In Love with a Thug

by Reginald L. Hall

  “Where were you, huh?”

  “I was locked the fuck up.”

  “Locked up, for what?”

  “They’re tryna get me for some dumb shit. Check this out, I wanna take you to dinner tonight,” he added. I stood in the middle of the living room looking completely astonished. Does he take me for some type of fool?

  “Bryant, where is my money?” I asked, cutting straight to the point. There was a bit of silence on the phone.

  “Baby, I needed to use that money for bail. I’ma pay it back to you, aiight? I promise.”

  I sighed with relief. It wasn’t that he had taken my money and run with it but I knew he had needed the money for a good reason.

  “Okay, where are we meeting for dinner?”

  “Meet me at Zanzibar Blue at seven o’ clock sharp.”

  “You’re talking about the one on Broad Street, right?”

  “Yes, be there at seven sharp.”

  “Okay.”

  The sun was beginning to set when I left my apartment to meet Bryant downtown. I figured I’d wear something a little sexy, being as though he hadn’t seen me in a few days. I sported a pair of khaki capris with the matching shirt and a pair of Steve Madden shoes.

  I waited in the rush-hour traffic for about a half hour before reaching the restaurant. I had a valet parking attendant park my car while I went into the restaurant entrance. I walked inside to the atmosphere of live music being played by the Saint Nicolas Band and on every table there were cream-scented candles. The place was half-empty but at the bar there were people socially drinking; I presumed they were the after-work crowd.

  Bryant sat far back into the corner wearing an army fatigue shirt with matching pants and cap. He sat grinning from ear to ear as I walked up to my seat and sat down.

  “I’m glad you could make it,” he said, lifting his wine glass to his lips. I began to smile as I sat down. There were two red envelopes with my name on them on the table.

  “Are these for me?” I asked, picking up the envelopes.

  “Yeah, J.J., it’s all you.”

  “Hi, can I start you off with something to drink?” asked the white waitress who approached our table.

  “Yes, please, I would like a Cosmopolitan,” I stated.

  “And would you like another glass of wine, sir?” she asked, looking at Bryant.

  “No, I’m fine, thanks, just water.” Once the waitress walked away I proceeded to look to see what was in the two envelopes. I pulled out the first card that said “Thank you” and the other card said “I love being your friend.” I smiled at him when he reached across the table and planted a kiss on my lips.

  “Bryant, what if someone sees us kissing,” I said, blushing.

  “I don’t give a damn. Like I said before, Baby, it’s all you tonight.”

  “Well, Bryant, we need to talk,” I said as the waitress came back with my drink and his water. She placed it down on the table and said that she’d be back to take our orders.

  “Alright, I guess we do need to talk. Listen, I know I should’ve let you know sooner what was going on with me—”

  “Yes,” I interrupted. “You should’ve let me know everything that’s going on with you. Shit, Bryant, I don’t know shit about you,” I added.

  “What you mean you ‘don’t know shit’ about me? You know enough.” My face started to turn red. I tried my best to keep my voice down in the nice atmosphere.

  “What the fuck do you mean I ‘know enough’? I don’t know shit about you. The only thing I know about you is your last name and I’m not too sure if I know the truth about that.” He then reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet.

  “Here, see. My driver’s license.” He reached across the table to show me his license. “See, I am Bryant Thompson,” he added proudly.

  “Okay, be that as it may. The only thing I know about you is your first and last name. I don’t know nothin’ else.”

  “Alright, J. Let’s calm down. What do you wanna know?” I began to look around the restaurant seeing the after-work crowd expanding. I tried to focus on a couple of questions that needed to be answered.

  “Well, for starters, where the fuck do you live and have you ever messed with a guy before?” He looked around the restaurant, hoping no one heard us.

  “Can you calm down, please,” he begged. “Now let’s talk like adults.”

  “Okay,” I agreed. “Where do you live?”

  “Baby, I live in Southwest, Fifty-eight-twenty-four Chester Avenue,” he said. “You don’t believe me, do you?” He opened his wallet again to show me his address.

