Married to the Game

by King Benjamin

  “Okay, I’ll wash ‘em tomorrow.”

  After his mom left, Kelly stuck around for a while knowing her husband wanted to spend some time with his kids. They watched a couple of movies and before long the kids had both fallen asleep. Gunner woke Butter up and made her go lay down in her bedroom so he could use the opportunity to have a talk with his wife about all that had happened and what would come next. As he watched Kelly staring at the television refusing to even glance in his direction, he knew that she knew what was coming.

  “I don’t want a divorce,” he started.

  “Well…I do,” Kelly shot back immediately.

  “Even though you know that’s not the right decision?”

  “The right decision for who?”

  “Come on, baby, let’s be real. You still love me and I still love you. We just had a beautiful son and—”

  “And way, way, way before that you had daughter…while we were married.”

  Gunner took a deep breath.

  “Just listen to me. I was twenty-two Kelly. We got married young as hell because I knew who I wanted to spend my life with. That hasn’t changed, but that don’t mean I was really mature enough to be everything I needed to be at that time. Think about how fucking wild I was at twenty-two…and you knew I was wild as hell and you married me anyway.”

  “So now it’s my fault?” she raised her voice slightly.

  “No, it’s all my fault. I’m not trying to shift none of the blame. But you gotta ask yourself were we being realistic about who I was at twenty-two and what you expected. I could’ve been dead or in jail at any minute but I’m still here. Not only am I still standing, I’m standing tall bullet wounds and all, Kelly. I did everything else I promised you I would do. And I don’t think what happened when I was a young, dumb nigga should force us to throw away the past ten years.”

  “A part of me feels like those past ten years have been a waste of time because it was built on a lie.”

  “Okay, so you telling me the past ten years of the good life were a waste? You telling me all the memories we shared and how we grew into adulthood together was a waste? Look at my son lying there and then look at me and tell me that this was all a waste of time.”

  “You know that’s not what I meant.”

  “No, I don’t. I don’t know what you mean when you say a waste of time. Because from my view I gave you everything you could’ve ever wanted. Vacations wherever you wanna go, a beautiful home, and—”

  “And a child by another woman,” she interrupted. “You knew this was a deal breaker, Gunner. How selfish do you have to be to do the one thing I begged you not to do?”

  As Gunner lowered his head in defeat his cell phone rang with a call from Jay. He remembered Jay was supposed to be swinging by the house when he found out Gunner was getting out of the hospital. As he answered the phone Kelly stood and started preparing to leave.

  “You outside?” Gunner asked.

  “Yeah, I just pulled up.”

  “Can you open the door for Jay?” he asked Kelly as he ended the call.

  As soon as Jay walked in he could sense the obvious tension between the two of them even though they tried to act like everything was cool. Jay and Kelly spoke briefly as she got the baby together.

  “You coming back?” Gunner asked, knowing they had to finish the conversation he’d started.

  “I don’t know,” Kelly replied.

  “Why don’t you know?” Gunner asked as Jay helped grab her things and carry the baby to the car.

  “Because I don’t know, Gunner,” Kelly said with a little attitude.

  “Come back man,” Gunner said trying to put his foot down.

  Kelly didn’t respond as made it to the door. “You hear me?”

  “Yeah,” she finally replied.

  Gunner smiled inside. Just the fact that she was willing to be around him right now made him feel she would eventually start faltering on her stance of filing for divorce. He had to keep the pressure on before he lost Kelly for good. After helping Kelly get situated, Jay came back in the house and sat down with Gunner.

  “Keep working at it my nigga, she’ll come around,” Jay said.

  “I’m trying dog. She hard headed as hell though.”

  Jay was silent for a minute.

  “You know what would get her attention right now?” he finally said.

  “What?”

  “If you thought about giving this shit up once and for all.”

  Gunner waved the hand with the splint on his broken thumb at Jay.

  “Don’t start that bullshit my nigga.”

