Childhood Sweethearts

by Jacob Spears

  “Pumpkin, how long have you been in prison?”

  “Too long!” the girl answered with a chuckle.

  “I know that ...”

  “Almost eight months.”

  “Eight months,” China repeated.

  “Yeah, it’s like that when you don’t have a bond.”

  “Haven’t you ever tried getting one?”

  “Yeah, I tried. But that didn’t do much good. The judge denied me,” China fell silent again.

  She was thinking about the promise that Smooth claimed the lawyer had made. She knew better. Lawyers didn’t promise results. She didn’t even think he hired an attorney for her.

  China knew what she’d have to do for herself.

  * * *

  “You don’t plan on saying anything to me?” Roxy asked.

  “What’s there to say?”

  “I don’t like seeing you like this.”

  “And I don’t like being like this,” he retorted.

  “So don’t be! You and China been here before and you didn’t look like this, so why the long face?”

  “I don’t know,” Smooth started. “I never pictured myself with anyone but China. I still don’t. I love everything about her; but lately it seems like the more I push, the harder she pulls away. I don’t know if I’m what she wants anymore. The crazy thing, Roxy, is that I’d give up everything to go back to the way things were with us before the money came.”

  “Did you tell her what you just told me?” Roxy asked.

  “How can I? Everything I say to her she accuses me of lying. She never told me what I lied about. Everything is ‘Smooth, you lied to me!’” Smooth said, mimicking China.

  “Did you lie to her?”

  “Not you, too, Roxy! That’s my partner. I don’t lie to her about nothing. Why should I?”

  “You shouldn’t. And I’m sure you can get her to understand everything you just told me,” Roxy said.

  “I’m not even sure I care to convince her. I love that girl to death, but it seems like she’s got her mind made up about what she wants to do. More power to her.”

  “Wow! You and China are just alike.”

  “How’s that?” Smooth asked.

  “You’re both hard-headed as fuck! I don’t see how y’all made it this far. But I guess whatever got y’all to this point will get y’all further.”

  “I hear you,” Smooth answered, before turning up the volume.

  “I’m not finished talking to you, boy! You don’t dismiss me, nigga!” Roxy turned the volume back down.

  “And you said me and China are alike?”

  “They both laughed.

  “I hope you know you didn’t make things better by hopping your ass up and walking out on her.”

  Smooth’s only response was to shrug his shoulders.

  “SEE, that’s the problem! Let me give you some game here. We Preston women are highly sensitive creatures. We love hard and intense. You can have us eating out of the palm of your hands. All we want is attention and respect. We can be a pain in the ass, but that’s every woman. Just put up with us when we get a lil’ crazy!”

  “I hear you,” Smooth responded.

  Roxy shook her head and then straightened herself in her seat. It was she who turned up the volume this time.

  * * *

  China thought long and hard about what she was about to do. She got the idea from one of the other girls and decided to go for it. She picked up the phone and dialed Monica’s number. China had only been locked up for a few days, but she felt that she had been in jail a lot longer.

  “Hello,” Monica answered hesitantly, not recognizing the number.

  “Hey girl,” China was relieved to hear her friend’s voice.

  “China?” Monica asked.

  “Who’d you think it was, the Queen of England,” she responded, in her best British accent, before letting out a big laugh.

  Monica wasn’t sure what she expected from China, but it wasn’t what she was getting. After 10 minutes of conversation, she noticed that China hadn’t once mentioned the money.

  Finally it came.

  “And you know what’s really fucked, Mo? He tried to get me to believe that you stole my money!”

  “Me?” Monica said innocently.

  “What hurts so much is that he wouldn’t have shit without me. I made that muthafucka, and he wants to leave me for dead! Fuck that nigga! Just like I made him, I’ll break him!”

  Monica listened as China spoke. What stood out most to her weren’t the words she was hearing, but the anger and hurt in the other girl’s voice.

  China was really hurt.

  Monica decided on a course of action.

  “How could he say I stole money from you and I didn’t even know you had it?”

  “Mo Mo, we don’t have to go over that because I know it wasn’t you. I even received pictures of him and his new bitch. I can’t believe this!” China began crying.

  “So why are you still in there? How much is your bond?” Monica asked.

  “I don’t have a bond. And from what I’m learning, I am facing a lot of time.”

  “What’s a lot?”

  “Decades!”

  Monica couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “I need your help, Mo.”

  “You know I got you. Just tell me what you need me to do?”

  “This is my way out of here, so it’s very important you handle it exactly as I tell you. I’m going to contact the prosecutor on my case and do a trade-off; but before I do, I need to know that I’ll have what I need. You with me so far?”

  “Yeah, I’m with you,” Monica lied. She had no idea what China was talking about.

  “I need to go by Ga Ga’s and check on something for me. It’s in my room. Open the big speaker and there should be something taped on the inside. Check it out and let me know if it’s still there,” China instructed.

