The California Saga

by Chunichi

  “I’m here to pick up a to-go order,” a female voice beside me said.

  I looked up to see Misty standing beside me. “Misty?”

  “Jewel! Hey, girl!” She gave me a big hug.

  “I’ve been trying to reach you. Haven’t you gotten my calls and texts?”

  “Yes, baby. I’m so sorry. I’ve been so busy. You wouldn’t know all the things that have been going on.”

  “Jewel,” another voice called out, interrupting me and Misty’s conversation.

  “Poppo,” I answered, recognizing the voice.

  “Hey, what’s going on with the beautiful Jewel?” he asked.

  “You got that right. I am beautiful,” I responded, even though deep down I didn’t truly feel that way.

  Misty butted in quickly. “Well, I gotta run, girl.”

  “Oh, okay. I really wanted to sit and talk though.”

  “I’ll call you as soon as I get a free moment. I promise.” Misty grabbed her bag and rushed out of the restaurant.

  “That’s your girl?” Poppo asked after Misty walked away.

  “Yeah. Why? You want to holla at her or something?”

  “Oh, nah. I already tried. That bitch got a mouth on her that a make a nigga beat her ass.”

  “Why you say that? What did she say to you?”

  “Well, that day I got locked up, I saw her at the jail, so I tried to holla. That bitch started talking some shit about me being a thug, and jail being my second home, straight dissing a nigga. Instead of cussing that bitch out, I just told her to have a nice day and walked off on her ass.”

  “Damn! Sorry about that. Maybe she was having a bad day. I wonder why she was at the precinct anyway. Hope nothing was wrong. She said a lot has happened to her in the past days. Now I’m worried. Give me a second. Let me call her.”

  I dialed Misty up.

  This time she answered right away. “Hey, girl.”

  “Hey, Misty. Is everything okay? My friend just told me he saw you at the precinct not too long ago.”

  “Oh, girl, it was nothing. I had got locked up for a trespassing charge. I had seen my ex-boyfriend’s car in front of this girl’s house, so I went up there banging on the door, trying to get him to come out, and the bitch called the police on me. You know how that goes.”

  “Yeah, I do. Okay, hon. I’m not gonna hold you. Call me when you’re free. We really need to catch up.” I ended the call.

  “Why you sitting at the bar by yourself?” Poppo asked as soon as I hung up the phone.

  “I’m waiting for an order.”

  “Let me take care of that for you.”

  “Thanks.” I grinned after the bartender brought my drink.

  “Listen, ma, I’m glad that I ran into you. I got some good news for you.”

  “Well, it’s about time. Go ahead, I’m listening.” I nodded.

  “I thought that nigga Calico was done when he got locked up, but he’s going up for a bond hearing in a few days, and his lawyer is confident he’s getting a bond. After he gets bonded out, I’m going to personally pick him up and handle things for you.”

  “Well, as long as you make shit happen, our deal is still good. Once Calico is out the way, I will put you on to one of my TMF connects.” I assured Poppo as if my word was golden.

  “Bartender, please . . . another drink for the lady. Now, you know I can’t let you eat alone. You want to get a table?” Poppo asked.

  “Sure.” I giggled. It felt nice to have someone paying a little attention to me, especially since Touch wasn’t even bothering to look my way.

  At the table I noticed Poppo constantly staring into my eyes. “Why are you staring at me?” I blushed.

  “It’s not every day a man sees something as beautiful as you.”

  “Wow! You got a little game with you, huh?”

  “This isn’t game, baby. You can’t appreciate those type of compliments because these lames you been fucking with don’t know how to cherish a woman like you.” Poppo grabbed my hand.

  I didn’t know how to respond to Poppo’s comment. In a way I took it as a diss because he was insinuating I have poor taste in men, but at the same time he was giving me a compliment by saying I was an exceptional woman. Since I didn’t know what to say, I didn’t say anything at all. I just smiled.

  “If you were my woman, I would give you the world. You would never feel pain, hurt, sadness, or disappointment. You would always be on a pedestal.”

