Childhood Sweethearts

by Jacob Spears

  “Y’all got something for me to eat?” China asked.

  She was wearing the same dress she had worn when they went to dinner the night she went to see Jefe, and Smooth noticed that it didn’t fit her frame as tightly as it did when he last saw her.

  “What do you want to eat?” he asked her.

  “You” was her response.

  “I do not want to hear that shit,” Roxy said, and got in the car.

  Smooth pulled China in his arms once more and kissed her deeply.

  Pangs of pleasure and guilt were what she felt at the moment.

  “So what do you feel like eating?” he asked again, once they were in the car.

  “I don’t care. Surprise me.”

  “Let’s go to the spot we went to last time we were up here,” Roxy said from the backseat.

  Nobody objected.

  “Look at this girl,” Roxy grabbed a handful of China’s hair.

  “I know. It’s a mess,” China agreed.

  Having China next to him, Smooth felt like he’d been awoken from a nightmare.

  He continuously stole glances of her. He needed to know that she was really there.

  They reached for each other’s hand at the same time.

  Smooth parked near the door of the restaurant.

  Roxy got out and went inside. Shortly afterward, she came out with a menu.

  “Whatta you want?” she handed the menu to her sister.

  After taking their orders, she headed back inside.

  China looked at Smooth and asked herself how she could have ever doubted him. He had proven his love for her countless times. She realized that she’d betrayed him just as much as Monica had betrayed her.

  How could she ever tell him what she’d done? How could he ever forgive her? She couldn’t tell him, yet she knew she had to.

  She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

  “What’s on your mind?” Smooth asked.

  “You.”

  “What about me?” he was all smiles.

  “Why did you lie to me?”

  “Please don’t start this shit again, China. If you’re going to tell me that I lied to you, at least tell me what you think I lied about.”

  “Okay,” China said. “Answer this, what did you do that night after I dropped you off?”

  Smooth thought for a moment. Then it came to him ... Miranda. There was no way for China to know though. But she had to. Why else would she be asking?

  He hadn’t done anything wrong, so he had no reason to lie.

  “After you dropped me off, I went up to Miranda’s place,” he told her.

  “So you did lie to me. You told me you wouldn’t see her anymore.”

  “Technically, I guess I did lie to you, but I only went up there to tell her I wouldn’t be coming around anymore. Nothing happened.”

  China wasn’t sure if she believed him.

  “And that was the last time you saw her?” China wanted to catch him in a lie, even though she wasn’t sure what she’d do if she did.

  “Actually no. I bumped into her on the elevator and she came to our crib one morning and ...”

  “S’cuse me? She came where?”

  “She said she wanted to have a woman to woman chat with you.”

  China looked at Smooth for an explanation.

  He shrugged his shoulders.

  What he just told her explained the pictures she had received.

  She accepted what he told her.

  “I need to get out of this dress.”

  “And I can’t wait to get you out of it.”

  “Is that right?” she leaned over to kiss him.

  “Hello,” Roxy was standing by China’s door with both hands filled with food.

  China got out and opened the door for her.

  China ate most of her food without once looking up to see where they were driving.

  After finishing her meal, she reclined her seat.

  Before Smooth got on I-95, China was fast asleep.

  _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

  Chapter 20

  “Thank you for everything, baby,” China told Smooth, as she stripped down to her underwear.

  “I’m just doing my job.”

  China smiled at him and then walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open. Smooth wanted desperately to go in behind her, but he resisted the urge.

  There’d be time for that later.

  He wanted her dressed and ready to go as soon as possible. Roxy had made him promise to have China at Ga Ga’s house as soon as she got home from work. He wanted her there before Ga Ga got home.

  He walked out of the room.

  Even though the case still loomed over her head, Smooth was happy to have her home.

  He picked up his phone and called Speedy. He thanked the bondsman for his help in getting China out without the collateral. Ga Ga was the only person he knew that had collateral to put up. Of course they could have paid the full bond amount, but Smooth wondered what that would have looked like.

  Not long after he ended the call, China came out of the bedroom dressed and ready to go.

  She had towel-dried her hair and put it in a ponytail.

  Smooth looked at her with an appraising eye. She passed his inspection.

  “Come on.” He took her hand and led her out the door.

  China chatted non-stop and Smooth listened. He listened, even though he knew there was something else on her mind. He knew her too well. He knew her well enough not to push her. So he waited.

  “I thought about so much while I was in that place,” she said.

  “I bet you did,” he laughed.

  “For real. There’s so much sadness in there. I see why you didn’t want to continue doing that shit.”

  “It’s more than that, boo,” Smooth told her. “There are two sides to everything. When you decide to take chances that can lead you to prison, you got to always remind yourself not only of what you can gain but also of what you can lose. I’m always going to be by your side, you know that. But I got to say I wish you would’ve listened to me. Besides, what Mo stole ... look at how much we can still lose.”

