A Staten Island Love Letter 3

by Jahquel J

  Chanel was pissed because she thought I was supposed to be single for the rest of my life. For once, she was the single one. Our friendship and that shit fucked with her. If that wasn’t enough, it was the fact that it was Liberty that added to her frustrations. I plopped down on the couch and laid back to get a few hours of sleep. I had planned to come lay down, shower, and do all that shit since I hadn’t been home for a while. With Lib’s mother staying with her, I knew I didn’t have to sit and watch her ass like a hawk, so I decided to come home and catch up on some sleep. Here Chanel’s ass go fucking up and making me miss out on some sleep because she wanted to question me about my life. What I chose to do with my life was my fucking business. When she was busting it open for the next upcoming hustler, I never said anything. She could at least give me the same fucking respect. Instead, she was trying to use the baby that wasn’t even born against me. Chanel knew I didn’t take threats seriously, so she better had calmed her small ass down.

  Just when I was finally able to close my eyes, my phone buzzed beside me. Slapping the couch’s cushion, I grabbed the phone and held it up to my ear. “Yo,” I heard Maliah’s voice.

  “What you want?”

  “First of all, don’t be answering your phone like that.” She laughed. “Mami said she wants me to come pick you up.”

  “Man, for what? I’m tired as fuck.”

  “Why do you think I’m coming to pick you up?” she replied being a smart ass. “She wants to talk to you and know you’re gonna drag ass to come to the house.”

  “You know the spot,” I replied and ended the call.

  What the hell could Messiah possibly want now? A nigga just wanted an hour of sleep and it seemed like I couldn’t get that shit at all. I quickly closed my eyes and leaned my head back so I could get some sleep before Maliah got here. Soon as my eye lids closed, I heard someone laying on their damn horn in front of my crib. Tossing the pillow I was hugging, I walked to the front door and swung that shit opened. Maliah was parked outside in her candy apple Ashton Martin.

  “I was around the corner when I called!” she yelled out the window. I shook my head and went back into the crib to lock up before jumping into the front seat with her.

  Before I could get my second leg into the whip, she sped down the block and around the corner. “Why the fuck you driving like that?”

  “My auntie Bronx taught me how to drive, and she told me how to avoid cops,” she bragged. I couldn’t front, she was whipping this shit with one hand as she adjusted the stick shift to her speed ever so often.

  “Get me locked up today and I’m gonna bust your ass.”

  “Oh, shut up, you Staten Davis and you scared of the cops?” she quickly sped through a yellow light, then onto the highway. “Anyway, why you look so damn bad? Look like you haven’t slept in a year.”

  “Shit, it’s starting to feel like it.” I reclined my seat and tried not to open my eyes back up. The way Maliah was whipping through these cars was about to make me throw the fuck up. Each time I thought she was close to hitting a car, she would zoomed to the next lane so quickly that I would have missed it if I blinked.

  “Mami always says you gotta take care of yourself first.” She replied.

  “Oh yeah. She has you and your sisters running shit, so she can take all the breaks she wants.”

  “And you could too. You and Ghost choose to run yourselves ragged and it makes no sense,” she said as she focused on the highway.

  “Yeah, it ain’t that easy. You’re too young to understand.”

  “Young, yes. But, not to understand. You forget that I never had a childhood? I’ve been learning about the game since I was eight years old. Shot my first gun at ten. Don’t let my age fool you. Instead of prom, I was going with Mami to collect money.”

  “You regret it?” Messiah wanted her daughters to be tough. She didn’t want to raise weak children and made it her life mission once she was released from prison. The twins weren’t raised like typical girls, they had been trained to shoot a gun before their first period.

  “Nah, this is my family and our life. If this is what I have to do, then I’m gonna do it without asking questions. Now, Mariah… she might have a different answer.”

  “Why?”

  “Mariah wants true love, babies and all that other shit. She wants to marry a man in the streets, not run them,” she sighed.

  “Ain’t shit wrong with that.”

