by Nikki Turner
Castro faithfully gave Yarni, her $300 every week, and sometimes he would give her more. He was loyal to Des' and his friendship and always kept tabs on Yarni. There was nothing bad to tell, and had it been, he would have never uttered a word to Des. Over the years they became close too, as did her and Slim.
Castro checked in more so than Slim did. Slim only checked on Yarni when there was a problem, whereas Castro called regularly. Castro was handsome. His golden brown complexion drove the girls crazy. He loved two things, money and the women that came with it. He had slept with most of Yarni's friends, even after she warned them that he was a whore. They didn't care, they only saw his money, and he spent it carefree.
He had pretty white teeth, with a gold crown on the side, which some girls thought enhanced his appearance. He wore round wire framed glasses, had a short haircut and an egg shaped head. He was about 6 feet, and weighted about 170 lbs. He wasn't the flashy type by day, he wore a brown work suit and some balded up boots everyday all day until nightfall, which was when he transformed into his Don Juan, city slicker type clothes. He sported silk suits, and Stacy Adams shoes were his specialty.
Yarni sat in the tan colored chair in the visiting room waiting patiently for Des to come out from his building. She had been waiting for forty-five minutes. She walked over to the table set up as a desk in the visiting room and asked the correctional officer if they'd called for Des? "He should be out soon. Maybe he had to take a shower or something. However, I will call again." Just then Des, walked in the visiting room and she had to deliver the news to him that his right hand man, Castro, had just gotten picked up by the jump out squad.
Yarni smiled as Des walked over to the guard to give the correctional officer his inmate ID. Yarni was so happy to see Des.
She laughed with pleasure because he did not look as if he had left the streets. The only thing that gave it up, is that prison blue oxford shirt. He had ordered some blue Levi jeans. He was wearing some Huarache Nikes that Slim wore down there to see him in. Des wore some old sneakers in the visiting room and when the guard wasn't looking they swapped shoes. He also had on some Ray Ban glasses. He had gotten, Castro, to pay a doctor to act as if Des had glasses before he left the streets. The optometrist sent the sunglasses to Des so he could have them in the prison. Otherwise he'd have to have state issued glasses, and no sunglasses are even allowed. Des knew that the state didn't supply any sunglasses. The optometrist talked to the doctor in the medical department at the prison and convinced them that Des had surgery a few years ago and his eyes could not come into direct contact with sun light. Uncle Stanka, impersonating a clergy person, called the prison's chaplain and convinced the chaplain to accept a religious pendant for Des to wear. That was how Des was able to get and keep his necklace and cross to wear around his neck.
On his way from across the room to greet Yarni, other inmates stopped him and talked with him. The only time he gets to see some of the inmates on the other side of the prison is in the visiting room. Yarni shakes her head when he finally makes it over to the table where she is.
"That doesn't make any sense the way you act like you are still on the streets, people running up to you and you're dressing like you're still in society." Des laughs, as he embraces her with a hug and a passionate tongue kiss.
"I am in society, baby. This is a world in itself." Yarni said on a more serious note, "Boo, Castro called me, they locked him up."
Des looked off and became distant. He took a deep breath.
"Damn."
They both came became very silent.
Yarni had already gone to the snack machine while she was waiting for Des to come out.
"Boo, I am going to warm your cheese pizza up. Do you want anything else from the snack machine?" Yarni said.
"No, wait a minute before you go. I am not ready to eat yet."
"Well, what took you so long to get over here? I was waiting at least forty-five minutes. I told you I was coming. You had to take a shower or something?"
"No, baby, I was ready when they called, but I had to stop by building A on my way over here to check on some money that this cat owes me from the game last night." She shook her head, "It don't make no sense you can take the thug out the streets, but you can't take the streets out the thug. That's a damn shame." Des laughed at her frustration.
"How did your exams go?" He changed the subject.
"Fine," but he noticed that she did not elaborate.
"I tried calling you last night but I didn't get any answer." He stroked her legs as he waited to see how far she would go in creating an alibi. But he hoped she would not go too far.
"My roommate and I went out for College Night last night, to celebrate that I had aced the one exam I was actually worried about."
"I tried calling this morning at about 7a.m. too," He added even though he was happy to hear about the "A" he knew she was capable of getting.
"I heard the phone ringing when I was leaving out the door to come down here. I just assumed that it was somebody for my roommate." She said for comfort.
Des looked into Yarni's eyes, and she saw a look on his face that she didn't recognize, insecurity.
"Baby Girl," he chose his words as well as he could. "By no means do I want you to stop living for me. I fully understand that you have needs too. You are not obligated to be my girl anymore, for real." Tears appeared in Yarni's eyes, but Des continued.
"Baby Girl, please don't start that. Don't cry. But I've got to be real with you. I am getting too comfortable with you being here for me. I'm going to be here a long time. I know one day you may find someone else to be with, and he's not going to tolerate you coming to see me. Out of sight, out of mind. So, baby, for real, I would rather that you just leave me now verses five years from now." He felt too dependent on her and he didn't like that feeling.
