by Natavia
“So, are you still dating that Governor guy?” he broke the silence.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m just asking. I have a friend who admires you. He follows your IG page, that’s all,” he said.
“I don’t fuck with cops, so please tell this friend of yours to stop followin’ me.”
Maybe I should tell him about Alexi. Fuck, I can’t say anything. Ughhhh, I’m a wreck!
The elevator door opened, and we stepped on. Ian’s phone rang and he silenced it. Maybe liking older women aged Ian a little because he looked older than his age. If I hadn’t known him, I would’ve assumed he was a little older than Governor. Once the elevators door opened to the garage, I headed towards my truck which I kept parked in my mother’s building. There was no way in hell I was parking my G-wagon at Manor Apartments. Ian’s police car was parked across from me. Instead of grabbing the wine he said he had for my mother, he got inside his car to use the phone, but it was my mother’s fault. She decided to date younger men to feel young again after being married for eighteen years. I shrugged it off and headed towards Manor Apartments.
Fifteen minutes later…
The streets were clear except for people standing in front of building 1077. It was the beginning of October and the leaves covered the sidewalk. I enjoyed fall weather because I’m a fall baby. Sinna’s friend walked out the building and got into her raggedy car that rattled loudly. I was ready to get out of my truck until I saw Governor’s Range Rover pull up to the building. My blood boiled when Essa stepped out giggling. They were flaunting their so-called friendship in my face. Essa didn’t make it any better. The bitch literally lived beneath me! Everyone knew me and Governor was together. That Section-8-having bitch just came out of nowhere and took my man. Essa stepped out of his truck with two grocery bags. Governor walked her to the door of the building. His body language said it all. He looked comfortable around her and the nigga even had the nerve to smile. Governor was into her. He used to look at me the same way. It didn’t take much for me to realize that I had a good man, but I threw it all away for materialistic things. I waited until Essa walked into the building before approaching Governor because I didn’t want that hoe to see me looking basic. The sweat suit I had on was a little big because it belonged to my mother and my hair wasn’t combed. Governor was ready to get into the driver’s seat until I called out to him.
“Not now, Chelle. I got somewhere to be,” he said.
“I have to talk to you about sumthin.”
“Make it quick,” he said nonchalantly.
“Alexi has been kidnapped and I don’t know what to do. I was at Nucci’s club four nights ago and some men came up in there with army guns. They robbed all of us and took my jewelry and purse.”
Governor’s face softened when I told him about the wound on my head. I didn’t know who else to talk to. Governor still had connections to the streets, so I wondered if he could help me find Alexi.
“All black, huh? How many were there?” he asked.
“Like ten of them. I can’t remember but it was so many of them,” I said while wiping my eyes.
“The only thing I can tell you is to stay here until everything dies down. Far as Alexi, her nigga will take care of it,” he said.
“That’s all you have to say? You’re not gonna get at those niggas? That bitch got you soft now, huh?”
“Yo, Chelle. Your anger ain’t wit’ me, shorty. You ain’t my girl! I hope you get better and find your friend, but what do you want me to do?” he asked.
“My anger is wit’ you! You’re the reason why I was there!”
“Bitch, you crazy,” he chuckled.
Governor got inside his truck and drove off. He didn’t offer me to stay with him—nothing. Sinna was looking out her living room window when I turned to go inside the building. She probably waited for him to drop Essa off. I didn’t have time for Sinna’s childish crush on Governor, but it was definitely time for me and Essa to have a talk. That hoe was trifling for even messing with him behind my back, especially when she used to speak to me. Instead of going on the third floor to my apartment, I walked down the hall of the second floor to knock on her door.
“Who is it?” she yelled out after I knocked.
“Rochelle!”
The door opened but she stayed inside her apartment. I was able to get a good look inside and her apartment was very neat and clean. She must’ve had scented plug-ins because the fragrance spilled into the hallway.
“What’s good?” she asked, sounding annoyed.
“I want to know why you feel so comfortable fuckin’ my man. You think it’s cool? We live in the same building and you thought I wasn’t goin’ to find out? Governor is not Captain-Save-A-Hoe so I don’t know why y’all bitches feel entitled. Stay away from him or I’m gonna beat your fat ass!”
“Governor is a grown-ass man who can speak for himself, and from what I know, he’s a single man. And the day you put your hands on me will be the day I molly whop your ass through these hallways. I’ll destroy this building beatin your ass. You can call me Wreck it Ralph,” she said.
“Ghetto tramp!” I shouted as I walked away.
Sinna opened her apartment door and stepped into the hallway. The three of us eyed each other. We had a connection to Governor one way or another. Essa worked for him, he was my man and Sinna had a crush on him. I couldn’t believe I was competing with two ratchet-ass hoes.
“Can y’all quiet it down? My baby is asleep,” Sinna said.
“Bitch, mind yah business!” I yelled at her.
“Excuse me?” she snapped.
