It is What it is: A Hood Love Story

by B. , Ivory

  Carlos confirmed the address where Lucky’s present was. Then he himself and the moving company went to unload and reload her present on a different truck. “I really need for this to be in Connecticut tomorrow, can y’all give me a definite that this is going to be there?” “Yes if we don’t have it there on time then you don’t pay, check our track records our boss sent you the best. This is a big job for us and when we on big jobs we don’t eat, sleep or, shit we’ll have it there,” one of the drivers said. Los turned and looked at Nice he signaled with his hand and Nice walked up to the driver’s side of the truck and threw a book bag full of stacked bills in. The driver caught the bag and peered in, his eyes lit up. “Oh um what is this for? You already paid the company for services.” “Nah that right there is a little incentive to insure that my shit is where it’s supposed to be on time. Know this if y’all don’t have my merchandise there tomorrow on time with no damage to it y’all muthafuckas is gonna owe me double what’s in that bag. Trust me you don’t want to owe me.” The driver looked at Los with fright. He just came across as the wrong person to cross or try to stiff. And he knew he would definitely not be able to pay him back twice the amount that was in that bag. “ Okay boss we on it.” The driver responded pulling off into traffic.

  Nice looked over at Los and he could tell his brother looked exhausted and stressed. “Yo you okay ma nigga?” “Yeah I’m good.” “How shit with you and wifey?” “Getting better I guess, I don’t know. I mean, I know it’s gonna take a while. She changed though. She not the same Lucky, she be putting ya boy through it. She moody all the time, stingy wit the pussy and she cry on and off without warning. I’m stressin a little but… It is what it is,” Los said throwing his hands up in the air. “Yo dude it’ll get better. Trust. She still hurting but shit’ll pass.” Nice assured Los.

  When Los and Nice made it back to the airport on a private landing strip it was 3:43 AM and both men were faded. They had decided to just chill at the casinos together since it was early in the day and they had nothing else to do. They had gambled and drank all day. Los needed that he couldn’t remember the last time he felt so free without all the stress and burden. He loved Lucky to no end, but sometimes her bad moods rubbed off on him. And lately she was always in a bad mood. He decided that he was in it for the long haul with her. He would just hang in there shit had to get better, he reasoned. Neither one of them could drive. So they called a car service to drive them to Nice’s house.

  The next day was hectic it was his Baby’s day and he had to go and get a fresh cut. That took him around 2 hours, he sat joked and laughed in his boy’s shop, until he looked at his watch and realized he had to still take that drive out to Connecticut. When it came time to leave Nice wasn’t ready so Carlos and Cathy left without him.

  Nice was trying tirelessly to get in touch with Mia. He had told Mia nearly two weeks ago then reminded her the day before that he was taking Ky to her god mother’s graduation, that pissed Mia off to no end. She didn’t like Lucky at all, there was no particular reason why, she just didn’t like her. The first time they met Mia was plain rude, and she often referred to Lucky as Princess, in her face too. She thought that Lucky acted way to important and stuck up. However, that was the furthest thing from the truth that was Mia’s own insecurities and jealousy. Lucky was down to earth, sweet as pie, and treated Ky like she was her own. Mia had issues with that, she would pull stunts like the one she was pulling now all of the time, just so she could keep her daughter away from Lucky. Mia noticed the bond the two had and was jealous beyond belief. She would make up excuses like she had to go somewhere with Ky when she knew Lucky had purchased tickets to bring Ky to the circus or to Disney on Ice that was Mia’s M.O. and Nice was plain sick of it, these stunts she was pulling were childish.

