Dallas looked down at her diamond tennis bracelet twinkling in the sunlight and then the same twinkle was in her eyes.
“I think you should meet my boyfriend.”
Moms
My worst fears were coming to fruition.
I wanted so bad for Tyce to just walk away from this whole stupid situation but I knew he wasn’t the type to run from a fight. If he was he wouldn’t have made it this far in life, he would have checked out a long time ago. I beat myself up over and over again about my decision to turn him over to the state. That had always been the number one regret in my life. I couldn’t change the past; all I could do was move forward into the future and try to be the mother he never had.
My love for him was immeasurable. It was as if I’d birthed him myself. It’s funny how the heart can love who it chooses to once it’s been touched in that special place…in that special way. The first night him and I spent together when he was just a newborn was the night our bond was sealed forever. That was a strong lasting bond that could not be broken by anyone or anything, and I would do whatever it took to keep my child above ground. Tyce would bury me; it would not be the other way around…not as long as I was still breathing.
Lying in bed now, staring at the blank pasty ceiling…I asked myself again and again.
“Should I tell him the truth?”
Family Meeting
Dominoes was the game of choice this evening as all three of us sat at the kitchen table sipping wine. Angelique and Dallas kept talking shit to me because they were beating me badly, little did they know, I was letting them win on purpose.
I held my dominoes in my hands while they stood theirs up, angling them so I couldn’t see what they had. I didn’t have the heart to tell them I already knew what they were going to play before they even laid it on the table. I just smiled at them both as they racked up the points and clinked their glasses together in celebration.
“Fifteen on yo ass!!” Angelique slammed her hand on the table. “You sure you know how to play?” She asked sarcastically.
“Ha ha, yeah I know the rules…but the game aint over yet chica.”
“It will be in a minute.” She drank the last of her wine.
“I need 25 to go and domino is on me!” Dallas chimed in.
“Yeah yeah yeah…you already told me that about 30 seconds ago.” I nodded in her direction.
“I’m jus’ sayin, you need to get ya mind right, cuz I may be playin’ a game but like Lil Wayne said…yeah I said game but I aint playin’ round this muthafucka!” She did a little dance in her chair.
Angelique and I both cracked up at Dallas’s attempt to mimic Lil Wayne’s southern accent.
“I didn’t know you liked Lil Wayne?” Angelique laid down a domino and looked across the table
at her.
“Hell yeah I like him, I like the way he raps, I think he’s very talented…but Drake, yeah, Drake can get it!”
“I heard that!” Angelique cosigned enthusiastically.
“Oh lord.” I rolled my eyes.
“Come on now, don’t act like you aint never fantasized about a famous woman before.” Angelique refilled her glass with wine.
I laid my domino on the table and leaned back in my chair balancing on two legs.
“What about Meagan Good or Nia Long, I know you fantasize about sleeping with them…don’t lie.” Dallas pointed her finger at me playfully.
I grinned slyly, “It wasn’t a fantasy…it was a memory.”
Their mouths dropped in shock and they stared at me then each other.
“Stop playin’ Tyce, you know you aint did no shit like that!” Dallas twisted her lips in disbelief.
“I never kiss and tell, you two should know that…by the way, that’s 20 points.” I pointed to the table.
After the game we were all relaxing in my bedroom when I turned the conversation in a more serious direction. I posted up against my headboard with my legs crossed and reached out to grab her hand.
“Angelique, I wanna to tell you wasup.”
She looked at me concerned, “Ok, wasup?”
Before the words could roll past my lips, Dallas interrupted me.
“Diego is tripping! He put a million dollar bounty out for Tyce!”
Angelique looked at Dallas with even more concern in her eyes. She laid down beside me and exhaled deeply.
“What are you gonna do?” She traced the design on my T-shirt with her fingertip.
“I’ma do what I do best…handle shit.”
Angelique’s expression changed to a look of confidence, “Jus’ let me know what to do.”
“Right now, both of you being here with me is helping more than you know.” I confessed as I exchanged glances with them.
“Well I say fuck him!” Dallas stretched out at the bottom of the bed. “Speakin’ of Diego, I ran into my cousin Khalil today and he told me a very interesting story.”
As Dallas filled me in on the latest news about her cousin and Armando, a light bulb began to flicker in my mind. The more I listened the brighter it became, however I couldn’t help but notice how quiet Angelique was. She didn’t say a single word as Dallas spoke, she just laid her head on my chest and listened.
Something was bothering her, but now wasn’t the time to bring that up.
Deadline
Armando took a deep breath before diving into the blue water. He was swimming laps in his pool; he did this every morning as his daily workout. The cool water helped to clear his head so he could think straight. Armando hadn’t completed his first lap when he saw his older brother step out onto his patio.
“Whut the fuck are yu duin swimming!”
