by K'wan
“Marisa, Pearl, this is Doodles.” Sheila made the introduction as if she and Doodles were old friends and she hadn’t just met him a few minutes prior.
“A pleasure to be acquainted,” Doodles said in a heavy Jamaican accent, and extended his hand in greeting. He gave Marisa’s hand a polite shake, but when it came to Pearl, he turned her hand over and kissed the back of her knuckles.
“Fuck is that about?” Sheila asked, feeling slighted that she hadn’t gotten more than a nod.
“A man know how to greet a queen when him see one,” Doodles told her. “When Boom tell me he was bringing the entertainment, I had no idea him meant Hollywood headliners.” He sized them all up, paying special attention to Pearl.
“I don’t know about no entertainment. My girl said she knew some cool dudes we could hang out and have some drinks with. Beyond that, I don’t know if I can help you,” Pearl told him, letting him know she peeped the slick shit. The way Doodles was talking and looking at them, you’d have thought they were circus monkeys he couldn’t wait to throw peanuts at to see what kind of tricks they would do. She had a sick feeling in the pit of her gut. She glanced at Sheila, but she was trying her best to look everywhere except in Pearl’s direction. The setup didn’t feel right, and it made Pearl raise her guard.
“Chill out, gangster. I didn’t mean to offend,” Doodles told her.
“So, why do they call you Doodles? You an artist or something?” Marisa asked. She picked up on the tension and was trying to change the mood.
Doodles looked to Boom first, who shrugged as if to say he hadn’t put her up to asking. He then turned to Marisa to see if it was a serious question or whether she was making sport at his expense. “If ya must know, it’s a moniker that come from my day back home. It’s a long story, but in short, some men try fe test me, and I doodle me name in them chest with a knife.” He said this seriously and then made a slashing motion in the air with his finger, Then he let the dumb look of embarrassment settle in on Marisa’s face over the all-too-personal-too-soon question, before breaking out into a smile. “I’m joking. They call me Doodles because I had skill with the pencil as a boy.”
“For a second I thought we were hanging out with some killers,” Pearl mumbled.
“Who says you aren’t?” Franz whispered in her ear as he suddenly brushed past on his way to the other side of the section.
“We can make small talk about job occupations later,” Doodles continued. “Today Jah blessed me to see another year and we’re here to give thanks for it. I’m trying to get fucked up. Who’s with me?”
Doodles invited to share the couch he had reserved for the night. He shooed away some of the girls who were already sitting there to make room for his new guests, which the girls didn’t seem to be happy about, but Doodles wasn’t a man who you argued with. Boom sat to Doodles’s right, Sheila damn near breaking her neck to take up the space next to Boom. Pearl made to sit to Doodles’s left when Marisa damn near shoulder-tackled her to get to the seat first. She let it be known she was shooting for the stars that night, so Pearl let her have it, and sat at the end of the couch.
At some point a large curtain was drawn, cutting off the VIP section from the view of the rest of the bar, and that was when the real party started. Doodles wasn’t as bad as Pearl had expected him to be. He was loud and uncouth, but the man knew how to have a good time. Drinks were flowing and weed was being rolled nonstop, but never once did he allow any of them to dig into their pockets to pay for anything. He was indeed a gracious host. The fact that everything was free meant that most did their best to overindulge, and the party really got loose … too loose in some cases. Pearl spent half the night rejecting the advances of Doodles’s people, who kept trying to push up on her. Some of them were okay-looking, but they were far too aggressive.
Needing some space, she got up from the couch and moved to a less crowded spot near the edge of the curtain. A few feet away Franz sat alone on a chair, sipping from a bottle of vodka. He wore a very uninterested look on his face, as if he had a million other places he’d rather have been but there. Franz hadn’t been the most engaging fellow since she’d met him, but he started acting downright funny once they’d gotten inside. When Pearl made eye contact, she flashed him a smile, to which he replied by shaking his head before getting up and walking to the other side of the room.
