Thirsty

by Mike Sanders

  “My drinking was the only way I could deal with the pain of losing my family.” Wiping the liquid from his eyes with his fingers, he stated, “Lil’ Chyna, I swear I never stopped loving you. Your mother turned you and Monk against me. I even tried to contact you when you moved down south and she threatened to have me arrested if I came anywhere near you two. When I saw you and your brother at the funeral, and saw how grown you two had gotten, it broke my heart that I hadn’t been there to see you two grow up. You already know I tried to talk to you both but I got the cold shoulder. I kinda figured you all would come around when you felt like hearing me out. You’re here now, so I guess I was right. I hate it took a tragedy like this to bring us together, but God works in mysterious ways.”

  The realization of what Tyson said hit me like a bolt of lightening.

  The little girl in me silently screamed, He still loves me! He didn’t abandon me after all!

  Suddenly, I started to feel a little pity for him. For a long time, we were both silent until an idea hit me.

  “Do you know how to get in touch with your other child? What is it a boy or girl?” I asked anxiously.

  “You’ve got a brother.” He looked over at the urn and shook his head. “I mean, you’ve got another brother. All I know is that his mother is still in the Maryland and D.C. area.” Tyson looked distraught as he spoke.

  I grabbed a pen and a scrap piece of paper.

  “What’s his name? I can go on the Internet and track him down. I wanna meet him.”

  I got a little excited knowing I still had a sibling out there I’d never even met before.

  “He got our last name?” I inquired as I got ready to write down my long-lost brother’s name with wishful thoughts of an immediate meeting running through my mind.

  But then again, I thought, What if he wants nothing to do with me because of Tyson’s actions?

  That thought played in my mind as I sat and waited for my father to give me the name.

  Seeing the anxiety in me along with the obvious twinkle that was now gleaming in my eye, Tyson attempted to perk up a little himself, and then he answered my question about the name.

  “No, he’s got his mother’s last name. She wanted to name him after me, but she used to tease me something terrible about having the name Tyson. Said she didn’t want her son to have two last names. She couldn’t stand my name,” he chuckled. Tyson smiled warmly and added, “So, she named him after my brother…your uncle Joaquin. His last name’s Turner.”

  I started to jot it down when all of a sudden the name registered and began echoing in my head over and over. Joaquin Turner...Joaquin Turner...

  As the finality of it all dawned on me, my head throbbed uncontrollably.

  Oh my God! NO!

  Those thick eye lashes. That baldhead and dark complexion.

  “I’m originally from D.C., but I been staying in Charlotte for a minute…my father is somewhere in the Midwest…” I shook my head from side to side in utter disbelief as J.T.’s words haunted my thoughts. The only thing I could do was stare off into space.

  “Justice, baby girl, you okay? What’s wrong?” my father asked as I closed my eyes. That acrid odor of Febreez and feces arose in my subconscious while my short-lived relationship with J.T. played in my head like a DVD. A blood-curling scream arose in my throat and slowly exited my mouth. The scream was so shrill Tyson had to cover his ears.

  I felt myself spiraling downward as if I’d just been thrown off of a thirty-story building. The pen slipped from between my fingers. My bowels felt as if they were about to come loose. My entire world as I once knew it exploded into a thousand tiny pieces. After all those years, I suddenly realized that while relentlessly trying to quench that everlasting thirst, it had finally made me drown.

  EPILOGUE

  Coincidentally, on the same day Justice was meeting with her father, Carlos’s case had been dismissed and he walked out of the CharlotteMecklenburg County Jail as a free man. Through jailhouse gossip he’d found out about J.T. and Red and his mind was set on evening the score once and for all. He’d just beaten the system again and was feeling like the “Teflon Don” because no one could link him and his crew to any wrong doings, especially not inflicting bodily harm.

