The Black Widow Clique

by Genesis Woods

  I opened my mouth to say something but couldn’t.

  He laughed and thumbed his nose, then crossed his arms over his chest, his legs sliding farther apart. “I guess we should try this again. Can I help you?”

  I swallowed hard. “Um, I . . . I was wondering if my friend Melonee still lives here.”

  “Melonee? Who are you?”

  “I’m her best friend, Fee.” I shook my head. “I mean Fiona.”

  He stared at me for a second. “Fiona? What do you want with Melonee? From what I hear, y’all haven’t spoken in a while.”

  I furrowed my brows. “So you know who I am?”

  “Nah. I don’t know who you are. But I’ve heard plenty about you.”

  I bit my bottom lip. “I hope all good things.”

  He chuckled. “What can I help you with, Fiona?”

  “I doubt you can help me with what I really want,” I said, flirting. “But I’ll settle for an address or phone number for Mel.” I knew asking for the shit was a stretch, but he didn’t really know who I was.

  “Babe, who’s at the door?” I heard Bree call from behind. When she walked up behind him and looked over his shoulder, she laughed. “Bitch, you got some nerve showing your face at my house again.”

  I rolled my eyes and wanted to snap back at this bitch, but I knew I needed to play nice if I was hoping to get any type of information on Melonee’s whereabouts. “Hello to you too, Bree. All I want is a way to reach Mel. That’s all. I heard about Proof and wanted to see how she and Madison were doing.”

  “So now you’re concerned?” she said as she moved in front of the dude who had answered the door, and pushed him back a little with her ass. When he smacked her on it, she waved him off but never took her eyes off me. “Why are you really here, Fiona? Didn’t I tell you the next time you showed up at my house unannounced that I was going to beat your ass?”

  I held my hands up in surrender. “I don’t want any trouble, Bree. I just . . . I just wanna speak with Mel. You know, I miss her. I miss our friendship. If Proof dying showed me anything, it showed me that life is too short and the bullshit we got going on is just what it is—bullshit.” When the fat tear I had ready slid from my eye, I thought I almost had her, but knowing Bree, she saw right through that shit.

  “Bitch, cut the act. You really have me and life fucked up if you think I believe those fake-ass tears and that fake-ass speech you just gave. Now, I’m going to be nice only this one time and give you ten seconds to get off my property. After that, I’ma bless you with that ass whipping I promised.”

  I looked at Bree, who was dressed in some booty shorts, a spaghetti-strap top, and ankle socks and had a bonnet on her head. Cellulite, stretch marks, and sagging titties on full display. If ole boy was really here for her, even though she looked like that, his mentals really needed to be examined. Yeah, Bree had a cute face, but there was too much fat around her waist, thighs, arms, and everywhere else.

  “Look, Bree, like I said . . . ,” were the last words that left my mouth before this crazy bitch grabbed my hair and swung me from her porch. I landed hard on the ground.

  “Baby, wait,” yelled the dude who had answered the door. I smiled. I knew he was feeling me in some type of way. Bree knew he wasn’t for her. “You don’t want to put your Tims on before you get down?”

  Wait. What?

  “Chasin, shut your ass up and go put some clothes on before I beat your ass. You know I’ma need a lawyer once they take me to jail,” Bree told him.

  I tried to get up and rush her from behind while she had her back turned, but I was rewarded with a punch in my face.

  “Bitch, you thought I was lying.” Whap. “I told you I was gon’ beat that ass, didn’t I?” Whap. She smacked me in my face again. “Yeah, all that slick shit you was talking at the hospital and the last time you came here.” Whap. “I remember all that shit.” Whap. Whap. “Then your ho ass just tried to push up on my man like that shit is cool!”

  I felt the blood gush from my busted lip with this last hit. I was trying my hardest to get up, but with Bree’s fat ass sitting on top of me, that shit was damn near impossible.

