“Damn.” I said.
“Damn what?” Ke-Ke asked. “Why you judging me T, see this is the shit I don’t miss. I know the nigga is crazy and that he’s broke, but now I have a baby to think about.”
“Honey, I didn’t say anything. You’re the one that seems insecure about your situation so I’ll let you sit with that. I wish you the best.” I said.
My reply had silenced Ke-Ke. “Just be happy for me, T.” she said sadly.
“I am. Congratulations.” I said.
My girls had done me so wrong in the past, but truth be told, if they had ever picked up the phone and needed me, I’d be the first one there for them. My loyalty was a gift and a curse. A gift because it helped others; a curse because I normally ended up getting burned in the end. It never failed.
“Tiara, I’m ready.” A somber Tony hollered out. He was very emotional and I was glad that I could be there for him.
“Alright ladies, I’m out. Y’all take care of yourselves.” I said.
Renee peeked over at Tony, “wait, so y’all are back together? I heard you left him.” She asked. I was sure the word was all in the streets of Boston about me leaving Tony. But I wouldn’t give Renee or any of my friends the satisfaction of knowing that anything was fucked up in my life. Therefore, I chose to ignore her.
“Like I said, it was good seeing y’all,” I said waving goodbye to them. I bent to hug Karen because I knew the pain of losing a boyfriend all too well. I had lost my first love Derick to street violence and no one deserved to feel that kind of pain. Plus, Tony told me that Karen and Cat got pretty deep and that he was actually thinking about proposing to her. My heart ached for my old friend.
“We love you Tiara.” Ke-Ke said looking as if she was about to cry.
I cracked a smile. “I love y’all too, always.” I said approaching Tony’s wheelchair and I pushed him away.
For some reason, I think that Tony was trying to play on my sympathy for him. He kept pressing me up about what hotel I was staying at and asked if he could come over for comfort. I told him that I’d meet him at his mom’s house and sit with him for a little while but I wouldn’t even entertain the thought of him staying in the hotel with me. Plus, I looked forward to my conversations with Paul at night.
Paul and I had kept in touch during my entire trip to Boston. In the mornings he would text Good morning beautiful, we would talk throughout the day and then at night he made sure that he sent me a Good night beautiful text. Now that I knew that everything was okay with Tony’s health, I was excited to get back and proceed with my new life. But I couldn’t leave without visiting Tre first.
I rushed up to the prison. My flight was scheduled to leave in just three hours, but I had to see my big brother and catch up.
I sat waiting nervously in the open visiting room. I looked around the room and saw a lot of familiar inmates at the surrounding tables. I was surprised to see that some dudes who were out on the streets just before I left the hood were now in jail. I hated seeing them locked up but that’s the way it went in the hood. Tre came out, his face was still broken out and I almost cried at the sight of him. I had missed him so much. I stood and hugged him.
“Hey big bro.” I greeted.
He cracked a smile. “What’s good sis?”
“Man, I have so much to tell you.” I said.
We sat down and just smiled at each other. Our brother and sister bond was unbreakable and I could tell that he had missed me as much as I missed him.
“I live in VA now, did you get my letter? I’m loving it out there bro.”
“Nah, I didn’t get your letter. Why VA sis?” he asked.
“Well Tony’s family offered me and Shayonna a place to stay for a little while in DC, but I ended up moving out and getting a spot on my own in VA.”
He gave me a stern look. “I’m glad you’re out the hood sis. That was a smart move.” He said.
I was so happy to have his approval.
“I heard about what happened to Tony and Cat. T-Money aiight?” he asked.
“Yeah he’s good, I came down here to check on him and I went with him to Cat’s funeral.”
He smiled, “That’s my sis, always being loyal. I bet you broke your neck to get down here to check on that nigga, huh?”
“Man, you know me too well bro. But he’s Shayonna’s father, I had to make sure he was straight.”
“You ain’t gotta explain shit to me sis, I know y’all got a bond. Although I wasn’t feeling that nigga at first, he made sure you was straight while I was in here. Our fam ain’t shit, so despite all the bullshit y’all been through, I gotta give it up to the nigga for looking out for you. I mean I’m in here with my hands tied behind my back so that’s good shit.”
“Yeah, he did hold me and Shayonna down for a while.” I smiled. “Speaking of Shayonna, I’m gonna send you a letter with new pictures of her, she’s getting so big. And I’ll send up more money too.”
“Aiight sis, good looking out.”
“You already know, it’s nothing.” I tapped his arm. They were more sculpted than ever, as if he’d been working out every day since he’d been in there. “Well big bro, we doing all this talk about me, what’s been good with you? You straight? You need anything?”
“I could always use some canteen money and some books, other than that I’m good.” He said.
I was so happy to hear that he was in good spirits.
“Guess what?” he asked smiling.
“What?”
