by Lady J
“So, what’s the plan?” Meek asked.
“Well, I been watching this old cat for a minute now. He comes into the barber shop every Saturday to get a fresh cut. Every week he always pulls up in a clean ass car, bumping his music all loud and shit. He stays dressed fresh and be sporting these thick ass gold rope chains. He wears a gold Rolex watch on his left wrist and diamond pinky ring on his right hand.”
“Damn, you been stalking this nigga, ain’t it?” Meek cut him off.
“Bro, just listen. This old nigga is eating good. I overheard from one of the barbers that the man had over five hundred thousand that he keeps in a safe at his house,” Nino finished.
“Oh, worrdd?” Meek’s eyes grew wide as his brother’s last statement grabbed his attention. “Keep talking,” Meek said. They both took a seat on the pavement of the rooftop and got comfortable.
“Bro,” Nino started then paused to take a puff of the Black & Mild. “This is it, mane, this the lick we need to get the fuck up out of here for good,” he stated.
Nino had never robbed anyone, but he knew if they could get their hands of that type of money, then they’d be able to eat good for a while. He had his little narrow mind set on the money and the money only. He never once thought about what it would take to get it.
“Who is this dude, man? You keep talking, but you ain’t gave me a name yet,” Meek said.
“Man, I don’t know that nigga’s name. I wasn’t trying to hear all that. All I was interested in was that Rolie on that nigga’s wrist and that Beamer he was wiping. Check this…”
Nino paused once more and pulled a folded up piece of notebook paper out of his back pocket. He unfolded the sheet of ripped paper and handed it to Meek. Meek quietly looked over what Nino had written down on the paper.
“Fool, what’s this?” Meek questioned, unsure of what he was seeing.
“That’s that man’s address,” Nino stated with a huge grin on his face as he rubbed his hands together.
“Dude, how you get this?” Meek asked curiously.
“I followed his ass.”
“How, nigga? You ain’t got no car.” Meek gave his brother a crazy stare, awaiting his answer.
“Well, you know that bike Greg keeps chained up in the back of the barber shop?” Nino grinned.
“Man, I know you didn’t follow that man all the way to the fucking south side on no damn ten speed bike?” Meek questioned, followed by laughter.
“Hell yeah, I did. I wasn’t gon’ keep up with his ass if I’d tried to walk.” They shared a laugh at Nino’s last statement. “I had to peddle my ass off. Nigga, my calf muscles was burning like a motherfucker by the time I got my ass back to the shop.”
The two laughed so hard that tears started to fall from Meek’s eyes. When the laughter came to an end, it set in on Meek that his little brother was plotting up on robbing someone. He had to step up as his older brother and try to change his mind.
“On some real shit, bro, I don’t think we need to be hitting no licks. I mean, just think about this shit really good for a minute before you do this shit, bro,” Meek advised Nino. “You know what Mama always say, everything that glitters ain’t gold, and all money at good money.” Meek shoved the piece of paper back into the palm of his brother’s hand and got up from the ground of the roof top. “Come on, man, Mama will be home soon, and you know she gone curse our asses out if we don’t have this place cleaned up.” He held out his hand to help Nino up from the ground, but Nino refused by shaking his head.
“Naw, man, I’ma chill right here for a minute,” Nino said, and Meek left him on the roof.
Later on that night as Meek lay across one of the small twin size beds in the bedroom he shared with his brother, he heard a light tapping on the bedroom window. Meek crawled out of his bed and went over to the window to see who was there. He pulled the curtain back and peered through the window to see Nino standing on the other side.
“Open the window.” He mouthed to Meek. Meek unlocked the window and slid it all the way up. “Where Mama at?” Nino asked peeping around the bedroom.
“Out looking for your lil bad ass. Get in here before she gets back. You know she gone kill yo ass, right?” Meek teased as he helped his brother climb through the window.
“No she ain’t, not once she sees this.” Nino pulled a fat stack of hundred dollar bills from his coat and jeans pockets. He tossed it all on the bed then began to dig around in his pants.
