SIXTY-ONE
Lil Long walked into the workout area where Nesto told him he would be. It was plain to see that Lil’ Long didn’t belong. He moved between big bulges of biceps and quads. He spotted Nesto surrounded by some other prisoners. They were all working out, lifting heavy weights. Lil’ Long ambled over to their corner of the gym.
“Yo, y’all mad diesel on this side here,” he said and embraced Nesto.
“Sup, Lil’ Long,” Nesto replied. “You look like you may wanna join me and my peeps here. Everyone, this Lil’ Long, the cat from around the way. Don’t tell me you forgot? Nesto just mentioned that shit less than an hour ago.”
“You up, Nesto. It’s your set, baby,” a man with huge biceps said.
“Excuse me here, daddy. This the last set I’m doing. These Russians ain’t gonna kill Nesto,” he said then put himself in position to lift the weight. Lil’ Long watched Nesto hoist the barbell filled with big round plates of steel. Lil’ Long was getting dizzy after the fifteenth rep but he could hear the grunts as Nesto hefted the barbell again and again. After the twentieth rep, the weights slammed down.
“Whoa, hold up. You da fucking man. How much weight was that?” Lil’ long asked as he gave Nesto a pound.
“Yo,” Nesto said gasping. “That was what? Five fifteen, five twenty and change?” Nesto huffed. “Ya gotta do that shit twenty times, daddy,” he said as his breathing slowly returned to norm.
“Shit, that’s a lot. Neva ketch me doing no shit like that. No way, baby. The only thing I’m lifting up is da four pound... Desert Eagles, kid.” Lil’ Long laughed and Nesto joined him as they walked away.
“Let’s go blaze sump’n, my nigga. I wanna tell you ‘bout my son. Daddy you know Tina?”
“Which Tina?”
“You gotta see her. She da bomb, kid. Got da fatty with long black hair. Nice pair o’ tatas too.”
“Yeah, she sounds like a dime. I must’ve seen her in da hood. Where she hang?”
“She be uptown all da time on da Eastside. Her peeps Puerto Rican.” As Nesto painted the picture, Lil’ Long realized exactly who he was referring to and tried not to seem shocked when he heard Nesto saying, “She got my shortie, my little man. Nesto Junior, that’s my heart, daddy. C’mon, let’s blaze this and I’ll show you a picture of him, sun.” Nesto swaggered with confidence to the cell block and found the picture. He made himself busy rolling the blunt as Lil’ Long took a look at the photo. He recognized the beautiful woman as Tina from around the way. This was a chick he had dogged many a night. A smile consumed his demeanor.
“You got a lovely fam, man,” Lil’ Long said with wink.