Coco and Deedee hurried out the apartment door, closely followed by Tuttie.
“I’ll see you in a few,” Deedee said.
“Okay, I’m petite small…six-seven…”
“Okay,” Deedee said.
Coco nodded at Tuttie and walked toward the stairs. Deedee quickly followed behind her. They walk down a few flights before Coco spoke.
“Didn’t you see me winking when you mentioned money, yo?”
“No I didn’t,” Deedee answered taking her time down the stairs. “I was too busy looking at Tuttie. Why what were you trying to say?”
“I was trying to tell you not to give that crack head any money. But then you already did.”
“I have not given anyone money, yet,” Deedee countered. “She liked my dress and I told her I’d get her one.”
“That shit cost some cheddar. It’s one of them high-end joints, right, yo?”
“Nothing but the best, Coco.”
“That’s what I’m talking ‘bout, yo. You might as well give her the five bills cuz that’s about what a dress like that cost. And you offering her more dough, plus you gonna buy the shit for her. I heard of philanthropy, but I think this is crazy, yo.
The girls walked down the stairs and stopped in the lobby. Deedee turned to Coco and smiled softly.
“Coco, you know all the street angles, but let me handle this my way,” Deedee said, looking directly at Coco.
It had been two years since they had met and a lot had gone down between them. Through the bad times and unpleasant happenings, Deedee and Coco had formed a strong bond even though they were standing at opposite ends of the economic scale. Coco was streetwise and hip to all the ways of the hood. Deedee had been living in grand style with her uncle who was deep in money. Coco was concerned that Deedee flaunting money opened herself to being hoodwinked.
“A’ight, yo. As long as you know what you doing,” Coco said, throwing her hands up.
“Trust me, Coco. I do.”
“Okay, yo.”
They stood in front of the heavy, transparent plastic walls of the building’s lobby. Coco and Deedee could see the exterior, and the street. Deedee spotted a couple of kids sitting on her new car. She pushed the door and quickly exited. Using the remote starter, she turned the ignition on. The car engine roared startling the teens. They remained sitting on the new car, looking around in surprise. Deedee hurriedly made her way to her new car.
“Please get y’all ass off my car,” she ordered.
The kids all glanced yawningly up at her. They gave her the once over and smiles replaced frowns. Then they slowly got off the car.
“You fine, ma,” one of them complimented.
“Thank you,” Deedee said, getting inside. “Are you rolling?” She asked Coco.
Coco was standing behind her, nodded to the guys, and jumped into the car. Checking her rearview mirrors, Deedee peeled off.
“You don’t need me to go to the bank with you, do you?”
“I don’t have to go the bank. I just need you to come along to see what I’m gonna do. Catch my drift?”
“A’ight, I feel you. Do your thing, yo.”
6
Coco was standing next to her when Deedee paid the cashier thirty bucks for the knockoff dress. She bought Krazy glue and they started back to the car. The green sarong dress was a dead ringer to the one Deedee was currently wearing which was valued at three hundred dollars. Coco smiled and nodded to Deedee. Later they jumped into the car and Deedee asked Coco to remove the original label from the dress and switched it to the knock-off using Krazy glue. Coco was laughing when Deedee peeled off again.
“I guess you’re really not going to the bank, yo.”
“You got it, Coco. Now I’ll give Tuttie twenty dollars and she’ll tell me all I need to know.”
“Okay, I feel you, yo.”
“Coco, I told you, I needed you to come along with me to see what I’m gonna do. Catch my drift?” Deedee laughed.
The girls slapped high five and their laughter boomed louder. Coco glanced at Deedee smiling, bobbing and weaving through traffic. In a hurry to get back the source with the information to help her uncle, Deedee drove faster than usual.
“A’ight, I feel you. Do your thing, yo,” Coco said, admiring how Deedee had grown.
She was so much smarter than the girl she had met nearly two years ago. Deedee was now using street tricks. It was a step up and Coco laughed.
“You turned into a con artist, huh? Let me find out you got game, yo.”
Deedee parked the car in front of Coco’s building. There was a small crowd of people along with the same group of boys from earlier that the girls had encountered sitting on the car.
