nevaeh is making vague complimentary sounds about the food even before she's quite finished her first bite. She does manage that just in time to guffaw at his complaint. "You getting ready to be that uncle who goes 'back in my day' and everyone groans but they listen anyway?" She cracks her soda and drinks deep, scrunching her face at the fizz. "So why was it a mistake? I mean we don't get off school for it either way, and plenty of people still have to work, or call out. But that wasn't any different before." She scrunches her eyes more deliberately. "I think. It feels like forever ago." "Okay," Avi is beginning to grouse in his best Uncle Imitation, "back in my day --" His face has scrunched up in amusement, and now he's drumming his fingers lightly on top of his slightly shaken soda can. "You know who do got more days off, though. White people. First year I was here there wasn't half so many'em at the jazz fest. Cuz they was working like they oughta be and also ain't know what Juneteenth is anyway." He's plucking up a chicken wing so that he can tease its bones apart with his teeth. "We gotta convince 'em having a day off on Juneteenth is appropriation, that's our day for freedom." Nevaeh tries to groan, but it comes out half a giggle. She does stay to listen while steadily shoveling food into her mouth, nodding and emitting agreement sounds at appropriate intervals. At his conclusion she nods more emphatically and swallows probably a little more hastily than is wise. "Alright that's a good point. How many white people are really worried about appropriation, though?" She takes a sip of her coke, then bounces up once in her seat. "Or maybe it could be like, they still gotta work but what they get paid that day has to be for reparations." "Ooh, you onto something there." Avi is stretching his legs out, heels kicking up onto a rock by the riverbank. "Like dang imagine even just here you collect a day wages for erry white person in the city, how many our folk could be kicking back, enjoying that jazz 'stead of some white Columbia student in a dashiki." He finishes drumming on his soda and then cracks it open, hastily pulling it to his mouth to slurp up the small overflow of fizz that starts to rise. He's huffing just a little bit wryly with his follow-up: "My ma couldn't get the day off. Woke up early as hell to make this mac before her hospital shift." "Exactly!" Nevaeh sounds very pleased with Avi's vision of Juneteenth reparations. "Your ma gets to sleep in if she wants to and still get the cooking done, some white Columbia student in a dashiki gets to feel less racist, everyone wins." She makes a point of digging into the mac and cheese. "So we convince white people it's appropriation for them to take off Juneteenth, and the only way they can celebrate it right is to go to work, and pay reparations. We got our work cut out for us." She speaks weightily, though not as well as Avi had earlier, raising her coke to him in a toast. "But that can start tomorrow. Today, we stay free."