by Kiki Swinson
Behind Door #2
When I got into the car with Tony, he was on the phone, but he quickly got off. “I gotta make one quick stop before I go back to my house,” he told me.
“That’s cool.”
Tony pulled away from Ms. Mavis’s house while she stood there on the front porch and waved good-bye. Once she was out of sight, I turned my attention to him. “Where you got to go that’s so important?” I wanted to know.
“Well, I’ve got to stop and get some gas first. And then I’ve got to meet up with my homeboy before he leaves to go out of town.”
“Hold, you! Meeting your homeboy before he goes out of town sure sounds like a drug buy.” I chuckled, but I was serious as a fucking heart attack. Shit, I didn’t come all the way back to Virginia to be getting arrested on a bogus-ass drug charge behind some wannabe-ass hustler. I had too much at stake, and my freedom was at the top of the list.
“Come on, Kira. What kind of nigga you think I am? I don’t get down like that,” he said as he pulled into a Shell gas station.
When Tony got out the car to go pay for the gas, I told him I was going to Feather-N-Fin to get a sweet tea. I strutted myself across the street, and when I got to the door, this older gentleman held it open for me. After I stepped inside the restaurant, I thanked him.
It was a little after four in the evening, so I knew there would be a crowd of people trying to get their eat on. I got in line and waited my turn. The line was moving pretty quickly, so I knew I would be in and out of there before Tony finished pumping his gas.
“Can I take your order?” the young lady asked me. She was a pretty young girl with blonde micro braids. She looked like she was every bit of eighteen or nineteen years old.
After I told her I wanted a medium sweet iced tea, she rang it up. I handed her my debit card, but she told me there was a five-dollar minimum purchase requirement to use my card. Since I didn’t have any money on me and I wanted my tea, I ordered a boneless chicken breast sandwich with cheese.
Once she added my sandwich to the order, she swiped my card, but for some reason, my card wouldn’t process. The screen on the terminal displayed the words Comm Error, meaning, there was a bad connection with the phone line.
“Why don’t you disconnect your phone line and plug it back,” I suggested. “That always worked for me when I had a merchant machine at my hair salon.”
“You do hair?” the young girl asked as she unhooked the phone cord from the terminal and then plugged it back in.
“I used to.”
“Where did you do hair at?” she asked, waiting for the machine to crank back up.
“I owned a shop on Newtown Road called Millennium Styles, but then I closed it and moved out of town.”
“Wait a minute! I thought I remembered you!”
Shocked that she knew me, I stood there and waited for her to jog my memory.
“My sister Sunshine used to do hair there,” she said. “Remember the time I came up there and brought her some balloons and a card on her birthday and she got all happy? But when she opened her card and realized I hadn’t put any money inside, she started complaining, and that was when you took up for me and told her to be grateful.”
Looking at the young girl again, I felt like I was looking at Sunshine. In fact, she looked like Sunshine’s twin. I assumed she knew nothing about the affair that Sunshine had with my late husband, since she seemed excited to see me. This young girl made me feel like I was an old friend.
“What was your name again?” I asked her.
“Fionna. But my friends call me Fifi.” She smiled.
I smiled back and thought about how she seemed to be in great spirits for someone who had lost her sister. I wondered if Sunshine ever spoke about me in a bad way. Well, if she did, this chick who stood in front of me truly knew how to mask her real feelings.
“Well, Fifi,” I said, “I am truly sorry about your loss.”
“Oh, you don’t have to feel sorry. She’s in a better place. And, besides, you should be happy that she’s gone, considering all the drama she took you through.”
“What kind of drama would that be?” I asked, even though I knew what Fionna was referring to.
“All I’m saying is that I should be the one apologizing to you, since it was my sister who tore your marriage apart by sleeping with Ricky behind your back.”
Once again shocked by her comment, I stood there motionless. I didn’t know whether to start cursing or break down in tears. Here I was again reminded about something that happened in my past. I didn’t need that in my life, especially since I was trying to move on. Ricky and Sunshine were both distant memories, and I believed they’d gotten what they deserved. So if their souls were in hell, that was where they were meant to be.
I had to take a deep breath and exhale before I could make a rebuttal. After I got myself together, I asked Fionna how long she’d known about their relationship.
“I’m not sure. But I do remember when he stopped over her apartment to drop off some money. It was a Sunday night, because I was in the living room watching The Wire on HBO. She took him into her bedroom hoping I couldn’t hear their conversation, but I heard every word they said anyway, especially the part about the baby.”
“What baby?”
“I don’t know if she was pregnant for real, but I did hear her telling him that she needed some abortion money because she wasn’t ready to have a baby.”
“Wow! You have got to be kidding me,” I said, heartbroken. “Nah, I’m dead serious!”
Now I knew Ricky slept around on me, and I knew he had an affair with Sunshine, but to later find out that she could have possibly carried his baby was a huge slap in the face. Ricky really didn’t give a fuck about me! He fucked all his side chicks without a stitch of protection, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that nigga had at least a dozen kids running around between Virginia and D.C. The thought of all the times he betrayed me gave me an instant headache, so I tried to block him out of my mind.