  “What am I supposed to be looking for?”

  “You’ll know when you see it. Trust me.”

  “Why don’t you just have Roxy check?” Monica asked, her brain in overdrive wondering if China was setting her up.

  “Because I don’t want her knowing shit about this.”

  “Okay,” Monica reluctantly responded.

  “I’ll call you back around 12.”

  “Okay.”

  After the phone call, Monica replayed as much of the conversation over in her head as she was able to remember, trying to pick out any inconsistencies on China’s part.

  There were none.

  She had no idea.

  She went online to the Duval County inmate information website and typed in China’s name. There it was.

  Monica was staring at China’s mugshot. Even in her mugshot, China was still as pretty as ever, she thought.

  She looked at China’s charging information and bond amount. The bond amount was as she’d been told. None.

  “But who would’ve thought!” Mo said to herself, after seeing the charge.

  China had to be telling the truth. It was all far too elaborate to be a set-up.

  Monica got dressed. She had something she needed to check on.

  Chapter 18

  Monica parked just up the street from Ga Ga’s house. From where she sat, she was able to watch the house unnoticed. Shortly after parking, she saw Ga Ga get into her car, reverse out of the driveway, and then drive away. She had no way of knowing whether or not Roxy was home. She preferred the house to be empty when she went in.

  She waited.

  Monica noticed a guy on a bicycle pedaling her way and she stopped him.

  “Can I get you to do me a small favor?” she asked him flirtingly.

  “The guy stood astride his bike, appraising the young female before him.

  “What’s that?” he asked.

  “Can you knock on that door and tell me if anyone is home?” Monica pointed at the house.

  “For $20 I will,” he answered.

  Monica w
ithdrew a $50 bill from her pocket and ripped it in half.

  “You’ll get the other half when you get back.” She handed a half to him.

  Monica watched as he pedaled off to Ga Ga’s house.

  She waited patiently as he loudly knocked on the door.

  Satisfied, she tapped her horn to get his attention. When he came back to where she was parked, Monica handed him the other half of the bill and then waited for him to leave.

  She pulled up to the house and hit the horn. She felt confident nobody was home, but she hit the shorn several more times as a precaution. Nobody liked horns honking in front of their house.

  Monica got out and grabbed the spare key.

  After unlocking the door and stepping inside, she leaned against the door and took in the familiar sights of the house. She knew the house as well as any of the people who lived there. She practically lived there herself.

  Urging herself forward, she hurried to China’s room.

  There were pictures of Smooth and China all over the place. Monica was in several of the photos as well. The pictures brought back a lot of memories. She found the speaker she was looking for and looked it over. She saw that it was one that snap-locked. She went to the kitchen and retrieved a knife. After opening the speaker, she saw what it was that China wanted her to find. It was wrapped in a piece of cloth and duct-taped to the inside of the speaker box.

  Now that she was looking at it, she realized that China hadn’t given her any further instructions.

  Carefully, she detached it from its spot. Monica closed the speaker and then walked out. Before stepping back outside, she peeked through the curtains.

  Seeing that the path was clear, she quickly locked up the house and headed back to her car.

  A gun.

  Why did China want her to pick up a gun, she wondered.

  “No,” she corrected herself. China never told her to pick up the gun. She only told her to make sure it was still there. She’d make China tell her what was going on before she told her about the gun.

  She looked at the clock on her dashboard. It was 10:47. She had just over an hour to wait to hear from China.

  To kill the time, she decided to do a lil’ shopping. She drove to the mall.

  * * *

  Smooth sat in his car thinking about China while wishing he wasn’t. It was as if she’d invaded every inch of his brain. He loved her just as he always had—of that, he was sure. It was always her he could call on when he found himself in a jam; and now that it was her in the jam, he wanted nothing more than to be the one she called on. The only one.

  And he would be. No matter how difficult she tried to make it.

  Her bond hearing was coming up in three days and he could hardly wait. The nightmare would finally be over—at least for the time being.

  He placed a call to China’s lawyer to hear him say one more time that she’d get a bond.

  The phone call was brief but effective. Smooth felt reassured.

  There was nothing left for him to do except wait.

  He went to the bedroom to change his clothes. After putting on his swim trunks, Smooth grabbed his phone and keys, locked up, and went out to the pool.

  The pool area had a private entrance and was almost always completely vacant. After gaining entrance, Smooth noticed that there were only three other people using the Olympic-sized pool. He hadn’t expected that many people. After all, it was a work day.

  He put his keys and phone down and dove in. The water felt warm and refreshing as it washed over him.

  Smooth watched as a young white man cut through the water repeatedly, making his way from end to end.

  Most people had no idea of the level of physical fitness required to swim several laps in an Olympic-sized pool.

  Smooth was impressed not only by the swimmer’s distance, but also by the speed in which he covered the distance.

  Smooth hadn’t realized he’d been smiling when the man got out of the water.

