Grand Opening 2

by Carl Weber

  Eric squeezed my hand and turned to look at me. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

  The sunglasses may have hidden his eyes, but they didn’t hide the expression of admiration etched on his face. Imagine that, me, ex-ho Big Shirley, now not only knew what love felt like—a gentle and caressing squeeze of the hand—but also knew what it looked like.

  “Thank you,” I said. “And thank you even more for actually meaning it.”

  Guys had said a lot of things to me in my years. It wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for a man to say all kinds of bullshit to get the pussy, or even when he was already in the pussy. But that wasn’t the case with Eric. He meant what he said. I could feel it. I could see it.

  I looked out toward the water. “I could stay here forever.”

  “I used to say that same thing,” Eric said. “The good thing about it is that you can, if you want to.” Eric nodded to his left toward the beach house. “My parents have owned this home since I can remember. We can come here whenever you want. Other than holidays, nobody is ever here.”

  I lifted my back from the chair, looking over the rim of my shades. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Yeah. Why? You don’t believe me?”

  I pointed toward the house. “Looks like we’ve got company.”

  There seemed to be some sort of commotion going on at the house. We were at least a hundred yards away, so I wasn’t quite sure what was happening, but there appeared to be several people—four or five, maybe—up at the house.

  Eric stood up from his chair and began waving his arms toward the house. There was no movement for a few seconds, and then someone up at the house began walking toward us while the others went inside.

  “What’s going on? Who are those people?” I asked.

  “Can’t see well enough to be sure, but it’s probably some people my parents sent down.”

  I removed my dark sunglasses to get a better look, and I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “Oh, shit,” I mumbled under my breath. “Can’t be.”

  “What’s wrong?” Eric asked.

  “I know that woman,” I said, feeling defeated. Why on earth would she be at Eric’s family’s vacation home, interrupting my fairytale? “I know her.”

  Eric chuckled. “Well, that makes two of us.”

  I wasn’t surprised that Eric knew her. “Yeah, I suppose everyone knows Belinda Mahogany.”

  “Yeah, that’s true.” He was still chuckling, but whatever was so funny, he was the only one of us in on the joke.

  “What’s she doing here?” I asked.

  “She owns the place. Well, her and my old man.”

  “No, that can’t be right, because that would mean . . .” I snapped my neck toward Eric. “You’re a Mahogany?”

  His face contorted with confusion. “Of course I am. You mean to tell me you didn’t know my last name?”

  “Hey, EJ.” Belinda embraced him lovingly when she reached us. “Fancy meeting you here,” she said to me flatly, nowhere near as thrilled to see me as she was her son.

  “Mom.” He pulled away from her. “Mom, this is Shirley, the woman I told you about, and Shirley, this is my mother, Belinda Ma—.”

  “We’ve met,” Belinda said in a nice-nasty snarl.

  “So I hear. At least that takes the tension out of introducing Mom to my new girl,” Eric said with a laugh.

  “New girl. I see.” Belinda nodded, but it was definitely not a nod of approval.

  Eric must have picked up on her tone, because he changed the subject in a hurry. “So, uh, Mom, you didn’t tell me what you’re doing here.” He looked back up toward the house. “Is Dad here too?”

  “No. Your father isn’t here,” she replied. “EJ, I had a slight problem in Jonesboro. We had to bring the package here before transporting it to Atlanta. I need you to go help the boys.” She shifted her eyes to me. “Meanwhile, I’ll stay here and get to know Shirley a little better.”

  “No problem.” Eric turned to me. “You gonna be okay? I’ll be right back. And just remember, her bark is worse than her bite.”

  “Easy for you to say,” I said, deciding it was time I return Belinda’s glare. If I started letting her push me around in the beginning, she’d push me around until the end. I’d never disrespect Eric’s mother under normal circumstances, but I was nobody’s punk. Never would be.

  Eric headed for the beach house, leaving me alone with his mother. I watched him walk away, not knowing what to do or to say to Belinda at this point.

