by Roy Glenn
“I know it’s late, do we still have time?”
“Does it matter?”
“Does what matter?” Shy asked as she walked toward Mike, stopping right in front of him. Close enough to kiss.
“I mean it doesn’t matter whether we’re late or not. I really don’t care what we do, as long as I’m with you.” He wanted to be alone with her. Shy didn’t say anything; she just looked up at him. “You know you really are beautiful, Cassandra.” Those were kissing lines. There she was, standing right before him. But he was scared to touch her.
“I guess you’re right. I really just wanted to be with you too.” She wanted to kiss him but she didn’t want him to think she was going to be easy. “But I am hungry. So where do you want to eat?” Shy asked, walking away before she changed her mind.
“How about that dive in Brooklyn?”
“No. I want to dress up for you. Some place nice.”
“You go ahead and get ready. I know just the place.” He thought he would take her to his house. The atmosphere would be more intimate. He could throw something together quickly, or better yet, he would call Cuisine, have the food prepared, delivered, and served in the comfort of home.
“We aren’t going to your place, are we. If we are, tell me now so I won’t spend an hour getting ready.”
“You’re looking through me, Cassandra. How did you know?” He was mystified and at the same time excited by the way she seemed to know him so well so soon.
“That slick West Indian smile gave you away.”
“How you know me West Indian, girl?” Turning on his accent.
“Me know every ting bout you, Black,” Shy said in her best West Indian accent.
Mike laughed, “Next to Bobby; that was the worst accent I’ve ever heard.”
“Ain’t it bad. What’s worse is I’ve been working on it,” Shy laughed. “I’m gonna get ready. Now you promise not to peek.”
“No. I promise if you leave the door cracked, I’m gonna peek.”
“In that case I’ll make sure I leave the door cracked,” Shy said walking into the bedroom. Then she closed the door.
Mike sat down by the window and stared at the setting sun. He asked himself why he didn’t even attempt to kiss her when she was standing right in front of him. He had no logical answer. He looked down to the street. He could make out what appeared to be Jap’s car parked across the street from the building and someone standing next to it. Mike asked Shy if he could use the phone. Naturally, she said yes. So, Mike made a couple of calls to make arrangements for dinner, then he called Freeze. He told him where he was and told him to call Jap.
“Tell him to take some time off, but to be ready later on tonight.”
“Later! Tonight! And you said you were where? Who are you mutha fucka? And what did you do with Black?” Freeze said jokingly.
“I don’t know where he is, but you tell him that I need his skills.” He, too, had been wondering who he was lately. “In either case, get with me tomorrow. Peace.”
Mike returned to the window and looked out at the cars. It must have been Jap because shortly thereafter, he got in his car and drove away. Although it had been less than half an hour, it seemed like he had been waiting a long time. Mike hated waiting for women. It reminded him of the old days robbing warehouses, waiting for the truck to get loaded. He got up and began to wonder around.
“Mind if I look around, Cassandra?” he yelled as he walked past her bedroom door.
Shy stuck her head out the door. “What did you say?”
Mike turned to repeat his question. He noticed she wasn’t wearing anything. Shy smiled and said, “I’m sorry I didn’t realize you were standing there.”
“I said do you mind if I look around?”
“Yes, I mind. And besides I’m gonna need your help in a minute. So be patient with me. I’ll be ready for you soon,” Shy said flirtatiously. She walked away, but this time she didn’t close the door. So, Mike, being true to his word looked as she walked away. Her body was beautiful. Her skin seemed to glisten. Mike hoped that she would turn around realizing that she had left the door open so he could see the rest of her body, but she disappeared from sight.
“Have you decided where we’re going?” Shy yelled.
“I was thinking about a hotel downtown, but I had a better idea.”
“Well what is it?”
“It’s a surprise. Just be patient.”
“I like surprises, can you give me a hint.”
“It’s bigger than a bread box.”
“You’re funny,” Shy said sticking her head out around the corner, “You’re fine too.” After a brief silence, Shy said, “Why did I say that?”
“I guess it was a bribe to get me to tell you where we’re going, but it won’t work.”
“Suppose I torture you?”
“Been tried.”
“Yeah, but not by me.”
Shy emerged walking slowly toward him carrying a string of triple strain pearls. Dressed in black heels and black silk stockings. Her dress was also Black; off the shoulder with a plunging neckline, which revealed her cleavage.
“Now that’s torture,” Mike said, watching Shy walk toward him.
Shy stopped in front of him, turned around slowly. “Zip me up, please.”
Mike’s hands shook a bit, but he managed to zip up her dress. Without asking he took the pearls from her hand and put them on for her. “Cassandra, you look fabulous.”
“Thank you, Black.” She turned around slowly and walked past Mike into the living room. Mike followed behind her. She went into the closet and pulled out a black full-length Mink coat and handed it to him. Shy turned around. Each time she turned, each move she made was more seductive than the last. Mike helped her on with her coat.
“You’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you, Cassandra?” Mike said opening the door to leave.
“Not yet. You won’t have to ask when I do,” Shy replied seductively handing Mike her keys to lock the door as she walked past him.
