A Hustler's Wife

by Nikki Turner

  "Yo, man if any of them scandalous hos done told my wife something, oh I am going to straight pistol whip one of em.

  That's my word. If any of these local niggas done disrespected my wife, oh he's going to die," Des raged.

  Yarni paced the floor looking out of the window every few minutes. Des pulled up in front of their Sundance Station Apartment, taking up two parking spaces. Almost stripping the gear shift as he quickly put the car in park, he hopped out of the car. His size ten, crisp new blue and white Delta Force Nikes hit the pavement as he sprinted across the wet lawn avoiding the sprinkler system with Slim trailing behind him. He never acknowledged the mud that splashed on his one-hundred dollar sneakers, as his only concern was to get to Yarni. Three steps before he approached the door, he reached under his shirt and pulled out his 9mm semi automatic. He then gave Slim the key to open the door.

  Yarni ran to the door, put her arms around Des and laid her head on his chest as she cried. He embraced her tightly as he put the safety back on the 9mm and laid it on the end table. Slim stood on guard with his .45 Magnum pistol in his hand.

  "Baby Girl, tell me what's wrong," he said in a comforting tone while holding Yarni in his arms. His whole attitude had changed. Whenever he delt with Yarni, his persona turned into that of a teddy bear. It was like Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde.

  "I was watching the news, and the reporter said they were questioning people from the '233 Mob' for killing that boy Roy, with you being the leader, I was afraid the cops had you," Yarni sobbed while sniffling and blowing her nose with the tissues she'd gathered while waiting for Des to arrive.

  "Baby Girl, you don't have anything to worry about. I know the police will probably pick me up for questioning because of my reputation, but they can't hold me. Nothing has changed. I am giving all this up in a couple months once you graduate. You know what we planned, right?" He asked her as he stroked her hair. Yarni shook her head, wiped her tears and smiled up at him.

  The plan was that as soon as she graduated from high school, they were moving to Norfolk. She had been accepted to Old Dominion University. He was going to give up his current lifestyle and open an exotic car lot near Virginia Beach. He'd had a good run. He'd been flooding keys of powder coke into the streets of Richmond for the past few years. Des had every drug house, corner, strip, block and neighborhood in the streets of Richmond, and all surrounding counties, on lock down. He owned and operated every single after hour, crap, number and liquor house in the town. The ones he didn't own in the rural areas, got blessing and approval from Des. He was the ring-leader of the "233 Mob" and ran the most successful and organized crime ring in the state of Virginia. He had found Yarni and wanted to share the rest of his life with her. Amazed that he had gotten away with everything this long, Des was certain it was time to move on. He knew that this life was a trap. He had enough money stashed and decided to quit while he was ahead.

  The day she graduated, the police indicted him on murder charges. He was held with no bond. Yarni wanted to drop dead and die. She was devastated. The funny thing is, everybody thought she was distressed over the money. She was ravaged due to the fact that her husband, her soul mate, her best friend, her confidant, her life, her everything, her all, was gone.

  Yarni sat on the mahogany bench listening to the verdict knowing he didn't commit this crime. He was dining with her at Aunt Sarah's at the time of the murder and he never left her side.

  That was Yarni's testimony when she was called to the stand. But the testimony of the others was more damaging. Roy's Mother, Shuckey, a frail, brown-skinned, bald headed woman, with her front teeth missing or rotten from getting high for so long, testi-fied that she'd seen Des fleeing the scene. She was a junkie.

  Shuckey had a possession charge pending in another court, which was going to be dismissed after she hung Des. The Commonwealth attorney agreed to the deal. Shuckey was a free-basing, cocaine-addict, low life, but they had wanted Des for a long time, so her character was ignored.