  “Levi, right?” Belinda said. “That’s the Duncan brother you belong to.”

  “I don’t belong to a Duncan,” I said. “I don’t belong to anyone. Yes, Levi and I used to be a couple, but that’s over.”

  She nodded while turning her lips up into an arrogant grin. “I don’t know whether that’s true or not. But I’ve never been a controlling mother. Eric is my son, not my man. I don’t oversee who he dates. I can either approve or disapprove, but I make no demands when it comes to who he wants to be with.”

  Surprisingly, her words were somewhat reassuring.

  Then she added, “So, if you are with Eric, then you are with us.”

  This conversation was going better than I imagined. It almost sounded like she was welcoming me into the family. Then she laid out what I would have to accept to be part of this family.

  “We plan on moving to the southern region of Georgia and taking over the Duncans’ business. You got a problem with that?” she asked.

  “No, ma’am,” I answered without hesitation. If that’s what it would take to hang on to this new life with Eric, then so be it. It’s not like the Duncans had treated me as much more than a second-class whore anyway. Still, in the back of my mind, I did wonder why Eric hadn’t ever mentioned his family connection or their plans to me.

  “Good. I’m sure Eric will talk to you about it once things are engraved in stone. I think you’ll like it.”

  “I’m sure I will,” I said. She was including me in the move. That was more than I could say for the Duncans.

  “It’s good to know where you stand. I just hope you are a woman of your word, Shirley. These days, all a man, or a woman for that matter, has is their word.”

  “I’m exactly who I say I am,” I replied. “And who I say I’m not. I’m not a Duncan.” I figured it was worth repeating, since Belinda didn’t seem totally convinced yet.

  She looked me up and down before her tight lips formed a smile. “Perfect. If you make my son happy, then I’m happy. And from the looks of things, my EJ is happy.”

  “I can assure you Eric makes me happy. I believe I can speak for him when I say we plan on making each other happy . . . for a long time.” I was in love with Eric, and nothing was going to come between us. Not even his iron-fisted mother.

  She looked down at my midsection. “Chippy told me about you being pregnant. I guess all we have to do now is get rid of that Duncan baby you’re toting around, huh?”

  And just that quickly, she reminded me of the one thing that actually could come between Eric and me.

  LC

  45

  “Thanks again. I don’t know what I’d do without your help.” I glanced over at Mr. Mahogany, who was still dressed in his tennis outfit, sitting in the passenger’s seat of my car. We’d just left his house, and his man James was following behind me in his car.

  “I told you it was nothing.”

  “I know, but I also know you weren’t exactly pleased with me for speaking out at the Council about the Young Bloods meeting last week.” I searched his face for a reaction, but of course I didn’t get any.

  “That, young man, is where you are wrong.”

  “Am I?”

  “The teacher never wants the student to show him up in the classroom. That’s just human nature. Call it ego if you like.” Mahogany rolled down his window and took out a cigarette.

  “I wasn’t trying to show you up,” I said.

  “I k
now that, son, but when you get to be my age, one of the hardest things to do is admit when you’re wrong. Especially for a man like myself, whose life and the lives of the people around him depend on him being right.”

  I nodded my understanding.

  “But Catt and Major Homes told me how you handled those boys, gathering all their leaders up and explaining the benefits of using your product. Catt said you reminded her of a young me.” He paused to take a drag from his cigarette. “I also think giving them each a brand-new Smokey and the Bandit Trans Am was a great touch.”

  “So you’re not upset?” I asked.

  “No, I’m not upset. Who could be mad when the projection of our cut of their sales is a million dollar this year?” He chuckled as we pulled into Larry’s driveway, James not far behind. “It seems the student is a quick study and will soon surpass his teacher.”

  I took that as a compliment as we climbed out of the car. “He’s in the garage,” I said. He raised a hand to James, signaling for him to stay put.

  I pulled open the garage door and turned on the light, praying that Nee Nee and the kids were still asleep, or at least that she would have the sense to keep the kids inside. Mr. Mahogany entered the garage behind me, and then I closed the door.

