by Kiki Swinson
Immediately after he and I finished our tea, he told me to get my purse so we could ride. It was an early Wednesday morning and the sun was shining bright. The computer-controlled thermometer read fifty-seven degrees outside. It was a bit chilly, but not too much. I had on my D&G bubble goose jacket, so I was fine. I saw a couple of his neighbors on our way down the street and every last one of them seemed to be working class people with families and a dog. I sat back and wondered how I would look living out here among these people. Would I fit in? Or would I stick out like a sore thumb? I probably would never find out, but it sure was nice to daydream about it.
On our way to one of his shops, we stopped by Tropical Smoothie on Holland Road and got a couple of breakfast wraps. They were some kind of good. I devoured my southwestern breakfast wrap. It was like something I had never had before. Mario had an egg and cheese wrap and an energy drink. I guess he was on some type of health kick and that was actually good. Right after our making-out stop, Mario got back on the road and hit highway 264. He sped down this highway at eighty-five miles per hour until we got to the St. Paul’s Boulevard exit and then he veered off it. I watched closely as we made a right turn on St. Paul and then we drove about four miles down, passing Twenty-first Street, going through an underpass, and then we went through two lights. After the second light we came to, we immediately made a right turn. His auto body shop was right there on the corner of Monticello Avenue and Twenty-sixth Street. I realized that the shop had just opened because one guy was raising the garage doors while another placed orange cones across the parking lot. Mario and I headed in the shop through the front door. As soon as we entered, he turned on the OPEN sign and walked back to his office. I followed right behind him, passing a ton of brand new tires and chrome rims.
“You sell tires and rims, too?” I asked.
“Of course, that’s where the real money comes from,” he replied.
“How much are they?”
“The tires can vary from eight to fifteen hundred for four. And the rims could cost you anywhere from two to five grand.”
“Wow! That’s a lot of money for a set of tires and rims. So, believe me, I will always keep it factory.”
Mario laughed.
When we entered into his private domain, I was shocked to see that it wasn’t nasty and junkie. He didn’t have the executive type of business furniture in there, but the chipped desk he did have was neat. I sat down in one of the chairs placed against the wall while he organized some paperwork he had on his desk. Meanwhile, one of the guys who worked for him knocked on his door.
“Come in,” Mario instructed.
Now I had to admit, this guy was even cuter than Mario. He was kind of on the short side, standing at five foot seven, but he wasn’t that bad on the eyes. He could almost pass for the actor Larenz Tate. This guy had the smile and the close haircut. I knew he didn’t have any money to back up how fine he was, so I immediately shifted my attention to Mario. He sat behind his desk and waited for this guy to say what it was he came into his office for.
“What’s up, T’won? What can I do for you?” Mario asked.
Before T’won answered his question, he looked at me and smiled. “How you doing, ma’am?”
I smiled back. “I’m doing fine. Thanks for asking,” I replied.
“No problem,” he said, and then he turned his focus to Mario. “Mario, man, my girl got in a car accident yesterday, so she needs to come up here and get her car fixed. But, I need to know—when you do the body estimate, could you give her my discount?”
“Yeah, I can do that. But tell me what’s wrong with it.”
“Some old man hit her from behind and snatched the bumper off.”
“Well, that’s not going to be that bad. Just call her and tell her to bring it in today so I can look at it and write up the estimate, and that way she can hand it to the insurance company.”
T’won extended his hand for Mario to grab. “A’ight, boss man. Good looking out!” he commented, and then proceeded to leave. But as he was about to walk out, Mario stopped him in his tracks.
“Hey, T’won, hold up a minute.”
“What’s up?”
“What time did Ryan get here this morning?”
“He was here before I was.”
“Why y’all just opening up the shop, then?”
“Because he was sitting in his car fussing with his girl.”
“Oh, so he got dropped off this morning?”
“Yeah,”
“Oh, all right,” Mario said, and then he dismissed T’won.
I sat back and watched how much respect T’won had for Mario and I was impressed. I was so impressed that right after T’won left, I said, “Hey, boss man, do you think I can get a discount on a kiss right now?”
Mario smiled and stood to his feet. “You can get that for free,” he replied, and then he grabbed me up from the chair and landed a nice wet one on my lips. The sparks I felt were feelings that a young girl gets when she experiences her first kiss.
We hung out at his shop for a couple of hours. While he took care of business with his customers, I got on the phone and called Carmen. She was upset about her mother, Sandra. She said Sandra stole some money from Grandma Hattie, so I was pissed off, too.
“How much money did she take?” I wondered aloud.
“A hundred dollars.”
“How did she manage to do that?”
“Grandma always keeps her money hidden inside her bra, but she told me my mother snuck into the bathroom while she was taking a shower and went into the pocket of her house coat and stole her money from it.”
“How the hell did she get into the bathroom?”
“She used a fucking butter knife. It ain’t that hard to get in these doors around here. That’s why all of us put locks on our doors.”
“What is Grandma saying about all of this?”
“She was fussing a little bit. But then she said that she ain’t gonna worry about it.”
