by J. Gail
Tony stood at Quanisha’s door with a handful of flowers and his fist lifted up in the air, ready to knock. He was hesitating because he remembered the last time he saw Quanisha. She told him to never come to her house again. And she sounded serious. Something made him change his mind about going in there. She was probably still mad about losing her job. He knew how important it was to Quanisha to work and earn a living, rather than live off of welfare like all of her friends and family.
Instead he took the money out of his pocket and peeled off several bills.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” Tony said, shaking his head. But he kept doing it before he changed his mind. He ended up stuffing $100 under the crack in Quanisha’s door. It was the least he could do. He didn’t even know if he would survive the night, so what was the point in having all that money on him when he could walk outside right then and get shot by Rock or one of his crew. He was certain that they were looking for him. And he knew Quanisha probably needed the money more than he did. And he knew Quanisha was tired of hearing him say the same things over and over again to get back in her house, even if this time it included, “Scoop’s been shot.”
Tony dropped the flowers in front of the door and left the building quickly. He caught a cab a few blocks down, a rare occurrence in that part of town, so that he could go back to his grandmother’s house. He pushed the thoughts of Scoop to the back of his mind and tried to focus on his next move. He was just happy that he would live to see another day.
Chapter 20
It had been a week since Scoop’s death. Word had gotten all around the hood about what happened to him that night. Some said that the fight was over drug money. Some said Scoop had just said the wrong thing to Rock. Some people were even saying that Scoop was gay and on the down low, and that Rock was his lover.
But fortunately for Tony, not many people were putting his name in the story. He found out that Rock was still on the run from the police, who had him pinned as the main suspect in the murder. And now Tony was on the run from Rock.
Quanisha had left town to visit her Godsister in Virginia. She had heard all the stories about what had happened to Scoop that night at the bar, but hadn’t heard anything from Tony since she kicked him out. She didn’t even consider the possibilty that Tony was with Scoop that night. It was too hard a thought to bear. Fortunately she hadn’t heard anything about him being there.
She needed the time away in VA to get her mind right, and to potentially find a new life out in the MD/VA/DC area. She didn’t have any reason to still be in Philly. She didn’t have a job or a life there. Her family wasn’t supportive of her, and her worst fear had come true. Her mother had called her and ruined her day one day the week before.
“Quanisha, why the hell didn’t you tell me you couldn’t have no kids?” her mother asked immediately.
Quanisha was speechless. She never expected her mother to come right out with it like that. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”
“I’m talkin’ about Pam’s mother tellin’ me you had all those abortions and now you can’t have no kids! How could you be so stupid!”
“Ma, I don’t—”
“Don’t sit up here and try to lie to me girl. That’s what you get when you ho yourself out there to death. I tried to warn you, don’t be whoring around and think it’ll just be a good time! Now look at you. You always think you know everything, but you really don’t know shit you stupid little—”
Quanisha had hung up the phone right in the middle of her mother’s sentence. She couldn’t bear to listen to one more word. It was heart-breaking for her to hear her mother’s seething hypocrisy. Her mother had whored around all of her life, to this day, and still had the nerve to lecture Quanisha on keeping her legs closed. She was the classic ‘do as I say, not as I do’ parent. She had left no legacy for her children and felt guilty about it, so instead of making things right she chose to make her children and everyone around her miserable right along with her.
To top all that off, someone had hit Quanisha’s car while it was parked down the street from her apartment building. They hit it hard, causing the entire back side of her Mazda Miata to be crushed inward, and then apparently kept driving because she didn’t have any type of note on her car. She was devastated, because she had worked so hard to buy that car and keep it in good shape. Even though the car was badly in need of a paint job and a tune-up, it didn’t officially look like a hooptie until now. Now she would have to drive around in it with a huge dent in the right back side. Her insurance wouldn’t cover it; her deductible was too high and she didn’t have enough money saved to pay for the repair and pay her rent with no job.
When Quanisha crossed over the Delaware state line into Maryland, she thought about who could have left that $100 at her door. It had to have been a mistake. Somebody had to have left it under the wrong door. Nobody ever gave her money. When she saw the flowers a thought crossed her mind that it could have been Tony, but again, nobody, especially Tony, ever gave her money. Maybe it was that guy she met at the club, Randy, who had been calling her on and off ever since she left his house that night. Wherever it came from it came in handy. She was seriously in need of funds ever since she lost her job. The only way she was able to make the trip down to Virginia was with that money.
As she pulled out her directions her phone started ringing in her purse. It was that Randy again. She couldn’t believe that after the way he had dissed her on their first date, he was sweating her so hard now. She almost wished he would have just left it at a one night stand.
“What you want?” she said into the phone nastily.
“That’s how you answer a phone call?” he asked sarcastically.
“When it’s you, yeah.”
“Whoa. Now who ain’t bein’ nice?”
“I guess that would be me. But look I gotta go. I’m on the road.”
“Where at?”
“Nonna your business. Why you always wanna know what I’m doin’?” Quanisha shot back.
“I don’t care about what you doin’. Fuck you then,” Randy said, and then hung up the line.