“Well, fuck you too then,” Pearl mumbled, slightly dumbfounded by the brush-off. She had thought Franz to be a cool dude, but apparently he was just as much of a dick as the rest of his friends. Whatever his problem was, it was obviously beyond her understanding or care, for that matter. She looked down at her watch and realized that time had gotten away from her; she’d stayed at the bar for more than an hour longer than she had intended to. It was time for her to find her friends and bounce.
Pearl noticed a small commotion brewing near the entrance as another guest was escorted into the VIP area. She was a tall drink of water with high yellow skin, blond hair, and thick thighs that strained against the fabric of her tight leather shorts. She strolled confidently across the room, large sunglasses covering her face, and swished hard enough to throw her hips out of place. Pearl expected the men to swarm her, as they had every other woman in the room, but surprisingly they kept a safe distance. From the respect they showed her, Pearl knew she had to be someone of importance.
Pearl looked on curiously as the woman approached Doodles and planted a kiss on each of his cheeks. They exchanged a few words before Doodles handed her a rolled-up knot of money, which she dropped into her purse without bothering to count it. The whole time Pearl watched the blonde, she couldn’t help but feel like she had seen her somewhere before. She wasn’t sure if it was her posture, or the way she flipped her wig every time she laughed, but there was definitely something familiar about her. It wasn’t until she removed her sunglasses that she realized why.
* * *
The last time Pearl had seen Zonnie, she had been tugging at Big Stone’s pant leg and pleading for him to accept her back into his life. It was the most pitiful thing Pearl had ever seen. She could tell by the way her father’s body trembled that he was mad, but she didn’t understand how much so until the back of his hand graced Zonnie’s face. It was the first time she had ever seen him raise his hand. Had Pearl not just walked into the room, it was very likely that Big Stone would’ve killed Zonnie right there in the middle of their living room. Instead he banished her from the lifestyle he’d allowed her to be part of and the son she showed no interest in raising when she dropped him off on their doorstep a year prior … Stoney. The last Pearl had heard, Zonnie had relocated to LA and was shaking her ass in rap videos under the guise of pursuing an acting career.
Zonnie must’ve felt like she was being watched, because she started looking around. It was like she had radar, because her eyes zeroed right in on Pearl. Since it had been years since Pearl had last seen Zonnie, she hoped she didn’t recognize her, but when the blonde headed in her direction, Pearl knew she had no such luck.
Pearl stood there like a deer in headlights as Zonnie crossed the room. She stopped just short of Pearl and let her weed-slanted eyes travel the length of Pearl’s body. The younger girl tensed, not really sure what to expect, considering Zonnie’s history with her father. For a minute Pearl thought it was about to go down between them, but a smile formed on Zonnie’s heavily glossed lips.
“Is that little Pearl?” Zonnie asked, while continuing to give her the once-over. Seeing how nicely Pearl had filled out, she let a smile touch the corners of her mouth. “Well, I can’t call you little anymore.” She glanced at Pearl’s ass.
“Hey,” Pearl said dryly, tugging at her skirt to make sure her ass wasn’t showing. The predatory look Zonnie was giving her made Pearl uncomfortable.
“I haven’t seen you in years, and that’s the greeting I get?” A look of fake hurt crossed Zonnie’s face. “Shit, we was almost family—give me some love.” She damn near forced Pearl into an em
brace. Zonnie stank of liquor, cigarettes, and a hint of sex.
“So what you doing here?” Pearl broke their embrace. “I heard you was living the life of the rich and famous on the West Coast.”
“California was good to me, but ain’t no place like home. I got a crib in Jersey now, but my business brings me to New York from time to time,” Zonnie told her.
“And what kind of business is that?” Pearl asked suspiciously.
“As if you didn’t know.” Zonnie gave her a wink. “I’m a little surprised to bump into you in a place like this, considering I’m pretty sure you ain’t twenty-one yet.”
“I’m here with some friends for the birthday party,” Pearl told her.
Zonnie spared a glance over her shoulder. Doodles was leaning against a wall, whispering into Marisa’s ear. “I’ve been knowing Doodles for a while. He’s loads of fun, but that man has got a mean streak a mile long. That’s some dangerous company you’re keeping, suga. Watch yourself.”
“Thanks for the warning, but I think I’m more than capable of handling myself,” Pearl said confidently.