“You could leave the key. I’ll watch it for you.”
Deedee strutted past the group while Coco was busy glad-handing with other friends. She didn’t see one of the teens that had been sitting on the car walk menacingly toward Deedee. She along with everyone else was surprised by Deedee’s response.
“Nigga if you don’t get outta my face, I’ll shoot you!”
The chilling warning rang disturbingly clear in the friendly atmosphere. For a moment there was enough tension as everyone stared at Deedee. Ignorance brought confusion and someone pulled out a gun.
“You ain’t gon’ shoot anyone!” the pistol holder said, confronting Deedee.
“Let’s all chill, yo,” Coco said, getting between Deedee and the guy holding the pistol. “This my girl, y’all peeps. What’s up…?”
“What’s up with your girl, Coco?”
“She’s overreacting. You guys can’t overreact. Everything’s good, yo. She ain’t got no gun.”
“You mean she just running her mouth? A’ight…”
The situation became calmer and everyone seemed to share a collective sigh of relief. The guy holding the pistol put away his gun.
“No harm no foul,” he said, walking away.
Coco and Deedee continued into the building. They were inside the lobby before Coco spoke.
“Dee, you gonna have to know when to chill, yo.”
“I do have a gun and I would’ve shot his ass right there, if he would’ve tried anything,” Deedee said. “Coco, you’re sleeping on me, girlfriend.”
They took the elevator to the fifth floor and rang the bell of Tuttie’s apartment. Coco stared in disbelief at Deedee. She was silent through the exchange once the door was answered. Deedee took charge.
“Hi, is Tuttie home?”
“Ma, it’s the model and the rapper,” the kid screamed.
“Coco and Deedee,” Deedee smiled.
Tuttie hurried to the door and invited the girls inside. They walked to the same corner of the living room, and Deedee went into action.
“Here’s the dress as promised and here’s your twenty dollars,” she said, removing the knock-off item from a fake shopping bag.
Tuttie took the dress and immediately checked the label. She saw the price tag and hugged the dress to her petite frame. She smiled and spun around as if she was dancing in the dress.
“I know this dress cost a lot but can I have forty dollars instead of the twenty?”
Coco and Deedee stared her down for a minute. Deedee sighed and pulled out forty dollars. Tuttie pulled out a piece of paper with two out-of-state numbers scribbled beneath Rightchus’ name.
“You can reach him at these numbers,” Tuttie said. He’s living in Charlotte, South Carolina.”
Coco and Deedee looked at each other. Coco shrugged her shoulders. Deedee saw the frowns of doubt on Coco’s face. It made her pause and she wondered about Coco’s concerns. Batting her long eyelashes in rapid succession, Deedee passed a signal to Coco.
“Do we know if these numbers are real, and not some fake-ass digits, yo?” Coco smirked.
“Uh-huh, and when I call these numbers and they don’t work, I can’t reach you,” Deedee added. “Where can I reach you Tuttie?”
“I’m a real woman. I don’
t play games. Those are the numbers I used when I last spoke to him about a week or so ago. Just call me if you don’t reach him. Here’s my number,” Tuttie said, scribbling down a telephone number on the piece of paper.
Deedee took the piece of paper, gave Tuttie two twenties. She strutted out the apartment with Coco and the information. They skipped down the stairs, laughing. When Coco and Deedee hit the lobby, they burst out laughing. Hitting the street, Deedee waved at the guys who were previously sitting on her car.
They got in the car and Deedee drove away. A few blocks later, she felt the rattling on the outside of the car. They were at an intersection and Deedee was about to pull over when a passerby pointed at her tire.
“I think you got a flat, Miss,” he said walking away. “Nice car.”
“No shit!” Deedee said, getting out of the car. “Oh no Coco, I know one of them niggas from your block punctured my tire.”
Coco got out of the car and walked to where Deedee stood at the rear of the car. They both were standing there shaking their heads when along came a man. He was shabbily dressed and unshaven. Cautiously, he made his way to Coco and Deedee.
“I don’t mean to offend you and all, but it seems like you got a flat and I could help you for a small fee.”
