Born a Crime

you wanted to live in the suburbs
you’d have to find a white family
renting out their servants’ quarters
or sometimes their garage, which
was what Abel had done. He lived in
a neighborhood called Orange
Grove in a white family’s garage,
which he’d turned into a cottage-
type thing with a hot plate and a
bed. Sometimes he’d come and
sleep at our house, and sometimes
we’d go stay with him. Staying in a
garage when we owned our own
house wasn’t ideal, but Orange
Grove was close to my school and
my mom’s work so it had its
benefits.