by Honey
Mink sucked her teeth. “Fine.”
“During the day, you’ll actively seek treatment, and you will attend NA meetings with me every evening, Monday through Friday, at seven o’clock without fail. I’m serious, Mink.”
“Okay! Okay! Okay! What else? I’m sure you’ve got a long-ass list of other rules.”
“That’s it.” Norm M. checked his watch before he walked to his desk. “I have a very important meeting in thirty minutes, so you’ll have to leave now. I expect to see you on time at the NA meeting this evening.” He sat down, scribbled something on a notepad, and tore the page out. He offered it to Mink. “This is the address.”
“You’re serious about this shit, huh?”
“I sure am. I’m enjoying my fresh new start at life, and I won’t allow you or anyone else to sidetrack me, Mink. For the first time in years, I don’t feel like a failure. I’ve finally gotten my thunder back, and it’s all because I went to treatment. Now that I’m no longer snorting coke and I’ve started working the twelve steps of NA, my life has new meaning.”
Mink slowly approached Norm M.’s desk. She snatched the piece of paper from his hand. “I’ll be there at seven, but I need money to catch cabs all over this big-ass city. I’m going back to my motel room to take a nap.”
Without hesitation, Norm M. reached inside his pocket and removed his wallet. Quickly, he pulled out a few bills and handed them to Mink. “I’ll see you at the meeting. I’ll take you back to your hotel afterward to retrieve your things.”
“Yeah . . . whatever . . .”
Chapter Forty-five
Treasure ran toward her father and Gem with her shiny silver halo bouncing up and down on her head. “Daddy, look at how much candy I got! I love Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.”
“I like Sour Patch Kids, and I have a bunch of them,” Gem said excitedly. She opened her bag wide so Josiah could take a look inside.
“You’ll have to visit the dentist soon if you eat all that candy. It’ll give you a tummy ache too.”
“Okay. I’ll just eat a little bit tonight and save some for tomorrow.”
“I will too,” Treasure said, following her big sister’s lead.
“Good,” Josiah laughed.
“Bye, Daddy.” Gem waved.
“Where are you going, little girl?”
“Treasure and I want snow cones.”
“Uuuugh!” Josiah growled. “Your mommy would spit fire if she knew you two were eating so much sugar.”
Treasure cocked her head to the side. “But Miss Gypsie said we could eat junk food today if we promise to eat healthy food tomorrow and all the other days.”
“Did she now?”
“Yes, Daddy,” Gem confirmed with a nod. “And we promised to eat broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, and lots of fruit, starting tomorrow.”
Josiah couldn’t contain his laughter. “Well, if you two have already struck a deal with Gypsie, I won’t interfere. Enjoy your snow cones.”
“Yesss!”
“Thank you, Daddy.” Treasure wrapped her arms around his long legs and squeezed. “You’re the best daddy in the whole world.”
Josiah’s smile lingered on his face even after his daughters left him and ran through the swarming fellowship hall. They made a mad dash to the snow cone line with the wings on their matching angel costumes flapping. The church’s October holiday party was a big hit. There were over one hundred lively children in attendance, enjoying tasty food, fun games, and great prizes. Parents and guardians looked on attentively. The assortment of costumes, ranging from popular superheroes to Disney princesses, made the party much more festive.
Love may have tainted Josiah’s opinion, but he thought Gem and Treasure were the cutest little angels ever. As a matter of fact, no one could tell the proud father that his daughters weren’t the most gorgeous children at the party.
Despite the chaos ripping its way through Josiah’s life with Election Day approaching and Mink’s mysterious disappearance from rehab, Gem and Treasure were still living in peace and contentment. They were so joyful and carefree, but their daddy couldn’t take credit for their happiness. Gypsie was responsible for that. The woman was a special gift from God. She was a solid rock in his girls’ lives. Without her, Josiah dreaded to even think about how jacked up their world would be. Yes, Gypsie represented peace in the midst of the storm.
