Even More Wifey Status

by Racquel Williams

  We rapped a little longer, and then he left. I made my way back to the pod and made my first phone call to Sierra. I might as well go ahead and face her now.

  Sierra Rogers

  Li’l Mo’ showed up just in time. I was ready to get the hell on. My car was in the parking lot, but I was in no shape to drive home. I decide to let it stay parked and ride home with Mo’. I would come back and get the car at a later date.

  I dressed Azir in one of his cute Rocawear snowsuits and placed him in the car seat. I thanked all the nurses and then sat in the wheelchair as the nurse’s aide pushed me out the door. Mo’ carried the car seat, and we loaded up in her car.

  “Hey, boo, how you feeling?”

  “Terrible. It was Alijah and his boys that got locked up.”

  “Damn, how you know?”

  “I saw them on the news this morning.”

  “Wow! That’s crazy.”

  “I know. I don’t know what the fuck’s going on. I just need to get home so I can sort all this shit out.”

  “Well, I’ll be there. I know me and him had our falling out, but I know how you feel about him, so I’m going to be there for you.”

  “Thanks, girl. For a minute, I thought that you wasn’t fuckin’ wit’ me, but I see you still my bitch.”

  “Girl, I was tight at that nigga for disrespecting me, and I needed some time away. But we been through too much to let a nigga come between us; you feel me?”

  I was happy to hear those words, because I needed a friend. My heart was broken, and I didn’t know how I was going to survive. I felt like I wanted to die!

  We pulled up at the house and got out of the car. Jeanette was waiting for us downstairs.

  “Come here, little man. Nana is going to spoil you.”

  I saw the surprised look on Mo’s face. She knew the full story of Jeanette abandoning me. So this came as a surprise to her, but I didn’t feel like I had to keep explaining my reasons why I decided to let her back in my life. I knew she wasn’t no role model, and I didn’t expect anyone to understand where I was coming from. I just know that after I got shot, I realized that life was too short, and I didn’t want to have any regrets.

  Jeanette took Azir upstairs while Mo’ and I stayed in the living room. It was time for me to get to the bottom of everything.

  The lawyer finally called, and as you can imagine, I was furious at his black ass. I left him a message, hours ago, and this fool claimed he was tied up. Like I give a fuck. I told him about Alijah’s situation and told him I need him on the case ASAP. I decided to meet him the next day with a check. I was so upset with him I hung the phone up without even saying good-bye.

  Mo’ and I talked for a little longer.

  “Sierra, you need to put something on your stomach,” Mo’ said.

  “I can’t right now. I need to know where they holding him and his first court appearance.”

  “Trust me, I understand. That’s how I felt when Troy got torn off. But you just had a baby and you’re bleeding, so you need to put something on your stomach.”

  “OK, Mo’, I hear you,” I said in an annoyed tone. That was my cue for her to shut the hell up.

  We sat a little longer; then she bounced.

  * * *

  Jeanette bathed Azir and fed him, then put him to sleep. After that, she joined me in the living room. She sat on the sofa beside me.

  “I won’t ask how you feeling. That would be a stupid question, but, baby, you need to be strong. Alijah need you more than ever now. You have to be his voice on this side of the fence.”

  “Hmm . . . Strong for him? I can’t even be strong for my own damn self. I can’t do this. He was getting ready to walk away from the game. All he wanted was his family; he wants to be in his son’s life. I dreaded this was going to happen.”

  “Sierra, this is only man’s law. God has the last say; don’t give up on him coming home so fast. Hold the faith and fight for your family.”

  I needed her to shut the fuck up with this damn preaching that ain’t going to change a damn thing or bring my man home. She got the drift and headed on back upstairs. I was eager to get the call from the attorney. I was tempted to blow up his phone. Instead, I decided to wait a little longer. I called the Richmond City Jail and found out they had him, and he was waiting to be transferred. The bitch at the desk would not give me any more information.

  I felt helpless. I recalled the last time when he got locked up, I was able to set the faggot up and had the case dropped. Lord knew I was in over my head. Everybody knew that the feds ain’t the ones to play with. I have never heard of one nigga that beat them before, and the numbers that they gave out was nothing nice. My thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of my cell phone.

  “Hello.”

  “OK, Ms. Rogers, I located Mr. Jackson, and I went to see him. This is where we stand; it was a sting operation at the Marriott Hotel. Mr. Jackson and his boys were also set up by an undercover agent that was a part of his crew. He’s being charged with multiple counts of murders, drug trafficking, and money laundering. I have to tell you, these are some serious charges.”

  “All right, I hear you. So what’s the bottom line?”

  “Well, he will go in front of the judge for a bond hearing; then we will go from there. I tell you from what I have already seen, the case is a tough one, but I will give it my best shot.”

  “What the hell you mean? You better get in there and fight for my man like it’s your life. I need him home!” I yelled in the phone.

  “Ms. Rogers, believe me, I understand your frustrations. His bail hearing is in the morning at the Federal Courthouse on Broad at 10:00 a.m. I’m pretty sure he wants to see you, and we can talk after court.”

  “Sure, I’ll see you then.” I hung the phone up.

