I watched as everyone waited for my reaction, Ke-Ke and Karen didn’t know what to expect and finally I cracked a smile. They all reacted the same and then rushed over to hug me at the same time.
We all laughed, cried and were so involved in missing each other that the moment became overly emotional. It all felt right though, we picked right up where we left off.
When we returned from the back room and re-entered the hall area, I saw Tony looking at us curiously. I could tell he was wondering where the fuck Ke-Ke and Karen came out the cut from. He often reminded me over the years how happy he was that I cut off my "hoodrat" friends.
I made my way over to him and before he could ask me anything I told him that I would explain later. Ke-Ke and Karen both waved at Tony but he just looked at them like they had four heads. He couldn’t stand them.
The DJ started playing the Gucci Mane track "She's A Very Freaky Girl" and Tony bobbed his head putting his hands up.
"This is my shit," he said.
Ke-Ke, Karen and Renee roamed off to dance with some of Trè’s friends and I grooved with Tony. He loved Gucci Mane, that's mostly what he played in his car. Gucci Mane and UGK. And when Pimp C died, it was like Tony lost a family member, he was pissed. But he loved any rapper that rapped about hustling because that's all he's ever known.
The night ended up being a success. There was no violence just a peaceful celebration.
Tony was to the meat! He was staggering around from having too many shots of Patròn so he had his friend Cat drive his Beamer. I was straight enough to drive my whip plus I had no choice. Ke-Ke and Karen got dropped off by someone and had no way of getting back home. I wondered how they would have gotten home if I hadn't accepted their little peace treaty but it was just like them to gamble on some shit like that. Not only that but when we got in the car, Ke-Ke told me she lived further away from the hood then I did. She moved to Fall River with her new boyfriend so I would have to go out of my way to drop her ass off. It was cool though, we all needed this time in the car to catch up on things.
Chapter Twelve – Can’t Be Trusted
I pulled out of my parking spot and headed toward Washington Street to drop Karen off first.
“Now y’all know I’m gonna put y’all on the spot right?” I looked in my rearview mirror at Ke-Ke and Karen while driving. Renee secured her position in the passenger seat and she was a little more than tipsy.
“So, when did y’all squash the beef?” I finally asked.
They both started speaking at the same time and then Karen sat back and let Ke-Ke say her part first.
“Well first of all, you might as well say we squashed it tonight. Renee hit me up telling me where you were throwing Sharod’s bash at and she told me that she was also calling Karen and I was like fuck it, it’s cool, that bullshit we went through is old.”
Karen cut her off, “Same thing I said, when Renee called me and said that we would all be there together, I told her that it was cool and I wouldn’t disrespect Sharod’s party anyway. Plus I felt bad for not being there for you through the years, I let you have your space but it’s time I came to support my girl.”
“Are you serious, y’all hadn’t spoken before tonight?” I asked.
I was shocked to know that this was the first time they’d seen each other. We were all so comfortable with each other, it was as if we’d never lost touch. You would have never had guessed that they hadn’t squashed their beef before then. But it goes to show that some friends can keep an unbreakable bond even if there were past problems.
“Plus we were young back then. I ain’t gonna front though, I caught feelings for Shawn that’s why it fucked me up.” Ke-Ke spoke whole heartedly.
As she spoke, she starting to think deeper into the situation and was now looking at Karen while venting. “Yeah I know I always told y’all that I had no feelings for none of the dudes I was messing with at the time, but Karen, you and everyone else knew how I felt about Shawn and that shit hurt when you backstabbed me, straight up.”
Karen took in each word and then surprised us all. “You got that, I was in the wrong for what I did and I apologize.”
“Hold the fuck up!” I said pretending to have a heart attack. “Did I just hear the Queen bitch apologize to someone? Renee you hear this?” I asked sarcastically.
Renee peeked back at Karen from the passenger seat and we all started laughing. Ke-Ke and Karen then hugged in the backseat and it felt good to see it.
Although their situation was grimy, I was glad that they came to terms of squashing it, even more, I was the mediator and didn’t even know it so we truly needed each other, no matter how old we got. Shawn wasn’t shit anyway; he was not worth their friendship.
When they finished hugging, they wiped a few tears and then began joking about the situation.
“Shit, he gave us crabs anyway, it wasn’t even worth it,” Karen said.
“Giiirl, I was so mad at him for that, I had them little muthafuckas crawling around my toilet seat and I didn’t know what the fuck was going on.” Ke-Ke’s crazy ass blurted out demonstrating with her fingers.
“Ughhhhh!!” Renee and I shouted like we felt the crabs crawling on our skin.
“We don’t wanna hear about y’all’s STD situations, but I’ll tell you this much, Shawn is still the same,” I said.
“Oh I’m sure he is.” Ke-Ke agreed. “That’s why I stay sucka free, no more niggas like Shawn would get near me. But this new dude I’m with, his name is Jerry.”
“Wait a minute, you settled down my nigga?” Renee’s drunk ass asked curiously.