“Stupid ass nigga,” she said with a smirk. She couldn’t stand the idea that Randy was probably just calling her for a booty call, but liked the fact that she had him in the palm of her hands. He was calling her at least three times a week and now she didn’t even want to talk to him. Payback’s a bitch Randy, Quanisha thought.
Quanisha arrived at her Godsister, Stephanie’s, house an hour and a half later, after getting lost twice. She was so happy to see her cousin standing outside on the porch of her beautiful, large two story home awaiting her arrival. But she almost felt embarrassed to be stepping out of her banged up car in front of such a nice home.
“Sis!!” Stephanie yelled excitedly as she ran down the porch with her hands thrown up in the air.
“Heyyy Steph!” Quanisha ran towards her Godsister, leaving her bags in the car.
They embraced for what seemed like ages. Quanisha felt herself about to cry for a moment, but stopped herself. This crying shit is getting old, she thought.
“Sis, how you been?!” Stephanie asked as she pulled apart from Quanisha and took a good look into her eyes.
Stephanie was a caramel skinned sister with long straight brown hair down her back. She was thin but shapely, and had beautiful light brown eyes that shone in the sun. Something about her presence set Quanisha at ease.
Stephanie and Quanisha had been really close as kids. They were tight even though Stephanie was five years Quanisha’s senior. Stephanie’s family had uprooted and moved from Philly to Chicago when they hit the lottery for $270,000. From Chicago, Stephanie ended up moving to Virginia with her husband Karl, who she met at college. She now had a three year old son, Michael, who was the joy of her life. Stephanie had become a born-again Christian, and everyone raved about how much of a 180 degree change she had made from her old life.
At the age of 15, Stephanie’s life had begun spir
aling downward. She rebeled against her parents and ran away from home, becoming a statistic of the streets. She began prostituting soon afterwards, and one night was beaten so badly by one of her Johns that she had to go through a long rehabilitation at an alcohol and drug treatment center. Her family paid for her stay with most of the remainder of their savings from the lotto winnings. With her family’s support, she decided from that moment on she was taking her life in a different direction. She went to a local community college in Chicago where she met Karl, a smart young brother who taught one of her business classes, tutored her and encouraged her to finish school. When Karl got the job of his dreams working for a law firm in Richmond, Virginia, they decided to start their own family there. Stephanie was now a stay-at-home mom with a small bookkeeping business on the side. She and Karl had paid her family back every dime of the money they spent on her rehabilitation and they were all doing very well.
Quanisha hadn’t laid eyes on her Godsister in several years, but they had talked on and off on the telephone. She was looking good!
“I’m doing alright,” Quanisha fibbed. She wasn’t very convincing though because Stephanie turned her head and screwed her lips up at her young Godsister skeptically.
“Girl, no you ain’t,” Stephanie said and then went over to the back door of Quanisha’s car and started to pull out one of her bags. “Come on, help me with your bags.”
They went inside and immediately Stephanie made Quanisha feel at home.
“If you’re ever hungry you just go right up in the fridge and get you something to eat. I also have a pantry full of goodies that I just picked up from BJ’s. I got your room all set up, towels, washcloths, soap, toothbrush and everything. If you need anything, you just come ask and you got it,” Stephanie said assuredly and then passed Quanisha a cup of tea.
“What’s this?” Quanisha asked curiously as she sniffed the piping hot liquid.
“It’s Chamomile. Tea. Taste it, it’s good,” Stephanie explained as she took a sip from her own cup. “It’ll calm you.”
Quanisha was about to protest about how it was 60 degrees outside, and what did she want with a cup of tea, but changed her mind. She sipped the tea slowly and let the warmth of the liquid permeate her body. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling.
“I’m so glad you came out here girl. It’s really good to see you,” Stephanie said, and Quanisha really felt her sincerity. “So what’s up with you sis?”
“Not much, tryin’ to get my head together,” Quanisha said nonchalantly as she leaned back on the couch and allowed herself to relax more.
“Oh yea, so what happened with that whole job thing you were telling me about?”
“Oh. It was fucked up. They didn’t even care about what I was goin’ through, they just fired my ass. I told that bitch she could shove that little grocery job right up her tight penny pinching ass if it would fit,” Quanisha said, getting angry all over again.
“Dang, look who got the potty mouth,” Stephanie said with a smirk on her face as she adjusted herself to lay back on the couch.
“Oh, my fault,” Quanisha said apologetically. She had forgotten that her Godsister had become religious.
It was as if Stephanie read Quanisha’s mind. She laughed. “Look, let me get something clear right now. Everybody in the family thinks ever since I got saved, I became this goody two shoes that nobody can relate to anymore. That’s just not true. I gave my life to God, but that doesn’t mean I don’t still relate to what’s going on out here. I still have my sins too, I’m not exempt from sin just cause I’m saved.”
“I know but, you know, it’s a little crazy when you get around some Christians. They think they know everything. And that shit – I mean, that stuff get’s sickening,” Quanisha said.
“I know. That type of thing turned me off of church a long time ago. But I realized that I shouldn’t let that stop me from having a relationship with God. I still don’t go to church all the time because sometimes it can be a negative experience with all the gossipping and self-righteousness, but I do talk to God all the time, and that’s good with God so it’s good with me,” Stephanie said as she gazed over at Quanisha on the couch.