  China liked that he said “we.” But that was part of why she loved him so deeply. With him, it was always “we.”

  She wanted to defend her decision to continue, but didn’t because she knew he was right.

  Roxy was sitting on the porch when they got there.

  “Hey jailbird,” she greeted China.

  “Stop calling me that,” China demanded.

  “Touchy, touchy!” Roxy laughed.

  “For real. What if Ga Ga hears you saying that shit?” she asked.

  “I know. I’m just fucking with you, girl.”

  “I’m going to Banga’s crib. I’m not trying to be here when Ga Ga gets here. Call me when you ready.”

  Before he turned to leave, they heard Ga Ga’s car pull into the driveway.

  “Too late,” Roxy started laughing.

  “Damn!”

  “Well, if it isn’t the prodigal daughter.”

  “Hey Ga Ga,” China was all smiles as she walked in her mother’s arms.

  “Hi Ga Ga,” Smooth said.

  “... and the prodigal son. Come here, boy,” she said, giving Smooth a half-hug while still holding on to her daughter.

  Roxy opened the door and they all walked inside.

  “Where have you been for the last week, young lady?”

  With downcast eyes, China answered her mother.

  “Busy with school work,” she lied.

  “School work, huh?”

  “S’cuse me y’all,” Smooth attempted to walk out.

  “Sit your tail right back in that seat,” Ga Ga ordered.

  “Now who’s going to tell me what’s going on?” the old lady asked.

  They looked at each other, but no one spoke up.

  “Why do you think something’s going on?” China inquired.

  “Let me ask the question
s, lil’ girl.”

  Roxy knew this wouldn’t turn out well.

  “Where have you been for the last week, young lady?” her mother asked again.

  Both girls knew from experience that their mother always knew the answer when she asked a question more than once.

  Still, China held her ground. She could tell her mother the truth.

  “I told you, Ga Ga.”

  “You told me a lie is what you told me. What about you, Roxy? Where has your sister been?”

  Roxy looked between her mother and sister, and she was unsure of which way to go.

  “I have nothing to do with this,” she said, as she stood to her feet and walked out.

  After Roxy was gone, Ga Ga turned to her youngest daughter.

  “Let me tell you something, child. I had you 16 years ago and there ain’t nothing I don’t know about you. You or that thing that just walked out of here,” Ga Ga pointed at the door.

  “I know good and well where you spent the last week. Mamas got a way of knowing when their babies need them. It’s a mother’s intuition. I’ve relied on my intuition to raise y’all this far, and it ain’t let me down not once. It told me something was going with you. I get at least one call from your every day, and all of a sudden I don’t hear from my baby. And when I get to calling you, all I ever get is your voicemail. Girls your age live for their phones. So I asked myself what’s the reason you wouldn’t have your phone turned on. You was either dead or in jail.”

  China remained quiet as Smooth shifted in his seat.

  “I’ll be outside,” he attempted a second escape, but sat back down when he caught the look that Ga Ga gave him.

  “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like it. My blood pressure is through the roof and I need answers before I worry myself into a stroke.”

  China hated when her mother used her health against her. This time was different though, because she saw that her mother looked worn out.

  “Ga Ga, me and ...” Smooth started to speak, but was cut short by China.

  ‘Ga Ga, I was in jail.” She gave Smooth a dirty look. “But I’m fine now. I’m sorry that I had you worried; but I promise you, you don’t have to worry any more. That’ll never happen again.”

  “But why were you in jail?” Ga Ga persisted.

  “It’s nothing. Please don’t worry about it.”

  “And you promise it’s over with?”

  “Yes ma’am, it’s over with.”

  “Okay, if you promise,” she rose to her feet and headed to her bedroom.

  * * *

  Monica walked to the back of the house with the metal box in one hand and a shovel in the other. What she was about to do wouldn’t take long at all.

  After selecting a spot, she placed the box on the ground and began digging. She looked around at the neighbors’ windows each time before she shoved the shovel into the dirt in her aunt’s garden. After digging a deep enough hole, Monica got down on her knees and lowered the box into the hole.

  As quickly as she could, she refilled the hole and then patted the dirt, trying to blend it in with the untouched soil around it.

  She stepped back to look at her work. The spot wasn’t invisible, but she was confident it would easily go unnoticed.

  Her aunt paid no attention to the garden. They had only been in the house a few days, but her aunt had yet to do any gardening. She wasn’t worried about the metal box being uncovered.

  She returned the shovel to the garage and then returned inside. Her aunt was still sitting in the same spot in front of the television watching her soap operas.

  Monica walked to the kitchen to wash her hands. While she washed her hands, she noticed how easily her aunt could have seen her had she walked into the kitchen while she was outside.

  She laughed to herself, finished washing her hands, and then walked to her bedroom.

  She toyed with the idea of calling Smooth to tell him what China did, but decided against it.

