Welfare Wifeys

by K'wan

  “I’m not sure what I’m getting into, but your little ass is gonna play the building and work off that debt you owe. You ain’t been on the job but a week or so and you’re already fucking up money.” Scar shook his head. “That ain’t good, man.”

  “I know you’re mad, Scar, but Shakes ran off with the package. It wasn’t my fault,” Jay tried to explain.

  “It is your fault because you should know better than to leave a base head with your drugs unattended,” Scar scolded him.

  “Word up, Jay,” Lloyd added.

  “And you ain’t no fucking better, because I told your stupid ass to hold him down,” Scar barked on Lloyd. “I swear, y’all two muthafuckas is like the blind leading the blind.”

  The elevator finally came and when it opened Shakes was leaning against the wall in a half nod. When he noticed Scar and his crew standing there his eyes got as wide as saucers.

  “Shit!” Shakes said, frantically searching for an escape but there was none.

  “Shit is right, nigga.” Scar snatched him by the front of his jacket and yanked him from the elevator. “I’m about to show you what we do to thieving ass crackheads.”

  Scar and his crew had slapped Shakes around and forced him to the rooftop of 845 where they stripped him of all his clothes. He stood there as naked as the day he was born, freezing his ass off and trying to think of a fitting excuse to save his life. Normally Shakes was a wizard with words, but the cold stare Scar was giving him had him at a loss for words. He knew it was a bad idea to rob dealers in the hood where he laid his head, but the monkey that had been clawing at his back forced him to act irrationally and now his decision had come back to bite him on the ass. Shakes had fucked up . . . royally.

  Scar just stared at him for a long time before finally breaking the silence. “You know you fucked up, right?”

  “I know, man, but I’m sure we can work this out,” Shakes said, rubbing his arms more out of nervousness than seeking warmth.

  “Ain’t shit to work out, homey. I don’t knock you for taking advantage of this green ass nigga over here”—Scar motioned toward Jay—“because that’s what base heads do, they get over on people. But the fact that you knew it was my work and still had the balls to take it is what doesn’t sit right with me.”

  “C’mon, lil man, you know how I get sometimes when I’m sick,” he told Jay. “Sometimes these drugs make you do stupid shit, but I ain’t mean no harm. I knew you since you was a shorty.” He tried to gain sympathy from Jay, but the boy turned away.

  “Which only makes it worse,” Scar said as he slowly began to circle Shakes’s trembling form. “If you can rob somebody who you watched grow up then you is a piece of shit that needs to be dealt with. The only question is: what would make a fitting punishment for what you’ve done?”

  “You know in some countries when you get caught stealing they cut off your hands,” Lloyd said.

  Scar smiled. “What you think, Shakes? Should I cut your hands off?”

  Tears began to run down Shakes’s ashy cheeks. “Scar, please don’t do me like this. Let me work it off.”

  “These niggaz might’ve been stupid enough to put a package in your hands but I ain’t. We’re gonna have to think of something else.” Scar scratched his chin and suddenly had a malicious idea. “I’ve got it, since you flew off with my package let’s see if you can fly for real.”

  “Oh, hell nah.” Shakes tried to run, but Lloyd grabbed him in a chokehold and dragged him back.

  “Get his legs,” Scar ordered Jay.

  “Huh?” Jay asked, shocked.

  “Don’t huh me, muthafucka. I said get his legs!” Scar barked.

  Jay reluctantly approached the squirming Shakes. Jay was saddened by the pitiful look in Shakes’s eyes, but he was frightened by the look in Scar’s. He and Lloyd carried Shakes to the roof’s edge while Scar looked on like a proud father. Jay silently prayed that Scar would change his mind but the taunting look on his face said that it was already a done deal.

  “You got any last words, Shakes?” Scar asked.

  “Don’t do this,” Shakes pleaded, crying like a baby. Piss ran down his leg and onto Jay’s hands. It was a disgusting feeling but he was too afraid to let go.

  “Toss this muthafucka!” Scar ordered.

