by Joy, E. n.
"Yes, I know him. And no, he's not one of Dina's drug partners. He happens to have a legitimate gig going. I mean he's legitimate, he has a nine to five, I mean a full time job." Dina had to keep reminding herself to speak in the manner in which her sister would speak.
"So what, he has a job, what else do you know about him? Why haven't I ever heard of him? How long has he been around? And what's his name? I'm going to have him fully investigated. There's no way I'm going to let those kids go to any of those jerks your sister deals with. I can't believe you're even considering this. It's Christmas!"
"Why do you even care so much? They're not your kids. They're mine." She lost control and slipped. She tried to quickly clean up her mess. "I mean they're my flesh and blood, sweetheart. I know you love my sister's kids, but we have a lot on our plates. You said yourself that I have that big case to work on, and they would just be a distraction right now. Besides, from what Dina told me, they're going to have a wonderful Christmas."
Dinky, entering the kitchen, heard the word, Christmas. Like any kid, excitement rushed through his veins. In fact, he was so excited that he lost sight of the secret.
"What are we doing for Christmas, Mama?" Dinky blurted out.
Cannon looked at Dina. Dina looked at Dinky, and Dinky looked from Dina, back to Cannon, and then back to Dina.
Dina laughed it off, playfully yoking her son by the neck. "Dinky, boy, you crazy. You know I don't look nothing like your mama," she laughed aloud.
Dinky followed suit and began to laugh. He caught the hint his mama was throwing him and added, "You funny, Auntie Dee," saving his mother from what could have been a disastrous moment.
Cannon neglected to chime in with laughter. He was still concerned about the welfare of the kids.
"But to answer your question, Dinky, you and your sisters are going to spend Christmas with your mama's friend, Scratch."
"Alright! We're spending Christmas with Scratch. We're spending Christmas with Scratch," Dinky sung as he swirled in circles in his Spiderman underwear.
"Scratch? What kind of name is Scratch?" Cannon questioned, with his eyebrows hoisted, and his lips twisted.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart, the kids know him as Scratch. Of course he has a real name; now you know me better than that. His name is Maurice."
"Does this Maurice have a last name?" Cannon asked. Seeing Dinky's reaction made him feel a whole lot better, but he still wasn't fully convinced.
"Givens, sweetheart, his name is Maurice Givens," Dina answered.
Kayla and Kima joined the family as they returned to the kitchen with Kayla carrying their dirty dishes. The two little ladies also had a jubilant reaction when Dinky told them that they would be going to Scratch's for the Christmas holiday.
"Will my mama be there too?" Kima's cute, cuddly voice rang out.
Everyone looked at Dina.
"We hope so, baby," Dina somberly told her baby girl. Dina had finally gotten Cannon off for church, which wasn't easy, because he kept pressuring her to just get the kids ready so they could all go together. She convinced him that last night was just too much on the kids, and with Kima being sick, it didn't seem like a good idea. Not to mention the fact that she had not bothered to bring church clothes for them. He reluctantly agreed, but then as soon as the kids had gone up for their showers, he was all over her again, trying to get some. She willfully ended up giving in and submitted to him. She undeniably would miss his touch.
Once the kids were dressed, it was time for Dina to get them over to Scratch. They were going to be leaving the country soon and there were still a few things Dina needed to straighten out.
***
Denise had been moved to the City Jail. She wouldn't be seeing a judge until Christmas Eve, and that wasn't a certainty with the holiday season. She entered the area to be strip searched. Her mind was in a thousand places. She was determined not to fold under the pressure. Denise believed in a higher power. She knew that all things happened exactly as they were supposed to by His design. Her sister was deeply troubled, deeper than Denise had ever imagined. With all that Dina had done to her, there was still no hatred in Denise's heart for her sister. On the contrary, she felt compelled to pray for her. She also prayed for herself as she braced for the experience she was about to endure.
"I need you to take everything off and place it on the table," the female officer told her.
Denise relinquished her body of its garments. The officer ran her hands up and down Denise's unclothed body. Her skin flinched with repugnance.
