Brooklyn Brothel (12 page)

I got up enough energy to peel myself from the floor. I ran behind Bo into the bathroom, yellin’ and screamin’, “What the fuck has gotten into you? I thought you loved me!”

He was in a trance, searchin’ cabinets, and lookin’ under fixtures. I knew he didn’t hear me, especially with all the noise. He was breakin’ up everything. I just knew the mirror was next when he yanked open the medicine cabinet. He started throwin’ things around like a maniac. He opened band-aid boxes, the toothbrush holder, and the big bag full of condoms. Still nothin’.

With everything thrown all ova the floor, he still wasn’t satisfied. He got down on his knees and targeted the cabinet beneath the sink. “If you think ya gon’ get ova on Bo Rich, youuuooooo gotta notha thing comin’,” he sang.

I tried to make him feel like a fool by shakin’ my head from side to side. I looked terrible, hair matted to my head, and scratches and bruises all across my face. But Bo looked even sillier as he tried to stand, trippin’ ova all the shit he’d thrown across the floor. He almost fell until he took hold of the top of the toilet seat. Unfortunately, it gave him another idea.

Bo eyed the highest part of the toilet, and lifted the part where it actually flushes. When he bent down beside the toilet, I knew I’d been had. His face was less than two feet away from the plunger. I knew it would be next. Sadly, I turned and walked toward the bed to have a seat. I wondered what would happen to me next. There was nobody who could save me. I thought about runnin’. I thought about grabbin’ Bo’s gun that he always kept inside his nightstand. Death seemed to be my last resort. I was tired of failin’ at everything I tried.

Then, it dawned on me. There was silence in the bathroom. My eyes opened wide when Bo walked out and said, “Look, I had to be sure Chantel. You know, I’m a business man.”

I couldn’t believe it. That fool neva lifted the plunger. He started fixin’ his clothes into place, and slickin’ his ponytail
to the sides. “Now go in there and clean that damn bathroom. Yo man gotta make moves.”

There was no… I’m sorry, no… lemme see your face. No… I was wrong. Nothin’. Just clean the bathroom. I asked if I could use his cell before he left to call my aunt. I wanted her to know I’d made it back to PA safely. She was the only family that I kept in touch with from time to time. Bo said yes, and threw me the phone, standin’ ova me the whole time. When I was finished, I told him she was gonna take me to see Carlton on Wednesday if it was alright with him.

He told me he would let me know, and not to say another word until the bathroom was clean. I did as I was told, and grabbed the mop from the kitchen.

Chapter 9

The next three
days of my life felt like I’d been sentenced to hell. Bo woke up Wednesday mornin’, rolled ova, and laid his greasy-ass head on my stomach.

“When you gon’ bring in some money?” he questioned.

“Uhhhhhh…I’ll start lookin’ today.” I hoped the conversation wouldn’t go any further. It was important to keep the peace just a few more days. I’d found the court document mixed in between all the mail that had been sittin’ in our mailbox since I’d been gone. It was mixed in between all the weekly drug store coupons, and cut off notices from utility bills he obviously hadn’t paid. I remember rippin’ it open, only to find out I had four days left to get a lawyer and appear in court on the followin’ Monday. Dre was slick, so I was willin’ to use every dime to my name on a lawyer. I even came up with a hair-brain scheme to get some money outta Bo.

I turned ova to make my plea. “Bo, do you think I can get a lil’ money to go out with my aunt today? She’s willin’ to take me to see my son if you let me.” My eyes begged, while I rubbed on his dick beneath the covers. “I wanna buy Carlton a pair of tennis shoes or somethin’ to show I’m still his mom. You know… that I still love him. Plus, I wanna get a few freaky toys for me and you.”

Bo turned ova quickly, flippin’ me onto my back. He pressed down on me with all his weight and eyed me with his piercin’ eyes. If I didn’t know better, my mind would’ve tricked
me into believin’ Bo was possessed. He growled like a beast when he spoke.

“Don’t think you sweet-talkin’ me in ta shit. Now I’ma give you a few hundred to get me a lil’ sumthin’…and a fifty for Carlton. Don’t come back without sumthin’ good.”

Damn, I had stuck my foot in my mouth. The two-fifty he was offerin’ wasn’t much considerin’ I would have to give the lawyer a retainer fee. Luckily, I still had my stash stuck up in the plunger. But now I wouldn’t live to wake up another mornin’ if I didn’t come back with a gift for Bo.

Bo must’ve had a lot to do, ’cause I thought he was gonna make me suck his dick. When he hopped up and got in the shower, I couldn’t have been happier.

I hopped up too after fakin’ like I was still restin’. I called my aunt Renee and told her to pick me up within the hour. Little did she know, we had a full schedule for the day which included way more than visitin’ Carlton.

I took a moment to thank the Good Lord for Renee. She wasn’t a true blood aunt. She was the sister of one of the many men who’d passed through my mother’s life, and somehow stayed in contact with me. Unfortunately, she stayed in contact with my mother, too. Now I knew Renee was broke. Real broke, so I had to set aside some money for her, and gas, too. I laid in the bed calculatin’ when Bo emerged from the bathroom half-dressed. I watched him rush ova to his closet grabbin’ a multi-colored pinstriped shirt. You could tell he thought he looked good the way he tucked the shirt into his pants.

“Tell me your man looksssssss good,” he ordered.

“Yes, Bo. You look gooooooood,” I joked.

He threw his shades trimmed in gold across his face, and my two-fifty across the bed. Within moments he was out, and I jetted from the bed like a track star tryna get dressed.

