Marriage Mayhem

by Samuel L. Hair

  Bobby aggressively approached Raymond.

  “What’s your problem, man?” Bobby was standing face-to-face with him and had a mean, serious look.

  “I ain’t got no problem, nigga,” replied Raymond, standing when seeing Bobby’s approach.

  Even though Raymond and Bobby were so much alike, they disliked one another with a passion.

  “My niece tells me that she want you out of here, so kick rocks, nigga,” said Bobby.

  “Man, why y’all muthafuckas up in somebody else’s business? This shit is between me and my girl, so I don’t know why y’all even here.”

  Bobby popped his knuckles, and then balled his fists.

  “I’m here because my niece called on me, nigga, and I plan to handle my business by getting your punk ass outta here.”

  “You don’t wanna step to me, nigga. If I were you I would turn around and let me and my girl handle our own shit,” replied Raymond, balling his fist, positioning himself for a fight.

  “Why don’t you just leave, Raymond? Jasmine doesn’t want you anymore, so why don’t you take it like a man and just leave?”

  Jasmine stood silently with her arms folded.

  “Fuck y’all, this is my—”

  Bobby attempted to throw a punch to Raymond’s head, but his age and the three cans of beer he recently drank prevented him from connecting.

  Raymond blocked Bobby’s punch, and threw a series of connecting punches that floored Bobby immediately. Raymond then leaped on top of Bobby and began choking him.

  “What’s up, nigga? I told you, homey, you don’t wanna step to this! I could kill your punk ass right now if I wanted to,” Raymond yelled, keeping a firm chokehold around Bobby’s neck.

  “Stop choking my uncle, Raymond!” yelled Jasmine.

  Defending her husband, Jewell grabbed a flower vase and tried to hit Raymond’s head, but she was not quick enough, either.

  While holding a firm choke hold on Bobby, Raymond then begin socking him in the head.

  “I don’t know why you call these weak, ancient, muthafuckas to come put me out!” Raymond yelled, while socking Bobby.

  “Let ’im get up, and y’all go it again, Raymond,” Jewell suggested.

  “This nigga can’t hang with me. Fuck it, I’ll let him up, and we can do this shit again.”

  Raymond then eased his hold and then stood and took a few steps back.

  It had taken Bobby a while to get up being that he was practically out of breath, but he managed to stand firmly and square up with Raymond.

  Raymond then took a wild swing that did not connect, which gave Bobby opportunity to land a couple of severe punches to Raymond’s jaw and eye. Bobby’s confidence level suddenly skyrocketed.

  Semi-blinded by the hit to the eye, Raymond had no choice but to leap toward Bobby and grab him. They wrestled around the living room, knocking down the entertainment center, which caused the television to fall, breaking the aquarium, which cause the fish to come out and flop around on the floor, and also knocking down the lamp and several pictures that were on the wall.

  Bobby then quickly put a choke hold on Raymond.

  “What’s up now, nigga?” Bobby yelled, having control of the situation.

  Due to the choke hold, Raymond could not respond.

  While keeping a firm choke hold on Raymond’s neck, Bobby dragged him out the front door, then socked him in the head a few times, and then pushed him to the ground.

  “I told you that my niece called on me, nigga, and I’m here to handle my muthafuckin’ business,” Bobby yelled, feeling victorious.

  Bobby and Jewell had decided to spend that night with Jasmine, ensuring that she would not encounter any problems with Raymond.

  The following day, Jasmine had secretly phoned Raymond, apologized to him, and then asked him to come back home.

  Chapter 20

  Marvin had begun to look for love and acceptance from the wrong type of people, which soon led him to indulge in criminal activities. Growing up without a father or a positive role model had affected Marvin to a point where at times he punched windows with his bare hand, cursed his teachers, and started fights with other students for no apparent reason. That was his way of releasing anger.

  Because Jewell and Bobby took him in, Bobby had taken him under his wing and taught him street survival tactics. Being from South Central Los Angeles, Bobby knew the streets well and knew how to deal with street people. Under the leadership and guidance of Bobby, Marvin began lifting weights at the age of ten and by the time he became a teenager he was muscular, strong, and built like the Incredible Hulk. The average kid his age did not stand a chance of beating him in a fight.

