by N'Tyse
The room was quiet, and Chyna had all ears tuned into what she had to say. “I normally don’t like to waste my time having to do this, but I will because I wanted y’all to get the news from me first.” She looked around the room and locked eyes with her moneymakers. There was complete silence as everyone held on to their breath.
“I’ve just been informed that,” Chyna braced herself for the lie she was about to feed them, “Illusion was murdered last night.”
Every single mouth in the room flew open. A few of the women fell into a huddle and started crying while many of the others showed no remorse, aside from Peaches who stood in shock. She and Illusion had gotten real tight in the two months they lived in that house. She did not want to believe her friend was dead. She covered her face with her hands, and her own eyes began to mist. Several of the girls cried on each other’s shoulders while the few that were jealous of Illusion batted their lashes and conversed among themselves. The news was devastating but not enough to throw them off focus. They all dismissed themselves, and Peaches fell in line behind the others. She couldn’t wait until this was all over. She closed the door to her room. Without Illusion and Ty being there, her rooming mates, Peaches was all alone. She pulled out her cell and sent an anonymous text message. Seconds later, she had a reply.
* * *
Chyna and Fantasy stood beside each other, knowing the women couldn’t wait to get on their cell phones and spread the news like wildfire. Chyna had just put out an APB on Illusion just that quickly, so wherever she was hiding, Chyna knew that it wouldn’t be for long.
“Call Parkland and see what’s taking Sand and Ty so long,” she told Fantasy. “They should have been back by now.” She closed and locked her room door, then walked into the bathroom. She wasn’t in there for ten minutes before she came back out with five bricks of cocaine that were hidden in the ceiling. She lined the packages on the bed, then began placing them in a padded combination briefcase.
Fantasy walked around the bed and took a seat on the chaise. “Dallas, Texas,” she began, seconds after dialing the number for information. “I need the number to Parkland Hospital.” It only took a second before the number was being called off to her. “Yes, transfer me.”
“Parkland Emergency, Shaniah speaking.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Fantasy went from hood to proper. “I just found out that my sister was rushed to the emergency room.” She paused for dramatic effect. “I would just like to know how she’s doing or if she’s being admitted so that I can go see her.” The lie rolled off her tongue with ease.
“What’s your sister’s name?” the woman asked.
“Her name is Tylesha Marshall. T-Y-L-E-S-H-A.”
“And when did she come in?”
“Last night. Well, early this morning, I believe.” Fantasy could hear the woman pecking away at her computer.
“As of right now, I don’t show we have her in the computer. But it could be that our systems haven’t been updated, so you may want to try back in about an hour or so, just to be sure.”
“Okay. I’ll do that.” Fantasy hung up.
“What they say?” Chyna asked, securing the briefcase.
“That I need to call back in an hour. The computers aren’t updated.”
Chyna took a mad breath, then finally walked over to Fantasy. She reached for her hand. The time had come to find out if Fantasy was truly worth everything she had put into her. Before her uncle D’Troy went down, he sat her down the same way she was about to do Fantasy.
“Let me holla at you right quick,” Chyna said.
Fantasy took a seat beside her pimp. “What’s up, bae?”
Chyna stared deeply into her eyes. “If anything was to happen to me, I need to know that I can trust you.”
Fantasy studied Chyna’s face. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing her. Chyna was all she had.
“I have to know right now that you’re all the way down for me,” Chyna continued.
With a weakened stare, Fantasy caressed the side of Chyna’s face and assured her of what she should have already known. She had proven herself over and over again. “Chyna, I’m not going anywhere. Whatever you need from me, I got you.”
That was all Chyna needed to hear. “Good. Because I have your first assignment.”
14
“Mama, are we there yet?” Jo Jo asked again for the umpteenth time. The mini-Afros all the boys had should have been a health hazard, but right now, Jo Jo was the only one whining. He could feel the oil sheen frying his scalp underneath all that thick hair. It was at least eighty degrees outside, but with the Texas humidity, it felt more like 100 degrees, not to mention the Buick didn’t have air-conditioning.
