Childhood Sweethearts

by Jacob Spears

  The elevator stopped on the fifth floor. A middle-aged white man stepped onto the elevator. Smooth looked up from his phone to acknowledge the newcomer and then went back to the text message he was preparing to send China.

  He didn’t recognize the white man, but the man recognized him right away.

  The elevator finally came to a stop. Both men stepped off and headed in opposite directions.

  Smooth rang the bell and then waited.

  The man turned around and snapped the photo of Smooth, just as Miranda reached out and pulled him inside.

  “Smooth stepped into Miranda’s living room and watched as she ran back to the spot in front of the television to resume her aerobics workout.

  “What’s up?” she spoke over the instructor’s voice.

  “I needed to talk to you about something.”

  “I’m listening. What’s up?”

  “It’s about China and me.”

  Still keeping up with the instructor’s moves, Miranda finally looked at Smooth.

  “Is everything, okay?” she asked.

  “Yeah, everything is fine.”

  “So what’s the problem?” Miranda wanted to know.

  “Me and you,” Smooth motioned to Miranda and himself with his hand.

  Miranda stopped the DVD.

  “What’s the problem with me and you?” she said and then sat next to him on the couch.

  Smooth pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn’t like having to tell Miranda what he was about to say and he knew she wouldn’t like hearing it.

  “China and I just got through having a conversation about you and me.”

  “There is no you and me,” Miranda interrupted.

  “Let me finish, please. Somehow, she knew that we’ve been seeing each other. She didn’t make a big deal out of it, but she asked me to stop. That’s the only way she’ll forgive me.”

  “Did you tell her we stopped seeing each other?”

  “We haven’t,” Smooth dropped his head.

  “We have ...” It finally dawned on Miranda. “You mean that she doesn’t want us to be friends?”

  Smooth nodded his head.

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “So you’re okay with that?” she asked.

  “No, I’m not okay with that.”

  Miranda waited for him to say more, until it became clear he had nothing more to say.

  “I guess we’re through then,” Miranda rose to her feet.

  “Please don’t be made at me.”

  “Get out!” Miranda said, barely audible.

  “I’m sorry,” Smooth said, looking at her.

  “GET OUT!”

  Smooth took in Miranda one last time before walking out.

  * * *

  China was about to cross into Georgia when her phone rang.

  “What’s up, baby?” she answered.

  “Nothing. Just calling to check up on you. Where are you?”

  “I just entered Georgia.”

  “That’s about where I figured you should be if you’re doing the speed limit.”

  They talked for more than an hour before Smooth began to yawn.

  “Go to sleep, baby. Give me a call when you get up in the morning.”

  “It’s already morning,” Smooth retorted.

  “You know what I mean, boy!”

  “All right, all right! I’m going. Call me if you need me to keep you company, or even if you just want to talk.”

  “I will.”

  “Drive carefully. I love you, China.”

  “I love you too, baby. Now get off my phone.”

  “After the phone call, China continued thinking about Smooth.

  He was always so loving and caring towards her.

  She turned up the volume just as the words from Sade’s By Your Side began playing. Because of Smooth, she loved every word of the song. He had dedicated it to her when she had needed to know that someone had her back.

  It was in their sixth-grade math class where it all started. The math teacher, Mr. Trickle, called on his students randomly to go up to the blackboard to solve problems. It was his habit to start with the easier problems. He always saved the harder problems for his brighter students. By the time he got to those students, their confidence would be up from seeing their peers solve other problems.

  His two brightest students, without a doubt, were China and Shameka. Sometimes he called on China first. This time he called on Shameka.

  The class watched and waited as she solved the numeric problem. Finished, she turned to face Mr. Trickle, smiling with all the confidence of a newly crowned homecoming queen.

  “Are you finished?” he asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Shameka responded, as she walked back to her seat.

  “Who thinks this answer is correct?” Mr. Trickle asked.

  Everyone raised their hands except for China. The teacher noticed her.

  “You’re all wrong!”

  Everyone quickly lowered their hand.

  “Since you didn’t raise your hand, go up there and solve it,” he said and passed the stick of chalk to China.

  She rose to her feet, smiled in Shameka’s direction, and then walked up to the board with chalk in hand. She erased the marking left by Shameka and then solved the problem just as Mr. Trickle had taught them.

  She placed the chalked down.

  “Who thinks this is correct?” The teacher asked again.

  This time no one raised their hands. Not because they thought it was wrong, it was because China had never gotten a problem wrong. That was why the other student didn’t like her. That dislike is the reason they never raised their hands.

  “That’s the correct answer,” the teacher announced to no one’s great surprise.

  “You may be seated,” he told China.

  As she walked passed Shameka, the girl stuck her foot out and caused China to stumble. The class erupted in laughter.

  Back in her seat, China wrote a short note inviting the girl to a fight after school.

