The Family Is Made (Part 1) (Thuggin In Miami)

by R. A. Robinson

  “I’ll see what I can do man,” Tim said as he patted the bed he’d set aside for Richard. The wheels already turning in his head, Tim walked away without another word. He knew that getting on Richard’s good side could pave the way for his future, both behind bars and when he got out. Tim had heard the stories; he knew this young nigga had already made a name on the streets. Richard was ruthless, but he took care of his Family. Even more admirable was the fact that he was fair to the dealers that bought directly from him. He purchased the drugs and was willing to let those who were worthy of trust ride on credit. Already committed to getting Richard anything he needed during his stay, Tim considered how he could use his authority on the floor to meet Richard’s first request.

  ***

  Together, Alicia and Skinny walked to the car. Using her cell phone, Skinny called the jail for the fourth time since leaving her interrogation with the D.E.A.. Nothing. Driving to Gina’s house, she called again. Still nothing. Sitting at Gina’s kitchen table, she tried again.

  “Skinny,” Gina said. “You need to stop calling. They not going to tell you when he gets there ‘cause you keep getting on their nerves calling every five minutes.”

  “Yes, I would like to know if you have a Richard A. Gary in custody,” Skinny spoke into her cell phone, ignoring Gina’s comment.

  “Yes, we’ve got him here.”

  Excited to finally have some sort of news on Richard, Skinny smiled as she stood quickly. The motion made it feel as if the room was moving. Her smile faded and she slowly sat back down, beads of sweat developing on her brow.

  “Does he have a bond?” she asked, still trying to fight off the dizzy spell. While she still felt as though the room was swaying beneath her feet, the sensation seemed to have dissipated a bit now that she was sitting down. A small twinge of panic crept up, but she excused the feelings quickly as the correction officer spoke again.

  “I don’t know, but when he checks in his property, he’ll be able to call you.” The correction officer sounded a bit bored with his job, but was polite, nonetheless. Maybe his stay wouldn’t be so bad, Skinny thought to herself.

  “Okay, thank you.” Her smile returned at the thought of being able to talk to Richard. “But can you tell him to call this number please?”

  “Yeah, I can do that,” Skinny could hear the C.O. shifting through papers, looking for a pen, she guessed. “What’s the number?” he finally asked.

  “It’s seven, eight, six, seven, five, three, six, one, four, two.” After a moment of no response, Skinny asked, “You got it?”

  “Yeah, I got it,” answered the correction officer. “I’ll give it to him now.”

  Gina and Alicia had waited eagerly while Skinny spoke to the correction officer. The had hung on her every word, and now that the call was over, they wasted no time in asking, “So? What’d they charge him with?” Alicia was the first to speak. “Does he have a bond?” Gina spoke up next.

  “They ain’t told me yet.” A cloud of sadness swept over her face, but only for a moment. “But they gave him the number to call here.” Again, her expression brightened at the thought of hearing Richard’s voice.

  “Okay then.” Gina nodded. The motion had a duel meaning; it was one of understanding but also one that outwardly affirmed her inner decision. She knew that being the oldest of the three women, and the oldest of the remaining family members, it was officially her responsibility to take charge of the situation. “Let’s just wait here on the call ‘cause we can’t do nothing ‘til he tell us what to do.”

  Trying desperately to make small talk, the three women sat in Gina’s kitchen, but they were failing miserably at it. The apprehensiveness of the small gathering was thick, palpable. Gina tapped a pencil on the table. Alicia crossed between pacing the room and sitting down in a chair next to Skinny, who was flopping her foot nervously.

  Every so often, Skinny took a trip to the restroom. Waves of dizziness kept creeping up on her. Initially, she attributed the spells to stress, but then she reconsidered the idea when she realized that she hadn’t eaten all day. The latter was easier to solve than the former, so she asked Gina for some cheese and crackers. With that and a little bit of water, she started to feel better. That gave her a small sense of relief. At least the baby’s okay.

  Finally, the phone rang. Gina answered it. “Hello? Who would you like to speak to?” She knew that Richard would have only a few minutes to talk and they didn’t have time to waste. They needed a plan.

