A Hustler's Wife

by Nikki Turner

  "Hello?" Yarni said "Is this 777-9111?"

  "Yes," said the woman.

  "Who is this?" Yarni asked.

  "This is the FBI if you're calling for Castro, Castro's handcuffed. Don't call him. He'll call you, collect that is!" The lady said in a joking way.

  Yarni called Gloria.

  "Mommy's Castro been arrested, I just called his house and the Feds picked him up." Gloria never heard this type of terror in Yarni's voice. Gloria knew something was wrong and it wasn't the fact that Castro was in jail either. Gloria knew they were close friends, but not this tight that she would get so terrified over Castro getting locked up. Yarni was uncertain that she too wouldn't be arrested. Automatically, she thought the worse.

  Gloria told Yarni a few days later, "Castro called and told me to distinctly to tell you that everything is O.K." Gloria never asked Yarni where she'd gotten the money to buy all that exquisite furniture on a $35,000 a year salary. The tanning salon was breaking even and profiting a very minimum. Her mother was well aware of the fact that Yarni had been doing something she had no business.

  Yarni loved her job at the law firm. She worked for a lawyer named Jack Do Right. This was his given name. His name alone was a wonderful asset for any attorney. His name alone brought in a great deal of business. Jack was a very prominent attorney.

  He had practiced criminal law for ten years.

  He dressed sharp and he always smelled good. He was especially crazy about Yarni. He liked the way Yarni could be as soft spoken and look like a rose, but could sting like a thorn. He liked Yarni's eagerness and her drive. She was very intelligent and dedicated to her job and the clients, as well. She was t.

  more assertive than the average attorneys he knew. He could never figure out why Yarni never entered law school. Jack knew the very minimum of Yarni's personal life. He just assumed she had no personal life, because she worked such long hours throwing herself into her work at the firm.

  Yarni thought highly of Jack. Jack acted as though he had Yarni's best interest at heart. She was his paralegal, and they worked as a team. She developed the utmost respect for him.

  Jack never took Yarni for granted and Yarni never took Jack for granted.

  Jack was a permanent reminder to Yarni of the attorney she could have become. Yarni was out to lunch one afternoon when a call came in for her supervisor. It was Cara. Cara informed one of the other partner's of the firm of Yarni's background and personal life. She mentioned to the partner that Yarni had been convicted of a felony, and how she should be fired. She also expressed that Yarni was in a relationship with a convicted murderer who's in prison on death row. She added lies and exagger-ated the truth.

  When Yarni returned from lunch, Jack asked to speak to her in his office. He presented Yarni with the information he'd received. Yarni wanted to cry. This was definitely a part of her checkered past catching up with her. She reflected on what a quote her mother used to warn her about. "What you do in the dark will always come to light." Then she took a deep breath, and for the first time in her life, she explained everything to Jack.

  She knew she was fired. She left out the trafficking, but she explained the whole scenario with Bengee and the gun charge.

  She also told him about the expungement of her record. She explained that was the reason why she never entered law school.

  Jack sat looking at Yarni in amazement. He couldn't believe Yarni had such a strong drive.

  He was speechless for a few seconds and then he plainly said, "There comes a time when girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. And it looks to me like, it's just remarkable, how you managed to pick up the pieces under the unbalanced conditions.

  That alone, says a lot about you, Yarnise. It would have been so easy for you to just say oh, forget about this and have a pity party for yourself, but you didn't." Jack didn't fire her under the provi-sions that she'd enroll into law school.

  Yarni's feelings were extremely hurt when she thought of Cara. She began to hear a lot of hurtful things that Cara had been saying about her. She never understood why Cara would go around talking about her. Yarni thought of all the ways she could hurt Cara. For every one thing Cara knew on Yarni, Yarni knew ten things on her.

  When people asked Yarni, had she seen Cara, she would simply say, "no". Why couldn't Cara do the same thing? Why couldn't Cara just be mature about the whole situation? After Cara's latest stunt, Yarni began to think of all the ways she could get in touch with Cara's man, who she'd heard was locked up, and tell him some trifling things about her. But she simply told herself, she'd never tell him any of those things when her and Cara were friends, and she wasn't going to stoop to Cara's level.