  “Okay, granted. I know where you live but I don’t know your past, your history, nothing.” The waitress came back to take our orders as I did a quick overview of the menu.

  “Are you guys ready?” She stood, holding her pen and pad. Bryant motioned for me to order first.

  “I’ll have the tender chicken roast with mashed potatoes,” I requested. Bryant ordered the cheesy noodles. I was happy to know that it wouldn’t take long so I could get back to scolding him.

  “Now, you didn’t answer my next question. Have you ever been with a guy before?”

  “To finally answer your question, the answer is no. I have always been straight until I met you. I’ve always liked girls but for some reason your skin color and the texture of your hair made me attracted to you.”

  I smiled, then put my head down and blushed.

  “Well, I try to take good care of my skin and hair just to get compliments like that. And furthermore I thank you for noticing.”

  “No need to thank me. All that is mine now,” he said, waving his hand in front of my face. “I’m gonna make you a queen. Not just a queen but my queen. Do you have any problems with that?”

  “No, no at all,” I said, taking another sip of my drink while checking out his flawless skin and teeth; thinking of what would happen once we left this restaurant. The swell in the front of my pants told it all.

  “Actually, I’m glad that you asked that question.” He rubbed his chin.

  “What question?” I asked with a confused look.

  “The question you just asked. Have I ever been with a guy before? That was a good question.”

  “Why was that such a good question?” I asked with raised eyebrows.

  “Because, I messed with a lot of females. Shit, I mean A LOT of bitches and none of them gave head like you.” I almost choked on my drink from his comment. “I mean, you knew how to handle that ANACONDA. You really knew how to tame that thing. That’s wassup,” he said proudly as he sipped his glass of water.

  “So, who do you live with?” I asked, jumping back to the subject.

  “I live with my grandmother.”

  “Okay, where’s your mother?”

  “My mother passed away a few months ago.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. Where’s your father?”

  “C’mon, J. You know a nigga never knew his father. I grew up in a single-parent household. My father was not around. Maybe I should be asking you the same questions. Where’s your mother, father; shit, where’s your family?” I gazed into his eyes over the calm flames of the candles and took a sip of my drink.

  “My mother and father abandoned me when they found out I was gay. I don’t have any brothers or sisters. How about you? Do you have any brothers or sisters?”

  “Yes, I have a little sister. She’s twenty-one. She’s in college at Penn State. She lives in the dorm.” He put his hands on top of the table as a signal for me to place my hands in his. I did.

  “Hold up a minute.” I hissed. “When I talked to you the other day you told me that you was with your shawty. Who were you with?” He began to laugh, covering his mouth with his hands.

  “What are you laughing for? This shit ain’t funny,” I growled.

  “Because you so cute.” He stopped for few seconds and stared at me while biting down on his bottom lip. “It’s so cute to see the jealousy come out of
you.” I sat there giving him the grizzly until he answered my question. “Man, you so funny. Sike, let me stop playing. When I said I was chillin’ with my shawty, I was talking about my daughter, man.”

  “Daughter,” I repeated with my chest getting warm from the drink.

  “Yeah, my daughter.” He stopped briefly to get serious.

  “Bryant, I didn’t know you had a daughter.”

  “Yeah, J., I have a seven-year-old daughter named Rain. I hope she’s not gonna be a problem.” I was speechless. He saw the reaction in my eyes. “Is it gonna be a problem?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you had a daughter?” I asked, giving him my full attention.

  “Well, you never asked. Or I didn’t think that it was anything more than sex with us. But now that I’m starting to get deep feelings for you, I would like you to meet her.”

  “What do you mean I ‘never asked’? Don’t you think that’s something I should know beforehand?”

  “Before what? Sex? I told you, I thought that sex was all we had, but now I’m catching feelings for you and I want you to meet my daughter. Is that okay with you?” I leaned back in my chair and scanned the room.

  “Who’s your baby’s mother and are you still with her?”

  “Her name is Melissa and no, I’m not with her,” he stated as the waitress came toward us carrying our plates.

