by K'wan
“Wow, I’m so sorry to hear that. Man, it seems like Don B. has more lives than an alley cat.”
“Tell me about it,” Animal said, reaching for the blunt clip in the ashtray. He fired the weed up and watched the smoke rings float to the ceiling.
“So I guess the party is off now?”
“Nah, from what Tone told me Don B. still wants to do it.” Animal expelled smoke from his nose and passed the blunt to Gucci.
“After somebody tried to kill him that crazy muthafucka still wants to be on Front Street like that?” Gucci shook her head. “Some people just don’t learn.”
“You know how Don B. is when his mind is set to something. He’s stepping out like that just to show the world how gangsta he is. Don B. might be rich in money, but he’s as poor as a shit farmer in common sense.”
Gucci laughed. “Boy, you’re crazy. So I guess I can still bust out that red dress I bought from the Lenox Mall when we were in Atlanta. We’re gonna crush ’em when we walk up in the spot!” she said excitedly, but Animal had a worried expression on his face. “What?”
“Gucci, I was thinking that maybe you shouldn’t go to the party.”
“See, this is that bullshit. What you think I’m gonna fuck up your groupie action if I tag along?” she accused.
“No, it’s not like that at all. Listen, baby, anybody that knows Don B. knows that they made a big mistake by letting him live. As we speak he’s got every wanna be in the hood pounding the pavement to find out what went down. The shooter ain’t gonna be safe until Don B. is in the ground and everybody knows that. If they had the balls enough to try to push him back on a crowded block I doubt if they’ll have any reservations about getting at him in the club. If something jumps off I don’t wanna risk you getting caught in the cross fire.” He reached for her, but she pulled away.
“So, it’s cool for you to place yourself in the line of fire?”
“I’m not gonna be in the line of anything and security is gonna be extra tight. I can take care of myself if something pops off, but I won’t be able to be at peak efficiency if I gotta worry about you too. Besides, I got a nasty rash that I need to shake.”
“Fuck you mean a rash? Boy, if you’ve been out there sticking your dick in them nasty video hos it’s on and cracking!”
“Not a real rash, Gucci, I mean the police. They got at me when I went by to check on Don B.,” he told her.
Gucci sat up. “For what?”
“Just some bullshit that they’re trying to hang on me, ain’t nothing that will stick,” he said as if it was nothing, but he had been thinking about it more than he let on.
“Animal, I know you ain’t out there cutting up in them streets with Brasco and them again? See, I knew it was a bad idea for you to let your crew know you were back in town.” Gucci folded her arms.
“Calm your ass down, Gucci. I ain’t cutting up and Brasco and Nef are in jail. The police picked them up for smoking weed outside.”
“I swear them two muthafuckas act like they ain’t got half a brain between them, and Ashanti ain’t no better. You know the whole hood is talking about him escaping from that boys’ home so when you speak to him you better tell him to lay low.”
“Ashanti is gonna be alright. He’s built for tougher stuff than dudes twice his age,” Animal said proudly.
“Whatever. So what did you do today besides go to the studio and the hospital?” Gucci asked him. There was something about her tone that made him look up at her.
“Nothing, just passed through the hood to see what was popping,” he lied.
“You’re gonna get enough of the hood and your hoodlum ass friends one of these days. I keep telling you that if I find out you’re back at it I’m leaving you. I ain’t fucking with no street nigga, Tayshawn.” She used his government name to let him know she was serious.
“I ain’t at nothing and you ain’t going nowhere. We’re soul mates, remember?”
“Like ol’ girl said Soul Mates Dissipate, so you better act like you know,” Gucci told him. “Listen, baby, I don’t mean to sound like I’m riding you, but I worry sometimes.” She took both his hands in hers. “Animal, in this time we’ve been together I’ve come to know your heart as intimately as I know my own, so I know what it means for you to be back in New York. Sometimes being in the center of where it all jumped off can stir old feelings, maybe even old grudges.”
