Goodfellas

by Carl Weber

  “My dad about to take me to get pizza. You wanna come?”

  “Yeah,” East answered, not wanting to miss the chance to take a ride in Ricardo’s Bentley.

  Over the course of the next few months, he and Dos would become close friends. Had a thing or two gone differently in life, they might have stayed that way.

  * * *

  Ten-year-old Shaun stood in the front of the apartments with his friend Ques, dribbling a basketball, while his twin sister, Shantelle, sat on the steps watching them play. Although they were twins, they had extremely different personalities. Shaun, who everyone called Screw, was hyperactive. He had earned his nickname from people in the neighborhood who said he had a screw missing in his head for some of the crazy things he would do. Shantelle, on the other hand, was more reserved than her brother. A bit of a nerd, she was one of the top students in her sixth-grade class.

  “C’mon, Screw, let’s go to the park and shoot some hoops,” Ques pleaded as he tried to take the ball away from his friend.

  “Uh-uh!” Shantelle said immediately. “Momma said we have to stay right here,” she asserted.

  “Man, shut up!” Screw barked. “He ain’t even talking to you. Mind ya business.”

  “I’ma tell Momma if you go,” she promised.

  Screw walked over to the steps, looking his sister straight in the eyes, and said, “Snitches get stitches.”

  Before she could counter, a white car pulling up in front of the apartments drew all of their attention.

  “Whose car is that?” Ques wondered out loud.

  “I don’t know, but I’m ’bouta see,” Screw said, sprinting toward the sidewalk with Ques on his heels. When the car came to a complete stop, both boys were shocked to see East get out of the backseat.

  “Oh shiiit,” Screw said, approaching East and giving him five. Although he was a year younger, the two were best friends, just like their mothers were. “That’s a Bentley?” he asked, amazed by the luxury vehicle.

  “Yeah,” East said with a smile on his face.

  “What happened to your lip?” Screw asked, seeing the dried blood.

  “Long story,” East shrugged.

  That’s when Screw noticed the other kid emerge from the backseat of the Bentley. They locked eyes at the same time and glared at each other for several seconds.

  “What you looking at?” Screw tested. He didn’t like his position as East’s best friend being threatened. He immediately felt like the other kid was trying to trespass on his territory.

  “I’m looking at you. What’s up?” Dos replied.

  They started walking toward each other, until they met in the middle. They began shoving, but no punches were thrown before East stepped between them.

  “Be easy,” he said, pushing them apart. “This is Dos.” He introduced his new friend. “Dos, this my best friend Screw. And that’s Ques,” he said, pointing to the short, chubby, brown-skinned one.

  “Yeah, best friend,” Screw repeated.

  At that moment, Angela walked out of the front door of her apartment and on to the porch, just in time to see Ricardo get out of the car. “Whose pretty car is that?” she asked but really wanted to ask about the handsome man getting out of it. “And what’s your brother and them up too?” she questioned Shantelle.

  “I don’t know, Momma” she answered. “But East just got out of that car and Shaun tryin’a fight that boy,” Shantelle filled her mother in like she always did. Angela stood there with her arms folded, watching the boys until Ricardo and his son pulled off in that pretty car.

  “Hey, Ms. Angela,” East smiled as he walked up to the steps of the apartment.

  “Hey, baby,” she smiled back. “Who was that?”

  “My friend Dos and his dad.”

  Is Dos’s mother in the picture? she thought to herself but knew better than to ask a child that. “Your mother has to work late tonight, so she asked if you could spend the night here,” she told him.

  “OK,” he answered.

  “Momma, since East’s spending the night, can we go to the park and play basketball for a little while?” Screw asked, standing in place, dribbling his ball.

  “How you know he wanna go?” Shantelle asked, frowning her face.

  “How you know he don’t?” Screw retorted. “You wanna go, right? Tell her,” he looked over at East trying to persuade him with his eyes.

  “Cut it out before I slapped both of y’all,” Angela chastised her children. “Y’all can go to the playground but be back here before it gets dark. You hear me?”

