GHETTO SUPERSTAR (18 page)

“Give this to Casino.” Taz handed her the CD they had made together. “I told him he could have the single. All he has to do is
press it up and get it played; that'll get you some buzz and create a fan base for you.”

Fabiola took the CD. “Sounds good,” she said, “but do you really think it'll be that easy?”

“You got a manager?”

“I had one.” Fabiola really missed her mother, but she wasn't able to forgive her for what she said.

“Well, you need to get one—and fast. You should concentrate on your music and let your manager iron out the details with the business. Some artists wear themselves thin trying to be artist and manager. It's not a good look.”

“I hear you. I really want to thank you for everything that you've done.” She looked at the CD clutched in her hand. “You've truly been a blessing to me, and trust me when I get on, you don't have to worry, I got you big-time!”

“It's my pleasure. I normally charge a minimum of thirty thousand for a beat and a song, but I believe in you and I want you to make it; that's why I gave it to you. Well, that and a couple of other reasons.” He took a deep breath. In a low voice, he added, “The man that sent you to me, Casino, my brother owes his life to him, and this is partial repayment for that also. But how do you compensate a person for something like that? Between me and you, I don't know what you did to Johnny Wiz to piss him off, but he's trying very hard to block your road to stardom.”

“I know. It got very ugly between us.” Fabiola dropped her head. “He tried to make me sleep with him, which I didn't. But I play that episode in my head every day over and over again.” She looked up at him, and confessed, “Sometimes I wished I would have, but then I ask myself what that would have really meant.”

“This whole entertainment thing is a dirty game, and especially fucked-up for women. Most of the times it ain't who you
know but who you fucking, but being an industry whore has its downsides—trust me. That shit is like rolling the dice. Sometimes you get put on but there are some who just get used.” Taz consoled her. “As I said, you are very gifted. Let your talent and wit get you to the top. Don't be discouraged! I see a lot of people come and go in my studio, but you have what it takes to make it. Believe me. And I am here if you need me.”

“That means a lot to me.”

“I mean it. Now you better get out of here. Don't you leave in a couple of hours?”

“Yes. Thanks so much for everything.” She hugged Taz and he kissed her on the cheek. He knew she had a real long road ahead of her with Johnny Wiz as her foe.

wo weeks had passed since Fabiola had gotten back from New York. She had been pounding the pavement trying to figure out how to get her song played on the radio. The task was proving to be harder than she thought. She tried taking radio djs out to dinner, sending them gift baskets accompanied by her CD, and even giving it to a couple of family members of djs to pass along. Nothing had worked. She was supposed to return to New York in a few days to continue recording her album. It was just too much work. She needed a manager in the worst way. But one thing Fabiola could say was that being on the grind so hard made her appreciate her mother's hustle. She had way more respect for Viola, and on top of it all, she missed her mom.

* * *

Fabiola got to the facility where they were taking care of Casino a little earlier than normal. She had a few other appointments she had to meet later, but didn't want to miss her time with him. To be totally honest, Fabiola was getting way more out of the visits than he was now, but that wasn't the reason she kept coming. When she got to the door, she could hear a woman's voice.

“Speaking of things that are unaccounted for, we haven't calculated any of the charity work that you seem to be doing,” the voice said.

When Fabiola walked in, she found Casino sitting on the edge of the bed and Roxy stationed on a chair across from him. Fabiola hadn't seen her since Casino had left the other hospital. Roxy wore a gray-and-white pinstriped business suit with matching heels. The briefcase she carried was half empty, because the rest of the contents were lying on the bedside table, where she was carefully going through them. The paperwork contained most of Casino's legal holdings—at least the ones that she had been in charge of anyway. Roxy gave Fabiola a hard stare, and Fabiola returned it pound for pound before walking over and planting a kiss on Casino's cheek.

“How are you feeling today?” She smiled.

“I'm feeling like I'm in the company of a star.” He was sitting with his back straight as a board, hair and goatee groomed, wearing his ever-present fresh pair of pajamas.

Roxy started putting the papers back in the briefcase. “We can finish this at another time?”

Funny how a man that's lying up could be so powerful that he could make so many things happen for so many people from a hospital bed
, Fabiola thought as Roxy put the papers away.

“Yeah, we'll do that later, Roxy,” Casino said, dismissing her.

“Ciao, for now.” She smiled at Casino before cutting her eyes at Fabiola. “Later for you.”

Roxy strolled out the door.

An hour and a half had gone by when Fabiola peeked at her watch. She hadn't realized that much time had passed.

“Where are you going when you leave here?” Casino asked her.

“It's Adora's birthday, and my mother always cooks and has cake and ice cream like she did when we were kids. She has always made a big stink out of all of our birthdays.”

“The more I hear about your mother, the more I like her.”

Fabiola didn't respond to his comment. “So, I may go over there.”

“Why do I hear uncertainty in your voice? Do you have something else to do?”

“No, not really,” she sighed. “It's just that me and my mother are on the outs right now, and I don't want to go over there and mess it up for Adora.”

“Why are you all on the outs?”

“Long story.” Fabiola shook her head, and although the hurt was apparent on her face she tried to camouflage it with a smile.

“Okay, well, I'm waiting.”

“She sometimes acts as if it's her career and not mine, and that how I feel doesn't even count.”

“Well, with all due respect, she has sacrificed a lot to make sure that your career moves in the right direction.”

“And, Casino, I really do appreciate that, more than you or she could ever know. I mean, knowing everything that her and my sister and even my brother have sacrificed for me pushes me at times when I don't feel like going to this session or that dance
class or even to band rehearsal. So I am grateful for every single thing that they have given up for me. However, sometimes my mother doesn't know where to draw the line.”