  Shakes closed his eyes and said a prayer as Lloyd and Jay swayed him back and forth building momentum and let him go. “MAMA!!!!!!” Shakes screamed over and over as he soared. He had screamed his throat raw before he realized that he hadn’t fallen twenty stories to his death, but only a few feet to his embarrassment. Instead of throwing him off the roof, they threw him on the ground of the rooftop.

  “Shakes, do you really think that I would risk a murder charge over a piece of shit like you?” Scar asked.

  “Thanks, man. Thank you.” Shakes wiped his eyes. He was cold, scraped, and pissy but at least he was alive. “Scar, I promise I’ll never do nothing that stupid again.”

  “I’m sure you won’t.” Scar picked up a large cinder block. “Hold him. Spread-eagle,” he told Jay and Lloyd. This time they moved without hesitation and stretched Shakes’s arms out.

  “Hold on, you said you weren’t gonna kill me.” Shakes looked up nervously.

  “I’m not, but I am going to teach you a lesson,” Scar told him before he crushed Shake’s right hand with the cinder block.

  Chapter 15

  Malika was dead on her feet by the time she came up out of the train station on 103rd and Broadway. She had been out since that morning pounding the pavement and filling out job applications with anyone who said they were hiring. She’d been at it at least four days a week for the last month or so and still hadn’t landed anything.

  Having to take care of herself and Solomon, Malika was feeling the pinch of the dwindling economy and what little she got from Public Assistance wasn’t doing much to ease it. The only reason she still bothered with them is because it kept her rent next to nothing and the food stamps kept her freezer stocked. Thinking of her stamps made her remember that she still hadn’t gotten anything for dinner. As bad as her feet were hurting the supermarket on 104th seemed like it was miles away. She decided that it would be easier just to grab some sandwiches and call it a night so she headed for the corner deli.

  As Malika was approaching the deli she spotted a familiar face unloading some crates off a delivery truck. She started to turn around and go the other way, but before she could move he had already spotted her. He was ruggedly handsome with chocolate skin and wavy black hair that blended nicely into his neat beard. His name was Teddy, and he was one of the guys who made the weekly deliveries to the local bodega and another impulsive decision Malika regretted.

  She and Teddy had flirted heavily for about a month or so before they started officially seeing each other. Teddy was slightly older and therefore a bit more seasoned and had Malika open with things like Broadway plays and nice dinners. Being as inexperienced with life and men as she was, she found herself falling for Teddy and giving her body to him. When they had sex Teddy took her body to heights that Suede had never even come close to, and she lavished as much of her young pussy on him as he could stand. After a while Malika began noticing subtle hints that something was wrong, when it became harder to get him on the phone and his visits became less and less frequent. When she’d started hearing the rumors of him having another chick on the side she tried not to feed into them, but she couldn’t deny the writing on the wall. Malika wasn’t foolish enough to wait around until the other shoe dropped so she cut Teddy loose and changed her number. She still bumped into him from time to time when he was making deliveries but she always kept the conversations short and sweet.

  “What’s good, stranger?” he greeted her with a warm smile. Teddy had to have paid a grip for his teeth because they were perfect and white.

  Malika shrugged shyly. “Same old, same old. I can’t really complain,” she said and reached for the door, but he stopped her by placing his hand against it.


  “Damn, it’s like that?”

  “It ain’t like nothing, Teddy. What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about how you just left a nigga hanging with no real explanation. I thought we had something?”

  “We did have something, but you didn’t want it unless it was on your terms, remember?” she reminded him.

  “It wasn’t like that and you know it.”

  She folded her arms. “So, what was it like, Teddy? Come on, I’m a big girl so you ain’t gotta lie to me. You wanted to do your thing so I gave you enough space to do it.”

  Teddy sighed. “Malika, I ain’t gonna front like I wasn’t doing my thing, but you know you were always special to me.” He pulled her in for a hug.