“I didn’t say all that Renee.” Ke-Ke said chuckling, “But Jerry is nice, he treats me right and I really can’t complain about him except for he don’t got money like that. When I first got with him, he was doing his thing out here; he made money for real, for real. He caught a case and ever since he’s been on probation he had to get a job and it just ain’t working for me man. I can’t be with no broke dude. He don’t have no skills so the punk ass job that he has ain’t doing shit. I can do bad by myself.”
“So why you with him if you ain’t happy? You got any kids by him?” I asked. Judging from her gut, I figured she had at least one or two seeds.
“Hell no I don’t have no kids by him? But where else am I going to go? I moved in with him in Fall River and I guess you can say I’m comfortable but I’m not happy though.”
“Same with me,” Karen exclaimed. “I don’t have a man right now because it’s hard. Every dude I meet got some shit with him, either he has kids and baby mama drama, no job, he’s a cornball or he’s too cocky or too broke. I’m picky when it comes to niggas. Why can’t I meet a thugged out doctor or lawyer? All the educated dudes are usually cornballs and I couldn’t see myself with no house nigga. I need a dude to tell me to shut the fuck up sometimes, I can’t have no dude asking if he can watch Lifetime with me. I want a nigga that rocks a business suit during the day and then changes into his Timbs y’all feel me?”
"Hell Yeah." Ke-Ke screamed out first.
We all agreed with Karen on that last note. I also started thinking about Tony because Karen’s ideal man was who I used to have at home. I loved the fact that Tony had a real job and left the street life alone when he had opened up the Mortgage Company, I used to feel so lucky. It was very rare finding a dude with a real job, a real job that made money for that matter from the hood. It was farfetched and security was a factor that every chick from the hood tried to secure. And if we didn’t find it, most chicks just settled and would end up with a low life dead beat or just plain unhappy like Ke-Ke, I loved her to death but she was still the same, just older. In other words Ke-Ke was a grown up hoodrat. She told us how she had a few abortions by Jerry and her ass had the nerve to wait until she was four months pregnant to do it. So I guess that explained her gut, after all them abortions, the bulge just never left.
I could still see and hear the bitchiness in Karen but something in her had changed. Fo
r some reason I got the impression that she wanted to better herself by the vibe she was giving off and I was usually pretty good at reading people.
“What about you T, I see you doing big things, this fly ass car and that big ass rock on your finger, you always had your head on right though. But when’s the wedding?”
“Yeah!” Karen shouted waiting for the answer along with Ke-Ke.
I gave them chick’s a look in the rear view mirror. “When he learns how to keep his dick in his pants, then maybe, MAYBE I’ll think about marrying his ass.”
I stopped myself in my own tracks. I had got ahead of myself and suddenly I regretted confessing my business to my girls. We had a bit more catching up to do for me to be spilling out my personal life like that. I never knew who really had good intentions in mind for me. Either way, I had to game face my old friends first.
“What! Tony’s stepping out on you T? Oh hell no, he done lost his mind, he got a good chick! Let me find out I have to bring it to Tony.” Ke-Ke shouted.
“Shit, that’s why I won’t be faithful to no nigga. For what? So you can put your heart and soul into one man and let him have you thinking you’re the Queen of the world until you find out that your man has about three or four other hoes thinking that they are the Queen of the world too. Fuck that, it’s money over niggas for me.” Ke-Ke said.
“That’s some spicy shit you just kicked there my nigga,” Karen said dapping Ke-Ke up agreeing with her to the fullest. Renee’s drunk ass looked back agreeing as well.
“Y’all hoes are crazy,” I said.
“Please T, I know all kinds of niggas be out here trying to holla at you, he better wise up. And I know how you are too, you’re probably out here shutting them all down and being faithful,” Ke-Ke said.
I laughed. “Girl you got me down packed. But what I look like hollering at other dudes if we are still together? I don’t get why some girls think that way. It’s like you get mad at the nigga for dogging you and sleeping with Keisha, Monique and Suzy, but then you’re out there sleeping with Joe, Bob and Rick too; so why get mad at him? It’s contradicting. I don’t even have it in me to step out of the relationship and sell my soul because of his mistakes. He cheated, not me, so why should I belittle myself and cheat on him? I would just leave him if I wanted someone else.
“That’s what niggas need to do instead of cheating on chicks, just don’t get in a relationship. Let her know like yo, I don’t want to be in a relationship and yes I’m doing other broads on the side so that it would be up to that chick if she wants to settle for a dude that’s out here dick hopping or not. I would respect an honest dude rather than a dude that keeps cheating and then lying about it. If I would have known from the beginning that I would go through all of this bullshit I’m going through, I would have been a single chick.” I ended.
“Come on now though T, what dude you know that will say that?” Karen asked and everyone else agreed with her.
“Oh trust me y’all, some dudes are honest from jump and tells the chick that they rather be friends and don’t want to settle down, but like I said, I don’t condone it, but at least they let the chick know that it’s her choice to be stupid enough to keep fucking him without the title or leaving him be.”
