Life After Sadie

by Natalie Weber

  “Forgive me, Serenity”—he motioned to Heaven—“this is my sister. She keeps everybody in check around here, including me. Why don’t you have a seat at the bar and let me finish with Miss-Whip-My-Ass, and then we can talk.”

  “Heaven, it’s nice to meet you. Cass, take your time. Business comes first.” Serenity turned around and sat back at the bar.

  “Damn, Heaven, why you so mean? Can’t you be nice to any of the girls I like?” Cass threw his hands up in the air. “Let’s just make this quick,” he said, still aggravated.

  “She ain’t no different than the little hoes you got comin’ to the lounge parties. Anyway, you got to sign some checks, and two girls have just quit. I don’t have any backups that are available, so you need to get on the phone and solve it, ’cause I ain’t busing no tables or bartending tonight,” Heaven said with seriousness.

  “Okay, let’s see ... Call the dinner hostess to come in early and help out with waiting tables and tell the hostess now to wait tables or whatever you need so that you can host. Ain’t nothing you can’t handle. I’ll make a call and get another girl over here right away. I’ll also sign the checks and put them in your office,” Cass said calmly.

  “Sounds good but I ain’t trying to host all day and night so gets to calling whoever!” Heaven walked off toward the entrance.

  Cass quickly walked over to Serenity and took a seat beside her. “Sorry about that. My sister can be a bitch sometimes.”

  “No need to apologize. Sometimes you need to be a bitch to get things done,” Serenity offered.

  “Are you?”

  “Are you willing to stick around to find out?” Serenity turned the question around.

  Cass looked at her and stood up. “Well, I guess that makes it official. Where would you like to get married?”

  Serenity giggled and blushed. “Married? We haven’t been on our first date. You don’t even know me,” Serenity spoke with a little suspicion.

  Cass smiled and burst out laughing. “You should of saw you face!” He tried to control his laughter.

  His laughter was contagious. Serenity couldn’t hold back her giggles. “That is not funny. You just don’t know,” she said, relieved that he wasn’t serious.

  “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t resist. But seriously, I would love to get to know you.” Cass saw the takeout menu she was looking at. “Listen, I would love to have our first date now, but after the conversation I just had with my sister, you wouldn’t want a second. Let’s exchange numbers and we can talk to each other later. Is that possible?”

  “Yes, that’s possible,” Serenity said with a smile.

  Cass pulled out his iPhone and touched in her number. He was happy to see her. He had been asking everyone if they knew her, but no one said that they did or didn’t. “Okay, so I’ll talk to you later.” He waved for the bartender and said to him, “Rico, make sure she gets whatever she wants and give her the dining menu not just the takeout menu. Oh yeah, and everything is on the house.”

  “Sure thing, Boss,” Rico stated.

  “Cass, you don’t have to do that. I can pay my way,” Serenity said a bit insulted.

  “No, I insist. Besides, it would hurt my pride if you paid.” Cass’s tone was deep and masculine.

  “Well, I guess I can get used to that.” Serenity laughed. “I’ll call you later and thank you.”

  Cass wanted to passionately kiss her, but he decided on kissing her soft hand instead. He didn’t want her to feel the panties were his first objective.

  Gentleman, she thought, feeling his soft lips against her skin.

  She turned to Rico and took the other menu. After looking at all the entrees she decided on the barbequed chicken and house salad, along with some peach cobbler. As she waited, she looked at her phone on the bar and noticed a text from her sister. She didn’t want to open it. Instantly, her nerves were on edge. Serenity thought after their big blowup she would get the hint. She didn’t bother opening it; instead, she just deleted it. “Damn, can I get some fucking breathing room,” Serenity mumbled in an angry tone.

  “Hey ...” a female voice spoke. “We didn’t ... Excuse me, I didn’t make a good impression on you. I’m Cass’s younger sister, and when things get crazy in here, I can be a bit bitchy,” Heaven said, indicating that she heard her mumbling.

  “Heaven, no need to explain, I know it probably can get a bit crazier than this. Besides, running this joint must be a lot of work. But it’s good to see that it’s a family thing,” Serenity said with a friendlier tone, knowing Heaven probably saw her angry looks.

