Don Shepherd was back in town and it was time for Demetrius to collect his earning from the fight. He wanted to ask his father if he had heard about the fire at Professor Green’s house, but something told him that he didn’t want the answer to that question. Instead, he asked, “Did you have fun with Leo’s wife this weekend?”
“As a matter-of-fact, I did,” Don told his son with a silly grin on his face.
Demetrius sat down in front of his father’s desk. He shook his head. “Aren’t you worried about what Leo’s going to do about you fooling around with his wife all out in the open like that?”
Don stood and walked around his desk. He sat on the edge of it while telling his son, “Leo is done in this town. He’s going to be locked up until he’s a very old man. There’s nothing he can do to me. Because if his boys want to keep living good and eating good, they’ll be joining our team.” Shrugging he added, “Half of ‘em have already called me.”
“So just like that, you become kingpin around here... and to the king, goes the queen, huh?”
“You better know it.” Don patted his son on the back and then walked over to the wall safe. He opened it and took out two stacks. He put the money in Demetrius’ lap. “Go buy yourself another car or something. Take that stripper out and do up the town... whatever you want. You earned it.”
Demetrius had seen first-hand how much it had hurt Angel when he’d told Vivian that she had been a stripper. Now he understood why she’d become so angry, because he didn’t like the way those words fell off his father’s lips. “She’s not a stripper. Angel is good people.”
“You watch yourself, boy. Don’t go get your nose opened by some chick that just might leave you as fast as she left Frankie Day. In our business you need a woman who’s going to be down for you.”
“I’m not worried about Angel. You’re the one who needs to sleep with one eye open... over there with Leo’s woman.”
Don harrumphed as he tugged on the belt of his pants. “Your old man got this, believe that. I ain’t never met a woman I couldn’t tame.”
Before Demetrius could respond to that, Al strutted in swinging his keys with one hand while the other was stuffed in his pocket. He looked relaxed, liked he’d enjoyed his weekend. “What up, black people?”
“You know what it is,” Don responded as he and Al fist bumped.
“Hey stranger, long time no see,” Demetrius said as he studied Al. “Why didn’t you go to the fight?”
Al shrugged the question off. “Had too much to do around here to be hanging out in Chicago.”
“You didn’t miss much. I doubt if Frazier will ever get in the ring again.” Demetrius shook his head. “Saddest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“That’s because you haven’t been to the Ali fight yet.” Al put his fists up and boxed around the room. He then turned back to Demetrius and said, “Ali is about to get stung.”
“And then we are going to make another boat load of money,” Don said as he went back to the safe, pulled out a stash and handed it to Al.
“Now, get on back out there and keep selling them Ali dreams,” Don said. “We’ve got less than seven days before we hear the ring of that bell.”
“And Ali goes down,” Al laughed.
“Keep that to yourself while you’re out there taking bets. Ali is still the greatest as far as we’re concerned.”
Demetrius got up and headed for the door along with Al. But Don stopped them.
“Wait a minute, Demetrius. I don’t want any of our customers getting cute this week and making ‘draw’ bets. It’s either Ali wins or he loses, that’s it.”
~~~~
Demetrius knew that he should have been out there taking bets and collecting numbers, but he had a bundle of cash and was itching to spend some of it. So, he called Angel and told her to be dressed and ready to go by the time he got to the house.
The car seat was still in the back of his SUV since their last trip to the grocery store. Angel came out the door carrying her purse, the baby bag and the baby. Demetrius rushed to her side and grabbed DeMarcus out of her arm. He strapped him into the car seat and then got back into the driver’s seat.
“Thank you,” Angel said while looking at Demetrius as if the single act of strapping her son into a car seat had caused her to see him in a different light.
“Looked like you could use some help.” Demetrius pointed at DeMarcus. “And little man back there is picking up weight.”
“I haven’t been out shaking my money maker and leaving it to someone else to feed him. DeMarcus has been getting three, sometimes four meals a day.”
Demetrius eyed DeMarcus as he said, “Boy, I’m gon’ put a lock on them cabinets. Don’t nobody eat more than three meals a day unless he has a job.”
