Hardhearted

by Sherrod Tunstall

  During her last year of school, Mereaux performed in Miami, Florida, where she, Marie, and Dunham met a white businessman who said he wanted to be Mereaux’s manager. He wanted to take Mereaux under his wings and have her travel and dance in places like Paris, Italy, and even Asia.

  Mereaux was hyped up and ready to get her career as a performer off the ground. Both her mother and grandmother looked at the sparkle in Mereaux’s eyes, but they could tell the man was a con artist right away. They didn’t want Mereaux to get her hopes up, only to be let down. They remembered how both their hearts were broken so many times. They didn’t want Mereaux to end up the same way. Both women told the man thank you, but no thank you. The man begged them to let him take Mereaux to one of his clients. He’d never seen talent like hers in his years in show business, and he wanted to make her a star. Mereaux believed the man could make her a star, but Marie and Dunham continued to say no.

  Mereaux and the man were disappointed. She felt like her mother and grandmother had destroyed her dreams of being a star. Then back in Haiti, Mereaux started to skip dance and voice classes. She began hanging out with Joseph, falling deeper in love with him. He’d gotten a full soccer scholarship to go to St. Louis University in the States, and he wanted Mereaux to go with him. He even asked her to marry him.

  Of course, she said yes. And when they graduated from school, the couple eloped to St. Louis, Missouri, which was a huge disappointment to Dunham and Marie.

  The music ended, and Josie stopped dancing.

  Swag was amazed that Josie’s mother went to St. Louis.

  Then an instrumental version of rapper Nelly’s “Just a Dream” played . . . And Josie started to remember her mother and her asshole father.

  Once in America, Mereaux thought her life would be like in the movies, with a good ending, but her journey was far from that. She and Joseph got a small apartment in the city of St. Louis that Mereaux fixed up right away. Joseph spent more time in school or on the soccer field. Mereaux wasn’t in school, and not with many skills, other than dancing and singing, she took a job as an exotic dancer. It helped pay the bills since Joseph didn’t work. When she had free time, she tried to spend it with Joseph, who was now hardly ever home. And when he was, he was either drunk, bullied her about dancing naked for other men, harassed her for sex or money, and was very abusive.

  Josie started to cry again about what her father did to her mother as she let the music take over, thinking of Mereaux’s strength as a woman.

  Mereaux hoped that things between Joseph and her would get better. She started going to college too. In the daytime, she attended Sanford College for typing and bookkeeping. She didn’t want to dance half-naked for old men forever. It was hard trying to go to school and work, but it was all worth it.

  Two years later, they both graduated college, and to celebrate, they made love like they never had before. Joseph even told her that he had gotten an offer to play pro-soccer for the New York Red Bulls. She was excited for him, and she told him her good news . . . that she was pregnant. He pretended to be excited, but he wasn’t ready to be a daddy. Mereaux asked when they were moving to New York, but Joseph lied and told her he was staying with a friend, and there wasn’t enough room for her. He told her to wait for him, and when he had enough money, he’d send for her. Being in love, she believed him.

  While Joseph was away, Mereaux saw him on TV. However, he sent her very little money. She still had to work as a dancer just to get by. Months went by, and Joseph no longer called, and he stopped sending money altogether. She had her baby all by herself and named her Josephine Dunham-Marie Batiste. She didn’t name her after the child’s father, but after St. Louis’s own, the first black superstar, Josephine Baker.

  Swag’s eyes widened in disbelief that Josie was born in his hometown, clearly making her an American citizen.

  Josie continued to leap and dance, thinking about her mother leaving America forever.

  After the birth of Josephine, Mereaux tried calling and writing Joseph, with no luck. With no other choice, she took all her life’s savings and flew to New York. When she located him, she went to his home in Hampton, New York, and found him in bed with another woman. Mereaux hated him and did the only thing the Batiste women knew how to do. She took her last bit of savings and her child and went back home to Haiti. She even changed her last name back to Batiste.

