by Kiki Swinson
The little spot on Holland Road turned out to be a place called Mom’s Kitchen. It was a cozy diner type of atmosphere and the waitresses there were really nice. I ordered the breakfast combination, which consisted of turkey sausage links, two eggs, a side of fried potatoes with onions, and two slices of toast. Mario ordered the T-bone steak, two eggs, and a side of grits. While we were enjoying our meal we were interrupted by his telephone. He immediately got up from the table to avoid speaking around me. I knew it couldn’t be nobody but his brother or the guys who were given the task to get rid of the truck, so I sat back patiently and waited for him to return to the table. When he finally did, he had this bizarre look on his face and it scared the hell out of me. I was fear stricken until he opened up his mouth.
“I just got a phone call from the nigga following the asshole driving your truck, telling me that he had to call the other driver twice about how reckless he was driving down the fucking highway.”
My mouth fell wide open. “Are you serious?”
“You damn right I’m serious. So after I got off the phone with my peoples, I called the idiot driving your truck and cursed his ass out!”
“What did he say?”
“The nigga couldn’t say shit because I told him to shut the fuck up as soon as he tried to open up his mouth. I swear I don’t need the fucking aggravation! All I need is his ass to do the job and get back here safely. That’s it!”
“How far are they?”
“They don’t have too much farther to go. They should be back in this area in the next hour and a half.”
I exhaled. “Good,” I said, and then I went back to eating.
Immediately after we left out of there, we got back into his car and headed back toward the beach. I wanted to stay a little longer at the beach, but it got a little too cool, so there was nothing left for us to do but drive back down the highway.
Now, I had not heard from Carmen all day so I got on my phone to call her. She answered her line after the second ring.
“Girl, you are going to live a long time because I was just thinking about calling you,” she said.
“Where are you?”
“I just walked in from work not too long ago.”
“I kinda figured you were at work because I hadn’t heard from you.”
“Yeah, I had to do my eight-hour shift so you know I’m tired as hell, but I’ll bounce back after I take me a long hot shower.”
“That sounds good right about now.”
“It’s going to feel good, too.” Carmen chuckled. “So where are you?” she continued.
“I’m with Mario.”
“Oh shit, you with him?”
“Yes I am,” I replied nonchalantly.
“You better be careful. I told you he ain’t to be played with.”
“I remember what you told me,” I assured her.
“Have you run into Maceo again?” Carmen asked.
“No, I haven’t.”
“Yoshi, please be careful.”
“Trust me, I got everything under control. So, please, let’s talk about this later ’cause now is not the time.” I said this because she was talking pretty loud on the other end and I wasn’t sure if Mario could hear her or not.
Carmen’s questions continued. “Is he dropping you off at home?”
“We haven’t talked about it yet.”
“Well, you better tell him now before he ends up taking you back to his house and I know you don’t want that.”
“No, I don’t,” I agreed. “So let me call you back when we get to where we going because I’m not getting good reception right now. You keep breaking up.”
“You better call me back,” Carmen demanded.
“I will,” I told her, and then we both hung up.
After I disconnected the call, I tried to avoid looking in Mario’s direction. I looked out the passenger window at the trees we were driving by and all I could think about was what excuse I was going to use to convince him I needed to be home. When he saw me staring off into space, he rubbed me on my thigh to get my attention. “What you thinking about?” he asked.
“Nothing,” I lied. “I was just looking at the birds flying around in the sky and wished that I could fly.”
He laughed and said, “Damn, that’s funny! Whenever I got in trouble when I was a kid, I wished I could fly, too. You know, so I could run away from my problems. But I don’t think too much about it now.”
I turned around and looked at Mario and asked him if he had ever been incarcerated.
“I spent six months in a detention center when I was sixteen. But I haven’t been to the big house since I became an adult. Why did you ask?”
“I was just being curious.”
“Have you ever been locked up?”
I hesitated for a second before I answered his question. There was no point in giving him too much information about my life, since I knew we weren’t going to last.
“Yes, I have. But it was only for DUI and reckless driving.”
Mario burst into laughter. “You better slow your roll around here because Virginia police are petty as hell. They will give you a ticket for petty shit, like changing a lane without using a signal light.”
“Trust me. I’ve heard some of the stories,” I told him. Then I noticed that we were about to come up on Newtown Road.
“Would you like to go home?” Mario asked. I could tell from his tone that he didn’t want me to go home, but I didn’t want to go to his house and chance seeing Maceo.
“Yes, please,” I responded softly, hoping my answer wouldn’t lead to an argument.
He immediately got off on my exit and drove me straight home. I could tell he was a little upset, but he was a grown man, so he’d get over it really fast. Before I got out of the car I thanked him for taking care of the situation with the rental truck.
“No problem,” he said, and then he leaned toward me to get a kiss.
I leaned forward and kissed him even though I really didn’t want to. But at this point, I felt obligated to do it. Right after I exited his car, I walked around to the driver side.
