Single Ladies

by Blake Karrington

  “Are you trappin’?” Tammy asked flat out.

  Darious picked his head up from counting the money to see her looking at him dead in his eyes. The question kind of caught him off guard, but he played it cool. “What makes you think I’m trappin’?” He chuckled, looking back down at the money.

  “I know you might think that I’m green, Darious, but I’m not. I only turn a blind eye ’cause I love you,” she said, reaching over to lift his head up.

  “Why you asking when you already know?” he replied.

  “I just want you to tell me the truth. I think I deserve to know, and I should hear it from your mouth. Shit, I have two kids living here.”

  “You know I’ll never let nothing happen to you or the kids,” Darious spoke in a serious tone. He got up off the bed and walked around to where Tammy was sitting. He got on his knees and sat between her legs. “Tammy, I love you, and there’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do for you,” he said, looking around the room. “I want us to live comfortably, and I wanna be able to buy you nice things and take you nice places. It’s a sacrifice—”

  “It’s a sacrifice I don’t need you to make,” Tammy said, cutting him off. “I don’t need all of these things to be happy. All I need is you.”

  Tammy found herself giving Darious the same speech she gave Chris when he was out in the streets trappin’. She had been down this road before, and taking into consideration all that had happened today, Tammy could see that the same outcome was going to repeat itself with Darious.

  “Darious, I need to tell you something,” Tammy said, putting her hands over his.

  “What is it, babe?” he asked, kissing her hand.

  Tammy looked over at her Gucci bag then back at him. She wanted to tell him so bad about the DEA and how they wanted her to get certain information for them concerning his drug transactions, but the conversation she had with Agent Grant kept running through her mind. She kept thinking about her kids and them being taken away from her right before they threw her in federal prison. “I’m pregnant,” she lied, knowing that in a couple of months, Darious would be in jail.

  The thing Tammy didn’t expect from her little white lie was how happy Darious was to hear the news. He smiled from ear to ear then kissed Tammy’s empty stomach. It was almost as if he was trying to get her knocked up, and had finally succeeded. He was so happy, he kind of made Tammy feel a little happy too, as if it were true.

  The fact of the matter was, Tammy was telling a lie, and even though Tammy wasn’t reaching into her Gucci bag to turn on the device tonight, tomorrow was another day. One thing she wasn’t going to do was continue to play around with her freedom, because she knew from experience that the feds were nothing to play with.

  * * *

  Ralphy parked his rental car around the corner from Cedar Street then sat there contemplating what he was about to do. His instincts told him that Scoop had something to do with Dre’s people attempting to kill him. He thought about it, and everything seemed to come back to Scoop. It was hard for Ralphy to swallow the fact that his close friend would set him up like this but, at the same time, that friendship shit went out the door the minute Scoop chose his side.

  Ralphy reached under his seat, grabbed a chrome. 38 snub nose, and tucked it in his hoodie pouch. It was his throwaway gun, and out from the center console he pulled his back-up gun: a seventeen-shot Glock 9 mm. He was bringing that along in case things got out of hand.

  “Do what you do,” Ralphy spoke to himself as he got out of the car.

  The sun was just below the horizon, so the sky was only minutes away from being dark, just the way Ralphy needed it to be. Everything in all black, Ralphy threw his hood over his head and proceeded down the street. Cedar Street was the next block over, and instead of walking around the long way, Ralphy cut through an alleyway, which led to the top of the block.

  Scoop was sitting in his car watching the dopefiend traffic down the block. Ralphy couldn’t tell through the tint whether he had somebody in the car with him, but at this point it really didn’t matter. Ralphy emerged from the alley and walked right up to Scoop’s car. Only seeing a shadow out of his peripheral view, Scoop reached for his weapon.

  “It’s me, nigga,” Ralphy said, pulling his hood back slightly so Scoop could see who it was.

  Even after seeing who it was, Scoop kept his gun in his hand as he got out of the car. Ralphy kept his hand in his hoodie pouch, wrapped around the .38 with his finger hugging the trigger.

