That afternoon Mya strolled in after twelve when she knew my mother would be out buying her drug and liquor supply for the night. I was in my room studying.
“Hey, did Mom notice that I was gone?”
“Of course she did. I thought you weren’t going to stay out all night. You know she came in here hitting me this morning. Mya, why do you always do that when you know what she’s going to do to me?”
“Sorry, Sugar, but I was having so much fun with Marlo and I didn’t want to leave,” she spoke, before kicking off her shoes.
“Marlo! So that’s his name? Did you have sex with him?” I asked angrily.
“Of course I did. I needed some sexual healing!” she said, laughing.
“I don’t think it’s funny, Mya!” I yelled.
“Well, I do! I enjoyed myself. And quit yelling before Mom hears you.”
“Whatever,” I said before tuning her out.
I learned early on that Mya didn’t care about anyone but Mya. Too bad for me that I cared about her. The following day I went to school as usual and to my part-time job at Bloomingdale’s afterwards. I loved my job; it was the only time I was ever able to be around designer clothing. I even tried different outfits on some days just to pretend that I was actually going to buy them.
I dealt with the rude customers, and it didn’t bother me half as bad as the treatment that I received at home. I was constantly looked down on for working in a department store, but I didn’t care because I was working to save money for my college education.
I caught the bus to work and greeted everyone as I clocked in. I felt like today was going to be a long day. I normally worked in the children’s department, but I was placed in the women’s shoe department due to a call-out.
This day was the day that would eventually change my life, and though I didn’t find out until weeks later I should have predicted it. I was summoned by a customer for help, and I instantly noticed her beauty. This woman stood about five-foot nine, perfect shape and flawless face. Her make-up was perfect as if it had been professionally applied. I tried not to stare, but I was mesmerized. I jumped at the chance to meet her even if only to get the shoes that she wanted from the stock room.
“Hi, how can I help you?” I asked nervously.
“Can I see these in a size seven?” She passed me three pairs of Marc Jacobs pumps.
“Sure, I’ll be right back!” I said, smiling before going in the back to search for the shoes. I rushed because I didn’t want her to get impatient. Once I was back on to the sales floor she was sitting down, waiting for me to return.
“OK, I’ve found all three. Just let me know if you need anything else.”
“Would you mind giving me your opinion?”
“No. Not at all,” I said anxiously.
She tried on each pair and I told her how good each pair looked on her feet. I wasn’t gay by far, but to be honest, she was the prettiest woman I had ever seen. She thanked me and ended up purchasing all three pairs of shoes, totaling $1,195.
“Thanks a lot! What’s your name?” she asked.
“Sugar!”
“Is that you real name?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you ever think about modeling or anything? You have a really pretty face.”
“Not at all! No one has ever told me I was pretty,” I said, shocked by the comment. My mother told me that I was her ugliest child and that no man would ever look my way.
Her predictions had been accurate thus far, because this mystery customer was the first person to ever speak those words to me.
“Well, here’s my card. Call me and maybe I can hook you up with a job, then you can afford to buy the same stuff that you sell!” She smiled.
“OK, thank you Ms . . .”
“Dyna, the name’s Dyna. I’ll look forward to hearing from you.” She smiled and reached out to shake my hand and give me her business card.
“OK,” I said, putting the business card into my back pants pocket.
I continued work, still in pain from the blow I received from my mother the day before. I caught the bus home and dreaded going in, afraid of what would be waiting on me when I got there. I never knew what to expect going home. Mya went to a different school than I did, so I was never sure if she went to school or not. Every night when I would come home from work I was afraid that I would be beaten if Mya had missed school that day. I entered the apartment and found Mya and my father sitting on the sofa watching the television.
“Hey, baby! How was work?” my father asked.
“Fine,” I said blandly before walking into my bedroom.
My father, unlike my mother, never abused me. Though he smoked the same amount of crack that my mother did, his attitude was totally different. I loved my father, but was always afraid to show it because of my mother’s jealous actions. If he showed us any attention when she was around, we were sure to be punished for it later. Mya was always closer to my father than I was. I guess that she wasn’t as afraid of my mother as I was, because her beatings were never as brutal as mine. I entered my room and followed my daily routine of homework and then shortly after fell to sleep.
I went to school the following day as usual. I went to all of my classes and sat and ate lunch alone waiting for Marissa to arrive. I didn’t have many friends—truthfully I only had one true friend and that was Marissa. Marissa was normal, nothing really striking about her appearance. She was raised by her mother who worked as a maid most of her life. The money that her mother made was never really enough to supply Marissa and her siblings with good clothing. They were forced to wear clothes from random thrift shops and hand-me-downs. I met her in fifth grade, and we had been best friends ever since. There were many times that we were in fights because people constantly picked on both of us. Me, I wasn’t wearing thrift shop clothing, but I wasn’t pretty and I was overweight. Plus the fact that I always had a bruised face or busted lip from my mother didn’t help. Marissa was pretty, but she didn’t stand out because of her attire, and she was ridiculed constantly because of it. We would both fight for each other, and never thought twice about doing anything different. I sat at the table for a few minutes before she decided to show up at lunch.
