by Teri Woods
“Yo, Qua. Man, it’s me, Rik.”
“Oh. What up?”
“Damn, my brother havin’ problems today?”
“Yeah, Cherelle. She is fucking with me again. She got the phone number somehow.”
“How did she get the number?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know what to do.”
“Now, you just calm down, partner. You’ll be all right.”
“What am I gonna do, Rik?”
“Get a motherfucking blood test. You the only one who thinks the baby is yours.”
Qua hadn’t heard Gena return. “Quadir, I’m gonna take a shower, want to come?”
“No, baby, I’m on the phone.”
“Who’s that? Gena?” Rik asked.
“Who else is going to be up in my house?” asked Qua.
Rik started laughing at him. “All these ho’s runnin’ around talking about it’s Qua’s baby, shit, you might got Virgin Mary up in that motherfucker. How the fuck am I supposed to know?”
Gena was still trying to entice Qua. “Okay, if you don’t wanna shower with me, you’re gonna miss out,” she said, dropping her robe in front of him on the way to the bathroom.
When she was gone, he turned back to the phone. “Rik, I asked Gena to marry me.”
“What, Qua? You getting married, man?”
“Yeah. I’m gonna have a big wedding.”
“Well, what’s up? I’m waiting.”
“Oh, yeah, and I want you to be my best man.”
“That’s because you know I am the best nigga out here.”
“You gonna be my best man or what?”
“Oh, nigga, stop bitchin’. You know I got your back. However, there is a problem.”
“What?”
“You selling keys for five thousand is the motherfucking problem, man.”
“I’m not selling them for no five. I’m selling them for 10.”
“What’s the fucking difference. How is you playin’ with this ten shit.”
“Look, me and Gena are about to go to Atlantic City. When I get back I’m gonna come and see you. I got something for you.”
“When are you coming back?”
“I’ll be back later on tonight and then we’ll talk.”
“Pick me and Lita up some Gucci sneakers while you down there.”
They gave each other the salaams and hung up the phone.
While Quadir and Gena were walking on the Atlantic City boardwalk waiting for their dinner reservation, the Junior Mafia was having a meeting in the southwest part of the city. Jerrell was pacing a trail in his peach carpet, talking on the phone.
“I don’t understand why no one is buying weight! And no one knows why?” he asked as he stared around the room using his eyes to demand an explanation.
Finally, someone spoke up. “No one is buying. For the past three days, no one has called or needed anything, or nothing.”
“Khyree, I figured that out since none of ya’ll motherfuckers got my money.”
Jordan looked at Jerrell. “No one is buying weight.”
Jerrell looked at all of them as if they were thieves. “Well,” he finally asked, “who owes us money?”
“No one from this end owes anything,” said Khyree.
“The caps are moving, but the bricks are just sitting there,” said Mont.
“Well, do something about it!” Jerrell shouted.
“What do we do?” said Khyree.
“Figure it the fuck out. Somebody got it. They’re getting coke from somewhere. It’s not like motherfuckers stopped getting high,” said Jerrell.
Ran arrived, gave and received acknowledgment of his presence as Jerrell continued.
“Ran, where the fuck is Reece and Derrick?” Jerrell did not like anyone to miss his shareholders meetings. He felt it was important. It brought everyone in the Junior Mafia together. The meetings were short but informative, or at least Jerrell thought so. After everyone left, Jerrell paged Reece, then Derrick. He was really starting to worry, not so much about them, but about the five bricks and three million dollars they were carrying. A few minutes of pacing, with Ran right behind him, Jerrell spoke again. “You know, I really don’t like this shit. Somebody that gets rid of ten kilos every day ain’t moved a motherfucking thing all week.”
“Who?”
“Khyree,” he said, walking out of the room.
Ran, following, asked, “Well, why not?”
“I don’t know.”
Mark picked up the ringing phone. “Yo, man, where you at?”
It was Skip. “I’m at the hospital. You not gonna believe this shit. The cops just brought Reece and Derrick here. I saw them pull them from the back of a fucking paddy wagon. The cops are everywhere. I got to get out of this lobby and get back in the room with my girl.”
