Childhood Sweethearts

by Jacob Spears

  He shook his head, breaking her spell on him and then walked away.

  “Smooth,” Monica called, as she went after him.

  “It’s not going to happen.”

  “Let me just say something to you.”

  “Talk.”

  “I love my girl China to death. God knows I do. I can’t remember one single time when I needed her and she wasn’t there for me. That’s my girl and I’d die for her. She knows it.”

  “So that’s why you keep pushing up on me?” he laughed.

  “That’s the thing. I can’t help this shit. Every time you come around, my body goes through some shit. I wish that I could help it, but I can’t. China doesn’t deserve me to betray her this way, and I don’t want to. Had you been anybody else, this wouldn’t be an issue, but I’m stuck on you. Always have been.”

  “Monica, you a trip!”

  “Put all that side what I just told you. China doesn’t deserve you. She’s my girl and all, but she’ll do you more harm than good in the long run.”

  “And I guess you deserve me?” Smooth asked.

  “China’s an angel compared to me, so if she doesn’t deserve you, I definitely don’t!”

  With that, she returned back to her workout.

  Chapter 10

  Smooth had finally sold the last of the weed. He was glad to have it all gone ... and so was China. Once they started copping from Jefe, China looked at the weed as a big headache.

  Smooth sat on the floor with the money machine in front of him waiting to be fed another mouthful of bills.

  Smooth had sent China shopping and ordered her to take Monica with her.

  So far, he’d been at his task for more than seven hours. Separating the bills had taken a long time and he was glad to have that part past him.

  After wrapping the large wads of cash with thick rubber bands, Smooth threw them in one of two piles.

  He still had a long way to go, so he showed no signs of letting up. As he placed another wad into the machine, his phone rang. As he looked at the screen, he saw China’s face. He hit the send button.

  “Talk to me.”

  “Can we come home now?”

  “No, I thought I told you I’d call you.”

  “What’s with the attitude, nigga?”

  Smooth hung up the phone, ignoring China’s question, and went back to work.

  Three hours later, he was finished. Smooth had counted just under $3.3 million. He picked up the phone and called China.

  “What?” she answered.

  “I’m finished,” was all he said.

  Smooth carried the two large bags back to the room. He then unplugged the money counter and carried that back to the room as well.

  There was more money sitting in the closet than he’d thought. He knew that they were making money, but he also knew that they were spending a lot of it.

  He laid back and waited for China to arrive.

  When she finally walked in, Zorro ran to greet her, jumping up and down. After putting her bags down, she picked up her dog and played with him for a few seconds. As soon as she put him down, he ran over to his bowl and brought it to her.

  China filed both of his bowls and then headed to her room.

  “You could’ve at least fed the fucking dog.”

  “Damn, I forgot,” Smooth said, as he got up and headed to the kitchen.

  “I already did it.”

  Smooth turned around.

  “How much?” China asked.

  “Three million two hundred and ninety thousand dollars,” he answered, giving her the exact number.

  She smiled.

  “We’re doing good,” she said.

  “I know. Better than we expected. Better than we ever imagined at 16.”

  “I agree.”

  “That’s why I think it’ll be best if we quit now.”

  China was definitely not trying to hear that.

  The thrill of being a drug dealer was addictive to China. The pull was too strong. Even if she wanted to, she couldn’t stop. And she had no intention of stopping.

  “Smooth, I think we should continue doing what we’re doing. Things are going perfect for us. Why stop now?”

  “You just answered your own question. We stop now because things are going perfect. What, you think we should wait until things go bad? If that’s the case, we won’t have to stop. It’ll stop us.”

  What Smooth said made sense, but it wasn’t what she wanted to hear. Smooth saw it in her face.

  “I’m not trying to convince you one way or the other, boo. You can do whatever you like. I’m just telling you that I’m through. I don’t want anything to do with it anymore.”

  Smooth walked to the closet and pulled out the two bags. He tossed one at China’s feet.

  “That’s your half.”

  She wasn’t sure of what to say. On one hand, she had the money to continue doing what she wished; on the other hand, she looked at the splitting of the money as a split between her and Smooth. She didn’t want to be without him.

  China knelt down and unzipped the bag. After taking a look inside, she got up.

  “So, what does this mean for us?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” Smooth replied, as he opened his arms and pulled her in. She never saw the lone tear that fell from his eye and came to rest on her head.

  Neither did he see the tears that disappeared into the fabric of his shirt. They both knew that the beginning of the end had arrived.

  * * *

  The following day, Smooth placed a call to El Jefe to notify him of the things going on with China and himself.

  The call was done out of respect. Anytime China had called him, he’d wait to also receive a call from Smooth. If the call didn’t come, he’d call Smooth to bring him abreast of everything.

  Smooth felt obligated to do the same.

  After being placed on hold for two minutes, Smooth finally heard Jefe’s voice.

  “Mi amigo!”

  “What’s up, Jefe?”