  I shouldn’t be going off on the attorney, but I was pissed off. I wasn’t going to sit and pretend that shit was good, because it wasn’t. I needed a drink and a blunt bad. I had an idea where Alijah kept his stash, so I went into it and took out some weed. I rolled me a blunt and poured a glass of Baileys. It didn’t matter any that I just came home from the hospital. I needed something to numb my pain.

  I heard Jeanette’s footsteps coming down the stairs, but I continued on doing me.

  “Sierra, are you drinking and smoking? You just had a baby, and you’re on medication.”

  “Who the hell you talking to? I’m grown as fuck! Don’t you ever try to check me in my fucking house, or you can get the hell on.”

  “I know you’re hurting, but this is not the right way to go about it. You can have a bad reaction mixing your medication with alcohol.”

  “And this warning is coming from a person that used crack, mixed it with weed, sniffed powder, and shot heroin, all at the same damn time. Ha-ha, you are hilarious.”

  She didn’t respond. She just stood there and shook her head at me. A moment later, she walked off. I was going to scream at her again; instead, I just puffed some more of the high-grade herb and sipped on my drink. Fuck whoever wanted to judge me. I would answer to God when it’s my time. Until then, I was going to do whatever the hell I wanted to do and see who was going to check me.

  * * *

  I woke up with a hangover and a terrible headache. That was the only thing that I didn’t like about drinking. I took some Tylenol and walked upstairs to check on my baby. My intention last night was to go upstairs after I was finished, but that didn’t happen.

  I knocked on Jeanette’s door to get my baby.

  “Come in.”

  “Hey, Mommy’s bundle of joy.” I picked him up off the bed.

  “Chile, he been up all night. He reminds me of you; slept all day and stayed up at night.”

  “Is that right, li’l man? You gave Nana a hard time?” I said while tickling him.

  “Listen, Jeanette, I apologize ’bout last night. I was out of place. I had no business trying to tell you how to live your life.”

  “OK.”

  I lef
t it at that; I wasn’t in the mood to debate. My head was killing me, and I had to be in court.

  “I have to go to court around ten. If you don’t mind, can you watch Azir for me?”

  “Of course. Just go ahead get yourself together and go see ’bout that boy’s daddy.”

  I turned around to tell her how much I appreciated her. The words never came out, so I turned back around again and left the room.

  I took a hot shower; this was my first real bath since I had Azir, and as always, the water does the body good. I still wasn’t feeling like my old self, but I had things to tend to. I got dressed and was ready to tackle all this chaos. I needed money for the lawyer, so I went downstairs to the safe that Alijah built in the house. I used the code that he gave me months ago; I never had a reason to go in there until now. The safe popped open, and my heart skipped a beat. I have never seen so much cash in my life before. There were stacks upon stacks. I felt nervous just standing there. I looked around to make sure no one was spying on me. I knew he was grinding, but I had no idea that he was caked up like that. I counted out a hundred grand and closed it up. I wasn’t sure about the lawyer fee, so I took out enough to pay for his fee and his boys. If it wasn’t enough, then I would get more.

  I put the money in the biggest bag that I owned. I see now the reason why he always told me that if anything ever happened to him, we’d be set for life. I locked the basement door and checked it twice. Then I went upstairs, kissed the baby, and left.

  I didn’t realize that my car was still parked in the hospital parking lot until I got in the garage and saw it was not there. I had no choice but to drive Alijah’s Lexus. I got his spare key and hit the road. His car was faster than mine, but I was a pro, so it came natural to maneuver it.

  * * *

  His bail hearing was at ten o’ clock. I checked my phone. It was around that time. I parked and placed the bag of money in my trunk. I locked it with hopes that nobody would fuck with my car while I was gone. I decided not to carry the money with me because I was going up in the federal building where security was tight, and I didn’t want to get noticed with all that money.

  I went through security and showed my identification. His lawyer was already there, so I went over to talk to him. He told me he was going to go for a bond, but it might not happen. Before we could continue with our conversation, the judge and the U.S. attorney entered the courtroom.

  The marshals brought in Chuck first, followed by Dre and Alijah. They were chained around the waist to their ankles. These motherfuckers were not playing any games; they really thought that they were killers. Alijah and I glanced at each other. He smiled at me, and I whispered, “I love you” to him.

  The procedure was the same as any other bail hearing. The U.S. attorney called the undercover agent to the stand where he testified about all the crimes that he witnessed. Remind you this was the same dude that Alijah brought on his team after Darryl got killed. I was furious when I saw that nigga’s face. Sitting there listening to everything dude was saying, I knew Alijah’s future didn’t look too bright. This dude knew too much about the business. I didn’t see him the day that I called Alijah to help me, but does that mean he didn’t know? I couldn’t think straight.

  I wanted to leave, but I had to stay. I need to hear everything for myself. However, I couldn’t focus; I sat there numb and spaced out. I hardly heard anything either side was arguing about. All I heard was mumbling between them. I sat up and tried to pay attention. I saw when only the district attorney took the stand. I did not expect him to be there. Fuck that, I never thought that I would ever see him after our last encounter. He looked at me and smiled. I did not think anything was funny.