  “Damn, homie, what you creepin’ for?” Scoop asked, still not sure of Ralphy’s intent.

  Ralphy never was the type to beat around the bush, and today wasn’t going to be any different, even if Scoop had a gun in his hand. “Yo, homie, let me ask you this,” Ralphy said, standing directly in front of Scoop. “How did you find out about them niggas who ran down on me at da spot? I damn sure didn’t tell nobody what happened,” Ralphy questioned him.

  Scoop’s heart started pounding out of his chest. He couldn’t tell him that the reason he knew was because he was actually there when it happened. Scoop never got out of the Impala that day, but he saw everything go down. He knew that Ralphy would try to kill him if he knew that piece of information.

  “Come on, brah. What are you talking about?” Scoop said, trying to play it off. “Everybody knows about that.”

  From the look in Ralphy’s eyes, Scoop knew that the answer he gave didn’t sit well with him. They shared a quick, awkward moment of silence before Scoop looked and saw Ralphy’s hand move in his hoodie pouch.

  “What’s all that about?” Scoop asked, gripping his gun a little tighter. “What, you gon’ shoot me, nigga?” he said, hyping himself up for the gun battle he knew was about to erupt.

  Ralphy didn’t say anything, and in Scoop’s eyes, it was either kill or be killed at this point. Scoop’s gun was already out in his hand, so he felt he had the advantage. They stood there staring at each other like two cowboys in the Old West days, waiting for the clock to strike twelve so they could start fighting.

  Feeling froggy, Scoop went to raise his gun up, but Ralphy blazed through his hoodie pouch. Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Every bullet hit Scoop in his upper body area, knocking him backward onto his car. Scoop still tried to raise the gun to get a shot off, but Ralphy grabbed it with his left hand, pulled the .38 out with his right hand, and gave Scoop a head shot.

  Scoop’s body went limp instantly, dropping to the ground between the parked cars. Seeing that the commotion got the attention of a few workers at the end of the block, Ralphy knew that he didn’t have long before they ran up the street, guns blazing. He took his sleeve and wiped down the .38 real nicely before tossing it next to Scoop’s body, and then walking off into the night.

  * * *

  Kim and Lamar’s little getaway didn’t turn out to be all that great after Lamar ruined the mood with his rude comments about the whole moving to Philadelphia situation. It was quiet for the most part in the room, and the only real conversation they had was concerning what type of food they were going to order. If Kim didn’t care about wasting her money for the room, she would have gone home, with or without Lamar.

  “Babe, can we talk?” Lamar asked, breaking the silence in the room.

  Kim cut her eyes over at him. Seeing her mean face only made Lamar smile.

  “No, for real, babe. I wanna talk,” he said, scooting over a little closer to her on the bed.

  Sitting there in silence for most of the night had given Lamar plenty of time to think. He weighed the pros and the cons of moving so far away, and remained firm about not wanting to go. But then reality set in.

  “Look, first I want to apologize to you for being selfish and not being understanding toward ya situation. You have a great opportunity to do something major, and I’m sitting here being an asshole not supporting you,” Lamar said. “I’m not going to lie, I really don’t wanna move that far away; but I love you, and if you really want to move to Philly, then I’ll ride out with you
,” he told her, taking her hand into his.

  Kim sat up in the bed, holding her ring finger out. “We are about to get married, Lamar.”

  “I know, I know. And there’s gonna be a lot of sacrifices both of us will make. I get it, and I promise you that I will communicate with you better in the future,” Lamar assured her.

  Kim’s frown turned upside down. She leaned in and kissed him on his neck then lay down across his lap. She was so in love with Lamar, and it was moments like these when she felt that Lamar loved her back. It made everything they went through worth it. At the end of the day, she had his back and he had hers, the way that it is supposed to be.

  * * *

  Tammy’s phone vibrated on the nightstand next to the bed, waking her up out of her sleep. She wasn’t going to answer it, but it just kept buzzing to the point where it was about to wake Darious up too. She grabbed it and looked at the screen. It was Falisha, and it was also two o’clock in the morning, Tammy noticed from the clock that sat next to the phone.