Josiah suddenly felt an unexplainable urge to seek her out amongst the lively children and attentive adults in the crowded fellowship hall. As his eyes swept around the room, he noticed Nelson, his driver, holding a baby while watching two little boys play with a race car set on the floor close by. After staring for a few moments, he recognized the three children from the giveaway event at the community center. He had made arrangements for Nelson to transport the children and their mother to the party, but he hadn’t expected him to babysit them once they arrived.
Just then, Ms. Mayes appeared and reached out for her daughter. When Nelson handed the child over, he did so with a smile and a gleam in his eyes. He and the woman appeared quite comfortable and even friendly with each other. To the naked eye, they looked more like a couple than two strangers who’d just met today. Josiah sent himself a mental memo to question Nelson about his interaction with Ms. Mayes and her children as soon as possible.
“Are you having a good time?”
The smooth tone of Gypsie’s voice was just too damn sexy. It was arousing, soothing, and damn near erotic. The stiffening of the member between his thighs was a natural response to her sultry sound combined with the subtle scent of her perfume. He turned slowly to his right to face her, hoping his body wouldn’t betray him any more than it already had by being so close to her while he battled through another day of forced celibacy. The moment his eyes took Gypsie in, Josiah knew he was in trouble. She was an overdose of temptation in her gypsy costume, head scarf, theatrical makeup, and all.
“Other than the noise, I’m enjoying myself,” I finally answered. “What about you?”
“I can handle the noise as long as the kids are happy. Gem and Treasure are having a blast, so I’m cool.”
“We’re going to have a hell of a time getting them to settle down at bedtime because of the excess sugar they’ve consumed. A little birdie told me you gave them the green light on the junk food.”
Gypsie laughed hysterically and held up both hands in surrender. “Guilty as charged. But I’ve got to teach those two about the girl code. We girls have to stick together. We can’t tell our secrets and give up info to boys, even when they try to pressure us. That’s when our girl superpowers are supposed to kick in and make us strong so we can resist the heat.”
“Resist the heat, huh?”
“Yeah,” she shot back with a seductive smile that almost caused Josiah’s knees to buckle.
“That’s a skill boys need to learn as well.” Especially this boy because I’m burning up right now in hot lust looking at your fine ass. Damn, I want you!
“I guess boys need to learn to resist the heat too, but I can’t help them with that because it’s against the girl code.”
Josiah heavily exhaled as he watched Gypsie sashay away from him, laughing, with her curvy hips and tight, round ass swaying from side to side. The sight was pure torture to a brotha in his current situation. But by the grace of God, he would resist the heat at any cost.
* * *
Mink returned the smile of the short, husky dude with the black skull cap on who had been staring at her the entire meeting. For the second night in a row, he had been making all kinds of friendly gestures to get her attention, and she had made a conscious effort to ignore him each time. He wasn’t her type. Mink had never been attracted to short and beefy guys. And his reddish complexion with freckles splattered across his hairless, baby face turned her completely off. Those two gold teeth in the front of his mouth were pretty disgusting, and those man boobs were too. Mink wrinkled her nose and turned her head, pretending to be interested in the NA mee
ting all of a sudden. The chick sharing her experience, strength, and hope about her journey from crack addiction to drug abstinence had become long-winded. She was rambling all over the damn place.
“Excuse me,” Mink whispered in Norm M.’s ear and tapped his thigh. “I have to tinkle.”
He turned his long legs to the side to allow her to ease past him and continue down the row of folding chairs occupied by other druggies. The conference room in the run-down, roach-infested hotel was wall-to-wall crammed with some of New York City’s weirdest-looking junkies. There were bikers rocking spiked-out leather gear, Wall Street suits with their noses in the air, teenagers of all races, and a village of rugged thugs, which included the fat, freckled-face dude who had been eyeballing Mink.
As soon as she exited the conference room, leaving the smell of stale coffee brewing and human musk behind, she spotted a tall, white chick with fuchsia and lime-green hair. She was headed toward the double glass exit doors, clutching a pack of Newports in her hand. Mink remembered her from the meeting the night before, and since the girl had shown up again, she decided to introduce herself. What was the harm in making friends during her brief stay in the city?