They took the elevator down, neither saying a word. They stared at each other like two boxers before a championship fight. They walked out of the building to the street where Mike had a limousine waiting. The driver seeing Mike approaching, opened the door.
“Your limo?”
“For a while,” Mike replied as he watched Shy get into the limo. Mike got in and the driver closed the door behind them. While Mike and Shy sipped champagne, the driver drove to an open field in Mount Vernon.
“Where are you taking me?” Shy asked. A few minutes later she could see a helicopter.
“I hope you’re not afraid of flying, Cassandra.”
“No, I’m not. But I still want to know where we’re going, Black?”
“I thought you wanted to be surprised. Don’t you trust me?”
“See, there goes that slick West Indian smile again. And it’s not that I don’t trust you. But with everything that’s been happening, I am a little more cautious,” Shy said as the limo stopped.
The driver got out and came around to open the door. Mike got out and extended his hand to help Shy get out of the limo. Shy took his hand and got out smiling. She loved being treated like a lady. However, she still wanted to know where he was taking her in a helicopter.
“Come on now, baby, tell me where we are going? Please,” she said as they walked toward the helicopter hand in hand.
Mike still wouldn’t tell her where they were going. He helped Shy get into the helicopter, and after some brief do’s and don’ts from the pilot they were on their way.
The suspense and excitement were about to kill Shy. She continued to try to get Mike to tell her where they were going. He would simply avoid the question.
“This your first time in a helicopter, Cassandra?”
“Yes, it is. The view of the city is magnificent from up here. Please tell me, baby.”
“Okay, if you really have to know. We’re going to Atlantic City. We’re having dinner at Harrah's.”
“I don’t think you have to worry about that. I’d give you the world, drop it in front of you and ask what’s next.”
“You probably do this for all of your women,” Shy said trying to get a feel for the competition. “I know I’m not the only one who gets this type of treatment.”
“No, I’ve never done this for a woman before. I mean flying to Atlantic City like this. Usually me, Bobby and Freeze fly down here,” Mike said avoiding the real question. There would be plenty of time for that conversation later. He knew that Shy wouldn’t let it go just like that. What woman would?
The helicopter landed at an airfield outside of the city limits. Another limo was waiting there to take them to the hotel. When they arrived for dinner, the Maitre d’ seated them at their table. Nothing extravagant, just a small table off in a corner. Shy said it was intimate and loved it. Mike thought it was the type of table they saved for black people. In spite of that, Mike didn’t say anything. He was too happy to be with Shy to care where they sat.
Mike ordered their meal and a bottle of Dom Perignon 1982. He gave the waiter a fifty-dollar bill to make sure that he would get lost and not bother them. They had a casual conversation over dinner. Nothing on the level of the hot and heavy flirtation that they had enjoyed to this point. After dinner, they both stopped talking. Until Shy broke the ice.
“Black.”
“Yes beautiful.”
“I wanna ask you something.”
He was sure that she was going to ask if he was seeing anybody. He wasn’t sure what he would say. “The floor is yours.”
“My family is having their reunion next weekend. And I want you to come with me.”
Mike looked shocked. He didn’t know what to say. He had never considered himself the type of guy you bring home to meet the family. But after all, this was different. Now he was sure that he wasn’t alone. He was sure that the woman sitting across from him felt the same way about him that he felt about her. He was in love with her. He still wasn’t quite ready to say it out loud.
“I would love to go with you, Cassandra. Thank you for asking.”
“Good. Because I kinda already told my mother I was going to bring you,” Shy said with a smile.
“You told your mother about me?” Mike said, pouring each another glass of champagne.
“Monday morning. I was telling her about you when the roses came. I told her that I thought that I had hurt your feelings and you probably would never speak to me again. And that was the minute the roses came. So, she is just dying to meet you.”
“Dying to meet me, huh. Is your whole family going to be there?”
“Yes,” she said, then she qualified it. “Well, almost everybody. Only some of my father’s people get invited. My sister usually comes.”
“Your sister?”
“Half-sister.” Shy paused for a moment then she decided to offer an explanation. “I have two half-brothers and two half-sisters. The one that usually comes is a year younger than me, her name is Porsche. You might even know her. She gets around. Anyway, all the rest are just teenagers. Papa was a rolling stone.”
“Well, while we’re kinda on the subject. There’s something that I have to tell you. Do you want the long version or the short version?”
“Well, let me see,” she said not really knowing what to expect. So she made light of it. “You tell a good story, so do the long version. I’ll stop you if it bores me.”
“When I was coming up, me, Bobby, Nick and Jamaica ran the block. Our crew sort of protected everybody who lived there. It started when we were young. My mother would make us carry packages for the ladies on the block. When we got older, we would walk them places at night. We wouldn’t let anybody who didn’t live there hang out there. One day when I was fifteen and some brothers tried to sell drugs to some kids on the block. We chased them off the block. You know André, don’t you? Well he saw the whole thing. He calls me over and tells me that it was good what we were doing, but it wouldn’t last. He said, ‘Those are small fish. If you want to put a stop to it, you gotta cut off the head.’ So, André tells me who they work for and says it will never stop until I killed him. I really looked up to André back then. Believed everything he said. I was a wanna be gangster, and I wanted to be down with him.”