“You heard me, dirt ball! You think I don’t know about you wantin’ to fuck Governor, too? He’d never sleep wit’ your dirty stank fatherless-child ass. All you do is sit up in the window with that dirty white girl you friends wit’ and watch Governor. This ain’t nothing but a homeless shelter,” I spat.
“The only one who will be homeless is you because I’m gettin’ your apartment!” Sinna yelled at me.
“I changed my mind about movin’. Hoe, I can’t go nowhere if I don’t put my notice in. How about that!”
“You don’t pay rent! Bitch, you don’t need a notice. I’m gonna make sure you get out of that apartment!” Sinna yelled. She went into her apartment and slammed the door. Essa closed her door and I was left standing in the hallway. When I got inside my apartment, my cellphone rang. It was Nucci finally calling me back. I answered on the first ring hoping he had some good news about Alexi.
“Is Alexi okay?” I panicked.
“Bitch, this isn’t Nucci! This is his wife, Kayonna. I don’t know which hoe you are but stay away from my husband!” she screamed into the phone before hanging up. In frustration, I threw my cellphone into the wall. I couldn’t take it anymore. My life was in shambles and I was a ticking time bomb. Something had to give…
Essa
The next day…
I t was Sunday and I was at the park waiting for Ricardo to show up with Ke’Ari. He was starting to come back around even though it’d been weeks since I last saw my son.
“Where in the hell is he at?” I asked myself out loud.
It was almost noon. Ricardo told me to meet him at eleven. While I was sitting on the bench waiting for Ke’Ari, I thought about Governor and the time we’ve been spending together. We were close friends with benefits. I wasn’t rushing anything with him and vice versa but the way we connected was beyond words. But the downside of dealing with Governor was Sinna and Rochelle. The two of them were driving me crazy. A few days ago, someone egged my door and squirted ketchup and mustard. It was one of the nights I stayed at Governor’s house. Ricardo pulled up to the park the moment I was ready to dial his number for the fifth time. I jumped for joy when I saw him open up the back door to get Ke’Ari out of his car seat, but Ricardo ended up grabbing a toy dog. I was puzzled.
“What are you doing? Where is my son?”
“He’s with my fiancée and
her parents at church. I came here to walk Evelyn’s dog,” he said.
“Wait a minute! You had me sittin’ out here for nothin’?”
“I came here to talk to you. You assumed I was bringin’ Ke’Ari but I never said I was,” he said.
“Why do we need to talk at a park when our phones work?”
“Let’s have a seat,” he said. We sat at a picnic table and Ricardo tied the dog leash to a pole under the table, so it wouldn’t run too far.
“You have to end the games now, Essa.”
“What games are you talkin’ about? You’re the one playin’ games with me. I miss my child!”
Ricardo banged on the table. “You don’t miss him. You’re too busy fuckin’ that thug!”
“I just love how much your whack ass is invested in what I do wit’ MY pussy. What does that have to do wit’ me bein’ a parent!” I shouted.
“You wouldn’t have the time to be fuckin’ if you were invested more in Ke’Ari!”
“But again, this isn’t about Ke’Ari. This is about you not bein’ able to deal with me movin’ on. Listen, don’t worry about it, but this will be the last time I deal with you. I’m gettin’ a lawyer involved since you’re holdin’ my son hostage. Have a good day, bitch.”
I left Ricardo at the bench but deep inside I was fuming. He called my cellphone while I walked away, but I ignored his calls. Multiple text messages came through a little while later of him saying nasty things to me and threatening to have Governor investigated for violating landlord guidelines. I didn’t know where it was all coming from because Ricardo only ran into Governor once, yet he talked about him as if he knew him.
Is someone tellin’ Ricardo things about Governor? Who does he know that knows him besides me? Naw, maybe Ricardo just talkin’ out of jealously.
I went into a small coffee shop to grab a Frappe then afterwards, I caught a cab to Tinka’s neighborhood.
***********
Tinka’s neighborhood was on the outskirts of Annapolis. It was crack, roach and bed bug infested. They didn’t have AC units so they had air conditioners in the windows. One time, a crackhead pushed one in and snuck into Tinka’s apartment and stole her freezer food. The cab driver rushed me out of his cab as soon as he pulled up to Tinka’s building. I gave him the money and told him to keep the change. He pulled off when my feet hit the pavement. Five dudes were sitting in front of her building shooting dice.
“Damn, shorty. You Tinka’s cousin, aren’t you? Y’all got some fat asses,” he said. He looked to be only seventeen years old.
“Boy, if you don’t get yah little ass on,” I replied, and his friends clowned him.
“I got sumthin big in my pants though, shorty!” he yelled out as I entered the building. Tinka lived on the bottom floor and the smell of mildew caused my stomach to turn. The building was practically falling apart but Tinka refused to move because she loved the environment. I knocked six times before Tinka answered the door. Weed smoke came out of her apartment, burning my eyes. I waved the smoke away while coughing but Tinka was still smoking which made it worse.
