Eric stopped on the corner of the busy midtown intersection. Wearing a blue Armani suit with a tan shirt and blue tie, he could easily pass for another businessman. Eric was unnerved by the level of trouble caused by the accusations that swirled around him. He wanted it all to go away but knew he had to pay. Staring at the building, Eric knew he had the resources. Shaking his head, he threw the cigarette away, and walked into the lobby. Then the security personnel greeted him.
“Good evening, Mr. Ascot. Good to see you, sir,” the man said.
Eric Ascot stared at him for a good minute before speaking. Then he said, “If any police come to this building to see me, I don’t care if you have to use your cellphone. You call my office and let me know.”
“Those cops—when they came here the last time, they just barged in. They didn’t tell me where they were going,” the man answered.
“Oh, really…?”
“Yes, really, Mr. Ascot. I had no clue.”
“Then why did you question me about how long I was gonna be in my office?”
“It was a Sunday and the building supervisor requested that we find out.”
“Only on Sundays, huh…?”
“Sometimes on holidays, too,” the man said.
Eric stared at him for a moment until he heard the bell announcing the arrival of an elevator. He got on quickly, leaving the man staring at him. Sitting down at his desk, the doorman picked up a phone and dialed quickly.
“He went upstairs to the studio,” he said then hung up.
The nattily attired Eric Ascot got off the elevator and walked into the studio. Tina and Kim were both wide-eyed.
“Hey, how are you ladies doing?” he asked going by them.
“Fine, thank you, Mr. Ascot,” they echoed.
“Wow you’re looking really good,” Kim whistled.
Eric smiled and kept walking, wondering whether they were also part of this conspiracy or not. He needed a break, he thought, as he continued to his office.
“See that’s how things go when you have a well-connected lawyer,” Tina winked at Kim.
“And when you’re well paid and shyt,” Kim smiled.
Walking into his office, he was greeted with a huge hug from Deedee. Eric returned the embrace while Coco, who stood apart from them, was smiling. He motioned for her to join them.
“C’mon over here Coco…Group hug,” Eric said.
“I know you were only gone for a minute, but you were sorely missed, yo.”
“Are you insinuating that I wasn’t doing a good job?” Deedee laughed.
“No, I’m just saying…I’m happy that Mr. Ascot is out and…”
“Uncle E. to you…” Deedee laughed, and they all shared the joke.
It was a good moment. An album deal was part of the prize for a singing talent competition Coco had won. She was the only surviving member of her group, Da Crew. First Danielle then Josephine was no longer in the picture. She stood with Deedee and embraced Eric. He was a successful music producer and was about to launch Coco’s music career. It was a moment she had been working to achieve. While huddled together, Coco could hear Deedee uttering a prayer.
“Thank you, God, for bringing us all together again… Amen.”
“Okay, let me go over some paperwork and we’ll go out to dinner. Everyone’s down…?” Eric asked, glancing at Coco and Deedee.
“I’m cool with that, yo.”
“Then you got—ah, we got ourselves a date,” Deedee smiled.
Eric sat in his office chair and checked his phone messages. Deedee went to get his mail from the reception area. Coco sat down and continued reading Vibe. A few minutes later Deedee walked in with a small stack of mail.
“Thanks Dee,” Eric said.
“You’re welcome,” she said, walking toward Coco.
“Oh-ma-God! Did you see this? Have you seen this, yo?”
Coco jumped up again, pointing to the magazine. Deedee had a wry smile on her face. Ascot was listening intently to his messages and didn’t seem fazed by Coco’s outburst. He had seen it all before with Deedee.
“The piece written about you in Vibe magazine…?” Deedee smiled. “I reacted just like you did when I first saw it,” Deedee said.
“Oh, but this mad cool, yo. I’m gonna be recognized for doing my thing. I love it, yo.”
She was hugging Deedee and dancing around to an imaginary beat. Eric sat at his desk, watched and laughed while listening to his messages.
“That’s great!” Eric shouted. “The budget has been approved. Ladies, let’s go celebrate,” he excitedly announced.