  “Yeah, it’s a good thing. So, if you don’t mind me asking, how did you meet my brother?” Heaven asked with curiosity.

  “Well, I had just moved to town from Chicago and me and my sister was starvin’. Long story short, we came here, only to find out the wait was over an hour. Your brother almost knocked me to the floor, and I guess he wanted to apologize. So, he got us a table instantly and insisted that he would take care of the bill. We had some damn good food. And, I really don’t like Southern food, but I gotta give to y’all, it was slap-yo’-momma good!” Serenity rubbed her stomach.

  “Well, I’m glad you liked it.” Heaven tried not to stare at Serenity. Her body was perfect. Her breasts were the ideal size. Her attire was on point. She didn’t have a hair out of place. Her makeup was just right.

  Serenity took a sip of her homemade lemonade Rico brought her while she waited. She felt a little uncomfortable because of the pause in Heaven’s conversation. She glanced at Heaven and said, “Why you staring at me like that?”

  “Oh ...” Heaven said embarrassed. “I’m sorry, but I thought you looked familiar. You ain’t no model is you?”

  “No, I was never a model. But you can say I was a celebrity at one point so you might have seen my picture in the paper under those party reviews and stuff.” Serenity didn’t want to lie, but she did.

  “Yeah, you’re probably right. Well, anyway, I gotta go. Hopefully, I’ll see you again. It was nice meeting you.” Heaven stood up and left to go to her office.

  Serenity didn’t know what to think. She sure as hell didn’t want Heaven digging in her past to scare Cass away.

  Chapter 7

  “Yo, my nigga, why you ain’t tell me you were coming into town. I would have set up everything. You know how I do,” Cass spoke into the phone.

  “Well, actually, I am here on some other shit, but I was wondering about gettin’ some food delivered to my hotel. What you say?” Shawn P rubbed his stomach as he spoke.

  “You ain’t sayin’ nothin’. Just text me the address and I’ll hook you up. How long you in town?”

  “That’s what’s up! I’m here for a minute, but I will come through soon enough. I just gotta take care of some business for the upcoming week. So, I’ma see after. Don’t worry, I will settle up with you then,” Shawn P replied.

  “Sounds good, fam. See ya soon.” Cass hung up the phone and went straight to the kitchen.

  “Yo, Stuckey,” Shawn P hollered as he entered Stuckey’s hotel room carrying a knapsack. “Get Tootsie in here. We got some shit to settle. I don’t have all day neither,” Shawn ordered.

  “A’ight ...” Stuckey said uneasily. He hoped this bitch didn’t blow up his spot. He took a deep breath and knocked on Tootsie’s door. “Yo, get out here. Shawn wanna talk to you,” Stuckey barked at the door to the adjacent room.

  Tootsie entered the room and saw Shawn sitting in the lounge chair about to light a blunt.

  “Both of you sit down. There’s some shit about to go down. My people told me that Carla, Serenity’s sister, is here in Detroit. So, that means only one thing, that Serenity is here too,” he said, then inhaled the smoke from his blunt. “Tootsie, it’s time you pay up for all the shit I done got you out of. You know when I came to see you and agreed to involving you it was a done deal. Basically, you owe me your life”—he paused as he took another long pull—“so you going to do what I say until this shit is
done with. Now, tell me everything about this Serenity chick I don’t already know.”

  “Ummm ...” Tootsie stuttered.

  “Don’t play no games with me, bitch. You know what I want to know.” Shawn’s voice was sinister.

  “Well, you already know that she digs females. Her sister is a minor playa in the game ... but has some connects with some major pimps in Chi-town.”

  “I already know what her sister does and how she gets her money. That ain’t what I’m asking you. Tell me something I don’t know.” Shawn’s voice got louder.

  “I just don’t know what to tell you,” Tootsie said almost in tears, fearing she would be sent back to turn tricks.

  “Listen, when I spoke to you, you told me—matter of fact, you fucking convinced my ass—that you can get to Serenity. You know I can’t get to her. And, honestly, I could get Stuckey over here to just take her out, but that’s too easy. I want her to suffer in the worst kind of way. So, you better explain to me how to get her the way I want her,” Shawn demanded.

