From Ratchet to Riches

by Patrice Balark

  Mecca low-key wanted to snap; same way she’ll do with anybody else, but she needed a phone, so she remained quiet the rest of the ride.

  The trip from the phone store to their next destination was a short one. While headed there, Mecca unwrapped the phone and began playing around with it. She was excited about it but knew Yana was gon’ have a field day with the games she could download.

  “Aight, let’s ride.”

  Mecca was so consumed with her new phone, she hadn’t notice them pull into the parking lot of a funeral home.

  “We shouldn’t be long. We can grab something to eat after we leave here. Take some food back to your sisters.” He stated while he got out the car.

  Mecca trailed behind Capone as they entered Brown’s Funeral Home. When he said he was going to take care of Coby’s funeral, Mecca didn’t fully believe him but here they were at a funeral home.

  “Mr. Brown, how are you today?” A woman appeared from a small office by the front door and greeted him.

  “Hey Kelly. I’m good. How are you?” he replied.

  “Ahhhh…. I can’t complain.” She said, smiling at Capone and then Mecca.

  “That’s good to hear. Is Diamond and Jaylan here?” he questioned before grabbing a stack of mail off the desk.

  “Jaylan yes. I haven’t seen Diamond in a few days.” She reported.

  Capone and the unknown lady talked for a few more minutes before they left and went into another office. This office was pretty much empty, minus a desk and a bookshelf stacked with books. Capone motioned for Mecca to take a seat before he closed the door. He then walked over to the bookshelf and pulled two large binders out.

  “Here’s what we have for lil man.”

  Mecca opened the first binder and automatically fought back tears. Seeing the tiny caskets made her heart ache. Reality was setting in; her baby brother was gone.

  “The other binder has samples of flower bouquets and other arrangements. Whatever you want is on the house.” He informed her.

  “So, you own this funeral home?” she asked out right.

  “Nah, not really. It’s part of the family business, but my older sister and brother runs the place.” He replied.

  “Older? Capone, how old are you?” she asked.

  Everything about him was a mystery; therefore, Mecca tried to figure out as much as she could without seeming too nosey.

  “I’m twenty-one.” He smirked.

  “How old are you?”

  Capone leaned on the desk directly in front of Mecca and questioned her.

  “I’m--- I’m eighteen.” She stuttered just as there was a knock on the door.

  The closed door swung open before Capone could welcome whoever was on the other side in. Mecca looked up from the binder she was fake focusing on and directed her attention to the door.

  “Oh, my bad bro. Kelly said you was in a meeting, but I ain’t know she meant MEETING MEETING.” The guy said as he peeked his head around Capone, eyeing Mecca.

  “Nah nigga, not that kind of meeting. What up?” Capone laughed.

  “I just had some questions about payroll, but I’ll holler at Diamond.” The gentleman sounded before closing the door shut.

  Capone chuckled before directing his attention back to Mecca. She knew just from looking at the guy that he had to be Capone’s brother-- they looked exactly alike.

  “My bad. Where were we?” he asked, directing his attention back to her.

  “The funeral. I thank you so much for all you are doing, but I can’t accept this. It’s bad enough that I owe you money for those drugs.” She explained.

  “I told you not to worry about it. You had my back and now I got yours. We good.” He replied, giving a reassuring smile.

  14

  Danielle listened to Mecca’s story about what went down at the funeral home in amazement. Capone was officially her realistic book bae, but she knew he had a thing for Mecca.

  “Sooooo…. He took you to get that pizza you bought home last night, dropped you off, and that’s it?” Dani harassed her older sister.

  “For the hundredth time, yes. He real cool though. I still can’t believe it. What are the odds of him having a funeral home?” Mecca replied.

  “I don’t know, but I’m happy that we will be able to say our final goodbyes Saturday to Coby.”

  Danielle’s words left everyone in the room in a frozen state. Everything was still surreal and truthfully, it hadn’t hit them yet. Dani remembered how final things were when they buried Madea; she knew it would be the same, if not worst for when they bury Coby.