“Fionna, how old are you?” I asked her, changing the subject.
“I’m twenty-one. Why?”
“What do you do besides work here?”
“I take classes at TCC in the evening.”
“Good. Stay in school and keep working, honey, because men will come and go. And tomorrow is never promised. As long as you live by those two rules, you will be all right.”
“You know what’s so funny?”
“No. What is it?”
“I grew up wanting to be just like Sunshine because she had everything a woman could ever want. Her car was nice, and her apartment was laced with the most expensive leather furniture. She even had all the top designers’ clothing in her closet. When Chanel came out with a new handbag and the shoes to match, Sunshine made sure she got it before anyone else got it. And what made her stick out in a crowd was, she had a body to die for. She could’ve had any man she wanted, and she knew it.
“But when the police came to my mama’s house that night and told us they found her naked body shot up underneath the sheets of a bed that belonged to some guy named Quincy, I was devastated. And from that very day, I looked at her differently. She was no longer my idol. She reminded me of a prostitute, and that wasn’t how I wanted to live my life. It was bad enough that she caught that fed charge for stashing all Ricky’s drugs inside her new salon, but then to come home from jail and get caught up in some more mess behind a guy my family had never met blew our minds. We weren’t ready for that.”
“I’m sure y’all weren’t. But you’ve got to remember that our lives are already planned. And all we’re supposed to do is walk down the path marked for us.”
“Yeah, I heard my mama saying something like that before, but I still think we can stop things from happening.”
“I believe that too.”
She smiled at me. “I don’t know why Sunshine said she didn’t like you, because you seem cool to me.”
Just then a bell went off insid
e the merchant machine. She and I both looked down and realized the machine was finally working, so she processed my transaction and gave me a copy of the receipt. I moved to the side and allowed her to take care of the other customers.
When my order came up, she signaled for me to come back up to the counter area. She handed me a small white bag with my sandwich inside, and then she handed me my sweet iced tea. Before I turned to leave, she leaned over the counter and said, “Take care of yourself.”
I gave her a half-smile. “And you do the same,” I told her, and then I left.
When I got back across the street, I headed back to Tony’s car. He was sitting in the driver’s seat. I got inside the car and let out a loud sigh.
He looked at me. “Are you all right?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
Tony turned the key to start the car and drove out of the lot.
I turned my head to look out the passenger side window and instantly thought back on everything Fionna had said about Sunshine. It was funny how life threw curve balls at you when you least expected it. Fionna had admired Sunshine all her life, but the day Sunshine no longer reigned supreme and was caught with her pants down, Fionna saw her for what she truly was.
Tony merged back on the road and headed down Tidewater Drive toward Princess Anne Road. The whole drive to his next destination was done in complete silence. The traffic was somewhat congested, but Tony maneuvered his way through it, and before I even realized it, we were sitting at a red light at the corner of Tidewater Drive and St. Julian, right near the Huntersville subdivision.
While Tony proceeded to his destination, all sorts of thoughts ran through my mind. I was starting to get anxious, and was ready to get out of Virginia. Listening to the CD by The Game that he was playing only made me even more uptight. Every lyric talked about murdering somebody, chopping up their bodies, and sending their remains to their families. And Tony was bopping his head to the beat.
I tried desperately to block it out and slip into another zone, but it didn’t work. Thankfully, his cell started ringing, so he had to turn down the volume to hear the caller.
“I’m right around the corner,” he said. “I’ll be there in a minute . . . Ai’ght, I can do that.”
After ending the call, Tony pressed down on the accelerator. I didn’t know where he was going, but wherever it was, I knew he was trying to beat the time he had given that person. I sat there quietly thinking about how badly I couldn’t wait to get back to the hotel, but to make that happen, I had to get back to Tony’s apartment to pick up my rental.
After several turns Tony finally pulled over to the side of B Avenue in front of this old, run-down house. It was the fifth house from the corner, and it stood out among the rest of homes. As I looked at the house, it reminded me of a stash house Ricky used to have. Old houses like this never attracted the police because they looked abandoned. The only way a cop would run up in a spot like this particular one was if someone ratted it out. Other than that, anyone who managed to set up shop would make tons of dough without any interruptions.
I watched Tony park his car and turn off the ignition. He looked over at me and said, “Come on. Let’s go.”
Caught off guard, I looked back at him. “Where are we going?”
“Inside my homeboy’s house.”
I turned my head to look at the house, and then I turned back around to look at Tony. “You have got to be kidding!” I said. “I am not stepping foot inside that house. It looks just like a crackhouse.”
“Kira, it ain’t no crackhouse.”
“Well, if it isn’t a crackhouse, then it’s got to be a stash house, because I can’t see somebody living there.” I took another look at the house, and then I looked back at Tony.
“Look, I don’t know what else to tell you, but I do know that I’m gon’ be in there for a spell, so if you want to sit in the car and take the chance of getting struck by one of these niggas’ stray bullets, then that’s on you.” He then got out of the car and slammed the driver’s door.