“The second appeal went through. I got a court date in a couple of months. Just pray for me sis, shit might be straight.”
“Are you serious? Man, you’re about to have me in here crying.” I said.
“Well I ain’t gonna get too happy about it yet, but my lawyer said that there were a lot of holes in the evidence. He thinks that I got a fair shot of getting out of here.”
I was happy as shit. “Oh my goodness Tre, that would be so dope. I’m hopeful that you’ll be out of here soon and I hope your butt will leave the Bean and come to VA with me.”
“Man, I don’t know about no VA, that shit is a little too country for me. I’m locked up with some niggas from VA and them niggas are some bustas.”
“Tre, it ain’t about no bustas, it’s about starting out fresh in a new town. You don’t have to watch your back, shit will be sweet.”
“VISITING HOURS ARE OVER!!!!!” a husky guard yelled out in the front of the visitor room.
“Aiight big bro, I’m gonna put money on your canteen before I leave. Look out for my letter, I love you.”
He hugged me. “Thanks sis, don’t forget to pray for me. I’m tryna be off this.”
“I always pray for you.” I told him.
“RIP Sharod.” He said.
“You already know bro.”
The inmates lined up and I watched as my big brother was led back into the prison to head to his cell. I wished so bad that I could take him home with me. It felt great seeing him and I was glad that I got his approval for moving away. I just wish I had more time with him.
I almost missed my flight back to VA. Now that I felt that shit in Boston was settled, I was excited to get back to my new life. I was actually excited to see Paul. He offered to take me out, and I couldn’t believe that I had agreed to a date.
I met him at Clyde’s, one of the most elegant restaurants in Alexandria. It wasn’t too far from where I lived and I arrived before him. I noticed that he came in the same damn hoopty that he drove to the mechanic shop, but I didn’t think too much of it and enjoyed my dinner with him.
I liked Paul, but something about him seemed real suspect to me. He always liked bragging about how he was so heavily into the streets and how much of a real nigga he was. He kept repeating the same fuckin’ war stories and I would only say, “Oh really? That’s what’s up,” semi-sarcastically. He stressed the fact that he couldn’t have kids but wouldn’t mind adopting when he gets married. But what really had me raising my
eyebrows at the nigga was how freely he would talk about the so-called gangsta life he used to live. I’m from the hood. Dudes don’t just gloat off their past. If you was a thug or a gangsta I would see it. No one brings it up and try to convince you of their G-ness. He was just not authentic to me and it killed any chance of me liking him as a boyfriend. He had forced himself into the friend zone.
“What about you, what’s your past like?” He had finally asked something about me.
I shook my head. “Honestly, my past is something that I’ll never forget, but don’t want to relive it either.”
He chuckled. “I’m sure it wasn’t that bad. You seem like you have your head on right. You’re a good mom, you hold your household down and you love God. Sounds like your upbringing was pretty secure.”
I nodded, “if you only knew.” I instantly took a trip down memory lane. I thought about my mom, Tre and Sharod. I missed them all so much.
“Well, tell me about Boston. I honestly didn’t even know they had black people in Boston.”
“You better stop saying that.” I sassed.
He giggled. “No I’m serious, Boston isn’t a place that niggas say they are going to visit. Like you hear niggas say they are going to DC, New York or Philly but you don’t hear niggas randomly say they are visiting Boston.”
“Listen, don’t talk about my city, I’ll defend it all day.”
“So you’re telling me that there are hoods in Boston?”
I looked at him like he was crazy. “Not only are there hoods in Boston, but I’m from one of the worst hoods there. Where I’m from, obedience and loyalty is mandatory or else you can get yourself killed.”
“What? Look at you talking gangsta. I swear I love your swag Tiara. You are one of the coolest females I know. You are so real.”
“Thank you, I appreciate that.” I said diving into my crab cakes. I felt him staring at me as I ate.
“I look forward to getting to know you more.” He said licking his lips.
“Well, we’ll see how things go.” I told him.
In the upcoming weeks, our conversations continued to be filled with him explaining how much money he saved when he was in the game and how he was one of the realest niggas in Alexandria. He was starting to be super wack to me. Alexandria was a damn suburb. I don’t know what kinda thug he was trying to make me think that he was. He didn’t know anyone who had been locked up, never attended a funeral outside of an older person dying and probably never even held a gun before. Aside from all the war stories, he was charming. That’s the only reason why I still entertained the nigga.
He hit me up one weekend, checking up on me and Shayonna as he usually did. I was snuggled up on the couch with her.
“What you doing?” he asked.
“Nothing, just sitting here with my daughter watching TV.”
“Y’all hungry?” he asked.
“Nah we are good, thanks for asking.” Little did he know, I hadn’t cooked and I was already thinking about ordering something to eat.
“Man, put your guard down, stop being so guarded Tiara. Let me treat you like the queen you are and spoil you.”