“Did your mother need that money for anything?”
“She didn’t say, but knowing her, she probably did.”
“Where is your mother now?”
“Yoshi, please. Don’t nobody know where that bitch is. But I do know she better stay away from here these next couple of days because if I saw her walking up here, in the frame of mind I’m in right now, I’d probably choke the shit out of her and beat her to death.”
“Look, Carmen. I know you’re upset. But let somebody else handle her. Trust me, with all the shit she has done to people, she’s got a lot of shit coming back to her. It’s called the law of reciprocity. What goes around come around.”
“Shit, I can’t wait that long. She needs her ass kicked right now coming up in here stealing from Grandma, knowing how hard that lady has it. She’s been struggling for a very long time. Thank God her house is paid for and all she has to pay is the taxes and her utilities, because she would be shit out of luck with that small SSI check she gets.”
“How much does she get?”
“Seven hundred and fifty-three dollars a month. Now just think how she would be able to pay a three-hundred a month gas bill along with a two-hundred a month light bill, pay for her diabetic medication, food for the house and stuff like deodorant, soap, washing powder, and cleaning supplies for the house, plus a mortgage that used to be four hundred a month. It would be impossible because I only bring home two-twenty a week with tips and I have bills of my own. And Rachael doesn’t have a job so she can’t contribute a thing. So you see, shit is fucked up around here, which means we can’t have that stealing shit jumping off. She has to go.”
“Why does Grandma keep letting her come into the house?”
“I keep asking her the same damn question. I’m starting to think she likes being taken advantage of.”
“Don’t say that. She’s just torn between emotions, that’s all.”
“Well, she better get over it because times are hard right now and we need all the pe
nnies we can get.”
“It’s going to get better. Don’t you even sweat it! Hey listen, don’t tell Grandma, but I am going to come by there later and give her the money back that was taken from her.”
“She ain’t gonna accept it.”
“Yes, she will.”
“All right, we’ll see.”
“Yes, we sure will,” I said. Carmen and I talked for a little while more, until she got another call from her good friend Kimberly. I told her to handle her business and I’d see her later. She said okay and then we hung up.
Immediately after I hung up with Carmen, I put my phone away and left Mario’s office to go look for him. He was outside speaking to another customer, so I stood back and watched how he handled his business. What was so cute was that he truly did look like Idris Elba, especially when he played the mechanic guy in the movie Daddy’s Little Girls. I was being turned on by the second. But what was really odd about this picture was that this was the very first time I ever messed around with a middle-class guy. All the men I’d ever fucked had million-dollar status. I remember saying to myself a while back that I would never fuck with a guy making less than seven figures a year. But look at me now. I guess it’s true when they say: “Never say never!”
Getting Things Poppin’
Mario didn’t stay at work long. As a matter of fact, he had Ryan take over so we could leave for the rest of the day. I must say that I really enjoyed myself watching him conduct business. Men handling their shit is so masculine to me. I was thinking I might have to stick around this guy for a little while longer, because I saw he was growing on me.
On our way to his car, he got an unexpected visitor. “Go head to the car, I’ll be with you in a moment,” he said, and then he made a detour toward a brand new, pearl white 5 Series BMW. The windows were slightly tinted so I couldn’t see who was behind the wheel. But as soon as the window rolled down, I got a really good look. To my surprise, it was a woman. A beautiful one at that, who looked like she was of Indian descent. She had a caramel complexion with long straight hair. But she didn’t look at all happy to see Mario. I got inside his car and watched them from my side mirror. I was struggling to hear what they were saying so I rolled down the passenger side window. “Answer my question, Mario!” I heard her say as soon as I rolled down the window. I think she was talking loud so I could hear her, which I felt was fine in my book.
“I don’t have to answer to you,” I heard him say. “We aren’t together anymore, so get out of here with all that fucking drama before I call the police and get you for trespassing!”
“You think I give a fuck about the police? Call ’em!” she snapped as she began to emerge from the car. I saw this and sat up in the seat, wanting to witness what was about to happen next.
Mario stepped back from the car as she opened the driver side door. When she stood completely up, I got a good look at her. She had to be about one hundred twenty-five pounds, but she was about two inches shorter than me. Her attire was very stylish. From what I could tell, she was wearing a pair of blue denim jeans with a pair of Gucci boots. The heel had to be at least four and a half inches. And the black leather jacket she was sporting was very nice as well. If I could say she reminded me of someone, I would say Meagan Good. And to be truthful about this situation, I was kind of intimidated that she looked better than I did. The only thing I had over her was that I had more class and I was an attorney who made millions fighting for my clients in court. I couldn’t tell you what she did for a living, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be much because anybody with a thirty thousand or more a year salary could buy a 5 Series BMW. I could buy a BMW dealership if I wanted to.
“Selina, you better get back in your car,” he warned her.
“Not until I find out who this chick is you got in your car,” she said, rushing past him.
