“Get them joints out the car, boy,” Skinny hollered over her shoulder as she stormed up the stairs. It was just like Richard to pop too many pills and then make her roll joints for him.
“Wuz up, Auntie Skinny,” Pop called, waving his hand frantically. He hoped he could find a chick as fine as Aunt Skinny when he got older.
“Hi baby,” Skinny hollered back just before opening the door and disappearing inside the house.
With Skinny gone, Pop turned his full attention back to Richard, who was looking down at him patiently.
“How long you want them to be here, Pop?” Richard asked, referring to the DJ’s.
Pop gave his uncle a quizzical look. “Unc, I don’t call no shots round here.”
“Well,” Richard said as he pulled a wad of cash from his pocket. “Check this out. Whatever you say gone go tonight, a’ight?” It was high time the boy learned what it was like to be in charge.
Pop weighed the decision carefully. He’d never felt so important. Trying to think like a grown up, he considered how long the adults might want to listen to music. He knew the party usually got hot around midnight, so they would need at least a couple more hours of music after that.
“Well, it’s eight right now,” he spoke slowly, testing the authority of his voice, still thinking as he spoke. “So get them to stay for six hours.” He looked up at Richard expectantly, watching for a reaction.
Richard smiled and nodded. He handed Pop four hundred dollars in cash. “Take this and pay them. Then keep the change.” Lovingly, Richard gave Pop a quick pat on the back, indicating a job well done.
Pop’s eyes grew to the size of saucers. Uncle Richard was paying him. He knew what that meant. Trying to maintain his composure, he took the money and sauntered off, heading for the DJ van, but as soon as he was out of sight, he smiled ear to ear and pumped his fists in the air.
***
After sitting in the car for more than thirty minutes, which had further irritated Skinny after the joint incident, Richard finally made his rounds, saying hi to all of his family members and friends. Now, he lounged in a folding chair in the back yard, rolling and listening to the DJ, watching but not watching the crowd around him.
“Unc!” Pop called from the back door.
“Yeah, wuz up, nephew,” Richard called over his shoulder.
“E and them out here looking for you.” Pop shifted his weight quickly from one foot to the other, waiting for his next order.
“Tell them to come back here,” Skinny called back, adding, “Tell Auntie Alicia he’s here, too.”
Skinny knew Alicia had wanted to speak with the three of them once E arrived, and she wasn’t one to ignore Alicia. While less violent, Alicia could be just as crazy as her brother sometimes.
E came through the back door and walked towards Skinny and Richard. His jaw jutted back and forth, and his teeth were tightly clenched. His dilated pupils hid the colored irises of his eyes.
“Brah! Wuz up nigga?” His teeth grinding had stopped, but only long enough for him to speak.
Richard chuckled, “Lil’ Brah, you must be rolling nigga.”
E opened his mouth to respond, but Alicia’s voice cut into their conversation, calling them all from the back door. “Well, all y’all follow me,” she said, motioning inside with her hands.
E looked at Richard in silent question. He wondered what Alicia would need to talk to all of them about. Richard only shrugged in response as they headed towards the back door.
Once inside, the small group made their way to Pop’s room. The crowd parted slightly as navigated their way through the kitchen and living room.
Alicia entered the small bedroom first, holding the door open so that Richard, E and Skinny could all make their way in. Shutting and locking the door, she turned to face the small crew now surrounding her. She looked at each of them, waiting to speak until she was certain that she had their attention.“I don’t know if Rich Kid told y’all or not, but Dwayne stole money from our Daddy while he was on his death bed.” With her plan now in motion, Alicia simply stood back, crossed her arms over her chest and analyzed each reaction.
E slowly moved his head in Richard’s direction as he tried to meet Richard’s gaze, but Richard only looked down at the ground. E could see the evidence of a deflated plan in Richard’s expression. Turning his gaze back to Alicia, he answered, “Naw, he ain’t tell me shit.”
“Well, I told him not to do anything to him,” her body slightly leaning forward in their direction as she spoke.“Y’all hear me?”