Later when they left the studio, Eric rode in the back seat of Deedee’s car, and Coco sat upfront with Deedee. They drove across town to Sardi’s to chow down on some of the city’s finest steaks. Inside the restaurant, Eric glad-handed with the owner, and they were immediately seated.
“Always good to see you and your lovely niece, Eric,” the portly Italian man said, pumping Eric’s hand. “And you have one other guest…?”
“Yes, this is Coco, a future star,” Eric smiled, nodding at Coco.
“Very beautiful, nice to meet you Coco,” the man said to Coco. He turned to waiter. “Bring him a glass of our best,” the man said, waving.
“Bring me the bottle,” Eric laughed. I’m not driving tonight.”
When they had all settled at the table, a bottle of wine arrived. The waiter carried three glasses, and was about to pour, but Eric stopped him.
“Hold on. I’ll pour my own and you can leave the bottle,” After putting away the other glasses, he turned to Coco and said, “What kind of soda are you having, Coco? I know Deedee drinks 7 Up.”
“We can have alcohol. We graduated from high school, yo.”
“Not under my watch,” Eric laughed. “Like I was saying, what flavor soda…?”
Later when they were finished eating, the three diners sat back and relaxed. They engaged in after-dinner chatter, and Eric kept drinking wine.
“You know I got this movie thing that I’m working on and earlier I found out it was a go,” Eric said. “I was thinking of giving the both of you a part in it.”
“Oh, that sounds real cool!” Deedee immediately said. “I think that’s really huge.”
Deedee was clearly excited, Coco seemed more reserved and reacted more in disbelief. Eric saw through her insecurities.
“It’s gonna be titled, Angels at the Gate, and I need two female leads—teenagers like both of you. So basically you’d be playing yourselves. Young teenage girls with an urban background…facing crucial, life-changing decisions…”
“Hmm that definitely sounds like us. Don’t you think Coco?”
“Yeah, but I’ve never acted before, yo,” Coco said, looking at Eric. “But I guess it couldn’t be that hard being me.”
“Exactly… Now you’re seeing the picture. I didn’t plan it this way, but this is how it worked out. Perfect, we’ll do the paperwork later.”
“This seems all like a dream, yo. So I guess that means I’m gonna be a movie star, yo.”
“I think we could have a drink to that, Uncle…?”
“Yes, sure we’ll definitely have a drink to that,” Eric laughed.
The girls were excited and smiling. Deedee looked on in disbelief as her uncle filled two glasses with ice-cold water, and one with wine.
“Here drink this—it’ll wash down all that food you just ate, and it’s great for digestion too. Here’s to good health and success.”
Their frowns quickly changed back into broad smiles, and Coco and Deedee raised their glasses of water. They clinked in toast with Eric’s wine glass.
“To the movies,” he said with a relaxed grin.
“Here, here…” Coco and Deedee chimed.
8
“I can’t believe that we’re gonna be in a movie, Coco,” Deedee said, walking into the studio.
“I can’t believe I’m gonna be in a movie called, Angels at the Gate. I’m no angel, yo. What am I go
nna do—fly around all day?”
“So we’ll be flying around all day,” Deedee said.
“I may not be an angel, but I can always act like one, yo,” Coco laughed.
They walked by the receptionist area where Kim and Tina were sitting. Deedee waved and Coco held her head straight ahead. If looks could kill Kim and Tina would be on murder charges. Their cold stares send daggers at Coco’s back.
“She ain’t fly,” Kim whispered to Tina.
“Shut da front door. The boss’ niece is real fly. She can brag, but the other one ain’t nothing but a ghetto girl,” Tina said.
“Did you ever hook her mother up and shyt, like you said you would?” Kim asked.
“I sure did. Check this out; I turned her ass over to that crack head Dontay. I gave him three pieces of rock and told him to hook her ass up for real,” Tina said and the both laughed.
“You are soo sick with it,” Kim laughed.
“Dontay, you know he got game and he gonna bring that ghetto girl’s momma some o’ that special K, and fuck her ass raw,” Tina chuckled.