  While back in Haiti, she renewed her relationship with her mother and grandmother. Within three years, she reclaimed her love of dancing and started to teach her child. When she heard that her elderly dance teacher was selling her old building, with the little money she had, Mereaux bought the building from her. With money loaned to her by her grandmother and mother, she rebuilt the old studio and started her new career as a dance teacher. She taught and did a little traveling. She taught her child how to dance and told her that she was going to be the next Josephine Baker. Mereaux wanted Josephine to go to Paris one day. The Batiste women looked as if they were going to have a good future . . . but the universe thought otherwise.

  The song stopped, and the last song that played for Josie was Maggie Eckford’s “Everything Is Lost.” Josie had to keep herself in order going back to the day she lost her family forever . . . and how she hooked up with Satan in heels. She let the last memory flood in.

  When Josephine was 12 years old, Haiti faced its worst earthquake in years. It destroyed homes, the city, and killed many, including Josephine’s family. Her family’s home and her mother’s studio was gone. She was alone and tried to find ways to survive, like other children that lost their families. Many were even trying to get off the island to start a new life, not realizing some organizations were trying to get the children into sex slavery. Josephine stayed to herself. She didn’t trust anyone until she’d met a beautiful woman who had the same complexion as her mother. She was dressed to kill and lovely, like an angel with green eyes. She offered to help Josephine. The woman saw a lot of herself in the brown girl. She could see that Josephine had the potential to be great. Josephine felt a warmness about the woman and took her helping hand. She then asked the woman her name.

  “King Kia Costello.”

  At that time, Josephine saw a woman that would love and take care of her, not knowing that one day, she would have to pay back that kindness.

  The song ended, and Josie fell to the ground staying there. No more music played.

  Swag stood up and went over to her to see if she was all right.

  She sat up and looked at him.

  “Are you okay, Josie?” he asked with concern.

  Josie nodded. “Yes, I’m fine.”

  “Wow. And you’ve been with King ever since?” Swag was amazed at her story.

  “Yeah. At first, it was great being with her and Madam Lourd because it filled a hole in my heart where a mother’s love should be. They gave me a place to stay, schooling, dance lessons, and whatever else I wanted . . . until now. After the killings, and having sex with her and you, I don’t know about this. Plus, taking over the Leopard Clit isn’t what I want to do. I want to be able to live out my dream as a dancer or go to Paris to be the next Josephine Baker. King’s not my mother, and she’s a lying, evil bitch. Now, I want to get away from her. I’m torn between leaving Madam Lourd and the kids, but I have to be happy at the same time.”

  Swag nodded. “That’s true, ma. You have too much talent to let it not be seen by the world.”

  Josie smiled.

  “But you shouldn’t leave alone,” he said. “How about I go with you just for the company?”

  Josie looked at him like he had lost his mind. “Are you serious? King is totally digging you. If she found out that we were in this building together, she’d have Blood kill us both. I don’t want her or him to hurt you, and—”

  “Look, I don’t care about King or that asshole Blood. Where I come from, I’m a soldier, so I ain’t never scared.” Swag took her hand and held it tightly. “Let’s work together and get the fuck out of
Costa Rica and go to Paris. I may be on the run, but I want some type of happiness until I get caught. But, Josie, you’re a young, beautiful woman, and you deserve to see your dreams come true. I want to see your name in lights. So what do you wanna do? Stay here, or are we goin’ work together?”

  Josie liked his idea, and since she was going to Paris, she sure could use the company. Hell, they both were going to be like Jay-Z and Beyoncé, “On The Run,” but for real. Josie sealed the deal by kissing Swag on his cheek.

  “Before we leave,” Swag said. “I ask you for one request.”

  “And what’s that?”

  He got off the floor and dusted himself off. Then he went over to the boom box and turned on an old Janet Jackson song. He held out his hand to hers.

  “Come and dance with me. To confirm that we’re equal partners.”

  Josie laughed as Swag pulled her up. They slow danced to Janet’s sultry voice.