  Word spread like wildfire, and everyone waited for the two girls after school, everyone including Smooth.

  He tried talking China out of it, but quickly saw that he was wasting his time. Instead, he gave her some pointers.

  When Shameka arrived with her girls in tow, she stripped down to a pair of shorts and sports bra.

  China walked over to her and got the first punch in. That was also her only punch. Shameka was a bigger girl who fought for all the girls in her clique. But it was China’s first fight.

  In no time, she was on top of China hitting her in the face. Smooth stopped the fight.

  After everyone had left, he used his shirt to clean China’s face as best he could. He was extra gentle with her.

  “Damn, I got my ass beat,” China tried to laugh.

  “Yeah you did,” Smooth replied.

  “You don’t have to agree with me.”

  “It’s the truth though. But you know what else is true?”

  “What’s that?”

  “You’re still the prettiest girl in this school,” he added.

  “Yeah right! I’m surprised you didn’t walk away with everybody else,” China said.

  “You trippin’, girl! I’ll always be by your side.”

  Later that day, after Smooth had walked her home, he returned to her house with the CD and played the song for her. She fell in love with the song and the boy who dedicated it to her in the same day.

  Chapter 13

  Smooth lay in bed listening to Zorro’s whining. “What time was it?” he wondered.

  He picked up his phone from the nightstand. After seeing how late it was, he pushed himself to a sitting position.

  Smooth got out of bed, taking his phone with him, and went to the bathroom and called China.

  “Hey baby,” China answered.

  “Good morning,” Smooth said in a groggy voice.

  “No, baby, good afternoon.” Before he could reply,
she asked, “Is that my bay I hear whining?”

  “Yeah, that’s the mutt!” he laughed.

  “Watch your mouth! Did you or Mo take him out yet?”

  “I didn’t. I don’t know if Mo did. I’ll find out when I get off the phone with you. Where are you?”

  “I’m 30 minutes away from Jefe’s and I’m tired. I think I’m going to rent a room to get some rest before I head back home,” she told Smooth.

  “Okay, just make sure you let me know where you’re at.”

  “Yes, sir!”

  “I’m serious, baby.”

  “You know I will, boy! Go take Zorro outside before his bladder bursts.”

  “Alright! I’ll talk to you later.”

  Smooth hung up with China and turned on the shower.

  After getting dressed and finding Zorro’s leash, he yelled out to Monica, telling her he was going to walk the dog.

  He waited for the elevator. When it finally opened, Miranda was inside talking on her phone and appearing impatient.

  She ended the call, knelt down, and played with the dog.

  “How are you?” Smooth asked.

  There was no response. Miranda’s phone rang.

  “Did you see it?” she asked the person on the other end.

  The person’s response made her laugh. She was still laughing when the door opened and she stepped off. Smooth stepped off behind her.

  Neither one of them noticed the man walking towards the elevator with his phone in his hand.

  Once outside, they both headed indifferent directions.

  Smooth wanted to try again, but he wasn’t about to have Miranda continuously dissing him. He accepted the fact that she didn’t want anything to do with him and moved on. That’s the only way things would work with China anyway.

  After scooping up Zorro’s waste and dumping it in the trash, Smooth headed over to Tasty’s. Tasty’s was a small walk-up restaurant with amazing food.

  He ordered three burgers, one for him and two for Zorro. When the burgers were ready, he removed the patty from two of them and fed them to the dog. China would go ballistic if she knew he did that. She kept her dog on a strict diet.

  After eating and having nothing else to do, Smooth sauntered back home.

  Back in the house, he called out for Mo. There was no response.

  Getting no response after the third time, he stopped calling.

  * * *

  Monica sat on the bed looking down on the floor at all of the money in front of her.

  There were many thoughts going through her head. She wondered where China and Smooth had gotten so much money. She hadn’t counted the money; every time she attempted to, her hands shook uncontrollably. Checking the time on her phone, she decided to get dressed and get out of the room.

  Dressed, Monica stared at the money again.

  What if the housekeeper came in while she was gone and started going through her stuff, she thought. The thought paralyzed her. She had already lost her best friend. She refused to lose the money as well.

  She restacked the money in the suitcase to take it with her.

  She paused when she opened the door. What if someone snatched the suitcase or mugged her? The thoughts kept coming.

  Finally, Monica remembered the safe. After placing the money inside and locking it, she felt better. She wasn’t 100% at ease, but she felt better.

  With a stack of money secured in her purse, Monica left the room to do some shopping.

  She thought about everywhere Smooth and China would go to avoid those places—those places and places she thought they’d look for her. She had the cab driver take her 30 minutes north into the next county.

  “Keep the meter running and be back here in three hours,” she told the driver, as he deposited her at the mall’s entrance.

  Monica handed him several hundred-dollar bills.

  “You got it!”