I kinda felt that I may have been offending all three of my homegirls in the car but I had to keep it real. I wasn’t for all that sneaking around bullshit; it was nothing cute about it to me. I also wasn’t passing judgment on any of them, they were their own woman and could do as they pleased; I just always tried to set high standards for myself. Plus I wanted stability in my life. My past was too staggered to continue on this path. I needed something rock solid, a foundation that would keep me sane and keep me focused or else I would be a lost cause. Plus I had a daughter and it would be improper to let her see me with daddy and then the next man and the next man, HELL no!
I kept driving toward Karen’s spot. She’d moved in with her Aunt in the South End in the Cathedral projects. She said her mom felt like she was too old to be home and that she was done raising children and told Karen that she had to go so that she could have her own life with her boyfriend. Her mom always has been grimy. She and Karen used to bump heads so much when we were younger. Her mom was the true bitch and Karen inherited her traits. And I’m not saying that to be disrespectful, her mom was off the hook, she would call Karen bitches and sluts for no reason; it was crazy. But I was happy that she didn’t live at the old spot anyway because we were neighbors in the same building where I lived with my mom and brothers. I swear I tried to avoid that building and it’s memories as much as possible. But I did wanna know what was happening in the streets.
“So what’s been poppin’ in the hood lately?” I asked feeling out of touch. I knew that Ke-Ke and Karen kept their ears to the street, it was in their nature, plus they were nosy.
“Oh I got a lot to update y’all on.” Ke-Ke said smirking through her screw face like she was about to tell us some good gossip.
"Word, put us on,” I said.
“Okay first, y’all remember that dude Jason? You know that nigga you used to do scams and shit with T, the dude that used to be in love with you, but you always dissed him?”
“Yeah I remember him,” I said.
“Well I seen that nigga recently and he was walking with a strut meaner than mine. He was in Macy's downtown shopping and walking around all dramatically like he was trying to rip the run way.”
We all started cracking the fuck up.
“Yeah right Ke-Ke.” I said in disbelief.
“Girl if I’m lying I’m flying, y’all know I mean mugged him and didn’t want his fruity ass to come nowhere near me, he looked a hot a mess. He even had on lipstick and eyeliner. You know he don’t show his face in the hood no more cause niggas would stomp the shit outta him.”
It was so weird to hear that a dude from the hood had switched and went the other way. I didn’t know too many gay dudes, especially from the hood, it was rare and that shit shocked all of us. Also to hear that it was Jason was even more shocking. He tried to take advantage of me when I was younger and I never told anyone. Guess his way of staying in the closet back then was trying to rape chicks, but damn he’s gay now, it’s still unbelievable.
“Yooooo, speaking of that, y’all ain’t’ gonna believe what I heard,” Karen said after our laughter calmed down.
“What!” We all asked as a trio rushing Karen along.
“Guess who I heard is a straight dike now?”
“Who!” Renee’s drunk ass shouted.
“A’ight y’all ready for this?”
“Yeah we ready bitch, who?” Renee asked again.
“Shavon!” Karen jumped out of her seat when she let the name out and we all screamed.
I just couldn’t believe it. Shavon was a part of our crew growing up; she was one of the top chicks knocking bitches out whenever we had problems. Then she just disappeared when she got a little bit of change in her pockets and acted like we never had her back out here. She left us all hanging and moved away and never contacted us again.
“Yup, I heard that she’s gay.” Karen smirked.
“Yo that’s crazy, I can’t even picture that, I mean she always carried herself like a dude because she was always fighting but she was always into big funny looking niggas, I wonder what changed her.” I pictured Shavon in my head and memories appeared when we were all tight back in the day, she was my homey and I actually started to miss her while thinking about her.
“Damn let me find out that Shavon is a carpet muncher,” I said.
Everyone started laughing and holding their bellies.
I pulled up to the curb on the side of the Cathedral projects to let Karen out and before she got out, she looked back puzzled.
“Yo, what is a carpet muncher anyway?”
Everyone laughed at Karen being naïve but she had a straight face and really wanted the answer.
“A’ight, put it like this,” I started. “Get in the sho
wer, look down and then let Ke-Ke come in there and munch on your carpet.”
We all started rolling and Karen got out the car calling me crazy, but she now knew what the definition meant.
“A’ight T, I’ll call you, I got your number from Renee, y’all be safe.”
“A’ight, bye Karen.” We all blurted out before pulling off.
My next stop was Renee’s spot. We continued to catch up with each other in the car.
“So T, how long was Tony locked up and when did he get out?” Ke-Ke asked.
“Tony was locked up for three years and he's been out for two.”
“So you kept your shit tight for three years?” she asked.
“You know I did.” I said.
“You’re my fuckin’ hero,” Ke-Ke said tapping my shoulder.
A Hood Chick's Story pt. 2 Page 13