"Spread your legs," the officer demanded.
"Is this really necessary?" Denise asked.
"Spread your legs."
Denise did as she was told as she was physically violated in one of the worst ways. She cried as the officer seemed to take unusual pleasure in her job.
"Oooh, you's a pretty one. They gon' love you; you nice and tight," the officer said as she finished up.
"You'd better tie that hair up!"
Denise was then given an orange jumpsuit to put on, no under garments, just the jumpsuit. They escorted her to Building F, Section 2, a section for felons that was already overcrowded. The gate slid open automatically as she was urged in by the baton of the officer behind her.
"Listen up! We got some fresh meat, y'all. The Queen is here," said one of the many inmates who had been jammed into the overcrowded jail cell.
"I know you ain't just say the Queen is here?" asked Smiley, one of Richmond's infamous bad girls who happened to like girls. "I've been trying to get at that for a minute."
Denise hesitantly found an empty spot on the bottom bunk of one of three iron bunk beds in the cell. She attempted to sit down. Smiley jumped in front of Denise and said, "That's my spot. If you want it, you have to pay me for it."
"Pay you with what? I don't have anything," Denise said.
"Come on, Queen, I know you know how it works. How you wanna swing this? You want me to take the lead and you be my bottom or what?" Smiley was propositioning Denise, but Denise had no knowledge of it.
"Sure, I don't have a problem being on the bottom," Denise said, under the impression that Smiley meant that it was okay for her to take the bottom bunk.
"Now that's what's really good, shawty," Smiley said, thinking she had just made a major score by copping Queen D.
The whole section started buzzing with the news. Smiley had scooped the Queen. All Denise knew was that by the looks of things, she had just gained solid protection for her stay. Females started bringing her all kinds of commissary. She didn't smoke, but if she wanted to, she had a month's supply of cigs. They brought her soap, tampons and snacks of all kinds. Denise was flattered, although she wasn't planning on staying locked up long enough to utilize most of the contributions. She got to talking to Smiley and ran down the entire story to her. She shared everything with Smiley, even the fact that she felt Dina had betrayed her with her fiancé.
Smiley didn't flip and try to take anything back from Denise. She believed every word Denise told her. There was something in her eyes that touched Smiley in a way that no one ever had. She didn't have the Queen as a girlfriend, but she now had a very special friend in Denise. This was just more proof that God was indeed using Denise.
Denise had drifted off to sleep when a C.O. came scraping his keys across the bars of the cell. "Stewart, you have a visitor."
Smiley, who was standing guard over her new friend, shook Denise awake as Denise scrambled to her feet.
"You got a visit. Man, that's a world's record right there. How you get a visit so quick?" Smiley said, showing a bright, beautiful smile, hence her nickname.
"I have a visitor?" Denise asked in bewilderment, wondering if Dina had possibly come to her senses.
Denise was led to a small room where Smitty, the officer from the city jail, sat, fumbling with some papers in his hands.
"What are you doing here?" Denise asked. She remembered who he was.
"I think I have some information
that can help you," Smitty told her. He handed her copies of her and Dina's birth certificates. He had done some research of his own.
Denise looked at the documents. She was grateful to the officer for going above and beyond the call of duty to check out her story. It was evident that Smitty now knew that there were, in fact, two of them, but she was still going back to spend yet another night behind bars.
"I appreciate you, Officer Smith, I really do, but how can this help? I can't see a judge until tomorrow," Denise said.
He never had an inmate call him Officer Smith before. It felt good. "Didn't you say Cannon Matthews was your fiancé?" Smitty asked.
Denise's face lit up with a ray of hope. "Yes. Yes, I did. Can you get to him? Can you tell him what's going on and bring him here?"
"I can sure try."
As Denise's meeting with Smitty came to an end, she felt that God had sent her an angel. He had heard her prayers after all.
***
"Alright now, I didn't say buy out the store, Dink,"
Scratch jokingly stated. He had the girls by their hands as they strolled through Kay-Bee Toys. Dinky was having a ball. He loved it when he could actually be a real kid.
