Chapter 28
“Scoop, what it do, my nigga?” Manny greeted him, hopping out of his black Yukon Denali.
Manny was from the west side, but had grown up all over Charlotte, and pretty much knew everybody. Scoop used to score dope from him awhile back when things dried up. He had some good prices, too. Ralphy had put a halt to all that once he got back in the game, so it had been a minute since Manny had been around this way.
“Tell me something good,” Scoop said, giving him dap.
“I know ya boy Ralphy got da block back, but I thought you should know that I got dat work for da low, low,” Manny said, lighting up a cigarette. “Whenever you ready to do ya own thing, just let me know. I got a steady connect who’s blessing me right now. I can get you right. All you gotta do is give me the word.”
Scoop looked at all the dopefiend traffic walking up and down the block and thought how much he wanted his block back. Ralphy had his claws dug in deep, and he wasn’t trying to let go. Scoop was making good money too, just not as much as Ralphy was.
“Ay, yo. You remember da boy Dre who got killed on the other side?” Scoop asked.
“Yeah, yeah. Good dude, just gave back a life sentence before coming home,” Manny said, nodding his head.
“Yeah, well, homicide detectives came around here asking a bunch of questions. They think Ralphy had something to with that. Between me and you, I don’t think my boy gon’ be out here much longer,” Scoop added.
“Damn, you sure about that?” Manny asked, picking up on where Scoop was going with his comment.
“Yeah, they said he stood over Dre and hit him up close range. Punk-ass police asked me if I gave him the gun to do it. I said, ‘Hell no.’” Scoop chuckled.
Scoop didn’t have to talk direct in order for Manny to understand that Ralphy was the one who killed Dre, and Scoop was the one who supplied the gun and was possibly there. Scoop wasn’t trying to get Ralphy locked up directly, but he knew that if Manny spread the rumors to the right people, niggas was going to be gunning for Ralphy. With Ralphy all the way out of the way, Scoop could get his block back and probably be the number one man on the east side. Now that he had Manny ready to supply him with whatever he needed, there was no need for him to keep pinching pennies and riding Ralphy’s coattails. It was time for a change. This was the part of the game Ralphy had forgotten about; but he was going to be reminded of in the worst way, real soon.
* * *
Falisha sat in the waiting area at the OB/GYN clinic waiting for her name to be called. A lot of unprotected sex had been going on between her and Lamar, and since Falisha knew that Lamar and Kim were also having unprotected sex, it was time for her to get checked out for any STD she could have contracted from them.
“Hey, Linda,” Falisha greeted her, walking into the room. She and her doctor were on first-name basis since Falisha didn’t hesitate when it came down to her health. After changing into her gown, lying back on the table, and getting an STD swab, Falisha sat there and waited for her results. After about twenty minutes, Linda came back into the room.
“You got a clean bill of health, Falisha,” Linda said, looking at her clipboard. “Now, here’s your vitamins. Take one a day. Studies show that babies mature better when the mother takes her—”
“Wait, did you just say ‘baby’?” Falisha interrupted.
“Oh, my God! You didn’t know that you were pregnant?” Linda asked. “You’re about six months along.”
“I can’t be. I just had my period about two weeks ago.” Falisha laughed, thinking it had to be a mistake.
After Linda explained to Falisha that it was possible for her to get pregnant and still have some bleeding, the laughing stopped. Falisha sat there on the patient table and let her head drop into her hands. She didn’t know what she was about to do, and for the next fifteen to twenty minutes she continued sitting there, allowing the shocking news to settle in.
* * *
Tammy sat on her bed, looking at the set of keys Darious had just passed her, and still couldn’t believe that he had rented out a three-bedroom home in the country for them to live in. He put Tammy’s name on the lease along with his, just to let it be known that they were in this together.
“What about my kids? Chris is going to always be in their lives and so will his family. I don’t wanna bring that kind of drama out there,” Tammy said, looking over at Darious standing by the window.
“Look, we can keep this as a front. His family can still come over here to check up on the kids but, at nighttime, I need you home with me,” Darious explained.
“And how long is that supposed to go on?” Tammy asked.
“Until ya baby father and the rest of his family get it through their head that I’m not going anywhere.” Darious meant every word of it, too. The lengths he was willing to go in order to be with Tammy had no boundaries, and Tammy was loving the fact that she had somebody like him willing to stand up and fight to be with her.
“Come here,” he said, walking over and grabbing her hand and pulling her off the bed.
When they got downstairs, Darious reached in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. Tammy looked at him with one eyebrow up. She wondered what he was up to now. They both walked out onto the front steps. Darious’s two homies were still standing in front of the house and, in the middle of the street, Darious’s white Dodge Charger was double parked.