  Meanwhile, on this very same day at Carolina’s Medical Center in room 426, Sapphire’s mother was standing at her daughter’s bedside. She’d just given the staff permission to pull the plug and put an end to her daughter’s suffering. Her heart burned with pain and her soul was drowning in tears of despair with the thought of living a life without her only child. But she knew Sapphire would not want to continue to live this way. As soon as the life-support monitor was about to be disconnected, Sapphire’s weak eyes slowly opened!

  The detectives who had been patiently waiting for months for Sapphire to come around were immediately contacted. They wishfully hoped she would be able to remember what had happened that night and maybe she could identify at least one of her attackers. They were more than ready to apprehend the monsters that had been responsible for committing such a heinous act.

  On Michigan Avenue, just down the street from the Palmer Hotel where Justice was staying, Red was checking into the Wingate. Instead of going to the police, he’d tracked Justice to Chicago. He knew she had been responsible for his cousin’s death and she also had his money, which J.T. had been keeping for him in the safe. He wanted Justice to suffer the same painful death J.T. had suffered. He was laying and waiting for the right opportunity to strike, without having knowledge of the fact that he had been tracked down as well.

  A READING GROUP GUIDE

  THIRSTY

  MIKE SANDERS ABOUT THIS GUIDE

  The suggested questions are intended to enhance your group’s reading of this book.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS 1) Do you think Sapphire deserved to be beaten by Carlos’s henchmen just because she was dating Cross?

  2) Do you think Monk’s death was justified? If so, why?

  3) Did Carlos become Tan’s puppet after it was learned that she had been violated by Monk?

  4) Do you believe if their father had been in their lives Justice and Monk would have turned out differently?

  5) If Sabrina had never told Carlos that Monk and D.C. were the ones hanging out with Cross, do you think the situation would have still gotten out of hand because of Tan being robbed by them?

  6) Do you think Sapphire was more strong-willed than Justice?

  7) If Cross had told Monk and D.C. about his involvement in robbing Carlos’s people, based on their characteristics within the story what do you think Monk and D.C. would have done?

  8) Do you think J.T. genuinely cared for Justice? Or was it all just a ruse to keep him from being exposed?

  9) Should Justice have listened to J.T. and tried to reason with him or did she do the right thing by squeezing the trigger?

  10)When Justice found out about J.T. being her brother do you believe her karma was well deserved?

  Coming September 2009

  Excerpt from THIRSTY 2 CHAPTER ONE

  Justice, we got a problem in the dressing room,” Toni’s high-pitched voice broke her train of thought for a brief moment. Standing in the doorway to Justice’s office with the heavy oak frame door half-open, Toni was allowing the loud music from the club to pour in. Inside the office was expensive looking cherry wood furniture with photos of Justice’s family and her best friend Sapphire adorning the walls.

  Justice was seated at her desk tapping away at her keypad on her laptop. On the wall directly behind her hung a large family portrait of her, her deceased mother, and her deceased younger brother, Monk. Absent from the portrait was her father, Tyson, the only living member of her immediate family. Tyson had been estranged from her life since her early teenage years, but they had subsequently made amends two years ago when she’d first returned to Chicago from Charlotte, North Carolina. Tyson’s photo sat alone on her desk next to the floral arrangement he’d sent two days ago for her birthday
.

  “What is it now?” Justice asked without looking up from her computer. She wasn’t the slightest bit surprised at Toni’s statement. There was always some sort of problem or another in the dressing room. Twenty-five girls running around in a confined area clad in nothing but bras and g-strings, sometimes even less, would cause an occasional problem or two.

  Toni shifted her voluptuous five foot-two frame through the door, her honey-blonde dreadlocks and apple-bottom ass swinging in unison with every step. She closed the heavy door behind her, muffling the roar of Lil’ Wayne’s latest stripper anthem, which was blaring from the sound system. Leaning across Justice’s desk, Toni huffed, “The girls you flew in from Memphis are complaining about Virgin and Precious.”

  Justice finally looked up from her monitor and sighed deeply as she pushed away from the desk and sank back further into the leather Queen Anne. Purely out of habit, her toned arms went up over her head and her slender fingers intertwined before coming to rest atop her silky mane of jet-black hair.