  I walked over to the freezer and opened it up. “He’s in here.”

  Mr. Mahogany approached, peered inside the freezer, then quickly stepped back. It confused me that Mr. Mahogany was acting as if he’d never seen a dead body before. I knew damn well that wasn’t the case.

  “Everything okay?” I asked.

  Mr. Mahogany took a moment to regain his composure then leaned in to examine the body again. “Everything’s fine. He looks familiar, but it’s not the man I thought it might be.”

  Mr. Mahogany had told me a lot of things in the past few months, but that was the first blatant lie.

  Shirley

  46

  “Stop dragging your feet. You’re getting out of here whether you like it or not!”

  I woke up to the sound of Eric yelling. At first I thought I was dreaming, because after his mother left, we’d made love and fallen asleep in each other’s arms. I rolled over in the bed to search for him, only to find that he wasn’t there. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes and stared out the window. The sky was bright, although, looking at the clock, I realized the sun was about half an hour from setting.

  “Well, I don’t like it. I don’t like any of this shit!” I heard a woman shout.

  “Calm down and be quiet!” Eric demanded.

  My first thought was that he must be arguing with his mother, but then I remembered that, to my relief, she’d left a couple hours after she arrived.

  “I told y’all not to take off her gag,” Eric said.

  “This old broad is stronger than she looks.” It was another male this time.

  What the hell is going on? I tossed a dress over my head and went to the balcony to find out where the voices were coming from. In the driveway, Eric was pulling on a young girl whose hands were tied behind her back, while two other guys were pulling on an older woman, who was also tied, but she was giving them hell. Both women were barely dressed, and neither one wore shoes. Three other men were waiting outside by a van.

  “Eric, what’s going on out here?” I yelled. Everyone froze for a moment, and then Eric looked up at me.

  “God dammit! Get back in the room. I’ll be up there in a minute,” he shouted.

  “Help us, please!” the old woman whined and twisted as she tried to escape the men’s grasp. One of them backhanded her, and she fell to the ground. Another man from the van came over and pulled her off the ground. I felt sorry for her, but I didn’t move. I’d learned my lesson about meddling in things that weren’t my concern, and I had the scars to prove it.

  “Get back upstairs, Shirley.” This time Eric’s voice was a bit softer, but his glare was more threatening. I decided that it might be wise to go inside and mind my business, until . . .

  “Shirley! Is that you, honey?” the old woman called out my name as if she knew me. I stopped dead in my tracks as I realized who she was.

  “Miss Bettie!” I shouted her name. It sounded like her and looked like her, but I couldn’t wrap my brain around whatever the hell was going on. Miss Bettie was supposed to be dead—only this woman was far from dead. She looked as shocked to see me as I was to see her. My God, had Lou been right all along?

  The other men continued wrestling Miss Bettie toward the door, but seeing me had made her fight even harder. I stood where I was, still unable to move.

  “Call my boys, Shirley!” Miss Bettie called out to me as they dragged her to the van. “Tell them I’m alive!”

  “Shut that bitch up!” Eric demanded.

  Whack! One of the men hit Miss Bettie upside the head with a gun, and she crumpled at his feet. He then turned the gun on me and said, “You want me to handle her, E?”

  My eyes went from the barrel of the gun to Eric, my heart pounding in anticipation of his answer. I silently pleaded with him, praying that he would let me live.

  “Naw, she ain’t gonna say nothing. Me and her got big plans. We gonna take over south Georgia and eventually the entire South. Isn’t that right, Shirley?” he asked.

  One more glance at that gun and I decided to tell him everything he wanted to hear. “Eric, I made my decision when I got in that car with you last night and came here with you this morning. I left everything to be with you.”

  “That’s my girl. Now, do what I said. Go back inside.”

  “I’m gonna take a walk on the beach.” I needed to get away from that house to think. “This is a lot to take in at one time.”

  “You do that. I’ll be down there as soon as I finish.”