“How are you going to get around now?” he asked.
“That’s a good question,” I replied.
“I told you if you wanted me to get you that Honda Accord from my body shop, I would.”
I thought for a second and then I said, “Okay, that would be fine, but I only want to use it until I can get myself another vehicle.”
“Yoshi, you don’t have to go out and get another car. You can drive that one as long as you want.”
“Look, Mario, I appreciate the gesture but I’ve got to be able to get my own transportation.”
“Are you looking to buy?”
“Yes, of course.”
“How much are you willing to pay?”
“I’m not sure. I guess it all depends on how well the car looks and drives.”
“Well, I’ll tell you what. Let me bring the Honda Accord around here tomorrow so you can test-drive it. And if you like it, you can buy it. Now how does that sound?”
“Sounds good,” I replied.
While he and I said our good-byes, one of my female neighbors pulled up in her car. She wasn’t pushing anything glamorous, it was only a gold 2007 Acura TL. She had her music blasting like she was at a nightclub. I cringed at the sound of it. And when she got out of her car, she made it her business to walk right by Mario’s Benz. She was an attractive woman with a light complexion. Her hair was styled in micro braids and they were pulled back in a ponytail, which draped down her back. She must have had at least twenty inches of hair on her head and she swung it back and forth with each step she took. I could tell she had just come home from work because of her uniform. The front label on her shirt read “Firestone,” and her name, which was Karen, was engraved directly below it.
She smiled as she passed us and then she made a 180-degree turn to see Mario’s face. Her expression lit up instantly. “Oh, shit. Is that you, Mario?” she asked.
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He smiled back at her. “Yeah, what’s up, Karen?” he said, extending his hand so she could shake it. “How you doing?” he continued.
“I’m doing good. Just getting off work, and now I’ve got to go in the house and do a little of laundry,” she replied, showing off a gold crown on the side of her top teeth. She redirected the question back to him. “But how are you doing?”
“I’m doing great. I’m still in business for myself and things are good considering this recession we’re in,” he told her. “But let me introduce you to Yoshi. She’s my friend and she lives here, too.”
Karen turned her attention to me and said hello. I did the same and then we both turned our attention right back to Mario. “Well, let me get inside.” She sighed.
“Take it easy,” he told her.
“I will. And it was nice seeing you after all this time.”
“Same here.”
“It was nice meeting you, too,” she said to me, and then she walked off. I turned and watched her go. I was curious to know exactly where she resided. As she walked toward her residence I couldn’t help but look at her hourglass figure. She was definitely eye candy. Her waist had to be twenty-six inches and her ass at least thirty-eight inches. She had the shape of Buffie the Body, but the only difference was that she was light skinned. After I saw where she lived, I turned my attention back to Mario.
“You know a lot of people, don’t you?” I asked.
“Not really,” he replied modestly.
“You can talk your ass off, but I know the deal.”
He chuckled. “You are so funny!”
“No, you are. I bet you’ve been with at least two hundred women or better.”
“Oh no, I’ve never been that type of man.”
“Have you ever slept with her?” I asked him, looking directly into his face to see any signs that he was lying.
He hesitated for a second and then said, “Nope.”
“That’s hard to believe.”
“Go and ask her if you don’t believe me,” he insisted.
“Hmm, how well do you two know each other?”
“I used to go out with her cousin a few years back. But now she’s married and moved down to Atlanta.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Tina and I broke up about four years ago. But I think she got married and moved to Atlanta about a year ago.”
“Why did you two break up?”
“Because we just couldn’t get along.”
“What kinds of problems did you two have that you didn’t get along?”
“We used to argue about a lot of stupid issues and I couldn’t take it. So I told her I had to bounce.”
“Oh, so you broke up with her?”
“It wasn’t a thing of who broke up with who. I’m a practical man and I’m very easy to get along with. Now, if I’m out here beating down the pavement to bring home the money so I can get the bills paid, then you shouldn’t be stressing me out about dumb shit.”
“What do you consider dumb shit?”
“It’s a long story.”
“Well, I’m gonna let you slide this time. But when I ask you again, make sure you have an answer for me.”
“You got it,” he assured me.
“What time can I expect you tomorrow?” I asked as I began to walk away from his car.
“Well, I got to do a few things in the morning, but as soon as I’m done I’ll bring you the Accord.”
“Do you have any idea what time that would be?”
“Give me until around noon.”
“Okay,” I said, and then I stepped completely away from him. He sat there in his car and watched me until I walked inside my house. I waved him off as soon as I crossed the door seal. And when I saw him begin to drive away, I closed my door and locked it.
Two Days Later
Mario brought me the Honda just like he promised. It was a 2005 model and was very clean. I drove around in it all day yesterday so I could get used to it. I stopped at Grandma Hattie’s house to see if she needed me to run some errands for her, but she told me no, so I told her I’d be back over there today since it was the first of March and I knew she would need to go to the bank to cash her Social Security check. She was standing outside when I pulled up in front of her house. I knew she was waiting for the mailman, so I smiled at her as I exited the car.
