Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss.

by Diana Hoffman

  "Um, a-a while back, I..." Victoria said as her voice cracked. Keep it together, keep it together. "I accepted an arrangement with Nic. My fa-father owed him seventy thousand dollars for a failed business, but he couldn't pay it. So I..." the tears were already starting to brim to the surface, and her words were being cut off by her short breaths. Saying what she had done out loud was so much harder. Victoria quickly brushed a tear away before it fell. "I chose to stay a week with Nic to pay for the debt so he wouldn't hurt my family," she whispered, while two tears rolled down her cheeks. Victoria wiped them away as Paul came around to the front of the desk and handed her a tissue.

  She wanted to thank him for the tissue, but she was afraid if she spoke at that moment, the floodgates of tears would open.

  After a few moments of staring at her, Paul asked, "But now you're paying him the money anyway?"

  Victoria swallowed several times before she could answer. "I—I can't do this anymore," she whispered, as more tears filled the brims of her eyelids. She blotted them with the tissue and squeezed the paper into a ball in her hand. How embarrassing to have to admit this to a man like Paul. Some lowlife, it wouldn't hurt so much. But for some reason, she didn't want Paul to think horrible things about her character. She really was a good person...even if she had lowered herself in many people's eyes. But too much had changed for her to accept even one more day with Nic, so she prayed Paul would understand.

  Paul wiped his hand down his face and exhaled. "Victoria?"

  She glanced up at him.

  "Victoria, you do understand that this would be giving my competition seventy thousand dollars of my own money?" he asked, in a calm voice.

  Victoria felt so stupid. Another tear dropped and landed on her pants. She wiped the streak off with her hand and quickly stood. "I know, and it was a dumb idea for me to ask you. I'm sorry, I can figure out something else. Thank you for your time, Mr. Mar--," she couldn't even finish the rest. She had to leave before she broke down.

  "Reni?" Paul shouted, and a young guy stepped through the door, blocking Victoria's exit.

  "Yes, sir?"

  "Can you please count out seventy grand for Ms. Davis and bring it in here? Thanks."

  The young man nodded his head and walked out. Victoria lowered her head, absolutely speechless. Was he really about to give her the money?

  Paul walked over to her and leaned against the wall. "I know you did what you felt you had to do to protect your family, and for that...I can only hold you in high regard, even more so than I already did."

  Victoria had no words. She knew she needed to say thank you, but at the moment, she couldn't talk. How could a man in his line of work be so kind?

  Finally, her voice was slowly coming back to her. "Thank you, Mr. Ma—Paul," Victoria stuttered, getting a little choked up.

  Reni came back with a small black duffel bag. He handed it to Victoria. She had never held so much money in all her life. Funny, now that she was holding it...it seemed awful light...to be what she was worth. Seventy thousand dollars.

  Paul walked with her back out to Nic's car.

  Victoria gave a smile as she got in. "Thank you again, Paul. I—I won't ever forget this," she whispered.

  Paul kissed the back of her hand. "My pleasure, Victoria. Keep in touch."

  "I will," she promised, as she pulled out of the driveway. She glanced back at him in the rear view mirror and he removed one of his hands from his pocket and quickly waved bye. No, she certainly wouldn't forget him...ever.

  Now...onto the even harder part. Victoria drove to her next destination...hopefully for the last time. When she arrived at Nic's, she asked the person at the gate for Jimmy. He was about to buzz her in, when she asked him not to. She had wanted to meet him at the gate.

  When she saw Jimmy walking down the driveway, she took a deep breath. No turning back now.

  "Hey Vicky," Jimmy said, eyeing her suspiciously.

  "Hey Jimmy. Can you do me a favor and hand this to Nic?" she said, placing the duffel bag in his hands.

  It didn't take Jimmy long to feel the neatly packed money through the bag. He sighed and looked back at her.

  "Vicky, I..."

  "No, please don't say anything Jimmy. None of this is your fault. I think you're a great guy. But nothing you can say will make me stay."

  Jimmy leaned on her door. He brushed his hand through his hair and looked at her.

  "Alright, then I'll keep quiet."

  "Thank you," Victoria said, as she moved the gear to reverse.

  "But you know he's going to come after you when he gets this, right?"

  "I doubt he'll even care, Jimmy."

  Jimmy scoffed, "Come on Vicky, he's crazy about you, he just won't admit it."

  Victoria shook her head, "I thought maybe there was something there. I hoped it was. But, he couldn't say those things to me if he cared. I don't see how he could. But I have to go now. And can you tell Raymond I said 'bye'?"

  Jimmy looked down at her. "I'm sure Raymond would rather hear it from you...and trust me, I'll give you a fifteen minute head start, but he's going to come find you. I know him."

  Victoria planted a small smile on her face as Jimmy lightly squeezed her hand and then turned to walk back through the gate.

  Victoria cursed herself all the way back to Nic's loft. She should have packed first, then driven to Paul's. That way she could just drop off his car and go. She really didn't want to go back there, and now the thought of Nic maybe showing up was more than she could handle. She just wanted this done and over with.

