by Dynah Zale
“I was just concerned, that’s all. I don’t want you to get locked up again,” Tressie demurred.
“Baby, you don’t have to worry. I’m never going back there again.”
After they finished their meal, Payce asked, “Did I tell you how beautiful you look?”
“Yes, you did. But you can tell me again.” She laughed.
Their waiter approached her with a card in his hand. “Excuse me, ma’am. This is for you.”
Tressie took the card and wondered what was inside. She opened the card and written inside it said:
Tressie,
Since you’ve walked into my life my heart has been filled with so much love. I never thought I could love someone as much as I love you. With all the wrong things I’ve done in my life, it’s hard to believe that God has blessed me with something so right.
I love you, Payce.
Payce had never told her he loved her before. She looked over at him with tears in her eyes. He held a jewelry box, and inside was a diamond tennis bracelet.
“It’s gorgeous!” she exclaimed.
“This bracelet represents only a tenth of how much I love you.”
“Payce, I . . .”
“Don’t say it. I don’t want you to tell me you love me just because I told you. I want you to tell me when you’re ready and when you mean it.”
He took the bracelet from her and put it on her wrist. He got up and held out his hand. They walked out together onto the deck and watched the moonlight shine against the water.
“I want to make love to you tonight,” he told her. “Can we spend the night together?” She nodded her head yes. After the ship docked, Payce escorted her back to his car and they rented a room at the Hilton Hotel.
“I love you,” he told her again.
“I . . .”
“Don’t say it.” He put his finger to her mouth. “I told you, don’t say those words until you really mean it.”
Payce slowly undressed her and laid her on the bed. He lovingly admired her body. He took his time with her and kissed every inch of her body before making love to her.
Her body throbbed with pleasure as he kissed her lovingly.
After they made love, she lay in his arms and thought about how many times she had dreamed of making love to Payce. It was better than she had imagined.
“I love you,” she finally confessed.
“I love you, too.”
Chapter 12
It had taken Murray a while, but he had finally gotten Daneesha’s home address. He wasn’t sure if the young girl at the supermarket where Daneesha used to work was going to believe his story about him being her long lost uncle. Well, he must be a good storyteller, because it didn’t take much convincing for the cashier to give up Daneesha’s address.
Murray sat outside Daneesha’s home, keeping the house under close surveillance. No one had approached the house all afternoon except for the mailman.
At the start of each new assignment, Murray liked to verify that he was monitoring the right residence because of a mistake he had made three years prior. He had been hired by a wife who suspected her husband was having an affair. After three weeks of watching the husband have one-night stands with different women, he later discovered that he had been trailing the wrong person. He had been following the wife’s neighbor, and not his client’s husband. That one mistake hurt his business. So he made it routine practice to verify the residence he was watching.
Once the mailman left the block, Murray snuck up to the house. He stepped onto the porch and was startled by the presence of a sleeping dog. Murray was terrified of dogs and he hadn’t realized they even had a dog because the mutt hadn’t made a sound all afternoon.
The dog woke from his sleep and looked at Murray. Frightened, Murray was about to turn and run when the dog slowly closed his eyes and went back to sleep. Thankful that the beast did not attack, Murray quickly stuck his hand in the mailbox and looked at the envelopes. All bills were addressed to Daneesha Oaks. He quickly replaced the mail and hurried back to his car.
From his car, Murray stared at the small house. The harsh Chicago winters had badly deteriorated the exterior of the home. The blue paint had lost its luster, each window was covered with plastic, and the front screen door was hanging off the hinges. He had also noticed a few floor panels on the porch were missing. It wouldn’t be long before the house collapsed.
The sunlight was soon replaced by evening’s darkness. It was quitting time for a lot of hardworking people, and he expected Daneesha would be arriving home shortly. He wished to speak with her about Bryant, but doubted she would willingly tell a stranger any information about her relationship with him. He knew he was going to have to watch her for a few days and devise a plan on the best way to approach her.
At exactly six o’clock, a CTA bus stopped a few feet behind Murray’s car. A woman and two small children got off and walked toward the Oaks’ residence. He watched as they passed by. The young mother struggled with an armful of groceries while trying to keep an eye on her children. The little girl, around three-years-old, held her younger brother’s hand tightly as they ran to keep up with their mother. Murray could hear their mother repeatedly yell for them to keep up. The family walked onto the porch and their black Labrador Retriever came alive. The dog stood up and welcomed them home by wagging his tail and licking their faces.
“Hey, Kobe,” the little girl sang out.
The mother struggled to get her key in the door. Once she successfully opened the door, she ordered the children to go inside.
As the mother held the door open for her children, Murray could see a front view of her full, round belly. “She’s pregnant,” he said to himself.
Murray watched the house, hoping Bryant would show up, but no one else entered the home for the remainder of the night.