  Marvin earned his reputation as a tenth grader after simultaneously beating the hell out of three twelfth graders.

  Because of his mean look and muscular build, students, teachers, and faculty members feared him.

  Marvin looked up to Jermaine and admired him, until Bobby’s jealousy of Jermaine influenced him differently.

  “That nigga ain’t your real father, man!” Bobby had said to Marvin. “Fuck that nigga! Just because he give you a few hundred dollars every now and then doesn’t mean that he give a fuck about you! Don’t get that twisted, nigga! If I were you, I would just use him like a tool, to get what I need! If you need a pair of shoes, or a suit and limo for the prom, if you wanna take your girl out and need some money, or if you need a car, then holler at that nigga, you know what I’m sayin’? Think of him as a free money source, that way you won’t get things twisted, my little nigga!” explained Bobby.

  Marvin had always listened to and obeyed his Uncle Bobby in fear of being rejected by him, or being called harsh names like a punk bitch, a scary, weak, or a stupid muthafucka. Bobby had no shame in calling anyone bad names. Bobby suggested that Marvin hang around him to prepare himself for the streets.

  When Bobby first met Jermaine, he envied him instantly, especially after Jermaine revealed all of the positive things that were going on in his life. After finding out that Bobby was a mechanic and also washed cars for people who lived in the neighborhood, Jermaine had asked him how much he would charge to wash his Beamer and his other two vehicles. Bobby had told him that he didn’t feel like working at the moment.

  A normal day for Bobby consisted of having a bunch of homeboys over drinking beer, listening to loud rap music, smoking weed, lifting weights, and talking about street occurrences.

  Marvin had never been enthused about being a gang member, but because he lived in a neighborhood where Bloods ruled, he associated himself with them.

  There were times when he thought about the sevenhundred-and-fifty-dollar disability check that Jewell and Bobby received each month for him, which would really tear him apart. He was aware that they used his check to pay their bills and to purchase clothes and gifts for their own kids, and it was time that he spoke up and said something about it. There was so much anger built inside him for so many different reasons that he was about to burst.

  He boldly approached Bobby one day.

  “Uncle Bobby,” Marvin said. “I need four hundred dollars so I can go to driving school, and so I can buy me some school clothes.”

  Bobby was washing a neighbor’s car.

  “You need what? Nigga, you better go get your ass a job at McDonald’s or Jack in the Box flipping burgers or sumphin’! Ain’t nobody got no money like that to be giving you! You think money grow on trees or sumphin’, nigga?” said Bobby, continuing to wash the car.

  Marvin then angrily neared him.

  “Uncle Bobby, check this out, you and Auntie never give me more than twenty dollars when my check comes, and I ain’t been saying anything about it, but now I need four hundred dollars to go to driving school and to buy me some decent clothes.”

  Angrily, Bobby threw down his towel and kicked over the bucket of water, and then stood eye to eye with Marvin.

  “Nigga, what part of what I said don’t you understand? And for your information
, punk, the money we get for you goes toward your living here, so shut the fuck up! We’re the ones who have been taking care of your punk ass ever since we got you out of that damn foster home, and we deserve every muthafuckin’ penny we get for you, nigga! Your fuckin’ daddy ain’t seen you since you were a goddamn baby, and that silly-ass mama of yours can’t stop hittin’ the pipe and sellin’ pussy, so we’re stuck with you. You should be grateful that somebody cares about you enough to let you live with them. We’re the ones that’s been housing you, and we’re the ones who—” Marvin interrupted him.

  “I need some of my money, Uncle Bobby. You can leave everybody else out of this because they don’t have a thing to do with this. This is between me, you, and Auntie. Look at me; these raggedy, outdated clothes, these cheap, Pay-less tennis shoes, and this dirty T-shirt that hasn’t been washed in three days. I look like a damn bum, Uncle Bobby! I’m tired of y’all fuckin’ me over, Uncle Bobby! On top of that you and Auntie don’t give me, Stevie, or Alexus, a damn penny of the money that Jermaine puts in an account for us! Y’all gonna have bad luck, Uncle Bobby, because y’all doin’ us wrong, man! Y’all gonna be cursed, just watch and see!” Marvin said, keeping his fists balled.