"Des, we made vows to each other. I know there were no legal documents involved, but we took an oath from our hearts, and as far as I am concerned, this is until death do us part. I don't want anybody else. Now stop acting stupid," She said while trying to hold her tears back.
"Baby Girl, if you feel the need to be with other cats, then you are free to."
"Yeah, I know that I am free to. You've made yourself clear.
Now let me tell you, the only place I choose to be is with you in your heart." Yarni could not believe his insistence.
"Look, we can still be friends. I don't need a woman while I am in here. I need a faithful friend more than anything. That's all any man in prison needs is a devoted friend. Don't get me wrong. Every man locked up wants a woman by his side for his own selfish reasons, but he needs a friend more. Now think about it. What does he need a woman for? He can't have sex with her unless he wants to degrade her and have sex with her in the visiting room, but is that really cool with people's children and other people watching? He can't parade her around town on his arm. He can't lay beside her every night in bed. So, on the real, a man incarcerated doesn't need the headache of wondering if she's laid up with someone else? I know I don't. I don't want to go through that whole shenanigan of why you didn't accept a call or why you didn't write back. Or even me calling to holler at one of my homeboys and he drops some news on me that he seen you with the next dude." Des was just as honest with Yarni five years down the road as he was with her on that first day, when she was just fifteen years old.
"Oh, now I understand. All this is simply because I wasn't in my dorm room when you called last night. So now all you need is a friend? Okay I got your friend all right," she said sarcastically. Des ignored her sarcasm.
"Yeah, all I need is a friend to talk to, listen to, laugh with, to joke with and to keep my spirits up. For real, Yarni, you can go your own way. We can end our relationship right now." He went back into his dorm frustrated with the whole ordeal, the legal system mainly, because he did not commit this crime.
He was confused. He knew Yarni was most likely telling the truth, but at the same time, she's young, and if hi
s appeal doesn't come through soon, how much time can she really do with him?
He didn't go to dinner that night. Instead he went to a building to check on his money one final time, and when it was short, he asked why. When the dude said the wrong thing, he punched him in the face. He knew that it wasn't that serious, but he had to redirect his frustrations somewhere else. He returned to his pod, went straight to his cell, avoiding any of his homeboys he was cool with, knowing he may lash out on them too. The rest of the night, and well into the next morning, Des laid on his bunk wondering what he and Yarnie's relationship coming to.
The following day, he got a letter from Weasa. He thought about how she would definitely be there for him, but at the same time. He knew Yarni would really fly the coop if she ever found out he was corresponding with Weasa. He evaluated the situation.
After taking all those things into consideration, Yarni still knocked the doors down to see him. A few days later, she received a letter from him apologizing how he acted in the visiting room. She totally understood the mindset of a man incarcerated. People may think oh, what more do they want. They have three hots and a cot, but she understood just how hard it was on the inmate mentally to be away from his loved ones.
There would be no holidays and no family gatherings, except for the corny ones that the institutions put on once a year.
Joyce finally came around. She realized that Yarni did have good intentions where Des was concerned. Eventually, she also grew to have a lot of respect for Yarni. It had even gotten to the point where they would sometimes ride together to see Des.
When Des told Joyce, Yarni had the flu and Gloria was out of town, Joyce showed up on Yarni's doorsteps with orange juice and all kinds of flu medicine. Then a month later, Joyce had to go to the hospital and have surgery on her foot. Yarni was beside her the whole time. She went over to cook for her and checked on her everyday.
Joyce and Gloria hadn't spoken in over two years. Joyce even called Gloria, leaving her a message on her answering machine.
"Gloria, this is Joyce, I'd like to apologize for the way I carried on. I've actually grown to really love Yarni and I am so glad that she's a part of Des' life, as well as mine. I never got the opportunity to tell you how much of an outstanding job you did with raising Yarni. You see, I couldn't understand why Des loved her so much. I never took the time to try to understand either.
He'd been with so many other girls in his day, and this young girl came along and just swept him off of his feet. You know how it is; the ones we love never love us back. I didn't want her to hurt my son. See, before Yarni, he'd never, I repeat, never loved any of those hos. The bottom line is Yarni and Des have made it very clear that they're going to be together whatever the weather is.
So there is no need for us to hold ill feelings against each other.
I guess what I am trying to say is, "I surrender." I don't want war with you anymore. Gloria, please call me when you get this message. 777-9311."
Gloria heard the message. It takes a big woman to surrender, that's for sure, and to fess up to her shortcomings. Shoot, I realized a long time ago that Yarni and Des were going to be together no matter what. I guess I could at least call her back. I will, but I've got to hype myself up. I hope she doesn't want to meet for lunch or anything.
Everything was going fine until one Saturday when Yarni was visiting Des and he asked her to make the ultimate sacrifice. He wanted her to put her freedom at stake. He asked her to smug-gle heroine into the prison to him so he could sell. He said she could do it one of two ways. She could put it in her panties or put it in balloons and swallow it and she could throw it up in the bathroom in the visiting room. She felt like the sharpest knife ever had just stabbed her through the heart.
How could he ask me to jeopardize my freedom? Why does he want to break the law still and risk running up his time? He isn't starving for anything in there. His commissary stays stacked.