I thought about what he said for a brief second and realized that he might be right for a change. I was in the heart of Huntersville where niggas would put a pistol up to their own brother’s head if they had to, so how would I be able to escape that? The fear of losing my life came crashing down on me really heavy. Not to mention, I couldn’t risk someone else recognizing me. That would definitely be suicidal. So, without saying another word, I opened the passenger side door, hopped out of the car, and closed the door behind me.
After we climbed all nine steps that connected to the front porch, Tony rushed toward the front door.
A tall, slim, brown-skinned chick opened the door and stood in the doorway waiting for Tony and me to enter the house. Once we were inside, she closed the door behind us.
I stood there beside Tony and waited to see what he would do next. She looked at him and greeted him. “What’s up?”
I thought she would’ve acknowledged me by saying hello or giving me a nod, but she didn’t look my way. I purposely cleared my throat and said hello, but she acted as if I didn’t exist.
After she locked the front door she told Tony to follow her. Like the caboose on a train, I trotted behind them. The hallway wasn’t too long, but it looked really creepy. We walked on old hardwood floors that felt worn-out and very loose. I thought a couple of the boards were going to give out on us, so I tried to tread lightly.
Finally we entered a back room, where two big black guys sat at a round table counting a massive amount of money. They had to be high school football players in their earlier years, because both of those guys reminded me of the late, great Bernie Mac, except one had a bald head, and the other one had long dreadlocks. From what I could see, they both wore dark-colored jeans, black hoodies, and black Nike boots.
“Today looks like payday to me.” Tony commented.
Both men smiled at Tony but didn’t say a word. I thought it was really weird that no one wanted to talk. I felt uncomfortable as I stood beside Tony. I wanted him to take care of what he had to do, so we could leave.
“Kira, you can have a seat if you want to,” he told me.
I took a quick glimpse at the raggedy, old sofa he told me to sit on and told him that I was fine standing up.
“You sure? Because I’m gon’ be here at least twenty minutes.”
“Yeah, I’m sure,” I assured him, my feet glued to where I was standing.
The chick who had opened the front door left the room. I heard her walk back down the hallway and then head upstairs. Then Tony walked over to the table and stood beside one of the guys.
I watched and waited for Tony to hand them something, but he didn’t. Instead he held out his hand, and the baldheaded guy handed him a large sum of cash. From what I could see, Tony must’ve been given at least five grand. Every bill he had in his hand was either a fifty- or hundred-dollar bill. I couldn’t see Tony’s expression because his back was to me, but I knew he must have been extremely happy. During all the years I had known him, I knew he had never held that much money in his hands at one time. I was sure he felt like he’d won the lottery.
As he stood at the table counting his money, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. I knew it was the chick coming back downstairs, so I didn’t bother to turn around. I wanted to keep my eyes on Tony and these two overgrown rejects posted up before me.
The footsteps grew louder, so I knew it would be only a matter of seconds before she graced the room once again with her presence. I heard her steps draw closer as she put one foot in front of the other, but then all of a sudden she stopped.
I felt her presence behind me, but I didn’t know how close she was. My curiosity went into overdrive as I wondered why she’d come to an abrupt stop. I forced myself not to turn around, because I didn’t want to seem like I was being nosy. But I couldn’t help myself. I had to find out what she was doing.
Just as I got up the nerve to turn around, I got a glimpse of a black piec
e of fabric. I knew it wasn’t something attached to the wall because I would have seen it when I first came into the house. So what was it? I turned my head to the right to see what this black thing looming over me was.
Without any warning, everything around me turned pitch-black. I realized my head had just been covered with a dark, cotton bag. I panicked and tried to pull the bag off my head. “What the fuck is going on?” I screamed. “Take this shit off me! Tony, help me!”
No one responded. The next thing I knew, I was struck in the back of my head with some heavy object and knocked out cold.
Playing Mind Games
I was tired of being hit in my fucking head. It hadn’t been two months since my cousin Nikki and Fatu’ had knocked me out and had me tied up in a fucking warehouse. And now here I was again being held against my will. I couldn’t see a damn thing, but I knew there were at least three people in the room with me. My head was still covered with the same black bag, and my mouth was covered with some kind of tape. They must have taped my mouth while I was unconscious so that, when I regained consciousness, I wouldn’t blow up their spot by yelling and screaming.
I tried to move a little bit, because I wanted whoever was in the room to know I was indeed conscious. I actually had to use the bathroom, and I wanted to see if they would remove the cover from my head. I turned my head from left to right so I could get their attention.
I didn’t know who was talking, but one of the guys said, “She’s up.” His voice was a very deep baritone.
I noticed he had a Southern accent. He sounded like he was born and raised in Virginia. I played his voice over and over in my mind to see if I recognized it, but I kept coming up empty-handed. I tried moving my feet, but they were taped too.
“Whatcha think we should do with her?” he asked.
“Just leave her ass where she’s at! It ain’t like she can get up and go somewhere,” another male voice replied.
“Yeah, nigga, I guess your dumb ass is right!” the first guy said, laughing.