“Most of my enemies are dead and the ones who aren’t know enough to steer clear of me.”
“Maybe”—she kissed him on the chin—“but do you know enough to steer clear of them? Daddy, don’t let that noble heart of yours fuck up what you’re building for yourself.” She slid out of the bed.
“Where’re you going?” Animal propped up on one elbow and watched her supple ass peeking out from beneath the bunched pink nightgown.
“To pee. Why? Do you wanna wipe my pussy?”
“Clit to booty, baby,” he capped and tossed one of his socks at her.
Animal lay on his back reflecting on Gucci’s words. For as much as he hated to admit it she truly knew his heart, but it was his soul he feared she would never understand. For as much joy as his success and his lady brought him, Animal’s spirit was still restless and until the life of his mentor was repaid it would remain so. Animal clipped the weed and rolled over on his back with his hands folded behind his head. As his weary eyes began to droop his last thoughts were of how he was going to kill Rico.
Gucci felt like she was pissing a river as she sat in the darkened bathroom. She was a lightweight so the drinks and weed she’d put away hit her harder than most. When she was done using the bathroom she took a quick shower and went back into the bedroom naked to see if Animal was up for another round, but in typical man fashion he was fast asleep.
She started to wake him, but he looked so peaceful that she decided against it. Animal had been going so hard trying to get his career off the ground that it was rare for him to get a good night’s rest, especially with Gucci. Careful not to wake him she slid into bed and snuggled next to him.
“I love you so much,” Gucci whispered and kissed him softly on the lips.
Gucci felt like a new woman when she woke up the next day. She looked over at the clock and realized that it was half past ten. She reached for Animal to find his side of the bed cold and empty, but there was a white rose with a card on the pillow. “Aww.” She smiled and read the card.
Had an early session with Chip.
I’ll call you when I get a break
Love always
—Tayshawn
Gucci sniffed the sweet rose and smiled. She was still a little upset about him telling her not to come to the party, but the rose and the sex from the night before took some of the sting out of it. She knew that Animal was only trying to keep her safe and just wished that he would allow her to do the same for him.
She got out of bed and slipped on her robe to go in the kitchen to make herself a light lunch. On the way she tripped over Animal’s jeans, which were still on the floor with the rest of his clothes from the night before. “This nigga here,” she said, collecting his clothes to drop in the laundry hamper. The clothes stunk of weed, but there was something else that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Gucci pressed his shirt to her face and inhaled.
“Groove,” she said. It was one of her favorite scented candles but she hadn’t bought any in months, which raised the question of how did Animal get the scent in his clothes?
PART 3
Hood Politics 101
Chapter 24
By the time Solomon rolled out of bed Malika was already dressed and had breakfast on the table, which he thought was strange since they were both notoriously dysfunctional in the mornings and hated waking up. What he didn’t know was that she had never gone to sleep. She’d prepared a hearty meal of pancakes, eggs, and of course turkey sausage. Malika’s parents had never fed their children pork and she never gave it to her son.
“What’s up with yo
u this morning, Mom?” he asked Malika as she was washing the breakfast dishes.
“What do you mean?” she asked, doing the two-step in front of the sink to Raheem DeVaughn’s “Bulletproof.”
“I mean why are you so happy? You’ve been floating around this kitchen like Mary Poppins or somebody all morning.”
“Boy, you’re tripping, I’m just in a good mood. Life ain’t all about being sour,” she said, drying her hands on the dish towel.
Solomon placed his hand on her forehead. “You sure you not sick or something?”
“Boy, get outta here and get your coat and bag so you can catch the bus and I can go handle my business.” She shooed him.
While Solomon went off to get his stuff Malika took a minute to reflect on her evening with Teddy. The first round was the bomb, but a little uncomfortable because it had been so long for her, but rounds two and three were out of this world. She and Teddy had gone at it until the wee hours of the morning before he finally took her home so that she would be there to get Solomon ready for school. Part of her felt guilty for backsliding and letting Teddy hit it and reopening the door for his bullshit, but she promised herself she wouldn’t get caught up this time. For as much as she was feeling Teddy she knew she had to play the situation between them just like it was; friends with benefits. As long as she didn’t let her emotions get involved she’d be okay, or at least she hoped as much.
