A Hustler's Wife (30 page)

"The least you can do is come through for me. You owe me that."

Yarni raised her voice, "Lower your voice before I hang up, I owe you?"

"That's right, I spared your life!" Rich said.

"You spared my life?

"Yes, when Tank kept saying he wanted to kill you, I was the one who told him NO!" Tears started to fill her eyes.

"What exactly do you mean?" Yarni said in an unsure voice.

Rich said, "Yeah, I actually felt sorry for your stuck-up pitiful ass when your sorry ass nigga left you for dead! I wondered how could a man leave his woman as he left you." Yarni begin to cry and Rich continued with no remorse. "Remember you kept saying it was something about my eyes? All you ever saw was my eyes when I was holding you at gunpoint. Remember that day when I borrowed $250.00 from you and later that day I gave $1000.00? That's because I had done a kidnapping. Her man paid. I been doing this shit for years! You never believed me when I told you, I didn't sell drugs. My hustle is kidnapping. You were the only woman I ever got personal with. I never lied to you about anything, except I didn't tell you I was married. Now, please Yarni, I saved your life. Please come through for me." Rich pleaded in a humble voice. "As I said Yarni, you owe me, big time."

Yarni was quiet for a while. She was speechless.

"Hello?" Rich said. "Yarni, are you there?"

"You know Rich, I don't owe your ass shit!" She screamed into he phone. "I paid you $100,000 for my return. Had you just let me go free, I might feel some type of pity for you! Why don't you send your boys to pull off a quick heist real fast to get your bail money?"

Yarni slammed the phone down. She sobbed. Am I that naive that I would be involved with my kidnapper? She wondered. I need to step back and reevaluate myself. She begins to cry hysterically.

She called Stephanie and Zurri and explained, the whole conversation with Rich to them. They comforted her. "How would you have known? Don't blame yourself. He's the sicko, not you. He treated you like a lady, and conducted himself as a perfect gentlemen. There were no signs. So, it's not your fault." Gloria began to worry about Yarni. She was concerned that Yarni may snap at any moment. Gloria secretly called to Richmond's city jail to alert them of Rich's warrants in Chesterfield. Rita was more so worried that since Yarni didn't help him get out of jail, he may come after Yarni. Gloria, on the other hand, was worried that if he was released, Yarni was going to hurt Rich. Yarni had been through enough. Gloria wasn't sure of Yarni's breaking point.

Rich never made bail. Once he was fingerprinted. He was charged for warrants he had in North Carolina and Georgia, along with the warrants in Chesterfield and Richmond. Rich was going to be in jail for a long time.

Yarni was relieved that Rich was going to be locked up for a long time. Her only concern is that she hoped that Rich wouldn't be housed in any of the state prisons Des had been or was currently at. Des still had people all across the Virginia state prison system who'd kill under his command. As much as she hated Rich, she didn't want his death to be on her conscience.

She also didn't want Des to have any parts of hurting Rich. She wanted Des to come home and not put himself in any kind of situation to jeopardize his being released.

CHAMPAGNE TASTE,BEER BUDGET

Yarni finally closed on her condo.
She felt blessed and relieved.

This was hers. No one could kick her out. She could do whatever she wanted. If she wanted to walk around butt-naked, she could.

The first thing she did prior to moving any of her furniture in was, an initial cleansing of her townhouse. She burned Frankincense and Myrrh to purify the house. She lit a house-blessing candle. Her Aunt Andrea came over to pray.

Stephanie, Rita and Zurri tried to convince Yarni to allow them to give her a house warming party. She declined the offer because she didn't want anyone knowing exactly where she lived. She didn't want to seem as if she was begging for the things she needed for her condo. They completely understood, taking in consideration everything she'd been through.

Stephanie, Rita, Andrea, Zurri and Joyce all gave her gift certificates. She was appreciative. Gloria had some saving bonds that she'd gotten when Yarni was a baby. She cashed them so Yarni could purchase some furniture. With Yarni's expensive taste, the money from the saving bonds didn't go very far.

She went to La Difference Furniture and purchased an exquisite imported sofa. She went to Circuit City and purchased a big screen T.V. The salesman talked her into buying surround-sound.

She didn't know anyone personally who'd had surround sound.

She'd only read about it in the magazines. Her uncle, Stanka, bought her a state of the art stereo, hot off the streets from a crack head. She couldn't afford the dining room set she wanted, so she bought two bar stools for her bar. Her co-workers at the law firm got her a gift certificate to Linen's and Things. Right after Bengee died, when she received the insurance check from Bengee's death, she purchased herself a new bedroom set because the bed her mother had purchased years ago was so juvenile. So that bedroom suite was still pretty new. While she was still living at her mother's house, she'd been picking up odds and ends that she knew for sure she'd need. Yarni was glad that she was finally in her own place. But now, how was she going to finance the rest of her furniture?

When her mother saw what little Yarni had done with the money, she lectured her, "Sweetie, you've got to buckle down. I can't believe this is all you got with the money, I saved those bonds for you over a course of twenty odd years? The bottom line is, Yarni, you can't have champagne taste with a beer budg-et."

Yarni had only been living in her condo for three months.

When she arrived home from visiting Des, she couldn't believe her eyes. Her condo door was cracked open. Yarni walked through the door and stood in disbelief. Yarni couldn't make sense of the whole situation because the person didn't take anything. They only broke in and trashed her condo. They used a knife to cut up her sofa. Her big screen T.V. was turned over and broken. All her minks and most expensive clothes were tossed in her marble bathtubs in both her bathrooms and bleach was splattered all over her garments. They even spray painted

"BITCH" all over the walls. They snatched her comforter set off of her bed and cut it and put cigarette burns all over it. They went through the house and poured bleach all over the carpet.