“But he got the monster. His days are numbered…”
“Shut your face! So what…? If her mommy wanna give him some pussy after he tighten her up with some jumbo, who is to blame…?” Tina questioned.
“Hey…No one, I guess,” Kim said.
The two receptionists laughed. They nodded at each other and went back to the business at hand.
Meanwhile Ms. Harvey heard her doorbell ringing and she quickly got to it. She was expecting his arrival and immediately opened the door to her apartment. When he walked in and shut the door, she smiled eagerly.
“We can’t smoke here, Dontay. School’s out for the summer and my daughter could walk in at any time,” she said, leading him through the apartment and to her bedroom. “I don’t want her to catch me smoking rocks.”
“We can’t smoke?” Dontay asked, opening his hand and showing her the two pieces of crack.
“Oh hell yeah, and these look really nice,” Ms. Harvey said, grabbing the rocks.
“One is for you, and the other we can smoke.”
She hurriedly retrieved her pipe and torch from the closet and blazed the first piece up. Ms. Harvey inhaled with vigor and hissed loudly when the vapor passed through her lungs. She exhaled and her bedroom was filled with a cloud of white smoke.
“Yeah, it’s my time. Let me do this,” he said, smiling.
Dontay took the pipe and torch. Sucking on the stem, he blazed up the rock with a click of the torch. Ms. Harvey’s face glowed when she saw the rock burning. It was her turn again, and when she sucked, her face was nothing but veins. Her lungs were filled with the intoxicating hallucinogenic drug. Ms. Harvey’s blood vessels transported the effects of the high to her brain. She was reeling in delight brought on by the cocaine-induced euphoria.
Her mind was swimming in the sea of smoke from crack. She fell back against the bed and didn’t move. Dontay quickly unbuttoned his pants and let them fall to the floor. He was out of his underwear and in a hot second he shoved his penis into Ms. Harvey’s gaping mouth. Her body succumbed to the sexual delight. She moistened her dry lips, massaging his member between her jaws. Spitting and rubbing his dick to hardness, Ms Harvey fingered her pussy while Dontay removed the rest of his clothing.
“You have a condom, right?” she asked.
Dontay didn’t answer. He undressed Ms. Harvey and immediately pushed her back onto the bed. Dontay quickly penetrated her moistness and was lodged between her opened thighs. Ms. Harvey moaned in pleasure.
“Uh… Oh yes,” she said.
Their bodies were intertwined in ecstasy. She was holding on tightly to his shoulders as his body shuddered over and over again. Then she was on top of him, straddling his torso, and riding his hard dick.
“That’s all you got?’ she kept asking.
In mid-stroke, her body seemed to freeze. Ms. Harvey tossed her head back and her muscles tightened when she felt the release of an orgasm.
“Oh, oh ooh… Ah…”
She rolled off the man, took the pipe and walked out of the room. A few minutes later, she returned with a fresh piece of rock and lit up. Dontay was smoking a cigarette and watched as Ms. Harvey razed the rock with the torch. He smiled when she handed it to him.
“You gotta get up. You can’t smoke in my bed.”
He stood and they smoked the rest of the rock to yellow ash. Grabbing her by the waist, Dontay pulled Ms. Harvey down on top of him and they fell together on the bed. Another round of heavy sex ensued. Dontay swung her around and entered her from the rear. The pace of his strokes quickly increased and before long his body was shuddering. She could hear his breath quickening then he exploded.
“Ah… Shit!” He grunted.
“Damn! You cum already…?” Ms. Harvey asked in disbelief. “Don’t tell me, you’re a two-minute-man?” she asked frustrated.
Ms. Harvey turned around trying to get some more but Dontay was completely exhausted. His limp dick wouldn’t budge.
“You need Viagra or sump’n,” she said.
“I got some o’ that—”
“Tell the doctor the prescription ain’t working.”
Ms. Harvey jumped up from the bed, and walked out of the room to the bathroom. Dontay got up and put his clothes back on. He was fully satisfied, and dressed. Dontay was leaving her apartment when the bathroom door opened.