“Up bright and early I see,” I commented.
“And so are you,” she replied.
“How long have you been waiting outside?”
“About ten minutes. But he shouldn’t be much longer because I just saw him go on the next block.”
“Is Carmen here?” I asked as I stepped up on the porch.
“No, she just went up the street. I think she said she was going over her friend’s house. I can’t remember which one she told me because all their names sound so crazy.”
I laughed. “Where is Rachael?”
“She didn’t come home last night. So she’s probably with that little thug she messes around with.”
“Have you eaten breakfast?”
“Yes, honey, I had myself a nice cup of tea and a bowl of oatmeal,” she told me. “What about yourself? Did you put anything in your stomach?” she continued.
“I had a cup of coffee. But that’s it. I’ll probably get me a bite to eat as soon as I leave here.”
“Nonsense! Go on in that house and get you a bowl of that oatmeal.”
“No, Grandma, I’m fine.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m sure. I don’t want anything heavy right now. So, I’ll probably stop at one of those sub shops and get me a wrap or something.”
While we were talking back and forth, my cell phone started ringing. I looked down at the caller ID and noticed it was Carmen. “Speaking of the devil, that’s Carmen now,” I said aloud.
“Tell her you’re here at the house so she can get her butt back here,” Grandma Hattie said.
“Hey, girl. What’s up?” I asked.
“Where are you?” she asked. Her voice sounded weary.
“I’m standing in front of the house talking to Grandma.”
“You’re at Grandma’s house?” she asked, her voice becoming more strange. “Get out of there right now!” she screamed.
Alarmed by the urgency in Carmen’s voice, fear consumed my entire body. I didn’t know whether to jump into my car or run into Grandma Hattie’s house. “What’s wrong?” I panicked.
“Maceo knows you saw him kill Lil D,” she screeched.
“But how?”
“It had to be my mama because I didn’t breathe a word to anyone.”
“I knew it!” I screamed, and Grandma Hattie looked right at me.
“What’s wrong, darling?” she asked.
“I got to go, Grandma. But I’ll call you,” I told her, scrambling back into the car.
“Carmen, where are you?” I asked her immediately after I locked the car door.
“I just left my girlfriend Pam’s house. I’m walking up B Avenue right now. So, ride around here and pick me up.”
“Wait! Stay on the phone until I see you.”
“Okay,” Carmen said, and fell silent.
Worried, I said, “Are you still there?”
“Yeah, I’m just thinking about where my mama could be. I need to find her ass right now so she can tell us what the fuck is going on.”
Breathing like I had just run the fifty-yard dash, I said, “I’m coming down B Avenue now. Where are you?”
“I’m right here on the left by the yellow house. So slow down as soon as you pass that red van parked on the right side.”
“All right,” I said, and did just as Carmen had instructed me.
When she approached the car her face looked flushed. I could tell that this whole situation had affected her as much as me. I reached over to unlock the passenger side door, so she could get in.
She hopped in the car immediately after I pushed open the do
or. “When you get to the next block, turn right, so we can get out of here,” she instructed me as she looked straight ahead.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“I don’t know. But we’re going to have to figure out something,” she replied.
Before I could make a rebuttal to Carmen’s lame-ass plan, my cell phone started ringing. I looked down at the caller ID and when I noticed that it was Mario, my heart fell to the pit of my stomach. I didn’t know whether to answer it or not. So, I looked to Carmen for her guidance.
“Oh, my God! It’s Mario!” I said.
“Don’t answer it,” Carmen whispered.
I held the phone in my hand, not sure about whether or not I should listen to Carmen. I didn’t want to go against her because I knew at the end of the day she would be the only one to have my back. But by the same token, I didn’t want it to appear to Mario that I was avoiding him. I figured if he knew about the situation involving me seeing his brother murder Lil D, he would either make mention of it to me or try some funny business to lure me to him. I wanted to know either way where his head was, so I went against Carmen.
“Hello,” I said, but it was barely audible.
“Hey, baby, where you at?” he asked me.
Knowing that he wanted to know my whereabouts gave me an uneasy feeling in my heart. There was no doubt I was scared, so I looked at Carmen. She only shook her head as if to say she was disappointed with my actions.
“I’m in Virginia Beach. Why?” I replied.
“Whatcha ’bout to get into?”
“I don’t know, why?”
“Because I want to see you,” he said calmly.
“You just saw me not too long ago,” I said with a giggle. I had to play the role so he wouldn’t know that I was on to his fucking schemes.
He pressed the issue. “I know, but I miss you.”
“I miss you, too,” I lied, my stomach turning inside out.
“Well, meet me at the house in about thirty minutes,” he insisted.
“I can’t meet you there that soon.”
“Why not?”
“Because I’m in the middle of something.”
“Like what?”
“I’m taking care of something for my grandmother,” I lied once again.
“How long is that going to take?”