The California Saga

by Chunichi

  “I ain’t have shit to say to you,” Touch said, looking down at his plate.

  “You didn’t have shit to say? I texted your ass nearly twenty times today. The least you could have done was let me know you were okay. Is that too much to fucking ask for, Touch?”

  “I ain’t have shit to say to you then, and I still don’t have shit to say to you right now.”

  “What?” I wondered if this nigga had lost his fucking mind. Feeling disrespected, I began to get loud. “What you mean, you ain’t got shit to say to me, Touch? After all the shit we’ve been through, you really don’t have shit to say to me?”

  The chick that sat beside Touch finally chimed in full of attitude. “Excuse me,” she said. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we’re trying to have dinner here.”

  “Excuse me? No, excuse you,” I responded, totally thrown off by this chick’s comment. “I noticed, but I just don’t give a fuck. Who the fuck are you anyway? I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m wearing a ring. I’m trying to have a conversation with my fiancé. Let me repeat that—fiancé,” I spat back, feeling like I was about to explode.

  “Fiancé? Well, he wasn’t your fiancé when he was all up in me last night.” The chick then directed her attention toward Touch. “I see nothing has changed with you, Touch.”

  Dazed, I stood motionless as the bitch’s words registered in my head. This whole ordeal was hitting me like a fucking freight train, head-on and with no time to run for cover. I had to wonder how we went from getting married one day to my man fucking another chick the next day. The realization sank in that my world was crumbling before my eyes.

  It wasn’t until I heard the chick say, “Fuck this! I’m out,” that I snapped back to the moment.

  “Yeah, bitch, that’s the best thing for you. Be out.”

  The chick stopped dead in her tracks, turned around, and staring me in the face. “Or what?”

  She was so close, I could feel the heat from her breath. For a moment I thought about getting out the pepper spray I carried in my handbag, but before I could do anything, I felt someone come between the chick and me.

  “Or this!” Misty tossed her drink all up in the chick’s face.

  “We’ll cross paths again,” the skinny, shapeless chick with weave to her ass said, knowing she was no match for Misty and me.

  I wondered how we hadn’t crossed paths before. I knew Touch had a steady girlfriend before me, but the only girl I’d actually seen from his past was his baby mother. If I had to guess, this bitch probably was his ex.

  “What was that about?” Misty asked.

  “Nothing at all. The bitch just got a little heated because I told her to step.”

  “Oh, okay. I was watching from the bar the entire time. Everything looked cool, so I didn’t intervene, but when I saw that bitch come in your face, I rushed over. I would have given her a beatdown if necessary.”

  We both laughed.

  I directed my attention back toward Touch, who was pulling out money from his wallet to pay for his meal.

  “Oh, so you just gonna leave, Touch? We not gonna talk about this? You don’t feel like you owe me an explanation or nothing?”

  “I don’t owe you shit. I just want to be by myself right now. I need some space. I’ll be coming over to the house to get my things.” Touch dropped a hundred dollars on the table then walked away, leaving me hanging.

  Chapter 19

  “Doing Hard Time”

  Calico

  I opened my eyes and looked around at the bricks and bars surrounding me. “I can’t believe this shit.” I was hoping this whole shit was a nightmare, but come to find out, I wasn’t dreaming at all. My dick ached, my stomach was growling, and I needed a fucking spliff. I hopped off my bunk and headed to the phone. I hit up one of my jump-off bitches from Norfolk.

  She accepted the collect call right away. “What’s up, baby?”

  “Fucked up, shortie. Thanks for taking the call. You know I got you.”

  “You know I got your back, boo.”

  “Look, I need you to make a call for me on three-way.” “Not a problem.”

  I then called out Poppo’s number to her.

  Poppo answered right away, “Yo.”

  “What up, nigga?”

  “Calico. What the fuck is good, man? I heard you got snatched, nigga.”