“We hear ya, Sis,” Richard and E replied, quickly and in unison. “He good.”
Alicia turned her attention towards Skinny, giving her a hard stare. She was innocently looking around the room, acting as though she hadn’t heard Alicia, but Alicia wasn’t buying the innocent look; she knew Skinny better than that. “I’m talking to you Skinny,” Alicia’s tone hard. “What? You think I don’t know you gone bust a bitch’s head if my brother told you to?”
“Sis, I told ya already. We ain’t gone do nothing to the man,” Richard cut in, hoping he could distract Alicia. If successful, he could help keep Skinny from having to make an official promise. Without that spoken promise, Skinny was free to do as she wished, and Richard knew Skinny had the same wish as him, for Dwayne to pay for what he’d done.
Alicia shot Richard a venomous glare, making it clear that she was on to him. “You probably wasn’t,” pointing at Richard as she spoke.“But you would have told E or Skinny to do it and then act like they ain’t know I asked y’all not to. That’s why I want y’all,” turning her attention back towards Skinny, “to promise me you ain’t gone do nothing to Dwayne.”
Skinny glanced over at Richard, waiting for his signal. Once the promise left her lips, the deal was sealed; there would be no retaliation for Dwayne. In response to her silent question, Richard made eye contact and nodded once. “We promise you, Sis,” Skinny said through clenched teeth. The expression on her face made it clear that the words caused her great pain
Chapter 5
“I should try and fuck Skinny,” Mondo said, standing outside of E’s apartment, smoking a joint with Rex. As he exhaled, a thick cloud of smoke curled around his face and filled the star-studded sky above his head. The wind carried the smoke away, leaving only the pungent smell of marijuana in the air.
Rex choked and coughed, causing the lung full of smoke he had just inhaled to sputter out in short bursts. “Man, you bet leave Rick Kid alone before he fuck you up,” his voice straining through the pain of his lost hit.
“Man, fuck that,” Mondo replied, blowing off Rex’s warning. “They bleed just like me.”
“You keep on, you gone get right what you looking for,” Rex warned again, shaking his head, pulling the joint back to his lips.
“Man, give me my joint back, nigga,” Mondo said angrily, snatching the joint from Rex’s hand. Just then, two Maximas pulled up, tires screeching to a halt. E stepped out of the first car, Richard and Skinny out of the second.
“Ay Maybay,” E said, walking through the grass towards the house. “How many pills you sold?”
Maybay snapped his head in E’s direction, jaw twitching. “I think seventeen.”
Taking notice of Maybay’s twitching jaw, Richard raised an eyebrow and asked, “How many you pop?”
“Brah, I only popped three all day.” The peaceful, nonchalant feeling the drugs were giving him seeped through into his statement of defense.
“How many pills you gave that nigga to sell E?” Richard whispered in E’s direction.
“I gave him thirty out of the hundred you gave me,” E replied. Suddenly, thinking of the pills, E remembered the cash he had on him. “Here your sixty dollars off the pills you gave me this afternoon,” he said, pulling the cash out of his pocket.
Richard took two of the twenties and waved the other twenty away. E was already paying a price much lower than the rest of the guys, but E was his right hand man.
/> E smiled at Richard, grateful for the extra cash. “Brah, why you always treat me so good?”
“Cause ya my lil’ Brother,” Richard grinned back, giving E a playful slug on the shoulder.
Skinny walked through Richard and E’s roughhousing towards the front of E’s apartment. “Baby, I’m gone use the bathroom.” Her stomach was doing flips from all the alcohol she’d drank at Gina’s. The acidic burn of vomit rose up in her throat. Afraid she wouldn’t make it to the bathroom in time, she quickened her pace, holding her stomach. As she staggered up the steps, she heard Richard answer from behind her, “A’ight.”
Richard looked after Skinny as she stumbled up the stairs. For a moment, he wondered if he should follow her, but then dismissed the thought. She had made it up the stairs okay, and she would only be offended if he followed her. It was one of the many things he loved about her; she didn’t need him, she wanted him. Smiling slightly at the thought, he turned his attention back to E.