“I’ll see you again,” he said.
“Yeah next time double up on the Viagra,” she said.
“That pussy you got is hungry and tight. That shit took everything outta me,” Dontay said, kissing Ms. Harvey.
“Whateva, save that for the birds,” she said.
Ms. Harvey shut the door and got busy. Opening the window, she began frantically cleaning up the place. After sweeping the apartment, she sprayed the entire apartment with air-freshener then turned on the television. Ms. Harvey sat quietly, licking her lips and staring at the screen. She was still in her drugged-up state of mind and nothing else seemed to matter. Ms. Harvey closed her eyes and sadness enveloped her emaciated body.
She had tried to stop smoking crack, but it seemed like an impossible thing for her to do. For a couple of months, it felt like she could escape the deadly vice, but Ms. Harvey had slipped again and now felt the futility of her situation. Her mind craved the drug and her body reacted. She felt her skin crawl and unconsciously her hand moved to ease the irritation.
Soon she was scratching like she had a skin rash. Ms. Harvey got up and went to bathroom. She showered and dried. Then she scratched some more. She applied body lotion and still the irritation continued. It irritated her body and ravaged her mind.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference…Lord, help me to understand the things I cannot deal with and…Oh Lord,” she started to whisper.
Then discarding all the principles she had learned in the rehab program, her mind gave in. The immense craving overtook her thoughts and she knew what she had to do. Quickly, she got dressed and went out the door in search of more drugs to fix her aching.
Outside the building, she could see the players. The pitchers and lookouts were awaiting her return to the fold. They saw the desperation welling in her eye and knew exactly what was on Ms. Harvey’s mind. The dealers had the rocks she craved and were prepared to serve her. Ms. Harvey went to the dealer she was familiar with, and copped a couple of crack rocks.
“This good shit, right?” she asked.
“You already know,” he answered.
She didn’t wait to hear his response. Ms. Harvey was ghost. Hurrying back inside her apartment, she immediately launched into action, setting herself in position to be beamed up.
Deedee stopped at the red light and several people walked by greeting Coco. The popular teen flashed the peace sign at them and Deedee smiled.
“So when you become a movie star, you’re
gonna have to move from here,” Deedee said, continuing up Lenox Avenue. “You’re gonna be all the rage.”
“Yes, for sure… I’m gonna have to get Madukes up outta this hood for real, yo.”
“I can’t wait for us to be in the movies, Coco.”
“I hear you. I’ll see you tomorrow, and we’ll talk some more about that, yo.”
“Alrighty then…” Deedee said, pulling over to stop in front of Coco’s building at a Hundred-and-Tenth Street.
“It’s ten O’ clock, I gotta go see what Madukes is up to, yo,” Coco said, getting out of the BMW.
“I’ll call you on your cell,” Deedee said.
Smiling, Coco waved as Deedee drove away. Greeted by a throng of people in front, she walked into the building. She ran upstairs and felt her heartbeat increase as she tried the door and saw that it was opened. Her heart was pounding in her chest when she raced inside the apartment, and then to the bathroom.
She could see her mother curled up on the floor next to the bathtub. Her mother’s neck was hanging in an unnatural position and her eyes were closed. Ms. Harvey looked like she had fallen asleep and Coco shook her mother. Ms. Harvey didn’t respond. Her body collapsed on the cold bathroom floor when Coco released it.
“Ma, ma, ma…!” Coco shook Ms. Harvey’s body again, and again no response came. Coco’s eyes widened and she raced to the phone. Nervously lifting the receiver to her ear, her fingers rapidly dialed emergency. Requesting an ambulance, she gave her location and name to the operator. Then Coco raced back to the bathroom and struggled with her mother’s limp body back to the sofa. Coco found a blanket to cover her mother’s unmoving body with. Wandering through the apartment, she saw the crack pipe and torch. Coco grabbed the apparatus and threw them out the window. Then she sat with her mother and the tears flowed.
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