  “This is hot, watch yourself.” She set the plate in front of me, then set Bryant’s plate down. “Is there anything else I can get you?” she asked, cupping her hands in front of her. We both shook our heads no as she smiled and walked away.

  “Look, I was eighteen. I had just graduated from high school when Melissa got pregnant. We then broke up because she is crazy as hell. Rain was born and I always said that I would be there to take care of her. Now we’re in a custody battle.” He began to dig into his noodles.

  “Okay. I’ll meet her,” I responded. He looked over at me with a sarcastic smirk. “What?”

  “You want me to cut your chicken up for you?” He giggled.

  “No, I’m a big boy, I can handle it.” I placed the chicken in my mouth when his cell phone rang. He grabbed it from his pants pocket.

  “This is my grandmother, I have to take this,” he said, getting up and walking in the direction of the restrooms. I began to feel the vibe of the music that filled the air. Jazz was never my thing but I loved the way the band kicked it tonight. I found myself not thinking that much about Darnell while Bryant was in the picture and to be honest, the only thing I was really thinking about was getting home to taste some of my candy.

  “J.J., come on, we have to go,” raved Bryant who came back to the table tense and red-faced.

  “What’s wrong?” I demanded to know. He fumbled around in his pockets and threw eighty dollars on the table and grabbed my arm. Still I chewed the chicken and gravy as he dragged me from the restaurant.

  “Baby, where did you park?” he asked with sweat beads forming on his head.

  “I had valet parking. Bryant, what’s wrong? What’s wrong?” I gave the gentleman my parking stub.

  “It’s that crazy bitch. I’ma kill her,” he growled. We both stood there anxiously waiting for my car.

  “What crazy bitch?”

  “Melissa.”

  “What happened?”

  “I really don’t know. All I know is my grandmother said that Rain was admitted into the hospital and she has to undergo surgery.”

  “Okay, Bryant, calm down.” I turned to face him. “Where is your jeep?”

  “I let my cousin use it. I took the bus here.”

  “Okay, take a few deep breaths.” The valet drove up in front of us. The gentleman hopped out and Bryant and I hopped in. I jammed my foot on the gas pedal and sped off without thinking twice about leaving him a tip. I dodged in and out of the city traffic as I floored the gas pedal all the way down Broad Street. Rain was being seen at Einstein Hospital in the Olney section of Philadelphia. I had probable cause to run every red light that I came up against. Bryant’s cell phone would not stop ringing and he had no intention to answer it. If it wasn’t his grandmother, he wasn’t answering.

  I drove straight to the security booth in front of the hospital’s emergency entrance.

  “Baby, just go ’head in and I’ll park the car,” I said as he hopped out and closed the door behind him. I went to look for the first available parking space and pulled in on the side entrance. I parked and ran in, not knowing what had happened and whom I would encounter.

  By the time I got to the waiting area Bryant had already gone into the emergency area. There was no staff in sight to answer any of my questions. In the waiting room sat an old, fat, black guy snoring loudly, and a white lady picking her nose sitting next to who I assumed was her son who looked very sick. I took a seat closer to the intake door, then began watching TV.

  The doors opened and out came an elderly, heavy-set woman with her gray hair tied into a bun. She waddled with a cane as she walked over to the pay phone. I tried not to let her know that I was watching her. Clearly I saw the resemblance and knew that she had to be Bryant’s grandmother.

  “Shit, I need another ten cents,” she whispered to herself, counting the change in her hand. She hurried over to the reception area where she found no one.

  “Does anyone have change for a dollar?” she hollered over to the waiting area. The people that sat around us completely ignored her request. I stood up from my seat and reached down into my pocket and pulled out four quarters.

  “Here you go, ma’am,” I said, pouring the change into her hand and taking her dollar with the other. I could tell by the look on her face that she was completely stressed.

  “Thanks, Baby.”

  I sat back down in my seat and began tapping my foot, wondering how long Bryant was gonna keep me waiting without a heads-up. I tried tuning out the sound from the television and the sounds of the old man snoring to hear her conversation.

