by E. N. Joy
Those lights made the girls feel like movie stars. The expression on Saved's face was proof that in that moment in her life, she felt like a star. Her expression quickly changed from a smile to a frown once her eyes were cast upon the shower with its clear glass doors. A person could see right through it at the person showering. I assumed this must have made Saved a little uncomfortable because her upbeat attitude and the smile on her lips quickly faded. Now her smile was definitely upside down and a few of the bubbles she'd seemed to have been floating on had burst.
"Don't worry. You can lock the door. Ain't nobody gonna try to come up in here and see you," I assured her. Besides, I'd see her soon enough once I had to break her in. Not break her in, in the sense of having sex with her. I was referring to breaking her in as far as seeing what she was working with; you know, her body type and all. Then I'd have to train her on how to keep it tight or make it tighter, which ever would be the need in her case.
Every girl was different. Some were too skinny while others were a little too thick. I kept a close eye on them. I personally took their measurements and had them weigh in weekly. I'd then plan their diets with Monet accordingly and have Monet give the girls cooking sessions on how to prepare appetizing food that wasn't so fattening.
So if Saved was worried about me peeking at her through the shower door, she was really going to trip during strip down. But I had assumed wrong. The glass doors and the thought of me sneaking a peek at her wasn't what had put the frown on her face.
"It's not that." Her tone was low. "It's just that you have no idea how badly I just wanted to sit down in a nice tub and soak my body. In the past I've been taking showers in roach motels that I wouldn't dare sit my private parts down in to take a bath. I've washed up in gas station sinks. I just really wanted a nice, hot bath. I know people take things like that for granted everyday, but not me."
It was as if all that painted on hard core exterior she'd tried to cover herself up in was slowly, but surely, washing down the drain. Now standing before me was the fragile little girl I'd expected to see when Tia had first hit me on my cell phone, letting me know to get down to the bus station because she had a prospect. This right here; this was the face I'd instantly seen on almost every girl who'd crossed my path. And against my better judgment, I was about to give in to this face.
"Look," I sighed, "now I usually don't do this, but I suppose I can make an exception this one time." Seems like this chick had me making all kinds of exceptions. "I'll let you take a bath in my room, but only this once, so don't get used to it."
Her eyes lit up. "Thank you, Poppa. Thank you so much," she said before throwing her arms around my neck.
She was fragile. Soft, fragile, and dying to break free was a kindness about her. When I realized my hand was grasping the back of her head and my fingers toying with her curls, I immediately pushed her away.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing," I lied. What was wrong was that I felt like I was molesting my own daughter. Dang this girl! She was like some freakin' kryptonite...messing up my Mo Jo. "Come on. Let me show you to the tub."
I led Saved to my bedroom. She'd be the only woman outside of Connie, the cleaning lady who cleaned my house once a month, to ever enter my bedroom. It was my throne-where my treasure lied. It's where I kept all my valuables; wallet, jewelry, etc... I even had a lock on the door. One could never be too careful. As beautiful as some of these girls Tia brought to me were, some of them were nothing more than pretty crackheads.
"Well, God bless the child," Saved said in almost a whisper as she entered my bedroom. The clothing she'd had in her hands slipped to the floor as she looked around in awe.
My bedroom was like a mini throne if I didn't say so myself. My king-size, high-post, solid oak bed sat over two feet off the floor. For show, I had a hand- made stool I'd picked up at some fancy furniture store that sat beside my bed. It was supposed to be used as assistance for climbing up on to the bed. But like I said before, it was just for show. The gold, puffy headboard that was made out of satin matched the gold and wine colored comforter set. The seven décor pillows set it off just right.
The matching oak chest and dresser were covered in my expensive colognes, watches and jewelry. Then there was the hand carved keepsake box where I kept my wallet in so that I always knew where it was at. Out of habit, I pulled my wallet out of my pocket and placed it in there while Saved was too busy looking around my room."