Yarni was devastated. She was already so frustrated that she couldn't afford all the things she wanted for her townhouse as it was, and now this. It really hurt her heart because these were all the things that she acquired on her own, no hustler or fast cash got her any of these things. She had worked an honest job for these things. Her homeowner's insurance conducted a full investigation because there was no sign of forced entry. After they finally decided to pay her, it didn't cover everything that was destroyed. She decided that she'd purchase the large things that were trashed with the money the insurance company gave her.

She could pick up the little things and the clothes, here and there. So, she was back at square one. What was she to do now?

She couldn't go running to her mother because she was a grown woman, not a little girl anymore. She tried to look at the bright side of it.

At least this happened before I actually got my place the way I wanted it. I'm grateful that the insurance company did give me some money, and now I have ADT coming out to install a security system, and I guess some type of break will come so that I can get this place like I want it.

YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH
THE SHADOW OF THE VALLEY OF
DEATH...

Yarni's phone was ringing as she walked in the house from
working out at the gym.
She sprinted over to the phone to answer it. It was Castro calling Yarni collect. This was the first time in all his years of being locked up, that he ever called her from prison. Her heart started pounding. She was nervous. Is something wrong? Is it Des? What could it be? What happened to Castro? What? She kept trying to push zero to accept the call while the automated voice was still talking, but she had to wait until it prompted her to press zero. She did. Once they connected the call. She said, "Hello?" holding her breath.

"Hey, Yarni," Just then the automated voice interrupted. "This call is from a correctional center and this call is subject to recording."

"Damn, it's bad enough they charge us all this money for these calls and then they want to talk more than we do," Yarni laughed. She was relieved when she heard Castro's voice fussing about the phone situation. She knew that it wasn't anything bad.

"What's the dealeyo, Ms. Yarnise?"

"Nothing much, what's up wit you?"

"Nothing much. Where you been? I've been calling you all day."

"You've been calling me all day? What's up with that? What do I owe this pleasurable once in a decade moment? Please explain?"

"Remember, I am the big brother, and no matter how grown you get, you will always be my little sister. You got dat? Now where ya been?"

"Oh, go to hell, Castro. No, all jokes aside, I've been at work and." Castro interrupted.

"Work? What the hell is going on? I can't believe you've been at that job this long. Des told me you had a job. So, it's official, huh? You finally decided to hang your shovel up and pass your gold-digging crown on, huh?" Yarni burst into laughter.

"You crazy, Castro, I miss you, sooo much. I am so glad you called."

"Don't go and get all teary eyed on me," he said in a modest tone.

"I do miss you," she said to her friend and fake brother.

"Well, come pick me up tomorrow at 8a.m." Castro said cutting to the chase.

"No problem! Why you didn't tell me before now?" Yarni inquired.

"Because when you get to talking about these type of things, people try to throw a monkey wrench at a brother cause he short. So, I didn't tell nobody" Yarni picked him up from the Deep Meadow Correctional Facility. She took him to the mall and bought him a couple of outfits, some Timberland boots and a cell phone after she got Des' approval.

Castro called Yarni at work, and asked if he could take her to lunch. He explained that he had something to talk to her about.

Yarni met with Castro that afternoon.

"Listen, I need you to get me this apartment in your name. I want only a six-month lease. I have a bag of money in the car.

I will give you six months of rent when we go outside along with the security deposit. I'm going to look out for you too." Yarni didn't have to think twice about it.

"Cas, I don't have any problem with getting you an apartment in my name, but first I have to O.K. it with Des."

"I spoke to Des this morning. Out of respect, I ran it pass him first. He is gonna call you, but he said it was up to you," Castro said.

"Now, why are you riding around with a bag of money in the trunk of your car? That's just careless and ghetto." Yarni reached over and playfully hit him. He looked at Yarni again.

"What is it now?" She asked while rolling her eyes, "I know that look," Castro spoke slowly and unsure. He twisted his words.

"Need, I Ya...." Castro mumbled.

Yarni laughed,

"Come on now. Get your words together!" She demanded as they laughed.

"Yarni, I can't shit, where I eat," He said very serious.

"Oh, you've had to give them people a decade of your life to realize that," Yarni said sarcastically.

"Basically," Castro said to Yarni in a sarcastic way, and nods his head and then they both burst into laughter.

"Yarni, I have somewhere to stash my drugs, but nowhere that I feel comfortable leaving my money unattended. I mean, I know I could probably hide it some where in my mother's house, but you and I know how nosy she is. The only other place I can think of is with you.

"Look, there's rules to this. Don't keep running back and forth to my house every single day for your money, making my spot hot. Don't bring anybody along with you when you come through with money. I never want to find out you're stashing drugs where I lay my head at," Yarni stated.

Castro paid Yarni $500.00 a week for allowing him to keep his money in her house. Anything hot, stolen that came across his path, he bought it for Yarni.

Castro filled Yarni's Louis Vuitton duffel bag with money. She noticed that he purchased a safe and placed it in one of the closets. When she noticed the safe, she automatically knew that Castro was doing major things.

One day Yarni met a man, at a Caribbean restaurant. He had been watching Yarni who was having lunch with Castro. When she got up to go to the restroom, the man followed her. He wore light blue jeans, a white and yellow Polo shirt with some brown leather sandals that strapped around his big toe. His perfect pearly white teeth, yellow 18-carat gold chain and pendant he wore, brought out his tar black complexion. His short nappy hair was all over his head. He was medium build, standing at 5'6, with huge ears.

"Excuse me, Miss, you are so bootiful." The man said to her, speaking slowly trying to camouflage his accent.