  “A King can own the kingdom, but the Queen runs it,” she recited. “In other words, no man is supposed to run the show.”

  “Your pops run the show and your moms allows him. Shit, your pops been running the show since I was a child.”

  “And Mami has been doing the same. They were both on the same level when they met. One not higher than the other… Well, Mami did have more money,” she added.

  “How do you know she won’t find someone on the same level as her?”

  “Niggas our age don’t be worried about nothing besides pussy and the next whip they can front in. No nigga ain’t gonna wanna date one of us… we’re out of their league,” she looked at me briefly before she exited the highway.

  We came across a mansion with big steel gates at the front of the house. Maliah put a code in, and they opened, granting us access to the crib. “Damn, I haven’t been to the new crib. Rasheed wasn’t playing when he said he got her a nice Mother’s Day gift.”

  “This was for her birthday. The jet was for Mother’s Day,” she nonchalantly replied.

  Maliah, Mariah, and Munroe grew up in luxury. They didn’t know anything about the struggle, but that didn’t mean their father never told them about it. None of the girls were entitled or felt like someone owed them something. They put in work like everyone else and nothing was ever handed to them. It was one of the things I respected the most about Messiah and Rasheed. Their kids didn’t run around like entitled brats, they knew they had to put in work and wasn’t afraid to do it.

  We hopped out of the whip and I followed Maliah into the house. The butler held the door open and I continued into the house. The floors and walls were marble. You knew you had money when you skipped wallpaper and went right to marble.

  “I knew I heard a slimy ass nigga enter my crib,” I heard Rasheed’s voice and dapped him up. This nigga was never in New York. With all the business and connects the family owned, he was constantly on the go making sure their legacy remained.

  “Shut the fuck up. I didn’t even think you was here,” I stepped back and looked my nigga over. He had gained some muscle and was looking all buff and shit.

  “Man, I don’t know if I’m coming or going, or what time zone I’m in,” he chuckled. “What Messiah want from you?”

  “Man, I was sleeping and then your crazy ass daughter scooped me up to come over here. I’m bout to find a guest room and lay down, keep playing with me.”

  “Shit, do you. We got enough room.”

  “I have to send my child to come get you over here,” Messiah sucked her teeth as she came out of the kitchen.

  “I don’t even want to know what is so urgent. I’m bout to go holla at my niece and nephew, I’ll get up with you soon,” we dapped again, and he grabbed the keys out of a fancy bowl, kissed his wife and then headed out.

  “Look at the smirk on your lips. Nobody makes the ice queen’s heart melt except Rasheed,” I teased, and she punched me.

  “You need to be focused on important things, not that.” She waved for me to follow her. We walked through her museum, I mean crib. The shit looked like a home in Europe. Marble everywhere, hand painted art and shit.

  “Mami, I’m going to head to the mall real quick,” Maliah caught us before we got onto an elevator.

  “Everything is handled?” she raised her eyebrow as she looked at her daughter.

  “Yes,” she replied.

  “Where’s Munroe?”

  “Probably with Mariah. You know those two are always together.”

  “Bye,” she said a
nd pressed the button, closing the elevator door. “You would think being in my stomach at the same time they would be closer.” She shook her head.

  “I know a set of twins that are having that same issue.”

  “Freedom and Liberty?”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know all about her coke habit?” Why the fuck did everyone know about this shit except me? First Ghost, now Messiah. While Liberty thought her ass was being discreet, everyone knew about her shit. “I know everything.” She winked as she stepped off the elevator. The basement was huge with a sitting area along with a huge TV, bar, and some game tables.

  “This nice as shit,” I complimented as I walked around, taking in the nice ass chill spot she had down here. I could be down here for weeks and never get tired or want to come upstairs.

  “Don’t avoid the question.”

  “I know and I’m helping her.” If you knew Messiah, she wasn’t going to allow you to get out of a conversation. Switching the topic never worked with her.

  She gently touched my arm. “You can’t help her. As much as you want to, you can’t. If you love her like I know you do, you will get her the help she needs, Staten.”