  “Monica walked into her first store. She picked up everything her eyes touched or that she liked. For the first time in her life, Monica picked up what she liked, not just what she could afford. She smiled to herself several times. She thought she could get used to this lifestyle quickly.

  In no time at all, Monica was weighed down with bags.

  She made it outside just as the cab pulled up. The driver got out and rushed over to assist her with the bags.

  She fell in the backseat exhausted from the last few hours.

  “Where to now?”

  “The hotel.”

  On the way back to the hotel, they passed a row of newspaper stands. She had the driver turn around so that she could get a few. She needed to go through the classifieds section. She needed to find a place to live, and more importantly, she needed to find a car. She would’ve preferred something new, but she wanted something nondescript and she wanted it quickly.

  * * *

  China sat in her usual spot while she and Jefe conversed.

  She listened half-heartedly as he complained about everything from high gas prices to the lack of loyalty he felt from his employees.

  “Nothing is like it was when I started in this business. Back then, there was respect for each other in my trade. Not so any more. Loyalty wasn’t something that was for sale. Today it goes to the highest bidder. It makes me sick!”

  China had nothing to say. She had none of Jefe’s problems. Smooth was the only person that knew what she did. And even if Mo knew, he would never turn against her.

  She looked at Jefe as he spoke.

  When she had first met him, Jefe appeared vigorous and vital. Now after only several months, he looked as if he’d aged 10 years.

  She added the way he looked to what he was saying and made a decision. This trip would be her last.

  She listened for a while longer as he continued his rambling.

  Finally, he turned to China.

  “What can I do for you, my good friend?” he asked.

  “Two things.” She held up two fingers.

  “Tell me.”

  “First ... this.” She slid the bag of money in Jefe’s direction.

  “I’d like to get my usual.”

  “Okay.”

  Jefe called out something in Spanish to his butler, who quickly disappeared.

  “Next,” he turned back to China.

  “How do I say this?” she said out loud.

  “You open your mouth and speak.”

  “Okay, when I left Florida to come up here, I had no plans to make this my last trip. I mean, Smooth has been telling me for a long time now to quit.”

  Jefe nodded his head remembering the prior conversation he had with China. He listened as she continued.

  “He doesn’t even know that this is my last trip. I’ve only just decided it a few minutes ago.”

  “This is good for you. As I said before, the rules are changing. This business is no good for a young lady. You are wise beyond your years.”

  China was glad that Jefe was so cool about her getting out. Not that she needed his permission, but it did make her next request a lot easier.

  “El Jefe. The second thing I wanted was a special favor.”

  “Ah, yes, number two. What is it?”

  “I’d like you to double my order and allow me to have the funds sent to you when I get back to Florida.”

  “That’s assuming you do get back to Florida,” Jefe said.

  China had no clue as to how to respond to his last comment. For the first time, she was afraid of him.

  He caught the look in her eyes and quickly corrected her thoughts.

  “No, no. I’m sorry, my friend. My words did not come out as I intended. What I am saying is that you would like me to give you something you have not paid for. If all goes well, I will get what I always receive. If not, where does that leave me?”

  China understood. Jefe wanted more than what she normally paid if he was going to front it to her. That was only right, she reasoned.

  “I understand. Just forget I asked. I’ll stic
k with my usual.”

  “Don’t be so easily offended. I did not turn you down. I will not turn you down. You’ve been good to me. We’ve been good to each other. I see no reason to stop now.”

  Jefe yelled out to his butler once more.

  “I wish all people were like you and the Negro,” Jefe said, referring to Smooth.

  China’s only response was a smile.

  Smooth was going to be ecstatic when China told him she was finished. She planned on telling him as soon as she got back. He might even help her get rid of everything more quickly.

  The butler came back into the room, giving Jefe the signal that everything was as he requested.

  “Everything is all set for your return trip home.”

  China rose to her feet and followed Jefe to the door. He spoke to her before opening it.

  “Do not regret the decision you made today. It is the best thing for you. Take this,” he said, as he handed her a phone number. “This number will stay the same until I die, or until they send me back to prison. But as long as it works, there is a friend on the other end for you. This is my personal number.”

  China was touched.

  The two embraced.

  Before China walked out, Jefe kissed her on both cheeks.

  “Goodbye, my friend.” He waved to China as she left.

  * * *

  Smooth pulled up in front of Ga Ga’s house to find Roxy sitting on the porch.

  “What’s up, Roxy?”

  He took the chair next to her.

  “Nothing. You got some money for me?” she asked.

  “What you need?” he laughed, while he dug into his pocket.

  “Whatever you giving up, nigga.”

  Roxy was Smooth’s older sister, just as much as she was China’s. Every time he needed her, she was there for him, just as a big sister should be. He was always happy to break her off.

  “Where’s Ga Ga?” he wanted to know.

  “She just left. She told me to have you give me the money you had for her.”

  They both laughed at that. Smooth knew that Ga Ga wouldn’t accept any money from him or China.