  “Naw, I’m telling you what’s real. She the one brought it to me tryna see if I could talk to you about it. You know we been through this shit already so it ain’t a conversation I’m ready to have twice. All I’m saying is…you got a lot at stake homeboy.”

  Gunner could no longer deny the cold, hard facts of his life. It seemed like everywhere he turned there were the signs and symbols that his days could be numbered on the streets. It was a fact he’d always been willing to accept but the potential aftermath of it was starting to really bother him.

  “My family gon’ be good whether I’m here or not, Jay.”

  “You really believe that?” his best friend countered.

  He wanted to. He wanted like hell to believe it, but he couldn’t look his main man in the eyes and tell him that he did when he didn’t.

  ****

  Oshiwa was starting to feel like she needed a break from Bones and his whole funky disposition. The more she did to keep him safe and out of harm’s way, it seemed like the less he appreciated her. The weight of feeling like a prisoner in his own home was taking its toll on Bones and with her being the only one around to aim his anger at, she was feeling the brunt of his wrath more and more.

  As the pressure mounted, her attitude became reckless and non-caring, feeling that she wasn’t the one whose entire life was at risk. Just days after the infamous shootout and Rell’s death, Oshiwa moseyed into her old hair salon and gave everyone who had been speculating a clear confirmation that she was back in town. She paid a woman two hundred dollars to take her spot in the chair so she wouldn’t have to wait. Those who knew who she was were in complete awe as she sat around getting her signature cut and curl as if nothing had ever happened.

  She was tired of wearing disguises and tired of running. The whole point of getting money was to flaunt it, she thought. If she wasn’t able to live, it wasn’t worth all the risk she was taking. But as she sat in the salon chair dressed in high-end fashion and huge diamond earrings, she’d never felt more like her old self. She conversed only with Tina, her old beautician, and kept it simple, leaving no room to discuss her personal life. When she was done she tipped her old friend an extra fifty as Doe called to let Oshiwa know he was pulling up outside.

  “It’s so good to have you back girl. You know all you gotta do is call me and let me know you coming and you gon’ get the VIP treatment every time,” Tina assured her.

  “I most definitely will. Let me get your number,” Oshiwa said pulling out her phone.

  She locked in Tina’s number and headed out with a smirk on her face as the women in the salon sat in silence, watching as she passed by. She loved the spotlight. It was the place she was born to be. But as she stepped foot outside of the salon a different kind of a spotlight took place as police swarmed the front of the building in three cars. She spotted Doe sitting in the car shocked and in complete disarray.

  “Don’t move!” she heard the first officer scream as he hopped out.

  Car doors slammed rapidly as the DPD attempted to surround her. Oshiwa took off down the street as fast as she could, grabbing the gun from her waist and slinging it to the curb right in front of several police officers. They yelled at her to stop as they gave chase but she was having none of it. She managed to make it to the corner of the block before a fourth squad car pulled up and the passenger hopped out with his gun pointed right at Oshiw
a’s head.

  “Get on the fucking ground right now!”

  She spotted the driver jump out ready to cut her off if she made a cut to go around the squad car. She was caught. The jig was up. Oshiwa raised her hands in surrender and she began to slowly kneel down to the concrete.

  “What I do officer?” she asked as she laid flat on the ground.

  “Shut up bitch and get your hands behind your back,” she heard one reply.

  Oshiwa was manhandled and cuffed quickly. As they snatched her up and searched her person she wondered who told on her that fast. A hater in the salon had called in hoping there would be a reward for her capture but they would be sadly disappointed to learn the only reward offered was for Bones. As they lifted Oshiwa from the ground and led her back to the front of the salon where the other police cars were parked, she looked around to see had they retrieved the gun from the ground. As she scanned the area she realized the gun was gone and so was Doe.

