Money-Makin' Mamas (5 page)

Honey walked away from the table and returned with a stash of money in his hand. He gave it to me. “Here. I don't know how much it is, but I tried to make sure he wouldn't notice it was missing. And you say you want me to go into his stash every week, right?”

“Yes. Every week, until I give you the word to stop. I'm going to put some of this aside for you, too, and the day will come when neither of us won't have anything to worry about.”

Honey smiled and got back to business. “You may not have any worries, but I surely do,” he said.

“Are you talking about Ray? Don't worry about him, okay? If he ever questions the money, I will tell him that I took it.”

“I'm not worried about the money because there's too much of it in there. He won't notice that it's missing. I be getting me a little of it from time to time too.” Honey giggled and so did I.

Smart kid. Very smart kid
.

“Anyway, I was talking about my grandmother. She's real sick, you know? She got cancer and it's just a matter of time before she dies. I'm okay staying with Ray, but if something happens to her, I'm gon' be real miserable. I love my granny. She's always been like a mama to me.”

I scooted in and wrapped my arms around Honey. “We will pray like hell that nothing happens to her, but if it does, please know that you always got me, okay? From this day forward, you can always count on me. In the meantime, I have some other ideas that I want to share. When all is said and done, we gon' be on top of the world. We both gon' be the boss, and Ray can take all of this shit over here and go to hell. Are you with me on this or not? If not, I understand.”

Honey slapped his hand against mine and said that he was down for whatever. That day, and the days and weeks following, he proved to me just how loyal he really was.

That nigga, Ray, had no idea what kind of woman he had created: a real bitch who was starting to live up to the title he'd given me. Eventually, I would become a pain in his ass and a force to be reckoned with. See, it took a nigga like Ray to turn a good girl into bad. I hadn't been feeling like myself, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. It had gotten to the point where Ray would walk off and leave me the fuck alone. I would say something smart to his ass, and he would let that shit ride. He continued with his threats, but for now, they went in one ear and out the other. I was starting to get my mojo. Honey had been dropping a lot of dough in my hands, and we'd planned something big that would finally set me free.

For now, though, I was back in the streets, shaking my ass and making that fool, Ray, all the money he could get his grimy hands on. I had to laugh to myself, because he seriously thought that I wasn't getting paid. He got a kick out of dropping those dollar bills into my lap at the end of the night, and he had the nerve to joke about it, saying that I was now up to twenty-five dollars.

I laughed that shit off too. All while putting the money that Honey kept giving me into the bank. I'd put his name on the account, too, just in case something happened to me and he needed access to it. We were a real team. He trusted everything that I said and did. Ray was too busy into what he'd been doing that he didn't even notice how close Honey and I had gotten.

I stood at the door in Ray's apartment, ready to go to my next gig. Honey was sitting back chilling at the table and smoking a joint. Ray rushed into the living room, scratching his head.

“I'm missin' some goddamn money,” he said, looking around.

Almost immediately, Honey's eyes and mine connected. Ray then turned to Honey and cracked his knuckles.

“You got my money?” Ray asked. “I know you got it, so fess up!”

Honey moved his head from side to side. His eyes grew wide and he looked at me again. “I . . . I ain't got your money,” he stuttered. “I swear I don't.”

Ray moved closer to Honey. He stood right in front of him and looked down into his eyes. “Nigga, you wouldn't lie to me, would you? 'Cause see, fuckin' with my money is a serious crime around here. Son or no son, you may find yourself sniffin' dirt in the ground from stealin' from me. You get what I'm sayin', don't you?”

Surprisingly, Honey didn't appear as nervous as I thought he would be. I went into the kitchen and tried to throw Ray off. “You know Honey ain't been stealing no money from you, Ray. Back away from him and let's go. We gon' be late.”

“There you go pokin' that big-ass nose of yours into matters that ain't got shit to do with you. I know damn well that I had forty dollars on my dresser in there and now it's gone.”

I sighed from relief and so did Honey. This nigga was up in here acting a fool over forty dollars. Honey and me had already gotten him for several thousand. If he didn't notice that, too damn bad.

“You didn't put that forty dollars on the dresser,” Honey said. “I saw it lying on the bathroom sink. Go look in there. I bet you'll find it.”

Ray rushed off to the bathroom and came back with the forty bucks in his hand. He was all smiles. “I guess my mind been slippin', but that's what happens when you spend so many years with a dumb-ass bitch. Shit like that rubs off on a nigga, so make sure you get you one who smart as fuck.” Ray looked at me. “Get yo' jacket and let's go.”

