by Tamara Black
Tony
The next day, during the four hours in the afternoon we had together between shifts at Pizza Pizza, her brother Andre came over to her apartment to talk with us. He had resisted at first, but she insisted, invoking that familial bond between siblings. I paced nervously in her tiny kitchen while she sat at the table and watched me.
“Will you sit down, please? You’re making me nervous.”
“Nervous is good,” I said, sitting down across from her. “It keeps you from getting caught.”
She shook her head, frowning. “I know you have your mom’s debt, but if she lost the money gambling, she should have to take care of it herself.”
“Did you really just ask me to forget about helping my mother?” I asked.
“No, but you’re not alone anymore. The children come with me. We’re a package.”
“I know, Tanesha. It’s just…”
We both turned when we heard someone knocking on the front door.
“It’s him,” she said, standing up. “I’ll get it.”
A moment later, she returned with her brother.
“Hey, Andre,” I said from the table without getting up.
He nodded his head at me. “What’s up? You think about what I said?”
“Threatening me?” I stood up. “Yeah, I did.”
We stood inches from each other again.
“Knock it off, you two,” Tanesha said. “Andre, we have an idea.”
I stepped back, still watching him.
“Yeah? As long as it involved him leaving you, I’m okay with it.”
“Stop it,” she insisted. “I love both of you. Now get along.”
“What’s your idea?” he asked, looking at me.
“If you leave me alone, I’ll give you evidence on the Colorado Weed Mafia.”
“Why should I trust you?”
“Because I trust him,” Tanesha said. “Come on, ‘Dre.”
“Go on,” he said, stilling staring me down.
“What else is there to say?” I shook my head. “It’s pretty simple, even for a dumb cop like you.”
“Tony,” Tanesha hissed under her breath.
I raised my hands in the air. “I’m trying.”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Andre said, surprising me.
“Yeah? Why not?” I asked, leaning against the sink counter.
“I just don’t think it is a good idea.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. Tanesha walked over and stood next to me.
“That’s crazy, Andre. He’s willing to help you bust these guys as long as he has immunity.”
“I can’t offer him that.”
“Just what I thought,” I said. “He’s a chump with no power on the force.”
“Watch it, buddy,” her brother said, tensing up.
“There’s way too much testosterone in here right now,” Tanesha said, walking over to a cupboard. She opened a door and pulled out a bottle of wine. “We’re all going to have a drink and settle down.”
“I don’t drink wine,” I insisted. “I’m a smoker.”
“Well, you’re going to have a drink now with me.”
Andre cracked a smile as he looked at me. “She’s something else, ain’t she?”
I nodded, smiling myself as the tension in the room dissipated.
“I can’t stay long,” Andre said. “But I’ll think about what you said and talk to my captain.”
“I’m willing to work with you,” I said. “As long as everyone is safe.”
“You’re not very safe right now,” he said. “I’ve heard about their enforcer Bullet.”
I shot a look at Tanesha, hoping she didn’t tell her brother he had shown up at Pizza Pizza.
She handed me a glass of wine then returned to the table for two others she had poured. The three of us clinked our glasses together.
“To family,” Tanesha said.
“To family,” he and I echoed with less enthusiasm.
“I have to go,” he said after taking a small drink.
“You’re always just popping in to put me down,” she scolded.
“You take care of my sister,” he said, looking at me.
I nodded my head in recognition. He gave her a hug then turned and left.
“That didn’t go so bad,” she said.
“It didn’t go very well either, though.”
She walked over and slipped her arm around my waist, leaning against me. I drank the last of the wine in my glass.
“I need to get to work,” I said.
“Ohh,” she groaned.
“You can go in for me,” I teased.
“You’re going to watch the kids while I get away all night? Sign me up.”
I laughed and broke away from her. After rinsing out my glass, I set it in the sink.
“Come meet my mother,” I said suddenly.
“What?”
“I want to show you I’m serious about us. Now that I met your brother, it’s time for you to meet some of my family.”
Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me while deep in thought. What is she thinking? I wondered. I’d give up smoking pot to know her thoughts.
“Okay,” she said, finally.
“Really?”
She nodded. “I hope she likes me.”
“She can be difficult, but I think she’ll love you.”
I crossed the kitchen and hugged her briefly before kissing her on her forehead.
“Call me if you need anything,” I said.
“I will. You do the same.”
After I left her apartment, I started thinking about our offer to help her brother nab the CWM. Why had he seemed so reluctant? None of it made sense, but I had to push the thoughts out of my mind and get my game face on for work. Until I talked to Andre more, I had to keep up appearances and make deliveries nightly.
The extra weed I’d bought on my own needed to be sold as well, so I could bring more money in and payoff Bullet if Tanesha’s brother didn’t want to bust him for whatever reason. I tried to always cover all my bases.
♥ ♥ ♥
“Where are the other cops?”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re the only one working on this with me?”