“I can see you now. Young Mike Black.”
“You remember ‘Petrified Forest’?”
“Yeah, Bogie, right?”
“Yeah, I thought I was Duke Mantee, the Killer. So, André gives me a gun, and I went after him.”
“Just like that. You went after him?”
“No. I followed him around for a couple of weeks. So, I could see the best time to hit him. He was a hustler, but he was a creature of habit. He would leave his house about the same time every day. That’s where I’d hit him. Right in front of his house, to send a message. You mess with me at my home, I’ll mess with you at yours. So I get Angelo to drive for me. You know Angelo, don’t you?”
“Collette?”
“The same. He’s the one who put me on to this because I had no idea.”
“No idea of what?”
“Let me finish. I get Angee to drive and I go to whack the guy. He comes out of the house heading for his car. Angee starts to roll. We get up on him. I pull my gun, ready to kill him. But I hear ‘Daddy take me with you.’ He stops. I look back, and I see a little girl standing on the steps looking dead at me. I couldn’t do it. Those eyes went right through me. I just told Angee to drive. André didn’t seem to care. He just laughed it off and gave me something else to do. But I never forgot those eyes,” he said looking in her eyes. “Your eyes, Cassandra.”
“Wait a minute. What are you saying? That was me? You were going to kill Chicago?”
“And I would have, if it wasn’t for you,” Mike said quietly. “What makes the whole thing worse is it wasn’t Chicago them guys worked for anyway.”
“I know. Chicago was a lot of things, but he was too sorry to be a dealer. So why did André want to kill him?”
“I didn’t find that out until that woman shot Chicago six years later. One of the old heads says to me, ‘Well I guess now Chicago will stop fuckin’ Andrés wife.’ André just tried to use me because he was too weak to handle his own business.”
Shy sat there looking at Mike without saying a word. Finally, she took a deep breath and said, “Why are you telling me this now? Chances are I would have never known.”
“Well, Cassandra, I like you. More than I have any woman in a long time. It’s like you’ve become very important to me. I couldn’t take the chance that anything would ever come between us. I had to take the risk and tell you now.”
Shy got quiet again. “I’m gonna need a minute to take all this in,” she said drinking the rest of her champagne and then pouring another. “Can we just get out of here? Go for a walk or something.”
“We can do anything you want.” Mike called the waiter over and paid the check. He felt relieved that it was behind him and that she appeared to take it well. Mike and Shy left Harrah's and began to walk. As they walked neither said a word at first. They just walked. “Say something, Cassandra. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Why? I know you’re not nervous about what I’m thinking.”
“Yeah. You could be planning your revenge.”
“No. Just thinking.” Then she reached for his hand. “Don’t worry about it baby. That was a long time ago. You were a kid, a sucker that André used because, like you said, he was weak. Everybody knew you and Bobby were his power.
“Now, about my father. When I was a little girl, yeah, I was daddy’s girl. But then I got older and I saw how he was doggin’ my mom’s. Bitches calling and coming to the house at all hours of the day and night. He used to beat my mom’s. So, you don’t worry about that baby.” Sudd
enly Shy stopped dead in her tracks. She hesitated briefly. “You know it’s funny if I hadn’t come outside that day, I could have saved my mother six years of grief. Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that I’m glad you were trying to kill my father or that I’m glad he’s dead. But me and my mom’s got real close when I was a teenager. You know girls gotta stick together. Anyway, I went through a lot of that pain with her. I know what it’s like to have a man lie to you, disrespect you, and cheat on you.”
They walked in silence for a block or two. Mike worried that he had dropped it on her too soon. Although she seemed to understand, the revelation may run her away. He hoped his decision to tell her now wouldn’t backfire on him. He watched her walk, observing the thoughtful look in her eyes. Not anger as one might expect with what she had just heard. It was as if she were trying to reconcile her feelings about her father. He impatiently awaited the verdict.
“In so many ways I want to tell you that I don’t want to get involved with you. I know you’re no angel, Black. I’m not that big a fool to think that a man like you doesn’t have a gang of women running behind him,” Shy said and looked at Mike. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go there. But I meant what I said about not being sure about getting involved with you. And it has nothing to do with you trying to kill Chicago. But in a way, I guess it does, and until tonight, I didn’t realize how. But it all goes back to Chicago. Growing up watchin’ him dog my mom’s laid the foundation for how I feel about men. Of course, my personal experience has proved me right every time. Y’all are dogs.”
Mike didn’t say anything. He had given up defending that all men are dog’s thing years ago. It was a no-win scenario.
They continued to walk and Shy continued. “I like you, too, Black. I mean I really like you. I just don’t want to be hurt again.”
“That’s good to know. I mean the part about really liking me.”
When they got to the boardwalk Shy sat down and Mike leaned over the rail and looked out at the ocean. “So, what’s up, Black? I know you got a little fan club going. There were too many women rolling their eyes at me that night at Impressions.”
“Who was rolling their eyes at you?” Mike asked, even though he could think of a few candidates off the top of this head.
