Addicted to an Addict

by Honey

  “Your mom is not a crackhead, darling.” Gypsie drew in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly before she spoke again. “Your mom is sick, and that’s why she’s in the special hospital in Montana. She realized she needed help to control her disease. We’ve talked about this before, Gem. Your daddy has discussed it with you and Treasure too. You know all about your mom’s addiction.”

  “Yeah, I know about the addiction disease, but does Mommy take drugs? Ryland said her auntie told her that people with addiction are addicts, and addicts are hooked on drugs. Is my mom on drugs, Miss Gypsie?”

  Lord, please give me wisdom and strength. “Yes, sweetheart, your mom is on drugs, but—”

  “You lied to me! And Daddy lied too! I hate you! I hate you!” Gem sprang from the bed and ran out the room crying hysterically.

  With lightning speed, Gypsie ran and caught up with her in the middle of the hallway. Seconds before Gem reached the bathroom, Gypsie reached out and threw her arms gently around her.

  “Get your hands off of me! Let me go! You and Daddy lied to me!”

  Even as Gem resisted with flailing arms, screaming at the top of her lungs, Gypsie held on to her. The sound of the child’s heart-wrenching cries broke the emotional dam. A heavy flow of tears began to spill down Gypsie’s cheeks. The tighter she held on to Gem, the more violently her tiny body bucked against the embrace. All of her wiggling and twisting caused Gypsie to lose her balance, and the two of them collapsed to the plush taupe carpet. The drop to the floor must’ve shocked Gem because she instantly fell quiet and still. Gypsie rushed to seize the moment.

  “I’m so sorry about what Ryland said to you, Gem. It was very mean of her.” She paused and rocked the child in her arms. “I’m also sorry that I didn’t tell you the whole truth about your mother’s disease. Your daddy didn’t think you would understand the part about the drugs. He thought you were too young to learn about that type of thing.”

  “I want to know about drugs, Miss Gypsie. I want you to make me understand why my mom has the addiction disease and why she takes drugs. Will you tell me?”

  “I will tell you everything about drug addiction that I think you’re old enough to understand. Deal?”

  Gem nodded. “Deal.”

  “Okay, let’s go and log on to the computer. There’s a lot of information on the internet.”

  Gypsie released Gem, and they scrambled to their feet. They stood facing each other in silence for a brief moment.

  “Miss Gypsie?”

  “Yes, my brightest Gem?”

  “Can you make me a promise?”

  “What is it?”

  “Promise me that you will never lie to me again.”

  “I promise.”

  “Pinky swear?” Gem extended her hand with her pinky finger curled.

  “Pinky swear.”

  They hooked their pinky fingers together and smiled to make the promise official.

  * * *

  “Hello?”

  “What took you so long to answer the phone?”

  “I was in the den playing a game with your nieces, sir. What the hell took you so long to call me, Jeremiah? I had a little crisis going on with Gem.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Apparently, some grownups don’t have a clue how great an impact their words can have on children. A little girl in Gem’s art class named Ryland had a mouthful to say to her about Mrs. Bishop. Her auntie told her the ghetto version of Geisel’s press conference yesterday.”

  “Fuck! What exactly did the little brat say to Gem?”

  “In a nutshell, she doesn’t want to be Gem’s friend anymore because according to her auntie, Mrs. Bishop is a dangerous, thieving crackhead, and she’s going to die in an abandoned house in the hood.”

  Jeremiah sucked his teeth. “I hate my sweet niece had to experience some shit like that. It’s a damn shame how Mink’s drug habit is still affecting her children even though she’s almost two thousand miles away in treatment. JoJo is going to be pissed about the school incident. I hate to be the bearer of bad news once again.”

  “Don’t tell him. Let him get through this day and the event at the mission this evening. I’ll have a talk with him when he gets home. I need to tell him my thoughts on Dr. Bah, the headmistress at the school too. I don’t like her very much. I was about five hot seconds away from snapping that chick’s neck.”

