Christmas in the Hood (7 page)

“Where you think?” he said, barely able to catch his breath. His round face was red and sweaty.

“What happened?” she asked.

“These dudes were chasing me,” he said.

“Why?” she asked, peeping out the window. “Get away from there,” Andrew yelled as he snatched her back. “Someone might see you.”

After they settled on the sofa, Gigi turned to him. “You know Grandma doesn’t like you stealing,” she said.

“Grandma’s the reason I’m doing what I do,” he said, removing a balled-up handkerchief from his baggy jeans. He opened it on the cushion, revealing three crack bundles.

“Where’d you get that?”

“I stole it from some bitch-ass nigga’s stash two blocks over.” Gigi didn’t know what to say. While she didn’t agree with what Andrew was doing, she understood why he was doing it. His heart was in the right place. She was willing to do anything for Grandma, too.

As though reading her thoughts, Andrew turned to her. “This would be a lot easier if you helped me,” he said.

“Help you?” she repeated. “What … rob cats?”

“Nah, I ain’t talking ’bout that,” he said. “If we both hit the block and bump off them bundles, we’d make the money for Grandma’s kidney transplant twice as fast.”

Gigi realized Andrew made sense, but she didn’t like the idea of standing on a corner making drug sales. It was nerve-racking enough doing it from the comfort of Grandma’s apartment. Plus she had seen how badly things could turn out when her ex-boyfriend went to jail, and she had vowed never to put herself in that position.

“Do it for Grandma,” Andrew pleaded, knowing good and well Gigi would do anything for her.

Gigi sat thinking for a while. She thought about all Grandma had done for her and was still doing for her despite being sick. She tried to think of another way to get the money, but she couldn’t come up with anything else.

“Well, if we plan on making twenty-five grand, we need more work than that,” she said. “We gotta get our hands on some more white.”

“I’ma step to Chico.”

“There’s no way he’s gonna do it,” she said. “He know Grandma don’t want us hustling unless she approves of it. And you know she ain’t.”

“Quit tripping,” Andrew said. “It don’t hurt to ask.”

Thinking of a way to get their hands on the product they needed, Gigi’s ex popped into mind. Asking him was almost as bad as hustling. She sighed and turned to her cousin.

“Let me holla at Rasheed first,” she said. “If it doesn’t work out, then you can ask Chico.”

“A’ight … bet,” Andrew said.

*  *  *

Gigi got up
really
early on a cold Thursday morning and spent hours trying to sleep as she traveled to Attica. After making her way through security, Gigi waited anxiously in the drafty visitor’s area of the prison.

Not wanting to hear anyone’s mouth, she had lied and told Grandma and her boyfriend, Mel, that she had to work when she really had the day off. She shivered as she wondered why it was taking longer than usual for them to call Rasheed’s name. It had begun snowing hard a few minutes after she arrived, so she was ready to get her visit over with and get started on the long trip back home.

She still couldn’t believe she was asking her ex for his help. The thought of having to rely on Rasheed didn’t appeal to her, but she figured with her ex’s street connections, he would be able to get her what she needed.

Finally, Rasheed walked into the visiting room sporting a
state-issued orange jumpsuit. Gigi noticed the angry expression on his face as he sat on the plastic chair facing her.

“What’s good?” Rasheed mumbled.

“What’s up wit’ you?” Gigi asked, adjusting her chair closer. Rasheed shrugged. “I keep hearing you too good for my money now.”

Although she and Rasheed weren’t together anymore, he still tried to look out for her. He had his people bring her money a few times a month, but she always refused to accept it. Since she lived with Grandma, her expenses were low, so the money she made from her part-time job took care of all her needs.

“I don’t need any handouts,” Gigi replied, leaning in closer, “but I do need a big favor.”

“What?” Rasheed snapped, annoyed she wasn’t there for the sole purpose of seeing him.

“I need you to hook me up with one of your connects.”

“Why?” Rasheed asked more out of curiosity than concern. “You wanna be a hustla all a sudden?”

Gigi shook her head. “This is serious. I gotta pay for Grandma’s kidney transplant,” she answered with a concerned expression. “She’s real sick.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Rasheed said, immediately changing his attitude. “Don’t worry. I’ll set it up for you.”