  “This is not a common call, so why don’t you tell me. But please my friend, be careful,” Jefe referred to the phone line.

  “Well, there’s been a small change. My girl and I are no longer partners.”

  “This cannot be so. You two are perfect co-workers. What happened?”

  “I’ve decided to call it quit. I did well for myself, but I never intended to make a career of it.”

  “Smart move, kid. Smart move. It’s like playing craps. You keep rolling the dice and sooner or later, you crap out. I like you a lot, my friend. I hope our paths cross again in the future. If not, good luck.”

  “Thank you, Jefe. I guess this is goodbye then.”

  “Never goodbye, my friend. Never goodbye. So long for now.”

  “Okay then,” Smooth said. “So long for now.”

  “This number is always good for you, my friend. So long for now.”

  With that, they both hung up their phones.

  Smooth dialed another number, but this time the person who he wanted to talk to answered the phone.

  “What’s up?” he asked Miranda.

  “Nothing much, just balancing the books.”

  “Why don’t you let one of your underlings do that so I can take you to lunch?”

  “You can take me to lunch, but no one balances the books but me.”

  “So what time should I pick you up?” he asked.

  “I’ll be ready whenever you get here.”

  “I’m on my way.”

  Before leaving to meet Miranda, Smooth slid open the balcony door so that Zorro could relieve himself. Next, he filled the dog’s bowls and headed out the door.

  * * *

  “Am I too early?” he asked, walking through the door to her office.

  “No, not at all,” Miranda said, walking around her desk to give him a hug.

  “You ready?”

  “Let me go to the ladies room and I’ll be right out.”

  While she was g
one, Smooth looked around her office at the many plaques and pictures. One picture was of a younger Miranda with her arms wrapped around an older man who she resembled greatly.

  “That’s my daddy,” she said, walking up on Smooth.

  The love and respect for the man in the picture was clear in her voice.

  “So where to?” she asked.

  “I was hoping you know of some place we could go.”

  “I do,” she answered without hesitation.

  “Somewhere black,” Smooth added.

  “Boy, please! Let’s go!”

  Miranda volunteered to drive; instead of getting in Smooth’s car, they headed over to Miranda’s.

  She maneuvered out of her parking lot and then gunned it up the street, as Sade’s music drifted from the speakers.

  Thus far, Smooth liked everything about the lady. He reclined his seat, closed his eyes, and smiled.

  “What are you smiling at?” she asked.

  “I like this car,” he lied.

  “Is that really what you’re smiling about?”

  “That’s not it!”

  “What is it then?” she wanted to know.

  “I called my connect earlier and told him that I was done.”

  “And what made you do that?”

  “I surpassed my goal. I got enough money to go all the way legit.”

  “That’s good for you,” she slapped his thigh.

  “Yeah, no more looking over my shoulder.”

  Miranda was highly impressed by the young man sitting in her car.

  “So now what?”

  Smooth had thought of several things but hadn’t made any plans to pursue any of his ideas. He was fairly certain about investing in the stock market, so he shared his thoughts on that with her.

  “I’m going to try my hand at the stock market. Invest maybe a hundred stacks into that and see what it does.”

  Miranda frowned at his idea.

  “Why not try something a little more sound, where you stand to make good money.”

  “What’s that?” Smooth asked, liking the way it sounded.

  “Real estate,” she suggested.

  “I don’t now shit about real estate, so why would ...”

  “You didn’t know shit about selling drugs either until you learned, right?”

  “Yeah, but!”

  “But nothing. You sound like the typical young black man now. You can learn whatever you want to. You just got to apply yourself.”

  Smooth remained quiet. The smile was gone from his face now.

  “Yeah, I do,” he answered honestly.

  “Good, I’ll teach you. But let’s eat first, I’m starving.”

  They got out of the car and headed inside the restaurant. Because of lunch hour being at its peak, Glenda’s was full to capacity. Smooth and Miranda waited outside to be seated. Several groups of people left before being called in to be seated.

  “I’ve been waiting to talk to you about this,” Miranda said, as she took her seat while moving her hand back and forth.

  “What about us?” Smooth asked.

  “What’s going on here?”

  “I’m not sure I know what you mean?”

  “Smooth, we need to draw some lines. I need some clarity.”

  “Why? I thought things were fine.”

  “Well, you’re wrong. The sex with you is great, but I’m not someone that gets absorbed with sex. I need more than that out of a relationship. And I definitely can’t be your girl on the side.”

  Smooth pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “So what are you telling me ... to leave China?”

  “No, not at all. I’m telling you that as long as there is a you and China, there can’t be a you and me. Not sexually anyway. I deserve someone to call my own.”

  “I wasn’t expecting this,” Smooth said.

  The sex with Miranda was incomparable to anything he’d ever experienced, and the thought of it not happening any more wasn’t something he was happy about.