  “Hello, Matie,” the gray-haired woman greeted in a weak, out-of-breath voice.

  “That damn girl done lost her damn mind this time—I’m down here at the hospital with my grandson and great-grand. She’s only seven years old and her mother is acting like a stone nut. She shouldn’t be acting like this if she’s planning to have another child. Last week the school called and said that she was suffering from dry eye syndrome. Bryant and I took her to see the eye doctor and they prescribed some eye drops for her.” I pushed my chair over a little so I could eavesdrop better.

  “So you know that Bryant is trying to gain custody of her. The other day when Rain came over, she had bruises on her arm from the beatings from her mother. I figured that that was only a mistake but this is the last straw. Now, this time that devil of a mother replaced her eye drops with Krazy Glue and now the poor girl’s eyes are glued shut. The doctors are doing all that they can but most likely she’ll be blinded for life.”

  I turned my body around to notice the lady sniffing and putting Kleenex to her nose. I wish that she knew who I was so I could’ve comforted her. But what I did know was that I needed to comfort Bryant later.

  At a distance there was yelling and obscene language coming from the intake area of the ER. The doors busted open as a girl fell down on the floor with Bryant yelling and swinging his fist forcefully behind her. There were two police officers and a few nurses crowding the scene. The gray-haired lady immediately ended her call and hurried to see about the commotion.

  “I’ma kill you, bitch!” Bryant screamed as he was taken away by the officers. The people in the waiting area got up to see what all the ruckus was about. The man wasn’t snoring anymore.

  “Bryant,” I yelled with teary eyes. “Bryant.”

  “Let me go, I’ma kill that bitch,” he yelled louder as the officers tried restraining him. The girl got up from the floor and stood in one spot, wiping off the bottom of her jeans. The closer I got to her I realized that she was the same girl who had come into my shop the other day.r />
  “Bail set at ten thousand dollars,” said the redneck judge just before he banged his gavel on the desk. Bryant was being taken away by three county sheriffs for aggravated assault, simple assault, and resisting arrest. His grandmother almost fainted in the semi-crowded courtroom. I went over to her and gave her my hand to hold.

  “Hello, Ms. Bernice. My name is Juan Jiles, I’m Bryant’s friend.” She took my hand as I helped her from her chair.

  “Hey, Baby,” she said teary-eyed. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do now. His baby is very sick and he won’t be able to do anything while he’s in jail.” I could see that this poor lady had been through a lot. From the sound of her voice she seemed weak and it was only a matter of time before she would break.

  “Don’t worry, ma’am, I’ll take care of it,” I said. She looked up directly into my eyes.

  “How are you gonna take care of it, young man? I don’t have that kind of money and I can’t imagine asking you for the money. Besides, I don’t even know you.”

  “Don’t worry about it, Ms. Bernice. Bryant and I are real cool and I know he will pay me back the money when he gets it,” I said in a sincere manner, hoping to calm her nerves.

  “You’re not a drug dealer, are you?”

  “No, ma’am. I own my own hair salon down on South Street. I don’t deal with drugs,” I lied. Well, even though I didn’t deal with drugs, I still used them. As we walked out the courthouse, a group of young girls was making their way up the steps.

  “Hey, Ms. Bernice,” said the petite girl with flawless skin and wearing a pair of Chanel shades. From her looks and her accent, I could tell that she must have been Puerto Rican. Her long hair landed on both sides of her shoulders as Ms. Bernice returned the greeting.

  “Hey, Baby, how are you?” Ms. Bernice put her arms out to hug the pretty girl. “You’re kind of late,” she said, looking down at her watch. “They done set his bail already at ten thousand dollars,” she added, embracing the pretty girl. The look on the girl’s face was disappointment.

  “Oh my God! Where am I gonna come up with that kind of money?” she asked.

  “Oh, Baby, it’s alright. This is his friend right here,” she said, pointing to me. “His name is Juan and he’s gonna front Bryant the money until he gets on his feet.” The girl extended her arm to me as I put my hand out to shake hers.