“Hey, you,” Mink called out, power walking behind her. “My name is Mink, and I’m new to the Big Apple.”
Miss Crayola Head whipped around to face Mink when she got outside in the cold night air. “You talking to me?” She lit a cigarette, took a long drag, and released a cloud of smoke into the air.
Sarcastically, Mink looked all around her. “Yeah. I saw you last night and then again tonight, so I thought I’d say hello.”
“My name’s Kyleigh, and I’m two weeks out of a ninety-day treatment program after spending a year in the slammer. This is my last chance at life, and I’m trying my best not to fuck it up. Been in and out of treatment programs since I was 15. I lost my kids, my old man, and my pride, so, I ain’t got nothing else to lose. I just want to get rid of my meth and booze demons once and for all. What’s your story?”
“Um, can I bum a cigarette?” Mink asked.
“Sure.” Kyleigh handed Mink a cigarette and lit it for her the moment she secured it between her lips.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
“Like I said, my name is Mink. I just got out of rehab in Montana after a little over thirty days. I’m in the city hanging out with a friend for a minute, trying to figure out my next move.”
“What’s your pleasure?”
Mink frowned. “Huh?”
Kyleigh tossed her cigarette butt to the pavement and stomped it out with the heel of her boot. “What’s your drug of choice?”
“Oh . . . I’m a recovering heroin addict, but I think I’ve got a grip on it now. I just need to work on some personal issues, then my life will be back to normal.”
“We’re addicts, Mink. You and I will never be normal. Yeah, we can live drug free as long as we work a program, but we’ll never be like regular people. That’s just—”
Kyleigh stopped talking for some strange reason without warning. Her eyes widened as she stared at someone behind Mink. Mink glanced over her shoulder to see why she had spazzed out.
Chapter Forty-six
“What’s up, ladies?”
The fat, red dude with freckles was standing behind them, grinning his face off. Mink was kind of surprised it was him because his soft and even voice didn’t match his husky appearance. His tone was boyish, almost feminine. He pulled a half-smoked cigar from the breast pocket of his leather jacket and lit it.
“Um, I-I . . . I’m going back in-inside,” Kyleigh stammered. “It was nice meeting you.”
“Yeah, the same to you.”
Mink watched Kyleigh scurry back inside the building like she had seen a ghost or some other scary being. She shook her head, thinking she was just another paranoid addict acting impulsively.
“I’m Rizz,” the guy said, offering Mink his hand.
Hesitantly, she reached out and quickly shook his hand and released it. “I’m Mink.”
Rizz nodded. “I ain’t ever met a chick with a boss name like Mink. You ain’t from around here. Where you from, ma?”
“I was an army brat, so I’ve lived all over the world. But Maryland is home for me, although I’ve spent the last fifteen years in the Deep South.”
“Let me guess. You’re from the 305. Yeah, you look like one of them Miami chicks with all that long, pretty hair. But it’s yours too. Rizz knows real hair. And you rocking that bronze tan on that yellow, butter-soft skin. Mmm-mmm, you a 305 dime.”
Mink smiled and shook her head before she took a long drag on her cigarette. “Wrong,” she shot back, exhaling smoke through her nostrils. “I lived in Atlanta.”
“Word?”
Mink nodded. “Yeah.”
“Okay. You juicy enough to be a peach. What did you do down in the A? I bet you were one of them video chicks, right? You got a dancer’s body. So, you could’ve been a pole princess.”
“Fuck you. I’m an educated woman with a master’s degree in business. I sold millions of dollars in commercial real estate during my career. How come niggas think the only thing pretty women can do is shake their asses or lay on their backs for a living? I’m out.”
