by Tracy Brown
As they lay there together, Sunny finally admitted that she needed help. Dorian promised her, swore to her, that he would be by her side every step of the way. He was finished with Raquel. He swore on his life.
They dressed for the party, and drove there holding hands in the car. When Born arrived with Jada on his arm, the party went wild. He and Jada looked great together—she in a skintight black Gucci dress, and Born in black denim jeans and a black button-up and black Timbs. Both of them were dripping in diamonds so clear and large that they gleamed in the moonlight. Born walked in smiling, and stayed that way the whole night. The music was a blend of all the decades in which Born had lived. Starting in the seventies and going all the way through to the nineties, the deejay kept the party going. They had a huge birthday cake with Born’s picture on it, and everyone on board the beautiful ship sang happy birthday to him. When the singing and toasting died down, and the deejay brought it to the present-day with B.I.G., Kim, Foxy, and the Wu, Dorian pulled Born aside. He brought him down to one of the lower decks, and into a room way in the cut.
When Dorian turned the knob and Born entered the room behind him, he was confused by what he saw. At the table sat all of Dorian’s crew: his two brothers, Sunny’s brother who worked with him, Zion—the man who had introduced him to Dorian in the first place—and all his cohorts. Around this table sat the inner circle. The trusted few. The only people with whom Dorian really broke bread. In all, there were eight men who joined Dorian around the table. Powerful men. All of them had proven themselves trustworthy and sincere. Every one of them was his family.
But what made this all the more intriguing to Born was that every man’s wifey was present also. The women sat around the table, each woman beside her man. Born noticed Sunny standing and smiling near the head of the table, and Jada was beside her. Dorian handed Born a box wrapped in black paper with a white bow on it.
Born smiled. “What’s goin’ on?”
Dorian smiled back. “Everyone in this room is part of the Family. The men you see seated around this table are my partners, guys who I do business with. But they’re also the niggas I would go to war with, no questions asked. There’s an attorney, Grant Keys, who works for the D.A.’s office in Brooklyn.” Dorian motioned toward a very well-dressed and conservative-looking man seated next to Zion. “He can get you a bail hearing in the middle of the night if you need it. My nigga has judges in his pocket who he can call on if we need it. He can also let you know when a case is stacked against you, or what loopholes you can use to get out of some shit. Zion, as you know, is a bricklayer like us. But he’s also making legitimate money in the music industry, with his production company. He knows a lot of people on both sides of the law, and you never know when you might need his resources.” Dorian went all around the table, introducing each man and explaining his role in their organization. Born was fascinated.
“This is my crew,” Dorian explained. “These women are their other halves; therefore, they’re also part of my crew. There’s a lot of power in this room. You read about some of us in the Daily News, and you hear about some of us on the street. We come from the same grit, and we made something out of nothing. We may not always use the same tactics to get money, but we get it nonetheless. And we stick together. We make things happen for each other. But there’s a couple things you should know before I go any further. First of all, I don’t welcome nobody into my crew I don’t trust.” Dorian counted off with his fingers. “Second, I don’t fuck with niggas who don’t get money … and I mean all the money.” Laughter trickled throughout the room.
Dorian grinned at his friend, who reminded him of his younger self. “And third, I don’t like a nigga who can’t be humble. Some niggas let their hunger for power overshadow their loyalty to their friends. They get larceny in their hearts, and there’s no larceny in our crew. Now, over the past few years, I’ve trusted you with a lot of money. There’s been situations where I showed you that you can trust me as well, and that I have your back as long as you got mine.” Dorian nodded his head for emphasis. Born remembered the situations Dorian was referring to as well, particularly when Celly had plotted to set him up. He was grateful for all that Dorian had done for him. “And I know that you’re a humble man, and you’re loyal. So this is for you.” Everyone waited patiently as Dorian motioned for Born to open up his present.