“You ready?” Solomon came into the kitchen startling her.
“Oh, yeah let’s go.” Malika grabbed her purse and her coat.
“Ma, are you sure you’re okay?”
Malika paused, then smiled. “Sure am, son. In fact, I haven’t felt this good in a while. Now let’s go catch your bus.”
Malika put Solomon on his bus, then headed over to the train station so she could get to 125th Street to see her case worker. From past experience she knew that calling wouldn’t do much more than frustrate her so she decided to deal with the matter in person.
She arrived at building fifty-five at about 9:15 and could already tell that the day was gonna be one big headache. She got there early to beat the crowd only to find that there was some kind of staff meeting so the circus was delayed by an hour anyhow. Malika had to fight through a throng of rude security guards, loud women, and whining babies before she was finally able to speak to someone and tell her what she was there for.
The woman behind the desk seemed to have a nasty attitude when she flung the stack of paperwork across the table to Malika and ordered her to take a seat until her name was called. Malika’s first reaction was to curse the woman out but that would only delay the process so she just took the paperwork and went to find a seat.
The waiting area was filled almost to capacity with men, women, and children who all seemed to have an issue. She managed to find a seat in the corner near the window and went to the task of filling out the papers. The process was even more irritating than the first time she’d gone through it, with the million and one questions they asked you on the forms. Some of the information wasn’t even necessary; it was just the state trying to get in your business.
Halfway through the paperwork Malika found her space invaded as two children ran past her coming close enough to almost step on her foot. Bringing up the rear was a girl who couldn’t have been more than twenty if she was a day. Her short hair was hastily slicked into a greasy ponytail and held in place by a child’s pop-bow. Malika looked from the stroller the girl was pushing to the bulge under her shirt and shook her head. She was just one of many little girls who were trying to grow up too fast.
“Anybody sitting there?” the girl asked Malika. Without waiting for Malika to answer she squeezed into the empty space. As she was trying to get her child out of the stroller one of the bigger kids she’d come in with bumped into it as he ran by.
“Peanut, Ray-Ray, I’m gonna bust y’all asses for you if you don’t stop running around in here like y’all ain’t got no home training!” she shouted across the room, drawing distasteful stares. “I don’t know what y’all looking at? You need to tend to your own damn kids and don’t worry about how I talk to mine.”
“Are all of them yours?” Malika hadn’t meant to ask, but she couldn’t help herself.
The girl gave her an offended look. “Hell no! Ray-Ray is my other baby daddy’s son, the rest are mine. Humph, ain’t no way in the hell I’m gonna be running around with five kids,” the girl said as if the idea was that far-fetched.
“Sorry,” Malika said and went back to her paperwork.
The girl nudged her. “You got a pen? They always want you to fill some shit out but ain’t never got nothing to write with.”
“Here you go.” Malika handed the girl one of the pens from her purse. She looked for her iPod to avoid the conversation the girl was surely about to start up, but realized Solomon had taken it.
“You know every time I come in here this place is overcrowded,” the girl continued. “It seems like there’s always more people than there are workers. You would think that with all the money the city makes they could hire somebody to come in here and help out, you know what I’m saying?”
“Yeah,” Malika said and focused on her paperwork.
“They put us through all this bullshit for that little bit of change they expect us to live on and think that we just supposed to smile and take it. I say fuck all that shit, the only reason I even put up with these nasty attitude bitches is because I get almost seven hundred dollars in food stamps every month. If it wasn’t for that I would’ve told all these bitches to kiss my ass!”
“Can you keep your voice down please?” a plump Mexican woman wearing a name tag shouted from across the room.