  “Damn! She must’ve really pissed you off. I haven’t heard you spit words with that much ice in your voice since that night at the restaurant when you gave me the business and threw a glass of water in my face.” Jeremiah laughed, but only for a split second. “Yo, here comes JoJo now. I’ve got to go. Are you and the girls good?”

  “Yeah, we’re fine. I’ll see you in the morning. And remember not to say anything to your brother about the mishap with Gem at school.”

  “I won’t.”

  The moment Gypsie hung up the phone, it rang again.

  “Hello?”

  “What’s up, Blackbird?”

  Gypsie smiled at the sound of Tianji’s voice. Her BFF always seemed to call at just the right time. After her day from hell, a venting and gossip session was exactly what Gypsie needed.

  “Girl, you wouldn’t believe what kind of day I’ve had. After the election, I’m going on a fourteen-day cruise on a luxury liner. Hell, I deserve it after working like an indentured servant and playing mommy all this time.”

  “Honey, you can’t go on a vacation until the first lady completes treatment and comes back home. Those little girls need you.”

  “Uuugh! You’re right. Gem needs me a lot. Let me tell you what happened to her at school today. This little girl named Ryland . . .”

  Chapter Thirty-two

  Josiah surveyed the last dozen or so people standing in line and looked down at the coolers filled with frozen chickens. “We’ll make it with a few birds to spare,” he whispered to Jeremiah. “Then I’ll work the room and shake some more hands before I sneak out.”

  “Cool. I’ll have time to swing by and play with a lucky member of the ‘J Team’ and give her a prize before sunrise.” He grinned with a glint of mischief in his eyes.

  “Well, I’m going home to kiss my two little angels, take a hot shower, and curl up in my bed with a good book.”

  “You have your life outside of politics, and I have mine, bruh.”

  The Bishop twins continued working side by side at the giveaway event along with members of the mission’s staff. Josiah was distributing the chickens while Jeremiah handed out plump hams. The program had unfolded without any drama or glitch. Josiah’s speech had been well-received, and the crowd had responded favorably.

  As expected, reporters were lurking around outside the building before the event. But thanks to a special five-man security team that Jeremiah had contracted to back up the two uniformed officers from the city, no one from the media was allowed within five feet of the mayor. In fact, the group of reporters was served the okeydoke when the sleek, black Range Rover rolled to a stop in the side alley adjacent to the building instead of the mayor’s official vehicle. By the time they realized Josiah was the mystery occupant riding in style, he was halfway inside the building.

  But the media hogs weren’t the only ones taken by surprise. Josiah was caught off his square when his childhood buddy, Spud, first arrived at city hall and announced that he would be driving him, Jeremiah, and Connor to the Agape Ministries Mission instead of Nelson. It was such a classic move for his twin brother to make an off-the-wall arrangement for him behind his back. Initially, Josiah was pissed to the max and had to fight the urge to kick Jeremiah’s ass. But they had a rule to never argue in front of staff members or any city hall employees, especially not Connor with his supersensa-tional self. So, Josiah just rolled with the flow. He figured that Jeremiah had a good reason for giving Nelson the evening off and arranging for Spud to chauffeur him to the mission in his place.

  The moment they arrived at the mission and Josiah saw all th
e reporters and TV cameras, he clearly understood exactly why Jeremiah had changed their original plan. He smiled when he spotted Rob, Tee, and Deacon Hawkins’s two sons all decked out in designer suits and shoes posted up in strategic locations around the building. As usual, his twin brother and ace in the hole had made moves to hold him down. He had called in the old hood cavalry to protect him from the enemy, which, on this particular night, was the local media.

  “Thank you, Mayor Bishop,” a young lady whispered. She took the chicken from Josiah and placed it in a cardboard box filled with other food items she held in her hands.

  Her soft voice yanked Josiah from his thoughts before he gave the woman his full attention. She had three small children; two little boys who were around his daughters’ ages and a sleeping baby girl secured in an old stroller.

  “You’re welcome, ma’am. Have a good evening,” Josiah said, smiling at the woman and her children.

  “We’ll try.” The woman stared at Josiah for a few seconds before she politely asked, “Will you please take a picture with my boys? They admire you so much. Keon, my oldest, even did a report about you in school. He says he wants to be just like you when he grows up. My boy wants to be the mayor of Atlanta one day.”