Nino pulled out more money, a small jar of marijuana, and a gold Rolex and chain. He tossed the jar of weed to Meek. “Roll up, we about to smoke good tonight,” he said after he had emptied his pockets.
“Boy, what hell is all of this?” Meek asked, looking down at all the cash spread around the bed. He slowly walked over and begin to count the bills with his eyes. “There’s gotta be like ten grand here.” Meek flopped to the floor on his knees and started to count the money.
“It’s fifteen thousand. That’s all I could get away with. I literally had to torture the hell out of that old ass nigga trying to get him to open up that damn safe. I must’ve hit his ass about twenty times with the pistol, and his ass still wouldn’t give up the code. I just gave up and started snatching shit up he had laying around the house,” Nino said as he forced the gold Rolex onto his wrist and put the chain around his neck. “Yeah boy,” Nino said flicking his wrist back and forth in front of Meek’s face.
“Mane, you tripping, bro. I told you not to do that shit.” Meek stood up, turned and pushed his little brother angrily. He was so pissed that he didn’t listen to him.
“Man, chill, bro. I got away with it, damn,” Nino said, taking his pistol out that was tucked into the waist band of his cargo pants. The handle of the gun was bloody and the entire clip was missing.
“This what you robbed him with? A gun with no bullets? Nigga, are you crazy? You could have been killed.”
Tap! Tap!
Meek quickly opened his eyes and snapped his head toward the car window. He rubbed his eyes then looked down at the time displayed on the home screen of his cell phone and realized he had fallen asleep in the car.
“Bae, come in this house and get in the bed.” Moe was standing there in her house coat and slippers.
Three
Carmen sat on the edge of Roshel’s hospital bed braiding her hair into two French braids. “Boo, I’m braiding your hair so it won’t get all matted up and stuff. You know how it be when we sleep on our hair.”
She talked to Ro as if she was coherent and could understand everything she was saying. She hadn’t been home; she refused to leave Roshel’s room. Every other hour she would call her mother’s house and check up on Kira. Carmen stayed glued to Ro’s side. She was so convinced that Ro was going to open her eyes at any moment, and she wanted to be there when she did.
Carmen laughed lightly at the old episode of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air playing on the TV. “Ro, you remember we used to watched this all the time at yo mom’s crib when y’all used to stay in the projects?” She laughed to herself once more. “Yeah, those were the days,” she said as she finished the two French braids in Roshel’s hair. She slowly slid from the bed, stepped back, and admired the work she had done. “Ohhh girl, you cute.”
Carmen stood there for a moment staring down on Roshel. Her eyes were closed and she had a breathing machine hooked up to her mouth and nose to help her breathe. “Why, Ro? Why?” Carmen asked as she shook her head.
She knew that Roshel was a little depressed with being confined to her wheelchair and all, but she never expected her to do something like this. She wished she would have known that she was going to try to harm herself, Carmen would’ve never left her alone in her bedroom. She watched as Ro laid there with IVs and tubes everywhere, helping her live. She just didn’t want to believe that this was it for Ro. With Nino’s death, they couldn’t lose her too.
“Good morning, my loves.” Moenisha floated into the room carrying a brown McDonald’s bag with breakfast for herself and Carmen.
“Any changes?” she asked as she placed the bag of food on the small table in the corner of the room. She then turned and hugged Carmen.
“Nope, no changes yet,” Carmen replied sadly.
She wanted to break down and cry with all of the pressure she had been under lately, but she was all cried out. Her heart literally hurt with every thought of what she’d had to endure. Carmen wanted nothing more than to be happy and she hadn’t truly been happy about her life in years. “Moe, what if…”
Moe put her hand up and stopped Carmen from speaking mid-sentence. “Don’t say it, C, I can’t handle no more of that shit,” she said, knowing that Carmen was about to ask what if Roshel passed. She didn’t want to think about one of her best friends passing away. Moe had never even envisioned her life without the two of them around. She had always pictured that the three of them would be friends until they were all old and gray. “She gon’ pull thru.”