It was six in the evening, but Deedee stared at the man like he had showed up at midnight. A frown immediately descended on her already rankled forehead.
“Thanks but no thanks,” she shot back. Pulling out her cellphone, she said, “I got roadside assistance, and I don’t need no bums messing with my car. Furthermore, you could be the one going around messing with—!”
“Chill, yo,” Coco said, jumping between Deedee and the man. “Lemme holla at you a for few, yo.”
Coco grabbed Deedee by the arm and pulled her away from the man. He glanced at the girls and backed up, waving.
“Take your time,” he said. “Can I get a cigarette?” he added when he saw Coco lighting up.
The girls had walked away to the other side and shared a cigarette. Deedee was on her cell phone calling for roadside assistance.
“It’s gonna take a whole damn hour just to get here,” she said.
“Let homie over there do it, yo. He might be able to… Plus you hit that nigga with like twenty dollars and no one will ever puncture your tire in the hood ever. He’s gonna be looking out for life, yo.”
“Okay, Coco, I’m gonna take your advice and we’ll see,” Deedee answered.
Once the man went into the motions of doing the job, Deedee felt more comfortable. Leaving him alone with Coco, she walked away. Deedee pulled out the paper with Rightchus’ number scribbled on it, and dialed. Someone answered on the third ring. Putting Deedee on hold, the person set off to get Rightchus. Deedee waited with the phone to her ear. She watched Coco talking with the man. When she heard Rightchus voice on the other end, Deedee waved for Coco.
“I’m telling you I don’t have any family in New York…Hello, Deacon Rightchus here…”
Deedee put the call on speaker. Before speaking, Coco nodded, affirming that it was Rightchus on the other end.
“Rightchus, I mean Deacon Rightchus this is Coco, what’s really good?”
“I don’t have any relatives by the name of Coco,” Rightchus said.
The girl looked in amazement at each other. Then all they heard was the sound of dial tone. Coco and Deedee laughed.
“No he didn’t just hang up on us.”
“Yes, he most certainly did, yo.”
Deedee tried calling back and both numbers rang and rang. No voicemail and she couldn’t leave a message. Frustrated, Deedee put away her cell phone. By then, the man had finished changing the tire. He was smoking a cigarette he had bummed off Coco.
“You did a good job. How much I owe?” Deedee asked.
“Give me ten,” he modestly said.
“Give him a tip too, yo.”
“I think ten is good enough,” Deedee pulled out the ten spot.
She handed it to the man. He bowed gracefully, and was turning to walk away. Deedee pulled out another fifteen dollars and handed it to the grateful man. He waved a couple times and disappeared.
“You saw how quickly he did that?”
“Hmm, hmm, I was here, yo.”
“That leads me to thinking that he might just be the one going around messing with peoples’ cars, puncturing the tires and all that…”
“I hear you, yo. On the street, there’s a racket for everything. You want it the streets got it for you. All you need to do is want it badly enough, yo.”
Deedee drove back to the office and parked. They made their way inside the building. The doorman was still there ready to stare.
“This nigga always staring at my ass,” she said, standing in the lobby.
The girls were waiting for an elevator, but the doorman was still in earshot. He got up and took another lecherous peep.
“That muthafucka on some pervert shit, yo.”
They got on the elevator and went upstairs. Inside the studio, they saw Tina and Kim sitting at the receptionist desk. Without saying anything Coco bopped through the hall, and went into the office. Deedee stopped to speak with Kim and Tina.
“Who da hell she thinks she is and shyt…?” Kim asked.
“She’s Coco,” Deedee smiled, handing Kim recent copies of Vibe magazine. “How’s everything going so far?” she asked.
“So far so good. We took Reggie Mill’s application and told him to come back,” Kim said.
“Your uncle called. He said to give him a call when you get back,” Tina said.
“My uncle called? You should’ve told me that first!” Deedee said running off to the office.
“Uncle Eric is out,” Deedee said to Coco who was already in the office.
Coco watched her as she grabbed the phone and started dialing. In the quiet studio office, the phone rang loudly. Every chime seemed to pound as fast as Deedee’s heartbeat. Her skinny dimpled cheeks moved in anticipation of the conversation. It ranged through to his cellphone. Deedee left a message.