“I understand where you are coming from.”

“I don't think you do. I really don't think you do.” Fabiola knew that Casino couldn't possibly have a clue.

“I do, more than you could imagine. I may not know every detail, but I am a man of great understanding.”

“I believe you, but my mother is mad at me and said some rather ugly things to me because I wouldn't sleep with Johnny Wiz to get a deal.”

Casino wasn't the least bit surprised at all.

“It's like just because this man has the power to make our dreams come true she wants me to compromise my morals and self-respect and forget everything that she taught me.”

“You know, my dear, parents are not perfect. They make mistakes, too.”

“Yes, I know,” she said slowly.

“Now, you are not perfect either and you have to forgive her and move on. There is no need in carrying around ill feelings, especially not toward people who really do love you and want the best for you.”

Fabiola thought about what Casino said the entire ride over to her mother's house. Fabiola used her key to open her mother's door. It was the first time she'd set foot in the house since their argument. “Happy birthday to you …” Fabiola sang out loud as she stepped in the house.

“I know that's not my—”

Fabiola cut her mother off. “It's only me, Mom—the selfish little bitch.”

They stared at each other for a moment. Fabiola could see the regret and sadness in Viola's eyes.

Finally, Viola spoke. “Baby, please forgive me. I didn't mean those things I said to you. Even the best mothers make mistakes.” Viola dropped her head in shame. She only hoped her daughter could hear the sincerity in her voice.

Fabiola was still angry, but she loved her mother and knew that no matter what, Viola only wanted her to succeed. After all the years of support she offered her daughter, the hustle and the grind, she could somewhat understand how Viola might have gotten beside herself there for a minute. Taking all of that into consideration, Fabiola felt her heart start to soften.

“Yeah, Fab, at least she didn't try to make you prostitute yourself when you were ten years old or no shit like that,” Ocean joked.

“You always mess up a good moment, don't you?” Fabiola play-punched her brother. Then she turned back to Viola.

“Ma, I forgive you. And I'm going to give you a chance to make it up to me.”

“Anything, baby,” Viola said.

“First, please don't ever make me feel that I can't talk to you when something goes wrong. I should have been able to call you and tell you the blow by blow, but I was afraid.”

“You are so right, baby.”

“Next, I do appreciate all that you have done for me. I do. But understand that I am not a machine. I am a person.”

“I know, baby. I love you so much. I do. And I sometimes forget that this isn't about me, it's about you,” Viola said and pulled her daughter into her arms.

Adora walked into the room while her sister and mother were hugging. “Aw, what a perfect birthday gift, my two favorite ladies are speaking again.”

Then Adora flipped the moment. “Now, where the heck is my present?” she said to Fabiola.

“You just said …”

“You know I was joking. I want a real present.”

“I left it in the front room. I'll get it for you.”

“No need, I can get it myself.” Adora went in the other room and spied a large package. Wondering what was inside, she started opening the gift by first removing the multicolored bow, then the gift wrap. It was the new sewing machine that she'd needed. “Thank you, sis,” Adora screamed back to the kitchen. “I love it.”

“You're welcome.” Fabiola was in the doorway of the room where her sister was.

Viola was still trying to figure out what she had to do to get back in the good graces of her daughter. “Okay, baby, what do I have to do to make it up to you: clean your toilet and scrub your floor?”

“Of course not, Mother.”

“Then tell me what you need.”

“We'll chat about it later. I don't want to talk about it until after Adora's celebration. This is her time, not mine.”

“There are no I's in this house, only us,” Adora let it be known. “So whatever you have to say, let it out. Plus, by now I am used to it.”

“Oh, cut it out, now that's why I am going to wait.”

“No, the hell you ain't. It's my day and now you better tell us.”

“Well”—she looked at her mother—“I want you to be my manager again. I need help getting my new single spun on the radio.”

“Oh my God!” Viola shouted, jumping in the air. If she had leaped any higher, she would've hit her head on the ceiling. “Adora told me that the song was hot. It drove me crazy not being able to hear it.”

“I am looking for a manager this time, Mom, not a momager.”

“I can do that,” Viola said, her voice charged with excitement.

“I do need my mother in my life, too, you just have to know how to separate the two,” Fabiola warned.

“You got yourself a deal.” Viola kissed Fabiola on the cheek, and Fabiola truly felt happy again for the first time in weeks. The time away from her mother had made her appreciate the hard work that her mother did for her.

“Who do I need to talk to about my stylist ideas?” Adora smiled at her sister. “You or Mom—I mean your manager?”

“My manager,” Fabiola said seriously.

“Do you think Casino would be interested in investing in a record company with me?”

“That might be a good idea, because Casino said that he was going to pay for us to do a video for the single.” Fabiola was excited when it came to talking about Casino.

“And not to mention, I think Casino likes you,” Viola said.

“No, I just think we understand each other and he really believes in me,” Fabiola said, trying to convince her mother, but inside she wished she was right. “Besides, he's got Roxy.”

“I heard that chick has been chasing that man around for years, and if he ain't married her yet, then the odds are he won't.”

“Baby sis, you know you got yoself a sugar daddy,” Ocean teased.

“Shut up!”

Fabiola struggled with her emotions. As much as she tried to deny it, her feelings for Casino had grown at a tremendous rate. He was the complete opposite of all the knuckleheads she had dated in the past.

he girls were on their way to the grand opening of the new club called The Den. Shug was driving, Adora was riding shotgun and pulling on a blunt, while Fabiola was chilling in the backseat thinking about what it would be like when she finally became famous. The radio dj was broadcasting live from The Den and playing mostly “get crump” music. Shug slowed the car to a stop for the red light and looked over to Adora. “Girl, you gon' smoke all the dang weed?”