The Streets Keep Calling (10 page)

Although I was a little hesitant at first, I have to say I was glad Tanisha had put me on with the Mexicans. The whole ex-boyfriend thing was fucking with me, but when that paper started coming in, I forgot all about that shit. It was straight money on my mind. As they say, “Money over bitches.” The coke was coming in and I was moving it out just as fast. I knew at the rate I was going I would have the seven cities on lock all over again. This time I would do it better than the first. Only this time, I was gonna be smarter about what to do with my money, so that I could walk away from the game and be free from the street hustle. With Tanisha on my side, there was no way I could fuck up. That girl stayed on me about investments, IRA accounts, CDs, and a whole lot of other intelligent banking bullshit that I didn't understand. One thing I did know was that in the end I was gonna be able to walk away from the game and live life as a legitimate wealthy man.

Since Trixy had gone the hell off on me, I had to find another dedicated soldier to be by my side. I was mad things had gone down the way they did, 'cause she did a lot for me. It's fucked up she had to start catching feelings and ruin what we had. I never told that girl I loved her or that we were even together. She knew from day one we had a certain agreement. She really stepped out of line the way she came at me, questioning me about my personal business like that. Oh, well though. You know how the saying goes: hoes and money don't mix.

The problem now was finding someone I could trust to take her spot. Trixy was my right-hand person and my second set of eyes. She knew all about the business. She was streetwise and trained to shoot without hesitation. She was a ride or die bitch. We had a perfect working relationship and the sex was always good. With the exception of the asshole incident, I couldn't give any complaints about sex with Trixy. Thinking back to that night, I was wrong for pushing her across the room like that. That shit wasn't her fault. I had some real fucked-up issues with all that anal stuff from when I was locked up. Sometimes I wondered if a nigga needed counseling.

The truth was, those two niggas Borne saved me from in the showers that day were about to rape me. Dudes was mad 'cause I had fucked up one of their boys for disrespecting me. I beat that bitch's ass that day, so the next morning, they came after me for some retaliation. And they really wanted to fuck my ass up, literally! Being in there, I got used to all that homo shit going on, but I ain't ever planned on participating in it. After fighting them off for a couple of minutes, I knew it was a battle I wasn't gonna win. Niggas had me in position when Borne walked in and saw what was going on. I couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if Borne wouldn't hadn't stepped in. That was some shit that had been haunting me ever since, and it messed with my head almost on a daily basis. No matter how hard a nigga tried to erase it from his memory, it would always reappear.

Always about my business, I wasted no time putting out word that I was recruiting soldiers. Shit, the economy was bad, but bills still had to get paid, and with niggas losing their jobs left and right, I knew it wouldn't be long before someone stepped up to the plate. I went to Marvin's to ease my head a little bit.

“Another one?” the bartender asked at my favorite spot.

“Naw, I'm good,” I replied after sipping on my last Hennessy.

“Sup?” said a dude sitting at the bar two stools down.

“Mannie, what's going on?”

“Breeze, I wanted to ask you the same thing. I haven't seen you in a while,” he mentioned.

“Yeah, thanks but no thanks, I don't need you anymore.”

“Nigga, I put you back on and now you don't need me anymore?” he replied, inching closer to me.

“Bartender, I'll pay for his drink,” I responded, and threw down a hundred-dollar bill.

I wasn't going to get upset over Mannie's little outburst.
Fuck him, I'm looking out for me and mines only
, I thought as I walked away. As I headed to the car, Trixy called me for the fourteenth time. This girl was relentless. I didn't want to answer the phone. I didn't feel like dealing with her right now. Besides, I needed to lie down and catch up on some much needed rest.

I headed toward my new place. I guess you can call it a coincidence or perfect timing, 'cause I had bought it, like, two days before the shit with Trixy went down. It wasn't in my head to move out of Trixy's when I bought it. I had planned on keeping it as a private getaway for when I needed to get away from all the bullshit. My own secret spot in the Hamptons Apartments right near the water. Since Trixy came out her face on some relationship-type drama, I decided to turn it into a nice little bachelor pad.

