Two Sides to a Love Story: Rico & Raja's Story

by Natavia

  I snatch the cord. “I’m trying to fucking talk to you Lace!” I tell her.

  “I can get out Tarae,” she says reaching for the handle.

  “Ay yo, chill the hell out! What you listening to?” I asked her.

  “Fantasia’s ‘Free Yourself’ song,” she says.

  “I see. What you been up to?” I ask her.

  “Nothing much! Working and helping out Raja,” she tells me looking out the window.

  “I apologize for letting you see all that. Can we be cool again?” I ask probably sounding like Keith Sweat when he whines. Lace better take my ass back! Fuck wrong with her?

  “I apologize too for assuming we were on a different level,” she says.

  “You taking my black ass back! Fuck wrong with you?” I ask and she laughs.

  “All I want to do is eat then go home! I don’t want to talk about nothing else that happened that night. I’m embarrassed that I even made an ass out of myself for a complete self-centered egotistical jerk!” she spat.

  “That’s a low blow,” I tell her laughing, then she smiles.

  “You like me Lace?” I ask her.

  “Nope!” she says.

  “Why you lying? I like you. You remind me of this girl that I was feeling hard as shit. I mean she had me day dreaming about her and all that. But anyways, shorty was a straight up fucking nerd. She had these big ass glasses on and she wore her hair in two French braids. She wasn’t pretty at all and she had this funny walk. I used to stand by her classes waiting for her so I could try to talk to her but every time I did, someone would walk down the hall. I was on the football team and I smashed all of the baddest cheerleaders! But anyways, I had a reputation and she wouldn’t have fit in with it! So I tripped her up, playing it off, because I didn’t want anybody to know I was liking her. People used to tease her and I wanted to stick up for her but I never did. I was almost obsessed with her!” I tell her. I had her full attention.

  “Go on, what happened next?” she asks.

  “She got transferred out of the school. I haven’t seen her since,” I tell her.

  “Awwww, what was her name?” Lace asks me.

  “Tabitha Maccabee,” I say.

  “So you couldn’t ask her out, afraid what people might think?” she asks me.

  “Yup, that was some bitch shit I know!” I tell her.

  “Ummmm. This sounds too familiar don’t you think?” she asks me.

  “How?” I ask.

  “Your father! He feels the same way. He’s lived his life according to what you would think! He was trying to please you! Everything was about you! But now you are older and it’s time for you to let your daddy live his life. He did his job! You about to get drafted and you are just not a stupid ass thug. I mean you ratchet as all hell, but you have some sense. A gay man made all that happen! Now, you need to accept him. I know Tataliscious is a hot ass mess at times but they love each other. Give your father your blessing so he can be happy. How do you think it feels to not be accepted by someone you love? I think it’s time for you to grow up and see life for what it is,” she says.

  “I know that too! I just couldn’t accept that shit but whether I approve or not, the fact of the matter is that he will always be gay,” I say finally coming to terms that my pops is gay and I have to get over it. I still cannot believe the nigga sucks dick though!

  “So, you know all this about me when are you going to tell me about White Lace?” I ask and she looks surprised.

  “That was what your product was called wasn’t? White Lace! Pure cocaine. You were running South Carolina, weren’t you? Good ole’ Lace was on queen pen status, right?” I ask her.

  “How do you know?” she asks looking out the window.

  “One of the niggas on my team is related to Bricks and I was talking about you after we had our meeting for the new season coming up. That’s when he told me you took over after Bricks was killed,” I tell her and she wipes her eyes.

  “I’m not proud of that. It’s the past. I came here to get away and start over. I just want to be free,” she says. I pull up to the restaurant.

  “I’m ready for love Tarae. I’m not saying I want you to tell me that because we still need to feel each other out more. I’m just telling you that so you can leave me alone because you and I are in two different places. I’m not rushing anything but I’m just letting you know I’m open for it,” she says.

  “You lead I follow!” I tell her.

  “What does that mean?” she asked me.

  “It means that down the road I can be open for that,” I tell her and she smiles. I twirl her healthy dread around my finger. “See, you match me,” I tell her.

  “Speaking of that, you need yours re-twisted,” she says gripping my new growth.

  “Can you do it?” I ask.

  “Yes! Now let’s go eat! I’m hungry!” she gets out the car.

  “You need to wear loose pants Lace! Your ass just sitting out there! People looking at you!” I tell her.

  “You are really jealous!” she laughs then snorts.

  “You are too. Don’t forget about that right hook you gave me in the mouth!”

  “You slammed me on the car and choked me,” she says.

  “You was fucking my ass up,” I tell her and she laughs.

  “I want to go home and watch Pretty in Pink when we leave here! I want you to watch it with me,” she says.

  “Naw, but my pops might can!” I tell her laughing.

  “Seriously, stop joking. I want you to watch my favorite movie with me,” she says.

  “Only thing I want to watch pink is between a set of fat pussy lips,” I say licking my lips.

  “Did you fuck Monae?” she asks me.