Hearing her say that she was about to come and find out who I was threw me for a loop. I was shocked as hell. Speechless more or less, I held my cool and rolled the window back up so they wouldn’t notice that I was eavesdropping on their conversation.
As she marched over toward the passenger side of his car, he followed behind her. I pretended I was doing something when she knocked on the window. I looked up and rolled the window back down.
“Yes,” I said.
“Are you fucking Mario?” She went straight to the point.
Caught off guard by her question, I looked at her like she was crazy and said, “Did you ask Mario?”
She put both of her hands on her hips and said, “Yes, I sure did.”
“And what did he tell you?” I threw the question back at her.
“He wouldn’t answer me.”
“Well, there you go,” I replied nonchalantly, and continued to look at her.
Now I could tell that she was not at all pleased by my response because she was turning pink and purple in the face. I didn’t know what this woman was capable of doing, so I leaned forward and rolled my damn window back up.
“Yeah, bitch! You better roll that window up if you know what’s good for you,” she commented. Ryan and T’won both ran outside to see what the commotion was all about.
By this time, Mario had jumped in the driver seat of the car. He sounded like he was out of breath. “That chick is crazy! Please ignore her,” he said, turning the ignition on.
When she heard him start up the engine, she ran her crazy ass around the front of the car to prevent him from driving off. “Nigga, you ain’t going nowhere until you tell me who she is.”
“Selina, get from in front of my car before I run your ass over.”
“Do it, Mario! And watch and see if I don’t get your dumb ass locked the fuck up!” She placed her hands on the hood.
I looked over at him and he had the most frustrated expression on his face. He looked like he was about to blow his top. I honestly didn’t know what to say to him for fear that he might snap on me. So, I just sat back and waited to see what he was going to do. Several seconds later, he pulled out his BlackBerry.
“What are you getting ready to do?” I asked.
“I’m getting ready to call the police. I can’t keep dealing with her bullshit. She’s a fucking stalker and I just can’t seem to get rid of her crazy ass for nothing in the world.”
Hearing the word police scared me to death. I couldn’t let him call the police like that. That was definitely a bad idea, so I grabbed the phone out of his hand. “What are you doing?” he wondered aloud.
“Don’t call the police. You don’t need all that negative attention up here at your place of business. Just get out of the car and talk to her,” I tried to reason.
“That shit ain’t gonna work. She’s fucking crazy! And knowing how crazy she is, she’s bound to swing on me.”
“Not if you talk to her nicely.”
“You can’t talk to her nice. That chick doesn’t like reason. She likes a lot of fucking drama. That’s all she knows.”
I didn’t know what else to say to Mario. It seemed as though his mind was made up. So when he reached for his phone, I had no choice but to hand it to him. And as soon as he dialed 911 on the keypad and put the phone to his ear, he started talking. My heart began racing because I knew that it would be only a matter of a few minutes before the police arrived. I sat back in the seat and wondered what in the hell I was going to do. I was so afraid I almost pissed on myself. Lucky for me, when Mario started giving the police dispatcher information about what was going on and who was the cause of the problem, Selina heard him and it seemed like she was having second thoughts about sticking around. He was very loud when he spoke to the dispatcher. Especially when he was giving out her description and the type of car she was driving. Several seconds later, Selina punched down on the hood with her fist and stormed off. “Fuck you, you coward!” she spat out of her mouth.
Mario ignored her antics and continued to speak to the dispatcher. “She’s leaving and getting in her car right now,” he said.
�
��You said she’s leaving?” I heard the dispatcher ask.
“Yes, ma’am. She just got into her car and now she’s pulling off.”
“All right, then stay on the phone with me until she’s completely gone,” she instructed.
“She’s gone now,” he announced a moment later.
“Okay, feel free to call again if she comes back on the premises. But in the meantime, you’re gonna have to go to the magistrate and take out a restraining order on her.”
“I will. Thank you,” he said, and then they both hung up.
After he hung up with the dispatcher, he didn’t hesitate to get out of there. I sat back in the seat and didn’t say a word. Half a mile from the shop, he broke the silence by asking me, “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine,” I told him.
He began to apologize. “I am so sorry you had to see that.”
I rubbed him on the leg and said, “You don’t have to apologize. But tell me, why was she acting out like that? Women only act like that when the man has been leading them on or giving them false hopes. So, which one did you do?”
Mario sighed and said, “Selina and I were together for about three years and we just broke up about a month ago because I found out she was stealing from me.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“No, I am not.”
“How much did she take?”
“I can’t put a dollar amount on it. But it seemed like every time I looked in my stash a couple of hundred dollars would come up missing. I thought I was just miscounting my money, but when I came home one day and saw her in the act, I told her she had to go.”
“You actually caught her stealing your money?”
“Yep, I sure did.”
“What did she do?”
“She couldn’t do shit. She just stood there and looked stupid.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Nah, it’s okay. I’m just glad I caught her stabbing me in the back before I married her silly ass.”
Shocked by his response, I said, “Oh, so you and she were going to get married?”
“Yep. We had set the date for October seventeenth of this year, but those plans are null and void now.”