  Jimmy waited exactly fifteen minutes before he walked into Nic's office. He and Eddie were leaning over his desk, looking at maps.

  "But what about this territory...that's still me, right?" Nic asked.

  "Yes, but that's what Sonny was telling Ensor about. And..."

  "What?" Nic asked Jimmy, cutting Eddie off. "And where did you go? You're my second...you need to be looking at this."

  Jimmy walked up to the desk and placed the bag down. "Victoria wanted to drop this off for you," Jimmy stated matter of fact.

  Nic's eyes dropped to the bag. He had seen bags like this before. Several times. They ALWAYS contained money. She couldn't...Nic looked back up at Jimmy.

  "Did you open it?" Nic asked.

  "No."

  Nic slowly unzipped the bag and stared at its contents. Several neat stacks of hundreds were staring back at him. He felt a tightening in his chest. She wanted to get away from him that bad? He was having trouble breathing. He grabbed his keys and walked around his desk and left without so much as another word to either of the men in his office. Eddie looked at Jimmy and then peeked into the bag. Jimmy walked over to the couch and sat down. He hoped that wasn't the last he would see of Victoria.

  As soon as Victoria parked, she quickly said hey to Sam, and rushed upstairs. She flung open the door and sprinted to the bedroom. She grabbed her old duffel bag that was tucked into the corner of the closet. She picked up her new and old converse, the few clothes she had brought over to his place and her toiletries from the bathroom.

  She ran out into the front room to grab her Scrabble board but then she couldn't find her poetry book. She usually kept it on the coffee table, but it was missing. She looked by his entertainment center, but it wasn't there either. She ran to the bedroom again, and searched around for it, dropping to her knees and was looking underneath the bed when she heard the front door slam.

  She slowly lifted her head as she heard him coming down the hallway. When he walked into the room, at first he didn't see her, but then their eyes locked. He looked pissed and...well something that she couldn't pinpoint.

  "Where did you get the money?" he asked her, walking towards her.

  "It doesn't matter. It's all there and now my family and I are done with you," Victoria said, rising to her feet.

  "It does matter. Where did you get it?!" Nic shouted at her. He normally kept his voice in check, but he looked livid. Well, she was done w
ith this. She wasn't about to let him intimidate her.

  She tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm and slung her towards his body.

  "Nic, let go," Victoria quietly said, while trying to pull her arm from him.

  "Where the fuck did you get the money?!" Nic repeated, locking her upper arm into a death grip.

  Victoria just stared at him. She wasn't going to play this game with him. She looked down at her arm, waiting for him to release her.

  She wasn't fighting him back. She wasn't pulling away from him. She really was done with their arrangement. Nic had thought he had more time. More time to figure out what to do with her. She still had several more days with him, and now it had all ended. Rightfully, he had no reason to hold onto her, but he couldn't let go of her arm. This was it...in a few moments she'd be walking out of the door...and leaving his life. He tried to tell himself that this was the best for both of them, and that he needed to get his business under control, which he couldn't do with Victoria around. At least that's what his mind was telling him...but the heart...well, that's a separate matter entirely. He hadn't really used those muscles in a long time...and now the only good thing he felt about himself...was about to be ripped from him. She would move on with her life...meet someone...oh fuck. Nic licked his dry lips to say something. Anything.

  But nothing came.

  Victoria saw his eyes go soft. That was the first time since he had promised to make her Italian food that she had seen that look. But too late. She gently pulled her arm from his grip and walked around him. She needed to leave before anything happened. Before she weakened. She would just have to leave her book. She walked out to the front of the condo and grabbed her bag.

  "You're not going to take your clothes?" Nic asked, leaning against the wall. He would try to act like it didn't matter. Try being the operative word. He was good with a poker face.

  "They're not mine," Victoria said as she walked towards the door.

  "I gave them to you as a gift," he said softly. "I'd like you to keep them."

  Victoria paused at the door. "I don't want them," she said as she pulled the door open and closed it behind her.

  "Good bye, Victoria," Nic whispered to himself. He wasn't sure how long after she had left that he remained motionless, leaning against the wall...but he knew when he left this place, he knew it would be a long time before he'd ever return.

  Nic tried to walk out calmly, but he felt the heat rising through his body. "Fuck!!" he shouted as he threw a lamp into the bar area, shattering glass all over the floor. He pushed his hands through his hair and walked out, slamming the door behind him. He couldn't let her go that easily.

  Victoria leaned her head against the bus window. This was the third and final bus before she reached her parents' apartment. She looked out onto the street and saw a few homeless men sitting in between cracks and corners of buildings. She saw groups of middle or high school kids playing around while walking down the street. She saw the old basketball court she had walked by a million times. It was empty, most likely due to the cold. She sighed as the bus turned a familiar corner and made its way down to her street. When she finally reached the area where her apartment was located, she exited the bus and stared at the ugly brick building. It seemed like forever since she had been there.