“Yo, Skip, hold up. Jerrell wants you.”
Taking the phone, Jerrell inquired of Skip, “What the fuck is going on?”
“The cops just brought Derrick and Reece in here. Man, get somebody down here. My girl just went into delivery. I’m saying, it fucked me up, Ock. I don’t think Reece is gonna make it. Call Reece’s girl and get her ass down here. I got to go.”
The news spread through the city like wildfire. Jerrell’s right-hand man, Reece, was dead. Derrick was listed in critical condition, however, and would be arrested upon his recovery. Reece and Derrick led a high-speed chase through the city, fatally shot a police officer, and wounded another. They got away, then crashed into a wall on Lincoln Drive. The police did not call for an ambulance; they just threw the bodies in the back of a paddy wagon, hoping they would die. The Volvo they were driving was taken into custody. The police reportedly found two guns, five kilos of cocaine, and one million dollars.
TONIGHT’S THE NIGHT
Things changed, and they changed real fast. Quadir met with Rik and decided to hand him the rest of his cocaine supply in exchange for a quarter of a million dollars. He arranged for Reds and Rasun to do business directly with Rik. Amar and the other brothers he dealt with were free to do as they pleased; but Rik’s price was better than Quadir’s, so the money stayed in the family.
Then there was Gena, who was becoming unbearable to deal with. She knew something was going on, but she didn’t know what it was. Quadir wondered if the gossip about Cherelle having his daughter was in the street. He figured it was—that was why she asked him. She came right out one night after dinner and asked whether he had a daughter by the girl, and he told her no. That was all she wanted to hear and left it alone. Why hadn’t he said yes? He wished he could have freed his conscience. Instead he went out and bought her a baby-blue Mercedes-Benz 300 CE with a license plate tag that read “MY CE.”
Cherelle, on the other hand, continued to dare him. Fuck me, suck me, and give me loot or if you don’t I’m gonna tell. Quadir was tired of dealing with her. He knew he could not take much more. He was gonna tell Gena. The only problem was what Gena would do.
The worst thing he did was get Gena the car. She didn’t know how to act now, gone all the time. He had to get her a pager shortly thereafter, just to keep up. Every time he paged her, she was at the mall or on her car phone—never home.
“Hey, baby. What are you doing?”
“Oh, nothing, shopping. Meet me at the party ’cause I’m not coming home to get dressed. Got to go. Quadir, I need another cellular battery.”
And with that Gena was out spending drug money, keeping the economy alive. Nine thousand here, another eight thousand there. She just shopped. Anything that was more than ten thousand had to have Quadir’s approval and his credit card, but don’t think it could not be obtained. Gena picked up both Lita and Tracey and headed to Black’s party. She had already told Quadir to catch a ride with Rik so she could hang with the girls.
Lita couldn’t get over the ten-karat diamond engagement ring. Quadir had really outdone himself. Tyrik told her it was ten but hearing about it and actually seeing it was two different things. She herself
had a four-karat diamond, and once Rik told her about Gena’s ring, Lita told him to upgrade her shit and make it snappy.
“Do you see all this attention we are getting just from this car?” asked Tracey.
“No, do you see these motherfuckers staring with no understanding?” asked Lita.
“Mmm, hmm.” Gena already knew and understood the attention her man got in the street. What she didn’t understand was why he lied about it and kept her in the dark.
“Quadir is so good to you. I hope I find a man that buys me shit like this,” whined Tracey.
“This is Quadir’s conscience. He feels sorry. He knows he’s fucked up and that it’s only a matter of time. He buys me shit to make himself feel better. That’s why he went out and got this car, to try to make up for some shit he can’t even confess.”
“Make what up?” asked Tracey.
“Cherelle and her baby.”