  While praying on Yarni's downfall, Cara had done Yarni a favor because Yarni had lost sight of her dream of becoming a lawyer.

  Yarni recollected on the service the pastor taught on Sunday morning. How you reap what you sow. It's like a farmer. He sows into good ground so he can reap a plentiful harvest. The more you give the more you get in return. She met a single mom, Sister Kenya, at her church who was struggling to make ends met.

  Kenya was a faithful mother and a person with good character.

  She approached Yarni and asked her if she needed help in her tanning salon? She explained to Yarni that she could only work between 11a.m. until 2p.m. Her youngest child was in kinder-garten and went to school only a half day. She stressed that she would have to leave work no later than 2p.m. because she had no one who could get her children off of the bus.

  Yarni didn't need any extra help around the tanning salon but she told Kenya that she would help her out. The woman showed up at Yarni's tanning salon with a good attitude. She took pride in all her work and she had plenty of initiative. She got a lot accomplished in the three hours she was there. She was a blessing to Yarni. She swept the floors, and at times ran errands for Yarni. She did whatever needed to be done.

  Kenya expressed to Yarni that she was going to have to be off the following Friday because she had to go to court for child support. Later that Friday night, Yarni called Sister Kenya.

  "Hey, Sister Kenya," she said, "How did court go?"

  "Sister Yarnise, girl, I tell you. I am so at the end of my rope with my children's father and the court systems. He isn't going to pay me child support. He can spend money for a lawyer, but is so much in debt to me for child support. As bad as I need the money I want to withdraw the claim. I am sick of it. Why should the white man have to make a grown man take care of his child?"

  Yarni sympathized with her. "I feel exactly what you are saying. You know I seen this number on T.V. that I'm going to definitely get it for you. It's a number for deadbeat dads. I am praying for you also. I know it's so easy for people to tell you, just pray on it. Kenya, I am praying for you and have faith that it's going to be O.K." Yarni comforted her.

  Kenya responded, "I know it's going to be O.K. I believe that God is going to supply all my needs and riches beyond my wildest dreams." Yarni's line beeped.

  "Kenya, I hate to interrupt, but I got a call coming in. I'll see you at church Sunday."

  "Yarnise, thanks for calling. I really needed to vent".

  "Not a problem" said Yarni. They both said, "Be blessed" to each other and hung up.

  Kenya came over to Yarni after church to give Yarni a hug.

  She also told Yarni, "Sister Yarni, ooh, I like those shoes."

  "Thank you," said Yarni as Kenya's children all came over to give her hugs too. Yarni was collecting money from the singles of the church. They were going to a Gospel play at the Landmark Theater.

  Yarni told Kenya, "Wait a minute, I need to speak to you." Kenya waited patiently until Yarni was finished.

  Yarni asked Kenya, "Sister Kenya, do you have ten dollars?" Kenya went in her pocketbook with no complaints, questions or comments; and pulled out a $10.00 bill and gave it to Yarni.

  Yarni said, thanks to Kenya. Kenya said, "Not a problem. I'm just glad that God blessed me so I could be a blessing to y
ou." Yarni went in her pocketbook and passed Kenya the deed and keys to her building. "I'm glad that God has blessed me to be a blessing to you." Kenya was confused.

  "What's this?"

  "I don't have the time to focus on the tanning salon any more since I've enrolled into law school now. You are dedicated to the shop more than I ever was. I know for a fact that you will be able to generate a steady income for you and your children."

  "Oh, Yarnise," she said with her eyes filled with tears. "I can't accept this."

  "Yes, you can."

  Kenya said to Yarni, "We're going to have to work out some kind of payment plan."

  "You've paid me for it, $10.00," Yarni said as she brushed the lint off the sleeve of her coat.

  "Thank you, Yarnise. I am eternally grateful to you." Yarni knew in her heart that God had a bigger plan for her.

  She knew that she would be blessed astronomically.