“Here.” Shun retrieved a baby wipe from her Louis Vuitton knockoff. “Cool down with this.” She made a quick left and whipped into the parking lot of Town East Mall. The mall was already packed, and it was barely noon. Everyone apparently out Christmas shopping. The cars behind Shun began circling around and heading toward the overflow section, which seemed like it was two miles away from the mall’s entrance.
Rene leaned forward, hoping to spot someone pulling out. She watched a young couple holding hands heading toward their car. “Right there. I think they’re leaving,” she pointed out to Shun.
As Shun was about to reverse and go after the free space, another car quickly pulled behind. “Motherfuckas! I know y’all saw me with my lights on,” she cursed, throwing her hands in the air.
“Shun! Quit that cussing.” Rene looked back in the seat at the four boys who were all just as irritated. She should have never let Shun talk her out of taking her own car. At least they would’ve had cool air. She rolled her eyes and shook her head. This was absolutely ridiculous.
“Aha! Found us one.”
Rene turned to face forward. A blue sign with the bold white outline of a wheelchair was posted in clear view for even someone who was color blind to see. “Shun, you’re in handicap parking,” Rene said.
“Yeah, I know. That’s why I came prepared.” Shun hung a miniature version of the sign in front of them, on her rearview mirror. “Now, this is what you call VIP,” she laughed.
Rene shook her head in embarrassment but was too hot to even argue with her. She wanted nothing more but to get out of that hot-ass car. As soon as the kids stepped foot inside the mall, they spotted the Pet Depot to their left. They ran over, huddling around the rabbit bin.
“Look, Mama. Oooh, look, Auntie,” they pointed out in excitement. Rene and Shun exchanged knowing looks, following after them.
“So, are you and the boys spending Christmas out of town this year? I heard you tell Jo Jo’s daddy that y’all were going to New York,” Rene said, admitting to overhearing Shun’s phone call earlier that morning. “Since when do you have family up there?”
“Yeah, I did tell him that, didn’t I?” Shun giggled.
Rene didn’t even have to guess to know that her friend had lied.
“Girl, he been bugging me about wanting to take Jo Jo with him for Christmas this year, but you think I’m about to let my baby go anywhere with his dawg ass? Here it is eight years later, and all of a sudden, he wants to play daddy.” She pursed her lips and shook her head. “I’m not putting my son through that. He doesn’t even know his ass, and out of the blue, he wanna call and spend time?” Shun ranted. “I told him to fuck himself and send me my damn child support check on time for a change.”
Rene was sorry she invited the conversation. She was more interested in the black-and-white Shih Tzus and their little circus act they were putting on. She tapped on the glass trying to get their attention. “Aww. You see that?” she asked Shun, smiling. “They smiled at me.”
“Oookaayy. Time to go.” Shun called out for Jo Jo, who rounded up the other three that weren’t trailing too far behind.
“Mama! We found Puff Daddy and Lil’ Kim,” Jo Jo told his mother, pointing in the direction of the guinea pigs.
“Baby, those are not the Pu
ff Daddys and Lil’ Kims we have. They just happen to look like them.”
“Who’s Puff Daddy and Lil’ Kim?” Rene asked curiously, still tapping on the tank.
“Girl, the rats,” Shun whispered. “Let’s go.” Shun grabbed the younger ones by their hands and marched them out the door.
“Rats? You got rats in your house?” As the question left her mouth, Rene knew she’d be looking around for her own place.
* * *
The mall scenery was a refreshing one. Rene and Shun shopped until they couldn’t shop anymore, and that’s because they had nearly exhausted all their funds. Shun had gotten so carried away that she lost track of time over an hour ago, and Rene just didn’t care because this was the best she’d felt in months. When Shun counted the bags in her hands and finally realized that she spent over three grand in less than two hours, she knew it was time to get the hell up out of there. But she had to admit that she and the kids were definitely going to be styling and profiling for the holidays.