  The heat between them was powerful. It was a feeling that he was in love that Swag hadn’t felt in years. Josie loved Swag’s gentle touch, and she knew he was a beast between the sheets. She didn’t want to have sex with him. Instead, she wanted them to make love.

  They looked into each other’s eyes as Janet sang the last verse. Then they kissed passionately. After what was supposed to be one of the worst days of Swag’s life, he found happiness in the old building with Josie.

  Once they were outside, Swag saw that Blood’s car was still out there in one piece. He was relieved.

  As they drove back to the Palace, they laughed and talked, not realizing a relationship was growing. When arriving at the Palace, Josie parked the car in the back. She thought she and Swag should enter the Palace separately, not giving King any reason to suspect anything. Swag got out of the car first and walked around to the front door, where Cleo opened it for him. Cleo shook his head, knowing what was up. Minutes later, Josie walked to the door.

  “Hey, Mr. Cleo.” She kissed him on the cheek.

  Cleo smiled and put his hand on her shoulder. “Be careful, baby girl.” He winked, and she nodded before walking inside.

  “Young fools,” he whispered.

  Chapter 38

  Stir-Crazy

  That evening, things started to wind down in the Palace, and soon, everyone was either asleep or clients were getting turned out. During that day, when Swag and Josie had disappeared, King was going stir-crazy, wondering about the whereabouts of her child and future man. Her spies couldn’t give her enough information, and they couldn’t find taps on either one of them. That pissed King off, and to top off her frustrations, Blood’s plane was delayed. He wasn’t able to come back for a few days. In her mind, if she wanted shit done right, she had to do it herself. She put on a little makeup and brushed her hair in a sleek ponytail. Then she put on a black lace bra, ripped up booty shorts, and black heels.

  She left her room and went over to Swag’s room first.

  Swag had just gotten out of the shower. He went into the bedroom and didn’t pay attention to his surroundings. If he would’ve, he would’ve seen King sitting in the recliner, smoking a cigarette.

  “Oh, King! It’s you. You scared me.”

  “Good,” King said dryly, blowing out the smoke.

  She glared at him with her legs wide open. Swag looked at her like the creep keeper’s sexy sister. So many things went through his mind. He wondered about her reasons for sending his sons away and if she knew he was with Josie today. He was also concerned that she was planning to kill him.

  “Why are you here?” he asked.

  She pointed at the edge of the bed. “Sit down.”

  Instead of sitting on the bed, Swag lay on it.

  “Uh, no, playa. It ain’t that type of party. Sit your ass up! Now!”

  Swag didn’t want to argue with her, but he did want to know about his sons.

  King put the cigarette out and stood up. She stood over him and looked down.

  “Solomon, I’ve been good to you since I saved you from that shithole in Brazil.” She paced the floor and kept her eyes on him.

  “What is this all about? And where are—”

  Before he could say another word, King reached out and slapped the shit out of him. His head snapped to the side, but remaining strong, Swag tried to show no reaction. All he said was, “Damn. Really?”

  King attacked him with more words. “Now, when you first met me, I was a straight-to-the-point kind of chick. And I don’t like to repeat myself. If you don’t want to meet these hands again, please answer the question. Haven’t I been good to you?”

  Swag rubbed his face and cleared his throat. “You’ve been really good to me, King. Shit, you gave me my own room, sex anytime I want it, money, making me your new right-hand man in training, and you spared my homeboy’s life until Paco killed him. So, yeah, you’ve been good to me. Thanks, but what happened to my sons?”

  King paced back and forth. “Good answer, and we’ll talk about your sons when I’m ready. Since I’ve been so good to you, that makes you loyal to me. And you will be completely honest with me about anything, right?”

  Swag shrugged his shoulders. “Yeah, sure, ma. Anything you need to know, I got you.”

  “Good.” King stopped pacing and faced him. “Where have you been all day? I want the truth.”

  Swag started to sweat. If she had found out that he and Josie were together or in the same room without supervision, King would rip his dick off and grind his balls into salsa. So he did what he did best and put on his best acting performance. He cleared his throat one more time.