  “Yeah,” Tammy answered with a scratchy voice.

  Tammy could hear Falisha crying and yelling at somebody else in the background, telling them to mind their own business. It was later determined that it was Falisha’s mom she was talking to.

  “Girl, I’m stressed da fuck out right now,” Falisha said, finally saying something to Tammy.

  “Talk to me, Falisha. What’s going on?” Tammy asked, getting out of her bed and walking to the bathroom so she wouldn’t disturb Darious.

  Falisha began pouring her heart out, something Tammy had never seen before. “I don’t wanna have my baby by myself. I see young girls every day struggling to take care of their children all by themselves. I don’t wanna be like that, and this asshole got the nerve to get engaged to Kim,” Falisha spazzed.

  “Whaaaat!” Tammy spoke, surprised this piece of gossip was just now hitting her ears. “So you still didn’t tell him yet?”

  “Not yet. And I don’t even know if I want to now. Kim gon’ think that I’m desperate and who knows what Lamar is going to think. I wanna tell him but . . . I don’t know. This pregnancy shit is fucking with my head right now,” Falisha said, wiping the tears away.

  Tammy called these the single mother blues. Everything Falisha was going through right now, Tammy had been there and done that. Raising a kid alone wasn’t easy at all, and Tammy wasn’t going to lie and make her think that it was going to be.

  “Look, Falisha, if you plan on keeping this baby, you gotta do what’s best for your child. Don’t worry about what Kim thinks or anybody else for that matter,” Tammy told her.

  The advice was a little tough, since all of them were friends, but Tammy did nothing less than keep it one hundred. What Falisha did with the advice was totally up to her, but in Tammy’s eyes Lamar needed to know that he was about to be a father, and telling him now would be better than telling him later.

  * * *

  Ralphy looked up and down the block carefully before entering the house he had with Johanne. Once inside, he pulled the Glock from his waist and held it down by his side as he walked through the house. The light in the kitchen made it possible for him to see enough not to walk into things. He hadn’t been there in a couple of days, nor had he spoken to Johanne much.

  Feeling like the house was secure, he shot upstairs to his bedroom to see if Johanne was there or if she was staying over at DeeDee’s house like she said she would. When Ralphy got to the bedroom and opened the door, the sound of a heavy snorer filled the room. Knowing that it was physically impossible for that to have been Johanne, Ralphy reached for the light switch and turned it on.

  Johanne and another man were in the bed asleep. Ralphy walked up to the bed, and they still didn’t wake up. It wasn’t until he put the barrel of the gun on Johanne’s forehead that she cracked opened her eyes. It was like she had seen a ghost the way her eyes popped out.

  “Donny,” Johanne called out to the man she’d been sleeping with. “Donny,” she called again, this time waking him up.

  Ralphy had backed up to the foot of the bed, but he kept the gun pointed at both of them. His eyes were locked on Johanne until Donny said something.

  “Hold up, homie, we can talk about this,” Donny said, attempting to get up from the bed.

  “Lay ya monkey ass down,” Ralphy said, pointing the gun at him now.

  “I don’t have nothin’ to do wit’ it. Lick want you dead,” Donny yelled.

  Looking at him for the first time, Ralphy couldn’t believe Johanne was lying in his bed with another man. Not just any man, either. It was the second gunman who insisted on killing Ralphy in front of his daughter in the driveway. Ralphy never forgot a face.

  Johanne was literally sleeping with the enemy, and for that, she was going to die with him.

  Ralphy squeezed the trigger, sending a hot lead ball at Donny, hitting him in the center of his forehead. His body slumped over onto Johanne, who began to cry out. She pled for Ralphy not to shoot her, and in a final attempt to preserve her life, Johanne yelled, “I’m pregnant with your baby!”

  Her words were ignored as Ralphy aimed the gun at her. He was already on the path to Murderville, and at this moment he didn’t have any picks. She was just as guilty as everybody else who participated in the assassination attempts on his life. His heart was cold toward each and every one of them and, without further ado, Ralphy pulled the trigger on her too. The first bullet hit her in the chest, knocking her back against the headboard. Ralphy walked up closer, aimed the gun at her head, and fired again, killing her instantly. He wiped down his gun thoroughly, tossing it in the bed before throwing his hood over his head and walking out of the room.