Diego stood on the edge of the pool looking down at Armando angrily. His calm peach colored slacks and matching shirt did little to conceal his hot temper.
“What the fuck are you talking about now?”
“What the fuck am I talking about? Es that what yu ask me? Maybe I am talking about the fact that it es fucking Friday and Tyce’s head is not en my possession!”
Armando swam to the steps and got out the pool. He walked up Diego not bothering to dry off. He smoothed his hands over his jet-black hair and sniffed a little bit. There was short distance between the two men as they stood face to face.
“First of all, remember you are in my fucking house. Second of all, I’m getting sick of you riding me about this black bastard.”
Diego smiled at his younger brother and started clapping his hands together.
“It’s about time yu grew sum balls, I applaud yu. But understand thes, if yu do not kill hem soon…I will cut yur entire body frum head to toe with a razor blade and yu will take a nice little swim in an alcohol bath.”
Armando’s jaws clenched with anger as he resisted the urge to punch him in his fucking face. The only thing that stopped him from taking action and granting the wishes of his fists was the fact that he knew his brother was serious. The one person he feared in this world was Diego. That fear was well warranted, everybody feared him because he was vicious and brutal.
“Are you mad because he blew up your little billboard? Armando sneered.
“No I’m not mad at all…I have his attention now.” “Just explain to me why you’re so obsessed with him. I mean, we’ve killed niggers before but you never acted like this, what’s so different about this one?” Armando stepped back a little.
Diego cleared his throat, “Because he had the balls to steal frum me. He didn’t even bother tu leave town. He’s walking around spending my dinero in my fucking city! Yu know how that makes me look?”
Armando grabbed a towel off the ground and sat down in a chair.
“I get it, I get it, but can we please talk about business instead for a change? I called the bank today and we’re short six hundred thousand this month. The balance was supposed to be over six million but we haven’t got paid for all the drops yet, you need to be focused on that.”
“I tol yu befur, yu haf a lot tu learn Ar
mando; don’t yu see ef one person can steal frum me than sumone else will thenk they can tu.”
Diego walked over to Armando and handed him a business card.
Armando read the card aloud, “Pamela Adkins, your personal private eye.” He looked confused, “What the fuck is this for; I don’t need a private eye to find him.”
Diego smiled, “She’s not jus’ a private eye stupido…she’s his mother.”
Questions
Tyrese’s melodic voice crooned softly in the background as Ranae cleaned the messy living room after the day’s activities. The kids built a fort earlier in the evening using couch cushions and sheets. They’d stocked their make shift house with pretzels, kettle corn, and juice boxes, all of which were devoured an hour ago. After the junk food binge both of them were fast asleep with crumbs all over their mouths and Ranae had to scoop them up and carry them upstairs to bed. As usual these past few weeks Sway was not home to assist her with the kids; after dinner he told her he was going to the gym to check out a new boxer he might promote and would be home later. That wasn’t uncommon for him to do that, but, what was unlike him was not to call and check in or tell his children goodnight.
So like a good little wife she straightened up the house, put the food away, cleaned the kitchen and put on slow jams that expressed her mood as well as her growing discontent. Having money was supposed to make life easier she thought. Sway and her would comment all the time about how if they just had money everything would be perfect. Well, they had over a million dollars in a fire proof safe, they owned a successful daycare center, three automobiles, and the balance in her checking account was just shy of fifty four thousand dollars. Yet, here she was side by side with unhappiness because her soul mate, the man she vowed to be true to was fucking up!
“Why can’t men jus’ fuckin’ do right?” She asked herself out loud. “I mean, what’s so damn hard? They act like their dick is gonna fall off if they tell the truth! I’m not stupid, I know somethin’ is wrong with him, he doesn’t sleep, he barely eats, and now he’s rarely home!”
She stormed into the walk in closet of their bedroom and started separating the clothes. Random thoughts circled her mind, she heard her mother’s voice in her head saying, “When truth leaves, imagination takes over” that was so very true. All she could do was speculate and wonder what was up with her husband.
She continued the solo conversation, “Is he not attracted to me anymore? Does he have regrets about marrying me? Do my stretch marks and my slight pooch suddenly turn him off? What the fuck is going on?”
Little piles stacked up all around her as she organized the white’s and colored clothes for the laundry. Her hands were moving rapidly, snatching shirts and socks flinging them in different directions. Her increasing anger from this unsecure relationship fueled her body making her work at a fast pace. She snatched a pair of Sway’s slacks, threw them in the dry clean only pile, and felt something hit her bare foot. Her eyes averted to the ground where she saw the back of a card laying on her pretty brown toes. She reached down, picked the card up and read it out loud.
“The Ready Room…cum & play”
Ranae stared at the scarlet red card with black cursive letters. She looked for an address but all she saw was a phone number.