  Malika tried to push him away, but he held fast. “Don’t start this shit, Teddy.” She breathed deeply of his scent. His was a little musty from working all day, but she could smell the sweetness of baby powder lingering beneath.

  “I ain’t trying to start nothing. I’m trying to finish it. Why don’t we go to dinner tonight and talk?”

  For an instant Malika considered it, but quickly pushed the thought from her mind. “Nah, that ain’t gonna work.” She broke the embrace and walked into the store.

  Malika greeted the old man sitting on a crate by the front door and shouted her order to the dude behind the counter. Teddy was in the back having the owner sign for the deliveries so she wanted to get her stuff and get out as quickly as possible. She could feel Teddy’s eyes on her as she tried to decide between onion and garlic chips or barbecue, but she wouldn’t give him or her loins the satisfaction of looking up at him. She didn’t trust herself, especially her eyes. The eyes would always be the giveaway. Pushing the silliness out of her head she grabbed her snacks and headed to the counter where the young man was just finishing up her sandwiches. Living in the hood may have had its disadvantages, but there was nothing like a heated roast beef and cheddar from the corner store.

  “Twenty-two seventy-five all together, Miss,” he told her.

  Malika peeked over her shoulder to make sure Teddy wasn’t watching, before pulling her Quest card out of her purse and sliding it through the machine and punching in her pin. The young man at the counter looked down at the machine and after a few seconds frowned.

  “It didn’t go through. Maybe you try it again?” he suggested. Malika swiped her card again but it still didn’t work. “I don’t know,” he said with a shrug.

  “That’s impossible, let me try it again,” she said in a soft voice.

  “You already tried it twice and it didn’t work. You gotta either pay cash or I can’t help you.”

  Malika fished around in her purse and only came up with six dollars. Even if she put all the snacks back she still wouldn’t have enough to cover the sandwiches. She felt like melting into a puddle of shit because she had no idea what they were going to eat until she had a chance to find out what was going on with her card the next morning. She felt someone hovering over her and turned to see Teddy. The incident had gone from bad to worse.

  “Here you go, ock.” Teddy handed him a fifty. “Just give my change to the lady.” He strode for the door.

  Malika looked from the total to Teddy’s parting back. Reluctantly she snatched the fifty-dollar bill and caught him at the door. “Nah, I’m good.” She tried to hand Teddy the money back, but he refused.

  “It’s all good, Malika. Just get ya stuff,” he told her.

  “I ain’t no charity case!” she blurted out and immediately regretted it when she saw the pity in his eyes. “What I mean is I don’t like owing nobody nothing.”

  “And I don’t like to be owed, which is why it was a gift,” he replied and continued walking out of the store toward his truck.

  Malika wanted to let it go, but her pride told her that there was more to say so she followed. “It’s never nothing for something. Even doctors get paid to save lives. I really appreciate what you’re doing, Teddy, but if you don’t let me pay you back then it’s gonna bother me.”

  Teddy thought on it for a minute. “Okay, if you insist on paying me back let’s hook up tonight.”

  “I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she said.

  “Stop acting like that, Malika. I ain’t asking for no ass. I just wanna hang out for a while. I miss you, ma,” he said sincerely.

  Malika entertained it briefly then caught herself. “Nah, besides, I’ve got little man.”

  “If not tonight then maybe tomorrow, or the day after?” he pressed.

  “Teddy . . .”

  “Malika, you said yourself that if you owe me it’s gonna bother you.” He smirked.

  Looking at that perfect white smile took Malika somewhere else. “I’ll think about it and get back with you on it.”

  “A’ight, fair enough. So let me get ya number and . . .”

  “Stop it, I said I’d call you.”

  “Okay, okay, I ain’t gonna twist ya arm about it, sis.” Teddy climbed into his truck and rolled the window down to conclude their conversation. “I know you said you can’t make it out tonight, but I hope you change your mind. It’s veal night at Carmine’s and you know how you love that spinach.”

  “Whatever, Teddy.” She smiled. “I’ll call you.”

  “Make sure you do that, ma. Make sure you do that.” Teddy winked and pulled the cube truck out into traffic.