  Des was sentenced to 60 years. Yarni's vision blurred. She couldn't hear or interpret anything anybody was saying. All she could hear was "guilty" and feel the weight of her own sobs coming like huge waves in her arms. Yarni immediately looked as Des screamed out to Shuckey, "You lying junkie bitch! You reap what you sow. Just because I'm in here don't think it ain't others who can't get to you. You better leave town because this here town ain't big enough for you to hide in!" Des was taken away chained and shackled. When Des reached the door, he stopped in his tracks. He glared at Yarni and hollered out, "I love you, Baby Girl, forever and ever! These walls can't stop our love, Baby!" Yarni couldn't look at Des. Des' white, bow tie wearing lawyer explained to her that he would have to do at least 15

  years before he would be eligible for parole, providing good behavior. The lawyer informed her that the longest the state could hold him was 35 years. Thirty-five years was a long ass time. She had to figure something out.

  Yarni finally got herself together and left the courtroom to face Joyce, who had been removed earlier from the courtroom for trying to intimidate Shuckey from testifying. Shuckey had a restraining order out on Joyce for threatening her not to go to court to testify against Des. When Yarni delivered the news to Joyce, her first concern was his material possessions.

  "How long before you're going to be home because I need to come and get Des' jewelry and also I need to get his cars from over there. You're going to have to sign that Benz in your name over to me, too." Joyce was harsh and to the point. She never liked playing second fiddle to Yarni, and now it was time for her to position herself as numero uno, as his mother.

  The nerve! How dare she? Yarni thought speechless. She could not utter a word.

  "You can act like you don't hear me, but I'm going to say it one more time," Joyce stressed. "I need to get all my son's belongings from you and I mean that." Yarni's palms began to sweat and her heart began to pound rapidly as she looked up into Joyce's eyes and said to her in a stern tone, "Did you just comprehend what I said? I said they just gave Des sixty years for a crime he didn't commit, and all you can do is worry about his possessions. I simply can't focus on any car or anything else material right now. Just so you know, I am not giving anybody any of his belongings until I speak to him. As a matter of fact, I can't even talk to you anymore because I feel like you are tempting me to disrespect you, and overall, you are Des' Mother." Yarni put her hand on the strap of her MCM pocketbook that Des had rewarded her with for making all A's the next to last 6 weeks of school. She pushed it all the way on her shoulder and turned to walk away.

  Joyce followed behind her making a scene. "Listen to me, you little grown-ass gal. You don't get sassy with me, missy. See, you might have a hold on Des, but I don't care nothing for you, never liked you and never will. You ain't nothing to me. See, Des ain't here to take up for you now." Joyce was so mad, foam gathered in the corner of her mouth.

  Yarni couldn't control the tears from rolling down her face as she walked faster and faster to get out of the pathway of Joyce's words. Everybody from the bondsman, to the inmate trustee mopping the hall, and the lawyer holding a file talking to his clients, stopped what they were doing to watch the distraction Joyce made as Yarni expeditiously tried to escape. Once she was out of the courthouse she ran to her car, threw her purse onto the passenger seat and just sat in the driver's seat and sobbed. As the tears flowed down her face then to her neck she screamed,

  "WHY ME?!?"

  After Yarni boo-hooed a while, reality sank in. Where was she to go now? She knew she wasn't going to ask her family for any type of assistance. She was too ashamed to after she had moved out from her mother's house and in with Des. She had vowed at that very moment that other than moral support, she would never ask anything else from her family. She would learn to take care of herself, but where would she start?

  Somehow she managed to drive herself to her favorite aunt, Andrea's house. Andrea was a small featured, cocoa-colored woman with very thin eyebrows a
nd long eyelashes. She wore finger waves gelled neatly across her entire head. Before she could ring the doorbell, she reflected on something Andrea had taught her years ago. The Bible said that if two come together and agree on something,, whatever they ask for will come to pass, but Yarni needed confirmation. Yarni asked God to give her the will and the strength to be there for Des and to love him unconditionally. To be with Des always, even through incarceration. She prayed for some of the tension to lessen between her and Joyce. She knew that the only breakthrough and miracle would come from God.

  Andrea had already heard the verdict on the evening news.