  “What kind of birds don’t fly?” came through from the other side of the line.

  “Boy, you crazy!” A small giggle escaped her lips. “What they trying to charge you with?”

  “First they come talking ‘bout drugs and shit, but when I get here, I find out that I got a tax evasion charge.” Richard pulled on the phone cord, watching it spring back into place. “I thought only rich white people got shit like that.”

  Innately knowing that her time on the phone was up, Gina turned towards Skinny, and held the phone out. Skinny needed to talk to his voice more than anyone. While she did appear to be doing a bit better, Gina had noticed that the crease in Skinny’s forehead had remained constant since shortly after hanging up the phone with the correction officer.

  As if affirming Gina’s thoughts, Skinny’s face now lit up. Smiling from ear to ear, she took the phone and gave Gina a kiss on the cheek.

  “Richy, baby.” Skinny held the phone tightly with both hands as she spoke, as if her very life depended on the voice coming through on the other line. “What did they charge you with?”

  “Fucking tax evasion.”

  Skinny’s brow furrowed in confusion. “How they gone charge you with that?”

  “Look, baby,” Richard stopped the conversation before it could wander. He had business to take care of. “I ain’t got that much time on the phone. So here’s what I need you to do.”

  “Hold on, baby,” Skinny turned her attention towards Alicia. “Sis, can you hand me that?” She pointed towards the pencil Gina had been tapping nervously just moments before.

  After giving her a few moments ready, Richard explained his plan. He needed her to put money on his books. That would help him with the lawyer. To get the money, she would need to go to E’s house.

  “From E, baby?” she asked. She felt uncomfortable telling their business to anyone that wasn’t a part of their immediate family, even if it was to help get Richard out of jail. “No, I ain’t telling nobody but your sisters.”

  “Baby girl, he good. You can let him know,” Richard reassured. “That’s my brother from another mother. You know that.”

  Skinny admitted to herself that she did, in fact, know that. Sighing quietly, she moved on to her next question. “How much money you want me to bring to you?”

  “Get three hundred from E and bring that to put on my books here.” He paused for a moment so she could write the information down. “Then tell him to give the lawyer the money he needs to get started on my case.” Sobbing filled Richard’s ear.

  “Okay, baby.” Skinny gripped the phone tighter, if that were even possible. Her sobs came back full force and they filled Richard’s ear on the other line. Between short gasps of air, she spoke. “I love you...more than…you know.”

  An aching so strong that it threatened to cut off his voice completely grew in Richard’s chest. “Baby girl,” he spoke softly, hoping to wrap up the conversation before her sobs could paralyze him completely. “You got to go put some collect on your cell phone. That way I can call you, a’ight?” Her sniffles grew louder. “I love you too, and stop crying, baby. It’s gone be a’ight.”

  “Okay, baby,” she replied, trying to calm her sobs, “I’m gone do everything you asked right now.”

  “You can do everything else, but wait until morning to holla at the lawyer,” he replied.

  “A’ight baby.” She used the heel of her hand to wipe streams of tears from her cheeks and chin.

  “I love you, baby. Tell sis
and them I love them too.” She’d understood his instructions, and she would carry them out, he knew. Without waiting for her reply, he pulled the phone away from his ear, certain that one more sob would be enough to crumble his strong façade. His muscles tensed as he gently placed the phone onto the cradle. Disconnecting from her, in that very moment, was the hardest things he had ever done.

  Skinny held the phone to her ear and waited for the click. The moment she heard it, the sobs returned, even fiercer than they had been before.

  Chapter 10

  Deep in thought, E traced the exterior of his cell phone. He was so surrounded by his thoughts of worry and concern that he almost hadn’t heard Dirt speak. He flipped the phone open, glanced at it, and then closed again.

  “Damn E, what’s on your mind?”

  “I’m just wondering why Rich Kid ain’t answering his phone.” E’s gaze still focused on the silent cell phone.

