Family Business

by Vanessa Miller

  Restoring her tough girl exterior, Angel told him, “I’m going to mind my own business, and let you do the same.”

  “Oh, Okay.” Demetrius put his hands up, indicating he was backing off. “Alright Ms. Mind-my-own-business. You don’t seem to be doing such a good job of that, seeing as how you were just being slapped around in this alley.”

  “What do you know about it?”

  Demetrius sat down on the stoop. “I might not know much about your situation, but if it was me, I sure wouldn’t be in this alley when Frankie returned.”

  “I can’t just leave.”

  Demetrius’ eye brow lifted. He didn’t understand this woman. Maybe she was just pretending that turning tricks bothered her. After all, she was a stripper... already getting paid for showing it, why not sell it all. “Hey, I tried to offer you a way out of this mess, but if you don’t want to take it and run... then I’m going to sit over here and mind my own business like you suggested.”

  Angel glanced around the alley as if trying to find a way out. Her feet shuffled, then she turned to Demetrius and said, “I do want to go, but his sister babysits my kid. If I don’t do what Frankie wants, he’ll never let my baby go.”

  The tears were back, and even though she wiped them away quickly, Demetrius’ heart was melting for her. It was like he wasn’t seeing Angel, but his own mother, desperate to get out of a life that would kill her and take her away from him. He wasn’t going to let another child endure the same pain he endured because some low-life decided to treat his mother like she was nothing and could be handled any kind of way.

  “Okay, here it is,” Frankie said as he and Mo came back into the alley. He handed Demetrius a stack of cash. “Count it if you want, but it’s all there.”

  “Not all,” Demetrius said as he pointed toward Angel. “We still need that five thou.”

  “Problem with that,” Frankie kept his eyes on Demetrius’ bat as he said, “Dude got tired of waiting and left. But if you give me another week, I’ll make sure that Angel works overtime to get that money.”

  “I’m not working another second for you. I just want to get my son and I’ll be on my way.”

  Frankie reared back, getting ready to hit Angel again, but Demetrius grabbed his arm. “I told you already that we didn’t come here to watch you beat on some woman.”

  Frustrated Frankie said, “Don wants his money. I’m trying to get it for him.”

  “I think I can help you out with that,” Demetrius said. “I’ll take the money you just gave me to my dad and then we will clear the books.”

  “Just like that?” Frankie asked in a tone that indicated he didn’t believe Demetrius. “You’re just going to forget about that other five?”

  “Yeah, it’s forgotten, no problem.” Demetrius then pointed at Angel and said, “but I want her.” He kept his eye on her as if she were a prize that he was bound and determined to win.

  “What do you mean... for the night?”

  Demetrius shook his head, still staring at Angel. “For good. This is her last night working for you anyway. So, from now on, she’s with me.”

  “Now hold on, Demetrius. Angel is worth a lot more to me than five thou. The most I could do is rent her out to you for about a week. That’s it.”

  Demetrius shook his head. “Take it or leave it. But just know that once I leave, you will be dealing with Don from here on out.” He signaled for Mo to follow him, and twirled his bat as he headed out of the alley.

  Mo caught up with him and whispered, “Don is gon’ be ticked about this. We can’t leave here without breaking an arm or a leg at least.”

  “I got this,” Demetrius silenced Mo.

  They kept walking, while Demetrius silently counted down ”... 5... 4... 3... 2...”

  “Hold up,” Frankie called out to him. “Go on and take her, she ain’t been nothing but trouble to me lately.”

  Angel didn’t move, she looked from Demetrius to Frankie, as if she was unsure which devil would do her the most harm.

  Then Demetrius said. “Come on Angel, I’ll take you to pick up your son.”

  Angel still didn’t move, she turned to Frankie, her eyes seemed to plead with him, “Can I take DeMarcus?”

  Frankie glared at her with hatred building in his eyes. He practically spat at her as he said, “I don’t care what you do, just don’t come crawling back here once Demetrius is through with you.”

