“I’m trying to get to the bottom of that,” she said as her cell phone rang. “Thanks for your concern, Mr. Donaldson,” Sophia said and hung up the phone then answered her cell. “Hello, Eric,” she said as she stood up. “We need to talk.”
“Yeah, that’s why I’m calling. I realize that we’ve been…”
“Eric, I’m really busy right now but I need to see you around eight. Is that alright?”
“Yes, I’ll take you and Dee…”
“No, Eric, just me and you. Please, honey.”
“Okay, babe, that’s not a problem.”
Eric hung up the phone with a feeling of triumph. Maybe getting away from Sophia and everything else had been a good thing overall, he thought. He had not really expected Sophia to be so cool but it seemed she had calmed down a lot. That was surprising since she really went off on Friday night consumed by her assumptions. Sophia had not given him any real choice but to take the time off. I’m gonna make it all better later tonight, Eric thought entering the recording studio.
TWENTY-NINE
Deedee sat up in bed when her cell phone rang. She wondered for a moment if her uncle was calling her back. She knew it was a forwarded call when she looked at the caller ID. “Hello?” Deedee said.
“Hey,” a girl’s voice came back at her.
“Hey, who’s this?”
“It hasn’t been that long. I am speaking to Deedee, right?” the caller asked.
“Yes, you are,” Deedee replied nervously.
“Deedee, you don’t remember me? It’s Josephine, bitch,” the caller answered.
Deedee couldn’t believe her ears for a minute and then she screamed excitedly, “Oh, my god, Jo! What’s up, girl? Where are you calling from?”
“I’m at the W Hotel, downtown. Where are you?”
“I’m at 86th Street and West End.”
“Wait a minute, you guys moved?”
“No, no. Something happened and...”
“Yo, da shooting, that was y’all? That’s one of the reasons I was calling. Like, what da fuck happened?” Josephine asked and Deedee could hear the excitement in her voice. She could also hear an ensuing argument in the background. Deedee lowered the volume on the television in an attempt to hear the argument. Deedee heard the squabble going on in the background. Josephine did not utilize the mute button and everything was crystal clear.
“I just said you curse too much…”
“Neither you or daddy listen to me when I be talking to you but now you wanna tell me what to do now? Come on, Mommy, get real.”
“Jo, you can call me at another time.”
“No, it’s all good, girlfriend. I don′t know what’s popping with the ol’ biddy,” Josephine said then Deedee heard another argument breaking out. “Yes, I’m talking about you. Who else is an ol’ biddy here? Certainly not me,” Deedee heard Josephine saying. “Hold on a sec, Dee.”
Deedee looked at the telephone with curiosity. It was plain to see that Josephine and her mother had serious problems. From the tone in Josephine’s voice, they were going for each other’s throat. A few minutes later, Josephine returned to the telephone.
“Let me get off this phone. Where can we meet? We’re about thirty blocks apart.”
“Let’s meet at the café at Sixty Sixth and First Avenue in about an hour,” Deedee said.
“Okay, Sixty Sixth and First Ave. You know I ain’t been in the city in a minute. These pretenders had me locked away out in the boonies, girl. I’ll tell you all about it and why I ain’t going back with them. See ya later, Dee,” Josephine said and just before she could hang up, Deedee heard the girl ask. “Yo, Dee, have you spoken to Coco lately?”
“We were together on Friday. I haven’t spoken to her since then.”
“And she probably still don’t have a damn phone. Her mother still smoking?”
“I don’t know? I have a number though...” Deedee started only to be cut off by the excited Josephine.
“Will Smith was right,” Josephine said.
“About what?” Deedee asked.
“Parents just don’t understand,” Josephine said laughing. “See ya in a minute, girl,” she said finally.
“Alright then. I can’t wait to see you,” Deedee said. Before putting the telephone down, she could still hear the ongoing argument between Josephine and her mother in the background.