  Okay now, I knew this nigga was putting it on thick. He was talking straight bullshit. “Whatever.” I knew exactly how to respond to that bullshit-ass statement.

  “I know you feel like I’m just popping shit, but it’s cool. I can show you better than I can tell you. That bitch nigga you with fucked your head up.”

  “Damn! You keep saying shit like I’m some sad case, a woman scorned or some shit. And why Touch gotta be a bitch?” I snapped. I was getting tired of Poppo’s little comments, and he had crossed the line talking about Touch. I mean, I wasn’t really feeling Touch, but I still loved him, and I wasn’t gonna let no nigga diss him, especially no one from Calico’s camp.

  “Hold on, baby girl. Don’t take offense. I’m just saying . . . I don’t know what the next dude thought of you, but you’re my dream woman, and by all means I would treat you like it. I would never take you for granted.”

  I thought, Damn! Who the fuck is this nigga? He was blowing me away. Just that quick, he’d made my whole attitude change. I didn’t know if I’d just never given this nigga the opportunity to see what he was really like or if he was a different Poppo. Back in the day, I would have never even considered him an option, but this nigga really had me going. I didn’t know if it was because I was so vulnerable from me and Touch’s breakup, or if it was the alcohol, or if Poppo’s game was just simply on point. I was actually starting to feel him a little bit. I needed to calm down.

  “Miss, can I get another drink?” I was feeling a little tipsy, but I didn’t care. After those days of pure hell I’d been through, I deserved to have a little fun. Poppo was saying all the right things, and I was sucking it all up.

  “You want some more wings?” Poppo asked.

  “Sure.” I nodded. Not eating much in days, I guess I had worked up an appetite. When my emotions were out of whack, my body was too. My head, back, muscles, and joints all ached like I had the flu or something, when in reality it was all stress.

  The waitress came back. “Here is your drink. Can I get you anything else?”

  “Yes, she’ll have another order of wings,” Poppo said.

  “With extra blue cheese dressing,” I added before guzzling down yet another drink.

  “Coming right up,” the waitress said.

  “You really want those wings,” Poppo commented.

  “Yes, I sure do. I probably could eat them all day.” I giggled.

  “Jewel, shit is about to be right for us,” Poppo whispered in my ear, changing the subject.

  “Okay.” I laughed.

  I was in no condition to discuss things further, but I figured he was talking about money. Plus, I had to use the bathroom. All that alcohol I’d drank was going right through me.

  “I appreciate your patience with the whole situation.”

  “No problem. I need to run to the bathroom.”

  I struggled to get up then stumbled, but Poppo caught me just in time before I fell to the ground.

  “Maybe you should cool off with the alcohol. Why don’t you go back to my house and chill? Are you all right to drive?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay to drive to your house. I need a minute to use the bathroom,” I said while he helped me there.

  I had to admit, it was sweet that he was so concerned about me. The average nigga would have tried to keep me drinking, so they could get a “drunk fuck” out of me.

  Chapter 25

  “Making a Move”

  Poppo

  “Welcome to my home,” I said to Jewel as we pulled up to a little
spot I’d gotten in Norfolk.

  I’d been spending so much time on the East Coast, and in VA in particular, I figured I may as well get a little spot. Hell, with the money I was spending in hotel costs every month, I may as well pay rent instead.

  “Oh, this is cute! Looks just like a bachelor’s pad.” She giggled as we walked into the living room.

  My living room was simple. I had a big-framed, black-and-white photo of Tony Montana from Scarface on the wall, a black leather sectional, and a fifty-two-inch plasma on the wall. That’s all a nigga needed.

  “Make yourself comfortable.” I handed Jewel the remote then headed to the kitchen to make her a drink. “What you want to drink?” I asked, trying to be a gentleman. If it was up to me alone, I would have given her a shot of Henny straight. That would have made my night go a lot easier.

  “Uummm, what do you have?”

  “Hennessy.”

  “That’s it?”