Thirty minutes later, she found herself in Dillard’s at the fragrance counter. She walked from counter to counter collecting samples of all the latest perfumes. The long, black, twisted weave ponytail slid on and off her shoulder every time she lifted her wrist to her nose. Rene had chosen the drawstring accessory as a temporary solution until they could strip the curl from Shun’s hair completely. The entire ensemble Shun rocked today was all fashionably selected by Rene. Shun couldn’t help taking notice of how her once full-figured shapeless body now looked slimming and curvaceous in a pair of black, wide-legged trousers and a black, silver, and gray retro tunic. Her makeup was flattering with just enough foundation and blush, and her usual overdone cherry jubilee lipstick had been replaced with MAC’s Spite and a touch of chestnut, which outlined her full lips. Shun’s long, curled lashes were no longer invisible, and the neglected piercings in her ears were paired with silver, dangling butterflies. The only complaint Shun had was that her girdle fit too damned tight. She tried to cope with why her jiggle shouldn’t wiggle but could never come to terms with it. She dreaded the thing, but she had to admit, her rump was sitting tight.
“Excuse me, miss, you dropped these.”
The man walking toward them had to have been signed, sealed, and delivered straight to Shun. She stopped in her footsteps. So many things ran through her mind, but she had to remember she was a Christian woman, and as a Christian woman, she knew she shouldn’t be thinking the way she was thinking, but this brother was fine as hell. Her mouth watered, and she tried her best to act civilized. Instead of being her usual down-to-earth self, Shun pretended she was a nice, classy sister with so much going on that she needed a personal assistant to help lift her up onto her high horse. But then she remembered what, for her, was a reality check. She had four crumb snatchers. What fine and available man in his right mind would want a woman with that many kids? She depressingly slid off her horse and fell on her ass on the way down. Shun exhaled when she realized the man was only waving her car keys.
“Can’t get far without these, now, can we?” the man said, placing the keys into Shun’s left hand.
Shun stared at the gentleman before her as though she had never seen a man in such a form before. She cleared her throat. “Thank you. I’m not sure how these got away from me,” she laughed at herself, dropping them in the deep pockets of her new tote.
“So, uh, do these handsome young men belong to you?” the tall, salt-and-pepper-haired specimen asked her.
Shun was too caught up in how good looking he was to have heard what he said, let alone comprehend it. She just nodded her head slowly. Lawd, please don’t let him be married. She searched his left hand until she came across a flashing red light. It was every single woman’s envy—a wedding band. She snapped out of her dream world and flushed those last-minute hopes down the toilet.
“Yes, these are my handsome young boys,” she stated proudly. She took a look at her children who were on their best behavior because they’d been forewarned that if they embarrassed her at the mall, they could kiss their dreams of a PlayStation 3 good-bye.
“Well, that one there,” the man pointed to the tallest of the four, “has NBA written all over him.”
“You think so? That’s the same thing his coach says. I hope he does make his mama proud.” Shun gave Jo Jo another look. Every time she looked at her son, she saw his father. But even if she could go back in time, she’d do it all over again. She didn’t regret any of her children, only the stupid bastards that fathered them. “Now that you mention it, I think I do see a little M J in there trying to come out,” she laughed, and Jo Jo nodded his head. He really did want to be an NBA baller when he grew up. Just like Mike.
The stranger chuckled. “Yes, indeed. He’s going to make you guys very proud. Well, I guess I better head back over here to—”
Shun finished the sentence for him. “Your wife.”
He drew his neck back. Then it dawned on him. He removed the gold wedding band from his finger just as his sister was walking up.
“Carl, where you run off to? I need Dad’s ring so the clerk can engrave it. Ain’t gon’ do no good while it’s on your finger,” his sister fussed at him.
Carl handed her the ring. “Sorry ’bout that. I just saw this beautiful woman walking past the counter,” he gestured to Shun, never removing his eyes from hers, “and I just couldn’t help myself. I guess I was staring a little too hard because before you knew it, she had dropped her keys.” Carl looked Shun straight in the face, his earnest smile so believing.