  Yarni explained to Andrea in detail the performance Joyce put on as they were leaving the courthouse. To Andrea's surprise, Yarni wasn't really concerned with Joyce's actions. Her focus was on Des and his well-being. Andrea tried to comfort her by sitting beside Yarni on the loveseat and placing her arms around her asking her, "Baby, would you rather have 12 people convict him or six people carry him?" That was not comforting to Yarni at all.

  "Auntie, no disrespect but somebody dying and someone going to jail is two totally different things. In jail, everything is stripped from you. Your freedom, your self-respect, and your loved ones are all taken away. Yeah, you can still see them and touch them, but at the same time you watch them get conditioned. You watch them get bitter. You watch and hear of your loved ones getting disrespected by some egotistical, control freak, toy cop, who probably doesn't have any authority at home, so they come to work and abuse what little authority they have. I'm sorry, Auntie," Yarni said shaking her head as she continued, "There is just no comparison." Andrea said, "right," as Yarni continued.

  "Then we get stripped of our rights as well. We have to be searched when we visit. We can't wear this. We can't wear that.

  They can search our cars at any given time if it's on their prem-ises. Does prison actually corrupt our people to be more scrupu-lous? What is the fear now?"

  Aunt Andrea couldn't get a word in.

  "The way I see it is, one day you're living a regular everyday life and the next day you're in prison being treated like an animal. Locked in a cell 23 hours a day, then they wonder why when you're released you act like an animal" Yarni raged.

  Yarni thought about all these things and just began to pray.

  She had always prayed every night, but now she really pulled out her Bible and started to read it. Her mother had always instilled prayer in her life. Yarni had been through a lot of things and she knew that she would or was to be faced with some unknown obstacles that had yet to be revealed to her, and ultimately, God would be the only one who would carry her through. She knew that God would be with Des no matter what the outcome was. Andrea kneeled in front of the sofa with Yarni.

  She left her aunt Andrea's house feeling a lot better.

  As Yarni approached the apartment, she could see from the street that the door was cracked open. As she approached the door, she realized it was off the hinges. She automatically thought the police had been there, but for what reason? Des was already in jail. She walked into the apartment. The living room furniture was gone. There was only a broken frame on the floor with a painting of Des and Yarni that Des had gotten to hang over the fireplace. She walked to the eat-in kitchen and the table was gone. There was only one bar stool pulled up to the counter with one-watermelon placemat. She stepped into the dining room - cleaned out! She proceeded to the bedroom--nothing left! Only Yarni's clothes were hanging up in the closet and her jewelry box. There was a note attached to the jewelry box with duck tape. Written on a brown paper bag with a black magic marker in big bold letters was. "YOU WILL NOT BE FUCKING

  NO OTHER NIGGA ON MY SON'S SHIT".

  She couldn't believe Joyce was behind all of this. Yarni screamed out, "That dirty bitch!" She broke down crying hysterically.

  BACK IN DA DAY

  REFLECT BACK 2-YEARS:

  Yarni was 17 years old when Des got locked up. She met him when she was only 15, a sophomore at Henrico High School.

  One Friday night, back in the day, her girlfriend Melanie spent the night at her house. Yarni was on punishment because she had gotten a Saturday morning detention for arriving late to Mrs.

  Walden's class one too many times, so she and Melanie couldn't go to Skate Land or anywhere else for that matter. It was a sure gift that she could have company at all, especially company as resourceful as Melanie.

  Melanie was bright skinned with dirty blonde hair. She was a little overweight for her 5'2 height. She had big pop hazel eyes.nBeing the baby of seven brothers made her quick on her feet. She loved staying the weekends over Yarni's house because there was a loving mother and always a refrigerator full of food.

  Plus, there was peace and quiet away from the crack infested, brick bungalow style projects she lived in. Yarni's house was a mansion filled with all the latest technology. They even had a guest room, although she never slept there. She'd always bunk in Yarni's room.