“When did you find out?” asked Lita,
“I found out four days ago. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Bitch, Rik was gonna kill me. I got a home too. Don’t think I didn’t want to tell you, and I was going to. It’s just that if you and Quadir broke up because of something I said, Tyrik and Quadir would blame me. Besides Gena, did that motherfucker get you ten karats, or what? Did he ask you to marry him? Please. Fuck Cherelle and her baby. That nigga don’t want that broke bitch. Rik said the bitch ain’t nothin’ but a whore and Quadir can’t stand her. Rik fucked her too. Don’t feel bad. Mmm, hmm, Rik said they both fucked her. I think they did the jawn together.”
Gena just looked at Lita. She hated the way she knew everything and could just hold it inside. Gena’s motto was “Tell me, ’cause I’m telling it all.” In Gena’s mind, the fact that Quadir would not tell her could only mean that he was still fucking with Cherelle. Gena was scared of losing him, the house, ring, Mercedes-Benz, and all. A baby was a bond, and Gena didn’t have that with him. She was jealous. What ifs popped through her mind. Quadir telling her he was leaving her. Gena couldn’t take that. She would probably faint or beg him not to leave. She didn’t want him to be with Cherelle, and she didn’t want Cherelle to have any money either, but she knew Cherelle existed before her. And Cherelle had a baby.
The other side said fuck it. He wants the bitch, then he can have the bitch. That was tough because not only would she give up her man, but also her lifestyle. Gena wasn’t about to lose Quadir. She would fight for him to the end. Wasn’t no way she was gonna give up all the shit that made her life happy. He was hers. He’d asked her to marry him.
“Quadir had a baby with someone else?” asked Tracey.
“Who do you think we are talking about?” asked Gena.
“Quadir got a baby by Cherelle?”
For some reason, Tracey kept asking the question over and over.
“That little tramp had the nerve to name it Quanda,” Gena seethed. “Quadir must be out of his mind or just stupid if he thinks I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”
“I seen her too, the other day. She did have a baby with her,” said Tracey.
“Did you see it?” asked Gena.
“No, I didn’t see the baby. I wonder do it look like him,” said Tracey, passing the spliff to Lita.
“Shit, it ought to look like him as much money as he gives the bitch.”
“Damn, look at all those people waiting to get in!” They had reached the club and smoothly pulled up to the entrance to take a look.
“Well, you know everybody was going to come out to Black’s party. You know how it is.”
“I hope we can get in,” said Tracey.
“We will,” said Gena parking the car.
The girls turned the corner and walked down the street. People were everywhere. “Is this the club Sahirah was at?” asked Gena.
“No, she was at Chances,” responded Lita.
“Rasun,” Gena called out his name, spotting him walking down the street with Reds. “What’s up?”
“Nothing, baby. Just came to do my thang, you know what I’m saying? I’m trying to meet one of your girlfriends. What’s up with that?”
“Here, meet Tracey.”
“Damn baby, you looking mighty good tonight.”
“Where’s Quadir?” asked Gena, seeing that Tracey didn’t seem interested.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen him.”
“Him and Rik are probably inside,” said Lita.
“Come on,” he said as he ushered everyone to the door. He told the bouncer, “They wit me, boss,” who stood aside, admitting them without hesitation. Once inside, Rasun asked the women, “You all right now?”
“Yeah, where you going?”
“I’m gonna mingle and jingle,” he said, looking at Tracey as if she didn’t know what she was missing.
Gena and Lita went looking for Quadir and Rik while Tracey talked to some guy she knew from junior high.
Gena led the way through the crowd, bumping into someone who she knew every step of the way. “Damn, everybody in here or what?”
“Yeah. It looks like the crew is in the house,” said Lita.
“Hey, Gena baby,” said Quinny Day, giving her a hug. “Hey, Lita baby,” he said, doing the same thing to her. “Goodness gracious, the Lord has truly blessed us all when he put y’all on the face of the earth. God bless America!”
“Quinny Day, what’s up?” asked Lita.
“Nothing, baby. Just kicking it.”
“You seen Quadir and Rik?”
“Yeah, they’re downstairs all the way in the back at a table. Gena, do Qua know you’re dressed like that?”
“Like what?” she said, looking down at herself.
“You’re gonna hurt something, baby. You’re definitely out to hurt something up in this motherfucker, and I got to get away from you, ’cause it’s not gonna be me.”