  She had given him fair warning. She had told him that China didn’t deserved him. Now he would see why.

  She actually liked Smooth, she told herself. She had no intention of hurting him and hoped that China wouldn’t force her hand.

  Just then, a thought came to her.

  She wondered how much money Smooth still had and how much he’d be willing to pay for the gun. She mulled it over for a while.

  It all fit perfectly. If she got all of Smooth’s money, she could relocate somewhere out of state. With no money, Smooth would be unable to reach her.

  There was only one problem. She had no idea how much he had. She couldn’t ask for too much or too little. She decided to hold the gun as security for her safety.

  She picked up her iPad and logged onto her favorite website. While she logged in, Monica realized just how isolated she had been since she stole the money. She was reluctant to go anywhere on the off chance that she’d run into Smooth. She had security now, but even with that, she still preferred staying out of sight.

  Monica first checked on her investments and then scanned the site for news on up-and-comers. She jotted down the names of several of them and then went about researching them.

  While she researched, Donna continued to watch the television. But Monica had no clue as to what was really going on in her aunt’s mind. Her mind was locked on the metal box she saw her niece burying in the back yard

  Whatever it was, it was something her niece didn’t want anyone to find.

  Her aunt wondered what it could be. She wasn’t a nosy person, but she did like to know what was going on around her. She made a mental note to look inside the box.

  * * *

  Smooth and China lay on their bed next to each other, going over the events of the past week. Eventually, the conversation turned to Monica.

  “Where do you think she is?” he asked.

  “I have no idea. Shit, with all the money she has, she could be anywhere.”

  “Why would she do that to you?”

  “Money makes people do foul shit.”

  “How did she even know you had that money in the closet?”

  “Baby, how hard was that to find? She was here alone and maybe decided to snoop around. She came across it and the rest is history.”

  Smooth sensed that China was already fed up with his questions so he dropped it.

  “Something has been bothering me and I need to get it off my chest. I won’t ask you not to get mad, because there’s no way that you won’t get mad,” China told him, as she slowly eased away from him.

  After hearing what China said, Smooth said up on the bed.

  As if he knew what was coming, Zorro ran out of the room.

  “Don’t look at me like that!” she told him, trying to force a smile.

  Smooth was unpredictable when he got mad. She knew what was coming. She just hoped it wasn’t too bad.

  “China, if you have something to say, just say it,” his voice was low.

  He spoke as if he was extremely tired.

  “Do you remember the day we robbed Boss?” she started.

  “How could I forget? But why are you bringing that up? I thought we agreed never to speak about that again.”

  “I know, but ...”

  “But nothing! We leave the past where it is,” he said.

  “Please listen to me.”

  Smooth sensed something important was coming, so he remained silent.

  “Do you remember what you did the night you dropped me off?”

  He thought for a second but had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Why don’t you tell me,” he said, thinking she was talking about another female.

  “The night you dropped me off ...” China started, “I had you give me the gun that you used to kill Boss.”

  “You were supposed to get rid of it, I remember.”

  China stayed quiet too long.

  “What did you do with it?” Smooth asked.

  China remained quiet.
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  “What did you do with it?” he asked again, only louder this time.

  “I didn’t know what to do with it, so I wrapped it up and hid it inside the speakers in my room,” she cried, tears streaming down her cheek.

  “So what’s the big deal if it’s in the speaker? We’ll get it the next time we go over and get rid of it.”

  China was already shaking her head as he spoke.

  “We can’t!” she told him. “It’s not there anymore.”

  “Whatta you mean it’s not there? Where is it?”

  Her sobs racked her body.

  Smooth didn’t see what the big deal was. Even if the gun was missing from the speaker and his prints were on it, that didn’t prove anything. He could have held the gun at any time.

  Of course, he still didn’t like the idea of the murder weapon out there with his prints on it.

  “I thought it was you, Smooth. I thought it was you!” China said in between sobs.

  “What was me?” Smooth was confused.

  She got herself together, and then told him what she had done.

  “I got the pictures while I was in jail,” she showed the photos to him.

  Smooth looked at himself in the pictures and wondered who had taken them.

  “I told you I went to see ...”

  “I know,” China cut him off.

  “What does this have to do with the gun?”

  “When I got the pictures, it was right after you had told me that Monica had stolen all of my money. Then I spoke with her and she was so convincing. I thought it was you.”

  “You thought I would steal from you?” he looked at China as if he didn’t recognize her.

  “I thought you had abandoned me when I needed you most. So I told Monica to go get the gun.”

  Smooth had his hands wrapped around her throat before she was able to finish her statement.

  “Why did you tell her to get it?” he asked between clenched teeth.

  “I can’t brea ...”

  “Why did you tell her to get it, China?” he asked again.

  He saw that she was having trouble breathing, but he still held her by the throat.

  She pried his fingers loose and managed to break free. Smooth walked around the bed and grabbed her by the hair.