“I don’t doubt that, considering who your daddy is,” Zonnie replied.
“No doubt. My father and Sandra made sure me and Stoney were built Ford tough,” Pearl shot back.
The words sliced Zonnie like a knife, and for the first time her confident smirk wavered. Pearl had struck a nerve. “How is he? How’s my son doing?”
“You mean my brother?” Pearl corrected her. “Stoney is doing fine. He plays for the basketball team now and he’s pretty damn good.”
“I’ve seen. I went to one of his games about a month ago and saw him play for the first time.”
“Really?” Pearl asked suspiciously. “That’s funny, because me and Sandra go to all Stoney’s games, and I don’t remember ever seeing you at one.”
“It was the game they played against Brandeis. My baby hung thirty-two on them boys!” Zonnie beamed with pride.
Pearl remembered that game, so she knew Zonnie wasn’t lying. Stoney had played like a man possessed and had led his team in a twenty-point rout over the rival school. “If you were there, why didn’t you say anything?”
“I thought about it, even waited around until the end of the game, but then I saw your daddy pull up outside the school. You and I both know what his reaction would’ve been if he’d seen me anywhere near his little prince.”
Zonnie might’ve had a point. Just the mention of her name was enough to get Big Stone angry, so there was no telling how he would’ve reacted if he’d bumped into her at the game. Pearl saw the pained look in Zonnie’s eyes as she spoke about Stoney, and for a second she almost felt sorry for her, but then she remembered how Zonnie had dropped baby Stoney off for what was supposed to be a few hours and then never came back. Pearl had never been able to wrap her mind around how a mother could abandon their child. Zonnie was foul, and Big Stone’s justice was beyond fair.
“It was good seeing you, Zonnie, but I gotta make moves.” Pearl excused herself and got up.
“Hold on. I was hoping we could talk for a minute. Maybe we can grab a drink and you can tell me some more about Stoney?” Zonnie fell in step beside her.
Pearl stopped short and turned serious eyes to Zonnie. “Listen, if you were that worried about my brother, you’d have checked up on him over the years.”
“Wait a minute—that ain’t fair. I wanted to be a better mother, but your father wouldn’t let me. It was him who kept me out of Stoney’s life,” Zonnie explained.
“My father is powerful, but he ain’t God. I wanna feel sorry for you, Zonnie, but I can’t. If you really wanted to see your kid, you’d have found a way.” Pearl tried to walk off again, but Zonnie grabbed her arm and spun her around.
“Little girl, how dare you try to stand here and judge me before you’ve walked a mile in my stilettoes. Now, I was wrong for leaving Stoney the way I did, but it’s not like I left him with no damn stranger; I left him with his father! A father who could provide him with a life that I couldn’t even dream of. I was a young dumb girl who thought letting a rich nigga get me pregnant would be my ticket out of the ghetto, and when the bottom fell out and reality set in, I did what was natural and ran away. For as fucked up as it looks on the outside, you can’t tell me shit until you’ve been nineteen and pregnant with nothing to offer your child but the crumbs you get off somebody else’s table.”
“Whatever.” Pearl folded her arms and rolled her eyes. She didn’t have time for Zonnie’s bullshit.
“Roll your eyes all you want, but this is some real shit I’m kicking to you. You in here looking at me like I’m less than a person because your family sitting on a few coins. Hmph, life can’t be all that good in the kingdom of Stone if the princess is out here making herself available. Your daddy know you out here testing the waters or is this another one of them family secrets y’all keep so well hidden?”
“Fuck is you talking about?” Pearl was confused.
“I mean us being at this party for the same reasons.” Zonnie smiled slyly.
“What reasons? Look, I don’t know what your ass is high on, but I ain’t got time for this shit,” Pearl declared.