“Dis ya car now,” he said, separating his house keys from his car keys and passing them to her. “This is so you can get back and forth from here to home whenever you need to. I’ll transfer the title over to your name when I get off of work tomorrow,” Darious said, leaning in and giving her a kiss. “It’s team us. Is you wit’ me?” Darious asked, sticking his fist out for a dap.
Tammy dapped him, looked into his eyes, and smiled. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to give him another kiss. “Yeah, it’s team us,” she confirmed, kissing him yet again.
Just when Tammy was in a state of bliss, she looked down the block and saw an all-black Chevy Impala creeping up. Knowing whose car it was, Tammy tapped Darious for him to pay attention to what was about to go down. Outlaw was back on his bullshit again but, this time, Darious was on point.
* * *
“Now don’t be over here cryin’ an’ shit,” Ms. D said, walking into the room where Falisha sought refuge. “Women get pregnant every day. All the fun and games are over. It’s time to put on ya big girl panties now,” she said, taking a seat in her love chair.
“I don’t even know if I’ma keep it,” Falisha said, wiping the tears from her face.
Ms. D shook her head, reached over, and grabbed her stash of weed from the corner of her chair. Ms. D always was and always would be against abortion, except for in certain situations like rape or incest. Other than those two things, she felt like a baby being terminated was an act of cowardice.
“You listen to me, Falisha, and you listen good,” Ms. D said in a serious manner while she poured some weed into her rolling papers. “That is a blessing from God, and He don’t give you more than you can bear. That baby you got forming in ya stomach didn’t do nothing to you. You was woman enough to lie down and spread those legs, so be woman enough to become a mother as a result of those fifteen minutes of glory you enjoyed so much. What if your mother didn’t wanna have you?” Ms. D asked, rolling the joint up and licking the tip.
“Lamar ain’t ready for no baby,” Falisha spoke.
“Well, that’s Lamar’s problem. He’ll get his mind right; and if he don’t, oh well. Plenty of women have done it by themselves. That baby is going to have you in its life, and that’s all he or she really need,” Ms. D said, lighting up her joint and taking a puff.
Falisha looked at Ms. D in confusion. Despite the good jewels she had dropped on her, Falisha was trying to figure out why Ms. D was smoking weed. Her whole time of knowing Ms. D, she had never seen her smoking weed, and here she was blowing it out of her nose like a steam dragon.
Ms. D had forgotten that she didn’t tell the girls about her cancer. She wanted to, but she still wasn’t up for the pity party she knew was coming after she revealed it. She sat there thinking about it while Falisha waited for an explanation. She realized that she wasn’t going to be able to hide it forever. So, as an afterthought, she made it known.
“I have cancer, Falisha.”
* * *
Outlaw and Ratchet got out of the car, but only Outlaw walked over to where Darious and Tammy were standing. Ratchet stood between the passenger side door with a Mack-90, as he was instructed by Outlaw. Darious gave his boys a look, letting them know that drama was approaching. They both put their hands on the butts of their guns sitting on their waists. Outlaw noticed it, but didn’t care, nor did he show any signs of fear. He walked right past them and right up to Darious and Tammy. If looks could kill, Tammy and Darious would have been dead by now, ’cause all they were getting from Outlaw was the mean mug.
“So, my brotha tells me to leave you alone and you free to be wit’ whoever you wanna be wit’,” Outlaw told Tammy, but looked over at Darious. “He’s not gon’ call you, write you, or bother you about seeing the kids while he’s locked up. I also give you my word that I’m not gon’ mess with you or your sucka-ass boyfriend. But you can rest assured that I’ll be over here to check on my niece and nephew often. I shouldn’t have to tell you what I’ll do if you ever put ya hands on one of them,” he said, looking at Darious.
Darious was silent. Tammy was so shocked at everything he said, she didn’t even know how to respond. What she did know was that everything that came out of Outlaw’s mouth came from Chris, and if this was what he said, then this was what it would be. Outlaw was about to walk off, but stopped and turned back around. He had something else he wanted to get off his chest.
“You know, I’m kinda glad my brotha finally finished with you. The nigga really loved you too much. Y’all been together all these years, and from day one he took care of ya ungrateful ass. He sacrificed his life out here on these streets to make sure you and his kids didn’t struggle. Yeah, he could have been a bitch-ass square sucka,” he emphasized, looking at Darious. “But that wasn’t him, and you damn sure didn’t complain when all that money was rollin’ in. But now since he’s at the worst place in his life and you got the upper hand, you got the nerve to turn ya back on him. Of all people. Shit, to me that shows a lot about your character and the kind of woman you are. You couldn’t even be there for him. That’s foul, and I don’t respect that. Some wife you are. Buddy, I hope you know what you getting.” Outlaw smirked. “Good luck with dis chick,” he told Darious before walking off.
Darious was going to set him straight, but figured he would leave well enough alone. He knew what he had in Tammy, and there was no need to try to tell a nigga like Outlaw what he or his brother couldn’t see.