  ****

  The news of Oshiwa’s arrest spread like a wildfire throughout the city. After local news stations reported the story in possible connection with Bones, they did a backstory on the shootout in downtown Detroit, stating the police had now linked her to that investigation as well. Not long after the word got around Jay and Gunner were joined at his home by E and Ray to discuss what it meant for them and how to move forward. For Jay, it felt just like old times, but not in a good way, as he sat stroking his goatee.

  “So it was this lil’ sneaky bitch all along, huh?” Ray said.

  “That’s what it’s looking like. I knew that nigga Bones couldn’t be that stupid to come back,” Gunner said.

  “If he was in the D his ass ain’t now, I guarantee you that,” E chimed in.

  Jay was busy letting his mind run through all the possible solutions to deal with Bones and Oshiwa once and for all.

  “We don’t got no bitches in the county we can holla at to knock that bitch off?” he suggested.

  “I know one in Wayne County that’s about that life, but I don’t trust the bitch enough for something this serious,” E replied.

  “Let’s see if we can bond the bitch out,” Ray suggested.

  “Naw, that bitch ain’t getting no bond unless she cooperating with them people,” Gunner said. “Besides that, you need to fall all the way back right now until we can handle your situation.”

  “I can’t fall back if niggas out here trying to put us in the dirt.” Ray laughed. “Fuck is you talking about?”

  “Naw, he right though, Ray,” Jay interrupted. “You ain’t the shooter no more nigga you a boss and it’s about time you started acting like one. Y’all got other people for that shit.”

  Ray respected Gunner’s opinion but with him and Jay combined he couldn’t argue. He knew they were much wiser in years and experience.

  “I hear y’all,” he said, lowering his head in disappointment he wasn’t going to get his hands dirty.

  Jay, who was sitting next to him, gave him a pat on the back and chuckled slightly.

  “Anyway, we won’t be able to do anything until she gets a court date and moved to the county. Meanwhile, I need to get home to my girl before she kills me. I’ma call Dan and see if he can find out something with her court date.”

  “We got it from here Jay. Take yo’ ass back home,” Gunner said.

  With everything going on it was hard for Jay to just up and leave but he knew this wasn’t his life anymore. He knew he needed to remember his place in all of this no matter how it played out. The thought of losing any more of his friends at this point just seemed unbearable. More than anything, he just wanted it to all be over once and for all.

  ****

  Bones was packing up the last of his things as he heard the car door slam outside. He went to the kitchen and peaked out to the driveway and saw Doe’s headlights shut off as he pulled in and all the way to the back of the driveway. He went to let Doe in through the side door. Although their relationship was rocky as ever, Doe was all Bones had left. He couldn’t trust anyone else to make sure what he had built in a short timespan didn’t just fall to the way-side, but the pressure was closing in and he had to get out of dodge before he joined Oshiwa in a jail cell.

  “You watched yo’ back when you came here right?” Bones said as he let Doe in.

  “Of course,” Doe said with a hint of attitude.

  “My nigga, if I never needed you in my whole life, I need you now,” Bones said honestly.

  Doe just nodded and listened. “I think my bitch can hold water but right now, I ain’t tryna to stick around and find out.”

  “Okay,” Doe replied.

  Bones shot in the bedroom and came back with a gym bag. Inside was all the drugs that Bones had invested in through Doe’s connect plus the money he had recouped since copping. He handed the bag to Doe.

  “I need you to flip this shit dog. I need you to keep it going while I’m out of town. If you change your phone number make sure I get the new number asap. I can’t say when I’ma be back, but you hit me up and let me know what’s up with my girl as soon as you find out something.”

  Doe stood in the kitchen and listened carefully, getting more excited as each moment passed. He knew there had to be well over a hundred thousand dollars’ worth of cash and drugs in the bag. With any luck, he’d never see Bones again.

  “I gotchu big homey. You know I’ma hold this shit down like a G.”

  “Please man, don’t fuck this up,” Bones pleaded.

  Doe could see the desperation in his eyes. The circumstances had humbled Bones like never before. He knew without Doe on his side he may as well just walk in the precinct and surrender.