  He didn’t have to tell her twice. Angel rushed over to Demetrius and got in the passenger seat while Mo climbed in the back.

  Driving down the street, Mo told Demetrius, “I don’t like this, man. Heads are going to roll when we get back to Don. He is not going to like that you bought some chick rather than collecting the rest of his money.”

  “This ain’t on you, Mo. I can handle Don... besides, he owes me one.”

  ~~~~

  Saul’s hawking form glided over the alley. He had one assignment for the night and it had been completed. Now he turned his big flapping wings and went up, up, up until he reached his heavenly home. As his feet touched down, his wings closed and his bejeweled sword could be seen as it hung from the belt strapped to his waist all the way to the tip of his foot.

  Heaven had three parts, the inner court, the outer court and the Holy of holies where the throne of God resides. Saul made his way to the outer court where Captain Aaron stood in the midst of legions of angels, sending some out and welcoming others back home. Saul saluted his captain and then announced, “It is done my Captain. The two have met.”

  “Now the hard work begins,” Captain Aaron told him.

  “And these two are meant to be together?” Saul questioned. from what he saw of them, it seemed like a train wreck. But he wasn’t God Almighty, so he didn’t have any answers for the fallen humans.

  “You may not have the answers,” Captain Aaron said, cutting into Saul’s thoughts. “But the child that will know both the truth of God and the ways of the street. He shall not only bring his family to Christ, but he shall be the one to usher in the last day revival, that will rock a nation and bring more souls to Christ than any other revolution the world has ever known.”

  “I do not understand it, my Captain, but I am your willing servant. You tell me where to go and what to do and I will protect these two with everything I’ve got.”

  “You have fought and won many battles, Saul. But, even you will need help with this assignment. You see, the child’s life will be in danger even before he is born. The battle will be great, but if you and the other angels are able to dispatch the enemy, then revival will come to a nation that greatly needs it.”

  “And if we don’t... I can’t imagine the world getting any worse than it is now.”

  Captain Aaron put a hand on Saul’s shoulder. “It will get much worse, my friend. So, you must protect Angel and Demetrius. And when it is time, protect the child, Tolbert, until the very end; for he shall proclaim the truth of God.”

  Lifting his sword, Saul pledged, “I will fight, and we will win; you have my word, Captain.”

  Two

  “You did what? Boy quit playing and rush me the rest of my money,” Don Shepherd looked like a body builder on steroids as he towered over his son.

  “You heard what I said. I paid for Angel’s freedom and that’s that.” Demetrius had towed the line and did everything he’d been told to do for most of his life. His father told him to quit baseball, even though he knew how much Demetrius loved the game... and he did it. He was told to join the family business, and without question, Demetrius suited up. But he wasn’t budging on this one.

  “You spent my money on a hooker?” Don was close to exploding.

  Demetrius didn’t care that his father was angry. He shrugged as he said, “It needed to be done.”

  Mo stepped back, not wanting any part of this. He positioned himself close to the door.

  Don turned away from his son as if he was walking away from the situation, but then he quickly pivoted and back
handed Demetrius so hard that the boy almost broke his wrist trying to break his fall. Don stood over him, glaring down as he said, “When I send you to do something, you get it done.”

  Mo put his hand on the door knob, opened it and tried to scoot out of the room, but Don wasn’t having it. Without even looking his way, Don said, “Close that door and sit yourself down.”

  Mo did as he was told, while Demetrius wiped the blood from his lip. He then tried to stand back up, but Don put a foot on his chest. “I’m not through with you.”

  “It’s over dad. I’m not giving the girl back. You can take the money out of my pay if it matters so much, I don’t care.” Demetrius had never challenged his father before, so he had no idea what Don Shepherd would do when he didn’t show up with all of his money. But the truth of the matter was, he really didn’t care what happened to him, just as long as he could save Angel from Frankie.

  Don eyed Mo. “Where’s the girl?”

  “Don’t tell him,” Demetrius screamed from his spot on the floor.

  Mo screamed right back at him. “What else can I do, D, man? I told you this was a bad idea, but you wouldn’t listen... talking about your daddy owes you one.”

  Don took his foot off of Demetrius’ chest. He reached down, took a handful of Demetrius’ shirt and pulled him to his feet. “I’m your daddy, boy. Without me you wouldn’t even have life... so how do I owe you?”

  Demetrius dusted himself off and squared his shoulders as he stood and faced off with his father. Which was a little hard to do since Don was two feet taller than Demetrius’ 6’2 frame. “You weren’t the only one who gave me life... I had a mother.” Demetrius had the good sense to step back as he added, “and you took her away from me.”

  Don swung around, turning his back to his son. He shook his head and sucked in air. Don made his way to the bay window and stared off as if looking into a distant past that he hadn’t allowed himself to think about for a very long time. He turned back to Demetrius as he said, “Your mama had been down for whatever I wanted or needed from the moment we hooked up. I loved her for that.”

  The room went silent. Demetrius and Mo glanced at each other, not knowing whether they should run or hide. But then Don got the coldest look in his eyes that Demetrius had ever seen. He said, “Okay, you got your little hooker, so consider my debt paid-in-full.”

  Demetrius and Mo headed for the door, but Don stopped them.

  “Demetrius.” He turned, looked at his father. “Don’t you ever throw this in my face again. You got me?”

  Demetrius nodded. “I got you.”