“310 547-8964”
She tucked the card inside her sports bra and shook her head slowly from side to side. The dirty clothes became a memory as she headed down stairs to the kitchen. The bottom of her feet hit the cool tile on her way to the refrigerator. Ranae opened the door with more force than necessary seized the tequila bottle and slammed the door shut. She didn’t bother to search for a shot glass; choosing to drink straight from the bottle instead. The golden liquid flowed down her throat and into her stomach, setting her chest on fire on its way down. Pulling the card out again she eyed it carefully.
“310-547-8964.” Again, she read it out loud as she stood in her gourmet kitchen drinking tequila…by herself.
Tyrese attempted to calm her down with his smooth voice, but even when he hit the high notes, he failed to lift her spirits, stop her eyes from tearing up and her hands from trembling uncontrollably.
Tell Me Your Story
Tyce and Sway walked into the park just as the sun was setting in the sky. The evening was warm and children were squeezing the last little bit of playing time in before it got dark. Taking a seat away from the playground on a stone bench, they scanned the park for someone that resembled the description Dallas gave of her cousin Khalil.
They spotted a man coming towards them with that classic limp style walk and assumed he was the dude they came to meet. Tyce dusted off his limited edition Jordan’s and pulled out a pack of Djarums from the front pocket of his jeans. He looked like he was waiting on a blind date. A powder blue V-neck shirt, light blue jeans, and matching J’s completed the outfit. All the proper accessories; platinum watch, diamond earrings, platinum bracelet were on display adding sparkle to the casual outfit. His skin was a shade darker from the hot California sun and glowed from a fresh coat of lotion. Sway was equally dapper; sporting jeans and a cream sleeveless sweater. Everything seemed kosher on him except for his reddish eyes and overly laid back demeanor.
“I think that’s him.” Tyce lit his cigarette while nodding in the stranger’s direction.
“Yeah, he looks like the dude; Dallas said he was dark right?”
“Yeah, with dimples.” Tyce blew smoke out as he answered.
Seconds later Khalil walked up looking nervous.
“Wasup fellas? Which one of ya’ll is Tyce?”
“Guilty.” Tyce nodded his head.
“Alright, I’m Khalil.” He extended his hand for the customary hood handshake; first to Tyce followed by Sway.
“Have a seat man, this is my partner Sway.”
“Wasup nigga?” Khalil nodded.
Tyce took another drag from his cigarette and flicked the ashes in the tall green grass. He looked Khalil up and down, checking out his body language. The last thing he did was look him in his eyes; he did this to read him, to gauge his manhood. When the new comer didn’t flinch but returned the stare down, Tyce proceeded with the meeting.
“So Dallas thinks we have somethin’ in common.” “Yeah, my cousin said I should meet you, she wouldn’t say that shit if she didn’t think so.” Khalil took his phone out and turned it off.
That was another impressive move on his part. He was becoming more and more likable by the minute. Tyce could appreciate a man that gave his full attention to important situations.
Sway got in the conversation. “Alright, so fill us in.” Tyce relaxed a little on the bench and listened as Khalil laid out what happened between him, Armando, and Silk. At times in his story, he appeared agitated while other times he expressed sadness. Tyce could relate to how he felt about losing his friend in such a way. It wasn’t like he was there with him and could have done something to stop it, Silk died alone without his best friend to help him. The pain of that type of shit was still with Tyce, it had only been a few months since Lil Flash was murdered and the grief was still fresh in his soul. As Khalil wrapped up his tale, Tyce shook his head in sympathy.
“Damn man, that shit was fucked up, he killed him cuz you was ten minutes late?”
“Yeah.” Khalil simply responded.
Khalil suddenly jumped up, “Wait a minute, you that nigga from the billboard!”
Sway looked at him squarely, “What billboard?” “Yeah, that shit is gone now.” Khalil chuckled. “I aint got no beef with you, I jus’ recognized you that’s all, I’ve been racking my brain tryna place where I seen your face and now I know it’s from the fuckin’ sign. I see why Dallas wanted us to meet…we got common enemies.”
Tyce smiled, “Not for long.” He looked up at Khalil, “What bank were you at when you deposited the money?”
“First National…why?”
Tyce turned to Sway and smiled that wicked grin of his. Once again the wheels started turning in
his head.
“Alright Khalil, how you feel about gettin’ all your money back plus a lil extra?”
“What the fuck you mean how I feel about that? I feel fuckin’ great about that!”
Tyce laughed a little, “I thought you would, you got that receipt for the deposit?”
“Yeah I got it.”
“Alright get that to me as soon as you can, I also need that cell phone number for Armando.”
Tyce was all set to part ways for the time being but Khalil had one more thing he wanted to share.
“Ay Tyce, I make it point to know who I’m dealing with and I wouldn’t be fuckin’ with you if your rep was shaky. I never met you until now but I heard good shit about you. How long you been in the dope game?”
TYCE II Page 7