“Yeah, the department budget is tight,” he said, offering no other explanation.
I turned my attention to what looked like cutting-edge spy gear in the 1980s.
“What is this stuff?” I asked. “It’s huge. They’re going to see it.”
“Are you scared?” he asked bluntly.
“No, but I’m not stupid either.”
“That’s all the equipment I could get on short notice. You want to put them away so you can go on with your life, right?”
I slowly nodded. “Yeah, it’s just…”
“Quit being a pussy,” he interrupted.
“Do you want to go? We can go at it?” I said, bumping my chest against his.
“I’d take you down so fast, son.”
“Yeah? Do it. I dare you.”
“I care about my sister too much. Unlike you.”
He stepped back, defusing the situation.
“Just get as much information on them as you can,” he said with a grin I didn’t trust.
“I’ll see what I can get for you tomorrow, but I need your guarantee I’m safe with what I’m doing.”
“I’m not busting you, but I can’t talk for all the other police officers.”
We stared each other down.
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll figure it out.”
With a laugh, he turned and left my apartment. I tossed the ancient recording device to my coffee table and picked up my phone. A cute photo of Tanesha smiling greeted me. I tapped the screen. The phone rang.
“Tony?” she answered.
“Yeah, your brother just left.”
“He came over?”
“Yeah, I’m going to try to get them on tape, I think.”
“You think?”
/> “He gave me some old ass equipment. Something isn’t right.”
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t know. I’m just stressed out about my mom.”
“You two are close, but I never hear about your dad.”
“He ran off on us because he couldn’t deal with her gambling addiction.”
She said nothing, so I continued.
“I tried my best to help her growing up, but we never had money because everything she made with her two jobs went to the casino. About a year ago, it got so bad, she borrowed money from the CWM gang. They knew she had a problem, but they didn’t care. When she lost it all, they came after me, knowing I had a reason to be driving around the city from house to house every night.”
“That’s awful,” she said quietly.
“You okay? We can talk about something else.”
“I’m fine.”
“You’re being quiet tonight.”
“I have to go, Tony. It’s the children.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow after I talk with Bullet tonight.”
“Be careful, Tony.”
“I will.”
She disconnected the call. I hadn’t yet spent enough time with her to put my finger on what she was hiding, but I could sense something surrounded by a murky fog. I set the phone down and picked up the Miami Vice era wire-tap, trying to figure out how I’d keep it hidden.
As I fumbled with hit, I realized Andre hadn’t given me anything on paper. Is he setting me up for a fall somehow? Should I let Bullet and the CWM gang know what’s going on? Why did Tanesha get so quiet and withdrawn? The questions assaulted my mind. I had an urge to just sit back and smoke out, but I resisted it.
TWELVE
Tony
I had told Bullet to come over to get his thousand dollars. I’d made the money selling my own weed through the other small time dealer. I still hadn’t made up my mind on whether or not I would record incriminating evidence or let him know the cops were on to him so he would leave my mother, Tanesha and myself alone.
He opened the door of my apartment and walked in with a rare smile on his face. I had duct-taped the recording device underneath the coffee table in my living room.
“Money?” he asked, hand out.
“I have it, man. Sit down a minute.”
“Money,” he repeated, more firmly.
I grabbed a duffel bag next to me on the couch and tossed it to him. He caught it, looking inside.
“I’m impressed. It’s all here.”
“An extra two hundred for your trouble, too,” I said, nodding toward the recliner. “Have a seat. We need to talk.”
“Your mother’s debt stands, and so do I,” he said.
When I reached under the coffee table, he pulled his ax out of a holster on his belt.
“Whoa, hold on,” I said. “I need to show you something.”
I pulled the recording equipment out and dumped it on the wooden table.
He glared at me.
“Settle down. It’s not on,” I said. “The cops are onto you. They wanted me to narc on you, but I’m smarter than that. Now that I told you, I expect you to leave my mother and me alone. And everyone else in my life.”
He put his ax away. His smile had long since faded away.
“You’ve made a smart decision,” he said, nodding gravely. “We will forgive your debt…for now.”
“For now?”
“We may call on you for services in the future,” he said.
“I don’t like that idea.”
“Too bad.”
He turned and walked away.
Did that just happen? Was it the right decision? Can I trust Bullet more than her brother? Better with the devil you know.
I took a deep breath and got my silver weed tray out from under the couch. After packing a bowl in my green glass pipe, I lit it and inhaled. The smoke hit my lungs. I held it there a moment before exhaling. A cloud of smoke bellowed out into the room.
After a couple hits, I picked up my phone and called the number Andre had given me.
“What do you mean you told them?”
“I couldn’t do it, man. How am I supposed to trust you? If you were legit, you wouldn’t be the only person dealing with me.”
“You’ve made a big mistake,” he said calmly.