  “Ayo Mia where you at? You know I was coming to pick my daughter up.” “Nigga you need to stop yelling at me! I’m not your child.” Nice took a deep breath and tried to calm himself, he knew there was really no sense in arguing with Mia she was ignorant and ghetto as hell. “Yo drop my seed off or I’ll come get her, she has somewhere to be.” Mia sucked her teeth loud “Where she has to be? Oh Princess graduation, well sorry she gonna have to miss that cause we ain’t around right now.” That was it Nice was pissed. “Bitch who the fuck is you playin wit?! Bring my fucking daughter! And since when do you even want to have her? You quick any other time to drop her off when you wanna go out and shake ya ass or be up in some bum niggaz face! I already told you she was going to her Godmother’s graduation.” “God Mother! God Mother! Nigga that stuck up bitch ain’t nobody’s God Mother. All she is, is a bitch Los smashin for the moment. She ain’t married to the nigga so she ain’t shit to my daughter!” Nice chuckled because he knew what Mia’s problem was, she was jealous of Lucky and it was a shame because Lucky never even paid Mia any mind.

  “What the fuck are you laughing at?” “Who the fuck is you tryna flex on? Bring my fucking daughter Mia. You better bring her dressed with her hair done too, Don’t have my seed out here looking like no one loves her, you know what I did to your ass last time for pulling that shit!.” “Mutha!…” was all Mia got out before Nice hung up on her, he didn’t feel like entertaining her any longer. “What the fuck was I thinking?” he said aloud, referring to his very short lived fling with Mia that resulted in Kynah.

  Mia arrived a half hour later with lots of attitude. Mia was a very pretty woman with a bad ass body but her attitude and ghetto mentality made her less attractive. “Here” Mia said with an attitude nearly throwing Ky’s boaster seat at Nice who was standing at his car with the back door open. Nice snatched the seat from Mia. Then placed his daughter in the car and buckled her in making sure the straps were secure before shutting the door. Mia was just standing there watching. She kept sniffing and swiping her nose with the back of her hand, bouncing her leg up and down anxiously. “Fuck is wrong wit you?” “I got a cold nigga,” she lied. When he went to walk around to the driver’s side she followed. “Nicey pooh I need some money.” “What? Fuck outta my face wit that shit. I already told you before I ain’t got nuthin for you unless it’s for Ky.” “Well who you think it’s for? She gotta eat, we need food in the house.” Nice stopped dead in his tracks. “Yo I had my Momz go shopping not even two weeks ago. Y’all had food that couldn’t even fit in both of the kitchens so how is there no food in the house?” “Well shit she needs to eat, and so she eat.” “Nah you must take me for a fool. Her little ass,” he pointed in the car “don’t eat a 1,200 dollars worth of food in two weeks. You need to get all them free loading ass bitches up out of my house, them and all they raggedy ass kids, I’m not taking care of your sisters and their kids, where the fuck is they baby Daddies?” He said. “First off, that is not your house it’s mine, you put the deed in my name. Secondly, that’s my family and as long as I got a roof over my head, so do they.” “Yeah keep screamin that shit Mia, I’m telling you, your days are numbered, you better get I hustle or something ma, cause you won’t be getting shit from me no more.” Yeah whatever, who the fuck is he fooling. I got his seed so I’m set for 15 more years. He’ll do anything for that little ass brat.

  “ I think my mom back on that shit. I think she was selling the food out of the house.” Nice spun around “Yo, and you still got that bitch in the house around my daughter! ” Mia nearly jumped out of her skin, she knew how he was when it came to Ky, her and Nice had been in plenty of scrapes before to know that he would not hesitate to slap her ass. “Where else is she supposed to go? Muthafucka you always acting like you better than me, you know how it is to have your mom strung out, don’t front, your mother the one who died of a crack attack!” Nice stared at her in disgust “Ayo, I should beat the shit out of ya ass.” He drew his open hand back but then he heard Ky in the car crying and stopped. He knew Mia and his toxic relationship was bad for Ky. He pointed his finger at Mia while snatching the driver’s side door open. “Have her ass out of my house Mia. I don’t want that shit aro
und my shorty.”

  He had a flash back of what him and his brother had to go through as children seeing their mother nodding off on the couch with a syringe in her arm, or her smoking crack in the house. The smell of burnt flesh as she burnt her fingers tips on the crack pipe. It was something that he tried to forget everyday of his life and he didn’t want his daughter to go through it. Digging in his glove compartment he threw some loose change that he had in the car at her, which was a couple of fifties and twenties. He pulled off out of his driveway with a loud screech of his tires, Leaving Mia in the driveway scurrying in a panic trying to chase down the money that was blowing in the wind and scattered on the ground. Nice cut his eyes to the rearview mirror at the pitiful site and shook his head in disgust.