  With so much going on, migraines had become an everyday thing for Dani, which she knew couldn’t be healthy. In fact, her health was the last thing on her mind when you’ll think it would be her biggest concern.

  “Mecca, maybe you should ask to borrow the abortion money from Capone.” Danielle stated.

  “It crossed my mind but with all he’s doing already, I ain’t wanna push it.” She replied.

  Dani understood what Mecca was saying. Asking for anything additional at this point would seem like an ungrateful move. They still knew little to nothing about him in the first place, and the last thing they wanted to do was seem selfish.

  “Honestly at this point, I don’t know what to do.” Mecca continued, hanging her head low, looking defeated.

  Seeing her sister that way hurt Dani. Mecca was always the strong one with all the right answers. Danielle blamed herself fully for the extra stress she placed on Mecca’s shoulders. It was at that moment that she came to her senses. Dani couldn’t wait around for a handout; she had to handle her business herself.

  “I’ll be back.” She announced, standing to her feet and sliding on her shoes.

  “Where you goin’?” Mecca questioned.

  “I wanna go.” Yana whined.

  “Stephany back from Atlanta. I’m going to go see her.” Dani replied.

  Stephany was the closest thing Danielle had to a friend. She transferred to their school last year from Atlanta. The two of them clicked instantly, but with her being back and forth between states all summer, it had been hard for them to kick it.

  “Don’t be all day. We gotta make a Wal-Mart run.” Mecca stated as Danielle headed out the door.

  Wal-Mart runs meant stealing the shit they needed. Both sisters were tired of it, but it had become a surviving tool for them. Everything in life they were dealing with required special survival skills.

  Danielle stepped onto the porch and looked at the sky. The dark clouds indicated rain which was much needed because they had been dealing with a drought. Along with the rain, the thunder and lightning soothed her. If everything went as planned, she’ll be laid up in the bed, enjoying the storm.

  Danielle walked down 16th street, heading towards Central Park. Stephany lived the opposite way, but she never had plans on going there in the first place. Making a right at the corner, Dani spotted Lisa, Kella, and Amber, and smiled. Taking a deep breath, she pulled her hair to the back and secured it in a bun before proceeding towards them.

  “This bitch got a lot of nerve walking down our block.” Amber said, jumping off the porch and stepping in her way.

  “Wad up bitch?” Dani smiled.

  “You must want to get yo ass beat.” Lisa replied, coming down the stairs and standing next to her cousin.

  “I’ll walk wherever the fuck I wanna walk.” Dani snapped, hoping they fell for it.

  Judging from the look on all three of their faces, they had and were ready to set it off.

  “You big tough when Mecca ain’t around.” Kella finally spoke up, joining the other two clowns.

  “A mfer don’t need Mecca. Now either y’all gon’ move the fuck out the way so I can go about my business or y’all gon’ bust a move…. Which one is it?” Danielle taunted.

  Not sticking around for one of them to answer, Danielle pushed through them with attempts to walk away when one of them grabbed her by the hair, pulling her backwards to the grou
nd. A sinister smile spread across her face as she hit the concrete. Danielle took both of her arms and placed them on top of her head as they kicked away. Hard blows to her side, stomach, and back made her curl up in a ball. Remembering the reason she was there, Dani loosened up a little, allowing them full access to her stomach.

  Lisa, Amber, and Kella talked shit as they beat her ass. Danielle could hear people yelling and running towards the fight, but she was more concerned about not getting hit in the head. The shots to her body was enough, and she just hoped it worked.

  Instead of the crowd breaking up the fight, they pulled out their phones and began recording. Danielle definitely didn’t want to be the laughing stock of the community, but she had to take one for the team. She knew her and Mecca could come back through there and fuck shit up, but the ass whopping she was now receiving was all for a purpose.

  “GET BACK… GET THE FUCK OFF OF HER!” Dani heard an unfamiliar female voice yell from over her head.