  “Well, after my boys were sent back without me saying goodbye to them, I was so mad to the point I sucker-punched my ex-friend for saying some slick shit about what he would’ve done to one of my kids. I was so disgusted that I just ran out because I needed some air. I needed to clear my crazy thoughts, so I went for a long walk. Nothing against you, King, but I was about to lose it.”

  “Hmm,” King looked him up and down. “You were gone all day. What did you do and where did you go?”

  Swag chuckled. “To be honest, I don’t even know. My mind was so messed up that I wasn’t even thinking about where I was. After a few hours alone, I realized I was lost. If it weren’t for Josephine finding me and driving me back here, I would still be out there somewhere. I was glad to be back.”

  “You sure you didn’t go anywhere with my child?”

  Swag nodded. “After she found me, we had lunch. It was nothing special.”

  Without her spies on their job, she had to take his word for it. “Okay.” She bent over and kissed him. “I believe you, and I’ll get you some ice for your face.” She went to the door, but before she walked out, she called his name.

  “Yes, King.”

  “Stay away from my child and don’t burn me.” She closed the door behind her.

  Swag took a deep breath and shook his head. All he wanted to know was more information about his sons. But his gut told him not to push King. The timing wasn’t right, and he sensed that she was on the verge of losing it.

  Even after her interrogation of Swag, she wasn’t done. Her next stop was Josie’s room.

  Josie was sitting at her vanity mirror, wiping off the little bit of makeup she had on. She only had on her nightgown as she brushed her hair. At times, she hated having such long hair. She wished that King would let her cut off just a little bit of it. Her dream was to either rock the famous Halle Berry short cut or a buzz cut like Amber Rose. She knew once she got away from King for good in a few weeks that she would be able to do whatever she wanted. She was tired of being her real-life Barbie doll. As she brushed her hair, she felt warm hands on top of hers. Startled, Josie looked back to see who it was. It was King.

  Josie looked at her and displayed a fake smile. “Hey, Mother.”

  King removed the brush from Josie’s hand and started brushing her hair. “Just look at your reflection in the mirror. I got you.”

  Josie looked at the mirror while Kin
g brushed her hair.

  “So, how was your day, my child?” King hoped this interrogation would turn out even better than the one she’d had with Swag. In her mind, she thought it was easier to get information out of a woman than it was a man.

  Josie knew King’s games all too well. “It was okay.”

  “You were gone most of the day. You even missed training today. How do you expect to be the heiress to my throne if you can’t commit? Where were you today?”

  Still having her game face on to perfection, Josie was in deep thought until King purposely yanked her hair.

  “Ouch!”

  “Sorry, sweetie. You had a nasty knot in there.”

  Josie knew damn well what King was doing. She didn’t like waiting for answers.

  “So, again, where were you most of the day . . . before I find another knot?” King smiled at Josie’s reflection. She could see the fear in her eyes.

  Josie coughed and spoke up. “After my morning jog, I wanted to go to the mall. I didn’t see anything I liked, so I went for a drive in downtown San José and did some volunteer work. Mainly, I taught some dance skills to some of the poor kids in the area. Just trying to make a difference in their lives.”

  King continued to read between the lines. She knew there was some truth to what Josie had said, but she was sure there were more pieces to the puzzle than met the eye.

  “That’s it? The mall and those little bastards in the slums.”

  Josie hated that King called the children bastards. They lived in the same place she once did.

  “Yes.”

  “So, you didn’t see Solomon on your way to do your thing.”

  Oh my God! Does she know? The kiss? The plans? Josie took a deep breath and thought quickly before King found another so-called knot in her hair.

  “Well,” Josie cleared her throat. “Excuse me. After I left the mall and the kids, I drove through the city and saw Swa—I mean, Solomon in the downtown area looking sad and crying. I picked him up, and we stopped at a nearby café and talked. He told me his boys were back in the States. We talked a little, and I was able to calm him down. I told him that everything would be okay and warned him not to piss you off.” Josie figured that the last comment was the icing on the cake.