  ~~~~

  Slamming his keys down on the counter as he entered his home, Demetrius punched the fridge, letting out his frustration. His dad had treated him like nothing more than hired help. He’d been loyal to Don Shepherd for ten years, doing his bidding. Whether it was number running or beating down the men who dared not pay back a loan, he’d been down with it. He’d never asked for special treatment simply because he was Don Shepherd’s son. The one time he took a liberty, his father disrespected him and treated him like he was nobody.

  Demetrius had half a mind to move and start up his own operation in another city. But as he stood there trying to decide which city to move his operation to, Demetrius slowly came to the realization that his father’s arm was long and his connections were spread so wide that he’d never be able to set up shop without Don Shepherd getting wind of it. Slamming his fist on the counter, he practically growled throughout the house, “I hate him!”

  Angel stepped into the kitchen with a worried look on her face. “Is everything alright?”

  Demetrius glanced her way, he’d forgotten that he had brought her to his home.

  Leaning against the fridge, Angel told him, “If you want me and DeMarcus to get our stuff and leave, it’s cool. I appreciate what you did for us. But I don’t want to be a burden to anybody.”

  “Did I say you was a burden?”

  “No, but you don’t look very happy.” Then as she noticed something she rushed to Demetrius ‘side and put her hand on his lip. “You’ve been bleeding. Let me get some ice.”

  “I don’t need no ice.”

  Ignoring him, Angel took a few ice cubes out of the freezer and wrapped them in the kitchen towel. She placed it on Demetrius’ lip, asking, “You got into another fight?”

  “I wouldn’t call it a fight.”

  “What would you call it then, because I can tell that you’ve been in a scuffle.”

  Demetrius shrugged. “Just my father’s way of saying thanks for costing him five big ones.”

  Angel’s hand flew to her mouth as she dropped the ice she was holding against Demetrius’ lip. She bent down to pick up the ice. Dumping the ice in the sink. she said, “I’m so sorry for all the trouble I’ve caused. But I promise that I will find a way to pay you or your father ever cent that I owe.”

  Demetrius didn’t know why he did it, but he put his arms around Angel’s waist and pulled her close against his body. “You can start paying me back right now.”

  Shaking her head, Angel pushed away from him. “I’m not a whore, Demetrius. And I won’t let Frankie, you or anyone else treat me like one.” She turned away from him and went into the guest bedroom. She picked DeMarcus up off the bed and put his jacket on. The boy was still asleep so it took a little longer to get his things on. She then grabbed her purse and the two bags of clothes she’d brought to the house with her and started heading for the door.

  “Hey, where are you going?” Demetrius caught her before she could get out of the door.