  I sat there while he testified. I wish I wasn’t here. I was so caught up in Alijah’s drama, totally ignoring the fact that last year I set that faggot up, and three days ago, I murdered my ex-best friend. Reality quickly set in, and I knew at that point, I needed to hire my own defense attorney.

  Alijah’s attorney tried to paint him as a family man. He even mentioned that just days ago he became a dad. None of that effort was any match for the evidence that the government put on, describing Alijah as a cold-blooded murderer; a drug kingpin who has ties to Jamaica, England, and the Cayman Islands. The way he painted him, he was nothing short of a monster. After listening to both sides, the judge denied bond.

  I saw the lawyer whispering to Alijah before they led him out. This time he did not look at me because if he did, he would’ve seen the long tears rolling down my face. I stood there until they led him out of sight behind the huge double doors.

  Then I got up and proceeded to walk out. I had my head lowered until I bumped into someone. I was getting ready to say excuse me until I picked my head up and realized who was standing in front of me.

  “Well, well, well. Hello, Ms. Williams. Or should I say Sierra Rogers? I see we meet again.”

  “What the hell you want? I thought we had a deal.”

  “Ha-ha. A fucking deal? You fucking walked into my life and set me up with your little friend, then had the nerve to blackmail me. Here you are talking about a frigging deal.”

  “Listen to me, you faggot! I still have a copy of the tape. Trust me, I won’t think twice to send it to Channel 6 news,” I spat.

  “Lord, you must have not seen the news the other day. I made a public announcement that I was leaving my wife for my man. Honey, you are so late.”

  I was definitely caught off guard, but I wasn’t about to let that clown see me sweat.

  “You are fucking disgusting. Stay the hell away from me.”

  “Ms. Rogers, I feel pity for you. I thought about charging your ass with blackmail, but decided you’re a waste of human life. Plus, I did like the way your friend sucked my dick. Woiee, Lord, he sure know how to suck a cock,” he bragged.

  I couldn’t stand there and listen to that nastiness. I pushed him out of the way and stepped into the hallway. I was already upset, and then that clown just completely blew me. I was ready to go home, but I needed to talk to the attorney. He was still in the courthouse talking with the feds. It was another twenty minutes before he came out.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting. I just needed to see which direction they’re heading with the case.”

  “No sweat. I have the money in my car. We can walk and talk.”

  “As you have heard, there is no bond. The next step will be his arraignment. That’s when he will be formally charged. We will plead not guilty. I put in a motion for discovery so I can know all the evidence they have on him.”

  “So what are the chances of him beating these charges?”

  “Realistically? I say just from browsing through all the evidence they claim that they have, I can’t really draw a conclusion. I promise you, though, I will fight for him until I can’t fight anymore.”

  “I need an attorney.”

  “Are you in trouble?”

  “Nah, at least not yet. I just don’t know if they might come after me because I’m his woman.”

  “I doubt it. You have your own business and money, but with the feds you never know. I have a partner in the firm. He’s very experienced. I’ll put him in touch with you.”

  “I appreciate that. So when are they moving him?”

  “This afternoon they will be transporting him to Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw. That’s about a forty-five-minute drive from Richmond. You might want to call them and get their visiting hours. I’ll be up there soon as I get all the information that I need.”

  I popped the trunk and gave him the money.

  “Here’s a hundred grand. Let me know if you need more. I don’t care how much it costs to get him the best possible defense, and I heard you are one of the best, so please help him.”

  “Thank you. I will put this toward all three of their legal defenses. Alijah is stronger than you think. He is more worried about you and the baby.”

  “Well, we’re going to be a’ight. We just need him home with us.”<
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  “Absolutely! I have to run. I have another client to meet up with. You have my number; ring me if you need anything.”

  “Alrighty then.”

  I watched as he clutched his briefcase close to him and walked in the opposite direction. I got into my car and headed home.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Sierra Rogers

  I was feeling tired, mentally and physically drained. I had no idea when things were going to get better. They said to be careful of what you ask for, and that statement has proved to be true. I recall growing up in Creighton, and all I ever dreamed of was meeting a rich dope boy and moving out of the projects. I didn’t bargain for all the bullshit that came with it. I mean, ever since we started our lives together, it’s been chaos, even to the point where I could’ve lost my life. “Why was I this unlucky? What did I do wrong?” I asked myself.

  After sitting in court and hearing all the charges that were brought against Alijah, I couldn’t help but to feel a little down. I knew I had to stay optimistic for him and my son, but I felt like there’s no way out this time. Tears rolled down my face as the severe heartache took its toll on my fragile heart.

  I pulled in my driveway and tiptoed upstairs. I needed a minute to myself, just one minute to lie down and cry. I need God to take all the pain away. It was times like this I would really love to hear my grandma’s voice or feel her tender touch. I lay in my bed crying, thinking she’d appear like she usually did. Seconds turn into minutes, minutes into hours, and still, nothing happened.

  Then the cell phone rang and woke me out of my daze. I jumped up and answered it.

  “You have a prepaid call. You will not be charged for this call. Press five to speak.” My fingers trembled as I pressed five to accept the call.