Born tore open the wrapping, and opened the box to reveal a large platinum ring with a very distinctive design. The face was covered in diamonds so large they glistened. Dorian explained. “This ain’t just a birthday present. It’s your medallion. You’re part of the crew now. We don’t draw attention to ourselves with big chains with symbols, or have a special handshake. We don’t dress up in all kinds of colors, or none of that. We wear our rings, and these are our medallions. There’s only nine other rings like that one, and every man in this room has one of those rings. If you need something, there’s someone in this room who can make it happen for you. And you will be called on to make shit happen for some of us at times, too. We do our shit quietly, and we wear our medallions proudly. So, here’s yours, my nigga. Welcome to the Family.” Born was moved beyond words at this gesture, and Jada stood smiling proudly. Born put on his ring, and gave Dorian a handshake and a hug as applause filled the room. Sunny raised her champagne glass in a toast, and everyone in the room returned the gesture. They toasted to Born, the newest member of the crew, and everyone sipped their champagne in unison.
It was a beautiful moment, and one that Born would never forget. Jada walked over and hugged him. He smiled at her, and thought she looked more beautiful than ever as she smiled back at that moment. She showed him her own “medallion”—a smaller, feminine version of Born’s ring that she wore on her right ring finger. He smiled, knowing without being told that the women getting rings was all Sunny’s idea.
Dorian and Born spoke privately after the crew’s meeting. “Born, I want to let you know that I’m taking some time off to focus my attention on Sunny. She found out that I was fuckin’ Raquel, and I almost lost her.” Dorian shook his head at how close he had come to losing Sunny. “I gotta do what I can to make shit right, so I’m asking you to step up to the plate. I need you to be my eyes in the back of my head, so to speak. Take the reins and hold me down.”
Born nodded, and assured Dorian that he had his back. “I got you, man. You know that.”
Dorian looked at Born. He raised one eyebrow, and looked at his young apprentice intently. “I want to offer you some advice. And listen carefully to what I’m saying.” Dorian placed one hand on Born’s shoulder, and looked him square in the eyes. “Don’t let your business get in the way of your relationship. Keep your eye on Jada. Pay attention to her. Make sure she’s keeping her nose clean.”
Born nodded his head, figuring that Dorian was advising him to make sure he didn’t neglect Jada the way he had neglected Sunny. He didn’t catch the hidden meaning in Dorian’s warning. Birds of a feather tended to flock together. And although Sunny had never told him outright that Jada was using cocaine, Dorian figured that she probably was. She and Sunny spent most of their time together. And Sunny spent most of her time getting high. Two plus two equals four. He hoped that Born would heed his warning. The two men went off to find the women they loved, and rejoined the party.
All evening Dorian kept Sunny close to him. Jada didn’t seem to mind the fact that they didn’t slip away to get high like they usually did. She was distracted, anyway. Jada clung to Born for most of the night, explaining Ava’s absence as due to illness when people asked. She looked like she was quietly playing her position with a smile on her face that night. But in truth, she had so much on her mind. Jada didn’t tell Sunny about Ava discovering her secret, and she suffered that night, once again, in silence.
26
BLOWN AWAY
Sunny was reclaiming her love affair with Dorian. She made up her mind that night that she was going to kick her habit. She had a great man who had her back, and she felt she could
face anything. Anything in the world.
Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, as Sunny and Dorian began to piece her back together. She stopped partying, and Dorian let Born handle most of the business. What they needed to focus their attention on was their relationship, and they both recognized that. They still had love between them, and a relationship worth salvaging. So, they began to do just that. Every day, Sunny was tempted. Dorian did his best to fill the void that getting high had left, by substituting it with love. He told Sunny he was proud of her. That she was beautiful, and that she looked like an angel. She was his angel. Every day was a clean slate, he told her. And every day he told her that he was proud of her. That she was stronger than that poison. Sunny took it one day at a time, and before she knew it, it had been two months since Dorian had revealed that he knew the truth of her addiction. Sunny hadn’t taken a single hit. She was so proud of herself. And now, to make things even better, she found out that she was pregnant. Sunny had gone to her doctor, complaining that she was throwing up violently. She thought it might have been withdrawal from the drugs. But the doctor confirmed what she had secretly known in her heart. She was pregnant.