  “Yes,” the boys all said in unison, then turned and walked off.

  “Can I go?” Shantelle asked.

  “No. I need you to help me with dinner,” Angela replied.

  Shantelle stood up, grabbed her book, and went into the house, her little feelings hurt. As soon as she got in the house, Shantelle sat in the chair by the window. From there, she watched East, her brother, and Ques walking to the park.

  Angela watched her daughter stare out the window from the couch. She knew Shantelle had a little crush on East, and she thought it was cute. “C’mere,” she patted her hand on the couch. “Come sit next to me.” Shantelle got up, walked over to her mother, and sat down. Angela put her arm around her. “I see the way you look at that boy. You like him, don’t you?”

  “Who?” Shantelle replied, pretending not to know what she was talking about.

  “Girl, don’t play with me,” Angela said, now smiling. “You know I’m talking about East.”

  “Ill. No, I don’t like him,” Shantelle uttered.

  “Good,” Angela said, knowing her daughter was lying. “Because you know, Auntie Tweet is like my sister. Which makes you and East family.”

  Shantelle remained quiet for a moment, then looked up at her mother, “Momma, you and Auntie Tweet ain’t really sisters. So that means me and East ain’t really family.”

  Angela couldn’t contain herself. She burst out laughing. “You always was my smartest child,” she joked, pulling Shantelle into her warm embrace. The two of them shared a good laugh for a few minutes.

  “I do like him, Momma,” Shantelle admitted. “But he doesn’t pay me any attention. He just wants to hang out with Shaun and Ques all the time,” she said with such sadness.

  Angela shook her head. Her baby girl had it bad. “Listen, baby, be it East or some other boy, you’re too young to have boys on the brain. Don’t worry about that. You’re a very pretty girl, and you’re smart. When the time comes, boys will be lining up to get with you. For now, just keep your head in them books and keep bringing home those good grades I love. OK?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” she replied, then rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. The two of them watched TV until dinner was ready.

  Chapter Three

  2010

  Thirteen-year-old East was growing up fast. Not only in height but also in knowledge. He thirsted for it. Every day he would go to the gym to soak up game from the old-timers that hung around. He also realized that although he admired Ricardo’s brazen style, Tez’s laid-back temperament appealed to him more. With Tez, his brain always got more of a workout than his body did. They would have long conversations about important things in life. Tez schooled him through boxing lessons while passing down jewels and codes of the street. East was receiving a duel education like none other. As Tez spoke, East absorbed everything with a grasp that exceeded his age.

  “You have to be able to put things out of your mind quickly,” Tez explained one night as he drove East home in his Mercedes. “You might get hit with a punch that shakes you a little bit. You might lose a round here and there. Bad things are going to happen. You have to get over it quick, or you’ll be a sitting duck. It’s all about how you react.”

  Tez had noticed East’s down demeanor all day and learned that his mother had lost her job recently. The young man was wearing the stress on his heart and the burden on his shoulders and face. Tez was once again using boxing to tea
ch a life lesson.

  East sat in the passenger seat soaking it all in like a sponge. Cruising the city with Tez, he noticed all the pretty women breaking their necks to speak and all the street niggas showing love when they rode by. East always knew the respect Tez had but witnessing it firsthand was something else. Ricardo had love in the streets too, but what the streets showed Tez felt deep-rooted.

  Tez had become his mentor, like the father that he needed in his life, and East had become the son that Tez never knew he wanted. There was just something about the li’l nigga that Tez loved. He was smart for his age, very attentive, but most importantly, he was fearless. East was a special breed, whether he knew it or not.

  “Tell me what you see,” Tez said.

  “Whatchu mean?”

  “Look around you. What do you see?” he repeated, pointing out the window.

  East stared out at the city as it passed by. He was still a little perplexed by the question. “People,” he said, causing Tez to laugh.

  “Nah, you see opportunity. The world is filled with it. If you can’t make money on an earth this big, you deserve to stay broke,” Tez explained.