  “Toni, if I ain’t mistaking, you’re the manager here last time I checked,” her sarcasm was hard to miss.

  She looked at Toni with a frustrated scowl. Sometimes dealing with Toni made Justice feel as if she was dealing with a child instead of a grown ass twenty-eight year old woman. Toni rolled her eyes at her boss and folded her arms across her ample bosom without replying.

  “How many times have you had trouble with Virgin and that bitch Precious?” Justice asked, her jaw clenched tight and eyebrows knitted.

  Toni hesitated as if she was actually trying to calculate the numerous times those two had caused problems at the club.

  Without waiting for a response, Justice ejected, “Exactly. Too many times to count. Every time I bring in new girls from outta town to dance them two bitches start pmsin’. You know what...fire them bitches.” Fire rose in Justice’s tightly slanted eyes.

  “Just like that?” Toni asked as if she couldn’t grasp the finality of Justice’s statement.

  “Yeah, just like that. Tell them to keep their tips from tonight, gather their shit, and get off my prope…better yet, go get ’em. I’ll do it myself.”

  Justice was fed up with Virgin and Precious. Those bitches were nothing but troublemakers.

  Toni left Justice’s office with an “ooooh, somebody’s ass is in trouble” expression glued to her face. By the same token, she was also relieved that she didn’t have to be the one to give the girls the boot.

  Justice removed her scrunchie and shook out her long tresses while exhaling a deep-rooted sigh. She rubbed at her temples to relieve the slight migraine that was gradually building. For the past two days Justice had been under tremendous stress because the anniversary of her brother’s death was fast approaching. Every time Justice thought about her brother it brought about a brain throbbing headache.

  As she watched Toni’s thick frame sashay its way out the door, Justice mumbled, “I need to be firing your incompetent ass.” Then on second thought, Justice surmised that Toni had been there with her from the very beginning of her legitimate endeavor.

  When Justice had first decided to invest some of the blood money she’d arrived back in Chicago with, Toni had been the one who had suggested she open the strip club. Initially, Justice had cringed at the idea because she’d never gotten along with other women, much less strippers with their asses on their shoulders. But to her astonishment, Justice discovered that dealing with the girls who had come through the doors of her establishment for auditions had been easier than she’d imagined. Mainly because of the fact that she realized most of the girls were just as fucked up in the head as she was. Each and every one of them had a story.

  Justice had always prided herself on being a good judge of character, so with the girls who had come to her for an opportunity to work she looked beyond the surface. Beyond all of the D-cup titties, twenty-two inch waists, and porn star asses lay insecure opportunists willing to bear it all for a quick buck.

  When Justice first opened Phire and Ice downtown on Michigan Avenue in the heart of Chicago, she had no idea it would become one of Chi-town’s premiere spots for nightlife. The elite adult entertainment club attracted ballers from all around, especially local rappers and professional athletes. It was not unusual to see Twista or Ben Wallace in the VIP area, sipping champagne and making it rain on a weeknight.

  Most of the time Justice’s business ran smoothly, without any problems. But there were times when the estrogen level was at a boiling point and catfights were inevitable. Sometimes Justice felt like she had it all together, other times she felt as if she was running a circus like the late great Bernie Mac as Dollar Bill in the movie Player’s Club. At those times, if it weren’t for a caring staff, especially Toni, she felt like she’d lose it.

  “Boss lady, here they go.” Toni’s voice brought Justice out of her lingering thoughts.

  Justice rose from her chair and watched as Virgin and Precious entered her office reeking of cigarette smoke and fruity body oil. Looking at the two reminded Justice of that old school flick Twins with Arnold Swartzeneggar and Danny Devito. Precious was towering over Virgin by at least eight inches like Arnold had done Danny. Nevertheless, Precious’s height didn’t intimidate Justice in the least because if it weren’t for Precious’s heels, she and Justice would have been eye to eye. Justice had no idea where the pair had come up with their names because everybody in the Chi and the surrounding Metropolitan area knew the girls were anything but precious and virginal. It was even rumored that the two had used the VIP for occasional tricking. Turning tricks was a definite no-no in Phire and Ice.