Every single thing was my fault. I swear to God that he never, ever had anything nice to say about me. I grabbed my jacket and didn't bother to respond to Ray. Sometimes, ignorance needed to be ignored.

My gig had been paying off. Since I knew Honey had been taking money on the backend, I stepped it up, making all the money that I could make. Ray's dumb ass thought that I had been doing it all for him. He sat back at each gig, watching me with a big, bright smile on his face. I never paid him a bit of attention. I always flirted with the other niggas and shook my shapely ass well enough for them to dish out the paper. And trust me, they did. Lowdown, scum-ass niggas paid. Married niggas paid. Rich niggas paid and so did broke ones. They gave their last dimes, just to get a feel of what Ray considered his Moneymakin' Mama. He loved when the men turned to him, asking if I was his woman. With pride, he always answered yes.

“Yep, that's my bitch but you niggas already know the play. Touch, but keep yo' hard dicks in your pants or save them for the next ho.”

While many of the men wished they could have sex with me, they wouldn't dare cross the line. I wasn't sure how much clout Ray had, nor did I understand why so many of these fools feared him. But money had power. Ray had power, and for now, whatever he said was a go.

On the drive home, Ray stared straight ahead and sucked his teeth. “I'm thinkin' about openin' a gentlemen's club. That way I may be able to serve up prime pussy, charge those niggas a substantial fee, and let them have at it. What do you think about that?”

“I can't believe you're asking for my opinion about anything. I'm sure that my opinion wouldn't even matter.”

“If it didn't matter, I wouldn't have asked. And what's up with you lately? I've toned my shit down and you need to do the same damn thing too.”

“Forgive me. I just have a lot on my mind right now. As for the club, look, do whatever you wish to do, Ray. All I ask is that you don't involve me. I'm getting kind of tired of doing this stuff, and since I only make a dollar a night, you know I'm not that damn enthused. I barely have money to buy maxi pads, and the last time I was in line to buy a bar of soap to wash my ass, I couldn't even afford it.”

This time, Ray reached over and dropped a five dollar bill in my lap. “Consider that yo' raise. You need to stop bitchin' and gripin' all the time. While you may not have money in yo' hands, you still got a roof over yo' head. You got food, clothes, and water. You got a comfortable bed to sleep in at night and three nappy-head daughters to keep you busy. As for those maxi pads, I ain't seen you buy none of those in a while. Yo' ass ain't pregnant again, are you?”

I rolled my eyes and gazed out of the window. “Hell, no, I'm not.”

“You'd better not be. 'Cause if you are, I know for sure it ain't mine. Just like those other kids you got. Don't none of them bitches look like me, not one. But this time around, if you're pregnant, that means you're pregnant by Miles. I promise you that I will beat that baby out of you and make you regret that you ever gave the pussy to him.”

I turned to Ray and snapped, “Just so you know, I said I'm not pregnant. And Chyna, Karrine, and Simone are definitely your daughters. If you choose not to be their father, that's on you. Besides, you haven't been representing a decent damn daddy anyway.”

Catching me off guard, Ray reached over and slapped the shit out of me. He had hit my nose, causing it to bleed. I caught the dripping blood with my hand and reached into my purse for some tissue.

“I told you to watch yo' mouth, didn't I?” Ray said. “When will you ever learn, TD? When will you ever fuckin' learn?”

For the next few minutes, my nose gushed blood. The moment we got home, I went into the bathroom to clean myself up. When I came out, Ray was sitting next to Chyna on the couch. He rubbed her hair and kissed her forehead.

“I changed my mind,” he said. “She does look like me. Those other two, I'm not so sure.”

Chyna looked straight ahead without saying a word. I hated to keep questioning her about Ray, and this time, when Ray went to the other apartment, I begged Chyna to tell me the truth.

“Please,” I said to her. “If he's doing something—”

“Quit asking me that,” she shouted. “Stop asking and leave me alone!”

Chyna rushed off to the bathroom and closed the door. It was obvious that I needed to hurry up and get the fuck out of there.

* * *

I was a nervous wreck. The plan was in motion, and I needed for Honey to come through for me in a major way. He asked three of his uncles to help him set this up. I didn't even know who the uncles were, nor was I sure if we could trust them.

“I got you,” Honey said as we sat on the steps in the apartment complex, talking about tomorrow. “I promise you that everything gon' go down as planned and we gon' be set. Stop worrying, ma, all right?”