  The kicks and punches slowed down, allowing Danielle to crack her eyes open for the first time and look around. There she spotted a woman pulling each of them off of her one by one. From where Danielle was laying, the woman was handling them like she was Hercules, pulling them at the back of their collars and slinging them down the street. Dani expected Lisa and her crew to come for the lady since they were still outnumbered but they didn’t. Instead, they headed back on the porch as the crowd began to disperse.

  “You ok? Can you move?” the woman, who was now eye level with Dani, asked.

  The light skinned woman with a face full of freckles examined Danielle’s body with her eyes before she tried to help her to her feet. Dani tried her best to move with the assistance from the stranger, but the sharp pains that erupted through her lower back made it difficult.

  “Aht. Aht. Take yo time.”

  “You wouldn’t be in this much pain if all these STUPID MUTHAFUCKERS would have helped instead of watching!” she yelled out in aggravation.

  After a few tries, Danielle was on her feet, but the pain was intensifying.

  “You bleeding. You need to get to a hospital.” The lady said, her eyes traveling from Danielle’s eyes to the crouch of her leggings.

  For the first time, she felt the moisture between her legs.

  “I’ll drop you off, let’s go.” She continued, ushering Danielle to her car, which was double parked in the middle of the street.

  “Nah, I’m cool. I’ll….. I live around the corner. I can just…..”

  “Girl get yo ass in this car.” She urged, opening the front door wider before helping her in.

  Knowing that she needed medical attention, Danielle stop putting up a fight, endured the pain for the time being, and remained quiet.

  “You need boxing lessons little girl.” The unknown lady peeled off into traffic and commented.

  “I---I can fight.” Dani painfully replied.

  “I can’t tell, it was almost like you wanted to……awwwww I get it now.” She glanced over at Dani and stated before focusing back on the road.

  Mt. Sinai Hospital was about seven minutes away from where they were, but the way the mystery lady drove, they were there in three minutes. Not wanting to go into detail about the situation with a nosey, caring ass stranger, Danielle remained quiet and allowed whatever speculations she had to speculate. She owed her a thank you, not an explanation.

  “I got it from here. Thank you so much for everything. I really appreciate it…..” Danielle paused, remembering she didn’t even know the lady’s name.

  “It’s Pippi but you can call me Pip.” She smiled, showing off a perfect set of teeth.

  “Well thank you Ms. Pip.” Dani repeated again as she struggled out of the car and into the emergency room doors.

  15

  It had become like déjà vu to Mecca with Danielle in and out of the hospital. When Darrius knocked on their door talking about some girls around the corner were jumping on Danielle, she panicked. Mecca rushed Yana down to Kay’s house while Darrius drove her to the hospital. Thoughts as to why and how she ended up the opposite direction of Stephany’s crib were plaguing her mind. Danielle and her lying and sneaky ways were beginning to drive Mecca insane. She thought that they had that type of bond where no lies could fit but boy was Mecca wrong.

  Taking the elevator to the third floor, Mecca rushed off so fast that she didn’t see the woman walking passed until it was too late.

  “Oh shit! I am so sorry ma’am.” Mecca apologized, focusing on the woman she collided with.

  “Sister-girl is that you?” The older woman’s familiar voice and face registered to her mind.

  “Ms…..Ms…. Nurse Peaches, that’s you?” Mecca quizzed through squinted eyes.

  “As long as the Lord is willing, it’ll be me.” She smiled, showing that one gold tooth.

  “Your sister. That damn girl still a trooper, huh?” Ms. Peaches continued.

  Hearing that her sister was a trooper meant that Dani was good and still fighting. Mecca had no details of the fight other than three hoes jumped her and she was taken to the hospital.

  “What happened? How is she?” Mecca questioned, not wanting to speculate any further.

  “Well….it was a fight. She’s not talking much but other than being stubborn, she’s fine.” Ms. Peaches reported with a smile.

  “And the baby?” Mecca’s eyebrow rose.

  “I’ll let you talk to her.”

  And just like that, with a pat on the back, Nurse Peaches was gone. Mecca stood still in her own thoughts for a few seconds before she headed down the hall to Danielle’s room. Once there, she gave three light knocks before entering.