  “Man, it’s a long story. I’ll fill you in on that shit later. Right now I need you to call my people back home and let them know what’s up, so they can get shit lined up to get me out this bitch. Then I need you to handle things with your boy in A-town for me. You gonna have to hold down the fort until I get this shit straight. You feel me?”

  “Nuff said, nigga. Say no more. You know I got you. I’ma jump on shit right now. Gone.” Poppo hung up the phone.

  A few minutes later, the recording came on, warning us we had one minute left on the phone, so we wrapped things up and ended the call.

  I returned to my bunk and tried to map something out. I knew I needed to get in touch with my moms and baby mother. They were the only ones I could really depend on to handle my money and make sure the lawyer was paid.

  I’d learned my lesson about letting jump-off bitches hold money. That situation I had in the past when I was fucking with Jewel had taught me well. I had got locked up and had her collect my money. When it came time for her to pay my lawyer, no money was to be found. I had to straight threaten the bitch to get my shit back.

  But, to be honest, this time it was that nigga Poppo I was a little worried about. I swear, lately that nigga had been on some bullshit. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was just something about him that I just wasn’t feeling.

  After a few days had passed, I went for my first bond hearing, and was denied. I kinda expected that shit though. These muthafuckers wasn’t trying to let a nigga out. Hell, I was a major fucking flight risk. My primary residence was “across the fucking U.S.” Plus, I had a number of aliases. There was no way these niggas was gonna take a chance with me.

  Even with all those odds against me, Natalia, my lawyer, was still talking some good shit. She was confident that I would eventually get a bond, and was telling me it may take more than a couple of tries. One thing about her though, her word was bond. She didn’t sell a nigga dreams. She was always on her shit, and never let a nigga down.

  It was visiting day, and cats were getting fresh cuts and edge-ups and shit, trying to look fresh for their chicks. I wasn’t fucking with none of that shit though. For one, I couldn’t see myself sitting between another nigga’s legs while he braided my fucking hair. Next thing I know, I ain’t getting no fucking visit.

  I hopped on my bunk, grabbed my dick and rubbed on it until I fell asleep.

  “Burroughs!” the CO called out my last name, waking me.

  “Yo!” I yelled back.

  “Visit.”

  Damn! Who the fuck is that? I wondered who the hell had come down to check a nigga. I hadn’t even bothered telling no one my visiting day.

  I followed the CO to the visiting room. I was surprised to see my mother and baby mother, Corrin, when I walked out. I wondered what the fuck they were doing there and how the hell they knew my visiting day. A nigga was actually glad to see a familiar face. I was grinning from ear to ear as I sat on the steel stool across from them.

  “What y’all doing here?”

  “What you mean? There is no way I was gonna leave my baby alone in jail all the way across the country.”

  “Ma, y’all ain’t have to come out here.”

  “Well, we wanted to make sure everything was squared away,” Corrin chimed in. “We going to see Natalia and straighten her out tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, go ’head and pay her. That’s the most important thing. Everything else can wait. You talked to Poppo?”

  “Nope. That’s one reason I wanted to come here. I don’t know what’s up with your boy. Baby, I know you ain’t gonna wanna hear this, but that nigga made a pass
at me.”

  “What the fuck you say? Corrin, don’t fuck with me.” I felt immediate anger come over me.

  “When he came to the house to collect the things to send down South, he kept making little comments about how my ass was so phat and what he’ll do to me. And some shit about you ain’t gon’ be around to satisfy me, so I may as well give it up to him. He was talking so crazy, I had to ask this nigga if he was drunk or on that shit. Then the next thing I know, he grabs my ass. I was sure he’d lost his fucking mind. I had to smack some sense back into his ass.

  “After that I gave him the things and rushed him out of the house. I haven’t heard from him since. I even called him a couple of times and left messages about the paper, but he ain’t called back. He acting like he dodging niggas or something. Then I hear niggas on the streets saying Poppo talking like you ain’t never getting out, and he’s the new boss. This nigga can’t be trusted, baby.”

  “What?” It was almost like I could literally feel my blood boiling inside as I listened to the words Corrin spoke.