  “I never did like your ho ass,” she grumbled. “Always told Mel to watch her back around you.” Whap. “So glad she sees you for the sneaky bitch you really are.” Whap. “Now, get your ass off the ground so you can fight me heads up. I don’t want you walking around, lying, talking about I didn’t give you a chance for a fair one.”

  After scrambling to my feet, I swung at Bree. My fist connected with her jaw, and her head snapped back. When she turned around, I could see blood all over her teeth.

  “Damn, babe! You let her draw a little blood? What the fuck! And why you let her up? Ain’t no muthafuckin’ rules in fighting,” said Chasin, clothed now, from his seat on the steps. He looked at his watch. “Now you got about two minutes to put some work in. After that, I will have to intervene, being an officer of the law.”

  “Chasin . . . ,” Bree snapped.

  “Don’t ‘Chasin’ me. What you need to do is Donkey Kong Jr. that bitch before the police show up.”

  I guessed Chasin telling her that was the green light for Bree to finish the ass whipping she had promised me. By the time he actually did break up the fight, Bree had dragged me all over her yard and had even managed to fracture two of my fingers. When the police did show up, Chasin’s ass shifted into lawyer mode real quick and told them that I had trespassed and had come with the intent to harm Bree. Asshole even told them that it was me who had swung first. They asked Bree if she wanted to press charges, and surprisingly, she said no. The police uncuffed me and let me go, but not before giving me a warning to stay away from Bree’s house and anywhere else she might be. Because I didn’t need the law or anyone else sniffing around me, I picked up my shit, got in my car, and left. Bree had beaten my ass, like she’d promised, but I had something for that bitch right after I fucked over her niece.

  Melonee

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if you are here for visitation, please have your IDs out and ready when you get in line over here. Any personal items, such as purses, backpacks, diaper bags, and so on, will not be allowed beyond this point. The only things that will be allowed are the preapproved items on the list that you saw on the Web site or read in the letter that was sent to you. If your items are not in an approved clear ziplock plastic bag, they will not be allowed in. Also, if you did not receive a notice in the mail stating that you were approved to visit the inmate whom you are here to see, you will not be allowed inside, regardless of what type of relationship you have. We don’t care if you are the mother, father, brother, sister, baby mama, or any other relative. You will not be allowed in. Please make sure no cell phones or electronic devices are in your possession, for those are not permitted beyond this point, either. Thank you.”

  Cries and questions were all I could hear as people crowded around the correctional officer who had just run down the list of rules as I stood in line at Corcoran State Prison, waiting to go in for my visit. Babies with snotty noses were hollering at the top of their lungs, while their gum-popping, gold-plated jewelry–wearing mamas ignored them and applied more makeup on top of the boatload that was already on their faces. Those women wore outfits that more than likely violated the approved dress code, but they were still trying to get in. Then there were the grandmothers who had tired written all over their face but still made these monthly trips to bring their grandkids to see their father. And last but not least, there were those women who had come to see their man, unaware that another woman was here for the same visit. So far five chicks had been kicked out for fighting, and I was sure there would be more before the day was out.

  While I was in the hospital, I had received a letter from Fiona and Cowboy’s father, asking me to come see him as soon as I could. The request wasn’t odd to me, because Max had asked me to come visit a few times over the years, but I had always declined. I sent birthday cards and shit like that and even drop
ped a few dollars on his books every now and then. Max had been like a father figure to me when I was younger, and I loved him, so it was only right that I looked out for him in some type of way. If my mother was here, I knew she would do the same thing.

  After picking up some counseling pamphlets off the table, I fanned my face, trying to get some cool air in this stuffy, hot-ass lobby. The line was moving slow as hell, and I needed to use the bathroom. Maybe wearing this long-sleeve turtleneck dress and tights was the wrong thing to do. My edges were already starting to frizz up, and the light makeup I did have on my face was probably about to melt off. After walking up to the security checkpoint, I handed the security officer my keys and ID, then walked through the metal detector. After being checked in, I followed the rest of the crowd to another waiting room and waited to be further instructed on what to do.