"Can you not touch that?" I asked just as the fingers on her extended hand were about to touch my crystal vase.
"Oh, my bad." She retracted her hand.
I had to admit, I had a lot of nice stuff for a fella as young as myself. On the same token, though, most of the jewelry was gifts from the girls. Not gifts they'd purchased themselves. Who could afford to do that with only a thirty percent cut of their take home pay? It was jewels they'd jacked their tricks for while they slept, after the girls had taken care of business of course.
That was one reason that no tricking or bringing tricks to the apartment building was allowed. The last thing we needed was for some angry John to come starting trouble with the girls. Or for some obsessed john to begin stalking them. Or even worse, for some john's chick to come around raising sand, trying to find the girl who would do things for her man that she wouldn't dare.
I walked over and picked up Saved's things she had dropped. "Come on, the bathroom is this way," I said, leading her into the master suite bathroom.
"A Jacuzzi?" she cried out as soon as she spotted my oval shaped, gray Jacuzzi that was surrounded by gray, black and white granite. "God, you are better to me than I am to myself." Saved started doing this little dance thing with her feet.
I remember it from back in the day when I used to go to church. She was 'getting' happy.' Whenever someone got happy in the spirit of the Lord, their feet would start moving uncontrollably. It was safe to say that Saved was happy.
Eventually, she calmed down and regained control of herself. "A Jacuzzi. All I wanted was a bath," she said, walking over to the edge of the Jacuzzi and sitting down, "and God has blessed me abundantly above and beyond what I wanted. Lord have mercy, I serve a mighty God."
I cleared my throat. I had to put an end to this mess before the girl ended up getting the all out Holy Ghost, which I always thought was more like a seizure, and I'd hate to have to call 911...or an exorcist...or whatever.
"Let me run the water for you." I brushed by her and began to run the water. I then walked over to the double sink vanity, opened one of the drawers and pulled out a lighter.
"You're even going to light the candles too?" Saved asked me once she saw me walking back over with the lighter in hand. Her eyes then scanned the variety of candles that laced the bathroom.
They weren't scented candles or anything like that. I wouldn't want anybody to think I'm all soft. But men like candles too, and not just to impress women. It's all about the ambience. And when a man is secure in himself like me, he don't mind lighting a candle or two and some incense and just letting go. Saved needed to let go too.
"Sure thing I'm gonna light the candles for you," I told Saved. "If you gon' do the dang on thing, do it right." I winked and proceeded to light some of the twenty or so candles that surrounded the Jacuzzi and the bathroom. "If you were of drinking age, I'd let you sip on some bubbly."
Saved threw her hands on her hips and sucked her teeth. "Now it's my turn to ask you if you are serious."
"About what?" I asked.
"About not giving an underage girl alcohol, but putting her to work on the street."
"That's different," I told her.
"Umm, hmm, just like Pastor back in Cleveland said; folks pick and choose their sins to their own likings."
"Look, do you want me to send your little butt back over to the shower or what?" I said, for the first time giving her some of her own attitude right back. The puppy dog look she gave me said that she didn't want to go back to the other bath. "
Then quit questioning me, get your clothes off and hop in." I said this after lighting a few more candles, then walking back over to the vanity and putting the lighter back.
I played with a few hair stubbles on my chin in the mirror as I waited for her to get undressed. I was growing out my beard for the first time. Thought I'd try something new. Having kept my chestnut colored head shaved bald and my face clean cut, I wondered if growing a beard would make me look more mature. Or would it take away from my light brown eyes. Time would tell.
Admiring myself in the mirror, I realized that there was no movement behind me, and could feel that I was being watched. I turned to face Saved. She was just standing there doing nothing. "What are you waiting for? Get in." I pointed to the Jacuzzi.
"I am not about to take a bath with you in the room."
I chuckled. "You see this place? You see my space, and you think I'm about to leave some stranger up in here by herself? Then you do need Jesus all right, because you done lost your mind."