  It felt as though my back was up against the wall. I was ready to kill a nigga, but I knew beating another nigga’s ass in jail to blow off steam wasn’t going to do nothing but add more charges to my rap sheet. One of the worst feelings in the world was knowing a bitch-ass nigga was tripping on the streets and it ain’t shit you can do about it.

  After my visit with my moms and baby mother, I wondered how the fuck I was going to make it through.

  Five days had passed, which felt more like months, and the two special ladies in my life had already paid my lawyer in full. As usual, she was on her grind. I knew the time would soon arrive when I would be released from Virginia Beach hell, AKA Virginia Beach jail. And I knew when I was released I’d be on an unstoppable mission to get my fucking money. The first stop on the road would be a visit to check Poppo. I wondered if he was going to like having a gun in his damn mouth, or a knife clinging to his throat.

  Chapter 20

  “New Man in Town”

  Poppo

  “What up, Poppo?” Raz gave me a pound as I walked in the barbershop.

  “Ain’t shit, nigga. ‘Look like money, smell like money,’ you know the song, nigga,” I said, feeling on top of the world.

  Now that Calico was locked up, I was the king of the castle. I’d used the product I’d gotten from his baby mother and flipped it a few times. Finally a nigga was making his own money and not taking orders. This was the opportunity I’d been waiting for. From the looks of things Calico was never gonna see daylight, so I was on some real “fuck-you” shit. I had his shit, I was doing what the fuck I wanted to, and I wasn’t afraid to let niggas know it. I had a new attitude. It was time for niggas on the street to know Poppo wasn’t Calico’s little bitch.

  I walked through the barbershop straight to the back, where some dudes were playing a dice game. Feeling a little lucky with my new profile, I got in on the game.

  Deebo, one of the guys in the dice game, held the dice in front of a chick who was watching the game. “Blow on these dice for me, baby.” She blew on the dice. Then he rolled them. “Bam! Seven! Pay up, nigga, pay up!” Deebo hit, and I lost one hundred dollars just like that.

  “Damn, baby girl! You must be good luck. Let me rub these dice on that ass this time. Nah, matter of fact, let me rub them on your ass, pussy, and titties.”

  “Man, shut the fuck up and roll the fucking dice!” I yelled, getting pissed off by the bullshit this nigga was doing.

  “Man, fuck you, Poppo!” he snapped back.

  Deebo wasn’t no big nigga on the streets, but he was known for bullying a nigga and taking their shit. Just like his namesake from the movie Friday, Deebo was the neighborhood bully.

  “Fuck you say, nigga?” I stood up. If Deebo had the chance to tackle me, it would be “game over.”

  Deebo stood up now, towering over me. “Nigga, you heard me!”

  “Nigga, you better recognize what the fuck is good and step the fuck back. I run these fucking streets, nigga.” I had to man up. If I gave the slightest indication of weakness, this bully would have definitely tried to overpower me.

  “Whatever, duke. You come in this bitch talking shit like you on top of the fucking world when just the other week you was in here crying like a fucking baby talking about how Calico don’t respect your bitch ass. Nigga, shut the fuck up!” Deebo took two fingers and mushed me in my forehead.

  When Deebo stood up and mushed me in my head, he had taken shit to the next level. I knew it was either do or die at that point. So, with my reputation on the line, I knew I couldn’t back down. I pulled out my gun and gave him one big forceful strike across the face.

  Bam!

  One hit and the dude fell to the ground.

  “Now who’s the bitch?” I said to him as blood flowed from his lip.

  “Daaaammmmmnnnn! You just got knocked the fuck out!” Another guy jokingly quoted the words from the movie Friday when Deebo got knocked out.

  As everyone else busted out in laughter at his antics, I walked away.

  The constant joking must have been too much for him to handle because, just as I got to the door of the barbershop, I heard a lot of commotion behind me. Before I could turn around, I heard shots.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  I dove between two cars and pulled my gun out. I looked up to see dude rushing to a car. I shot back at him. Bam! Bam!