Dina had taken the kids to Scratch just like she said she would. Where she dashed off to so quickly after she dropped them off was a mystery to him, but he had the kids, and honestly, to him that's what was most important. He wanted them to be stabilized, at least for Christmas.
Scratch didn't know about the charade Dina was playing. She had simply explained to him that every- thing had to go according to her plan if they were to leave the country without a hitch. They were to meet back at his crib for dinner. That's when they would tell the kids that they would be leaving to go on a very spectacular adventure.
Scratch, and the kids, had accomplished their goal by purchasing everything on each list they had. He knew they had to be hungry, so he took them to the food court and let them each pick whatever type of food their hearts desired. He stood in each line, patiently, and led them all to one table.
"Scratch, if I tell you something, do you promise to keep it a secret?" Dinky asked him.
"Of course, Dink, you know we men have to stick together."
Dinky got up and walked around his sister, Kayla's chair.
"Why can't I know the secret?" Kayla asked.
"Because your mouth is too big and you'll tell it." Dinky told her.
"It is not," she contested.
"Is too."
"Alright, check it." Scratch broke up the argument.
"Dinky. you tell me, and I'll tell Kayla." Scratch winked his eye at Dinky, letting him know that his secret was safe with him.
Dinky whispered in Scratch's ear. "My Auntie Dee is in jail. They think she's my mama and someone has to help her get out."
Scratch's eyes widened.
"Okay, okay, my turn. What's the secret?" Kayla asked, chewing on a French fry, her eyes as bright as the sun.
Scratch was speechless. He didn't know what to tell Kayla. He was still feeling the weight of what Dinky had just dropped on him.
***
Dina was done taking care of all of her business. She had hit the banks that held her accounts the Friday before, successfully emptying all four of her bank accounts and two safety deposit boxes. Dina had just collected from and settled up with everyone she had unfinished business with on the streets. The rumors from the jail had already hit the streets. People wondered how she got out so quickly, specially during a holiday weekend. She told them she was simply "that chick". When questioned about her newfound relation- ship with Smiley, The Queen quickly put an end to the festering untruth. It was now Dina who was extremely curious, and also anxious, to know what Denise was doing behind those walls.
Sliding through all of her remaining spots, including her apartment, she caught up with Solo. Back at her apartment, where she had called him up and told him to meet her, she told him that she was really out this time. His Queen let him know it was his turn to take over for her on the streets of Richmond, permanently.
"You sure you out for good?" Solo asked. He rubbed the small of her back as the two laid in her bed after one last rendezvous. He wasn't ready for her to leave or for what they had to end.
"I'm not saying I'm out of the game, baby, I'm just outta' here. I wanna see what's poppin' in other countries, now that's major," she told her young lover.
"I feel you, shawty," he said. His words were filled with adoration and admiration of his Queen.
"You know you here, right?" his Queen said, pointing to her heart.
"Yeah, I know...you too."
Solo got prepped to leave Dina's crib. Unlike his Queen, he was staying in Richmond, and since he was now the head dude in charge, he had business to tend to.
"Yo, you gon' holla?" he asked sullenly as he stood at her bedroom door, already feeling the effects of her absence.
"Yeah, Solo. Your Queen'll holla."
Dina rolled over and gave him one last display of her plump backside. She folded her arms and rested her head on them. After that workout, she was in need of a nap. Dina really didn't want to sleep for too long. She had to get back to Scratch and the kids. Christmas was approaching and they were going to spend the holiday as a family.
Sleep seeped into Dina's consciousness as she became a victim of mental and physical exhaustion. Dina, please don't leave me in here!" her sister's adolescent voice echoed. Dina's eyes opened wide. She looked around slowly and discovered she was unfamiliar with her surroundings. Dina noticed a mirror and a big wooden chair in the room that she was in. She walked over to the mirror and looked into it. The mirror was cracked into tiny pieces, but still remained in a beautiful frame.
A thirteen year old Dina stared herself in the face; a face that was filled with tiny holes, holes that could be seen through. She cringed at the sight.