“If you wasn’t over there trying to be nosey then your ass wouldn’t hear what me and my home girl were talking about!” the girl shot back. “These bitches be killing me the way they run around up in here like they the Queen Bee or some shit, you feel me, girl?” She held up her hand for a high-five but Malika just looked at her. “Oh, I know you ain’t in here trying to be cute after I just stuck up for you when that Spanish bitch tried to check you?”
“I wasn’t trying to be anything, I’m just sitting here filling out my paperwork like everybody else.”
“Ex-act-ly.” The girl snapped her fingers three times while she enunciated the word. “Your ass is in here trying to get on Welfare like everybody else so I don’t know why you’re trying to front like you’re better than us, flinging your dreads and shit like you’re cute, you fake ass Lauren Hill.”
“Little girl, I’ve had about enough of your mouth.” Malika stood up and the girl stood with her.
“What, you got some frog in you? I’ll get it popping up in this bitch!”
“Miss, are these your kids?” one of the security guards had Peanut and Ray-Ray by the arms.
“Yeah, those are my kids and you need to take your hands off of them before I sue you and this whole muthafucka!” she said indignantly and snatched her children out of the guard’s grip. “Y’all bring ya asses over here. That fat fuck didn’t touch you, did he?”
“No, Mama,” the boys said in unison.
“Good because I’d hate to have to go up-top in here. What were you doing to my kids?” she snapped at the guard.
Unlike Malika the guard didn’t have a whole lot of patience. He kept smiling for anyone who may have been watching, but his tone was sharp and direct when he spoke. “First of all I wasn’t doing anything to these bad-ass kids of yours; second of all they stuffed paper towels in the urinals and flooded the men’s room. Now if you don’t keep a leash on these monkeys and curb that nasty ass mouth of yours I’m gonna see to it that you get thrown out of here today and every time you come back I’ll fix it so you’re the last person seen for the day. Y’all have a good one,” the guard capped and walked away.
“Fake ass flashlight cop,” the girl mumbled as the guard walked away. “And I don’t know why I can’t never go nowhere without y’all acting a
fucking fool and embarrassing me.” She gave both boys a good slap. “Now go sit your asses down before I let Social Services have you the next time they come to the house.”
Malika knew for a fact that she couldn’t endure the ignorant young girl or her kids for a moment longer, but thankfully she didn’t have to because they were calling her name.
• • •
By the time Malika finally left the Welfare building at 3:30 she was ready to pull her hair out at the roots. As if the ordeal with the girl hadn’t being trying enough, the hoops they made her jump through to recertify her for food stamps were too much. After filling out the stacks of papers, and running back and forth to the copy place on the corner to Xerox the documents they needed, Malika was informed that her case worker had already gone for the day and she would have to come back tomorrow. It took all of her resolve to keep from spitting on the girl behind the counter for not telling her that in the first place. Now she found herself standing in the middle of 125th Street aggravated, broke, and she still had to find a way to come up with dinner for her and Solomon.
As she passed a small pawnshop she looked down at the bracelet her mother had bought her for her sixteenth birthday and paused. She cherished the tennis bracelet but at that point eating took precedence over material things. With a lump in her throat she went inside and pawned the bracelet. They only gave her a quarter of what it was worth, but at least she and Solomon would be able to get by until she got things straight with her case worker. Malika was beyond disgusted with not only the way her day was going but with how her life was playing out. She had considered throwing herself into traffic, but decided against it because her life insurance had lapsed and she couldn’t bare the thought of leaving Solomon worse off than he already was.
Malika was too depressed to go back home and stare at the walls so she figured she would walk the streets for a while until she thought of something, this is when Teddy’s invitation came to her. Before they had parted company he had invited her to meet him that evening at the bowling alley on Fordham Road for some after-dinner drinks. She had intended to blow it off but after the day she had had a good strong drink was just what she needed. The clock on the side of the bank read 4:00 P.M. so she figured if she hurried she would still be able to meet Teddy at the bowling alley by five. Adding pep to her step, she headed toward the D train.