"Well-" she started with hands on hips and neck bobbing; her regular routine.
"Well, I can stop you right there, because this is a fight you will not win. I don't even let people come up in my space like that. You did good just being able to step foot in my quarters. So if you think I'm going to leave you alone in here, with all my expensive stuff for you to just walk away with...Nada," I said sternly. "Now I'll turn my back, close my eyes or whatever while you get undressed and get your tail in the tub, or like I said, there's more privacy in the guest bathroom with the shower."
She paused for a minute, looking at me as though she was sizing me up, or picking her battles; one of the two. "Fine," she spat and then rolled her eyes. "Turn around...and close your eyes. Plus, cover them with your hand." I did as she instructed while I heard some movement behind me. "You ain't peeking are you?"
"For Christ sake, will you just get in?" I shouted.
"Don't be using the Lord's name in vain around me, all right?" she snapped. "Just hold your horses."
A few seconds went by and then I heard her stepping into the Jacuzzi. "You in?" I asked.
"Yeah." She wasn't too enthusiastic in her reply.
I turned around. "The water is filled above the jets. Turn it off and turn the jets on." She turned the water off and then fumbled around for a moment. "The middle button." I heard the jets shoot on full blast. I then leaned up against the vanity while she took in the massaging feeling of the water pressure the jets were producing.
"Ahhh," she moaned, her eyes closed. This went on a moment or two before she opened her eyes and looked at me. "You know, you're really ruining this moment for me. You do know that, right?"
"Sorry, but it is what it is." I shrugged, walking over and sitting on the edge of the tub.
She sucked her teeth, then closed her eyes again.
I had to admit, it was kind of awkward. In order to break the monotony, I decided to make small talk. "So what brought you here?" Usually I'd wait for the chick to tell me about herself once she got good and ready, which they always did eventually. Now I know why churches sometimes have those things they call Women's Retreats. If a person can get a woman in a comfortable or vulnerable state, it's amazing the stories and truths she'll release. There's something about that atmosphere that just allows her to open herself up.
"You did, silly; you brought me here in your car," she replied in her, what I was finding to be typical sarcastic tone.
I sucked my teeth. "No, I mean what brought you here to Columbus, Ohio?"
"You mean besides the Greyhound?"
"Can you put a zipper on that smart aleck mouth of yours for just one minute? Long enough to have a real conversation? Geez."
"What brought me here?" she repeated, as if contemplating on whether telling me the truth or a lie. Once again, I saw that far away gaze in her eyes I'd seen earlier at the bus station. After a moment the word, "Puddin'" finally slipped through her lips. "Puddin' is why I'm here in Columbus."
"Yeah, you mentioned Puddin' back in the guest room. Who is this Puddin'? Your dude or something?" I assumed she was tracking down some first love or long lost boyfriend that might have gotten her knocked up or something. It wouldn't have been too far fetched. I'd heard it all. I'm talking about young girls committing murder. Young girls doing time while pregnant. Young girls turning tricks for their drug addicted father's habit. I could go on and on talking about some stuff that would make a person cringe.
"It's a she. Puddin' is a she," she corrected me as if I'd offended her.
My eyebrows raised as I looked at her. "So you're into chicks?" A flicker of excitement rose inside of me. This could be my for real money maker right here. The other girls were funny when it came to girl on girl action. I tried to convince them that female clientele wasn't nearly as cheap as male clientele. Broads were willing to pay good money for what they wanted, and they even gave tips. My girls still weren't having it.
By now my thoughts had gone off astray with dollar signs in my eyes. But the sudden splash of water hitting me brought me back to reality.
"Hey, what was that for?" I asked.
"Have you not been listening to me, or do you just not believe that I am who I say I am? Because if you had been listening, you'd know that I love the Lord, and lesbianism, according to the Bible, which is the word of the Lord, is an abomination," she seethed, making another splash.