  “I’m not tryin’a be broke,” East assured him, and he meant every word.

  “I already know,” Tez smiled. “Look, this shit with your mother is gonna be all right. I don’t want you to worry about it,” he declared, pulling up in front of East’s apartment and parking. He reached into his pocket to pull out a wad of money and noticed East staring at the gun on his lap.

  “Why you always ride with your gun on your lap?” he inquired.

  “Things can come at you fast, without warning. You never have to get ready if you stay ready,” Tez schooled while counting out money from his knot. “Here,” he extended the bills toward East. “This should help with the bills for a minute, until ya mother’s able to get back on her feet. I know you been stressing. You ain’t gotta do that no more. If you need something, come to me.” East hesitated to take the money. “What’s wrong?”

  “I ain’t no charity case,” East bucked.

  Tez chuckled but not in a funny way. He admired the young boy’s defiance, but it was misguided on this occasion. He cut the engine off. “You think I look at you like that?” he asked aggressively, turning his body to face East. His tone rose slightly. “If you think I look at you like that, you don’t understand shit, and I know you smarter than that.” The words spilled out with the hurt of a father’s disappointment. He had too much love for East to look at him as anything less than a son.

  East nodded his understanding. He could feel the hurt overpowering the anger in Tez’s words. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just rather earn mines.”

  “I understand, but . . .” Tez paused to calm himself. His voice was low when he spoke again. “Sometimes you earn things through respect, a’ight? I got nothing but love and respect for you, li’l homie. So take it,” He once again extended the stack of bills.

  “A’ight, but I owe you,” East said before taking the money.

  “Real friends don’t count favors. That’s ho shit.”

  East nodded and gave Tez a pound. “Thanks.”

  “A’ight. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Ebony saw the Mercedes pull up and knew it was her son being dropped off. She never complained about all the time East spent at the gym. She knew as long as he was there, he would be out of the streets and out of trouble. She also understood that in order for him to grow into the man she wanted him to be, he had to be around strong men like Ricardo and Tez.

  Since being let go from her job, Ebony had spent most days sitting in the window watching all the people hanging out in front of the apartment building. She sat and studied them for hours at a time until she got to know them and their roles in the neighborhood. She had never paid much attention to what others were into, but by observing, she quickly learned who was who and what was what.

  “Hey, Ma,” East greeted upon entering the apartment. “You been sitting there since I left?” he asked. Ebony forged a halfhearted smile, but it didn’t fool him. He could see the sadness in her eyes and could tell she was stressed. He reached out his arms and pulled his mother into his tight embrace. He loved her more than life itself. She was his queen. He promised himself that one day he would make everything right in her world and give her everything she wanted in life.

  East’s loving embrace only made her feel worse. Ebony had lost her job and hadn’t been completely honest with her son about why. She had been caught forging the doctor’s signature in order to get pills to feed her dependence. Only by the grace of God and the kindness in the doctor’s heart, he hadn’t decided to involve the police. Instead, he terminated her employment. She hadn’t told anybody the truth, not even Angela.

  “I know you stressed out about your job, but everything is gonna be all right,” East said.

  “I hope so.” Ebony sounded so deflated.

  It hurt to hear and see his mother in such a depressed state. It seemed to be getting worse by the day. “I know so,” East replied, pulling the money Tez gave him out of his pocket.

  “Boy, give me that! What da hell you do to get all this money?” Ebony snatched it out of his hand.

  “Nothing,” East assured. “I won it in a boxing tournament.”

  “Why I’m just hearing about this tournament?” Ebony eyed him up and down.

  He shrugged his shoulders. “It wasn’t nothing planned. Just happened today at the gym,” he lied. Not to be deceitful, he didn’t want his mother to feel like she was accepting handouts. He knew she had too much pride for that.

  “How much is this?” she asked, beginning to count it.

  “It’s $2,500. That should be enough to take care of things until you get a new job,” East said proudly, filled with excitement.

  “No, baby, this is yours. You keep it.” She handed the money back to him.

  He pushed it away. “Nah, Ma, what’s mine is yours.”

