Hustle & Heartache

by D. Gamblez

  Point. Blank. Period.

  “Oh, shit! Look, fam,” Elijah said as he backed into the room and held up the Bad Bitchez magazine.”Ain’t this ol’ girl from the nail salon where you be goin’ to see that one Vietnamese bitch?”

  I took a quick look at the magazine, examining it closely, and sure enough it was Joy; a big booty white girl who worked at Nailed It! nail salon on 5th Avenue. Jinx was the owner of the place, but she was also my little side chick. She did whatever I told her to do. But I did not just go there to see her; I was using her spot to stash my money and whatever else I needed to hide there when the situation called for it. I paid her nicely for her services, but she liked to get sexed up every once in awhile. And I happily obliged.

  One would think that I was merely using Jinx for sex and convenience, but I actually kind of liked her, more than I was willing to admit aloud. I mean, who wouldn’t like her? She was 26, independent, and had the mindset of a go-getter when it came to money. Her only weakness was me.

  “You gonna have to hook me up with her, bro,” my brother said as he headed to the bathroom.

  I just shook my head and smiled as I went to my mama’s room to let her know what’s what and found her sitting up in bed. There was a plate of catfish, crinkle-cut French fries, and two pieces of garlic toast on the nightstand next to her bed. Beside the plate of food there was a bottle of hot sauce and a 2-liter bottle of Coca-Cola. But my mother had not touched her food for at least forty-five minutes. I knew it had been that long because that’s when she had called me and my brother to the kitchen to eat and clean up the dishes. But the reason my mother had not touched her meal yet was not because of lack of hunger or that she was sick or anything like that. It was simply because she was playing Dr. Mario; an old video game classic for the Nintendo that my sister Jackie had bought for her last Christmas. My sister had also bought our mother a near mint-condition Nintendo she had found at a pawn shop. My mother had been playing it like it had just came out ever since then.

  “Hey, Mama,” I addressed her. “You need me to pick up anything from the store or the gas station on my way back from picking up Jackie?”

  “Just get me a pack of cigarettes, a bag of potato chips, and a bag of cheese popcorn.” She never took her eyes off the TV screen as she spoke.

  I leaned over to check her progress and saw that she was on level 21. “Dang, Mama,” I said, impressed. “You got further than Jackie did yesterday. She gonna be mad when she find out you beat her high score.”

  “I already know,” my mother smiled. “Don’t tell her I beat her score when you go get her. When I lose my last life, I’m gonna pause the screen so she can see it when she comes in.”

  “A’ight, Mama. Me and Elijah fixing to go over to Audi’s birthday party. I ain’t gonna stay long, though.”

  “Okay. See ya’ll later. And tell Elijah don’t be going over there starting mess. You know how he get when he get that drink in him,” my mother warned.

  “Naw, it’s cool, Mama,” I assured her. “They ain’t even gonna have any drinking or smoking over there. Audi’s just turned eighteen today.” In truth, I did not know if there was gonna be drinking at the party or not, I just did not want my mother to worry.

  “Oh. Okay. Hey,” my mother said suddenly, pausing the game and handing me a glass filled with Coca Cola. “Put some ice in here for me before ya’ll go.”

  “Okay, Mama,” I said, taking the glass and hurrying through the 3-bedroom house. I nearly fell as my feet slid across the brown carpet, but I caught myself on one of the two glass-inlaid end tables that encapsulated the white leather sofa. Across from it was the matching recliner where my cousin was currently sleeping with his feet propped up on the ottoman that my mother had decided to get as part of a package deal.

  Even with the lamplights on dim, my cousin’s light complexion was clearly noticeable. His furry Kango hat that he had pulled down low over his eyes and the half-pint of Cognac resting comfortably in his bruised hand−he had gotten the bruises from punching a hole in all four of their bedroom walls after his baby mama had admitted to cheating while he was working late−gave him the appearance of a homeless drunk who had had enough with begging for money and food for the day.