He was a good dude from the street so somebody is always sending him some money. On any given day I could see somebody who knew him from the street and they'd give me a $100 to send him. Shit, why he ain't tell his mother to bring it? What, she too good? Damn, and I am supposed to be the one he loves? Yo, he straight violated.
She didn't have any type of understanding. As she left the penitentiary, she had so many thoughts going through her head.
She felt like the one who she loved with all her heart had just crossed her, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't even know how to approach this situation. She didn't want to tell him no and let him down, but at the same time, this one time, she had to think of herself first. She was so confused. For the first time in almost five years, she avoided him. She thought maybe she needed to stay away a little. She started going out, hanging at all the happening places, and meeting other guys.
THE JOKE'S ON YOU, BOO
One evening Yarni and her girlfriend, Sophie, were hanging out.
Sophie was one of those girls straight from the projects who was just as fly as Yarni was, but her life goals consisted of hooking the biggest drug dealer, being the flyest chic in Richmond, keeping a nice ride, and to moving out of the projects to one of the nicer Section 8 communities. Sophie and Yarni met because they both were captains of cheerleader squads back in school. They used to see each other at the games and both saw the material potential in each other. So, even though they were from two different sides of town they always kept in touch, and eventually became good friends.
Sophie was skinny, barely weighing in at 110 pounds. She never wore her real hair, only braided extensions. Displaying long, fat, neatly done box braids neatly in a ponytail on the top of her head, Sophie, without a doubt, set trends with her braided styles. Along with her braids she wore a small diamond earring in her nose and four holes in her ears. There was a permanent scar within her chocolate skin on her temple that she got from a scuffle years ago. Sophie wasn't self-conscience about her cut. Nobody was perfect and everybody had a flaw, and that was hers. She was very confident and couldn't be touched with a ten-foot pole.
Sophie and Yarni were at the "Summer League" basketball tournament over on the West end on Idlewood Avenue.
"Summer League" was packed. All the ballers were there showing off their cars as well as placing bets on which team was going to win. All the young adults knew that in Richmond, back in the earlier 90's, if you were a female looking for a major player, or if you were a major player looking for a female, Summer League was the place to be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
It was always jammed packed with wall-to-wall people. Girls were in their Daisy Duke shorts riding on bicycles or rolling around with pure white roller skates, and a few guys were sitting or standing near their sport motorbikes. Cars lined up, double-parked, horns honking because they were blocked in. Then there were the set of guys walking around with the super soaker bazooka water guns, who were searching for any stuck up, con-ceited, bourgeoisie acting female so they could soak her with their water guns. There were a few dudes scattered around who had their dogs on a leash, walking them. They either had Pitbulls or Rottweilers. Whenever the dogs would get in a thirty-foot radius of one another, the owners would have to pull the chains back to separate the dogs, as they growled at each other.
Throughout the night during the basketball game, there would be somebody taking bets on which dog would win the dog fight, which was scheduled after the game later that night. The funni-est part was that there was one guy, who always showed up wearing no shirt, with a super thick herringbone necklace on, and an albino, yellow and white Boa Constrictor snake around his neck. Now, he knew nine times out of ten, that most the females were afraid of snakes, so he'd get his entertainment by walking around watching the reaction of the ladies when he moved closer to them.
On this particular Thursday, Yarni and Sophie were standing by the fence turning heads of the ballers walking by, acting like they were not paying any attention to all the ooh's and ah's.
Tthey were speak
ing and mingling with all by-passers. They noticed from across the court on the other side of the fence, this tall, kind of chubby, bumpy face, dark-skinned dude. He had thick eyebrows and was sporting a baldhead and a mouth full of gold teeth. He had just got out of this bright yellow, flip-flop paint job BMW sitting on chrome. Chrome rims are like the shoes on a car. If an outfit doesn't have the right pair of shoes, the whole thing will be thrown off. It's the same thing with an automobile. Rims give it a whole different look as the right shoes would give an outfit a distinct look. They must be 18 inch or better. Although, when you take the original rims off a new car, the car depreciates. Some feel it's more important to make the car look good.
As soon as he rolled up, all eyes were on him. Yarni and Sophie immediately acted as if they were not concerned, like they did not even see him. They were like sore thumbs sticking out because they were the only two who were not impressed.
He immediately inquired to his homeboys as to who Yarni and Sophie were.
He walked over with his Very Fine fruit punch drink in his hand, held his head back, drank his juice in one big gulp with his lips never touching the bottle, looks at Yarni from head to toe a reaches up to remove his sunglasses. All he could say is,
"ummp,ummp, ummp" He quickly glanced at Sophie.
"Didn't you used to go to Fairfield Middle School?" He eyed Sophie in recognition.
"Yeah. How you know?" Sophie says in a snobbish tone.
"I used to go there to for a lil while."
"Oh, for real? I don't remember you. What's your name?" Sophie squinted.
"Rallo," he said.
"No, I'm talking about your government name."
"Oh, Franklin Black"
"Oh, O.K. I remember your name. You look so different." They start reminiscing, going on and on about the good old days at Fairfield Middle School.