Moe dropped her head and wiped away the one tear that had rolled down the right side of her face. She had been so messed up that crying had seemed to be the only way for her to let it all out. She turned toward the counter and began to separate the food in the bag.
“Here, you need to put something on your stomach,” she said, passing the food to Carmen. She then pulled a chair close to Ro’s bedside and sat and ate quietly. She watched her friend closely as her eyelids jumped as if she was about to open them.
Moe prayed to herself that she would, but they never opened. Deep down, Moe felt sorry for Roshel. She had been through so much, and now was laying up in a University of Miami Hospital fighting for her life.
“How’s Meek holding up?” Carmen asked while hopping up and sitting in the windowsill. She peered out, looking over the city as she stuffed the dry sausage biscuit in her mouth.
“Girl, I just had to wake his ass up. He left the house in the middle of the night last night, and this morning I found him asleep in the car,” Moe said between bites. “I don’t know, C, wit’ everything that’s going on, I’m just praying that he doesn’t go and get himself into any more trouble than he’s already in. And I damn sure ain’t trying to see him six feet under.” Moe stopped speaking and looked down at the beautiful engagement ring on her ring finger. She cleared her throat, then asked, “You think we should get married before his trial?” Carmen was still gazing out the window. “Carmen! Did you hear me?” Moe asked when she never responded.
“Huh? What was that?” Carmen replied.
She was too busy caught up in the worries of her own life, which seemed to be heading down the drain. “I didn’t hear a thing,” she said.
“I said, do you think we should get married before the trial?” Moe repeated her question.
“Duh, Moe, of course do it before. If not, you might not get the chance to do it at all, and I know your ass don’t wanna get married in some dusty old prison, do you?” Carmen asked.
“Hell no, girl. I’ve always envisioned a big beautiful wedding. I saw myself walking down the aisle in a flawless gown with my makeup and hair all done up, with you and Ro as my bridesmaids, and you know I want my Godchild to be my flower girl.” Moe went on and on about the fantasy weeding she dreamed of, but no matter if it happened just the way she foresaw it or not, she was still happy to become Mrs. Dameeko Brown. “You’re right, C,” Moe said.
Staring at Ro, Moe wished she would move or open her eyes. She didn’t see herself getting married without her two best friends standing right by her side. It killed her on the inside to know that none of their lives would ever be the same if Ro didn’t pull through. She quickly shook off the thought and replaced it with a more pleasant one. Daydreaming about herself and Meek walking down the aisle, she saw herself wearing the white princess wedding gown of her dreams as she made her way to her husband to be. She wondered if her father would still give her away if he knew she was marrying a man who was going off to prison. She became even more worried knowing she had to tell her parents that Meek was a soon to be felon. Moe already suspected that they wouldn’t agree with it and would probably try to change her mind, but no matter what, she was going to stick by her man’s side.
“Look! Look, Moe, her eyes are moving!” Carmen hopped down from the windowsill. She ran over to Ro’s bedside and called her name softly. “Wake up, baby girl, please,” she begged, hoping Roshel would hear her and do as she said. “Come on, come on!” she chanted.
“Carmen, Ro’s eyes have been jumping like that ever since I sat down,” Moe said, killing her hopes.
Carmen screwed up her face and pouted as if she was disappointed, walked back over to the window, and flopped back down on the windowsill. She folded her hands across her chest then dropped her head.
“So, have you made a decision yet?” Moe asked.
“About what?” Carmen replied, lifting her head to give Moe her attention.
“About the baby. Or did you forget you were with child?” She pointed to her belly.
“Oh, yeah, I umm, I don’t know yet, Moe. I mean, I want to and I feel like it would be the best thing for me, but Trent…” Carmen paused when Moe held her hand up in the air.
“Stop right there.” Moe was sick and tired of Carmen putting Trent’s selfish ass before herself and her child. “You think this baby is going to change the way he treats you or something, Carmen?” She asked, but didn’t give Carmen a chance to answer her question. “It’s not going to change a thing. You have to think about yourself. For once, put you and Kira first.”