  After Toni had left the office and closed the door Justice stated, “Sit down.” She was looking back and forth between the two girls with equal amounts of animosity so there would be no mistake as to whom she was speaking.

  Virgin took a seat on the leather sofa near the door while Precious remained defiantly standing for a few seconds. Finally, she sucked her teeth and reluctantly sat her amazon ass down next to her partner.

  Precious adjusted the garter on her thick thigh, which was stuffed with bills—tens and twenties, only a fraction of the tips she had earned for the night. Both girls were dressed in bras and matching g-strings along with expensive pumps. Virgin was wearing her signature color of all white, which symbolized purity. Her auburn-dyed hair was fixed in tight cornrows, which made her defined cheekbones even more pronounced than ever. Her creamy, peanut butter complexion was flawless without a trace of make-up. However, the glassy look in her eyes made Justice wonder if she was rollin’ on X or jacked up on coke. There was no mistaking the fact that she was definitely high on something.

  Precious was wearing fire engine red with gold-colored rhinestones decorating the nipple and crotch area of her outfit. This night she had her naturally short hair styled into a throwback Halle Berry number. Her ebony skin was glistening with a thin sheen of perspiration from the lap dance she was so rudely pulled away from.

  With the bodies both Precious and Virgin possessed, Justice hated to admit the fact that they were both wearing their outfits damn well. Between Justice and the dancers, the confidence level in this room was at a record high and so thick you could taste it. Justice strolled over to her picture window and glanced out over the crowded, well-lit parking area before addressing the girls.

  “Do y’all know the definition of the word insanity?” She had her back to them and could feel their eyes boring into the back of her head.

  “What?” Precious asked with a hint of attitude and slight frustration as if she hadn’t heard Justice’s question correctly.

  “You heard me,” Justice said. She turned to face the girls, disdain evident in her exotic features. “If you don’t know, lemme enlighten you. Insanity is when you constantly do the same thing but expect to get different results, different outcomes.”

  Precious and Virgin exchanged heated looks and rolled their eyes while twisting up their mouths as if they were sharing the
same thought, Yeah we know what insanity is. This Chinese looking, Kimora Lee wannabe bitch is the one insane. Sittin’ up here lecturin’ a bitch when it’s niggas out there spendin’ that dough.

  “I said that to say this: Every time I spend my hard earned money to bring new faces up in here so my customers won’t get sick from seeing the same tired faces every night, you two always seem to be in the way. Tryin’ to do all you can to make the featured girls as uncomfortable as possible. I don’t understand you two.

  Justice pointed towards the door.

  “It’s enough money out there for a hundred girls to eat and y’all wanna fuck that up every chance you get. You are the only two that hate like that! Y’all are just like cats, pissin’ on a spot to try to claim turf!”

  Justice’s slanted eyes were boring into the girls.

  “I’on’ know what you talkin’ ’bout ’cause I ain’t—” Precious started, but Justice cut her off.

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Precious! And I can do without your funky ass attitude right now.” Justice’s voice began to rise. “I got eighteen girls who dance here nightly along with ten I fly in every weekend from different cities. Tell me why I need you two!?”

  Precious and Virgin were looking at one another dumbfounded as Justice calmly sat back down and began tapping her French manicured nails on her desk awaiting a response. She was silently sitting there waiting to see what type of justification the girls could come up with that would keep her from banning them from the hottest strip club in Chicago.

  After a long uncomfortable silence, Precious responded, “So, you wanna play that game, huh?”

  She arose from the sofa and slowly approached Justice’s desk with a devious grin on her face.

  She and Justice locked eyes, then Precious stated in a whisper, “You think a bitch don’t know how you used to get your money back in the day in Carolina?” She waved her arms around as she looked about the spacious office. “A bitch know how you ended up with all this. I guess nothing was outta your realm when it came to gettin’ dough, huh? Maybe not even murder.”