They talked a few more minutes before a corrections officer tapped Rasheed on the shoulder, advising him the visit was over. They hugged each other good-bye.

When Gigi got home late that night, Grandma was already
sleeping soundly. She checked Andrew’s room and was surprised to find him holed up in there flipping through the TV channels.

“Hey,” she said.

“What’s up, Gigi?” he said, never taking his eyes off the TV screen.

“It’s done,” she said simply, as she stood in the doorway.

“What’s done?” he asked, finally looking at her.

She just stared at him a second before rolling her eyes. “Rasheed’s gonna hook it up.”

Andrew’s eyes got big as he realized what she was saying. He jumped off the bed, ran over to her, grabbed her by the hand, and dragged her into the room. “Yo, we about to get paid,” he said excitedly.

“Look, we only doing this for Grandma,” she insisted. “Once we make the money we need to pay for her transplant, we’re out. Agreed?”

Andrew nodded, but Gigi knew he wasn’t listening to her.

She got in his face. “Agreed?” she repeated.

He finally looked at her. “Whatever,” he said.

“Andrew, we aren’t gonna do anything stupid,” she warned. “I’m serious. No dumb shit. We just gonna make this paper. This ain’t about us. It’s about Grandma. Promise me we’re finished after Christmas.”

“Okay, Gigi,” he finally agreed.

*  *  *

Two weeks before Christmas, Rasheed made good on his promise. Gigi was headed to work one morning when Rasheed’s best friend, Big Ben, met her at the corner.

Without even bothering to greet her, Ben handed her a backpack and turned and walked in the other direction. Gigi knew what was inside and nervously looked up and down the street, wondering why he would do something so out in the open. After realizing she was alone on the street, she shouldered the backpack and headed back to the building.

“Back so soon?” Grandma asked, making her way down the hallway.

Gigi nodded, trying not to look guilty. “I forgot something.”

“It looks like you found something,” Grandma said, nodding at the backpack. “I didn’t see you leave with that.”

“Oh, I left it upstairs at my friend Tiffany’s apartment yesterday,” Gigi lied nervously.

Grandma looked at her suspiciously. “What did you forget?” she asked.

“Oh … uh, I hafta tell Andrew something,” she said, inching past Grandma and making her way to her cousin’s room. She didn’t look back, but she could feel Grandma’s eyes on her back.

Once she made it to her cousin’s room, she closed the door and leaned against it, trying to calm down. She hated lying to Grandma, but she knew the older woman wouldn’t approve of what she was doing.

Andrew was still asleep, so she shook him. It wasn’t until he sat up that she noticed the naked female lying next to him. “Get dressed. Meet me in my room,” she ordered, ignoring the girl.

It took Andrew a good five minutes to make it to her room, and by the time he did, Gigi had thought of several reasons why she shouldn’t do what she was about to do. Each time she would change her mind, as though led by some unseen force, her gaze
would wander to Grandma’s picture, and she would think of all that Grandma had done for her. She couldn’t even begin to repay her, but she could try.

“What?” Andrew asked the minute he walked into the room.

“Where’s your friend?” she asked, not really caring.

“Gone,” he said.

Gigi went to the door and looked up and down the hall to make sure all was clear before coming back into the room and locking the door. She grabbed the backpack and emptied its contents on the bed.

Andrew’s eyes grew big as he examined the quarter brick of cocaine wrapped in cellophane.

“We need to flip all this in two weeks if we still wanna get all the money for Grandma. Remember, her surgery is January fourth. You down?”

Andrew nodded.

“Okay, then now I need you to show me how to cook this up. I have a hard enough time boiling water.” Even though she handled crack almost every day, she had never took part in the cooking process.

For the next two hours, Andrew explained more than she ever wanted to know about cooking up coke. After they were done, he took her to a friend’s house and began the laborious process of turning the cocaine into crack.

They agreed they would start selling the next morning. Gigi spent the night tossing and turning, trying to tell herself that what she was doing really wasn’t hurting anyone. By the time it was six
A.M.
she was still awake.

Andrew came bounding through her door at six-thirty, already dressed.

“What you doing up so early?” she asked.

“I’m trying to catch the morning rush,” he said, grinning. “It’s time to get paid.”

