by Natavia
He opened the door for me and we stepped inside. The music was loud. Earth, Wind and Fire played through the speakers. The middle-aged man behind the counter was dancing and sweeping the floor. The inside of his store was very clean and smelled of Egyptian Musk incense. Governor slapped hands with him before he introduced us.
“Roy, this is my homegirl, Essa. Essa, this is Roy.”
I waved at him and he gave me a head nod. Governor told me to get anything I wanted while he went to the back to talk to Roy. While they were in the back, I grabbed a few things. Roy had a hot dog stand with beef patties and my mouth watered. While grabbing a few things along with Twizzlers and Skittles, three masked men walked into the store. Fear settled in and I almost shitted myself. I was high but I damn sure knew I wasn’t hallucinating. The men had guns with bullet proof vests on. It was around eight o’clock at night, so it was somewhat dark outside. I ducked down behind an aisle shaking. They were getting closer and my heart was beating faster.
“ROY!” someone yelled.
A hand grabbed me from behind and covered my mouth.
“Ssshhhh,” Governor whispered in my ear.
“ROY! Nigga, I know you’re in here!” one of the masked men yelled.
“You see that door right there? Sneak out of it, and once you do that, run to my truck and pull off. Stop at the next block and cut the lights off but you gotta hurry up before those niggas start bustin’,” Governor said. I was too nervous to move but I was able to make a run for it because we were close to the back door. The footsteps got closer and I heard one of the guys tell the other two men to check the register while he checked the store.
“Get the hell out and stay down!” Governor replied. My eyes grew big as saucers when I noticed he had a gun with a silencer attached. The man’s footsteps were getting closer and I crept towards the back door. Soon as I heard a gunshot, I hauled ass to Governor’s truck on the side of the store. When I got inside, more shots rang out and I sped out of the parking lot. My hands were shaking and sweat drenched my face. My thoughts were spiraling out of control and I feared Governor wouldn’t make it back. There was a small community at the next block and I pulled over to the side of the road like Governor said. My cellphone rang, causing me to jump.
“What in da fuck do you want, Tinka?” I screamed into the phone.
“I can’t find Barbie? Do you have the name to animal remote control? Please help me out, Essa. You’re all I have left. Kitty isn’t answerin’ her phone for me neither. What did I do to y’all?” she asked. Guilt tugged at my heart because Tinka couldn’t help herself, and at the end of the day, her and Kitty were the only friends I had besides us being family.
“Well, she is a raccoon. Maybe animal control released her back into the wild unless she has rabies.”
“Barbie doesn’t have rabbits! Cooley bought her some shots and gave them to her himself. Can you call them for me and ask them if they have a brownish-grey cat with black rings around the eyes? Oh, and she had on a pink Barbie collar. Tell them she looks like a raccoon in a way, she’s just smaller,” she replied.
“I’ll be sure to tell them,” I lied.
“Okay, what are you doin’ tonight? I wanna go to Joaney’s. You know the drinks is a dolla on Friday nights,” she said. Joaney’s was the spot we used to always go to because of their cheap drinks and fried fish but it was a straight hole in the wall. The place was so run down they were missing bathroom stall doors, so someone had to stand in front of you while you used the bathroom. Despite the ratchetness, it was the place to be.
“I can’t make it tonight. Maybe Kitty will go wit’ you.”
“Where you at?” she asked.
Right when I was ready to respond, Governor banged on the window and I dropped my phone between the seat. I unlocked the truck door and he climbed in. He had blood splattered on his shirt and shoes.
“Drive off,” he said.
I floored the gas and my cell phone rang again. Tinka hung up and was calling back but I couldn’t answer her. Governor took off his shirt and I noticed the gun tucked in his pants. I knew not to question certain stuff because once you know what’s going on you become involved.
“Slow down, Essa,” Governor said but I was still shaking. My stomach knotted up and I fought the urge to vomit. I had a feeling someone was dead and if Governor killed them, it was surely self-defense, so I didn’t blame him. Just knowing I could’ve been caught in the crossfire gave me goosebumps. Governor typed in an address in the GPS, so he wouldn’t have to keep telling me where to go while he talked on his cellphone. I couldn’t make out what he was saying but I knew he was speaking in code.
Twenty-five minutes later, we were pulling up to a big house by a lake. Next to the big house was a smaller house. The place was beautiful. Governor got out of the truck and told me to follow him. Once we got to the front door, he placed his finger on a key pad. It was the same one in the back of his office. The fingerprint scanners must’ve cost a grip because I only saw them in movies. After he unlocked the door, he used his finger again for the alarm pad. The house was an open floor plan downstairs and you could look down from upstairs and see everything. It was nicely decorated but with a man’s touch. I followed Governor down a small set of stairs into the living room and he told me to have a seat. He was still agitated about what happened back at the store and probably even more pissed off we had to come to his house. Governor didn’t seem like the type to randomly invite people into his home because he was very private. He poured himself a drink from the bar in the corner of the living room. Behind the sliding doors, I caught a glimpse of his pool. Despite how comfortable his home was, my nerves were still bad. Governor brought me a shot of 1942 tequila. He sat across from me and rubbed his temples.