  When Victoria unlocked the door to the apartment, she instantly smelled her mother's cooking. That memorable smell made her feel all warm inside, despite it being freezing cold outside. She figured they had probably settled in for an early nap. She quietly tiptoed to the couch. She noticed new blankets were folded up and placed at the bottom of the couch. She figured her mother had probably been sleeping out here. She did that from time to time when she wasn't getting along with James. That would usually force Victoria to sleep on the hard floor. But they must have gotten over their problems if her mom was back in bed with her dad.

  It felt so good to actually be back among normal people. People who didn't jet set to exotic locations. Or have cooks and housekeepers and drive in the latest cars that had been imported from overseas. Yes, the land of the normal people was where she fit in. She sat down and was about to lean her head back, when the overhead light blinded her.

  "What are you doing here?" her father's voice asked. She turned around, and was about to smile until she saw the mean expression covering his face. What now?

  "Hi daddy, I've missed--,"

  "I asked you what are you doing here?" James repeated, folding his arms across his chest.

  Victoria didn't know what to make of her father's unwelcome greeting. She studied the hard lines on his face and the tiny patches of gray that settled to the right side of his head. Her father looked much older than he was. And he had a constant wrinkle in his forehead from worry and disgust. He was always one of those two things. Worried or disgusted. And right now he looked disgusted. She looked behind him, and noticed her mother joining her father's side.

  "Um, I've come to move back in," Victoria said, looking from her mother to her father.

  "No the hell you haven't! You're not welcome in my place," James said.

  Victoria stood in the middle of the floor, completely confused. Was her father joking? He never joked, but he had to be. Not welcome?

  "You think people didn't tell me what you was doing with him? How you erased our debt? Oh, I know. I know everything," he spat out, narrowing his eyes at her.

  Shit. She knew people talked, but she had hoped staying out of town would have stopped any rumors spreading. But...as always, they did. "Daddy, I--," Victoria started again.

  "You hear me? You're not welcome here. I don't want some trashy daughter who whore herself around in my place!"

  "James, don't call her that!" her mom shot at him, while tying her robe around her.

  "Why not? It's the truth. I never in a million years think you stoop so low to clear our debt," James said, his eyes raking over her body in repulsion.

  Victoria started to feel her blood boil and tears brimming on the surface of her eyes. Damn it, you better not cry, she chastised herself. Stand up!

  "First off, it's not OUR debt, it was YOUR debt. But because of your bad decisions, me and mommy were drug down with you. You think this is what I wanted?! To do that?! He threatened to hurt you two if I didn't. And now, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have, but then, I didn't know that. I did it for you, and this is the treatment I get? Trust me, daddy, I already feel bad enough. You don't have to add to that," Victoria shouted, letting the tears finally fall.

  "Calm down, honey. Everything just happened so fast. One moment you're here, the next we hear these awful things about you living with him--," her mom said, before her father interrupted.

  "No, not living with him! From what I heard, she was staying at a separate location since he's MARRIED, and he would go whore around with her there. He didn't even have the decency to let her live in his home. Either she was just too dumb to get it or enjoyed being a common slut."

  How dare he stand there and call her names. He knew NOTHING about what she had gone through. She was sick of this. Her body was weak and she needed rest. "Daddy, you don't know what went on between us. You have no clue. But I'm tired now, and I'm going to bed," Victoria said, while picking up her bag and heading to the bathroom. Her father caught her arm and swung her backwards, almost knocking her off balance.

  "Oh, no you're not! I'm not having my enemy's slut staying in my house. You aren't welcome, now leave!" he demanded.

  Olivia sucked in a gasp. "James, you ain't putting her out on the street like that. It's freezing out there," Olivia stated.

  "This is my Goddamn apartment! My name is on the lease and she can't stay here. Seems like you gave that white man exactly what he wanted, now you going to come crying to us. I don't think so! I swear before God, I'll drag you out of this house myself. Or call the cops. Street seem exactly where you would be best off. Make some more money I guess. You ain't no child of mine, you hear me!" James yelled furiously, while jerking her bag
from her and flinging it towards the door.

  Victoria's face was on fire with shame and shock. She couldn't believe she was being treated like this by her father. Someone who was supposed to love her unconditionally. Not that he had ever shown her that growing up. The only reason she was even in this situation was because her love for them...or at least her mom, WAS unconditional. She did all of this for them. She could have left home, started a new life, and left Nic to do whatever to her family. And this is her treatment in the end. But she knew her father...he would put her out or call the cops. He was like Mr. Parker in more ways than one.

  She couldn't even look at him anymore. She turned to her mother, who was on the verge of tears herself. "Mommy, I don't have anywhere to go," she whispered, pleading with her mother to overturn her father's statement. Her mother quickly looked away. The sure sign that she was going to let her husband win this battle. Victoria felt so hurt and betrayed. She stared at her mother's turned down face a few moments longer, while a tear rolled down her cheek. Victoria nodded and walked to the door to retrieve her small duffel bag. She quickly wiped at another tear and exited her parents' apartment without looking back.