  Chapter 39

  Sunday dinner at Ms. D’s house took place as usual. The sound of grunts and silverware hitting empty plates was all that could be heard in the dining room. The whole gang was there, and Ms. D was so kind to have invited Darious as well, only so that everyone could officially meet him. He did good for the most part, answering a million and one questions by Tammy’s closest friends. Lamar and Ralphy were a little overprotective, but made it perfectly clear that as long as Darious didn’t put his hands on Tammy, he would be good.

  “Listen up,” Ms. D said, getting everyone’s attention at the table. “You all know my situation, and I just wanna give you an update on what’s going on. Considering the news I got over the course of my last three visits to my doctor, I have decided not to go through with the chemo,” she announced.

  As she expected, the crowd wasn’t happy with her decision. Everyone at the table except Darious put up a protest, yelling out their opinions on the matter, but Ms. D really didn’t want to hear it. Her mind was already made up, and there was nothing or nobody who could change it.

  “Is everybody done?” Ms. D said, as the commotion wore down. “Now, I didn’t ask for any of your medical advice. I told y’all because this is the only family I have left, and if the good Lord takes my soul,” Ms. D spoke, “I want y’all to be ready.”

  When Ms. D started talking about life insurance and her funeral, Falisha got up from the table in tears. Ms. D was like a second mom to her, and pretty much everybody else who was sitting at the table.

  “I got her, y’all,” Lamar said, getting up from the table and following Falisha out to the porch.

  Truth be told, he really didn’t feel like hearing Ms. D talk about her situation either. For him Ms. D was like his only mom and he loved her as much.

  “I don’t like it either,” he said, walking up to Falisha. “Come ’ere,” he said, extending his arms.

  Falisha leaned in and was wrapped up into his body. He spoke softly and gently, bringing Falisha a sense of comfort, one she hadn’t felt for quite some time. As she rested her head against his chest, she had a moment where she felt the love that they once shared.

  “I have to tell you something,” Falisha said while he continued to hold her. “It’s ours,” she told him as she wiped the tears from her fa
ce.

  “Huh? What are you talking about?” Lamar asked, pulling away from her.

  Falisha looked Lamar in his eyes. “This baby I’m carrying in my stomach is yours, Lamar.”

  “Yeah, right! Stop playin’ wit’ me, Falisha,” Lamar shot back.

  “Do it look like I’m playin? Just think about it, Lamar. I wasn’t fuckin’ nobody else but you for the past three months,” Falisha explained.

  “Now, though? You gon’ do this now, Falisha? What, you trying to fuck up what me and Kim got going on?” Lamar snapped.

  “It ain’t my fault. You da one who played me. I was pregnant before you decided you didn’t love me anymore. You know what? Fuck you, Lamar!” Falisha tried to smack the fire out of his mouth, but Lamar caught her hand before it connected to his face.

  “We don’t need you. Now I see why Kim had an abortion,” Falisha said, snatching her wrist away from Lamar’s grip.

  “Now I know you tripping. What the fuck you mean, you know why Kim had an abortion?”

  “Like you said, I don’t want to fuck up what you and Kim got going on, so maybe you need to ask her.”

  Falisha rolled her eyes and walked off the porch, leaving Lamar standing there deep in thought. He threw his head back and let out a loud sigh in frustration thinking about Kim possibly killing his child and not telling him about it. He became angry at the thought of it; and if it turned out to be true, it was surely going to be a problem.

  * * *

  After leaving Ms. D’s house, Darious, Tammy, and the kids headed home for the night. Anthony and Sinniyyah were in the back seat knocked out cold from their stomachs being full and the night air seeping through the windows, which were cracked open slightly. Wanting to spend some time with Tammy, Darious took the long way home, enjoying the soft music playing at a low volume throughout the car.

  “You never answered my question,” Tammy said, breaking the silence between them.