“What’s up, what took you so long?” I asked.
“I had to finish up my test, sorry! No one messed with you did they?”
“No, I’m fine. You know I got in trouble this weekend for Mya again.”
“You know, if I was you I would beat her up every time I got in trouble for her. That’s crazy that she doesn’t even care.”
“Mya only cares about herself. Maybe if I didn’t care about her it wouldn’t bother me as much.”
“Well you need to be more like her, stop caring!”
“It’s easy to say that, but she is my little sister.”
“I know, but it’s a shame. Well, you’ll be graduating soon and you can go to college and be rid of all of their crazy asses!” she said, laughing.
The next three months flew by. My mother and father didn’t even attend my graduation, but I didn’t care. I was proud of myself if no one else was. After graduating and returning home to the apartment, my mother said that she forgot all about it. I knew that was a lie and I also knew that my father didn’t come because my mother wouldn’t allow him to. I began working full-time during the weeks after school was over. My daily routine was soon without any incident until Mya decided to get pregnant. I came home from work to our small two-bedroom apartment and found my mother sitting on the sofa. I figured my father was probably out hustling up some more drug money. I sat my bag down and was instantly approached by my mother.
“Did you know that your sister was pregnant?” she yelled.
“What?”
“You heard me, your little ho-ass sister got herself pregnant. Where the hell were you? Too busy worrying about yourself to do what I told you to do.”
“Mom, I am working to go to college.”
“Fuck that! You ain’t ever goi
ng to be shit anyway, so you are wasting your time. I told you to be responsible for your sister, very simple and you couldn’t do that. How the fuck do you think that you will finish college?” She began laughing.
“I will finish, and I don’t find anything funny. Mya is old enough to be responsible for herself.”
She smacked me making me fall to the floor. “Who the fuck are you talking to?” she yelled.
I got up off the floor angry. I could no longer hold back all of the built up anger that I carried all of those years that I had been abused. I could no longer be subjected to her abuse for things that I didn’t do. I stood there rubbing my swollen lip as she yelled more obscenities in my face. I balled up my fist, and after too many “bitches” that she called me, I began punching her repeatedly. She fell to the floor with me on top of her, and I continued beating her until I was exhausted. Her emaciated frame was nothing compared to mine. I jumped up, grabbed my bag, and ran out of the apartment crying. I was hurt because it had been going on too long. I had enough at that point and I didn’t care what happened to my mother after that. I wanted her out of my life.
I took a little money out of my bank account and stayed at a hotel that night. The hotel was nothing spectacular, but it was much more than the apartment that I had shared with my family. I took a long hot bath, and I quickly fell to sleep on the queen-sized bed that was much more comfortable than the twin size mattress on the floor that was my bed before. That was the first night that I didn’t have to wear my headphones to block out the noise around me. That was my first peaceful sleep, and I had waited long enough to have it.
Chapter 2
Good for the Gander . . .
I woke up the next morning and calculated my funds. I figured out that with the amount of money that I had saved all that I could spare was about three more days of stay at the hotel. I looked through my purse counting every nickel, dime and penny to add that to my total spending amount. While searching through my purse, I came across the business card that I had got from Dyna at Bloomingdale’s. The card read, DYMES EXOTIC ESCORTS SERVICES. I had never read the card after she had given it to me, so the nature of her business shocked me.
I knew that the escort business was nothing but a fancy name for prostitution. I now knew how she could afford the nice things that she had. I decided to give her a call, hoping that maybe she could help me out. Dialing the number I was nervous, it rang twice before someone answered.
“Dymes. How can I help you?” the woman spoke.
“Hi, is Dyna available?” I asked nervously.
“May I ask who’s calling and what’s the nature of this call?”
“My name is Sugar. She gave me her business card months ago and told me to give her a call.”
“OK, please hold.”
After a beep and a few rings, “Hello!”
“Hi, this is Sugar. Is this Dyna?”
“Hi Sugar, I’m surprised to hear from you. I gave you that card so long ago.”
“So you remember me? I just found your card today in my purse.”
“How could I forget a name like Sugar?” she giggled before speaking again. “Well, do you want to come down and talk? I know things must not be shaping up for you if you are calling me.”
“Yeah, I can come down. I’m off work today, so what time is good?”
“As soon as you can get here is fine with me.”
“OK.”
She gave me the directions to her business before hanging up. Though I was a little nervous about the meeting because I wasn’t sure what to expect, I was very anxious to find out. I quickly got dressed and caught three buses and walked five blocks to reach the Dymes headquarters. It was a small building located in Center City. The building had a storefront with the name DYMES CLOTHING on the banner. I entered the clothing store and asked the sales woman where I could find Dyna. After making a phone call, she directed me to a door at the back of the store that led to stairs. I walked up the steps and knocked on the door. I was greeted by Dyna, dressed from head to toe in designer clothing. I dreamed of the day I would be able to don the type of clothing she wore, but the small amount of money I was paid at Bloomingdale’s would never be enough to afford them.
“Hey, girl. I was just talking about you. Come in. Sugar, this is Meeka. Meeka, meet Sugar.”