“I know, I know, but he doesn’t want me to do it. He practically begged me not to,” she said, retrieving her phone from the charger plugged into the wall. She quickly scrolled through the received text messages until she found Trent’s name. She opened the message then handed the phone to Moenisha. “This is what he sent me.”
Moe read the extra long text message from Trent, begging and whining over and over like he always does whenever he fucks things up with Carmen. Moe shook her head because this was not the first time she had heard Trent say that he’ll never hurt her again, and Carmen was so weak minded to the point that she always believed him.
Carmen, baby I know things have been shaky between us lately, but I love you girl. I need you and my daughter in my life, and I want the little one you’re carrying too. I want us all to be a family. You, me, Kira and the baby. All I want is you. Please believe me baby. All them other women ain’t got shit on you. I was just fucking them hoes but you and me, we got something special, the text message read.
“I bet he told his other bitch the same dame thing,” Moe said, shoving Carmen back her cell phone. “Look, I gotta get down there to the shop. Since all this is going on, we won’t be working the blocks until it all blows over, so that’s all the money Meek and I have coming in right now.” She stood and walked over to Roshel’s bedside.
After softly placing a kiss on her forehead, she grabbed her things then headed for the door. Moe stopped and turned to face Carmen before she left the room. “I love you, sis.” she said right before she walked out the door.
Four
Moenisha swerved trough the Miami traffic like she was racing with time. She had so much on her mind that she hadn’t even bothered to look down at the speedometer to see how fast she was actually traveling. It was now all up to her to make sure she and Meek survived. While he was at home getting some much needed rest, she headed into work. Although smiling in these bitches’ faces was the last thing she wanted to do after the day she’d had yesterday, life had to continue on. She knew that being strong was the only thing she could do, not only for herself, but her man and her friends as well.
“Good morning, everyone,” Moenisha spoke as she glided into the salon as if nothing was bothering her at all. “I said, GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!” She raised her voice and spoke again, forcing everyone in the room to acknowledge her presence.
“Good morning, Moe.” Every other stylist responded in unison.
“Now that’s better,” Moe stated as she forced the f
akest smile on her face. As she made her way to her station, she was approached by one of the stylists.
“Umm, what the hell happened yesterday with your ole man’s brother? I saw something about it on the news,” she said.
Moe gave her a weird look as if she was confused; she had no idea that Nino’s shooting had made the news. Lost for words to say, Moe slowly nodded her head and backed away. Nino’s death was still very fresh on the streets, and there were plenty of people talking about the young man who had gotten caught up in the streets and now was gone way too soon.
Moe turned on her heels and headed straight toward the shampoo room. For the first time, she didn’t know how to respond. For the remainder of the day she stayed to herself and tried to have as little conversation with the other women as possible because she was already ready to kill a bitch after all she’d been through in the past twenty-four hours. When her shift was over, she snatched off her smock, collected her daily pay, and headed for her car.
Once inside, she sat there, trying to get her thoughts together the best she could before she started her car. Moe peered into her rearview mirror when she heard a car pulling into the space behind her. That’s when she noticed the black duffle bag sitting on the floorboard of the back seat. The urge to open it and take a look inside was too much to resist. She saw the AR with the drum still attached to it and some of Meek’s other guns. What did he do? she asked herself. Moe popped the trunk from the inside of her car, got out, and quickly shoved the duffle bag inside.
As she traveled home, she made sure to do the speed limit. Having an illegal assault weapon in the trunk of her car meant she had to be as cautious as possible. One wrong move could land her in prison. Moenisha kept her eyes glued to the road, and every now and then she would peep into her rearview. It wasn’t until she was two blocks from home that she noticed the light blue Nissan Altima following her only a few cars behind. She quickly made a right turn and then a left, just to see if the car was keeping up. When the light blue car made the very same right and left turns, she knew something was up.