  Ebony nodded slowly but didn’t reply. She couldn’t believe her eyes. East never ceased to amaze her. But as she finished counting the money, her mind was already in another place.

  “Ma, you okay?” East asked, noticing the change in her behavior. He had never seen a look like that before on her face.

  “Yeah, baby, I’m good. You hungry?” she asked, quickly pocketing her emotions in front of him.

  “No, I ate already. I’m just tired.”

  “OK, well, take a shower before you go to bed,” she instructed.

  “I know. I love you,” he replied, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek.

  That brought a smile back to Ebony’s face. She stared at her son. No matter how bad she felt on the inside, with just one look or one word, he could make her feel whole again. “I love you too.” Ebony watched him walk down the hallway into the bathroom and close the door.

  About an hour later, she found herself sitting alone on the couch with her cell phone in her hand. All kinds of thoughts were racing in and out of her confused mind. She felt ashamed. She couldn’t believe what she was about to do. A lone tear rested in the corner of her eye, waiting to fall at any second. The weight of guilt fell upon her, causing the tear she tried to suppress to roll down her cheek, followed by another and another. When she heard the sound of a car pulling up out front, she wiped away the tears and stood up from the couch. Ebony tightened her robe, making sure to cover the silk bra and panties she wore underneath. Hearing the car’s engine shut off, then the door open, she took a long, deep breath to calm her nerves. From the window, she could see a handsome man with milk chocolate skin get out and close the door. Ebony walked to the front door to meet him and opened it.

  “What’s up, beautiful?” he said, entering the apartment bringing with him a manly scent of Calvin Klein cologne.

  Ebony inhaled his scent as he passed, then closed the door behind him. She turned to face him with a big grin on her face. “Hey, Lance.”

  “Is your son asleep?” he as
ked respectfully looking toward the hallway that led to the bedrooms.

  “Yeah. He went to bed a little while ago,” she whispered.

  Lance reached into his jacket pocket, pulled out a bottle of prescription pills, and handed it to her. Ebony took it and slipped it into her robe. She took one of the $100 bills East had given her and placed it into the palm of Lance’s hand. She let her fingernails dance gently over his fingers as she pulled her hand from his.

  “Thank you,” she said sensually.

  “You know you can call me for whatever, whenever, right? It don’t have to be just for that,” Lance said smoothly like he had said the line a thousand times before. He licked his full lips and put his arms around her waist. His eyes lustfully scanned her entire body. He wanted her, this she knew.

  “I know, baby. But maybe some other time,” Ebony forced herself to say. Lance was still fine, she had to admit. They had fucked a few times, years ago, but nothing serious ever came from it. Ebony knew from then that Lance was the go-to man for the pills. He moved discreetly, so she didn’t worry about her business getting out in the street.

  Lance pulled her closer, kissing her on the neck, first softly, then more passionately. She tasted like French vanilla and honey. “You sure, ma?” he whispered between kisses.

  “Yeah. I just needed these until I get some more insurance—”

  Lance cut her off with a kiss on the lips. “I understand.” He continued kissing her. “I just want to taste your pussy.” He pulled at the tie on her robe, revealing the silk bra and panties underneath. His dick was swelling in his jeans.

  Ebony’s clit began to pulsate. The puddle forming in her panties had her ready to submit to his request. She wanted to lead him to the bedroom and sit her juicy vagina on his face. She could use the release, and Lance knew how to work his tongue.

  Hearing the sound of movement behind her, Ebony quickly turned to see East standing in the hallway. Still half-asleep, his head was cocked to the side like a confused puppy trying to understand what he was seeing.

  “Ma, you all right?” he asked.

  Ebony’s heart sank to her stomach. She felt so embarrassed, quickly snatching her robe closed. She raced over to him and hugged him tightly. “Yes, baby. I’m all right.” She looked back at Lance and swore she could see him blushing through his chocolate skin. His face was filled with awkwardness, and he was at a loss for words. “My friend just came to check on us, that’s all.”