  “We’re leaving,” Angel told him with fire in her eyes.

  “How? Are you going to walk?”

  “I’ll catch the bus.”

  Demetrius didn’t understand this at all. He thought Angel didn’t have any place to stay, that’s why he told her to come to his house. Now she was ready to leave, like she had a house on the hills or something. “I thought you didn’t have a spot.”

  “I don’t. Frankie’s sister had been letting me crash on her couch so I could save up enough money to get a place.”

  “Well you can’t go back over there. Frankie’ll put you on the stroll for real this time.”

  She smirked as she looked up at him. “It sounds like you want me to be a working girl up in here, so what’s the difference?”

  Her words made him feel slimy. Like he was no better than Frankie or his father. He didn’t like that feeling. He’d never forced himself on a woman in all of his twenty-seven years and he wasn’t going to start now. “There isn’t a shortage of women out there. You don’t want to be with me, fine... I’m not sweatin’ it. You can work off your debt to me by keeping the house clean and making sure I got dinner ready when I come home.”

  Looking around the room at all the fast food bags and soda bottles that had been left in the living room, Angel scrunched her nose and nodded. “This place could use a good cleaning.”

  “What can I say, my housekeeper quit.” He grabbed her bags and headed back to the guest room with them as he slung them over his shoulder, “You can cook, can’t you?”

  Grinning from ear-to-ear, Angel told him, “I can make homemade biscuits and the best fried chicken and collard greens you ever tasted.”

  “Sounds good. Wish my mom had cooked like that... it was hamburger helper and stove top stuffing.”

  “My mom didn’t work outside of the home, so she loved cooking from scratch and teaching me to do the same,” Angel said as she followed Demetrius back to her bedroom.

  He put her bags back down as he said, “Yeah, that was the problem. My mother was always working; my dad made sure of it.”

  Three

  “Where to today,” Mo asked as Demetrius took a seat on the passenger side of his Jeep.

  “Number running duty today, my man. So, we gotta be real nice to the customers we have left. The government legalizing the lottery in Ohio and adding that pick 4 option has hurt business.”

 
Mo glanced over at Demetrius. He had this whatever look on his face. “I’m nice to all my customers, no matter what. But I must admit, this lottery has trimmed our profits.”

  “Now if one of our customers hits, daddy be acting like they stealing from him.”

  “Remember when Mr. Homer won twenty thou, and Don started stuttering, and then slammed his fist in the wall before he finally coughed up the money.”

  “I remember,” Demetrius laughed. “Don had to wrap his hand for a month like he was still boxing.”

  Demetrius was laughing on the outside, but this was something very real and personal to him. After his father had finished boxing with the wall, Demetrius had told him that paying the money was non-negotiable. He’d never questioned his father’s integrity on these deals before. But it was getting harder to make ends meet and none of his clients had ever won that much money... and none of them were like Mr. Homer.

  Demetrius was normally in and out of client’s homes. Sometimes he just took the numbers on the porch, they handed him the money for their bet and then he was on his way. But Mr. Homer was different. He was a baseball fan and had seen Demetrius play when he was in high school. Mr. Homer had even given him a Willie Mays baseball card. And even though Jackie Robinson and Hank Aaron were his favorite all time baseball players, Demetrius treated that card like it was a piece of gold.

  Mo pulled up in the parking lot of the Church’s Chicken on Riverview and got out of the car. He told Demetrius, “We can eat here when we get done with our route.”

  Demetrius shook his head. “Not today. I’ve got a meal waiting on me when I get back home.”

  “You gon’ keep her up in the house, huh?” Mo smirked. “Since you almost got the both of us killed over that girl, I sure hope you planning to share.”

  “She’s not like that, man. Angel’s in my guest room. She cooking and cleaning my house to pay me back the money I lost on her.”

  “You really think your daddy is going to hold your money?” Mo didn’t look as if he believed that.

  “Sure do. So, I might as well get something out of this deal... I haven’t had a woman cooking and cleaning behind me since my mama died.”