  “Shawn, I know you helped me and I’m grateful for that, but I can’t go after Serenity myself. She would recognize me and call the police on me. Then I would surely be back in the psycho ward. I do know, however, that she took mounds of coke and weed. She didn’t drink all that much. Most of all, she loved to have sex with women no matter how much she denied it,” Tootsie’s voice trembled.

  “Well, then, that’s the angle we gonna have to go with. I want that bitch to pay. It may take a minute, but in the end, I’m gonna get that ass. Tootsie, I want you to write down every type of female she liked and use this”—he pulled out a laptop from his knapsack—“to connect with her through Facebook, Twitter, and any other social networks they got out these days. Hopefully, she stupid enough to fall into the setup. Tootsie, once she comfortable with you, try to get her to meet you, and then we can shut the bitch down for good,” Shawn said.

  “Okay, I’ll just pull a pic of some random chick and try to connect with her. Um, do you think we could go somewhere to eat ’cause this takeout food ain’t working. And, Stuckey won’t take me nowhere,” Tootsie whined.

  “Ah, stop your fuckin’ bitching. Take this card and order some food. You can look up their menu online. Now, you can go back to your room and tell Stuckey once you make a connection,” he said annoyed.

  “All Things Good?” Her eyebrows arched. “Can I get a phone?” she quickly asked.

  “Right, well, I may fix that if you come up with something good. Just remember what we talked about. This is where you show me your gratitude.”

  Tootsie grabbed the laptop and stood to head to her room. She was relieved that she wasn’t here to turn tricks, but getting Serenity involved with some random chick would be hard. She had to figure a way out of this death trap Shawn was setting her ass up for. Tootsie sat on her bed and powered the laptop on. She was so excited to get something more than just TV and Stuckey’s dull company. She had no phone but having a laptop was the next best thing. She typed on the keyboard and found what she was looking for—Heaven. Tootsie smiled and sent a friend request through Facebook.

  “Stuckey, you okay? You look worried. What’s up?” Shawn questioned.

  “Nah, boss, I ain’t worried, but I just didn’t think I would be here for another couple of months, that’s all,” Stuckey said.

  “Put it this way. You ain’t hustlin’ in the street to get locked up. That’s why I placed you with her. I know I could trust you. I know you wouldn’t fall for her games. She’s a conniving bitch, trust me,” Shawn said, passing Stuckey a fresh blunt and the knapsack.

  Stuckey looked into the bag and saw wads of cash. A smile spread across his face immediately. “You right about that shit.”

  “You down for this, right?” Shawn asked, seeking assurance.

  “Yeah, I’m down, but exactly how much money you tryin’ to give a bro?” Stuckey answered with a question.

  “Put it this way. If shit work out, your cut may just make you leave the game altogether. And I would be fine with that. Stuckey, I trust you unconditionally and wouldn’t play you,” Shawn said, taking the blunt from him.

  “I know that. We go way back, and you schooled me when I was a novice. So, whatever you need to do, I got your back,” Stuckey spoke sincerely.

  “Good, now let’s talk about this bitch here,” Shawn said while motioning to the adjacent room.

  “What about her? I been keepin’ her out of sight, out of mind, know what I mean? That’s why it tripped me out when you came through with ’em tickets for the game.”

  “Yeah, it probably tripped her ass out too. But that’s the thing. I need this bitch happy, but I need her to know that I’m behind all that. It’s a mental thing with these bitches. You see, I put her ass in a low place in D.C., and now that she’s here in Detroit, she gonna live better ’cause of me.” Shawn continued with his explanations and plan. “Listen, I still want you to keep her on the low, but let her breathe sometimes. You know, leave the keys around, leave your phone around, then leave for like twenty minutes or so. Then, when you come back, check things out, make sure she ain’t calling no one and shit like that.

  “That laptop she got”—his voice became lower, and Stuckey moved closer to hear his every word—“I got someone to put some shit on there so when I look at my laptop I know every key she hits. I gotta make sure that bitch ain’t gonna do no stupid shit.”