“Look, I’m in Tanesha’s life now. You’re going to have to deal with it. I’m done dealing, so try to bust me if you want, but it’s only going to hurt your sister.”
He disconnected the call. I set the phone on the coffee table and got out my vaporizer. It was time to get high. The next day, Tanesha, Michael, Destiny and myself were going to visit my mother. She didn’t want to bring her children at first, but I insisted, saying I was going to be in their life too. I smoked another bowl, wondering how much I would have to cut back on smoking pot. If I got to spend more time with Tanesha, I didn’t care about giving it up – at least for a little bit.
♥ ♥ ♥
I knocked on Tanesha’s apartment door.
“Come in,” she said. “It’s unlocked.”
Before I opened the door, I took a deep breath. We’d talked a few times about her children, but they made me nervous. Would she want to dump me if the kids didn’t like me? I put on a friendly smile, testing it out in the hallway.
“You come back here,” she yelled on the other side of the door.
I turned the handle and pulled it open, catching sight of her chasing your son through the living room.
“Get back here,” she commanded.
Michael stopped in his tracks, knowing her tone of voice had changed. I shut the door behind me.
“They giving you trouble?” I asked, laughing.
“You don’t even know. They’re monsters, I tell you.”
“I’m not a monster, mommy!” Michael yelled.
“I know, I know, I’m just playing with you. Come here. I want you to meet someone.” She took his hand and turned to his younger sister. “Come on, Destiny.”
They approached me cautiously, clinging to their mother’s hands.
“Hey, you two. I’m Tony. How are you?”
Michael disappeared behind his mother, but Destiny rushed forward, stopping in front of me.
“Hello,” she said. “Hi too.”
I laughed at her cuteness.
“You ready to go get some dinner?” I asked her, knowing she probably wouldn’t answer.
“I’m famished,” Tanesha said, walking over and giving me a peck on the lips. “What time are we supposed to be there?”
“Whenever is fine.”
“No it’s not,” she insisted. “This is the first time I’m meeting your mother, and I want to make a good impression.”
“You’ll be fine. Especially with your cute children,” I said.
The little boy and girl sat on the floor a few feet away from us, examining a shoe. We managed to get them into her car and strapped into their car seats in the back.
“Feels good to be driven around,” I teased after she got in the driver’s seat.
“From what I hear back at the shop, I’m a better driver than you.”
I smiled. “I’ll give you that.”
“We there yet?” Michael yelled from the backseat.
Mysteriously, it caused his sister to begin crying her eyes out. Tanesha turned around.
“What’s wrong, baby girl?”
“We’re not there yet,” she sobbed.
“It’s okay. We’ll be there soon.”
As I sat quietly in the front seat, the reality of children in my life hit me. I’d been a bachelor for so long, I wasn’t sure if I was ready to give up my freedom, even for someone as special as Tanesha. She twisted back around and turned the key in the ignition. After a few tentative seconds, the engine caught and fired to life.
“I hate this car,” she said.
“Any car is better than no car.”
“You’re always the optimist, are
n’t you?”
“I try to be.”
“Keep it up. I like it.”
She smiled at me and pulled away. I gave her directions to my mother’s house on the other side of the city in a neighborhood full of other older ladies trying to squeeze as much out of life as they could before they passed on. When she pulled up to the curb of her house and parked, I began to wonder if I’d made a big mistake.
“Help me with them?” she asked.
“Of course. I’ll get Michael,” I said.
He kicked the back of my seat.
Once we got them out of the car, Destiny demanded to be carried, which caused Michael to want the same even those he was five years old. I picked him up and trudged across the lawn to my mother’s porch. At the front door, I knocked twice before opening it and walking in.
“Who is it?” my mother asked, standing up in front of the couch.
“It’s just me, Mom. Settle down.”
“Don’t do that to me, Tony. I told you.”
“I called and said we were coming. Don’t you remember?”
She stood in front of the mauve couch covered in clear plastic.
“This is Tanesha, Destiny, and Michael,” I said, pointing each out. “And this is Nancy, my mother.”
“Hi Nancy,” Tanesha said, stepping forward with her hand out. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Instead of shaking my girlfriend’s hand like any normal mother, she stared at it in contempt.
Tanesha stopped in her tracks, not a woman to take bullshit from anyone. To my surprise and delight, she kept her cool, stopping and reaching down to pick Destiny up again.
“That’s not cool, Mom,” I said. “Tanesha is my girlfriend.”
“You get the kids in the package with this hussy too?”
“Whoa!” I said, holding up my hands and crossing the room to put myself between Tanesha and my mother.
“I’d like to go, please,” Tanesha said.
“Let’s get out of here.”
“Go ahead, leave your mother high and dry again.”
Tanesha spun around. “Look, I don’t know you, but your son has gone through a lot to help you out. He’s a good guy, and I love him. End of story.”
The two women in my life eyed each other like wrestlers in the ring for the championship belt.