Mink dropped her cigarette on the ground and stomped off toward the entrance of the building. She didn’t get very far, though, because Rizz reached out, grabbed her wrist, and gently pulled her back. In the blink of an eye, they came face-to-face. The sudden closeness made it possible for Mink to take in Rizz’s facial features. Deep brown, almond-shaped eyes shaded by curly lashes softened the face of the asshole that had insulted her. Sincere regret was present in those eyes too.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you, ma. What I was trying to say was you’re beautiful, and your body is perfect like the chicks in them rap videos and the ones who dance at the strip clubs. Forgive me for the fucked-up way I said it.”
“Apology accepted. And thanks for the compliments.”
“Every word came from my heart. So, what’s a pretty, intelligent woman like you doing hanging out with a bunch of drug addicts?”
“I’m trying like hell to stay off the needle. I’ve been clean for a minute, but I want to maintain. What about you?”
“I ain’t no addict, yo. I took a case for my brother. The cops found some of the drugs I had been holding for him at my crib, so I had to do what I had to do to keep my son from going into the system. Thank God it was just a little bit of weed. I was lucky because I didn’t have no priors, and I passed the piss test. But the assistant DA was still trying to stack time on me. So, the lawyer my brother had hired for my defense worked out a deal for me. I got probation, a fine, community service, and six months in Narcotics Anonymous. I ain’t mad, though, because my son didn’t get taken, and my brother dodged major time in the pen.”
Voices captured Mink’s attention before she had a chance to respond to Rizz’s drug saga. The meeting was obviously over because she recognized faces of some of the attendees exiting the building. Norm M. was among them, and he didn’t look too pleased to see Mink standing outside talking to a stranger and fellow junkie. He cut his eyes at her as he walked in her direction and talked to a man walking beside him at the same time.
“I’ve got to go,” Mink said dryly.
Rizz looked toward the front of the hotel. “You here with somebody?”
“Yeah . . . kind of. I’ll tell you about it some other time. I’ll see you around.”
“Hey, drop by my job so we can hang out, if you can. I work at the Gentle Beast Pool Hall and Grille on West 124th Street in Harlem from eleven to five, Monday through Saturday. Everybody knows me, so just ask for Rizz.”
Norm M. was just two feet away on his approach with a nasty expression on his face, so Mink didn’t utter a word to Rizz in response. She simply stuffed her hands inside her coat pockets and nodded. Still silent, she followed Norm M. down the sidewalk where he waved down a cab. The moment t
hey were seated in the back of the yellow midsize car and the door slammed shut, Mink became fidgety as hell as a pair of gray eyes sliced through the darkness and shot daggers at her.
“You are not to associate with any of the people in NA outside of the meetings unless it’s your sponsor. Not everyone in that room is there for the right reason. Most come by force. Either a judge, their employer, or an insistent loved one has led them to NA.”
Mink sucked her teeth. “What difference does it make why they come? The important thing is they show up, right?”
“Bullshit. The desire to be clean and sober is the most important thing. So, no matter if the court, a boss, or a nagging spouse issues an ultimatum to a drug addict like you and me, they will not recover unless they really want to.”
“That’s not true. Your family members and a judge twisted your arm into rehab, and now, look at you. You’re clean and working the program.”
“That’s because at some point during the process, I began to want it for myself. I got serious. And since I’ve been in New York, my life has gotten better each day I’ve stayed clean. I’m done with the bullshit, Mink. Drugs and alcohol are a thing of my past. I want to live, and I want to live large.”
“You ain’t the only one who wants to live, Norm M. I want to live too. Hell, everybody wants to live.”
“If you really want to live, then I suggest you spend the rest of your days here searching for another long-term treatment program, attending meetings, and keeping your distance from the city’s undesirables. You only have a few days, my dear.”
“What if I can’t find another rehab facility to take me?”
Norm M. looked at Mink through narrowed eyes. “That’s not my problem. We agreed that you would be a guest in my home for one week, and you’d live by my rules during your visit. Nothing has changed. If you haven’t handled your business by your scheduled date of departure, I will buy you a one-way ticket home to Atlanta.”