His sister took the ring out of his hand. She smiled and extended a warm handshake to Shun. “Hi. I’m his baby sister, Darlene.”
“Ooohh, don’t give my age away,” Carl joked.
“And my brother is single, smart, handsome, and, did I mention single?” Darlene laughed. “I need somebody to get him out of my hair,” she teased, elbowing Carl in the arm.
Shun liked Darlene right off. She returned the smile. She watched her boys out of the corner of her eyes, and they were still behaving well. She almost couldn’t believe it.
“Go on, woman. Get outta here,” Carl told his sister as he playfully shoved her away.
Shun waved good-bye to Darlene and fixated her eyes back on Carl. He had 101 percent of her attention.
“Well, I know right now probably isn’t the best time to be asking you if you’re involved with anyone, but I’ve learned a long time ago that you never know if you don’t ask,” Carl said.
Shun relieved him of the pressure and volunteered her availability status. “I’m single. But if the right man comes along, I hope I will no longer have to be,” she replied. She spoke the truth the only way she knew it.
Carl nodded in agreement. Everything about her felt right.
* * *
Rene felt a vibration shoot from the inside of her purse. Her heart nearly stopped when she pulled it out to answer it. “This is Rene.”
“We need to meet again.”
Rene recognized the voice right way. Nervously, she asked, “Can I talk to Sand?”
“Last time I checked, she didn’t want to talk to you, Rene,” Chyna said firmly, hoping to fuel the fire between the two.
Rene felt like she had just been stabbed in the heart. “Please, tell her I really need to talk to her,” she begged, tears tingling her eyes. She wanted to hear Sand’s voice again. She wanted to tell her that she was sorry, that she loved her. And after she got all that out, she was going to ask her about the woman that had allegedly been killed in their apartment.
So many questions flooded Rene, and all she hoped for were answers. She wanted to hear Sand’s side of the story first because at the moment, she wasn’t sure what to believe, or who to believe anymore. Rene wanted Sand to know that she was still there and that she would do anything to make things right between them. That included working for Chyna.
“I’ll see if I can convince her to call you,” Chyna told Rene. “But before I do that, you and I have s
ome loose ends to tie up first.”
Rene exhaled. “What do you want me to do?”
Chyna longed to hear those words. “I have a job that I need completed, and one of my partners is under the weather,” she said, referring to Illusion. “I’m prepared to throw in an additional five grand on top of what I’ve already given you,” she said casually as if she were offering Rene a million-dollar deal she couldn’t refuse. “That should compensate for the last-minute trouble.”
Rene’s stomach started to turn.
“And since we’re on the subject,” she added, “Albery is on the books for Christmas Eve.”
“Christmas Eve?” Rene hesitated.
“Is that a problem?” Chyna asked.
At first, Rene was quiet. “No,” she said finally.
“That’s a good girl. I’ll call you in the next hour on where to meet me,” Chyna said. “Oh, and, Rene, you should really consider the more prized options in life. Those that could afford you a better lifestyle than the one you have.” She let those last few words marinate. “Just call me when you’re ready to make some real money,” she concluded.
Rene wasn’t interested in shit else Chyna had to say. She was just ready for all of this to be over with. “I’ll think about it,” she lied, ending their call.
Rene tried wiping the pain out of her eyes before heading over to the Pet Depot to meet Shun and the boys. She still hadn’t told Shun everything, and if she and Shun were friends at all, she knew it wouldn’t be long before more questions followed.
“Are you guys ready?” Rene asked, overloaded with department store bags that she could barely carry without shifting from one arm to the other.
“Whooo . . . I know I am.” Shun’s open-toe heels were the reason she was ready to jet. They were only three inches high, and she thought she’d pass out from walking around the mall for so long in them. Nevertheless, she still roamed and sashayed from one store to the other, feeling incredible. It was the first time in quite awhile that she actually felt confident about herself. “Girl, I think I lost about fifteen pounds walking around this mall,” Shun told Rene. “I tell you, these shoes are murdering a sister. Where you find these damn things at?” she asked, limping in the direction of the exit.