  “A’ight, then, what if she leaves? Then what?” Stuckey asked, wanting to know his true intentions.

  “Make her sleep with ’em fishes in Lake Erie! Don’t worry, this ain’t gonna last for long. I got some other plans in the makin’.” Shawn P stood up and left.

  Stuckey sat there looking at the money in the bag. Finally, he stood and took the bag to the table, emptied the money out, and counted out $50,000. He watched the adjacent room door and before he could act on putting the money away, a whiff of chronic caught his nose. Stuckey pulled out a quarter pound of White Widow chronic. He moved swiftly and pulled some weed out of the ziplock bag to set it on the table. “I’ma smoke that right now,” he said in a whisper. He closed the ziplock, grabbed the money, and went to the safe in the closet of his room. He returned smiling with a fresh Dutch Master in his hand and was surprised to see Tootsie sitting with the laptop at the table.

  “What you doing in here?”

  “I could smell that weed from my room. You think I could smoke with you? I haven’t hit a blunt since I been here,” Tootsie spoke in her softest voice, hoping he wouldn’t dismiss her. She needed to get on his good side. She wanted to know what Shawn P had planned for her. She had to find a way into his head.

  “Yeah, a’ight,” Stuckey replied, remembering Shawn’s words. He watched as she planted her phat ass on the sofa with shorts barely covering her ass cheeks.

  Cass looked at his watch and noticed it was already eight o’clock and Serenity still hadn’t called him. Maybe, I should call her ... I’ll send her a text just sayin’ hello, Cass thought as he keyed Hello into his iPhone. Five minutes later he read her reply.

  How u? Busy?

  Cass replied back, Good. Yes. Just sayin’ hello.

  That’s a good thing. Call me when it dies down a bit, Serenity’s words flashed across the screen.

  I will. It could be real late, okay?

  Anytime, it doesn’t matter.

  Before Cass could put his phone in his pocket it vibrated in his hand. “Hey, everything good? How was that catfish I sent you?”

  “Oh man, that shit made me wanna smack somebody! It was off the muthafuckin’ chain, man! But listen, I need another favor ... There will be a young lady calling in for some deliveries, and I need for you to make that happen. Can you set that up?” Shawn asked, not indicating any other details.

  “Shawn, listen, you know you my dude, but this place here ain’t no delivery service. I make that exception for you. I don’t know, Shawn ...” Cass’s voice showed he wasn’t happy about the request.


  “Cass, you don’t have to go to the extent of what you do for me. It could be something little just every once in a while, then something real good. I will make it worth your while, though,” Shawn threw in an incentive.

  “Yeah, a’ight, but you gonna have to give me some money up front. When can you come down here?” Cass hated to pass up easy money.

  “I could make a stop by the end of the week. Would five Gs hold you for a while?” Shawn didn’t want to give up any more money than he had to.

  “Make it six and we have a deal.”

  Shawn laughed. “Cass, you always after that money. Yeah, a’ight. Six. I’ll text you the details on who will be callin’ in, and you’ll have your money tomorrow. I’ma gonna drop off the money tomorrow.” Shawn P promised, then hung up the phone.

  What does this nigga think—I run a fast-food joint or something? Cass thought.

  “So, did you find out if she on that Facebook bullshit?” Stuckey asked as he blew smoke into the air and passed the blunt to Tootsie.

  “I found her, but she ain’t accepting none of my friend requests. But don’t worry. I’ma get through. Maybe I gotta try a different picture,” Tootsie said.

  “I’m sure you’ll come up with somethin’, but don’t even think ’bout sendin’ her your picture,” Stuckey said.

  “You know what I need ... a camera. Yeah, I could use that,” she blew smoke out into the air.

  “A camera, huh? You know you can’t be takin’ no pictures. What the fuck do you think this is?” Stuckey asked, concerned that she would blow everything.

  “Don’t get tight, nigga. I ain’t gonna be takin’ no pictures of yo’ ass, trust me,” Tootsie assured him.

  “Well, you better not be or shit ain’t gonna be sweet once Shawn find out ’bout it. So you better not do nothin’ stupid,” he reminded her.