  I watched as he fell to the ground. I wasn’t sure where he was hit, but at least he was down. I jumped in my whip and peeled off, never looking back.

  Ring! Ring! Not even a whole hour after I’d left the barbershop, I got a call from one of the barbers.

  “What up, Mike?”

  “It ain’t good, nigga. You know old boy ain’t make it. The cop was up here and everything, nigga. Ain’t nobody but niggas is out to get you, duke. Deebo boys say, as soon as they see you, it’s straight gunplay, no talk.”

  “What you talking about, Mike?” I played stupid, not knowing if the cops were around or if this nigga was trying to set me up.

  “I’m just letting you know the deal. Watch your back, homeboy. Watch your back.” Mike then hung up.

  I really ain’t give a fuck if dude lived or not. As long as I was still breathing, that’s all that mattered. Fuck him and his weak-ass crew. I’d been bitched out for the last time and wasn’t backing down from no nigga, so any cat who wanted could bring it.

  And, as a matter of fact, fuck Mike too for calling me with that shit. There was no way he was gonna get me to talk about that shit on the phone. Like I told that nigga, I didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about. Right at that point, permanent amnesia had set in. I had no recollection of those events. Who’s Deebo? And what barbershop?

  Chapter 21

  “Get Your Boo”

  Jewel

  An entire week had passed, and I hadn’t seen or heard from Touch. He didn’t even come to the house to collect his things. I felt so depressed and hurt. I’d spend days in bed. I didn’t even bother to bathe or put on clothes. I barely ate anything, and I’d completely stopped taking my birth control. I figured, What’s the use? There was no longer a man in my life anyway.

  I would’ve never guessed in a million years that Touch and I would’ve ended like this. Part of me wanted to fight for my man, but another part of me hated him. I couldn’t understand how he could move on to the next chick so quickly. No matter now much shit we went through, being with another man had never crossed my mind.

  I began to think about this new chick sitting on my throne. If another chick came in, where would that leave me? What about this empire that Touch and I had built?

  The reality of things was really beginning to settle in. The fact of the matter was, without Touch my entire life would change. Sure, I had the connection with TMF and could get my hands on all kinds of coke, but it was Touch who knew how to push that shit and bring the money in, and who invested in real estate and made our money legit.
<
br />   Truthfully, I knew nothing about the business and wouldn’t be able to survive without him. One thing I did know for sure, there was no way I could go from the top to rock bottom—all at the hands of another bitch. The more I thought about things, the more panic began to set in.

  Desperately needing someone to talk to, I called up Misty. She was the only person I had in my corner.

  Misty answered the phone in her usual perky voice, “What’s up, girly?”

  “Touch still hasn’t come home, Misty. I haven’t even spoken to him since that night at the restaurant. I don’t know what to think or do. I really think it’s over between us,” I said, bursting into tears.

  “Oh, you poor baby. I’m so sorry. Do you want me to come over?” Misty was so comforting.

  “No, Misty. I don’t want to keep dragging you into my affairs. I shouldn’t have even called you.”

  “Jewel, I’m here for you. That’s what friends are for. Talk to me, honey. For some reason, I feel like there is more to your pain. What’s the matter, Jewel? Are you pregnant?”

  Between tears, I sobbed. “No, I’m not pregnant.”

  “Well, then what is it?”

  “It’s just that . . .” I paused, pulling myself together enough to slow up the tears.

  I wasn’t sure how to explain my dilemma, but Misty was being so kind, so understanding. Maybe because I hadn’t been close to any other woman since Sasha, the next thing I knew, I had blurted out my whole life story. I told her all about me and Touch from beginning to end. I told her how we started off as friends and how we built our empire. I explained to her how Calico and Touch used to be partners in the game and how Calico and I hooked up. I even told her about how Sasha was my friend turned lover and how she turned on me.

  “Anyway, I’m afraid without Touch I will have nothing. My life will completely fall apart, and I will lose everything I’ve worked so hard for.” I started wailing with a whole new fresh set of tears.