Manny stepped into the sunshine, took a deep breath and smiled contentedly. Today was going to be a great day. Mom had prepared a breakfast of black beans over rice, with fried eggs on the side. She knew he was a drug addict but still treated him like her little boy. Mom worked two jobs, cleaning offices at nights and an afternoon shift as a cook at a nearby diner. Whenever Manny was around in the morning, she’d cook him breakfast, even at lunch time.
She’d moved here when Manny was a baby. His dad was supposed to follow but never did. Rumor is he’d married another woman and had two children with her. It had always been just Manny and mom. She raised him in a cheerful environment, always doing her best to look on the bright side, but inner city life had been tough on them. They still lived in the same run-down neighborhood, occasionally moving but never more than a few blocks away. Maria had pride — she always kept her household clean and tidy and insisted on feeding anyone who stopped by. Considering the circumstances, Manny had a great upbringing.
Manny was beloved around here They called him Manny Mulberry, a play on his surname, Morales. Always cracking jokes, laughing, and poking fun at his friends.
Neighborhood girls giggled like kids when he was around, their eyes lighting up.
“Hey Manny, when are we going on our date?”
“Soon Tina. I’m just saving up for a steering wheel for my Mercedes,” he’d crack with a smile.
Hardened ex-cons chuckled when he walked by with one of his trademark quips.
“Hey Rufus, you stole my muscles. I want them back.”
Manny was on the fast track to getting out of the hood. He’d attended community college, studying journalism. He wanted to work for one of the big newspapers one day. But in his second year of college his girlfriend turned him on to heroin. “I told you she was no good,” his mom lamented. But Manny was hooked good. He dropped out later that year.
That was a couple years ago. He’d kept a job for a while, but got fired for constantly showing up late or calling in sick. Sometimes he stole things from his mom, but tried to keep all his hustles outside. Muggings were easy. A finger pointing in the back worked wonders at night. Naturally fast and athletic, Manny was gone before they turned around. Sometimes he ran packages for local bosses, never asking questions, he knew better.
Today was looking up. Manny’s friend, they called him Eddie Loco, said he had a sweet job for Manny. It would set him up for the next month.
Manny had no idea what he was walking into. (see pt 2 of always look on the bright side)