  “You getting soft on me?”

  “No, I just can see the love you have for this woman. A man that knows that his girl is doing the same drugs he supplies, and still wants to help, that’s love. Don’t try and deny it either.” she sat down on the couch. “I wanted to talk to you about taking over for your brother.” She got right to the point. I was taken back from the conversation she had just shifted into.

  “Nah, that’s my brother. I can’t take over from him. Loyalty is everything and I couldn’t forgive myself if I did that shit.”

  “Loyalty is everything, but your brother’s heart isn’t in this anymore. He lost his baby girl because of his role in the streets. As much as he has put this brave face on, he wants to make the life he never got to with Freedom and his children.” Everything Messiah said was true.

  Ghost’s heart wasn’t in the game. This was the same man who would rather die before he went to sleep when we were coming up in the game. He got where he was because of the hard work he put in. However, something was different about him and I knew it was because his heart wasn’t in this anymore. He gave up his life, blood, sweat and tears for the game, and the game had ended his daughter’s life. This wasn’t something that he wanted anymore, and I could tell, he just would never admit the shit to me.

  “I hear all that you’re saying. And, yeah, I agree with you, but that’s blood. Siah, you know we’re like family, but I can’t betray my brother like that.”

  “That’s why you and your brother need to sit down and have a talk. I’m being nice and asking, don’t force my hand. Have that conversation with your brother. I love Ghost like my own brother, but his head isn’t in it anymore. He has more than enough money and businesses to sit back and keep him busy. He’d still be making money, but you would be in charge.”

  “Yeah, I hear you.”

  “Next topic of business, I heard your little girlfriend has a little issue.” I knew what she was about to mention. The fact that Pook had gotten to Messiah meant that Pook was out in the streets running his damn mouth.

  “I’m handling it.”

  “How? By allowing her mother to stay with her?”

  I stood up and went to pour myself a drink. It seemed like everyone was coming at my throat today. “I’m handling it, Messiah. I got Chanel on my back and now I have you telling me what I need to do. Just chill. Please.”

  “You have a lot on your plate? Well, that’s the cost to play the fucking boss. You don’t think I have enough on my plate? Man up and make sure you handle your damn business. If I hear Pook speaking on my money again, we’re going to have a problem.” She stood up, tapped me on the shoulder and went to the elevator. “Oh, and I want him killed. Don’t go threaten him, go and end his entire life.” She winked.

  Since we all got money together, it was like Pook was trying to get money from all of us. He had barked up the right tree and now I had no choice but to end his life. It wasn’t about Liberty when it came to Pook. Yeah, he was pissed that she had stolen his money and left him to rot in prison. It was also about the fact that Pook was the top nigga running shit before he got knocked. Ghost was a little nigga to him, although Ghost was three years younger than him. We were struggling and trying to get put on. Now, years later, we were the niggas you had to come to when wanting to be put on. Unless you went to Zeek, and that nigga wasn’t getting money on our scale. I guzzled the Hennessy and then headed to the elevator to get my shit in order so I could handle Pook and put his shit behind me.

  Can you take a ride with me somewhere? I looked at the text message that Liberty had just sent me.

  No doubt. I replied, mad that Messiah had Maliah bring me all the way out here to talk about this shit we could have linked at a later date about. I was gonna make sure she sent me home in one of those whips out front too.

  The wheels to my Range Rover stopped in front of a white two-story townhouse. The lawn was green, even with the weather being cold. There was a cross wreath hanging on the brown front door, along with pumpkins that had seen better days. Liberty looked at me and I grabbed a hold of her hand. When Liberty asked for me to take a ride with her, I didn’t expect it would be to see her son. Her aunt had got released from the hospital and was doing better. Liberty wanted to come and check on her aunt to be sure that she was alright with her own eyes. I stepped out the truck, walked around and opened Liberty’s door. Before she could put her foot on the ground, I grabbed hold of her face and pushed my lips onto hers. She grabbed my face and kissed me back before we broke our kiss.