“Okay, I feel that,” Quanisha said and then took another long sip of her tea. “So you don’t curse or none of that?”
“Girl please. Once in a while I slip up, when I’m mad. But I just gotta catch myself. I’m human. But I ain’t gonna be correcting you all the time you’re here, all I ask is that you watch what you say around Michael. He is very impressionable.”
“No problem.”
“Another thing Nish, you are truly welcome to stay out here as long as you need to get yourself together. Trust me, I understand what that’s like,” Stephanie said as she closed her eyes and smiled.
Quanisha soaked in Stephanie’s words and tried to analyze whether she was being sincere, or if she was just trying to be nice. She had only been in Stephanie’s house for a few minutes, and already she felt so comfortable and peaceful. She felt as if she could just fall asleep right now on the couch. If Stephanie was just trying to be nice, she was doing a heck of a job at it.
Chapter 21
Tony was a shell of himself. Nothing could make him happy. He was feeling like he had a ton of bricks hanging from his shoulders.
Every corner he turned, he was worried about Rock being right there waiting for him. He had been rolling with his other friend Rob a lot more lately. They weren’t that close, but he needed somebody to have his back.
The only good thing was, he still had money left after robbing Rock. He had been sure that the money would be lost, the same way all the rest of his money had slipped out of his grip lately. But it was a week after the incident and he still had over $100 in his pocket. He wasn’t even trying intentionally to hold onto it; it had just lasted.
“Don’t you wanna eat somethin’? Damn, we been driving around for two hours!” Rob complained.
This was the reason why Tony hated hanging out with Rob. All he thought about was food. “Nigga tuck in your belly. I ain’t hungry yet.”
“Well I am! I ain’t eat since noon,” Rob nearly whined. “I’m sick of your stupid ass tellin’ me when it’s time to eat. I wanna eat now.”
Tony rolled his eyes up into his head and sighed. “You sound like a bitch man. Where you wanna eat?”
They went to McDonald’s on 52nd street and pulled into the drive thru. Rob leaned over Scoop and ordered himself. “Lemme get a number five, super sized, an order of chicken nuggets, a double cheeseburger and a strawberry shake.”
The girl on the McDonald’s speaker paused. “Anything else?”
“Yea, anything else? Damn,” Tony looked at his nearly obese friend in disgust. “You know they got chicken sandwiches too,” he mentioned sarcastically.
“Yea, matter fact, let me get another small fry too,” Rob answered, ignoring Tony’s attempt at insulting him.
Tony and Rob sat in the parking lot and ate their food. Rob wolfed his food down, while Tony just picked at his fries. He wasn’t that hungry. He hadn’t been able to get the image of Scoop out of his mind. The sad look on Scoop’s face at the bar while he was drinking, in contrast with the animated look on his face right before he died was etched in Tony’s mind. He wished he could take back what he said to incite Scoop in the first place.
Look at that nigga, got the nerve to come in here grillin’ you.
Maybe if he would have kept his big mouth shut Scoop would still be alive.
If he were honest with himself, he would have to admit that it was his own mortality that was really scaring him. Death by the hands of Rock was not so distant a possibility. Rock had never gotten picked up by the police, and as far as Tony knew after what happened at the bar, Rock was seven-thirty. He wouldn’t hesitate to shoot Tony’s ass too.
“Why ain’t you eatin’?” Rob asked. Rob obviously knew what had happened to Scoop, but Tony didn’t tell him anything about his involvement, or the fac
t that Rock was probably looking for him. If Rob knew everything that was going on, he probably wouldn’t step within two feet of Tony.
“Just ain’t hungry,” Tony said dispassionately. The fries were crispy and hot fresh out of the oil, but they tasted as bland as cardboard to Tony. Rob on the other hand was eating as if this were his last meal.
“You ain’t gonna eat that? Let me get that then,” Rob said, grabbing some of Tony’s fries.
Tony looked at Rob as if he had lost his mind, but didn’t say anything.
“You can’t be wastin’ food like that, these fries is hot!” Rob said between chewing. Tony was starting to wonder if it was really worth hanging around Rob all this time just for the sake of having a partner. Rob had been grating on his last nerve.
“The food’s wasted when it goes to your fat belly,” Tony said as he shoved the rest of his food at Rob and started up his car.
Tony needed a drink badly. But he had been trying to avoid the bars like a plague in fear of running into Rock. He decided he would be safe at the little bar that he and Scoop had visited a while back in Germantown. As he pulled onto 76 West, he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. When he looked he saw that it was an unknown 610 number.
“Yo,” Tony said as he leaned back in his seat with his hat pulled down low over his troubled eyes. He was getting ready with his standard six word answer if this was someone for Jenny: “This ain’t her number no more.”
“Uh, hello? This is Dr. Stephens calling from Mercy Hospital. May I please speak to Jenny Storms?” a male voice asked.
“Doc? Yooo, how you? This Tony!” Tony said, and something inside of him sparked back to life for a moment.