  Jack's wife left a note on the refrigerator that said she was leaving him to be with her tennis instructor. Jack was heartbroken. He began to look fatigued. Jack turned to alcohol. He drank heavily. People at the firm were whispering behind Jack's back about how he was losing control. Yarni expressed to Jack how she could smell the liquor on him coming out of his pores, and the fact that he WAS falling apart. Jack confessed to Yarni that he had been drinking heavily and had even experimented with LSD.

  During the conversation, one of the partners barged in and informed Jack that his reputation was at stake, and the other partners suspected that he was on drugs judging by his appearance. He denied the accusations. The partners demanded a drug test from Jack. Jack was at his lowest point. He was certain that his career was out of the window. Jack contemplated suicide.

  Yarni listened as the partners spoke harshly to Jack. The partners instructed Jack to report for the drug test within the next two hours. On that note, Yarni interrupted, "Jack I will drive you because I've got to go over that way to drop some paperwork off anyway. You look like you could use the company and support." Yarni spoke out, grabbed three folders off of the desk and as she walked off, "I'm ready now. I just have to grab my purse." Yarni grabbed her Gucci pocketbook that matched her Gucci pumps, and they exited the building.

  As soon as they were in Yarni's spanking new black convertible Jaguar, Jack let his guard down. "What the hell am I going to do?" He screamed.

  Yarni calmly said, as she looked in her rear view mirror as she backed out of the parking space, "You are going to calm down and pull yourself together." Jack looked at Yarni and said, "Has it sunk in that there's no way that I am going to pass a drug test." He slowly stressed to Yarni, "I USED LSD last night." As if she didn't understand what he was trying to spell out to her. Yarni unpretentiously stated,

  "Has it sunk in that I do have street sense, and in the streets, there's always two ways to skin a cat." Jack didn't understand how to possibly get around this situation. He gazed at Yarni.

  "Please explain how I am going to skin this cat alive?"

  "Just trust me, O.K.?" Yarni said as she glanced over at Jack, while still trying to keep her eyes on the road.

  Yarni pulled in the drug store's parking lot. She looked Jack straight in the eyes.

  "I am going to get you out of this bind this one time.

  However, you will get help. You've got to accept the fact that your wife is gone and that it's her loss. Your pity party is over TODAY!!" Yarni said.

  Jack's eyes were glassy looking, filled with tears as he agreed, shaking his head. Yarni told him to wait while she ran into the drug store.

  Yarni returned from the drug store with a pill bottle and a Styrofoam cup. She pulled into the gas station across the street from the drug test center. She entered the restroom, removed the pill bottle and cup from her purse. She emptied the pills out in the trash, preceded to wash the bottle out thoroughly with hot, scorching water and dried the bottle with a paper towel. She urinated in the cup. Then poured the pee in the bottle. She wiped the bottled off and wrapped it in a paper towel. She carefully placed the bottle in her purse. As she exited the store, she stopped by the counter to purchase a pack of gum.

  She returned to the car and opened her pocketbook. She reached in and pulled the paper towel and bottle out. She handed him the bottle. She instructed him, "Put this against your skin to keep it warm. You've got to keep this body temperature." He examined the bottle and then quickly inserted it in his pants. She instructed him, "As soon as you walk through the door, act as if you've got to pee, as if you cannot hold it. DO NOT leave the bottle in the bathroom." She dropped Jack in front of the building and waited patiently.

  Jack came back to the car with a large smile on his face. He informed Yarni that they had tested the urine while he waited.

  "Thanks, So much, Yarnise!" He said graciously. "Take me to the bank. I could never repay you, but I've got to give you a monetary token of my appreciation." Yarni, straightforwardly said, "I won't take you to the bank, nor will I accept your money."

  "You have to, Yarnise."

  "Jack, I didn't do anything helleva. I simply had your back.

  That's what friends do. They have each other's back unconditionally Right?" Yarni said.

  Jack said to Yarni nodding his head, "You're absolutely right." Yarni sat at her desk as she looked over the letter she had gotten the day before from Des. Enclosed with the letter was his answer from his parole hearing, another turndown. She began to weep, when the energetic secretary buzzed in her line, "Yarnise, it's your mother on Line 4." Yarni weakly said, "Alright, put her through."