  I turned and quickly went back inside. A few minutes later, I was on the narrow path through the dunes. I sat down in the sand and stared into the waves crashing near my feet. I could not believe Miss Bettie was alive, and even worse, that Eric and his family were her abductors. What kind of a family had I gotten myself involved with? I had no doubt in my mind now that if I didn’t get rid of my baby, Belinda would have me killed. Shit, these people were starting to make the Duncans look like boy scouts.

  My life was so fucked up. I began to cry.

  “Sh–Sh–Shirley, d–d–don’t cry.”

  I felt his hand on my shoulder, and I held my breath as I turned around.

  “Levi? How did you find me?” I jumped up and threw my arms around his neck. Despite everything that had happened, I’d never been so happy to see anyone in my entire life.

  “I–I f–f–followed you.” He looked proud of himself.

  I looked past him, expecting to see LC, Larry, and Lou, or maybe even Chippy. “But how? Who brought you here, Levi? How did you find me?” I asked, still looking behind for someone who wasn’t there.

  “I–I s–saw you, Sh–Sh–Shirley. I was i–i–in the car, a–a–and y–you was wi–wi–with th–that m–m-m–man at the g–gas sta–sta–station.”

  I’ll be dammed, I thought. Eric and I had stopped at a gas station in Brunswick on our way there that morning.

  “You were in Brunswick?” I asked, trying to piece together the scene.

  “Y–y–y–yeah. M–me and Ch–Ch–Chippy was at the W–W–Waffle House.”

  This was crazy. Thinking back, I remembered that there was a Waffle House restaurant across the street from the gas station we went to. Why he would have been there with Chippy was a mystery to me, but just then, I felt a fluttering in my stomach, and I realized that maybe it wasn’t my place to try to figure it out. Maybe Levi, the father of my baby, was put there at that moment to save me from making the biggest mistake of my life. Maybe God was trying to send me a message.

  “You drove by yourself, Levi?”

  “N–no.”

  “Who’s with you?”

  “M–m–my d–d–dogs.” He smiled proudly.

  I stood in awe of him. Wow, Levi could drive. No one h
ad ever told me he could, and I doubted that they even knew. This man was more intelligent than we had been giving him credit for.

  “So, where are the dogs?” I asked.

  He turned to point at the dunes. “L–l–laying down.”

  “What the fuck? Where did this nigga come from?” Just then, Eric and two of his goons came walking toward us.

  “Eric, I—he—” I began to panic. Things were about to go from bad to worse.

  Levi moved in front of me, prepared to protect me. I don’t know what made Eric think he would be able to physically assault Levi, who was taller and bigger, but he took a swing at him. Levi caught his fist midair and then charged at him, knocking him to the sand.

  “Levi, no!” I cried out.

  As the two men wrestled, Levi’s stature worked against him. Unlike Eric, he had a harder time regaining his balance in the sand. The two other guys joined in, kicking and stomping Levi. Eric ended up on top of him, punching Levi in the chest and face.

  Levi was moaning in pain as he tried to fight back, but the gentle giant was no match against three attackers. I stood by and watched helplessly as they landed blow after blow, until suddenly, four huge Rottweilers jumped over the dune and charged the men. All hell broke loose. I couldn’t stop screaming as I watched the dogs ripping at their clothes and limbs, blood spewing from their wounds. One of the men managed to break free long enough to pull out his gun. Shots rang out, and amidst the commotion, two dogs fell to the ground, dead.

  “Noooooooooo!” Levi pushed Eric off of him with superhuman strength then charged at the shooter, knocking the gun from his hand.

  Instinctively, I scrambled to pick it up. Meanwhile, Levi had the man by the throat. I heard a snap, and then Levi dropped the lifeless body next to the dead dogs. Chaos continued as the two remaining dogs tore the other man to shreds.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Eric. He was bleeding and his clothes were torn, but he had managed to scramble away from the dog attack. Now he was holding a gun and aiming it at Levi.