She sprang from the bed and was in the bathroom showering and pondering the possibility of seeing Josephine. They could probably hang out and do some shopping, Deedee thought. She had been given a line of credit and never used it before. There could never be a more perfect time, she thought while staring at her nude figure in the mirror. Not since before the death of Danielle had the girls hung out. Josephine and her parents had moved out of town immediately following Danielle’s suicide. It wasn’t just a case of another teen suicide to the girls. For Josephine, Coco and Deedee, it was an end to the camaraderie that had been developing since that fateful night when Deedee first met the girls, known as Da Crew.
Back then, they were a singing group with Coco, Danielle and Josephine. From the first time they hung out, Deedee felt like she belonged because the girls welcomed her and made her feel like a part of the group. Then there was the awful rape, she thought fixing her hair as best as she could. Deedee refused to follow this line of thinking and began to search for her hair products. Where is my gel? she wondered as she searched Sophia’s bathroom. I’ll call Coco and see if she wants to hang, she thought as she came across the cordless phone. Deedee dialed Miss Katie’s number.
The older lady answered and told her to hold on. She had to check if Coco was next door. Deedee waited patiently brushing her hair there and trying to find a style that fit. She was thinking of scheduling an appointment with her favorite hair stylist when she heard Coco’s grumpy voice on the phone.
“Sup?” Coco asked. Deedee skipped the attitude in Coco’s cold greeting.
“Guess who called?” she blurted out and immediately realized that Coco wasn’t in the mood to play the guessing games with her. “Josephine called and wants us to meet her at Sixty Sixth and First Ave,” Deedee quickly added.
“Wait up. Jo called, yo?” Coco asked warming up significantly.
“Yep, she called and she wants us to hang with her. We should be meeting in about an hour.”
“Say word?”
“Word up, Coco. You down?” Deedee asked and Coco thought about it. She would not have said yes if it wasn’t for Josephine. Deedee knew she would be down.
“Ahight, yo. I’ll link up with y’all. What’s the name of da place, yo?”
“There’s a café there. I can’t think of the name right now but we’ll wait for you on the corner,” Deedee said.
“Ahight, that sounds good. I’ll see y’all there, yo,” Coco said and hung up.
Deedee replaced the cordless and felt a warm feeling that making up with a friend brought. It shot through her and resulted in a smile on her beautiful face. She fixed her hair and stared in the mirror thinking about what to wear. This should be really great, Deedee thought and hurried from the bathroom.
THIRTY
Coco scratched her head and ass. She thanked Miss Katie just before walking out.
“Thanks Miss Katie. I’m really sorry for bothering you.”
“Oh Coco, don’t be silly, child. You know you’re more than welcome to use the phone anytime you want.”
“That’s really good looking out. I’ll see you later, Miss Katie,” Coco said and walked to her apartment next door. Her mother and Miss Katie had been living next door for all of Coco’s life. Miss Katie was the godmother she always wanted. The old lady had assumed the big responsibility of watching over Coco while her mother was in the drug rehab.
Coco showered and got dressed in her baby blue RocaWear leisure suit with matching New Balance 440 sneakers.
Outside on the streets, Coco eased into her bop and lit a cigarette. She hailed a cab as she inhaled. She knew sh
e was pressed for time and couldn’t rely on the bus. A cab pulled up next to her.
“Where to?”
“I need to make a stop and then go downtown, yo,” Coco said as she jumped into the backseat. The cab driver took off and Coco immediately halted him. “Chill, yo. Can you stop right at the next block, please?” The driver pulled over. “I’ll be right back,” Coco said.
“No, you pay fare first. Three dollars.”
“What? Look, all I’m saying is I’ll be right back and you’re gonna take me downtown.”
“No, you pay now and I wait,” the driver said. Coco handed him three dollars and he drove off as soon as she stepped out.
“You fucking bitch ass,” she yelled after him but the cab was out of earshot. She walked still cursing beneath her breath until she was at the corner of a hundred and tenth. People were standing around the outside of the building. They nodded as Coco walked by and then one joined her.
“Whatcha looking for, ma?” he asked walking next to Coco.
“Whatcha got?” Coco asked.