  Fifteen minutes later, I was sitting on a bench behind a table in the back of a cafeteria-like room, waiting on Max to come out. A loud buzzer went off, and a huge metal barred gate slid open. A couple of officers with batons and Taser guns on their hips walked through first, followed by a line of inmates. In light blue scrubs with bold lettering on the back, they filed out one by one, immediately spotting their family members or still searching for them. My eyes scanned the large group of men for Max, but I didn’t see him at first. It wasn’t until the last inmate had walked in and the gates had been closed that our eyes connected.

  The smiles on our faces expanded at the same time, and when he finally reached me, I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist. For a while we stood there and just held each other. It wasn’t a surprise to me when tears began to fall down my face. Everything I’d been through in the past year had come rushing back to me, including the most recent traumatic event, Proof’s death. My heart was still broken over that, and the way my daughter mourned her father didn’t make it any better.

  “Shhh, Mel.” Max pulled back from our embrace and wiped the tears from my eyes and then kissed me on my forehead. “It’s okay. It’s okay. Let’s sit down before these asshole COs come over here, trippin’.” We took a seat next to each other on the same bench I’d occupied earlier.

  “I’m sorry, Max. It’s just that . . .” I shook my head. “You’re, like, the only parent figure that I have besides my granny and my aunt Bree. They’ve been there for me and shit. But that fatherly hug just . . .” I trailed off and shrugged my shoulders. “So how are you? Long time no see, huh?”

  Max’s handsome face lit up with a smile. “And whose fault is that? I’ve asked you to come visit me since I’ve been here, but you’ve never come, until today.”

  “Yeah, I know. I just didn’t want to see you like this.”

  He nodded his head. “I understand. These jail visits aren’t for everybody. I appreciate the cards and money, though. Thanks to you, Fiona, and Cowboy, I’m going to be a millionaire by the time I get out of here.”

  We shared a laugh.

  He went on. “How is my grandbaby? She’s as beautiful as you were at that age.”

  “Thank you, Max. Madison is, indeed, me in my former life, but she has a lot of her father in her as well.” At my mention of Proof, I felt the tears building up in my eyes again. “I’m sorry. I can’t help but cry every time I think of Jaylen and how I never would wish for my daughter to go through the same thing that I had to go through . . . losing a parent. And at her age. Telling her that her father was gone and wasn’t coming back was the hardest thing I have ever had to do.”

  Maxwell grabbed my hands, which were on the table, and squeezed them. “It’ll only get better with time, Mel. You got through it, right?”

  I nodded my head, tears falling down my cheeks now.

  “You gotta be strong for my grandbaby now,” Maxwell told me. “If you falling apart, who will she have then? Just make sure she knows how much her daddy loved her, and that if circumstances were different, he would be here for her.”

  I thought about everything Max had just said. Although it was going to be hard, I knew what he’d said was nothing but the truth. “I will. . . .” Using one of my dress sleeves, I wiped my face dry. “So . . . tell me what you’ve been up to, old man.”

  For about an hour, Max and I just basically sat at our bench, shooting the shit. Reminiscing about old times and talking about any and everything we could think of. Topics ranged from our new president, who knew nothing about running a country, to what food places were still around or had closed down while he’d been gone. I was really enjoying our visit, and I realized I had really missed the bond that he and I used to have when I was younger.

  Looking at Max, some would probably think that he was my real father if I was standing next to him. His skin wasn’t as dark as mine, but it wasn’t as light as Fiona’s, either. Maybe a deep chestnut color. And the way his eyes twinkled when he laughed was something mine did whenever I laughed too. Whereas I had gray eyes, which I’d inherited from my granny, Max’s were a warm brown mixed with specks of honey. Our eyelashes were similar, though. Long, thick, and curled at the end. And while my face was round like my mother’s, his was more oblong, and he had a strong chin to match. However, our ears were strikingly similar: the tips were pointy, like an elf’s. Max was a very handsome man, indeed, and even after all these years, I could see what had attracted my mother to him.