  The room held more sunlight than it did the last visit, but it still carried the same eerie feeling. Turning the corner, Mecca found an empty hospital bed and began to ponder until she heard the sound of a toilet flushing. Darting her head in the direction of the bathroom, the door finally opened and out walked Dani.

  “What up shorty?” Danielle spoke with a head nod before literally hopping inside the bed.

  “You don’t act like somebody that just got jumped on.” Mecca replied, eyeing her little sister suspiciously.

  “Them hoes fight like girls.” Dani smacked her lips and replied.

  “Wait. Wait. I’m lost.” Mecca held both hands in the air and explained.

  “I was headed to see Steph, but there was a change of plans. I went down Central Park and like I thought, Lisa and her clowns were out. I started some shit. Let them beat my ass but only my lower body, stomach and shit.” She explained with her hands, pointing to her stomach and legs.

  “After about two strong minutes and a couple of good blows, them hoes did what I needed them to do.” She continued with a smile.

  “And what was that?” Mecca asked, raising her right eyebrow again.

  “What you think?” Dani turned her head to the side and asked through annoyed eyes.

  Just as Mecca fixed her mouth to reply, there was a knock on the door and without invitation, in walked Nurse Peaches.

  “Hey babies!” She beamed before removing her glasses from the top of her head, placing them on her eyes.

  “Ms. Danielle Young. You are set to go. I bought you some extra pads for the bleeding. Other than that and cramping, you are good to go my dear.” Nurse Peaches spoke.

  After promising her that they wouldn’t be back anytime soon, Mecca and Danielle waited in the lobby near the main entrance of the hospital.

  “I mean, we can walk.” Danielle looked over at her sister and stated.

  “You just had a D&C procedure; you can’t be doing all that walking.” Mecca replied, pulling her new phone from her back pocket.

  “What about Darrius or Kay? One of them can come get us.” Dani thought.

  “Darrius went to play ball and Kay watching Yana with no car there.” An irritated Mecca replied.

  “Ummmm…. How about Capone?” Dani slowly suggested.

  Without replying, Mecca
went to his name and dialed him. After three rings, he finally answered.

  “Yo!”

  “Aye Capone, it’s Mecca. Ummmmm….. me and my sister at Mt. Sinai hospital with no way home. I was calling to …..”

  “Look, I’m not in the area. but I’ll have one of my lil homies come scoop y’all. He’ll be in a black Dodge Charger.”

  “Thank you.” Her voice smiled into the phone.

  “Is everything good?” his deep voice sounded through the speakers.

  “Yeah, everything good.” She looked over at an anxious Danielle and said before ending the call.

  “He not around but one of his homies is pulling up in….”

  Mecca paused, looking down at her buzzing phone and read a message from Capone.

  “His lil homie will be pulling up in two minutes.” She continued, looking out the huge front window.

  Neither sister said anything else to each other until the car pulled up. Mecca and Danielle both got in the back since the lil homie had a lady friend riding shotgun. The driver turned up the latest song from rapper Da Baby and headed towards their hood. Upon arrival, both sisters thanked him before heading directly to Kay’s house to get Yana.

  “How you feeling?” Mecca turned to her sister and asked as they waited for someone to answer the door.

  “I feel good. No bullshit. I feel like a burden has been lifted off my shoulder.” Dani canted.

  “I’m happy to hear you’re good, but Danielle, that shit was stupid as fuck. What if they would have beat yo ass to death? Better yet, what if yo dumb ass still ain’t end up losing the baby? All of that, done for nothing.” Mecca barked.

  Mecca stared into her sister’s eyes searching for her own explanation, but she already knew it.

  “Maybe death was better than keeping that bitch ass nigga baby.” Danielle replied, staring into Mecca’s eyes, showing absolutely no regret.

  Silence fell upon them as they stared at each other. It was obvious neither sister knew what to say but without words, they fully understood one another.

  “HOW YOU GOT A PHONE AND DON’T ANSWER IT?” Kay snatched the front door opened and yelled.