“Ay brah, ya gone bring Sis with us to the afterhours?” E asked, trying to determine the seating arrangement for the night.
“If she want to come,” Richard shrugged. “I’m gone ask her if she want to come when she come back outside.”
E turned in the direction of the guys crouched along the wall of his apartment. “How many y’all niggas coming to the afterhours?”
“Just me, Rex, Smoke, Dirt and Mondo,” Maybay answered, speaking for the whole group.
“Damn,” E said, turning back towards Richard. “We gone need three cars then if sis coming.”
Skinny cut in. E had not seen her walking up, now she spoke from right behind him. “I ain’t going,” she said, cutting into the conversation. She had just lost her dinner, so she felt a little better than she had a few moments ago, but her stomach was still doing flips. “I drank too much at Gina’s house. I want to go home and lay down.”
“A’ight then,” Richard answered, a little concerned. He pulled Skinny into his arms, brushed her forehead with his thumb and searched her slightly glazed eyes. He was looking for even the slightest sign that she couldn’t handle driving herself. Seeing no indication that her driving would be unsafe, he said, “Drive the gray car home.”Still holding her in his arms, he turned his head over his shoulder. “Brah! You left something in that mother fucker?”
“Naw brah,” E answered. “But I’m ‘bout to go get the choppa out the house and put it in the car we riding in. Get the Uzi too ‘cause you know Short don’t check me at the door.”
Richard thought silently for a moment as he handed Skinny the keys. “Yeah, you right, cause they ain’t gone let us bring that choppa in the club,” nodding.
“Y’all niggas take that big ass Uzi in the afterhours?” Mondo asked doubtfully, interrupting the conversation between E and Richard.
An eerie silence blanketed their group as everyone turned their attention on Mondo. Richard and E exchanged a glance silently asking each other, who this nigga think he is?
Richard released Skinny from his arms, a cocky half-smile on his face, and turned his full attention towards Mondo. “Yeah,” ridiculing Mondo’s idiocy with his tone, “and the choppa gone be in the back seat, cause if something pop off and we run out.”
Richard turned back towards E, shooting a quick, ominous glance back over his shoulder at Mondo. “Brah, where you say you know this nigga from?” Richard asked.
“He cool,” E waved his arm in dismissal. “Don’t worry ‘bout that shit.” Affectionately, he smacked Richard’s shoulder and headed off to prepare the cars for afterhours.
Richard wanted to trust E’s judgment, but something about Mondo didn’t settle right. Still watching Mondo from the corner of his eye, Richard turned back towards Skinny. “It’s four-thirty, baby. Meet me back here at noon.”
Skinny leaned in for a kiss, “A’ight baby. See ya later,” and headed for the car, Richard following behind her. As he pulled the driver’s side door open, she turned to face him again. “And if ya’ get some shone, call me so I can get some head from that hoe.”
Richard grinned and smacked her rear end, prodding her into the car. “I got you baby girl.” He leaned into the car to give her one last kiss and said, “I love you girl.”
***
Everybody knew the young man making his way through the smoke-filled afterhours. Women ran their hands up and down his white shirt; a few even clawed at his Polo jeans, hoping to coax him onto the dance floor. Men greeted him with smiles and dap. But all the while, through all the distractions the afterhours had to offer, Richard continued to make his way closer to the bar. “Princess!” he tapped his fingers on the bar and smiled, “Wuz up, Auntie?”
The bartender’s face lit up at the sound of Richard’s voice. “Nephew!” she exclaimed, placing the glass she’d been washing back into the sink. “Wuz up? Ya want something to drink?”
Smiling slyly, Richard held up a full bottle of Hennessy Skinny had left in the car. “Naw, Auntie. I’m good on drink, but I need some gar’s and seven bottles of water.”
“Okay,” Princess started lining up glasses, filling them with ice. “I’m gone give you ten Dutch’s, seven waters and some cups of ice, a’ight?”