“Quinny Day, shut up!” she told him as she moved toward the stairs to go find Qua.
Everybody was in the house. Amin was sitting in a corner with a couple of bottles of champagne on his table, surrounded by at least five girls.
“Damn,” said Lita, “You see how he’s playing?”
“I see how Quadir’s playing,” said Gena, noting that Qua was talking to some girl. “Who’s that?” she asked Lita.
“I don’t know, but whoever it is, don’t you start nothing in here tonight, you hear?”
Qua looked up, sensing Gena, and noticed that she didn’t look too happy.
“Rik,” he said nudging his friend. Rik spotted the girls and he turned to Black and started talking. Qua was getting frustrated with Cherelle. It was the same old thing.
“I’m your baby’s mother and you don’t do shit for me or your baby. I need some money.”
“Look, I’ll call you,” Quadir said, walking away from her and heading for Gena.
“Who’s that?” she asked, looking at Cherelle standing behind Quadir. Quadir had no idea the girl was right behind him. Where is Tyrik? Why doesn’t someone usher her away? Why does Gena look like that?” thought Quadir feeling extremely uncomfortable as Gena stared at him and Cherelle.
“Gena, this is Cherelle. Cherelle, this is my wife.”
“I’m his daughter’s mother,” said Cherelle, correcting Quadir.
“Oh, shit,” said Lita. “Rik, go break it up before something gets started.”
“Bitch, everywhere I am, you want to be. I know who you are. Quadir told me all about you.”
“Whatever,” said Cherelle, throwing her hand like Gena didn’t know what she was talking about.
“So, what you want? He don’t got nothing for you. How many times the motherfucker told you to stop calling our house?” Then Gena punched Cherelle in the face, grabbing her hair with her left and throwing nothing but rights. By the time Quadir and Rik stepped in, Gena had handled her business. Even after they had separated the shit and the music had stopped, you could still hear Gena, “Bitch, please. You one of them motherfuckers that need their ass whoo
ped every day. Fuck with Quadir if you want to, bitch, and see what the fuck happens.” All said in one breath ready to throw down again over the bullshit.
As the music returned and Cherelle was escorted away as usual, Quadir went to explain. The problem was that Gena didn’t care. She would beat up Cherelle every day if she had to. Quadir knew he should have told her. Not only did he not tell her; he lied about the girl and the baby.
Quadir led her to the table and fixed her hair, poured her some champagne while attempting to explain. “I send the paper to her through Rasun. Don’t think I deal with her, Gena. I can’t stand the girl,” he said shaking his head trying to figure out why Gena had to bring her Richard Allen bullshit to Black’s party. He knew that shit was gonna happen sooner or later, though, and he was so glad Gena beat her up, he didn’t know what to do. Cherelle made him sick, always taxing him. And wouldn’t even let him see the little baby half the time.
“Quadir, I don’t care. I can handle the truth. I can’t handle lies. You put me on the spot. I should be able to handle a situation because you hipped me to it, not because I heard the shit through the grapevine. Ask you, and don’t know what to believe. I can’t believe you left me in the dark like that. I’m really mad at you. You should have gotten me a Rolls Royce for this shit. It would’ve gotten you out of the dog house a lot sooner than a CE.”
“Gena,” said Bridgette, walking over to the scene, “I’m so glad you didn’t tear this motherfucker up.”
“I don’t know what ya’ll gonna do with her simple ass,” said Rik shaking his head.
“Put the bitch in the river,” said Black.
“I tried to tell him,” said Rik.
“Well, I’ll be at Saks tomorrow getting over all this,” Gena said, kissing him so that everybody would see that they were happy and nothing had changed.
Black wanted Rik and Quadir to come with him to the bar. It was too many girls crowding Lita and Gena. The guys understood. Everyone would be talking about that ass whoopin’ for days to come.
Before he got up to go with his friends, Gena leaned over and whispered in Quadir’s ear, “Is there anything else I should know about?” she asked calmly.
There’s so much stuff you should know about, I wouldn’t know where to begin, he thought to himself.