“Hello!” I said, giving a slow wave.
“What’s up?” Meeka said, giving me an evil grin.
I wasn’t sure what that look was about, but I really wasn’t concerned with it at the time.
“Would you excuse us, Meeka? I’ll finish up with you when I’m done.”
“Cool!” Meeka said before leaving the room.
“Have a seat,” Dyna instructed. “So, how old are you Sugar?”
“I’m eighteen.”
“So, what made you call me?”
“I had a big fight with my mom and I left home. I decided to leave for good to work on myself.”
As I sat there recounting the story, I held back my tears. I hated the fact that my family was so dysfunctional, and it was embarrassing telling someone that I didn’t even know. At the time I felt like I didn’t have anyone else to talk to, and I hoped she would somehow be able to help me.
“Well, I can help you, but I don’t know what kind of help you are willing to receive.”
“I need a place to stay. I’m staying at a hotel now. I need clothes, shoes, I don’t have anything.”
“Well, I can help you with that. It’s nothing, but what will you do for me in return?” she responded, while giving a slight grin.
“I’m a virgin, so I definitely can’t be an escort,” I quickly admitted before she got the wrong idea. I needed help, but if that was the only way that I could get it, I surely wasn’t interested.
Laughing, “I didn’t expect that. I could put you on my promotion team. You can go around passing out business cards and flyers, so some of the top neighborhood hustlers can be targeted. I have a range of clients, and I mostly get my high-end clients online, but the hustlers never go online. Shit, some of them don’t even own computers. My business front is the clothing store and adult entertainment. The online thing has been working so far, but I need more men to know about the services.”
“That’s all? I can do that. That’s not a problem at all.”
“OK, well here’s my American Express card. I’ll have one of the girls drive you to the mall and you can buy what you need.”
“Are you serious?” I was shocked because I couldn’t believe that she had given me a job so quickly, let alone giving me her credit card to spend money freely.
“Of course. I believe in you. You might make me a lot of money one day. I’m also going to let you stay at my crib too, but we’ll talk about that later.”
I wasn’t sure what she meant by that, but I was so wrapped up in my excitement that I ignored her comment. “Well how much am I supposed to spend?”
“Two or three G’s. Whatever, it’s cool. I’ll get Nina to drive you,” she said before calling Nina, the woman who greeted me in the clothing store downstairs.
I thanked Dyna in advance for all of her help. Nina waited for me and showed me to her car. I was still in disbelief. I couldn’t really wrap my mind around the fact that someone was actually being nice to me and that they actually cared. Growing up with a family where you never really mattered, coming into this was definitely a treat. Once in the car, Nina began a conversation with me.
“So, where did you meet Dyna?”
“While I was at work, at Bloomingdale’s. How about you?”
“She’s my cousin.”
“Do you work as an escort?”
“No, I work in the store and do runs for her. She pays me good money for it though.”
“That’s cool.”
“So, how old are you? Because you look like a baby.”
“I’m eighteen. I just graduated from high school. I’m planning on going to college.”
She began laughing, “Th
at’s a good dream!”
“What’s so funny about that?”
“Nothing, except the fact that every girl that works for Dyna including Dyna had the same dream. Look where they are now!”
Ignoring that comment, I asked, “Meeka, who is she to Dyna?”
“That’s her girlfriend!”
“Her girlfriend? Dyna’s gay?”
“She’s bisexual, like most of the girls here.”
“Wow, that’s crazy.” I would have never suspected a woman as beautiful as Dyna would be sexing another woman.
“Get used to it, baby girl. It’s a lot more to come!”
I wondered what Nina meant by the comments that she made. I knew for a fact that I was going to finish school. I felt like this experience was just a stepping-stone, helping me to save the money that I needed for my education. Nina and I drove to the King of Prussia Mall to begin my shopping spree. Nina and I talked the entire time that we shopped. The experience was weird because I had never been out shopping with a friend before. Though I had just met Nina, I felt that eventually her and me would be really close.
The shopping outing lasted about three hours and I spent about $2,500. I bought every designer thing that I had dreamed of. I did most of my shopping in Bloomingdale’s courtesy of my employee discount.
After leaving the mall, we returned to the store, and Dyna and I left to go to her house. It was a beautiful five-bedroom house in Delaware County. Every room was filled with designer furniture and accessories. I complimented her on every room that I entered.
“So, who lives here with you?”
“You now and Meeka.”
“I want to thank you for all that you are doing. I’ve never had anyone stick their neck out for me. No one ever showed me that they cared about me.”
“It’s no problem. I care about all of the girls that I work with, and I do my best to keep a family-oriented atmosphere. You’ll see that we are all so close and my girls never want to leave. Some of them have been working with me since the day I started this business. Any of them will tell you that working for me was the best decision that they ever made. They could have all gone to college, but they would have never been making the profits that they make now. But I don’t want to bore you with all of this family talk because we have things to do. I’m going to take you to my hairdresser and get your hair done. Then we’ll get your nails and feet done. You’re going to be the perfect promoter,” she said, as she smiled.
Sugar Walls Page 2