  Malika stood there until the truck had disappeared up Amsterdam Avenue and only when she was sure he could no longer see her did she smile. Teddy could be a snake like the rest of them, but he always made her feel special when they were together and that’s what she dug the most about him. She doubted that she would take Teddy up on his invitation, but it still felt good for someone to offer. After getting her sandwiches she made her way to her side of the projects. She replayed the conversation over in her head, holding on to the small moment of elation. Her heart told her that nothing could ruin her day, but when she made it to the front of her building she knew that her heart had been wrong . . . again.

  Solomon got off the train at 103rd Street and Central Park West and bounced up the stairs to the avenue. When he emerged from the station he gave a cautious look around to make sure no one saw him for fear that they would tell his mother. She had only recently started allowing him to travel by his self via public transportation, and that was only after he promised to only take the bus to and from school. She was fearful of all the craziness that went on in the subway stations, but all the cool kids from his school took the train and he didn’t want to be the square.

  Along his walk up to Manhattan Avenue it seemed like Solomon must’ve waved hello to at least a dozen people before he finally crossed over into the projects. He and his mother were very well liked among most of the residents because they treated everyone with respect no matter what walk of life they came from. Malika had always instilled this trait in her son and she would go upside his head whenever he strayed from it. When he rounded the corner of his building he saw his friend Jay posted up in the building with Scar. Solomon pushed his pants down slightly off his ass and threw an extra bop in his walk as he approached.

  “You see, lil nigga, that’s the kinda shit you gotta do to niggaz to get them to stop playing with you. You gotta be heartless out here or these fools are gonna walk all over you,” Scar was telling Jay when Solomon walked up.

  “What up, y’all, what’s going on?” Jay gave everyone in front of the building dap.

  “Ain’t nothing, just schooling ya lil man on the laws of the jungle,” Scar said proudly. “What popping though?”

  “Ain’t nothing, just coming from school,” Solomon said in his hip voice. “Where it’s at?”

  “Where it’s at is upstairs for you, lil one. You know ya mom would trip if she caught you out here with the hard-legs,” Prince told him. Prince was the elder statesman among the young homeys on the Columbus side of the projects. His crew supplied Scar and several other low-level players with the po
ison they slung in the hood. Prince was a quiet man who practiced love over war, but his name had been tied to a few bodies.

  Solomon looked at the other heads that were snickering and addressed Prince. “Come on, man, why you acting like I’m doing something wrong by standing in front of the building I live in?”

  Prince saw that Scar and the others were watching so he was mindful of his words so as not to bruise young Solomon’s ego. “Sol, I ain’t trying to stop your shine, but you know what we do out here, so the block is always hot. The police could roll up at any given moment and cart us all off to the slammer.”

  “Damn, Prince, all you talk about is getting knocked. I’d be more worried about clocking that bread than the police,” Lloyd said boastfully.

  “Which is why your simple ass is always getting pinched for something stupid,” Prince shot back. “My nigga, with all the shit they’re building up and down Columbus how long do you think they’re gonna let you be out here reckless with it? It ain’t like when Rio was out here making it jump. Nah, the block is twice as hot and the money is half as long.”

  “Well, if it’s like that then how come you still hustle, Prince?” Solomon asked.

  The question caught Prince off guard so he decided to answer it as honestly as he could. “Because it’s all I know. Look, we get it how we live because these are the cards society dealt us, but you come from something else, Sol. Your mom makes sure you’re taken care of so you ain’t gotta be out here playing yourself.”

  “Man, that lil bit of money we get from Welfare ain’t doing nothing. There’s gonna come a time when I gotta step my game up, yo,” Solomon said.

  “Then you step ya game up by sticking to the plans your mother has laid out for you instead of trying to get caught up out here with these niggaz,” Prince said a little more sharply than he’d intended to. Seeing the hurt in the boy’s face he softened his tone. “Sol, I ain’t trying to come down on you, I’m just trying to let you know what’s popping.”