"The devil is busy. He's eating at your soul," said a voice that was not her sister's, but one that was much deeper and quite eerie in sound.
"Who are you?" Dina shouted, still looking and listening for her sister. There was a black door. She ran towards it. She placed her hand on the knob and quickly pulled a blistering, bloody hand back, causing her to scream out in pain even louder.
"I'm in here," her sister's voice cried from behind the door.
Realizing that she couldn't get to her sister by going through the black door, Dina planned to find another way. When they were little girls, Dina always protected her sister. She would let no harm come to her. Denise may have been the oldest, but Dina was the boldest.
Dina looked to her left and saw another door, but this door was already open. She walked through it and witnessed her parents arguing. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she saw her father raise his hand and begin to repeatedly punch their mother. She also saw her sister getting ready to get in the middle of them. Dina knew that Denise was next to get hit, so she went to her father's stash to get his pistol, but there was nothing there. Feeling helpless, she ran back to save her sister and her mother from the wickedness of her father, but when she returned, there was no one there. She looked around the entire room, but saw no one. They had all disappeared.
Continuing on her blinded journey, Dina traveled down a dim hallway that seemed to have no end. All of a sudden, Dina dropped down into a black hole. She could literally feel this fall. It was oh, so real. And she felt like she was falling forever. Dina's body jerked upon her bed as her eyeballs jerked under their closed lids. She was experiencing REM: rapid eye movement; which was an affect from the dream that she was having. She never felt herself land, but she was now in Jackson Ward, a dangerous, drug infested neighborhood in Richmond.
A familiar object was spotted by Dina. It was the mirror she had initially encountered. She walked to it once again. She still had holes in her face, but she had matured. She was now twenty-one, the age at which she committed her first murder.
She saw her first murder victim before she had killed him
. His name was Rick. He was with his girl and his one year old son in front of his apartment building. Rick was throwing his son up into the summer air and catching him as he giggled with joy. They looked so happy.
This was a man Dina had murdered because of a ten thousand dollar debt. He begged to work it off, but as a female in a game full of male haters, she felt she had to prove a point, so she blew his brains out in front of his girl and his son. The horrible incident replayed itself in front of her face. She, surprisingly, cowered at the sight. It bothered her. It never had before.
She then turned her cheek to see Rick's girl, and his son, in the present. A crack pipe lingered between the lips of a woman who was once content with her life and very attractive, but the devastation of her baby's father being shot in front of her face sent her straight down.
Rick Jr. sat in a crowd of Bloods as they initiated yet another gang member. Dina realized that she was the direct cause of their despair.
Visions of the remaining murder victims who died by Dina's hands flashed in and out of her head as she drifted deeper into an unconscious state of self analyzation.
There was the chick at the club who thought she was fly. She kept percolating all over Blaze after she had been warned by Dina to chill. She had been senselessly shot by Dina in the parking lot of the club and left to die, leaving two kids behind.
There was the white man who was stupid enough to get out of his vehicle and knock on her car window because she'd cut him off. He had left behind a wife and five kids.
Spud G and Bakerman, two well known drug lords, had to be cancelled because it was told to Dina that they had snitched on her. Then there was Gamble Dick and his accomplice. Yes, they all had loved ones they left behind, and yes, she had played God with one too many lives.
A voice spoke, a powerful voice. "You heard it said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment."
Dina's body fought itself and tried to fight the voice as she slept. She continued on her subconscious trip. She was back inside. Inside where, she didn't know, but she came to a red door and walked in. Dina saw herself in bed with Solo. They were making love. The face of Solo was suddenly replaced with Scratch's face as he had his way with her. Then Blaze's face took the place of Scratch, then Robert appeared in Blaze's spot, then Juicy had next after Robert, then Mike had to get his, and then Big Regg got his, then Tom, Dick and Harry got theirs. She couldn't forget about Cannon, as her sister's fiancé wriggled his body into hers as his sweat drowned her. Dina felt as she never had in the past; she felt disgusted. She was no longer The Queen in total control.