  “Man, you know how Rich Kid be,” Dirt responded, dismissively. “He probably still sleep.”

  “Yeah,” E responded absentmindedly. Flipping the phone open again, he stared at the display screen, mentally willing it to ring. He gave a sigh just before closing it again. At that exact moment, the phone in his hand started to vibrate. A wave of relief swept over him as flipped it open and pulled it up to his ear. “Hello?” he answered, expecting the voice on the other end to be Richard.

  “E, I need to talk to you.” It was Skinny.

  E’s stomach lurched. He racked his brain for any reason that Skinny might be calling him, wanting to discuss Richard; he could only come up with one. “Sis, that you?” His voice shook as he asked his next question. “Why Rich ain’t answering his phone?” He wasn’t certain that he wanted to know the answer.

  “That’s what I need to talk to you about.” A ball formed in the back of her throat, making it painful to speak. She swallowed hard, trying to push the lump back down. “Just come to Gina’s house, a’ight?” She pulled the phone away from her mouth, trying to hide her sobs.

  “Hello? Sis? Sis!” E was shaking. Something was wrong. Very wrong. He could feel it, sensed the desperation in Skinny’s voice.

  “Just come, E, a’ight?”

  With the click of their ended phone call, E’s heart began to race. What had happened? Why wouldn’t Skinny tell him over the phone? Over the next several minutes, E ran on pure instinct and fear. His thoughts and actions were no longer driven by intention, but by pure adrenaline. Already standing, he grabbed Dirt by the arm and started pulling him outside.

  Dirt followed the pull. He didn’t try to pull away; he didn’t get angry. Something was wrong and Dirt knew it.“What happen yo’?”

  “Man, drive this bitch to your house. I got to handle some business.” E was already climbing into the passenger’s seat.

  Dirt climbed into the driver’s seat and started up the engine. Feeding off E’s adrenaline, Dirt slammed his foot on the gas pedal, leaving a cloud of dirt behind him. “What happen?” he asked, taking his eyes off the road to steal a glance at E; the tense jaw and furrowed brow indicated that something was severely wrong.

  “Just go or you can get out and walk!” E screamed. His wild eyes bore into Dirt, forcing Dirt to look away.

  Dirt pushed the gas pedal further to the floor. “A’ight, I going.” Through his periphery, he caught sight of E pulling his gun out. At that moment, Dirt grasped an unspoken understanding of the situation. His own heart now racing, Dirt ran a red light. Blaring horns sounded behind them as they cleared the intersection.

  Pulling up in front of Dirt’s house, E didn’t even wait for Dirt to exit the car completely before sliding over the console into the driver’s seat. Letting the sudden forward force of the car slam the door shut, he laid into the gas pedal, pushing the car to sixty before even reaching the end of the block.

  Speeding down the street, E pulled out his cell phone and hit the call button. The action directed him to the last call made. “What happened to Rich?” he yelled into the phone, not caring who it was that had answered.

  “Boy! Quit yelling in my ear!” It was Alicia. “Ain’t shit happen to my big brother.”

  “My bad, Sis.” E concentrated on lowering his voice. “But why Skinny crying like that then?”

  Alicia knew that E could go on a massive killing spree if he had even the slightest suspicion that Richard might be dead. So despite the plan to wait until he arrived, she broke the news. “He just got locked up. That’s all boy, so don’t worry yourself.”

  A whoosh of air left E’s lungs. Richard being locked up wasn’t a good news, but it was definitely better than the worst-case scenario news he’d been worried about. “I’m pulling in the projects right now. Y’all open the door for me?”

  Alicia was already standing in the doorway when E brought the car to a screeching halt. His body jolted forward, just a little, and bounced back into the seat. After placing the car in park, he headed in Alicia’s direction.

  Even from the yard, he could hear Skinny’s sobs; they grew louder with each step he took. When he entered the small kitchen, he found her huddled in Gina’s arms, shaking violently from her sobs. Gina’s expression was laden with concern. “What’s going on, Sis?” He directed his attention towards Alicia and took note of her somber expression.