  “You’re going to be fine. Act like this is a regular visit. Don’t put on because I’m here,” I coached her. She had no reason to be so nervous. If I hadn’t judged her about her drug problem, I wasn’t about to judge now.

  She took a deep breath and then walked ahead of me. I watched as she fumbled with keys and opened the front door. I locked the truck and followed behind her into the house. It smelled like Bergamot and vanilla. The foyer table held pictures of a little boy who resembled Liberty. Then, there was a picture of Myla’s ass before she became Myla. I followed her further into the house. There was art with scriptures and crosses all over the house.

  “Who is there?” I heard an older woman’s voice. She peeked her head around the corner and smiled. “Libby, what are you doing here?” she asked and hugged Liberty.

  “I came to see if you were alright. I’m sorry, I should have come sooner.” Liberty apologized.

  “A visit is a visit, doesn’t matter when it happens,” she smiled. “And you brought company.” Her gaze had turned to me. Lolita, Liberty’s mom, and this woman were nearly twins. “I know, I look just like my sister. We’re a year apart,” she smiled and took the words out of my mouth.

  “It’s like I’m staring right at her. How are you doing? My name is Shaliq,” I introduced myself to her.

  “Nice to meet you, Shaliq. Liberty never comes with anyone, so this is a nice surprise.” She smiled. “I’m making dinner. Chance is out with Rodney.”

  “Rodney, your neighbor?” Liberty asked as she followed her aunt into her kitchen. “I thought you said you both were just friends?” she raised an eyebrow and laughed at her aunt.

  “Rodney is a great man and he loves Chance. You know he never had kids?” she told her as she continued to stir whatever that was in the pot.

  I sat down at the kitchen table while Liberty leaned on the counter. “Does he know about yours?”

  “Don’t start no mess, Libby,” she narrowed her eyes at her. “And, yes. I don’t lie. Well, only for you.”

  “Auntie, that’s not fair.”

  “Well, it doesn’t feel good to keep having your past thrown into your face, huh?” she grabbed the dish towel and opened the stove. “I made enough. You and Shaliq should stay and have dinner with us.”

/>   “Okay,” Liberty agreed. “Now, why were you in the hospital again?” She sucked her teeth and tried to act like she didn’t hear Liberty. “I know you hear me.”

  “My pressure was high again. I had passed out grocery shopping. They thought maybe I was having a stroke, by the grace of God, I wasn’t. Case closed.”

  “If Chance is becoming too much, we can make arrangements for me to try and bring him back to the city,” Liberty told her.

  “Chance means the world to me. He keeps me young. I just need to stay away from that food after Sunday service,” she chuckled. “Them women use so much salt in their food, but it’s so good.” She smacked her lips.

  “Aunt Betty, I’m serious,” Liberty continued.

  “You’re in no shape to take Chance on your own. He’s better off up here with his therapy and school. I hate that center even got you involved. Rodney didn’t even know I was in the hospital or that the state even put Chance in that damn program,” she sucked her teeth. “We’re both safe and home. That’s all that matters.”

  “They should have got me involved, I’m his mother. I should have been here instead of hiding behind the fact that Chance was safe,” Liberty admitted out loud.

  “Pray, baby. Let the man upstairs know and he’ll forgive you. You don’t need to seek forgiveness here. I love you like you’re my own. You’re the only one that comes up here to see me out of your sisters and mama.”

  “Because you’re raising my baby. It shouldn’t be like that.”

  Betty put down the garlic bread and stared into her niece’s eyes. “Lib, you do what you can. You’re young and learning. I love the fact that you send money when you don’t have to, has never missed a birthday or event in Chance’s life, and you make sure you spend time with your son. He may not wake up to you every morning, but you’re active in his life. Stop letting the guilt eat you alive.” She hugged her niece.

  Liberty never discussed anything that had to do with her son since I found out. I thought she left him upstate, bounced and was living her life. Hearing her aunt say how active she was in her son’s life was different. Betty went over to the cordless phone ringing and grabbed the receiver and left the kitchen to take the call.