“Are you straight?” he asked.
“No, actually I’m not. It happened so fast it seems surreal.”
“Those niggas were tryna rob Roy. We saw them come in while we were in the back room. That’s how I snuck out to you,” he said.
“Are you into sumthin else? If so, I can’t be around this bullshit. Do you understand this type of mess will make me look like a very bad parent? I have a lot to lose.”
“And you think I don’t? Look around you, Essa. I invested into a lot of shit! Buildings, corner stores and a lot of other stuff. If I get caught up, guess how many people I’m lettin’ down? A LOT! Yo, don’t sit there and speak to me about things you don’t know,” he said.
“I can call a cab.”
“No the fuck you’re not. Ain’t no cab comin’ to this address, shorty,” Governor replied. He picked up his glass off the table and downed the rest of it. He pulled his gun from his waist and sat it down on the table.
“There are two sides to every story. Don’t assume anything about me, ever,” he warned. Governor realized he had blood on his shoes and took them off. The doorbell rang, and he got up. I heard a woman’s voice in the foyer seconds later. Governor didn’t think to hide his gun, so I grabbed a napkin off the table and placed the heavy thing between the cushions on the couch. I was feeling like a real criminal, but my freedom was on the line. A woman wearing a mid-sleeve shirt, jeans and Red Bottoms came into the living room with two plates in her hands wrapped in foil. She was dark-skinned and sported a short curly natural afro. She was gorgeous. I wondered if she was his sister because they looked exactly alike. Governor chuckled when he noticed his gun was missing.
“Where my piece at, Essa?”
“Huh?”
“Shorty, if you can ‘huh’ you can hear. The fuck you got goin on?” he asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
“This is my mother, Kendra. Ma, this is my secretary, Essa,” Governor introduced us. She looked at me oddly.
“She must be pregnant cause you ain’t never brought one of your hoes around. Didn’t I tell you not to knock these fast tail girls up until you marry them. I raised you better than that!” she yelled at Governor.
“Naw, she ain’t pregnant but she wants me to take it there wit’ her,” Governor said to lighten the mood. I went from being scared to fearing for my life, becoming a criminal and now embarrassed.
“Well, whatever it is must be special because you asked me to use my good plates. Y’all come to the table and sit down and eat. I’ll heat this up for y’all,” Kendra said. I wondered how old his mother was because she didn’t look old enough to have a son almost thirty. The doorbell rang again, and Governor went to answer the door.
“That’s my fiancée. I just knew her nosey ass couldn’t stay in the house,” Kendra yelled from the kitchen. A brown-skinned woman with locs styled into an up-do came into the living room. Governor looked annoyed and I wondered if his mother’s friend was the reason for it.
“This is my mother’s woman, Malorie. Malorie, this is my secretary, Essa,” Governor introduced us. I waved at her and she didn’t say anything to me. She headed straight towards the kitchen.
Bitch!
“She’s always mad, shorty. I guess the strap my mother uses on her ain’t hittin’ her spot right,” Governor said.
“Wait, so your mother is engaged to a woman for real?” I whispered.
“You see the rock on her finger? Ma dukes is a cougar lesbian but fuck all that, where you put my burner?”
“I hid it between the couch. You can’t just leave guns around the house,” I replied.
“It’s legal. But glad to know you down for a nigga,” he chuckled. There was that side again. He was able to joke and smile after being involved in a robbery and possibly killing some people less than an hour ago. I didn’t know what to do, find another job or stay because maybe it was just my paranoia. Governor told me to go in the kitchen while he went upstairs to shower and change his clothes. I followed the direction I saw his mother walking in because I wasn’t familiar with his home. I pushed a door open and the two women were kissing. Governor’s mother was the aggressor.
“We have company,” Malorie said. His mother pulled away from her and told me to have a seat at the kitchen’s island. Governor’s kitchen was amazing, and he had a wine fridge built into the wall. The man just had taste, period.
“So, Essa. Tell us about yourself?” Malorie asked.
“I’m twenty-four years old and I have a two-year old son. I’ve been working for Governor for over a month now. That’s pretty much it.”
“How about college. Did you ever go?” she replied.
“I have an associate degree in business but that’s about it.”
“Where do you live?” she replied.
“Bitch, if you don’t leave that chile alone,” Kendra snapped. Malorie rolled her eyes while she opened a wine bottle. Malorie was rubbing me the wrong way—very wrong. I felt like reaching across the island and snatching her eyelashes off.
“I used to dance with his girlfriend, Rochelle,” Malorie said.
Awkward!
“Oh okay.”
I didn’t say much to Malorie afterwards because I didn’t like her. Me and Kendra talked about a lot and she was a cool woman although she was very straight forward. Governor came into the kitchen fifteen minutes later wearing gray joggers, socks, Nike slides and a white T-shirt.