“I wish you would stop!” I shouted at her.
I stepped into her colorful apartment and instantly caught a headache. Tinka and Kitty were very expressive; they took pride in the things they were into. Tinka loved bright neon colors. She was wearing a neon green house robe and had neon orange nails and toes. Her lace front wig to my surprise was jet black and wavy but her eyelashes were so long they reminded me of the water slides at Six flags. Tinka is a beautiful girl but her ratchet ways got in the way. Baby Head Poo was sitting on the couch and they had drugs on the table. Not much but it was enough to get us locked up.
“What in the New Jack City is goin’ on here? Why y’all hoes got it lookin’ like a trap house?” I asked.
“Because we tryna make some money,” Baby Head Poo replied. The rollers she had in her head were bigger than her face and it looked heavy. I wanted to snatch them off because it looked neck breaking.
“Wait, so y’all dope dealers now?”
“Girllll, chill out. We been doin’ this. See, I make money, honey,” Tinka said and I believed her. Tinka didn’t work and always had some kind of hustle. But even though she had money, she was very cheap.
“Who in the hell are y’all sellin’ to?”
“The fiends outside, duh,” Baby Head Poo.
“Cooley is cool wit’ this?”
“Fuck Cooley. I put him out last night. He had the audience to ride a bitch in his car. He claimed he was givin’ her a ride, but I know Cooley. You can’t get in his pimp ride if you don’t give up the pussy,” Tinka said.
“You are too old to be gettin’ your words mixed up. It’s audacity! And Cooley’s ride isn’t all that,” Baby Head Poo said.
“Who else ridin’ around here with those rims, bitch? Cooley is dat nigga so don’t play wit’ me. All the women want him cause he got a good job,” Tinka said.
“Fool, my grandmama wouldn’t even fuck Cooley for a ride to bingo and she’s done some very low stuff. Nobody wants him,” Baby Head Poo said.
“Why am I friends witchu cause I really can’t stand your Plan B pill-size head ass. You the only bitch I know that uses condoms for a shower cap. You still get cradle crap,” Tinka said. They went back and forth fussing and calling each other names. I went into the kitchen to fix myself a drink.
“It’s cradle cap, Tink,” I laughed.
“Yeah, that, too, but anyways we gotta hurry up and finish this so we can have a small party. The strippers will be here in a few,” Tinka said.
“Wait a minute! What strippers?” I called out from the kitchen.
“Me and Baby Head Poo are hostin’ a sex toy party and I invited the hood. Bitcchhhhh, we fittin’ to be lit tonight!” Tinka said in excitement.
“I wanted to come over here and vent. Maybe I need real friends,” I replied.
Baby Head Poo told me to bring a bottle so I could talk to them. I knew I was going to be drunk because Tinka had nothing but hard liquor in her home and Crown Royal did me dirty every time, but I needed it.
“So, what happened?” Baby Head Poo asked while sparking up a cigarette. I told them about my meeting with Ricardo and they both confirmed what I was thinking, someone in the building was reporting my whereabouts to him.
“It’s simple. What if it’s Rochelle? Didn’t you say she’s fuckin’ Governor, too?” Baby Head Poo asked.
“She WAS fuckin’ him but she’s barely home,” I replied.
“You’d be surprised. You should ask her,” Tinka said.
“Me and her got into it. That hoe had the nerve to knock on my door askin’ me about Governor. I wanted to beat her ass sooooooo bad. Damn, I wish I was nineteen again. Parenthood done made me soft.”
“Oh, she knocked on your door? Why you ain’t tell me?” Tinka asked, getting riled up. Baby Head Poo pulled out an old gun from underneath the cushion of the couch. It was one of those back-in-the-day guns with the wooden handle.
“I’ll shoot that bitch,” she said.
“That thing doesn’t work,” Tinka fell out laughing.
“This thing will shake the building if I pull the trigger. This has been in the family for years. My grandfather’s great-great-great grandfather stole it from a slave owner,” Baby Head Poo said.
“Wait til’ I see Rochelle. Point me to her and I’ll handle her for you. Who else fuckin’ with you Essa?” Tinka asked.
“Nobody but let her live. I’m over that broad.”
“Maybe her and Governor are still messin’ around. You said she doesn’t stay there much. He might meet her somewhere else to keep the peace between y’all. You know I’m gonna keep it real witchu but how serious are you and Governor? Word around the city is that him and his brother fucked alottttt of women. Use him for the dick and that’s it,” Baby Head Poo said.
I couldn’t let them see me sweat but in the back of my mind I felt the same way. Me and Governor were just friends w
ith benefits, but I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t catch feelings for him. The sex was off the scale and I honestly didn’t think it could get better than Ricardo. But unlike the other women who fell for Governor, I liked him because we were great together and our conversations were beyond average. Nothing was about the money and what he could do for me even though I was grateful for him giving me a job.