  “Look, ma, like you said, this is a bachelor’s pad. I don’t have no little sweet shit or none of that girly shit you be drinking.”

  “No Hpnotiq, Alizé, or Nuvo? Nothing?”

  “Hpnotiq. But if you drink it, you have to drink an ‘Incredible Hulk.’ “ I had to get the Henny in there some kind of way. You know that Henny make you sin, and that’s exactly where I was trying to get to that night.

  “Okay. Okay. Incredible Hulk it is.” Jewel laughed and sat down on the couch, finally submitting.

  “Here you go.” I handed Jewel the drink then sat on the couch next to her.

  “Thank you.”

  “Like I was saying in the restaurant, shit is about to come up for the both of us.”

  “Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?”

  “Look, baby girl, I got my eyes on the prize, and by all means, I plan on getting it.”

  “So let me hear a little bit of this plan,” Jewel said. “You got me real curious.”

  “All you need to know is, soon Calico is going to be six feet deep.”

  “Oh yeah? And what will happen after that?”

  I knew exactly what Jewel wanted to hear, so I played along. “I’m going to take the lead and be in charge. I’m already on my way. Since Calico’s been locked up, I’ve been stacking dough and building up my new team. Some of the old team members will have to go because their loyalty will lie with Calico, and I can’t have that. My empire will stand strong and make twice as much as his did. All I need is a queen bee like you by my side,” I said, already beginning to feel on top of the world.

  “Sounds like a good plan.” Jewel guzzled down the drink I’d given her.

  Ring! Ring!

  My phone rang, interrupting our conversation. Normally I would have ignored it, but it was Murdock. That nigga owed me eighty-five hundred dollars, and I needed that shit, so I answered.

  “Excuse me, ma. I need to answer this call,” I said to Jewel then walked away. I picked up the call. “Yo?”

  “Ready for you,” Murdock said.

  “I hope it’s all there, Murdock. I ain’t taking no cuts.”

  “I got eighty-five hundred for you.”

  “Cool. Meet me at KFC at Five Points,” I instructed Murdock to meet me at a place close to the crib.

  “Sorry about that, ma,” I said to Jewel as I walked back into the living room. “Want to take a ride with me down the street real quick?” I asked her, knowing this would be the prefect opportunity to show her how I was getting money.

  We hopped in the car, and I met up with Murdock at the KFC. He was already there when we pulled up. This time I got out of my car and hopped in with him.

  Murdock handed me the money as soon as I got in. “Here you go.”

  “Eight-five hundred, right?” I tried to confirm, like always.

  “It’s all there, man,” Murdock said. “And to show I’m a man about principle, I added a little interest.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t need interest, nigga. I need you to pay on time.” I then got out of his car and got back into mine.

  “Count this for me.” I handed Jewel the stack of money then pulled off. I watched as her eyes lit up and a broad smile came across her face.

  “I don’t count money unless it’s mine.” She smirked.

  “Soon enough, baby girl, soon enough,” I said, confident that the time when I could throw her stacks was near.

  Minutes later we were back at my crib and comfortable on the couch like before.

  “Would you like another drink?” I inquired as soon as we got settled. I already had a mixture of the Hennessy and Hpnotiq in a pitcher cooling in the fridge and ready to pour.

  “Maybe just one more,” Jewel said and turned on the television.

  We were just in time to watch reruns of The Game on BET.

  Ring! Ring!

  My cell phone rang as I was making Jewel’s drink. Not recognizing the number, I answered the phone in a fake voice. “Hello?”

  “You gon’ die, bitch nigga!” a male voice said from the other end.

  “Oh yeah? You know where to find me,” I said in a calm voice. “I ain’t hiding.” I then hung up the phone. I didn’t want to draw any attention to my phone call and take the risk of ruining the mood me and Jewel had set so perfectly.

  I’d been receiving those calls off and on since Deebo’s death, and ain’t shit happen. I had been carrying on with life as usual, and ain’t shit jump off. Hell, those niggas knew where to find me if they really wanted some. The way I saw it, niggas was just popping shit, hoping to scare a nigga away.