When Renee picked me up, she had a sassy expression like I was botherin’ her by askin’ for a ride. I, on the otha hand, was pumped. It was my chance to get Carlton back, and the first step in breakin’ away from Bo. I told Renee our first stop was downtown to my lawyer’s office. When I ran off the address to her, she held out her hand for gas money. Renee didn’t look well at all. Her hair was cut short and didn’t have one curl in sight. The circles beneath her eyes, along with her scaly, dark skin told me she was into somethin’ not too good. We whipped past a gas station ova by Northway Shopping Center, and got downtown in about thirty minutes.

When I walked into my lawyer’s office, it felt like I was one step closer to my dream. It felt like I was dealin’ with a big shot. Paintings lined the wall, and the chairs in the waitin’ room were extra plush. People were in and out constantly, like Grand Central Station, which let me know he wouldn’t spend a whole bunch of time on me. At $250 an hour, I didn’t really wanna stay long anyhow.

I was really proud of myself by the way I handled my lawyer, Mr. Sulferri. He was tall, attractive and definitely a fast talker. As soon as he called me into his office he started rattlin’ off his accolades and all the famous people he’d helped. In the midst of boastin’, I surveyed the wall and noticed he’d come from two Ivy League schools. Now, I didn’t know much about college, but I certainly recognized that certificate that read, “HARVARD”

He interrupted my thoughts when he asked, “How’d your ex get a hold of your son anyway?”

I was at a loss for words. “Ummm.”

“Never mind. Let’s just figure out a way to assassinate his character,” he continued. “Tell me more about your son’s
father. Has he ever been to jail or done drugs?”

Hell, he was talkin’ about me, too. I played the sweet, innocent role, with the way I cried about how I’d been through so much and needed to fight for custody of my son. I’m sure it helped that I was dressed in a regular pair of jeans, and a buttoned up shirt. I looked real wholesome, a style I’d stolen from Angel. I paid him a retainer fee of $1,000, which left me with barely nothin’ considerin’ I used my remainin’ earnin’s from Betty’s.

Mr. Sulferri told me he’d see me in court the followin’ week, and that we were definitely gonna win. He babbled on about his sharp winnin’ record and how he knew the judge real well. I smiled until he told me I’d need to pay the final thousand in three more weeks.

When I walked outta Mr. Sulferri’s office, I had high hopes. I skipped around happily, and tried to drum up some conversation with Renee as we walked into an off-brand men’s shop on the corner. For me, shoppin’ downtown was a good thing, but Renee looked to be uncomfortable. I asked her about my mom, and the last time she’d seen her. The response was shockin’.

“She on drugs real bad,” she admitted. “But when I told her I talked to you, she got excited.”

“Really!” I got excited, too. For what I didn’t know. Maybe because I hadn’t seen her sinse I was sixteen years old, the day I left home.

“She asked me for your address,” Renee revealed.

I prayed she didn’t. “And you didn’t give it to her, right?” I gave Renee the eye while throwin’ Bo’s two new hats I’d picked out for him onto the counter.

“No, I didn’t but you two need to cut that shit out. It’s been years since y’all talked or even seen each other.”

I frowned. “It’s not me, it’s her.”

“C’mon now. You gotta take some blame. I mean you
did get her locked up for two years behind that mess,” Renee replied.

“No, she got herself locked up. Shit, I was only fourteen. As a matter of fact, I don’t even wanna talk about it. That’s behind me now.” I held a pair of nice cufflinks in the air. “You like these for Bo?”

“A ponytail holder might suit him better,” she laughed. “What are you gonna get Carlton?” She knew he was our next stop.

I didn’t respond. I simply pulled out the gold chain I’d snagged from my John, Muhammed.

“I got it from a good friend, who’s a jeweler,” I bragged, examinin’ the chain, and runnin’ it through my fingers.

The Carlton situation had me on edge. Luckily, it was still early afternoon and he was still in school. By the time we made it to Avalon Elementary on Union Avenue, all the first through fourth graders were outside runnin’ around on the playground. I hoped none of the teachers would throw me shade when I stepped onto the gravel. Most of his teachers probably knew I had been locked down. I caught one man from the corner of my eye gazin’ at me like I’d stolen somethin’. Before I could conjure up my excuse, Carlton took off runnin’ in my direction.

“Mommy! Mommy!” he shouted.

“Carlton!” I shouted back. I hadn’t seen my baby in ova four months. The last time we saw each other, Dre was there to supervise, and he’d only given me twenty minutes to spend with him.

Carlton’s face said it all as he sprinted toward my open arms. Another female teacher took off behind him, headed my way. When Carlton fell into my embrace, I kissed at his smooth skin ova and ova again. It amazed me how he looked so much like me, except for his curly hair. He had the good
stuff, and I most certainly did not. His skin-tone was slightly darker than mine, givin’ him more of an Indian appearance.

“Hello, I’m Mrs. Shanklin,” a thin, petite black woman said, before extendin’ her hand. “I’m Carlton’s teacher.”

“And this is my mom, I’ve been telling you about,” he stated proudly.

I grinned with a wide smile. I knew exactly how to behave. “Hello, Mrs. Shanklin, I’m Chantel Ramsey, Carlton’s mother. Of course you know he lives with his father. I was just wonderin’ if I could get a few moments with him out here on the playground.”

“Of course you can.” She smiled. “I met his step- mother, and boy am I glad to see you.”

“Ohhhhhh, his step-mother,” I said, lookin’ at Carlton. We had a lot of catchin’ up to do.

I ushered him off to the side to a nearby bench. It amazed me the way his eyes crinkled at the sides. He had his Daddy’s dimples too, which pissed me off. I told Carlton that we would be in court in a few days and that his dad and I would work things out. He told me he hated livin’ with his dad and his girlfriend, Lolita. He informed me that Lolita had three daughters of her own, and that he had to move out of his room onto the couch in the livin’ room when they moved in. I asked him if he wanted to live with me. When he told me yes, my heart melted.