  Melanie loved Yarni's large bedroom. It was the perfect girl's living quarters. The comforter set was a maize, bright orange and hot pink print with a white wood bedroom suit. The large rug on top of the hardwood floors was a maize print to match the comfort set. She even had a hot pink telephone. The lighting in the room was hot pink and orange disco lights. The walls were covered with posters out of "Right On" and "Fresh" magazines. One wall had a bulletin board filled with pictures of her family and all of her friends from school at dances and games. Yarni had her own desk and walk-in closet filled from top to bottom with clothes, belts, boots and shoes. But most importantly, Yarni's room had her own television, VCR, and all the latest books and tapes on her bookshelf.

  Melanie had stolen her older brother's phone book, a book with the numbers for all the "big boys" who were major players in the drug game. Most were pager numbers, so they couldn't call those numbers since it was after 11pm and Yarni's mother, Gloria, had taken her phone line out of her room as part of her punishment. So, they had to sneak and use Gloria's line. No one called Gloria's line after 11pm. Melanie and Yarni continued to make calls and either got no answer or the "big boy" was not at home. It was midnight by this time, and they had called all the numbers in the book except one. That number belonged to Des, A.K.A. Ghetto Super Star, big time drug dealer and a treacherous killer.

  Melanie had been skeptical about calling the number because she knew Des would not take a phone prank lightly. He had a notorious reputation according to Melanie's older brother, as well as everybody else in the hood. Des was not to be played with in any type of way. Melanie didn't know him personally, but there were stories all over town of his heartless acts. Maybe it was just a rumor that he had killed a boy over a Blow Pop one time. It was also said he'd killed a man for telling his mother to

  "kiss his ass" because she pulled into a parking space that he had been waiting on. Nobody would dare testify against him because his whole family, including his mother, were gangsters.

  Nobody messed with anybody who was dear to him. His workers would even steal from their own mother to keep from being short on any of his money.

  Des was the worst kind of dope man to deal with. Rumor was, and this rumor was close to the truth, that he was a cold-blooded killer, cunning, and very intelligent. He was charismat-ic and a master of head games. With his business-oriented mind, he had goals and things he wanted to accomplish in life outside of the drug-game. He had book sense--common sense--and street sense!!! Very rarely would you find a street hustler with all three of these traits. When you do, all hell can, and will, break loose. Which it did.

  Melanie took all these things into consideration and decided, being the thrill seeker that she was, that they were going to call Des anyway. Hell, it was Friday night and he probably wouldn't be available anyway. She picked up the phone and hung it up, then picked up the phone and dialed. The phone rang twice. She hung up before anyone picked up, and then burst out laughing.

  "What are you laughing at?" Yarni asked.

 
; "I am about to call this guy," she said.

  "Call him then. Don't keep hanging up," Yarni demanded as Melanie followed her orders, a male voice answered.

  "Hello," the receiving voice said.

  "Hello, can I speak to Des?" Melanie said.

  "How did you get this number?" The male voice inquired.

  "Des gave it to me," Melanie responded in a casual tone.

  "Well, this is Des and I don't know who this is playing games, and I know you are playing because nobody would or should be calling here for me. Now tell me why you insist on lying?"

  Melanie bucked her big pop eyes. She wasn't expecting Des to even be there. She was totally caught off guard. So, she just tensed up. She had to think quickly.

  "Des, this is Melanie, Baby Joe's little sister from around

  "The 233."

  "Okay," said Des, "Is something wrong with Baby Joe?" sounding sincere.

  "No," replied Melanie.

  "Then what other reason would you be calling my family's home?"

  She immediately came back with "My friend, who lives in the county, seen you come through 233 and is dying to meet you."

  Yarni immediately hit Melanie. Melanie got up off the bed with the telephone in her hand, speaking into the receiver with her hand around the mouthpiece of the phone. Melanie was good on her feet.

  "Every since she saw you, she's been calling me asking who you were. She's very fly. Not to be disrespectful in any kind of way, but she looks better than any of the girls I've ever seen you with. She has real long black hair with copper streaks and ain't got no bumps on her face. She got a real big butt!" Yarni's eyes got big as Melanie continued. "She ain't no yuk mouth chick either. She got pretty white teeth, and bout 5'5. I ain't gay or nothing, but she bad, Des."