  The more he talked and thought about how he was being treated, the angrier he grew, but Bobby was getting even angrier.

  “Nigga, you ain’t been hearing a goddamn thing I been sayin’, huh? I said—” Before Bobby could finish, Marvin socked him in the eye, then in the head, and then socked him hard in the mouth causing his dentures to fall out and break. The punches had come like lightning. Bobby’s knees instantly buckled and he fell helplessly to the concrete as if Mike Tyson had hit him.

  The speed bags that Bobby had insisted on Marvin practicing on had increased the speed of his hands so much that the average person would not see them coming.

  Realizing he had knocked his uncle out cold, Marvin took off running through the apartment building until he reached the main street. Then he began walking with no particular destination. With not too many places to go, Marvin decided to sit at a local park and gather his thoughts. Minutes later, a few thugs he sometimes associated with at school and in the apartments seated themselves next to him.

  After telling them what had taken place, they suggested that he join their gang. Subsequently, he was initiated by seven of them who were the so-called toughest. He was now officially a part of the ruthless Blood gang.

  After the initiation they celebrated by drinking forty ounces of Olde English, smoking blunts, and listening to 2Pac on the boombox. This was actually Marvin’s first time consuming alcohol or smoking weed.

  There were two common things about the boys in the hood: None of them entertained positive thoughts, and all of them indulged in criminal acts one way or another.

  Two days after Marvin’s initiation he was handed a bag of crack and was instructed by a co-gang member to sit on some apartment steps and make sales.

  “Just sit there and sip on a forty and smoke a joint or sumphin’, homey. Crackheads will bring you money all day and all night long, Blood. Just hit me on my cell when you need to re-cop,” his homeboy had told him.

  The gang had provided Marvin with a cell phone, a pair of tennis shoes of his choice, two new pairs of khaki pants, and five white T-shirts. In addition to that, they gave him a hundred dollars for pocket change.

  Examining himself, Marvin felt good about his appearance and about being accepted. He now had the appearance of a youngster that was making money and having his way in the ghetto.

  Within a month’s time Marvin purchased a Cutlass, even though he did not have a license to drive. He had not returned to school since knocking out his Uncle Bobby. His days were now spent selling crack, smoking weed, drinking beer, stealing cars, and having sex with women of all ages.

  His first sexual encounter had occurred one day when a crackhead woman offered him a head job in exchange for a small piece of crack. He had heard Uncle Bobby talk about how good a head job felt, and had also heard a few of his homeboys talk about head, but Tangy, a well-known Lancaster crackhead, gave him a treat that he could never forget. Since that first encounter, Marvin looked for Tangy every single day of the week. He was now addicted to head.

  Within a six-month period Marvin had gotten three separate young ladies pregnant. Two of them were eleventh graders and the other was a tenth grader.

  Marvin now had it all as a teenager. He was handsome, drove a nice car that had 22-inch rims and nice paint job, he sported jewelry around his neck, wrists, and on his fingers, and always had his pockets filled with money. Girls were automatically attracted to him. He had the choice of having sex with nice, clean young ladies, or being licked and sucked by crackhead women. Life was good to him.

  The burning desire to know his father remained inside of Marvin regardless of his elevation in the dope game. Even though he felt like he was on top of his game, he would give it all up just to see and be with his father.

  Chapter 21

  One day while at PetSmart, as Jewell was purchasing some feeder fish for her Oscars, she observed Jermaine and Sylvia checking out some exotic birds. Being the nosy type, Jewell approached them.

  “Hey, Jermaine, what’s up?” asked Jewell, shooting a quick glance at Sylvia. Then she diverted her attention back to Jermaine.

  “How are you, Jewell?”

  “I’m fine. Same ol’, same ol’, you know,” she replied, and then looked at Sylvia again.

  “Excuse me for being so rude by not introducing you ladies. Jewell, this is my wife, Sylvia, and Sylvia, this is my friend and ex-sister-in-law, Jewell.” They shook hands and exchanged smiles.

  “So, you got married again, huh?”