  My mother had decided to let him stay the night after he had told her the story of him finding a condom underneath one of the pillows on his and his baby mama’s bed, which just happened to be the pillow he usually slept on.

  I glanced over to make sure that I had not woken him, but after hearing his snoring continue, I knew that I had not. To make sure I did not disturb him, I walked the rest of the way on tiptoe to the kitchen.

  “You coming or what, man?” my brother asked from outside the window above the kitchen sink, startling me in the process.

  “What the fuck, man?” I snapped in reaction. “You almost make me drop Mama’s soda.”

  “Look at yo’ scary-ass,” he laughed. “Just hurry up, nigga. I’m trying to see What up with these hoes.”

  “Hold up, fam,” I told him as I put the last of the ice cubes in the glass. “Let me run this back to Mama and we can bounce.”

  “A’ight. Hey, bring me a square when come out.” What he meant by that was for me to ask our mother for a cigarette, but it never worked because she knew that I did not smoke.

  “She ain’t got no more. She told me to bring her a pack back when I go get Jackie.”

  “A’ight, then,” he said. “Just hurry up.”

  I nearly fell again as I hurried back to my mother’s room and handed her the freshly iced glass of soda. When I saw that she was again entranced in the game, I sat the glass down on her dresser in the same spot it was before, right next to the untouched food. This time I hurried out of the room without disturbing her, but I was really just trying to get out of the room before she noticed me and asked me to heat up her food next, which I am sure was cold by now.

  As I turned the lock and shut the front door behind me, my brother walked up and handed me a pack of Spearmint gum.

  “You ready, fam?”

  “Yeah, man. I just wish I would’ve gotten Audi a birthday present, though,” I shook my head. I really should have gotten her a birthday present. I mean, it so not like I did not have the time or the money, I was just being lazy. I hope she does not get mad at me over it.

  “Here, give her this for her birthday,” my brother smiled as he handed me a small, plastic square.

  I turned towards the porch light so that I could see it better and noticed that he had given me a condom. I laughed loudly and punched him in the arm.

  “You crazy, man. Let’s roll.”

  We hopped in my orange candy-painted ‘84 Chevy Caprice Classic with white leather interior and 22”chrome 3-finger rims, turned on the green neon lights that were situated around the license plate and underneath the car, popped in Notorious B.I.G’s Ready To Die album, and as we pulled out of the driveway, I began to ponder the possibility of actually getting a taste of whatever Audi was hiding underneath those low-rider Gucci jeans she occasionally wore.

  “What up, my dude?” a drunken Pedro said as me and my brother approached the house. He and a group of Latino guys were standing on the side of the house passing a blunt around. They all had red plastic cups in their hands and, judging from their demeanor, I did not think they were drinking kool-aid.

  “Let me hit that shit,” my brother said as he went around and shook up with each of them.

  “I’ma be inside, fam,” I told my brother, not interested in indulging in whatever they were doing.

  I went around the back to see if I could get Audi’s attention without running into her mother. I swear that woman could give blind men blue balls, but I did not want anything to do with her. I wanted Audi, and nobody was gonna stand in my way when I came for her.

  I didn’t even really know when I started liking her. I mean, yeah, we grew up across the street from each other, but we always got into fights whenever we were around each other. Our p
arents had gotten into numerous arguments over the years about who threw mud at who or who punched who in the face, but in the end, they had decided to keep us apart and had become friends over the years. Ms. Escobar had become one of my mother’s best friends, that is until she moved around the corner from us. That’s when all the rumors started about her telling people that my mother wore weave and she let her kids do drugs and drink liquor all day.

  My mother had pretended that it did not bother her, said she just decided to stay away from Ms. Escobar, but I could tell it had affected her at least somewhat. I mean, if my best friend talked about me behind my back, I’d be pissed and hurt. But that’s just me.

  As I stepped through the back door, I saw Audi standing off to the side away from everyone else. She did not seem all that happy as her expression seemed sour to me and she had her arms crossed. And I think I knew why.