I made it home and threw myself on my new king-sized bed. I hadn't bought anything else for the house yet but I made sure I had a big, comfortable bed. Besides, I was meeting Tanisha for breakfast in the morning and we had plans to go furniture shopping afterwards. I couldn't wait to see her face. There was something about that girl that had a hold on me. My thoughts about her were interrupted with my phone vibrating with a text from Trixy. I turned it off to avoid having to deal with it 'cause I knew she'd be calling again soon. I refused to let her fuck up my relaxation time.

 

I woke up early and got myself ready to spend the day with my favorite girl. I picked Tanisha up and we had a nice breakfast at Cracker Barrel. After breakfast, Tanisha and I headed straight to the furniture store.

“Babe, do you like this hazelnut set for the living room?” Tanisha inquired with her eyes glued to a set that was in the middle of the display floor. It came with a couch, love seat, ottoman, and reclining chair. The reclining chair brought back memories from my happier days. Every night, when I came home, Maria and the kids would greet me at the door. After dinner, I always sat in this Simon pushback reclining chair in the movie room. The kids were still small enough to both sit on my lap, so I would recline in the chair with them and we would usually fall fast asleep.

“I like it.” I nodded to her and told the salesperson to add it to the list. From her picks so far, it seemed Tanisha was really hooking up my little spot for me. It's true what they say, that a feminine touch goes a mighty long way. She had a knack for designing. I let her pick everything out, from the bedroom to the rug for the front door, and I knew the place was going to look great. Tanisha had so much going for herself. She definitely was the total package. At first glance, and because of her background, you would think she was snooty and stuck-up but she was far from it. She was so smart, beautiful, and down-to-earth. What was most important to me was that she was honest and she stuck by my side, even though she wasn't too crazy about what I was doing. That meant a lot to me, and I truly felt as though I could trust her.

“All right, folks, the grand total is $6,048.90. Will this be cash or charge?” the salesperson inquired.

“Cash,” I insisted while placing hundreds and fifties in his hand.

We made arrangements to have the furniture delivered then we headed out.

 

“So what are the plans for tonight?” Tanisha asked as I pulled into her driveway.

“You, me, a bottle of pinot grigio, and a long hot bath,” I suggested.

“Sounds like a plan.” She giggled before kissing me on the lips and heading to her front door. Another thing I loved about Tanisha was that she didn't ask a lot of questions.

Now that I had spent a little time with Tanisha, the next stop was my grandma's crib. Although they were right next door when I was living with Trixy, I hadn't seen them since the day I moved out.

“Hmm, I haven't seen you in a while,” Ma acknowledged after taking a puff of her cigarette.

“Hello to you too, Ma,” I replied, handing her a box of Newports.

“Grandma, he bought gifts. Damn, I was down to my last pack 'til payday next week. Thank you, baby,” Ma responded while giving me a hug.

“Open the box,” I suggested.

“Oh my Lord,” Ma screamed as she opened the box. “Let me sit down on this couch so I can get myself together.” She rejoiced while counting $1,000 from the box.

“This is for you,” I announced while handing Grandma a box of Whitman's chocolates. Those were her favorite.

“Thanks, honey,” she responded.

“One more thing, Grandma, here's two hundred dollars for the building fund at your church. When I was here that's all I would hear you talking about when you were on the phone with your church buddies.” I handed her the money.

“Boy, I hope for your sake you're not on those streets again,” Grandma stated concerned.

“Grandma, don't worry, I'm not on those streets. Being behind bars isn't a good look for me,” I replied, lying through my teeth. I figured if she didn't know the truth, then she wouldn't be up endless nights praying for me.

“Okay,” she responded, not sounding too convinced.

“Let me get going. I have to get to work,” I informed them.

The truth was that I was on my way to see Maria and the kids at Mount Trashmore, but I didn't dare tell Ma that. That would lead to an hour of her ranting and raving about “that money-hungry, mixed-breed bitch.” And I wasn't in the mood to hear that shit.