She couldn’t wait to tell Dorian. She got home after her early morning appointment and waited. She knew that Dorian would be home before noon to check on her. Sunny was in the kitchen making him breakfast for when he returned from his early run to handle business. He walked in, looking just as he had when she first met him. This was one of the two faces of her baby. When he was being Dorian the distinguished businessman, he was always well dressed, in expensive clothes, jewels, and footwear. But when he was being D the ruthless hustler, he wore the uniform of the streets. He entered wearing Timbs, dark jeans, and a hoodie. The hood was pulled low on his head, concealing his face somewhat. He stomped in, with his sexy and confident stride, and Sunny was ecstatic. Unlike the old days, she didn’t concern herself with where he’d been. She was beginning to trust Dorian so much more. He no longer went to pick DJ. up personally from Raquel’s house. He would send one of his soldiers to do it, telling Raquel to have him ready in time for someone to come and get his son. He had no phone conversations with Raquel unless Sunny was there, and the phone was on a speaker. He wasn’t taking any chances. He loved Sunny that much. And since their confrontation, she had changed back to the woman he had fallen in love with. She was sexy again, not moody. She was his princess once more, and Raquel wasn’t going to have the opportunity to ruin that again. He was grateful for the new start he and Sunny had been blessed with. Dorian nurtured her slowly back to the normalcy of being clean.
He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. And then he couldn’t keep his hands off of her. Their lovemaking was intense, just like it had been in the beginning, and Dorian and Sunny found themselves hungering for each other like never before.
Dorian came home and smelled the scent of breakfast wafting through his home. Sunny was cooking! He walked into the kitchen, and saw a sight for sore eyes. Sunny was as naked as a newborn child, except for a white apron tied around her slim waist. She looked delicious. He smiled wide, and took the hood off his head. Dorian walked over and covered her mouth with his, as the turkey bacon sizzled on the stove. He tossed her small body up on the countertop, and put himself between her legs.
He didn’t enter her immediately. Instead, he rubbed his dick against her warmness, and teased her as he kissed her. Sunny sucked on Dorian’s lips as she kissed him, and then she felt him inside of her. He held her bare ass in the palms of his hands, and stroked her with such perfection that she called out his name. Sunny moved with him, and they were one, as they breathed heavily, thrusting. Dorian sucked her neck, ever so softly, and held her so perfectly. She loved the way he handled her, and he loved the way she responded to him. Dorian didn’t stop until the last bit of his seed was spent. He stared into her face, still standing between her legs, as she sat atop the counter. Then he kissed her again, softly. Sunny took Dorian’s face in her delicate hands.
“I’m pregnant again.”
Dorian smiled from ear to ear. But he could hear the fear in her voice. He kissed her lips, long and firm. He took off the apron tied around her nude body, and he kissed her belly. It was flat against his face, and he kissed it again for good measure. He looked at her abs, wondering how small his child was at that moment, loving the fact that his seed was growing inside of her womb.
“Hold tight, little one,” he said to his unborn child. “I want to meet you in nine months. I want to see your beautiful mother holding you in her arms. So be strong.” He stood back up, and faced Sunny. She threw her arms around his neck, and hugged him tightly to her. She kissed his face, his neck, and hugged him, elatedly crying. She had never been happier in all her life.
Sunny stayed drug free. She was adamant that this baby would live. This one would survive. She did everything right, getting the proper rest and eating the proper food. She took all the vitamins, went to every appointment, and prayed every single day. Sunny’s crazy lifestyle was replaced by a calm one, and Dorian was at home with her every night, happily awaiting the completion of their family.
Jada, meanwhile, was at a crossroads. She no longer had what Sunny stole from Dorian to get her high. She had to find her own cocaine. She had a serious habit by now, and an expensive one, but no money. So now she had a problem. She had never listened to Sunny and saved for a rainy day, though this wasn’t the kind of rainy day Sunny had been talking about. Besides, anyone she bought it from would surely tell Born, and then Jada’s secret would be exposed. She had no choice. She started stealing from Born.