  “Hell no! Not the way her pussy was smelling! I know you smelled that shit! I wouldn’t be sticking my dick up in that, but her mouth was a different story!” I tell her.

  “You better not be fucking that nigga you work with,” I tell her.

  “He is gay Tarae! He doesn’t want any parts of me,” she says.

  “Yo, what the fuck is wrong with these niggas?” I ask.

  “They love who they love,” she says going into her purse. She pulls out two tickets then hands them to me.

  “I got us two tickets to see Kevin Gates. I know you were talking about they were sold out so I got in contact with someone and managed to get V.I.P tickets!” she says smiling.

  “You were mad at me though!”

  “I know but I was just waiting on your apology,” she says smiling. I swear this broad is something else. The way that Lace acts you will never thought she had that type of past. She looks at me, “Never judge a book by its cover,” she says. Damn, I hate when she does that shit! She can also read me.

  Rico

  I go over my aunt house to see Samari. I haven’t really been seeing her lately because I’m ashamed I killed my mother. I still feel bad for that but I don’t trust crackheads! The police would’ve put one of those 10,000 rewards out for the person who killed Dimo. Sissy would’ve turned my ass in so quick just to get high. I couldn’t gamble with my life like that. But sometimes I wonder if a part of me did it for the reason.

  I walk through the door and my aunt is crying.

  “What’s the matter with you?” I ask.

  “I just came back from identifying Sissy’s body. She has been sitting for a few weeks. Someone snapped her damn neck. Who would do something like that?” she asks crying.

  “I don’t know who would do something like that!” she sobs.

  “How does Samari feel?” I ask her.

  “She is upstairs in her room watching some show. But she told me she doesn’t care and that’s what she gets,” she says. I didn’t say anything because another part of me wouldn’t allow me to care at times, then my guilty conscious will take over.

  “Before you leave with Samari I want to tell you something,” she says taking a shot of scotch.

  “What’s up?” I ask.

&
nbsp; “I’m the reason your mama was on drugs,” she says crying.

  “What?” I ask.

  “Your mama was adopted. She was the prettiest one of us all. She had that long hair and those pretty eyes. She was gorgeous! My parents took her in and they treated her like a queen. I was the fat, stout one with the dark skin and nappy hair. I had two sisters that looked better than me! My parents treated me like garbage! When Fern moved out, it was just Sissy and I. That’s when it got worse because Fern could no longer stick up for me to my parents. But anyways, I hated your mama,” she cries and I’m waiting for her dumb-ass to finish. I’m no dumb ass nigga. I know where this shit is headed.

  “Your mama started smoking cigarettes at the age of seventeen. One day we argued then she calls me a ‘fat black ugly bitch’!” she says taking another shot.

  “I went across town and bought some coke from a drug dealer. When your mama went to sleep that night I stole her cigarettes, lacing them with coke. She started acting funny and started geeking. Next thing I know, she starts hanging around the wrong people. She started stealing from my parents. She was no longer the golden child. She started prostituting around the age of eighteen,” she says wiping her eyes.

  “Then she got pregnant with you and she was trying to turn her life around. She got clean for some years. Then she hooked up with the wrong crowd again and got back on drugs. This is my fault!” she says.

  “I’m so sorry Rico,” she says to me. I stand up walking to the end of the stairs calling Samari. She comes down with her backpack. I hug her and she smiles. We walk out the door and I never look back. What’s done is already done. Like I told Raja, if I can’t fix it then I try not to worry about it.

  My phone rings and its Tarae. “Yooooo!” I say.

  “You read the paper? They found Lannie and Fashion dead in her apartment! Fashion slit her wrist and Lannie was stabbed to death,” he says.

  “I heard about that shit this morning. You already know how I feel about that my nigga!” I tell him. I’m not going to even tell Tarae what his crazy ass mama told me. That’s still his mama so he going to always take up for her.

  “Right! I get up with you later,” he says.

  “Rico, can I come and live with you now?” Samari says.

  “Yeah, we’re going to fix this, okay?” I tell her and she smiles.

  Raja

  I walk down the stairs holding on to the rail to keep my balance. That bitch fucked me up but I’m improving fast. I still get headaches but the swelling has gone down. I have eighteen stitches in the back of my head and six stitches on my forehead. Lace comes in the house with Zy. She took him to the mall with her.

  I sit down on the couch. “What you doing up, Raja?” she asks me.

  “I can’t stay in bed all day! I needed to get up,” I tell her.

  “You are not supposed to go down the steps if no one is here with you! You could’ve fallen down the steps and hit your head again,” she says not realizing it slipped out.

  “Why have you never told me about that? I know about me falling and losing my memory. I know about you being my aunt and not my cousin. Why have you never told me?” I ask her.

  “I don’t know Raja. When you woke up from that small coma you assumed I was your cousin. I guess because we are only a few months apart. I guess the family tried telling you what happened and you didn’t believe them. You just kept saying Greg killed your sister. The more they tried telling you the truth the angrier you became. They just let it go. We still don’t know how you came up with that story! I don’t know if it’s because your daddy left then your sister was killed and you needed someone to blame,” she says.