“I got whatever you want, ma. Whatever you want,” he repeated. This time he was real close and they stopped walking. Coco turned to face him and a smile crossed his face when she pulled out the ten spot. “A dime? This da shizit. You may even want a twenty.” He pulled out a bag and handed it to Coco.
“This is kinda small, yo?”
“Yo, Coco, that’s da real. You know I’m a take care o’ you. Deja was my man and you was his customer. Da nigga ain’t around no mo’ so it’s up to me.”
“That’s why I should get choice bags, cuz.”
“Ma, this is choice weed. This bag’s so nice it got stretch marks on it.” They were both walking down the block haggling over the size of the bag when the shouting began.
“Five-oh!”
Coco heard it all going down around her. Sneakers hit the pavement at rapid speed. The only thing she saw were elbows and asses. She wanted to run but didn’t and glanced around to see the dealer she was talking with being hauled off in a police car.
“You live around here, miss?” Coco heard the question and tried not to be too conspicuous.
“I’m from two blocks over. My cousin lives here. I was getting ready to go but that guy, he was trying to kick it to me talking ‘bout he a playa and all women love him. All kinda stuff, you know...” Coco began and then heard a voice that was familiar.
“Yes, she does live in the neighborhood. I’ll talk to this one,” he said and Coco turned to stare into the eyes of one of the detectives from Friday night. He dragged her back to the van. “I could easily toss you but I’d rather not. You don’t want to be part of this. You don’t wanna be caught up in a bad situation. If I searched you, would I find anything on you?”
“Nope, I don’t have anything on me. Like I was telling the officer, my cousin…”
“Coco, save it. What I really want to know is, when are you gonna come forward and finger who did all that shooting and why? That’s all. Now you may walk away from here with your dime bag o’ weed but if you don’t come forward soon, I’ll see to it that you never purchase another bag of weed again.”
Coco saw the stern look on the face of Detective Hall. She desperately tried to hide the shadow of fear the detective cast on her. Coco unleashed a disarming smile and started chuckling.
“Calm down, detective. You’re letting your job get to ya,” Coco said without batting her brown eyes. They stared at each other. Coco, still smiling, added, “Now, are you gonna arrest me or what?” she asked. It was a bluff she had decided to play out to the end. Coco was aware that she could be locked up on the possession charge if he decided to search her but he would lose a chance to bring her over. He wanted badly to break an important case open more than the need to arrest Coco.
The detective looked at her sternly. He saw that she was street tough. He could’ve pushed her but he needed her to cooperate so he didn’t push the matter any further. Hall pushed his card into her hand as he sent her on her way.
“Not this time, Coco. Get going before I change my mind. Take care,” the detective said and went stone-faced. Coco wanted nothing else but just to keep on walking. She had secured the bag of weed and that was her purpose for being on this block. Hall may have known that. Not looking back, she raised her hand and another cab stopped. Coco jumped in the cab and from the backseat, she surveyed the scene of the police raid.
“Sixty sixth and First,” she said as the cab drove off. From the rear of the cab, she could see the police searching the dealers one by one. Then each was cuffed and taken into the van. Coco kept her eyes on the activity until the whole scene disappeared from her view.
As the cab ride trailed through heavy traffic on the streets of the busy city, Coco could see the early sunshine of late April. She passed by the park with its patches of green grass and flowers blooming but could not stop her mind from stressing what had just happened. Was that detective trying to harass her deliberately? Of course, she thought. He needed a way of getting at Eric Ascot the way the world wanted to get at O.J.‚ anyway possible. Coco sat back and whistled to a jazz number piping through the car speaker.
THIRTY-ONE
It was a windy spring afternoon and the sun shone beautifully. A warm breeze rustled the branches of the trees and stirred the birds nestled in the kindling. On the corner of 66th and 1st Avenue, the streetlight changed and Deedee looked around to see if she was in the right place. She checked her watch then glanced through the crowd trying to find Josephine’s face. She was trying to remember what the girl looked like when she felt someone grab her from behind, immediately bringing a scream out of Deedee.