“Y’all not tryna have an orgy with my homegirl are y’all?” he asked his mother and she threw a napkin at him.
“Where is Mayor’s bipolar ass? He called me a few weeks ago cryin’ about some girl leavin’ him. I hung up on this fool because I never met her. I want you to have a talk wit’ him. It’s too many STDs goin’ on around here and I’m afraid he might get caught up in sumthin,” Kendra said.
“How you gonna put his business out there like that though?” Governor replied.
“Essa is like family, ain’t she? Isn’t that why she’s over here? I can say what I want, you don’t trust her then she shouldn’t be here,” his mother said.
“Yo, Ma, you be trippin’,” Governor replied.
“It’s gettin’ late. Me and Malorie are gonna head back to the house. It was nice meetin’ you, Essa. I hope to see you soon,” Kendra said. I waved her goodbye and Malorie left without saying anything to me or Governor.
“She’s mad because I’m here?”
“I’on know what’s up wit’ shorty. Let’s eat outside so I can smoke,” he said. He grabbed our plates off the island and I followed him outside. I honestly couldn’t believe I was in the presence of Governor outside of the neighborhood and work. He held a chair out for me and then sat across from me.
“This house is so beautiful.”
“Appreciate it. It took almost two years to have it built,” he replied.
“Your mother’s house was built with it?”
“Yeah. She wanted to move in, but I told her we couldn’t do that cause we bump heads a lot,” he replied. There was silence between us for almost five minutes while we ate until Governor broke it.
“So, if you were to date a nigga, what would you expect from him?” he asked. He leaned away from his plate and crossed his arms. That gesture gave me butterflies every time because I knew I had his undivided attention.
“I haven’t thought about datin’ anyone until my life is back on track. But before all of this, loyalty and respect were what I was lookin’ for. Oh, and honesty, those three factors are more important than looks and havin’ good dick with a big bank account. I’ll date someone who only makes five dollars an hour if he has those qualities over a man who has everything but that.” Governor leaned forward and stared at me for a while which made me slightly uncomfortable. I didn’t know if he was offended or respected what I said.
“I asked a lot of women this question and none of them said that. You’re a rare diamond,” he chuckled.
“Have you ever been in love before?”
“I’on know how to answer that, shorty. Honestly, I thought I had it with Rochelle, but that bullshit wasn’t love, it was convenient for us. But on a serious note, she’s the only woman that got close to my heart,” he said.
I finished eating my smothered pork chop and greens while Governor rolled up a blunt. He was quiet again and so was I. Thoughts of him spreading my legs and stroking my walls popped into my head. Something was happening to me. Why was I thinking about sex when I was still supposed to be shaken up behind what went down at the gas station? The only answer I could come up with was that I wanted the dick. Governor took our plates inside the house and came back with a bottle of D’usse. He went back in to grab two shot glasses. I poured our drinks and Governor played music from inside the house. The night was beautiful and the breeze from the lake gave me an island feel. Despite how relaxed I was, I began thinking about my son. Tears began falling down my face and I tried to hide them.
“Yo, Essa. What the fuck is wrong, shorty?” he asked, getting upset. He didn’t sound pissed at me for ruining the mood but because he wanted to hurt the person that was hurting me. Governor wrapped his arms around me to stand me up. With my face buried into his chest, he kissed my forehead while rubbing my back. He was the only person I could vent to because he understood me. I wasn’t into those fake ass fairytales but there was a reason for my encounter with Governor and I hoped it wasn’t a bad one.
Governor
I was caught up into some shit. Some niggas tried to rob Roy and I shot one close range but they managed to get away. I was mad as fuck at myself for getting caught up in that mess, but it was a life or death situation. The reason I went into the back of the store was to collect my money. Roy was copping from me and he owed me one-hundred and fifty g’s. Now, here I was getting pissed off again because Essa was crushed. I couldn’t catch a break. Yeah, I could’ve ignored it, but I wasn’t that dude. She talked about her son every day and I couldn’t imagine someone keeping me from my seed. I’d have to merk a muthafucka.
“Ssshhh, come on, shorty. Stop cryin’ before I go out here and kill a nigga. Then we’ll all be in a fucked-up place for sure,” I said. She pulled away and I wiped her eyes. Her ba
by father was a lame-ass dude and I couldn’t sit back and let him ruin a perfectly good-ass shorty.
Essa was a dime and I couldn’t keep my eyes off her, but the sudden attraction wasn’t just because of her looks. I was getting to know her on a personal level. She wasn’t just that girl that sat in front of the building all day, she was way more than that. I was busy looking up at the third floor when what I needed was on the second. Long story short, sometimes us niggas look above what is important. Rochelle was just a shorty with decent pussy and an expensive shopping habit. I’m not saying I needed Essa in that way, but her personality made me take a better look at myself. Our conversations made me question how I could be a better man. The way she fought to have her son back was how I was fighting to stay away from the streets. I had a legit life but somehow, I was still pushing bricks. I was corrupted and couldn’t find a way out.