  “Maybe so. I was young when he left and didn’t understand why. When Kemira was killed I just thought it was his fault. I started having nightmares so much about that’s how it happened that I felt like that’s what really happened. I’m okay now though. I just had a space in my memory and I still do. I still don’t remember all that happened that day,” I say shaking my head.

  “Enough about me. What are you hiding Lace? I peeped some of those expensive clothes that you have and your condo looks like it belongs to the Obama’s. What’s really going on?” I ask her.

  Lace starts telling how she met a man at 16, that was older than she, and they fell in love. He was a big-time drug dealer and after two years of being together, he was killed. After he was killed she took over then met another man who took everything from her. She wanted a new life so she came here. I’m shocked because you would have never known Lace had a story. Not that type anyway. She wipes her eyes and I could tell that the life she ran from put a lot on her. I’m happy she is free.

  My doorbell rings and Lace gets up to get it. Tataliscious comes in walking, bent over looking through a magnifying glass. He is looking all on my floors and under the rugs.

  “What are you doing?” Lace asks him.

  “Just making sure I don’t step on Raja’s daddy, step-mommy and sister. Although, I wouldn’t mind being in jail for murder with some fine ass niggas, hunnttyyyyyyyy, let me tell you!” he says sitting down then jumping up.

  “Oh my God! What was that? Did I kill him? Is he breathing?” he says fanning himself.

  Lace goes over there and grabs Zy’s toy. “It was just Zy’s toy!” Lace tells him laughing.

  “You better watch out Tata! Stop talking about my damn daddy,” I tell him.

  “Hunnttyyyy! That is one ugly little man! Your mama should have known better! It had to be the SSI checks he was getting,” he says.

  “Let’s talk about your ‘hurry up and buy’ mama!” I say.

  “Hurry up and buy?” Lace asks then I roll my eyes.

  “Yes! You know in the movie Menace to Society when they were in the liquor store and the Chinese lady kept telling them ‘hurry up and buy’, I say laughing.

  “Ohhhhhhh, Raja! Don’t you talk about my mama!” Tata says and I laugh.

  “Then stop talking about my daddy!” I tell him.

  “I can’t help it, I’m addicted! That’s like putting a pedophile in the room with your daddy! You know when I see fuckery I don’t give two fucks,” he says.

  “Oh, hey Tarae!” I say then Tataliscious falls on the floor crawling behind my love seat. He peeks around the corner. Lace and I burst out into laughter.

  “That’s what your ass gets!” I tell him.

  “Don’t you fuck with me like that! You almost gave me a heart attack! I need to live long enough to walk down the aisle looking glamourous!” he says voguing. He kicks his leg out then drops down on his back, twirling his legs then hops back up.

  “How do you do that?” Lace asks.

  “I’m just gifted with diva powers hunty! I was born a queen! I walks like a queen, dress like a queen and looks like a queen, hunty! I can zap a bitch with my special powers and makes her bow down to me when I walk in the room,” he says and I shake my head.

  “Cut that shit out Tata! You making my headache worse! You were born with a dick. If I was you I would have turned gay too. I saw your dick and it was not normal! Zy’s wiener is bigger than what yours was,” I say.

  “That was not my dick! That was a gigantic clitoris, thank you,” he says waving me off.

  Lace’s phone rings and she answers it. “Yessssss, Tarae,” she sings into the phone and Tataliscious rolls his eyes.

  “Okay, I will be right out,” she says.

  “Tarae is around front. He is taking me home,” Lace says picking up Zy kissing his cheek. She puts him back down on the floor so he can play with his blocks.

  She walks out then Rico comes in with Samari. She runs to me then hugs me.

  “Why your hair looking like this?” I ask her.

  “Because my stylist has been sick and not able to comb it,” she says. Rico’s sister is prissy as hell! She looks at Tataliscious with a confused look on her face. “Are you a queen?” she asks him.

  “Yesss, hunty, born and raised! I’m just not wearing my crown today,”
he says gloating.

  “No, I’m not talking about that type of queen! Those ones don’t really exist! Only in fairy tales and I doesn’t believe in those. I meant are you a man that likes women clothes,” she says and my face drops.

  “You little…” Rico walks in the room.

  “You are such a funny chile,” he says playing it off.

  “What’s up Rico? You not speaking today?” Tataliscious asks.

  “Do I ever speak? And get your ass up off of my couch! If it’s an oily ass KY-jelly spot where you been sitting, you have to buy us a new one!” Rico says and I shake my head.

  Tataliscious rolls his eyes then gets up towering over Rico with heels on. Tataliscious is tall! He has to be about 6’2 then he wears heels.

  “Raja, darlinnggggg, I’m going now! Daddy wants me to make him a pot roast tonight and it’s getting late. I was just checking up on you. But now I have to leave! The lord says when the devil talks to you don’t answer! On that note I gots to go!” he says grilling Rico then walking out.