  “Ask Skinny, she gone tell you.” Alicia replied flatly, motioning towards Skinny. Her sober expression deepened. “And try to get her to see she gone be alright before she has a miscarriage.”

  Nodding at Alicia, E prepared himself. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. Finally, he turned and stepped towards Skinny until he was just a few feet behind her shaking body. “Suck that shit up, Sis!” His tone was hard, but respectful. He’d known Skinny long enough to know that she didn’t respond well to soft, gentle prodding. “If Bro was here, he would be going crazy right now.”

  Skinny took a step backwards, stiffened her body, puffed out her chest and lifted her chin. Slowly, methodically, she concentrated on her breathing, willed it to slow down. Everyone in the room waited patiently as her sobs lightened, and eventually disappeared completely. Finally calm, she used the collar of her shirt to dry her tear-stained cheeks before turning around to face E.

  “Now,” E said, confident that Skinny had her emotions under control. “What happened?”

  The four of them, E, Gina, Alicia and Skinny, sat down at Gina’s kitchen table as Skinny retold the story of that morning, leaving nothing out, not even the comment Richard had made when the officers had first started collecting the money. All of them chuckled a little at Richard’s brashness with the police. Finally, Skinny reached the phone call she’d received from Richard earlier.

  “And that’s it. What am I going to do?”she asked, placing her hands in her lap, looking down at the table.

  Figuring that she might start crying again, E touched her shoulder. “We gone be a’ight,” he said softly, but with confidence.

  Skinny looked up at E, eyes glimmering with tears and hope. “That’s what Richy told me.” A small smile pulled at her lips.

  For a moment, everyone sat at the table in silence, each lost in their own train of thought. Gina and Alicia worried about Skinny. Skinny and E shared a slightly different line of thinking, however. That thought was one of revenge.

  Clearing his throat, E stood up. “Well, look here. I’m gone go get this money together so we can get the lawyer, but fuck that three hundred dollars.” E reached in his pocket and pulled out a stack of bills. He handed it to Skinny. “Here’s a thousand dollars. Put five hundred on his books and keep the rest for you.” As Skinny’s hand wrapped around the bills, he grabbed a hold of it with his free hand. “If you need something else, you let me know.”

  Skinny could have read E’s unspoken message from miles away. Nodding, she answered, “I know what I need you to do.”

  “What’s that?”

  “When you find that nigga that snitched on him,” her voice became thick with hatred, her gaze des
pondent. “I want to be the one that kill his ass.” As if snapping out of a gaze, she shook her head and looked up at E pleadingly. “You can do that for me, right?”

  Seeing where this conversation was going, Gina stepped up next to Alicia and E, now staring at each other with silent understanding. “Just calm down now.”She touched Skinny’s shoulder gently but warned E with a threatening glare. Skinny was frail right now; she couldn’t be held fully responsible for her words or actions. E was a different story. He needed to stop this before it went any further.

  Still sitting at the table, Alicia looked up, her eyes glazed with worry and concern. “She dead ass serious, Gina.”Alicia knew, without a doubt, that no one would be able to stop Skinny; she would have her revenge, with or without E’s help. Having it would be better than the alternative. If he helped her, he could at least keep Skinny safe.

  Gina’s eyes bounced from Skinny to E to Alicia. She felt as if her family were falling apart. Pops was in juvie, Richard was in jail, and now Skinny and E were plotting to kill whoever had ratted out Richard. She wondered how she could stop this horrible chain of events. She racked her brain, trying to find something to say that would change Skinny and E’s minds. She was angry too, but killing whoever had done this just wasn’t the answer. But before any single thought could come to fruition, E spoke up.

  “A’ight. That’s done, Sis.” He gave Skinny a nod. “Just call me in the morning when you see how much the lawyer gone need to start his case.” Without another word, he walked out the door and headed towards the car. After the initial squeal of his tires had faded, the three women sat in silence.

  ***

  It had been two months since Richard had left. Most everyone adjusted and went back to their normal lives – business as usual, but Richard’s absence had left a gaping wound in the hearts of some of The Family.