“Josephine, is that you girl?” Deedee shouted. She heard the laughter and turned to see Jo doubled over in laughter. “Girl, you crazy. Don’t you know you’re in the city? You almost scared the bejesus outta me,” Deedee said and fixed her hair.
“Whassup? Whassup? Whassup, Dee? You’re still looking really, really fly, girlfriend. How’re ya doing?” Josephine could not stop chuckling.
Hearing the compliment and knowing what she had been through trying to get dressed, Deedee smiled but deep down inside, something made her feel like wiping the smile from Josephine’s lips for scaring her. Dee knew she had made the right choice in going with her black D&G jeans. They complimented her figure.
“I see your time away from the city hasn’t changed you much. Once a city girl, you can never go back. You know what I mean, right?” Josephine asked and Deedee gave her a hug. They embraced like lost ones finding each other again.
“You’re looking good. I mean, like you’ve been working out a lil’ sump’n,” Deedee said with a wink as they released each other from their embrace.
“I’ve been on the cheerleading team, been running track and playing basketball.” Josephine waved her hands over her body like an artist proudly introducing his work. “When you’re bored, you find a creative outlet. I was a finalist for the Hornet’s cheerleading squad but then they moved outta town.”
“Who are the Hornets?”
“Oh, they’re the basketball team from the town where I was living.”
“Get out. Josephine, that would be so you. I mean, you can dance your ass off.”
“Well, I’m glad you feel that way cuz my asshole of a mother feels that it’s downright disgraceful for anyone to make their living dancing.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Outside of ballet and that kind of stuff, she thinks all other types of dancing for money is like being a stripper. When I first brought her the application, she told me, ‘You might as well tell me to sign this paper so you can be a stripper’,” Josephine mimicked and Deedee made a incredulous face.
“Now, that’s bad.”
“It’s all good though. I made her sign that shit like quick fast in a hurry. Where’s Coco? That girl’s still moving like a snail, I see.”
“She should be here soon. I told her we’d be here waiting.”
&n
bsp; “You should never have told that girl that. Now she gonna be taking her sweet ol’ time. Anyway, how ya doing, Deedee?”
“I’m kinda, you know, trying to get it together. We had a bad weekend and I...”
“That’s right! I saw that shit on the news, girl.”
Josephine seemed to get too excited at recalling the news. She watched Josephine closely then asked, “How long were you out in the country, Jo?”
“I’m loud, right? It’s been too fucking long and I ain’t going back to that boring ass place. Ya heard it here first. I’m staying in the city,” Josephine proclaimed while Deedee stared in amazement. “Where’s that bitch, Coco, at?”
“Here she comes,” Deedee whispered beneath the chatter.
Eyes turned, riveted on the five-foot-eight, athletically built girl with smooth as chocolate skin. Something about Coco’s graceful motions caused her to stand out amongst the sidewalk crowd. From across the street, Deedee and Josephine watched as Coco braced herself in anticipation of street traffic. Her mass of brown hair was an untamed Afro celebration. The tresses shadowed her determined cheekbones. Watching her glide was like listening to her lyrical flow. She was smooth action.
It was easy the way she raised her hand and waved a peace sign to a passerby. Coco’s big brown eyes squinted to shield her vision from the rays of the relentless sun. Graceful, she expertly navigated traffic as she crossed the busy city street. Not waiting for the streetlight, her bop came easy when she was on the less busy side. Resplendent and breezy in her blue RocaWear leisure, her eyes sparkled when she spotted the girls. It had been a long time and none of them could hold back the excitement.
“Coco, you’re looking all that and the chips. You’re so cool,” Josephine shrieked. She was taller in a pair of Moschino jeans and denim shirt but it was the three-inch heels that made her even sexier. Her brown eyes twinkled with delight. Coco grabbed her arms.
“Josephine, you’re so crazy. You’re looking really fresh, girl,” Coco said. “Girl, what happened to you?”
Ghetto Girls Too Page 14