"Dang! My bad," I told her, putting my hands up in defense. "Calm down; it's cool."
She rolled her eyes and went back to enjoying her soak.
"But anyway, this Puddin' chick; is she from around this way?" I continued my questioning.
"She was? But now she's dead." Her tone was flat as she sank down into the water a little more.
"Oh, sorry to hear that," I offered my condolences. "But if Puddin's dead, then how is it you're here for her?"
"I'm here to find the only family she felt she had. And that only family is somewhere here in Columbus. I need to find them fast because I know what happens when no one comes to claim a dead body. I saw it happen before at the juvenile facility I was in."
"So you were in juvie?" That didn't surprise me either. I'd come across a couple of chicks who'd been in juvie before as well. "How long ago?"
"Right up until just a couple of days ago." She looked away.
I thought for a second. Something wasn't adding up right so I decided to call her on it. "Spite your claim to being eighteen, you're really only what, seventeen?"
She rolled her eyes and remained silent.
"So you just didn't get let out of juvie a couple of days ago. I've never been in juvie, but I know people who have. I know they don't release you onto the streets just like that unless you're eighteen-unless they release you back to your parents or an adult or something. I didn't see no adult around, which means you runnin'. I don't know who you're running from, but you're runnin'"
"You could say that. But I'm not runnin' from something as much as I'm trying to run to something."
"And that something is Puddin's people."
"Right."
"So did you meet this Puddin' at juvie?"
"I guess you could say that," she told me.
"You guess? Either you did or you didn't. So what's the deal?"
Once again, Saved shot me a glare with contemplation behind her eyes. I was getting fed up with that look. I know one person doesn't earn another person's trust over night, but I needed her to trust me. I needed her to believe in me just like she did in that Jesus Christ. Otherwise, our relationship, our business relationship that is, wasn't going to work.
"Come on, spit it out," I urged. I needed her to tell me, not because I was on the edge of my seat in anticipation, but because I needed for her to start getting comfortable with me. It was time for me to play the role of the shrink and start flicking around in that head of hers. The Jacuzzi was the couch and she was the client. I just needed for her to release and let go.
And that's when she started; that's
when she exhaled, let go, and began to
tell me a story that would change my life forever.
Chapter Four
"Hey, Saved, you playing right? You gon' be part of the team, right?" Saved's roommate of only two months had asked her.
Before Saved could answer, another girl from juvie stepped up and said, "Yeah, right. I'm sure playing a game of softball with boys is a sin in her book." She looked down at the Bible Saved had in her hand. "Or in that book." Both girls burst out laughing.
Saved stood there with a stoic face. "No, playing softball with boys isn't a sin. But you know what is?" Saved leaned in and whispered loud enough so that both girls could hear her. "Taking a chick's neck and snapping it like a twig." Saved stood back up straight. "Now that's a sin- and against the law." She smirked. "But I've been known to take a walk on the wild side."
Traces of laughter or a smile immediately vanished from the two girls' faces as they walked away, headed toward the softball field. As they walked away, they were sure to look over their shoulders to make sure Saved wasn't creeping behind them. She couldn't help but shake her head and chuckle.
Once a year, the Juvenile Detention Center in Cleveland, Ohio held a function that allowed the girls to intermingle with the boys. The event was not in a closed facility of course, but in a local public park. One could say it was more like an outing. Most of the youth really looked forward to it, planning and discussing what they would wear weeks in advance. But there was one particular youth who could take it or leave it.
Seventeen- year- old Saved, after her brief altercation with those other two girls, made her way over to a bench. She decided she'd cop a squat there while all the other youth were over at the softball field. Some were playing in the boys against girls' annual game. Others stood on the side line or sat in the mini bleacher stand, cheering or just trying to be seen. Saved had just finished reading the book of Ester on the bus ride over to the park. She was about to dabble in the book of Job when a girl who looked to be a few years older than her approached the bench.