CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

DENIM

 

What the fuck is going on?

Standing in the middle of the madness, I couldn’t believe what Bambi just told me. Over and over I replayed her words in my mind hoping I heard them incorrectly.

Camp was dead.

I remembered the dream that I had a while back, the one with a coffin being dropped in the ground with the Kennedy name on top of it. And yet I felt like the bloodshed was far from over.

Bambi said there would be loss but I never thought it would happen like this.

Scarlett was sitting on the sofa, her face beet red. Bambi sat on her left and Race on her right as they both tried to console her. But how do you console a woman who has lost her husband? I didn’t know about Scarlett but there’d be nothing anybody could tell me, not even Jesus Christ himself, if something happened to Bradley.

When I looked over at my brothers-in-law, I never saw them so distraught. Kevin was leaning against the wall. His head pointed up towards the ceiling and one hand covered his face.

Ramirez was sitting at the table with Bradley. A bottle of liquor sat between them and they were drinking glass after glass.

I couldn’t believe what we’d gotten ourselves into. What started with us wanting to defend our operation ended in us losing a member of our family.

Still, something had to be done. We couldn’t lie around and take this shit. If ever there was a time to strike back, now was it.

I walked into the middle of the living room and looked at everyone. “What are we going to do now?” I asked.

I guess my voice was too low because they didn’t respond or seem to hear me. So I spoke louder. I wanted to be heard over the crying. Over the, ‘I can’t believe he’s gone’ outbursts. Someone took a shot at our family and we had to fire back. “What the fuck are we going to do about this disrespect?” I screamed.

Now I had their attention.

I took a deep breath and said, “I know this shit hurts. And I know we’re going to feel this forever. I lost a brother-in-law who I loved.” I looked at the fellas. “You lost a brother and Scarlett a husband. But them mothafuckas need to be dealt with tonight.” I pointed at the floor. “I say we do what needs to be done before they take somebody else from us. When the war is over, we can cry then.”

“She’s right,” my mother said walking up behind me.

The moment I heard her voice, the hairs on my skin stood up. I knew she was about to say something reckless and I was horrified at what might happen to her.

“What ya’ll need to do is get the fuck up and find them niggas who shot that boy,” she said sitting at the table with Bradley and Ramirez. She poured herself some liquor in Bradley’s cup and downed it before slamming it back on the table. “I thought ya’ll were gangsters. None of you seemed to have a problem pointing a gun at me but now look at you.” She poured another cup and downed that too. “When someone kills one of your own, you’re sitting around crying. Look like some wangsters to me.”

I walked over to her, leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Mama, now is not the time for this shit. I’m warning you.”

“Why ain’t it? They sitting around acting like the rest of ya’ll ain’t alive. Shit, if it was me I would—”

“You would do what?” Bradley asked cutting her off. He was standing over top of her with clenched fists and I wondered if this time he would use them.

And if I would care.

“Get the fuck from around me, boy,” she said. “I’m just speaking my opinion like everybody else ‘round here. I’m tired of ya’ll leaving Mitch and me in the room like we in a refugee camp. We both getting sick of it. It’s time you learn to respect me.”

Upon hearing Mitch’s name, Bambi stood up and walked toward her. The anger was written all over her face. “You’ve been consorting with Mitch?” she asked calmly.

“Not sure what consorting is but yes, we had a conversation or two.” She paused. “Why? What’s the problem? I’m a grown woman and he’s a grown man.”

Bambi stared at my mother with hatred. I’d seen that look one other time. When she was beefing with Aunt Bunny and now Bunny was dead.

My mother could be messy but I didn’t like how Bambi was looking at her. After all, she was still my mother. “You okay, Bam?” I asked.

Bambi’s gaze turned toward me. She leaned in and said, “Get rid of her, Denim. I’m feeling violent and the last thing I want to do is react on your mother. But if she stays a minute longer, I will attack.” She walked over to Kevin and he stared down at her for a second before pulling her into an embrace. I hadn’t seen them express love to one another like that in months.

I turned toward my mother. “Come, on, ma,” I said softly.

“Why I always got to go? For once in a conversation, why can’t someone else leave?”

“Now is not the fucking time!” I yelled. “Now come the fuck on!” I grabbed her by her arm and walked her toward her room.

I turned around momentarily and looked at Bambi. Her face rested against Kevin’s chest and she was staring directly at my mother.

I knew even more that I had to get her out of there. Or else, like Bunny, she may not survive.