  The graduation lasted for about three hours. The speeches were dry and this one speaker stayed up there and spoke for what seemed a whole hour talking about nothing at all but trying to sound important. People were literally nodding off while he stood up there and talked. “Oh god hurry the hell up,” Lucky spat under her breath. Taneisha a cool chick and graduate in the same class who Lucky would kick it with from time to time when she was in CT sucked her teeth. “Girl I wish his ass would shut up, ain’t nobody even paying him no mind. I just wanna walk across that stage.” “I concur,” Lucky spat. Finally the speaker’s speech ended in a loud applause Lucky knew many weren’t clapping because the speech was great but instead because he was done. Right after that the ceremony started to move swiftly and before she knew it her name was next to be called. Damn I wish my baby was here my name is next, I’m so nervous.

  “Louchanna Williams!” Aawww!! She heard the crowd yell people that she knew from school were clapping and yelling along with people from the stands.“Yeah that’s my Baby right there!” hold up, I know that ain’t. Lucky broke into a huge smile when she saw Los in the stands standing and clapping his hands with a proud smile on his face. That jerk lied to me. I thought he was going to Colombia, Lucky and Los locked eyes and he could see the surprised but relieved look on her face “I love you.” Lucky mouthed to him and walked across the stage. She shook the president and dean’s hands stood for the photographer to snap a picture of her grabbing her binder with her degree in it and took a sigh of relief. “Yeah I see you Lucky!” Nice shouted as she was walking off the stage. Lucky burst out laughing Nice was her boy. Over the last year they had became really close, he was like a big brother to her.

  Lucky’s heart was beating a mile a minute. Wow It’s done I actually finished she felt a great sense of accomplishment. Lucky had to go back to her seat and wait till the rest of the names in her graduation class were called, she was anxious and couldn’t wait to get up, her and Los kept locking eyes on each other no words were needed, his eyes said everything he needed to, he loved her. Keema was snapping pictures every second and Lucky was so happy to see all of the people who actually came out on her special day.

  The whole crew was there Los, Nice, Jah, Real, Buju, Cathy, Keema, Ty, Tamika and Tina. However, Tina chose to sit a few seats away from her own daughter and sit right beside Cathy. She didn’t care for Douglas one bit and hated what she heard from Lucky and Keema about the way he put Ty down. Constantly turning up his nose on what he considered Ty’s modest upbringing. Since Tina was never the one to hold her tongue, she chose to keep her distance before she had to put his ass on blast. He knew she didn’t care for him too, she never had more than two words to say to him and that was Hi and Bye.

  After the graduation the graduates had to go out of certain doors inside the coliseum to keep the crowd controlled. Ty called Lucky on her phone and told her to meet them at the side entrance near the parking garage. There were so many people there you could hardly walk. Ty couldn’t believe how many people were in Lucky’s graduating class. Douglas huffed “Uhh, I can’t believe this many people know about this off branded state college. It’s packed as if this were Yale or something.” Ty was walking briskly through the crowd trying to make it to the exit. Her mind was on overdrive and she wasn’t paying Douglas any mind. She was still thinking about Nice and how good he looked damn that nigga is fine she said to herself.

  He had walked in about 20 minutes before they called Lucky’s name with Ky. She was a really pretty little girl. And Ty could tell that she was the apple of her Daddy’s eye. Los and his mother had saved a seat for him, so when he walked in, he had to walk by Ty and Douglas to get to his seat. Ty didn’t notice him initially until she could smell him and damn he smelled good enough to eat. She was busy texting Lucky who looked bored as hell when she heard a deep voice. “Excuse me.” Ty looked up to lock eyes with Nice and she damn near swallowed her tongue. Nice peered down at her and she could detect a hint of attitude, her heart was beating out of her chest. This was the first time they laid eyes on one another in months. He was holding Ky up in one arm and his colorful plaid Polo shorts sagged in the back. His Polo shirt which was the same color green that dominated the plaid in his shorts looked so good with his complexion and the color of his eyes, his Timbs were straight out the box fresh, and his ear, wrist and neck was froze.