  “Yep. I wish I would have met Sylvia years ago, then I wouldn’t have had to put up with your sister,” Jermaine said, sarcastically but seriously.

  “You did the right thing by finding you someone else. My sister is crazy and bad mannered and she’s not about to change for anyone. You were actually the best thing that happened to her and she couldn’t even see it.”

  “I tried, Jewell. Lord knows that I tried. I had overextended my patience and tolerance hoping that she would change, but unfortunately it never happened. I just hope and pray that the kids will be all right, you know. It’s a shame that they have to suffer behind their mother’s choices and ignorance.”

  “Well, it’s like this Jermaine; she made her bed hard, so she’s the one who has to sleep in it, that’s the way I see it. My sister’s mind and her way of thinking have been fucked up since before she was a teenager. If it’s not one thing, it’s another with her. She a drama queen and a crackhead who enjoys being with worthless men.”

  “Don’t leave out women,” injected Jermaine, smiling. “Didn’t she tell you that she’s about to marry another woman?”

  “I wouldn’t put it past her, Jermaine. She’ll try anything once, and if she likes it, then she’ll roll with it. Now that you mentioned it, I can recall a couple times that she got out of jail and lived with women she’d met while incarcerated. I’ll tell you, man, she’s confused as hell. Anyway, have you seen Marvin lately?”

  “Nope. Not since the last time I saw him at your place. Why? Is he missing in action or something?”

  “Well, he jumped on Bobby a while back, and then call himself running away. I heard through the grapevine that he’s somewhere out here selling dope, got three girls pregnant, and has joined a goddamn gang. I swear, Jermaine, that boy is gonna end up exactly where his mama is.”

  “You mean to tell me that Marvin, the Marvin I know, has joined a gang and is selling dope?” Jermaine shook his head in disgust.

  “I’ll tell you what it is, Jermaine; the boy is just looking for love in all the wrong places. That’s what drove him to being the way that he is. His mama isn’t capable of showing him love because she doesn’t even know how to love herself, and his daddy is too busy trying to be a player and don’t give a fuck about him, so the boy feels that n
obody loves him. His childhood was so fucked-up, you know, not having a positive role model or a normal childhood can drive a child to self-destruction. His mama’s habits and choices have really fucked up his mind, that’s the way I see it. The bad thing about it, Jermaine, is that she still hasn’t learned yet. How in the hell can she explain to her children the fact of being married to another woman? Hell, they already think she’s crazy, but wait until they find out about this. Anyway, Jermaine, I gotta run. Those kids are probably driving Bobby nuts right now. Nice meeting you, Sylvia, and I wish you both the best of luck in your marriage.”

  “Thanks, Jewell. Give my love to the kids, and tell Bobby I said hi. As a matter of fact, tell the kids I’ll pick them up this weekend and take them to Disneyland or somewhere.”

  “That’ll be nice, Jermaine. I’m sure that they will love that,” replied Jewell, smiling. She then left.

  She could not wait to get home and tell Bobby about what she had just witnessed.

  After telling Bobby about her encounter with Jermaine and his Mexican wife, Jewell then wrote a letter to Karen describing her conversation in detail with Jermaine. Of course, she exaggerated a lot like she often did, but excluded the derogatory things she had said about Karen.

  As soon as Karen received the letter she wasted no time calling her sister collect.

  “I got your letter today, sis. So that muthafucka married a Mexican bitch, huh?” Karen asked.

  “Yep, and he told me that you are about to marry a woman too.”

  “If that’s my prerogative, Jewell, then that’s what I’m gonna do. I’m a grown-ass woman, and I’m capable of making my own decisions. No one has to live with the decisions I make but me,” explained Karen.

  “Yeah, you right about that, Karen, but the decisions that you’ve been making have led you to jail, and has caused me to be stuck with your kids,” replied Jewell.

  “Anyway, I don’t have much time to talk, so how are the kids doing?”

  “They’re fine, all but Marvin. He jumped on Bobby a while back, and then ran away. We haven’t seen him since then. I heard that he’s out there selling crack and doing all kinds of illegal shit, but if he is, sooner or later it will catch up with him. Oh, and I also heard that he’s gotten three different girls pregnant.”