  “I gotchu,” Doe repeated.

  The two men slapped fives and Doe grabbed the bag and dipped back out of the side door into the cool night air. As soon as Doe was gone, Bones called Pam to see where she was at.

  “I’m five minutes away Bones just stay cool. I’m almost there,” Pam assured him.

  For the money, Pam was still willing to put her own life and freedom on the line to assist Bones however she could. She had found him a place to hide out that they were both sure no one would ever come looking for him. Pam pulled up moments later in the same spot Doe had just pulled out of. Bones came out with all the bags he could carry in two hands and tossed them in the back seat. Peaking around, the block was quiet and still as midnight approached. He locked up the house securely and then climbed his tall, lanky frame inside the trunk of Pam’s Lincoln.

  He knew they couldn’t risk getting pulled over with him in the passenger seat so he crammed himself into the trunk. Pam crept out of the area without being detected by the police cars she passed on her way to the freeway, headed north.

  Chapter 17

  The day of Oshiwa’s arrest, she was interrogated for roughly fifteen intense hours. Instead of just invoking her right to not answer any questions without a lawyer present, she engaged detectives for hours not only giving them a specific timeline and her whereabouts but offering them a completely fraudulent background of her entire life up to that point. Oshiwa wasn’t afraid of slipping up. She welcomed the challenge because she wanted any and every detective working Bones’s case to know that she wasn’t some young, dumb, ghetto chick that was being led astray by a conniving gangster.

  She believed she was cut from same cloth and bred from the same bloodline as them. It seemed like the mental chess match lasted for days as detectives hammered away at her story trying to find some inconsistencies. The fact of the matter was, Oshiwa had been preparing for this day for a very long time. Finally, with her being no closer to being released and them being no closer to finding Bones, she decided she’d said enough and asked for her lawyer.

  At this point, Oshiwa’s commitment was not to Bones but herself. She knew that placing herself in direct contact with Bones at any point gave them enough to charge her with a felony. She wasn’t about to hand them the matches and lighter fluid to burn her house down.

/>   As of right now, all they had was a shit pile of traffic warrants to hold her on, but everyone involved in this case was determined to not let Oshiwa back out on the streets. In court, the judge used her maximum discretion. Instead of offering her a plea deal with some small fines, she handed out the stiffest sentence allowed, giving Oshiwa ninety days in the county jail for her traffic warrants. This would give the department the time they needed to crack her and find out where Bones was hiding out. But after getting over the initial shock of it all, being in the county was almost like a blessing for Oshiwa. For the first time, in almost two years, she was able to reach out to her family.

  After being in the county for a couple of weeks she received her first visit from her mom whom she was elated to finally see face to face. Oshiwa was nothing like her mom Brandy but they maintained a good relationship that even Oshiwa could never understand. She was more like a big sister than a mom growing up, giving her daughter much more leeway than she probably should have as she drifted into adolescence. Never really knowing her father, Oshiwa took to older guys the minute she found herself becoming attracted to boys. By the time she was sixteen, she was hardly ever home, spending nights out with the neighborhood drug dealer who was running her hood at the time.

  By the time her mother began to complain, Oshiwa began to shower her with money and gifts to keep her quiet. That tradition didn’t stop as she entered into adulthood so Oshiwa was not surprised to see her mom beaming with joy to finally lay eyes on her one and only child. As they sat in the visitor’s booth, staring through the Plexiglass, Oshiwa offered a bright smile back at her mom to let her know she was just as thrilled.

  “How you doing?” Brandy said.

  “I’m good Mama, I’m just ready to get out of here,” Oshiwa said.

  “I know, I told Sherrie my daughter ain’t never been locked up for this long, I know it’s killing her,” Brandy said.

  Sherrie was Brandy’s sister and used to be Oshiwa’s favorite aunt until the reality of her lifestyle became too much for her aunt and the two became distant.