Angel shoved at Demetrius shoulder. “Leave him alone. He’s a growing baby.”
“Well he can eat whatever he wants today. And I’m going to buy him a bunch of toys too,” Demetrius told her.
“What’s got you in the mood to splurge?”
“I’m flush baby... just got paid,” he told her as they pulled out of the driveway and headed to the mall.
Angel was grinning from ear to ear as she picked out toys and new shoes for DeMarcus. But when Demetrius turned to her and said, “Okay, DeMarcus is all squared away. Now, what does his mama want?”
She shook her head, “I don’t want anything, Demetrius. You’ve been so good to me already that I can’t take anything else from you.”
Demetrius wanted to pull Angel into Macy’s and buy her everything that he thought would look good on her. But he could see in her eyes that she still didn’t trust him. Maybe she thought that if she took too much from him, that one day he would put her on the stroll like Frankie tried to do... heck, like his own father did to his mother.
So he didn’t fight the issue. He simply said, “Can I at least take you to dinner?”
“As much as I cook for you... boy, you better take me to dinner.”
Putting her arm in his, he said, “Okay girl, just tell me where you want to go, and I will make sure you get there.”
“I’ve got a taste for seafood. How about Red Lobster?”
“Let’s hit it and get it.” Demetrius took DeMarcus out of Angel’s arm as they headed to the car. He locked him back in his car seat and then they headed to Red Lobster.
Angel ordered shrimp and a baked potato with chicken fingers for DeMarcus. Demetrius ordered lobster. When the plates arrived, Angel told him, “I wanted to order lobster, but it cost too much.”
Demetrius was dumbfounded. He’d told her to order whatever she wanted and still she had picked shrimp instead of the lobster. Now she was looking like she wanted to grab his plate and make a run for it. Demetrius lifted a hand, getting the attention of the waitress. When the waitress came back to the table he said, “Can you bring another lobster fest and put her shrimp in a to-go box.”
“You didn’t have to do that,” Angel told him when the waitress left the table with her plate.
“You should have ordered what you wanted in the first place.” Demetrius shook his head. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you. One day you’ll realize that you’re worth a lot more than you think.”
“I’m not concerned about what I’m worth. I’m more worried about what certain things might cost me in the end.”
Putting his fork down, Demetrius was clearly offended. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that I am not Frankie. I’m not looking for anything more than what you want to give.”
“That’s what you say now. But what happens once I let my guard down?”
He wanted to tell her that his guard was already down, because he had fallen for her. Angel was the one for him, and Demetrius didn’t care what anybody else had to say about it. But if she didn’t know by now that she could trust him, how could he even begin to share his heart with her?
“Out spending your earnings from the Frazier fight I see.”
Demetrius was caught off guard as he looked up to see Coach Johnson. He smiled at first but then he noticed the angry expression on the man’s face. “I saw the news, I’m sorry about Mr. Green.”
Sam Johnson put his hands on the table and leaned so close to Demetrius that they were almost nose to nose. “You can tell your daddy that I got my gun locked and loaded.”
“What are you talking about? You don’t have anything to fear from us.” Demetrius was shocked by the way his former coach was acting. They had never had any bad blood.
“That fire at Danny’s house was no accident. Same old Don Shepherd... don’t want to pay his debts. But I better get my money after that Ali fight; or I’m going to have a bullet for the one that tries to take me out.” With that said, Johnson stalked off.
“What was that about,” Angel asked as she pulled DeMarcus out of his high chair and sat him in her lap.
“Let’s just eat our dinner. I don't want to talk about this right now.” Demetrius turned his head and watched his former coach open the door and walk out of the restaurant. The man had been good to him since the time he was a child playing in little league baseball. Coach Johnson had trusted him with his life savings, and now the man thought that he would rather kill him, than pay if he won his bet. Many times as Demetrius was growing up, he had wished that Coach Johnson had been his dad, because at least Coach had been at all of his games. And had believed in his future. Don Shepherd hadn’t even attended his final game. The one Demetrius had broken his ankle in... he’d been too busy in the streets.
Coach Johnson had nothing to fear from him, and he would make sure that no one else did anything to him before he could get his wife to the South just as he’d been planning.