She knew that he kept meticulous count of the drugs he kept at home. He still counted and recounted his money and his drugs before going to sleep at night. After dealing with an addict all his life—his father—he knew that the temptation never leaves. Born was too smart for her to go that route. She couldn’t take it from him outright. She found another way. Jada stole the keys to Born’s stash house in Park Hill, made a copy for herself, and replaced them without him noticing.
Jada began to head to Park Hill every day. She would park nearby, and wait until she saw the workers leave to make deliveries. Once they were gone, she would go inside and take the drugs she needed. She was careful not to take too many at one time. She didn’t want to set off any alarms. She was now doing the one thing that she had sworn she’d never do. She was stealing from the one man who had ever truly loved her. She kept getting high to get away from the feeling in the pit of her stomach when she came down.
Jada still spoke to Sunny, but not nearly as frequently. Sunny was pregnant, and Jada was happy for her. At least when she was high, she was happy for Sunny. When Jada wasn’t high, she would depress herself by dwelling on the fact that she wasn’t the one starting a family and getting her act together. Sunny was getting help, and Jada was falling deeper into her addiction.
By her fourth month of pregnancy, Sunny was nervous. This was the point at which she usually miscarried. But this time, it was different. She didn’t have any trouble holding this baby, and her doctor told her that everything was pointing toward this being a successful pregnancy. Sunny was relieved, and Dorian was over the moon with excitement and joy. He’d seen a change in her. He knew that having the baby made it easier for her to stay clean. He liked her like this, and Dorian was determined to spend the rest of his days happy with his princess. He was oblivious to Raquel, silently seething on the sidelines.
Raquel believed that Dorian had tossed her aside because Sunny had forced him to. She didn’t see that it had been her own actions that had made him leave her. It was her own fault that the man no longer had words for her, no more sex for her. Raquel was consumed with jealousy and hatred toward Sunny, and she couldn’t control her rage. She followed Sunny and Dorian when they went out, watched them when they had no idea that she was anywhere around. She was obsessed, and her son, D.J., was caught in the middle of it all.
Whenever he came back from spending time w
ith his father, Raquel questioned him, and dug for information about what was going on in Sunny and Dorian’s home. D.J. loved Sunny, and was excited by the idea of having a little brother or sister. When he spoke about his excitement to his mother, Raquel got so angry that she yelled at him.
“I don’t want to hear that shit!” she screamed. “Fuck Sunny!” Her voice bellowed, and D.J. stepped back, afraid. He was only four years old, and he was frightened by seeing his mother unraveling as she was. Raquel threw the brush in her hand, and it shattered the lamp on her living room table. She was enraged by this, and she cursed crazily to herself as she stormed out of the room. Raquel was out of control. “I hate that bitch I fuckin’ hate her!”
D.J. ran to his room and shut the door. He couldn’t wait until his father sent for him, so that he could get away from his mother. Even at his young age, he could tell that she was slowly losing her mind.
On the day of Sunny’s baby shower, during the eighth month of her pregnancy, Sunny was concerned that she looked like a monster. Her perfectly shaped nose had spread out, and now looked like she had Michael Jackson’s original nose on her round face. She felt fat and unattractive, and she couldn’t figure out what to wear to make herself look like the Sunny everyone knew and loved. There wouldn’t be a sexy dress on Sunny at this party! She was in her walk-in closet trying to find a suitable outfit, when Dorian walked in, beaming with pride.
He looked at her soft, light legs as she stood with only a shirt and panties on. Sunny thought she’d lost her sex appeal, but Dorian found her to be more beautiful than ever. He loved her more than he ever had before, and was praying for a girl with Sunny’s face and Dorian’s mentality. He wanted their daughter to be the perfect blend of the two of them.
“What are you doin’ in there?” he asked, smiling, as he watched Sunny dig through all her maternity clothes to find the perfect outfit for the occasion. “No matter what you put on, you’re still gonna be the prettiest girl in the place, so what’s the problem?”