  As if on cue, Jeremiah took a break from ham duty and reached for the woman’s cell phone. “Y’all get in close. Mama, you should get in the picture too.”

  “And I want this little angel to join us also,” Josiah announced as he reached down and freed the adorable baby girl from the less-than-sturdy stroller. He grinned when her eyes popped wide open the moment he lifted her into his arms. “Hey, precious. My name is Josiah. What’s your name?”

  “That’s Heavenly, my baby sister,” the younger of the two boys blurted out. Then he covered his eyes shyly with his hands and giggled, displaying a snaggletoothed smile.

  His mother pulled him and his older brother closer to her as she stood next to Josiah who was now in a cooing exchange with baby Heavenly.

  “Okay, everyone, look this way and say cheese.”

  The group looked at Jeremiah and smiled. He snapped several pictures as everyone changed poses like professional models.

  “Thank you, Mayor Bishop. It was very nice to meet you. Keon and Brent will never forget this day. ”

  “It was my pleasure. By the way, I want to invite you and your kids to a special dinner and children’s party at my church on October thirty-first. It’s a safe alternative to trick-or-treating on Halloween. What’s your name, ma’am?”

  “I’m Therria Mayes, sir.”

  “Miss Mayes, I want you to call my office at city hall tomorrow and leave your name, telephone number, and address with my administrative assistant, Gypsie Robinson. I’ll contact you personally with the information about the dinner and party. I’ll also make arrangements for you and your children to be picked up and returned home safely.”

  “Oh my, I don’t know what to say! I’ll call bright and early in the morning, sir. Thank you so much, Mayor Bishop.”

  “It’s my pleasure.” Josiah hugged Miss Mayes and handed Heavenly back over to her. Then he embraced both of her sons before they all walked away.

  Within seconds, he resumed distributing chickens and greeting those in need with a warm smile and a handshake. As the line of people got shorter, mission employees started cleaning up and ushering the guests out the door. Connor entered the building from a side entrance, looking like he’d just escaped death. His face was a fiery shade of red, and his emerald eyes held a flash of anger.

  “What’s up, Connor?” Jeremiah placed a ham in a box for an elderly gentleman on a cane and his wife.

  “There are reporters and television cameras at every exit.” He raked his fingers through his hair nervously. “One broad, Korrie Kaufman, from Channel 5, is acting like a real bulldog. She and her stooges are camped out for the long haul, but those private security guards you hired are some bad dudes. They forced a couple of cameramen back inside their trucks.”

  Josiah glared at Jeremiah who quickly turned his head. Everyone knew that Spud and the gang were much too aggressive and lacked the training to be a part of the mayor’s unofficial security detail. If the reporters became overly persistent for an interview, all hell would break loose.

  “I’m not going to hide out in here all night. I plan to exit the same door I entered, and if anyone from the media approaches me respectfully to ask questions about Mink, I’ll offer a few simple answers. And after I’ve said all I feel is necessary, I’m going to walk away and not look back.”

  * * *

  “Don’t you think the citizens of Atlanta have the right to know if their mayor’s wife is addicted to prescription drugs or alcohol or illegal street drugs? There is a difference, sir. Some people want to know if Mrs. Bishop has broken the law by using crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, crystal meth, or some other outlawed substance.”

  “I believe the fine people of Atlanta have already been informed about what is important about my wife’s condition. She realized she had developed a substance dependency, and she made the conscious decision to enter treatment.”

  The aggressive, petite reporter tossed her golden curls over her shoulder in obvious frustration. Jeremiah noticed her bright baby blues darken as she sneered at Josiah. Connor had been dead-on point. She was a feisty bulldog.

  “Is Mrs. Bishop in treatment in the state of Georgia?” Miss Kaufman pressed.

  “My wife is in a very reputable drug rehabilitation and mental health facility receiving quality care. I ask that you and all of the citizens of Atlanta include her in your daily prayers and positive thoughts. Thank you.” Josiah turned away from the microphones and stepped toward Jeremiah, Connor, and his loyal homeboys.