“Yeah, that uh be good for now, Auntie,” Richard nodded and handed her a hundred dollar bill. As he turned towards the tables, where the rest of his group had headed, he took in the scene. It was a busy night; that promised good sales. And everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves: smoking weed or glass, sniffing coke, dropping pills. He could even assume that a few patrons sat huddled in the bathroom, shooting up; they always were. All of that promised good sales tonight as well. Richard inhaled deeply, allowing the dank air to fill his lungs. You could almost get a high just breathing the afterhour’s air.
He smiled to himself as he spotted their table. Just as he had reached their table, a female voice calling his name cut through the crowd. Richard snapped his head in the direction of the voice, trying to determine its source. He spotted the dyed cornrows first, then the small upturned nose and large, luscious lips. It was Joy, one of the strippers from Take-One, and she was closing the distance between the two of them quickly, despite the large crowd in the room.
“Wuz good, Joy?” Richard asked when she had reached where he stood. Instinctively, he placed his money back into his pocket.
Joy stood so close to him, he could have buried his face in her exposed cleavage. “Boy, you ain’t gotta be putting your money up when you see me.” She traced her finger down his arm.
Flicking her hand away, he forced himself to focus his eyes on her face instead of her bare flesh. “Girl, that’s just a habit.” He sat down in one the chair, trying to put some distance between the two of them. “What’s on your mind though?”
“You know what’s on my mind.” Joy cooed seductively, trailing her fingernails down his face.
Richard pulled his head back, repulsed by her continued advances. “Girl, I done told you. I ain’t trying to have you fucked up ‘bout the kid.”
“I think you’d be fucked up ‘bout me,” Joy said, coming in for another advance. Just before she closed the gap between them, Princess intervened, placing her body between Joy and Richard.
Princess used her hips to bump Joy out of the way. “Nephew, here go your change.” She shot Richard a knowing smile as she handed him the money.
Richard smiled and winked back, knowing that Princess had intentionally saved him from Joy’s clutches. “Auntie, give Maybay fifty dollars. You keep the change. A’ight?”
“Okay Maybay, here ya go.” Before leaving, she called over her shoulder in a sing-song voice, “Call me if you need something.”
Richard snickered and turned his attention back to a dejected-looking Joy. “Ms. Joy,” he said, trying not to let the amusement seep through his voice. “I knew I had something to tell ya.”
“And what’s that?” Hurt was still evident in her voice, but a glint in her eyes reflected a small remaining shred of hope.
/> “I got some pills,” he said. “So if you and your coworkers need some, holla at my little brother.”
Joy winced at the words, but quickly recovered. She hoped the deflated feeling inside stayed away from the surface, but looking at Richard, she guessed that it must be displayed on her face. As he held her gaze, he looked like he felt sorry for her. She had been waiting in line for Richard from the moment she’d laid eyes on him. She wondered what Skinny had to offer that she couldn’t? Hurt, angry and irritated, she hid her face by turning towards E. Her back now faced Richard. “All right,” she said, pulling her cell phone out. “Give me your number so I can call you when we need some at the strip club.”
Now out of the line of fire, Richard glanced around the room. He was looking for his very first sale of the night. But not far from their table, Richard noticed another familiar face coming towards them.
“Rich Kid!” Ron called, making his way through the crowd, bumping people out of the way with his shoulder. “Wuz good, nigga?”
Richard greeted Ron with a smile and some daps. “Ain’t much, nigga. I’m just chilling.’”
“I see ya got some bad bitches with you, too,” Ron said, noticing the slew of girls that had flocked over to their table, Joy included.
“Yeah, man,” Richard replied. “I do what I can, you know?”
Ron nodded in understanding. “Well, look here. I got a bottle of Patron in the car if you want a little, nigga.” He smiled as Richard’s expression of gratitude surfaced. Ron hadn’t really planned on drinking it, and he figured it would be a good way to connect with the up and coming man on the streets. He’d heard good things about Rick Kid, and what better way for Ron to pass on his legacy than to reward a newer, younger version of himself?
The Family Is Made (Part 1) (Thuggin In Miami) Page 4