Gigi sighed. “I’m serious, Andrew. Once we reach the goal, we’re out. It’s bad enough we’re doing this when we promised Grandma we never would. I don’t wanna get in any trouble.”

“Whatever,” he said. “You coming? The fiends need their medicine before they go to work.”

Gigi reluctantly got dressed. By the time she made it down the hall, Andrew was sitting at the table while Grandma prepared him breakfast.

“Good morning,” she said, hoping the guilt over what she was about to do didn’t show on her face.

“Hey, baby,” Grandma said, smiling and giving her a kiss.

“Hey, Grandma. How you feeling today?” Gigi asked.

“Just fine,” Grandma said.

Something in her voice made Gigi look at her. Grandma looked a little pale, and she seemed tired.

“No, you’re not,” Gigi said, leading her over to a chair.

“I’ll be fine,” Grandma insisted, but Gigi ignored her as she went to finish preparing breakfast.

“Do you have a treatment today?” she asked. She immediately felt guilty at having to ask the question. There used to be a time when she knew Grandma’s dialysis schedule better than Grandma did, but the last week had been so crazy, she couldn’t remember.

Grandma nodded. “Do you think you could take me?” she asked.

Andrew’s eyes grew big. “Uh, she can’t take you today, Grandma,” he stuttered when he saw Gigi about to give in. “She promised me she was gonna help me with something.”

Gigi felt horrible. She knew that Grandma really wasn’t feeling well if she had even asked for Gigi’s help.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “Can I call Access-a-Ride for you?”

“Thank you, baby,” Grandma said, leaning heavily in her chair.

She looked as though she was having trouble breathing, and Gigi hurried the few steps to her. “Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

Grandma just nodded.

Gigi threw Andrew a look. Hustling would have to wait. There was no way she was going to leave Grandma alone.

“I’ll take you,” she said, ignoring Andrew shaking his head.

Grandma smiled her thanks, and Gigi went back to the bedroom to grab her purse.

“You go on without me,” she said to Andrew as she helped Grandma into her coat. “I’ll get with you later.”

Andrew headed out the door without saying a word.

*  *  *

By the time Gigi made it home that afternoon she was depressed. After Grandma’s dialysis treatment, they had seen a doctor, and things were not looking good. Grandma definitely needed the kidney transplant. Gigi knew she had to do whatever it took to get the money.

After she made sure Grandma was comfortable, Gigi grabbed
some product and headed out. She joined her cousin, who was now standing on the stoop. “Damn, it’s cold out here,” she said.

“You just came back outside, and you already bitching,” Andrew replied, sucking his teeth.

Gigi rolled her eyes at Andrew. “Why don’t you mind your business?”

Suddenly, gunshots rang out as a gunman chased a fleeing teenager into the middle of the street. The intended target was headed straight in Gigi and Andrew’s direction.

“Get down! Get down!” Andrew yelled as bullets went buzzing over their heads. They both ducked, quickly crawling into the lobby of the building.

From the vestibule, Gigi and Andrew watched in horror as a bullet slammed into the back of the slender teen’s back, sending him sprawling a few feet away from the stoop. The hooded gunman aimed the revolver at the teen’s head and shot him point-blank. His body jerked violently for a few seconds before going limp. A pool of blood ran along the sidewalk, spilling into the gutter.

Still in shock, Gigi knew from the blank look in the guy’s eyes that he was dead. Making matters worse, Gigi recognized both the killer and the victim. They had been her classmates in high school.

The responding officers pushed their way through the growing crowd gathered around the corpse.

Watching from the stoop, Gigi bowed her head, saying a silent prayer for his soul and asking God to forgive her for not coming forward as a witness because she wasn’t the snitch type. What
happened on the block stayed on the block; Grandma had instilled that in Gigi.

Gigi was an eighties baby, raised in the South Bronx during the wild crack era. By the time she turned nineteen, Gigi had seen more drug dealing and bloodshed than most of the police officers working her neighborhood.

Now she realized selling on the block wasn’t as easy as it looked, but before long she got the hang of it, and, despite the murder, by the end of the night she had made close to a thousand dollars.

Although it was a decent amount, she knew it wasn’t nearly enough to help Grandma, so she decided she had to step up her game the next day.