I was dressed in nothing but labels: Louis Vuitton sneakers and belt, True Religion jeans, and a plain white Polo shirt. To top it off, I added a white gold chain with matching bracelet, and Louis Vuitton shades. I knew these types of things would get Maria's attention. I also made sure I had a little something for her. I was starting to see that the gifts softened her up a bit. I hoped this would get Maria to take her tight leash off the kids. It's sad, but at times I felt as if she treated them more as property than human beings by dangling them in my face. As always, I made sure I arrived early for my meeting with Maria and the children. It wasn't long after I'd gotten there that they came running up to me.

“Hey, Daddy,” Kaylyn greeted me from a distance.

“Hey, you,” I replied giving the kids hugs. I bought a bag full of Wii games and DS games. I was learning what they preferred, courtesy of Maria.

“Hi.” Maria smirked. I saw her trying to check me out on the sneak.

“How are things?” I asked while handing her a wad of money. It was $3,000. She didn't hesitate to count it carefully.

“Thank you.” A huge smile came across her face.

I couldn't help but notice the scent of Escada Magnetism perfume. She had worn it for years. Maria was wearing a summer dress that almost hung to the ground. I had to admit, she looked sexy as hell.

After placing the money in her oversized Gucci bag Maria continued, “The kids are fine, but I'm not so great.”

“What's going on?” I asked right away.

“Well, Biggs is a good father to the kids—”

I interjected before Maria could even finish her statement. “I'm the only daddy they got!” I said, irritated by what Maria was saying.

“Breeze, are you finished with your tantrum? I'm really not in the mood,” she explained while shaking her had.

“I'm sorry, go ahead.” I gathered myself a bit.

“As I said, Biggs is a good father to the kids. But it's different with me. He doesn't pay attention to me anymore. I'm just there, like the crown molding on the wall: pretty to look at, but has no real use or purpose. Business has been slow for him, and that's pretty much been his main focus lately,” Maria explained.

“I'm here for you anytime you need to talk,” I assured her. Deep down I was thrilled as hell to know her relationship with the almighty Mr. Biggs was going downhill.

“Thanks, I appreciate that. I just want you to know that I never tried to take the kids away from you. You left us, and you lied about how much time you were really facing. Breeze, you told me you only had three years. I was angry and just wanted to hurt you for going to prison. I wanted you to feel the pain I was feeling.” Maria expressed her feelings for the first time. Now things were finally starting to make sense.

“You have a point. I should have told you the truth,” I agreed.

It felt good for Maria and I to finally air things out and patch things up. We talked a little more and agreed to make things work for the sake of the children. After playing with the kids and stuffing them with chips, candy, and soda from the snack machine, they were on their way.

After I left Maria and the kids, I went to see this little homie Borne had put me down with. Since I had stepped my game up, so had Borne. Now instead of him being on the block, he was cooking up and niggas was copping from him, breaking that shit down and hitting the block. Borne had gotten a few trap houses throughout the seven cities. His newest spot was out of Park Place. I knew that was Mannie's territory, but I ain't give a fuck. I was all about my dollars.

I pulled up to Borne's spot on Twenty-sixth Street, hollered at a couple of friends on my way up to the crib, then let myself in.

“Sup,” I acknowledged him after entering his house.

“Man, I've been blowing you up all day,” the little homie explained.

“I had to handle some things. You have my attention now, nigga. What's going on?” I wondered what was so damn urgent.

“Last night, some niggas I don't know ran up and got me for ten grand.”

“Do you know who could have done it?” I asked, even though I had a pretty good idea who it could have been.

“Nah, I told Borne about it and I got my boys seeing if anybody is willing to talk,” he replied with a hint of fear in his voice.

“All right, but you know, I'm still going to need that back,” I said to the little homie. I couldn't let a nigga think a loss like that was acceptable.

“Without a doubt. I got you, Breeze.” He nodded before I headed back out the door.

As I was driving, I was thinking at ten miles per minute. At first, I was thinking that Mannie probably sent some niggas to the crib, but this little nigga's actions was leading me in a different direction. I had to wonder if that nigga was trying to play me. Deep inside, I knew this was the shit I had to look forward to when dealing with new cats. Although it went against everything in me, I knew I had to get Trixy back on the team. Sure I would take a few small losses but never a ten grand loss. I wasted no time heading to her crib. I didn't even call first.