  She picked up the phone, "Yeah, mommy." Gloria could immediately hear in Yarni's tone that something was majorly wrong. She could feel the pain and hurt in Yarni's voice. "Baby, what's wrong?"

  Yarni cried to her mother, "Everything!"

  "Yarni, if you don't tell me I can't help you, advise you or sympathize with you," Gloria said.

  "Mommy, I am lonely. The man I love is in prison for a crime he didn't commit. They're never going to grant him parole. I'm tired of going through all the unnecessary drama with the penal system every time I go to visit him, getting searched; they imple-ment a new rule every week. I am at the breaking point.

  Mommy, I understand God don't put more on you than you can bear, but at the same time, I'm only human. God must feel that I am awfully strong. Mommy, I'm going to always have Des'

  back as long as they keep him. I am going to be there for him, but when is justice going to prevail?" Gloria got emotional as well. She knew Yarni's plight. She'd been down that same road with Yarni's father.

  Gloria listened. This is the one time that she couldn't argue Yarni's point because her daughter was absolutely right. There was no bright side to this situation.

  Gloria replied, "Yarni, God has a way of working out every situation, believe that. Where is your faith, my child? There's nothing God can't do."

  "Yeah, I know, mommy," she said slowly and still in a crying mode.

  "I'm not going to preach to you, but remember this: No great victories were ever won without great trials! Also, I'm making Baked Ziti tonight. I need you to come over. I have something extremely important to talk to you about." Yarni cut her mother off, even though Ziti was her favorite.

  "I just feel so overwhelmed right now. I feel like this system is so jacked up. Mommy, I'll talk to you tonight. What time is dinner going to be ready?"

  "Sevenish." Gloria said.

  "See you then." Yarni said.

  Jack knocked on Yarni's office door. She tried to pull herself together before she allowed him to enter. He noticed her eyes were puffy. He placed the file folder on her desk aside. "Care to share?" he asked, as he took a bite of his apple and sat on the edge of her desk.

  "No, I don't" Yarni said.

  "Yarnise, listen, you've been nothing but a friend to me. You saved me from the bottle, and losing my whole career that I busted my butt to achieve. You got me into a twelve-step program.

  You even brought me balloons and a
cake and attended my graduation. Not to mention the countless times you had to cover for me while I was attending sobriety meetings. How come I'm always on a need-to-know basis with you?"

  "Maybe the things I'm going through are too heavy for you to even understand," Yarni said while tapping her felt tip ink pen on the desk.

  "Well, why don't you try me and see." She explained to him about the situation with Des. She gave him the lawyer's name who she had working on his appeal. Jack instructed Yarni to bring in all Des' transcripts and any paperwork she had on his trial. He told her that he was very interested in the case and that he had a friend, Larry, who was a Federal Attorney whose son was executed by electric chair and treated unjustly because of the bad relationship his friend and the governor had. Jack promised her that he would go through Des transcripts with a fine-toothed comb. Yarni felt relieved.

  Jack said, "That's what friends do. They have each other's back unconditionally."

  Yarni drove to her mother's house. She listened to "Dear Momma" by 2Pac. She listened to the words of the song, which made her think of her very own mother. Tears formed in her eyes, thinking of the countless times her mother had came through for her. When there was no one else, there was always her mother, through the bad, good, happy and sad, countless times her mother was always the last one standing when the dust settled.

  When Yarni arrived at Gloria's house, she could smell the Baked Ziti cooking as she approached the door. Her mother asked if she felt better since she'd spoken to her earlier. Yarni told to her mother what Jack said to her earlier that day.

  After they were finished with dinner, Yarni did the dishes as she always had, from the time she was twelve years old.

  "Mommy, you're so old school. Why do you have a dishwasher and still require me to do the dishes by hand? Why do you have a dryer and yet you still hang your clothes on the clothes line?" Gloria just laughed and said, "Your generation is too spoiled, so when you come over here, I have to enforce my old school ways to keep you from getting caught up in this new generation lifestyle, Sweetie." She pinched Yarni's cheeks, then filled the teakettle with water.