  I returned to the living room and handed Jewel her drink. “Here you go, sweetheart.”

  After Jewel finished that last drink, I didn’t even bother to ask her if she wanted another one. I didn’t want to make it seem like I was really trying to get her drunk. Maybe, she was done for the day and night.

  I, on the other hand, knew how to hold my liquor and had about five Incredible Hulks with us just sitting on the couch. I was feeling nice and knew Jewel was feeling even better, so I didn’t hesitate to make a move on her. I started by gently kissing her neck and feeling on her breasts. I wanted to put one in my mouth, but no sooner than I caressed her soft, supple breast, she shooed my hand away. Not wanting to ruin the mood and totally fuck things up, I eased off.

  “How about a massage?” I whispered in her ear and started to rub her shoulders before she could even respond.

  She didn’t resist, so I took that as my queue to keep going. I took my time, paying special attention to each part of her body as I rubbed her from head to toe. Although I was disappointed and nearly had blue balls, I was glad to have gotten this far. I just hoped the next time things would be different and I would be inside her pussy. I knew it was wet and juicy, and I couldn’t wait for a taste. Literally!

  Chapter 26

  “Sweet Taste of Revenge”

  Calico

  Weeks had passed, and still no one had heard from Poppo’s little bitch-ass. I’d heard he’d gotten into a little beef on the streets and ended up killing the neighborhood bully, Deebo. That shit was a surprise to me. I guess he was really out there feeling himself, trying to act like he was the big man in town. The stories I was hearing about him really had me going. I couldn’t believe this nigga really thought he was the boss. I was convinced he had bucked on me for my money and that was how he had his little come-up. I’d spent each day thinking about how the fuck I was gonna deal with him and was just hoping Deebo’s boys didn’t get to him first.

  Bucking on my money was bucking on the Mexicans’ money. And I didn’t have the army to go to war with those niggas. Hell, I was already skating on thin ice, because Touch had fucked me up. I was just getting back in good with these niggas and wasn’t trying to fuck it up all over again.

  My first instinct was to just get out of jail, hunt his bitch-ass down, and straight kill him, but then I started to think on a whole different level. After pulling a few strings, I was able to get one of his bitches in VA to give him a call on thr
ee-way. I finally had the opportunity to holla at that nigga.

  Of course, I had to ask him about that shit with my baby mother first. That was a true violation. There is no way a nigga could feel up one of my chicks and get away with it, especially my baby moms. Then I asked about my money, and about the shit niggas was saying on the streets. And, like the bitch I knew he was, Poppo denied it all. He gave me some lame excuse about getting robbed, when it came to the money. He had managed to collect on half before he got robbed though. I made that nigga think everything was all good and there was no beef. Plus, when that nigga found out I had another bond hearing coming up and I was definitely getting out on that one, he straightened his act up. At first he thought I would never see daylight, so he was trying to flex. But when the reality hit that I was coming home, that nigga switched his whole shit up.

  Just like Natalia had promised, I went before the judge and got a bond. I gathered my shit up, preparing to be released. A nigga never felt so happy. Two months in jail was way too much time for a cat like me. It took three different bond hearings for me to get a bond.

  The judge set it at one million dollars, with hopes that I would never get out, but it only took one phone call and one hundred grand, and a nigga was on the road the same fucking day.

  Now that I was hitting the streets, it was straight to business. I knew Poppo had to be dealt with. Then I had to get to that bitch Sasha before she got to the witness stand. She was the only eyewitness that had stepped up so far, so without her the Commonwealth’s Attorney had no case.

  When they released me, I walked out the gate and saw my baby mother parked outside.

  “Hey, baby!” she ran up to me and gave me a big hug and kiss.

  “What’s up? I see you really love daddy, huh? You came all the way across the country to get your man. That’s why I fuck with you so hard, Corrin.” I gripped her ass and pulled her close to me, my dick swelling.

  “Damn! Looks like you’re not the only one that’s happy to see me,” she said, feeling my dick stand up against her thigh.