  Her parents had promised her a new car for her birthday, but at the last minute, her mother and dad had gotten into an argument over who was gonna pay the insurance fee, so they decided to just forget the whole thing and they had bought her a $120 pair of Adidas instead. I knew all of this because my sister had told me after Marisol, Audi’s sister, had told her.

  What Audi’s parents did not know was that she already had that exact same pair of Adidas because my sister had bought them for her as a birthday gift. But she did not say anything because if her mother found out that she already had a pair, then...well, let’s just say that she would not have gotten anything for her birthday.

  I shielded my eyes from the multi-colored disco lights that changed rapidly as the disco ball hanging from the living room ceiling rotated. Even before Audi and her family had moved, her mother always hung that disco ball whenever she through Audi or her siblings birthday parties. She must have thought the disco ball to be a nice touch, but she was definitely wrong about that; it was not a nice touch at all. In fact, it was irritating to the eyes, but everyone was so caught up in embellished stories of themselves, they did not even bother to notice.

  Her arms still folded across her chest, Audi did not even bother to lift her head to see who was approaching her. She was all dressed up in what I thought to be a nice outfit; cream-colored jeans, dark-brown crop top, and tan and brown Adidas. The most noticeable feature, to me, was the gold hoop Gucci earrings; a present from Cherish and the Twins. They were perfect, as they accentuated the gold necklace she wore around her neck that was lying as comfortable as a baby kitten on her perky grapefruit-sized breasts. Her long, brown hair flowed down her back in waves, nearly covering her plump, curvy bottom. And her nail polish and lipstick matched her beautiful, light-brown eyes.

  As her hand slid down to her exposed, well-toned abs, lightly raking her nails across her light-brown skin to relieve the itch of whatever was ailing her, she glanced up and locked eyes with me. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as I approached.

  “Are them the shoes Jackie got for you, or are them the ones yo’ moms bought?”

  “These are the ones your sister gave me, of course. I sold the ones my parents bought me to Lyrical for a cool hundred. Then I took the money and bought myself this Gucci pendant for this necklace Pedro got for me.”

  “Yeah, that’s what’s up,” I said, admiring her beauty.

  “What’s up? I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you. It’s loud as hell in here.”

  The music was blaring so loudly that I knew a conversation between her and I would not be as fruitful as I wanted it to be, so, grabbing hold of her hand, I led her outside onto the back porch, flipping the switch to turn off the porch light at the last second.

  “What up, Dre? Got some weed?”I heard someone shout as the screen door shut behind us. Of course, I ignored them.

  “I didn’t think you were gonna come,” Audi said with obvious glee, trying, but failing to hide a smile. Even in the darkness of night I could see the joy in her eyes.

  “Actually, I came to see your moms, but I didn’t think it’d be cool if I didn’t say hi to the birthday girl first,” I joked with her.

  But Audi did not laugh. “Are you for real?” she frowned, and I could almost see the hurt in her eyes. Instantly, I felt bad.

  “Come on, now, Audi. Be for real!” I said with as much seriousness as I could muster up. “Girl, you know I’m just messing with you. I would never do no shit like that to you.”

  “Don’t play with me like that, boy,” she softened, lightly punching me in the arm. “Hey, where’s my birthday gift?”

  I pulled out the condom my brother had given to me. “It’s all I could afford. Broke my damn pockets gettin’ it, too. Now, remember, you want to redeem that as soon as possible.”

  “You wish,” she giggled. “You’re not getting any of this, boy. Besides, I’m saving myself for marriage.”

  “Exactly,” I said, not missing a beat. “That’s why I just gave you a ring.”

  She laughed again, but much louder and longer this time. “Get outta here. A condom’s not a ring... Well, technically, it is in the shape of a ring, but it’s not the one I’m talking about.”

  “I’m just messing with you, Audi. My bad for not actually getting you anything.”

  “It’s cool,” she said solemnly. “This birthday sucks, anyway.”