  “Are you hungry, Mel? We don’t have any Roscoe’s or anything like that in here. But the food in that food machine over there is pretty good.”

  I looked over at the large vending machines, which had everything from bags of chips to prepackaged chicken wings that you warmed up in the microwave. As delectable as some of those snacks looked, I had to pass. After winning a bet Roman and I had on who would tap out first, I was rewarded with a big breakfast this morning, so I wasn’t really that hungry. Thoughts of the fuck session we had had last night and early this morning must’ve shown on my face, because Max laughed when he noticed the dreamy look in my eyes, and asked me what I was smiling about.

  “Nothing.” I blushed. “Just thinking about . . . some things.”

  “Must be the new man in your life.”

  “Something like that.”

  His face became serious. “Does he make you happy?”

  I thought about his question for a minute. Since the day that I met Roman, I had always felt this happiness whenever I was around him. Without fully knowing who he really was, I had always had a sense that he was a protector and would do anything to make sure that the people he loved were safe. He had been nothing but a godsend since Kason was born. And then when Proof died, I think I fell in love with him even more. Many nights I had cried on his shoulder for my baby’s father and he had let me. He’d exhibited no insecurities. Had just held me in his arms until I stopped crying or fell asleep. He had even cried with me when we both spoke about our mothers and how their deaths affected us. Roman was around the same age as Madison, or maybe younger, when his mother passed, so he knew exactly what she was going through now. I, on the other hand, was a little older and had a better understanding of death when my mother passed, so while it hurt, I understood why. Everything about this man made me happy, so I told Max just that.

  “You should bring him up here one day so that I can meet him. I’ll add his name to the list. Him and the kids.”

  “Maybe . . . So what did you want to talk about, Max? In your letter you said that you needed to tell me something.”

  His face went blank, and his grin disappeared. The way his face changed had me feeling a little uncomfortable now. Whatever he needed to tell me must be serious.

  “You know I met your mom when we were younger. Maybe in the third grade. She and I became the best of friends after she kicked some girl’s ass for breaking my glasses.” He smiled. “That was one of the best days of my life. I used to follow her around after that like I was her shadow. Developed a little crush on her and everything. It wasn’t until we got to middle school that we actually tried to be boyfriend and girlfriend. La
sted all the way up until our junior year of high school. We were each other’s first loves. I had the girl of my dreams at my side, but I messed it all up when I fucked the chick who moved next door to me during that summer.” He swallowed hard.

  “Till this day, I don’t know how your mother found out, but she did,” he continued. “A mistake damn near cost me everything. We broke up, and she wouldn’t talk to me for a long time. Me and April, the girl next door, started fucking around heavy during that time, and of course, she ended up getting pregnant. Shaunie was really mad when she found that out. I didn’t regret having my son, but I did regret getting April pregnant. Somewhere down the line, your mom must’ve forgiven me, because after li’l Max was born, Shaunie and I started talking again. She even became friends with my baby mama. I would talk to your mama ’bout the shit April was doing out in the streets, and she would talk to me about whatever nigga she was fucking with at the time.” He paused and took a deep breath.

  “One night, things between us got a little heavy, and we ended up having sex,” he admitted. “A few months later both April and Shaunie ended up pregnant. I always had a feeling that the baby April was pregnant with wasn’t mine. But Shaunie . . . When I asked her if she was carrying my child, she denied it so bad. Wouldn’t tell me her due date or anything. One day I went to Ms. Regina’s house to tell your mama that I wanted a DNA test done, but she was gone. According to your granny, she ran off with some dude and was never coming back. I was hurt. Tried looking for her but couldn’t find her anywhere. A year and a half later, she shows up at my doorstep, with a beautiful little girl on her hip.”

  “Me?”

  “Yeah, you. The minute I laid eyes on you, I knew you were mine. Even with those gray eyes and round face like your mother’s, you still had some of my features.”

  My heart dropped, and my body started to shake. “Wait a minute, Max. I know you’re not trying to tell me that you’re my father, right?”