This kid not only had brains, but he also had a whole lot of guts. More guts than I'd had, because I couldn't stop thinking about what if something went wrong. What if Honey's uncle didn't follow through with the plan? What if they told Ray that it was all a set-up? I had a “trust no niggas” policy, so I didn't have as much faith as Honey did about all of this.

The next day, the girls were tucked in bed and put to sleep. I got dressed for my gig, and like always, I went to Ray's other apartment and waited for him. This time, I sat on the couch, waiting for Ray and Honey to get finished in the kitchen.

“Pass me that shit over there,” Ray said to Honey. “I'ma need to spread a little love around tonight.”

Honey passed Ray several of the tiny bags with little white rocks in them. They continued to work hard, until there was loud pounding on the door. Almost immediately, my heart dropped to my stomach. My palms started to sweat and there was a little shaking of my legs.

“Do you want me to get that?” I asked Ray.

“Naw, stay there.”

Ray strutted to the door in his black suit and red tie that he intended to wear tonight. He looked through the peephole, and obviously not recognizing who the men were, he told Honey to toss him his gun that was on the table. Honey did so and that's when Ray approached the door again.

“Speak,” he said.

“Lorenzo sent us to take care of that,” one of the men said, using code to speak.

Hearing Lorenzo's name caused Ray to open the door. The second he did, the three men rushed in, knocking Ray down and yelling for me and Honey to hit the floor with our hands in the air so they could see them.

“Now, and don't none of you muthafuckas move!”

One of the men kicked Ray's gun away from his hand. He aimed his gun at Ray's temple and sent him a threat. “Place yo' hands behind your head, nigga! If you move, you die.”

It was that plain and simple. Ray sat with his hands behind his head. I raised my hands in the air, and Honey rushed over to sit next to his father. He pretended to be scared and his body shivered all over. All I could say was the kid was one damn good actor.

“Please don't hurt us,” Honey cried out. “Don't hurt my dad!”

One of the men pressed his gun against Honey's heaving chest. “Shut the fuck up, boy! Open yo' mouth again, and two holes gon' go into your daddy's head.” He looked over at me. “Ho, get over here on the floor so I can keep my eyes on you.”

I got so tired of being called a bitch that I kept my mouth shut and settled for being called a ho. I then rushed off the couch and joined Ray and Honey on the floor. I could tell that Ray's mind was racing, especially as he watched the men swipe the table clear of drug paraphernalia. They ransacked every room, cutting the sofa and mattresses and cleaning out every drawer. Ray was so sure that they wouldn't find out where his money was hidden, and when one of the men asked where it was, he refused to tell him.

“I don't have nothin' else. You niggas done took all that I got, so why don't y'all just get the fuck out here and call it a good day's work?”

“We'll leave when we have the money. Where in the fuck is it?” the man yelled through gritted teeth.

Ray shrugged, playing hard. Two of the men cocked their guns and aimed them directly at Honey's chest.

“By the time I count to three, if you don't tell us where the money is, we gon' blow several holes right through that li'l nigga's chest. My counting starts right now.”

Ray sat with a smirk on his face. “Do what you got to do. I said I ain't got shit else, didn't I? Blowin' holes in his chest ain't gon' make no money appear.”

I moved in front of Honey to shield and protect him. “No,” I said as tears streamed down my face. “He's just a kid! He don't have nothing to do with this!”

“Do yo' ass know where the money is?”

Ray gazed at me, not knowing that I knew where the money was. Honey showed it to me several weeks ago. I slowly nodded and informed the man that I did know where it was.

“Then get off that big ass of yours and show me where it's at!”

I got up and Ray grabbed my wrist. “I know one thing. That is, you'd better not do what I think you're about to do. Sit the fuck down and shut yo' goddamn mouth.”

I snatched my wrist away from Ray. “Beat my ass all you want to, Ray. This damn money ain't worth my life, yours, or Honey's. Shame on you for thinking that it is.”

The man shoved my shoulder, telling me to move it. The other two stayed in the living room with Honey and Ray. I could hear Ray's loud mouth all the way in the other room. When one of the men told him to shut up, I also heard a loud thud. Since Ray didn't say anything after that, I suspected that he'd been hit in the mouth.

“Do your thing, baby,” the man said to me as I stood in front of a bookshelf, filled with books. I removed several of the books then lifted a light switch that actually moved the bookshelf aside. Behind the bookshelf was a tiny room with metal shelves inside. On the shelves were stacks of money and several more guns. The young man smiled at me then yelled for another to come help.

“Go back in there and sit the fuck down,” he said to me.