His words warmed my heart and a smile covered my face.
“Write down my credit card number and order y’all something to eat.”
I hesitated. “Paul, I told you, you don’t have to be so nice to me.”
“Man, this is nothing compared to what I have in store for you.”
I sat back on my couch digesting his charm. It was so magnetic that it scared me. I wasn’t used to a good man and the way that he portrayed himself was mirrored by his actions…with the exception of the so-called thug past shit.
“You got a pen out yet?” he asked.
I finally gave in and told him to just text me his credit card number.
“I’ll send you a few places around the area that have the best cuisines. Order any and everything you want.”
I took him up on his offer and ordered Shayonna and I lobster rolls from this café down the street. He kept insisting that I use his card to order whenever I needed to. He said that he loves a woman that loves to cook but every woman deserved a day off. He was the perfect man for someone, but I just wasn’t feeling him in that way. I couldn’t put my finger on what I just didn’t feel about him.
I filled Ebony in on Paul, she was happy as shit that I was dating. She did however mention that she was worried during my trip back to Boston because she thought that I was going to reunite with Tony. She confessed to knowing that he was cheating on me throughout our entire relationship and felt that I deserved much better. Then she teased me about being mean and not allowing Paul to enter my heart. I told her that I was a good judge of character and he was just cool peeps nothing more.
That Sunday, Ebony agreed to watch Shayonna for me because Paul offered to take me out to Oceannaire’s in DC. The seafood there was off the hook and he tipped the waiter with a fifty dollar bill. He was really doing too much and it seemed like he was breaking his pockets to impress me. He was a painter, I didn’t care how much money he claimed to have been making back in the day, there was no way this nigga was still spending his so-called drug money. Aside from all the money and bragging antics, the date went well, as usual.
He walked me to my car and gave me a hug. I don’t know what kind of cologne he wore but it made me wet every time it graced my nose. He tried to go in for a kiss, but I turned away.
“I thought things were going pretty well with us. Why you still acting shy Tiara? Like I’m a stranger?” he asked appearing confused.
“It’s not that Paul. We are just not there yet. I’m just getting out of a relationship and I don’t want to do nothing that I’m not comfortable with.” I explained.
“Yeah okay, I understand.” He said, but I sensed attitude. His mouth told me that he understood, but his eyes told me that he was pissed. Honestly I didn’t give a fuck how the nigga felt, I had to get to know him a little more before I gave him anything more than a hug. I was still trying to figure him out.
After I rejected his kiss, I watched him storm off to his car. I hopped in my car and kept it moving. His sensitivity was a turn off. He would either have to wait until I was ready or he was going to have to kick rocks.
I picked Shayonna up from Eb’s crib and then headed home. Eb said that she’d given Shayonna a bath so when we got home, I sent her off to bed. I threw my keys on the coffee table and powered up my computer to check my email. Normally Rita would send me the work agenda for Monday morning. I was replying to her emails when I noticed a mysterious new email sitting in my inbox. I hardly got messages from anyone other than folks from work and the chick’s name didn’t ring a bell.
What did ring a bell was the name in the subject line, Paul Sigman. I clicked on the email and realized that it was not only sent to me but about fifty other women were cc’ed as well.
The email read:
I bet you think you are one of the luckiest girls in the world huh? You probably thought you hit the jackpot when you met Paul. He’s charming and he always has the right words to say. Every morning he hits you with a “Hello beautiful” text and every night with the “Good night beautiful” text…Well, I got news for all of you. You're not the only one he sends it to. He sends it to every one of you in this email. I got a hold of his phone a while ago and have been keeping track of all the women he tries to deceive. You see, I thought he was charming and perfect until he burned me, yes ladies, he gave me an STD. But that was after I found out that he's been lying about EVERYTHING! Did he tell you that he drives a Range Rover and has a five bedroom house? LOL! Hmm, how many of you have actually ever seen that Range or that house? Ha! None of you. That's because it doesn't exist! Oh and did he tell you about his five year old daughter? Yes ladies he has a kid but he tells all of you that he can't have kids. He is a CON-ARTIST, he tries to get in between your legs and once he has conquered that, he will try to use you for anything you have. He is an opportunist and he charmed my
panties off of me and money out of my wallet. Get out while you can, this is a warning.
Instantly, I got a headache. I looked away from the screen and felt dazed and deceived. I couldn't believe the shit I had just read.
“I knew it.” I said out loud. There was something about that nigga that just didn't seem right. I rushed to dial his number to tell him to stay the fuck away from me but he was already calling me.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Tiara, it's Paul.”
“Yeah I know who it is.” I said with obvious attitude.
“Oh no, you must have gotten it too.” he said.
“Got what? The email?” I asked already knowing what he meant.
A Hood Chick's Story pt. 3: The Final Chapter Page 6