  He toweled off and made his way over to Smooth.

  “My name is William,” he offered his hand.

  “What up, William? I’m Smooth,” he said, as he shook the hand in front of him.

  “Smooth?” The man repeated the name, as if to say that’s what your mother named you.

  “William?” Smooth repeated in the same manner.

  William laughed nervously.

  Just then, Miranda entered the pool area with her personal assistance and an uppity-looking, young white couple.

  “My assistant will guide you through the remainder of the tour. I normally don’t do the tours, but I wanted to give you the tour myself. Unfortunately, some other pressing matter has come up. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll meet you back at my office once your tour has been completed. I hope you enjoy.”

  Miranda excused herself with a head nod and smile. She walked over to where Smooth and his new acquaintance sat talking. He didn’t notice her until she was a few feet away.

  “Hello, Mr. Johnson ... Mr. Blanc,” Miranda spoke first, hoping Smooth would pick up on her formalness.

  “Ms. Burkley,” Smooth said.

  “Hi, Ms. Burkley, how are you?” William asked.

  “I’m fine. Thank you for asking,” she replied, never taking her eyes off Smooth.

  “Mr. Johnson, I’ve left several messages personally on your contact numbers and have yet to receive a return call. There are a few important issues we need to go over. Can you please contact me at your earliest convenience?” she asked, as she thrust her card in his face.

  He took the card from between her index and middle finger.

  “I got a ...”

  “At your earliest convenience,” she silenced him.

  “I’ll do that. At my earliest.”

  “I hope I haven’t interrupted anything important, and I beg your forgiveness if I did. You gentlemen have a pleasant day.” With that, she walked away. She could feel their eyes on her as she did.

  “That was amazing. Holy shit!”

  “What are you talking about?” Smooth asked.

  “Are you kidding me? She practically threw herself at you.”

  “You trippin’!”

  “I know women bro and that one wants you bad.”

  “I don’t think so. I have a faulty dishwasher that I’m sure she just wants to get replaced as badly as I do.”

  “I see where the name comes from now,” William laughed.

  * * *

  China tapped her feet impatiently as she waited for one of the phones to become free.

  What seemed like hours to China was only seven minutes in reality.

  She picked up the first open phone and dialed Monica’s number.

  “Come on, come on, come on!” she repeated, as she waited for Monica to pick up.

  “Hello,” she finally answered.

  “Talk to me,” China said, wasting no time.

  “Was it wrapped in plastic?”

  China released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. There was only one way for Monica to know that.

  “Thanks, Mo Mo! I know I can always count on you. Now I can do what I got to do.”

  “What’s going on, China?”

  “Don’t worry, Mo. It’s nothing. I just ...”

  “Nothing my ass! You’re going to tell me what’s going on, or I’m not going to be a part of this!”

  “I don’t think you really want to know. Just trust me on this,” China answered.

  Trust.

  Monica almost laughed out loud. Her own actions in the last several days made her know that nobody was to be trusted. She never thought she’d steal anything from China.

  “You can say what you want; but unless you tell me what’s going on, you’re going to have to get Roxy to do this.”

  She saw that Monica wasn’t budging.

  “Somebody I know did something with that and I’m going to use that to get out of this place.”

  Monica went silent for a second, thinkin
g about what she had just heard.

  “You there?” China asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Monica didn’t have to think hard. She knew exactly who that someone was. She also had a plan forming in her head. She just needed to know what was done with the gun.

  “China, how could you put me in a position like this? You got me in possession of a dirty burner. I don’t need to know who, but you better tell me right now what this shit was use for.”

  China pinched the bridge of her nose. She wanted to strangle Monica.

  “What do you mean you’re in possession of it? I never told you to move that shit. Just put it back and ...”

  “I’m not going back there. Just tell me what you need me to do. I’m your girl and you know I got your back, but you always keep me in the blind on everything. That ain’t right, China.”

  She knew Monica was right, but she couldn’t help it. She was naturally a secretive person. China lived by the code: If you’re not a part of it, you don’t need to know about it.

  She rationalized with herself about her next move. She was asking for Monica’s help, so technically she was a part of it now.

  She explained to Monica what was done with the gun.

  Monica pretended indifference for the last few minutes of her phone call with China, but she was screaming with excitement on the inside.

  Her biggest fear was one day having to confront China. She wasn’t so worried about that anymore. She wasn’t worried about China’s boy either. She had what she needed to keep him in line now.

  She couldn’t believe how easily it all came together for her.

  She had no intention of doing what China had asked her to do. For the first time in her life, she had the ups on China, and she admitted to herself that it felt good.

  “So that was where the money came from?”

  Monica would never have guessed it, even though the signs were right there, especially the car that Smooth got shortly after it happened. Now of all places the gun could have ended up, it was in her hands. She knew the first thing she had to do was secure the gun. Monica drove home without so much as a second thought as to what her plans would do to China.