Zonnie studied Pearl’s face to see if she was joking, and when she realized she wasn’t, she doubled over laughing. “Didn’t you read the fine print on your invitation? Did you think you and your young-ass friends got invited to a private party for one of the biggest gangsters in Brooklyn because you and that rat pack you run with are so damn popular? Little girl, you’re either extremely naïve or further out of your league than I thought. Every bitch in here is on the clock. Shit, half of them work for me, and the half that don’t probably will after they see all the bank Doodles is gonna shell out for their time. If you were down with me, I’d likely get you paid double.” She looked Pearl up and down. “Doodles is especially fond of young dumb bitches who think they got life figured out, and you certainly fit the bill. What do you say, Pearl? Let’s make this a family business!”
It took Pearl a few seconds to process what Zonnie was implying, but when she did, the revelation hit her like a slap. She looked around the room, and it was like she was seeing it for the first time. People had begun to get loose, in some cases too loose. Some of the girls had even started to come out of their clothes while men threw money while freely placing hands and fingers in places where they didn’t belong. She now understood why Doodles had referred to them as the entertainment earlier that night. Pearl’s chest suddenly constricted, cutting off the air in her lungs, and she knew if she didn’t get away from Zonnie, she would pass out or punch her in the face. As she moved through the crowd, she heard Zonnie’s mocking voice calling after her. “Tell yo daddy I said hello!”
* * *
All Pearl could see was red as she plucked her way through the VIP in search of her friends. The lights had been dimmed, which made it hard for her to see more than a few feet ahead of her at a time. She searched high and low but couldn’t find any signs of Marisa, or Doodles for that matter. It didn’t take a rock scientist to figure out what that was about. If Marisa wanted to whore herself out, she was welcome to do so, but Pearl was out of there with or without her. While she couldn’t find Marisa, Sheila was easy enough to spot. She was on her knees in the middle of the floor, popping her ass like she was auditioning for a 2 Live Crew video. She was clearly drunk out of her mind, but it didn’t seem to bother the small crowd that had gathered to watch her little show. She danced and laughed as strange men slapped her on the ass and tossed crumpled dollar bills at her. She was playing herself and making them all look bad. Pearl was so mad that she was about to say fuck it and leave her to it when she saw two dudes try to lead Sheila off toward the bathroom. She was too twisted to even realize what they were doing, let alone stop it, so Pearl stepped in.
“I got it from here.” Pearl took Sheila by the arm, much to the displeasure of the two men.
“Easy, baby, you can join the party too if you w
ant,” one of the men offered. He was an older dude wearing a velvet blazer and baggy jeans.
Pearl looked him up and down. “Not on my worse day.” She shoved Sheila ahead and out of the VIP.
“Where we going? I’m trying to party,” Sheila protested.
“Girl, shut your drunk ass up. You need some air and some water.” Pearl continued to shove her forward toward the exit. Sheila was so drunk that she almost fell twice before they even made it outside. No sooner than the night air hit her, Sheila threw up all over the sidewalk, barely missing Pearl’s boots.
“Mama always told me about mixing my liquor.” Sheila laughed, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
A few people who had seen it pointed and laughed. One of them even took out a camera phone and was trying to snap a picture. This all added to Pearl’s already mounting frustration.
“I’m glad you find the fact that you’re playing yourself out here funny,” Pearl said in an irritated tone.
“C’mon, Pearl. Stop acting like you ain’t never been tipsy in public,” Sheila said as if it were no big deal.
“Sheila, tipsy I could understand, but you’re fucking wasted!” Pearl pointed out.
“Nah, I’m good. Now that I’ve gotten rid of the old liquor, I can make room for the new.” Sheila started back toward the bar, but Pearl grabbed her arm.
“The last thing you need right now is more liquor. That shit has got you making poor decisions,” Pearl said.
“C’mon, Pearl, I know you ain’t still mad about me throwing up. It happens sometimes.”
“Fuck you throwing up! Let’s talk about why people think we’re in there selling pussy!” Pearl snapped.
“Huh?” Sheila faked dumb.
The minute Pearl saw the dumb look on Sheila’s face, she knew what Zonnie had said was true. “Aw, damn, Sheila!” Pearl threw her hands up in frustration.
“I’m sorry, Pearl. Don’t be mad at me. Boom told me about these old heads he knew who liked to blow money just to be seen with pretty young girls, so I figured it was a way to pick up a few extra dollars. I never told them that any of y’all were going to do anything though,” Sheila explained.