The following morning, Murray watched as Daneesha and the children left the house. He sat in his car, calculating his next move. He speculated that Daneesha lived alone with the children. He thought about how he could get a pregnant woman to tell him what he needed to know without raising suspicions. He knew he had to think of a subtle way to approach her. How was he going to do it? Out of nowhere, an idea popped into his mind that just might work.
Later on that evening Murray knocked on Daneesha’s front door. The family dog barked loudly. Murray whispered to the dog, “Calm down, fellow. You don’t recognize me? I was here yesterday. I’m not here to harm you.”
The dog growled. Murray was surprised at the dog’s sudden emergence as a watch dog. He was disguised as a deliveryman and was thankful he had remembered to pack his bag of disguises. He had on a body suit that made him look twenty pounds heavier, and he wore a plain blue uniform. He held a hand truck loaded with a huge box.
The commotion the dog made caused the little girl to run to the door and open it wide.
“Hello, can I speak to your mommy?” Murray asked the child.
“Mommy! Mommy!” she screamed through the house.
Moments later Daneesha appeared at the door. “Yes, can I help you?”
“Good evening, ma’am. I have a delivery here for a Daneesha Oaks.”
“That would be me. What is it?”
“Well ma’am, I believe they said it was a crib.”
“A crib? I didn’t order any crib.”
Murray looked at the fictitious paperwork on his clipboard.
“Well my delivery sheet says to deliver this crib to Daneesha Oaks at 19 Holman Way,” the man said.
She eyed the unexpected delivery suspiciously. Murray moved the box to the other hand. “Ma’am, if you don’t mind, this box is very heavy,” he said to her in hopes that she would accept the delivery.
Hesitant to allow him to enter her home, she finally relented. “I’m sorry. Children, move your things from the middle of the living room floor!” Daneesha commanded. She opened the door wide for Murray to bring in the box.
He walked into her home and the interior of
her house was worse than the exterior. The kitchen ceiling had several holes, and the wallpaper that lined the walls had turned yellow and was beginning to peel. The children watched a small black and white television that sat on top of a large floor model television. A small wire hanger substituted as the television’s antenna to keep its reception.
“Where would you like it?” he asked.
She pointed down the hall. “You can put it in the second room on the right. That’s my daughter’s room.” She rubbed her belly. “This one is going to be a girl, so they might as well share.”
Desmond pulled the large box into the room. Daneesha walked in behind him. “Do you have a name of the person who ordered the crib?” she asked.
He looked down at his clipboard. “I’m sorry, ma’am, the office didn’t include the buyer’s name on my work order.”
“That’s all right. It was probably my fiancé, Bryant. He likes to surprise the children and me.”
“That’s a beautiful thing ma’am, a man who loves his family.” He pointed to the crib. “This crib is really beautiful. A lot of couples choose this one.” Murray began to open the box and pull out the contents.
“You’re going to put it together?”
“Yes ma’am. Set up is free of charge when you order one of these cribs.”
“Oh! I wasn’t aware. Do you need any tools? I’m sure Bryant has some tools lying around here somewhere.”
“No, that’s all right. I have everything I need right here.” He pulled out his tool kit and the directions to assemble the crib. Once he started, he regretted his decision to put it together. He hadn’t put a crib together in over twenty years. He had purchased a deluxe crib with the most sophisticated gadgets. It took him a whole hour just to sort out the different pieces.
Daneesha came to check on him. “Are you okay back here?”
“Yeah! I’m all right. It should be done shortly,” he responded.
She glanced at the lopsided crib and hoped that it wasn’t supposed to sit that way. She stood and watched him for a moment.
He knew that this would be the best time to strike up a conversation with her. “So, when are you due?”
“I’m only six months pregnant. I have three more months.”
“I’m sure your fiancé is excited, but he’s probably a pro by now since you two have been through this twice before already.”
“Actually my two oldest children aren’t his. This is his first child, so he is really excited.”
“Children really are a joy. My kids are grown, but it seems like just yesterday they were falling asleep in my arms. Kids grow up so fast. Make sure you spend as much time with them as you can.”
“My fiancé and I both try to spend as much time with the children as possible, but his job requires him to travel a lot.”
“I hope he’s going to be around for the baby’s birth?” Murray questioned the young mother.
“Oh, yes sir, he should be back home in a few weeks. Once he gets home, he promised me that he wouldn’t leave again until after the baby was born.”
The phone rang. “Mommy,” her daughter screamed. “Grandma wants you.”
“Excuse me.” Daneesha waddled to the phone.
Murray overheard her telling her mother about the mysterious crib that arrived and how it was a blessing because she could not afford to buy a new crib for the baby to sleep in. By the time she returned back to the bedroom, he had finished the crib.
“I’m all finished.”
“It looks good,” she responded.
The crib was perfectly assembled after hours of trial and error.
She walked him to the door. “You have a good night, sir.”
“You too, ma’am, and make sure you take care of that little one.”
“Thank you. I will.”
“Player, I’m surprised you could get away tonight. You’ve been a hard man to catch up with. Every time I call you, I get your voice mail,” Darshon said to Payce.