  “I’m not asking you to do anything. I just needed to tell you how I felt about things. Now that we won’t be having sex, you won’t think it’s something you did.”

  He nodded his head in acceptance.

  “One last time then?”

  Miranda let out a loud burst of laughter.

  “No. Let’s order, silly” she slapped his hand lightly.

  * * *

  Smooth opened the door and was surprised to find Monica at her favorite spot tapping away at the keyboard.

  “What’s up?” he spoke first.

  “China is pissed you,” she warned

  “What’s new?”

  “SMOOTH, IS THAT YOU?” China screamed.

  Without answering, he walked to the room.

  “Yeah, it’s me. Who else you thought it was?”

  “I’ve been calling your phone all day,” she said, with her hands on her hips.

  “What else have you been doing all day?”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  He ignored her question and began talking off his clothes.

  “Smooth, what have you been doing all day?” she asked.

  “You don’t need to know,” he responded.

  “Why the hell not?”

  Before answering, he looked at China with a smile.

  “For one, you’re not my mother, and, two, you weren’t a part of it. You know how that goes. If you weren’t a part of it, you don’t need to know about it.” He’d been waiting to use her words on her.

  “So that’s how you want to play, huh? Okay, don’t ask me shit from here on out, muthafucka!”

  Smooth smiled again, shrugged his shoulders, and then headed to the bathroom. He turned around just in time to catch China’s phone as she threw it at him.

  “Coolly, he tossed it on the bed.

  “That’s always been one of your flaws. You can’t take what you give out. I got news for you, the world doesn’t move to your beat.”

  Smooth stepped into the bathroom, locking the door behind him.

  “The world don’t, but you do,” China said, just above a mumble.

  Smooth stepped in the shower and rotated his shoulders as the water massaged him. He thought about Miranda. She was everything he hoped China would be when she got older. It was easy for him to picture himself being with her. She was very independent but also submissive. Smooth loved that about her. Things had been at their lowest with him and China and he was tired of her acting as if she owned him. He admitted that she owned his heart though. He loved China; and even though they’d been at it with each on a daily basis, he couldn’t see himself without her.

  Smooth wrapped the towel around his waist and stepped out of the bathroom to find China stuffing clothes into a small suitcase.

  “I’m going to see Jefe,” she answered the question in his eyes.

  “Why are you telling me your business?” he answered.

  “You can be such an asshole sometimes.”

  “That’s me, Mr. Asshole. And your name is ...” he smiled.

  China picked up the suitcase and walked out

  * * *

  “It’s good to see you again, China,” Jefe said, as she entered the room accompanied by two of Jefe’s bodyguards.

  “It’s good to see you also,” she extended her hand.

  “How was your trip?”

  “Not bad. Except for the accident on the turnpike, it was smooth sailing.”

  Jefe nodded his head. He knew all about the accident. He knew exactly where China was at all times, thanks to the tracking device he’d had logged to her car. It wasn’t China alone he took precautions with; he did the same thing to everyone that he sold to.

  “How many times did you have to stop for gas?” he asked.

  China was used to the questions, but still she hated it.

  “Three times. My car’s good on gas.”

  “Are you hungry? Let’s have a bite to eat.”

  “Jefe heade
d toward the kitchen with China in tow.

  After instructing his chef on what he’d like, he turned to China and asked, “What will you be having?”

  “What are my options?”

  “You say it, he prepares,” Jefe replied, with a snap of his fingers.

  China ordered something she knew wouldn’t take long to fix and wouldn’t taste bad.

  “I’ll have a grilled cheese, light on the mayonnaise.”

  Jefe smiled. He knew the sandwich was ordered simply out of courtesy, not to offend him.

  “How have you been since we last met?” Jefe asked.

  “Real good, thank you for asking. And how have you been?” China returned the question.

  “Business is good. I cannot complain. My wife refuses to have anything to do with me as long as I’m in the life and she forces this on my kids also. What can I do?” Jefe asked rhetorically.

  Jefe’s words made China think about Smooth. She felt a thud in her heart. She promised herself that she’d make things right with him when she got back home.

  Jefe caught the far-away look on China’s face and decided not to interrupt her thoughts.

  A moment later, China turned her attention back to Jefe.

  “Is it worth it?” she asked him.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You had all this before,” China moved her hand back and forth. “You lost it all when you went to prison and here you are again.”

  Jefe smiled.

  “I do what I do because it makes me happy. It is not for the money I do this. I love it. What am I without this trade of mine? I am nothing. I am not a man of emotions. Love is not something I dream of. I never loved my wife. I don’t think she ever loved me. So we are even in that respect. I would never take her over my trade. Now my kids. This is different!”

  China waited for him to explain, but it was clear that he was finished.

  “So what are we doing tonight? “ Jefe asked China.

  China told him the usual.

  Jefe instructed his worker on what to do. As he waited for his order to be carried out, he spoke to China as it was apparent that she had something on her mind. Jefe needed to know if it was something that would hurt him.