“Uncle E, it’s Dee… I’m very happy to hear the news. Please call me back…” Deedee said.
She hung up, pulled out the piece of paper, and dialed Rightchus’ number on the office phone. The phone rang and Deedee eased herself into the big office chair.
“This Ascot Studio calling me? It better be for a recording contract. But wait, I’ve gotta tell you and I hope you’re not disappointed. I don’t do gangsta rap anymore…None of that street stuff glorifying drugs—I only do religious-type music…I got me a new faith and belief in the Almighty, who has blessed me with another day to serve him…”
Rightchus answered and spoke without taking a breath. Deedee held the phone and quietly switched it to speaker.
“Recording contract, yo…?”
“Oh no, Coco is that you stalking me… I’m gonna have to get an order from the court blocking you. I hear you poppin and all that, but your sinful lifestyle don’t really hold my interest. I’m a changed man, and I’m gonna have to hang up this—”
“We aren’t talking recording contract, we’re talking money…” Deedee hinted.
There was a long pause. Coco smiled and gave Deedee the thumbs up. The sound of money still made Rightchus’s ears ring. He was fumbling for words when he finally spoke.
“I don’t know, but what kind of money you talking ’bout?”
“Real money, my man,” Coco and Deedee hummed.
They were fully aware that Rightchus was glowing. He was totally hooked when he eagerly blurted, “When can I get this money…? What do you want to include me for…?”
“You may be able to help my uncle,” Deedee said and continued to explain the situation to Deacon Rightchus, formerly Shorty-Wop.
Coco smiled when Deedee closed the deal at a reasonable amount of dollars. She knew that Rightchus would do anything for a dollar. He agreed to come back and meet secretly with the girls when the money reached him. He gave his
mailing address and got off the call. Satisfied that everything was going well, Coco and Deedee were left smiling. Deedee dialed her uncle’s number, and it rang until she heard his voice.
“Uncle E…Yeah! We’re at the studio…Coco and I… We’ll wait until you get here… See you soon.”
“Hey, Uncle E!” Coco shouted.
She hung up, wearing a huge smile. Coco walked over and hugged the clearly overjoyed Deedee. They slapped high fives, and exhaled in the celebration of Eric Ascot’s release from jail.
“You know what Coco…?”
“What Dee…?”
“I think we’re gonna solve this shit,” Deedee confidently said. “I hear you, yo.”
“I’m gonna send Rightchus the price he’s asking.”
“I thought he was dead…Think we can trust that con man, yo?”
“I don’t know, but we gotta give it a shot.”
“Rightchus be all up in everybody’s biz. He might be worth it, yo.”
The girls bumped fists. Coco sat down while Deedee dialed Western Union. The money Rightchus had requested was a reasonable sum she could easily afford. Even if the information obtained led nowhere, Deedee convinced herself that she was doing it on behalf of her uncle. If she was in trouble, Deedee could rest assured that he would have made any sacrifice to alleviate it. The money would reach Rightchus overnight and he would call Deedee as soon as it was received. Deedee had questions and figured Rightchus may provide the answers. As Coco sat down, she caught sight of the Vibe magazine.
“Oh you’re gonna cherish that issue,” Deedee smiled.
“Why, yo…?”
“Keep reading.”
“A’ight already, yo—”
Coco delved into the different articles in the magazine. Skipping through pages, she kept on eyeing Deedee. After searching through the pages of Vibe, she made a startling discovery and Coco screamed in delight.
“Oh shit! They wrote about me, yo!”
7
Eric Ascot parked his Benz inside the garage and smoked a cigarette while walking to the midtown building that housed his recording studio. He had vowed to stop smoking, and had not taken a puff in a couple years. Then all the problems started. As he puffed, he reminisced about the pact he had made with Busta. It had cost Busta his life, and now it was threatening to curtail Eric’s own freedom. Maybe he should have cooperated with the police investigation when Deedee was raped, when his brother was killed and Deedee’s mother mysteriously vanished. His thoughts were churning loudly again.
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