  “So, I guess that means your wife is hooked on street drugs. If she were addicted to pain killers or alcohol, you would’ve said so. What is she strung out on? Crack? Smack? Or is she on that ice?”

  “Yo, you need to back up, fool!”

  Josiah raised his hand to silence Spud. Everyone in the small crowd huddled around the door seemed surprised at the young male reporter’s tactless line of questioning. Even Korrie Kaufman appeared shocked shitless as she turned around clutching her microphone. But Josiah held his head high and walked past her and the rude young man and headed toward the SUV. Rob was sitting behind the wheel. Josiah, Jeremiah, and Connor piled inside quietly with the sound of the male reporter’s voice echoing in the night air.

  Chapter Thirty-three

  Dendrick raised the remote control and turned off the TV. “Did you see that bullshit? Did you see it?”

  “Yeah, I saw it.” Anastasia rolled her eyes and waved her hand at the television. “It’s a damn shame. I hope TV and newspaper reporters won’t come after you like that once you become mayor, Daddy.”

  I won’t ever become mayor, babe. Even though Bishop’s wife is now a known dope fiend, he’s still kicking my ass in the polls. “Yeah, hopefully, they won’t ride my ass like that. Those reporters were like wild animals, especially that skinny Disney princess from Channel 5. And who the hell was that weird guy with that nappy beard, wearing a toboggan over dreadlocks? One of Bishop’s bodyguards was about to kick his ass.” “He should have. Dude had no business trying to get all up in the mayor’s personal business. That shit wasn’t cool at all.”

  Dendrick rolled over on top of Anastasia and pinned her back to the mattress. He gripped her hips tightly with both hands and grinded his lower body into hers. “Since when did you become a fan of my opponent?”

  “I’m not his fan, but he has been a good mayor. The park in my old neighborhood had been run down for years because the drug dealers and crackheads had taken it over. Now, look at it. The basketball court has been renovated, and the children have new swings, sliding boards, a merry-go-round, and jungle gyms to play on. The lights around the park are so bright at night now, the dope boys and junkies are scared to show their faces.”

  “And you give all the credit to Mayo
r Bishop? You think he’s doing a good job, huh?”

  Anastasia met Dendrick’s gaze, and he immediately detected apprehension in her eyes. She had always been honest with him from the first day they met at Spa Onyx where she worked as a masseuse and reflexologist. It was flammable lust at first touch. A foot massage had never, ever been more arousing. Dendrick had been hooked on Anastasia’s hands, mouth, and sweet pussy ever since. And she’d been the perfect side chick to him the entire two years. She was loyal to a fault, considerate, and she went above and beyond her duty to please him in any way imaginable. If anyone had the right to be candid with Dendrick, he believed it was Anastasia.

  “Do you think Bishop is a good mayor, baby?” he asked again.

  “Yeah, I do. But I think you’ll be just as good a mayor as he is or even better.” Anastasia reached up and framed Dendrick’s face with her palms. Her eyes bore directly into his seconds before she kissed his lips softly. “Just promise me that you won’t forget about me . . . about us when you get to city hall, Big Daddy.”

  “Nothing will ever make me forget about you, girl. Daddy can’t get enough of your sweet self.”

  Dendrick eased his tongue between Anastasia’s lips as his hand snaked down between their bodies. His fingers found her sweet goodness warm and saturated. Her clit was hard and pulsing under his magic touch.

  “Aaaah, yesss, Daddy . . .”

  Dendrick continued strumming Anastasia like his personal musical instrument as she squirmed and hummed a melody of pure pleasure against his lips. With each snaking motion of his tongue, feasting on hers in coordination with the finger massage to her clit, he felt her soul soaring higher and higher above the earth. Nothing made him feel more like a man than to please his woman.

  When Anastasia’s body began to writhe and convulse underneath him as she climaxed under his touch, thoughts of Dendrick’s failing campaign and his miserable marriage vanished from his mind. He had one thing on his brain. He wanted to sink his dick so deep inside of Anastasia and stroke away every worry, failure, and fear that was haunting him.