  Douglas stood up quickly to let Nice by. He got this bad vibe about Nice and Douglas could tell that Nice wasn’t in his best of moods. Ty couldn’t move she just sat there looking up at him. “Ty ,Ty.” in the littlest cute baby voice Kynah called out, while reaching out for Ty to pick her up. Ty snapped out of her daze “Hey baby,” Ty held her arms open to reach out and hold Ky. Just as she was reaching for her Nice turned his body sideways pulling Ky right out of Ty’s reach. He stepped over her legs quickly and walked to his seat sitting down with Ky on his lap. Ty felt stupid as hell, she followed him with her eyes shocked by his actions. Los and Jah must’ve caught the whole thing because both of them were trying to hold back laughter.

  Back to present time, Ty stopped dead in her tracks. “Hold up now I don’t care what college this is, it doesn’t really matter a degree is a degree and my cousin earned hers. Now you didn’t have to come, you insisted on coming,” Ty said with attitude. And I really didn’t want your ass to come “I didn’t know you were going to take it like that Tyeena. I know your cousin is a very bright young woman. I wasn’t questioning her intelligence. I just don’t understand why she chose this school of all schools to go to. She could of went IV league with her intelligence and the fact that you guys were hood rich from your Dad’s accident settlement.” Ty couldn’t believe this muthafucka. She started to go off on him when she felt someone grab her hand. “Tyeena baby hurry so we can meet our baby girl outside before she gets her graduation gift from Carlos. I want to catch some pictures of the look on her face,” Tina said with excitement. Ty looked at her mother and just stood there for a second. She was mad, she wanted to cuss Douglas ass out but she didn’t want to miss Lucky’s moment either. She decided that Lucky was way more important than Douglas ignorant ass and it wasn’t like Lucky could re-do this day. So she followed her mother through the thick crowd towards the exit to meet Lucky outside leaving Douglas there to catch up.

  It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining brightly. The streets were littered with smiling faces, many people were dressed in their Sunday’s best while others chose to take the casual route and wear denims. The street was crowded with hundreds of people in Blue caps and gowns holding balloons flowers and teddy bears. The vendors that were outside of the coliseum were making a killing. Ty looked around trying to make it to the side exit while holding her mother’s hand. It was really crowded and the crowd just seemed to stop at a halt. Everyone was looking and gawking at something in the street. “Damn I wish that was my graduation gift.” Ty heard a graduate say. She knew exactly what everyone was looking at when she heard that. They finally made it to the side exit that the graduates were exiting from, everyone was already there just waiting for Lucky to come out.

  As soon as Lucky came out she ran right into Los’s arms. “Baby you tricked me,” She squealed. Everyone started laughing. Los buried his fac
e in her neck lifting her off her feet in a tight hug. Keema cleared her throat loudly. “Um you don’t see nobody else out here Lucky?” Lucky started smiling even harder, she started to pull away from Carlos but before she did she kissed him deeply. Kynah yelled out “Uhh auntie, Uncle got cooties, he a boy.” Everyone really started laughing. She gave everyone a huge hug especially Ty. Then all the girls. Keema, Tamika, Ty and Lucky got into their traditional group hug.

  A couple of classmates walked up to Lucky to give hugs, congratulate each other and give best wishes. When Taneisha walked up, she and Lucky started hugging each other and jumping up and down. Lucky and her had become really cool in the years that Lucky lived out in CT. Taneisha was from CT so she showed Lucky around brought her out and looked out for her while she was there. Now Lucky was moving back to Philly and she didn’t know the next time she would get to kick it with her. “Well girl we did it.” “I know right,” Lucky agreed. Lucky started to introduce Taneisha to all of her friends and family, and then invited her out to dinner. To Lucky’s surprise she agreed. Lucky thought that Taneisha would surely want to be with her own family, but she also knew that Taneisha’s stepmother had attended her graduation along with her father and their relationship was very rocky from what her girl told her.