They stood in line at Pinnacle, the liveliest nightclub in the city. They were there to help their friend, T.J. celebrate his birthday.
“I know. I started school and I’ve been working a lot. Any extra time I have after that is spent with Tressie,” Payce responded.
“You still working at the Westin?”
Payce nodded.
“They must be paying really well at the Westin—brand new car, brand new watch,” Darshon pointed at Payce’s Rolex. “Are you sure you’re not hustling on the side?”
“Man, I told you I’m legit this time. Everything I bought, I worked for.”
“You wouldn’t lie to me, would you, man?”
“Man, I’m not hustling.” Payce knew he wasn’t being completely honest with Darshon, but he couldn’t tell him about working at The Dollhouse. Darshon was his best friend, they had been through everything together, but this was one secret he had to keep to himself. If anyone ever found out what he was doing, he knew he would be jeopardizing his relationship with Tressie and the respect he had earned from his father.
“Well, I’m glad to see you, and I’m sure the fellows will be happy to see you, too.”
“You know I couldn’t miss T.J.’s birthday.”
After a twenty-minute wait, they finally reached the front of the line and paid the admittance fee. Inside the club, lights flashed, music bumped, and the place was crowded with people.
“How are we going to find T.J.?” Payce screamed above the loud music.
“Just follow me,” Darshon instructed.
He pulled Payce through the crowd of people. A few girls winked and tried to get Payce’s attention as he walked by. Nothing’s changed, he thought to himself. Darshon led him straight to a table where T.J. sat by himself.
“What’s up, player?” Darshon screamed out. He slapped hands with T.J.
“Payce, my man,” T.J. yelled. “Welcome home, my nigga. I haven’t seen you since you were released.”
“I’ve been trying to stay out of trouble,” Payce replied.
“I understand.”
“Why are you sitting over here by yourself? I thought you would have sweet talked one of these honeys in here into coming over and helping you celebrate your birthday.”
“Me and John just got here. He’s already out there on the dance floor with some chicken head. I was just about to order a bottle of Cristal.” T.J. pulled out a wad of bills from his pocket. Payce stared as T.J. peeled off a few hundred-dollar bills. He could see that T.J. was still reaping the benefits of a drug dealer’s lifestyle.
T.J., Darshon, John, and Payce began selling drugs while in high school. It wasn’t long before they realized that they could make more money on the streets than in school. As a result, they all dropped out, except for John. When John told his mom that he was quitting school, she lost it. She grabbed her frying pan and chased him around their house. Scared that he might wake up one day to find his mom standing over him with that black skillet, he decided to finish out his education. He was the only member of the crew who graduated from high school.
Even with John’s absence, their pockets got fatter and fatter. Each one of them bought themselves a car, jewelry, and plenty of new clothes.
They called themselves the GT Hustlers. Unfortunately for Payce, that all came to an end two years ago. T.J., Payce, John, and Darshon were at their centralized hub distributing drug packages. The fellas were no longer standing on the street corners. They hired workers to make the money for them. They operated like a legal business. When a worker needed to replenish his drug supply, they dispatched a runner to come and pick up the package. The runner, usually a neighborhood kid between the ages of nine and eleven, was good at transporting drugs from one place to another because of his quick speed and ability to elude the police.
One night a guy called in and said that his runner was sick and he didn’t have anyone to pick up his replenishment package for him. He was quickly running out, and he needed someone to bring the drugs to him.
> “Fuck that. If he can’t get someone to come and get it, then he’s going to have to come himself. We ain’t no delivery boys,” T.J. yelled.
“I’ll take it to him,” Payce said.
“Man, you know the rules. We don’t transport drugs for nobody,” T.J. shot back.
“I know, but it’s this one time. I’ll have a talk with him when I get there.” Payce grabbed the package of drugs and jumped into his car. He got no farther than five hundred feet away from the hub when the cops surrounded him and aimed their guns. He was charged with possession, intent to distribute, and carrying a controlled substance in a drug-free school zone.
Since it was his first offense, he got only eighteen months in lockup, but that was enough for him.
“I got it, man.” Payce also pulled out his wad of bills.
T.J. looked at the money and put his arm around Payce’s shoulder. “My man must have stashed some loot before he went away,” he said.
“Yeah, I managed to save a little something.” Payce called a waitress over to their table and threw her five one hundred dollar bills. “Cristal, please.”
Payce walked over to the balcony and looked out over the mob of dancers on the dance floor. He saw John grinding on some girl. She was shoving her exposed breasts in his face. Payce took a sip from his glass. He watched all the hot girls with their short skirts and low-cut blouses. It had been such a long time since he had been in the club. When he was locked up, he dreamed about hanging out at the club until three o’clock in the morning. He knew he could never take his freedom for granted again.
He was about to walk away when he spotted a girl leaning against the far wall staring at him. At least he thought she was staring at him. He wasn’t sure until she waved. He called her over and she slowly made her way through the crowd.