  We stood there for awhile, just looking up at the stars in the pitch-black sky, lit only by the crescent moon. The smell of rain from two days ago still lingered in the air. Occasionally, a light breeze would drift in our direction, and I would get a whiff of the perfume or body spray or shampoo, possibly a combination of all three, that Audi was wearing. From what I could tell, it was something with a hint of vanilla or coconut. Whatever the hell it was, it smelled good.

  “I know what you can get me for my birthday,” Audi said suddenly, catching me off guard.

  “What up?” I said after a pause.

  “I know what you can get me for my birthday,” she repeated. “But first, are you going to prom?”

  “I hadn’t planned on it,” I lied. Truth is that I tried to get someone to go with me to prom, but every girl I asked had already been asked. So, in order to save face, I just told everybody that I did not want to go.

  “I don’t wanna go either. It’s just that my sister is really on my case about the whole thing. Said that I should go or else I’d regret it and shit, you know?”

  “Yeah, I think she’s right.”

  “Yeah, me too. That’s why I mentioned it to you; because I knew you’d get it. Yeah, that’d be a great birthday gift.”

  For some reason I felt as if she was trying to ask me something. “Wait a minute,” I said curiously. “Are you asking me to take you to prom as a birthday gift?”

  “Sort of,” she fidgeted with her necklace. “I mean, I guess so. If you want to, I mean. But you don’t have to do it for my birthday. I was just hoping you’d want to take me because...”

  “Because what?”

  “Because...because it would mean a lot to me if you did. I mean, it’d be really cool to have a handsome guy to dance with and not have to worry about him trying to take advantage of me at the end of the night.”

  “Yeah, I feel that,” I responded without looking in her direction, hoping that she did not see the happiness behind my eyes.”Wait, I thought you already had a date for prom?”

  “Naw, I don’t have a date. I mean, a couple dudes asked me, but I’m not feeling any of ‘em. Most guys just want sex, and I’m not for all that right now.”

  “I thought Ty Baby asked you to go. And didn’t I see you and Jamal hanging out a couple weeks ago? I know he likes you. At least, that’s what he told me.”

  I do not know why the hell I was saying all of that. Clearly, she wanted me to go to prom with her, but for some reason, I was being difficult.

  “Why do you keep asking me about all these other niggas? Look, Dre, I don’t wanna go to prom with none of those lame-ass dudes,” she confirmed. “Yeah, they’re cute, but they’re dogs, too. So, please, stop
trying to pawn me off on another nigga. You don’t wanna take me, then just say so, all right?”

  “A’ight, ma. My bad. I was just asking, that’s all.”

  “Yeah, well, now you know.”

  A long silenced passed between us before Audi decided to pursue the subject further. “So...what about you, Dre?”

  “What about me?” I asked, swatting at a mosquito that I’m sure had bitten me about three times already. Those irritating little fuckers were already out.

  “Why didn’t you ask me? You don’t like me no more?”

  I shrugged my shoulders and stated matter-of-factly. “I was gonna call you Tuesday to ask you if you wanted to go, but then I saw Pedro that morning and he said that you was going with Ty Baby, so...”

  Audi just stared at me with her jaw nearly on the ground.

  “He didn’t tell you, did he?” I asked, reading her expression.

  “Naw, his stupid ass didn’t tell me,” she said. “Wait till I see his ass, I’ma... Ugh!”

  “It’s cool. I should’ve asked you in person, anyway.”

  “Well, we got till tomorrow, right? So why don’t you ask me now?” she persisted after a brief pause. For some reason, she really wanted me to want to go to prom with her.

  I stared at her for what seemed like forever. I was so nervous that I nearly turned and went back inside the house, but at the last moment, I gently took her hand in mine. “Audriana Escobar, will you do me the honor of allowing me to accompany you to prom tomorrow?”

  I have always been a well-spoken guy when I wanted to be, but hearing myself talk to her that way made my heart thud in my chest. I hoped she did not think I was corny or anything.