Three the Hard Way: A Play in Two Acts (4 page)

Kevon opened the door and then followed me in. I quickly scanned the store but didn’t see her anywhere. I decided that I was going to take CeCe with me to Nassau. I hadn’t really considered taking Maria, who I’d begun seeing because she reminded me of my late wife, Cassandra. I had finally come to the conclusion that she was nothing more than a look-a-like, and not much more.

Not seeing CeCe anywhere in the store, I approached one of the ladies who worked in the store. "Hello, Jameta," I said.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Black. How you doin’?" Jameta asked, looking but not trying to notice my face.

"I’m good. I don’t see CeCe anywhere around, she here today?"

"She’s in the back, meeting with some sales reps."

"Okay," I said.
More damn meetings.
"Just tell her that I stopped by," I said and turned away.

"See, you trying to get me fired. She would fire me for real if I let you walk outta here. You wait right there, and I’ll go get her."

Kevon walked up behind me. "Seems you cause trouble everywhere you go."

"Maybe it’s the thug in me," I said as CeCe came outta the back. She was dressed in a black sleeveless tiered dress by Anne Klein, and as usual, she looked incredible.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Black," CeCe said, smiling as she came toward me. "What do I owe the honor?" When she was close enough to see my face, her expression changed to horror. "Oh my God, what happened to your face?"

"I ran into Crazy Joe last night."

CeCe turned to Kevon with fury in her eyes. "And where were you?"

Kevon raised his hands in surrender. "Don’t blame me. I have the night off. You must talk to Monika about last evening’s security."

CeCe turned back to me. I know she’s seen the way me and Monika look at each other and she thinks that eventually we’ll get around to fuckin’ if we haven’t done it already. "What were you doing that Monika was your security?"

"We had a job we ran last night."

"
You
, went on a job with Monika?"

"Anything wrong with that?"

"No, not at all," CeCe claimed, but it was. She doesn’t like Monika. "But you haven’t answered my question—to what do I owe this honor?"

I took CeCe by the hand and led her away from the counter. "I’m going to the Bahamas day after tomorrow, and I want you to come with me. That is, if you’re not too busy," he said looking around the practically empty store.

"Just you and me?"

"You, me, and Kevon."

"Now he wants to bring Kevon
,
"
CeCe said quietly. "Of course I want to go with you. How long are we staying?"

"Couple of days. Maybe a week. I have some business down there with Jamaica."

CeCe frowned. "Oh."

I put my arms around her and kissed her on the cheek. "That should only take a day. The rest of the time, I’m all yours."

"That sounds better. When are we leaving?"

"I’ll call you tonight and let you know," I said and looked at Kevon, who immediately started for the door.

"I’ll talk to you then," CeCe replied, and me and Kevon left the store.
　

Chapter Four

When we left The In-Town Experience I told Kevon to get Nick on the phone. I wanted to tell him that I would be gone for a couple of days. "Nick said he would be at Cynt’s in an hour," Kevon told me.

"Take me there," I said and closed my eyes. My mind drifted to thoughts of Cassandra.

Since I killed the last of her murderers, I find myself thinking more about her. I think it’s because I had a purpose while they were still breathing. My reason for living was to kill them.

What purpose do I have now?

Maybe if I could let go of the past, I could begin a new future. But do I really want to? Do I want to take the chance of opening myself up to loving another woman and having her ripped from my life the same way somebody, for reasons that had nothing to do with her, denied me of my future with Cassandra. Some days I think I do, but most days I don’t.

The day I met Cassandra my whole life changed. Shy, as everyone called her, had me the first time I saw her. I was at a club with Bobby and Freeze when she came in with her crew. "Who is that?" I asked Freeze that night.

"Who’s who?"

"The one in the black," I said, looking her up and down. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. I had to have her.

"Oh, her name is Shy."

"Who?"

"They call her Shy. You know, like she’s so shy. But she definitely ain’t shy. Them guys with her are—"

"I’m not interested in them. I’m only interested in her."

Suddenly my life had meaning. It had purpose. It meant something. I felt something. From the time I met her, everything I was, became focused on loving her. And I loved her with all my heart. I had waited my whole life to feel for a woman the way I felt about her.

With Cassandra being part of my life, there was nothing left to be desired. I had it all; mentally, emotionally and physically. I spent every minute of every day loving her; thinking about how much I loved her. When we were together, it was like it was just the two of us. The world simply existed around us, but had no effect on what we were doing or what our love for each other meant to us.

Cassandra was my world. And then suddenly she was gone. Part of my world ended that day. Sometimes I feel like it was the most important part.

Since then, I haven’t been the same. I used to have nightmares about the night I found her dead. I had convinced myself that the only way I could close that door and move on with my life was to kill everybody who was involved in her murder.

They’re all dead now.

I killed them all.

But I don’t fell any better. The void from losing Cassandra the way I did hasn’t closed. And as hard as I’ve tried to fill it, the fact is, it’s grown.

My mother, M, told me she’s sure that Cassandra wouldn’t want this life for me. And Bobby tells me all the time that I gotta let it go. He said the best way to get over a woman is to replace her with another woman.

Well, I’ve tried that. But for the most part, it’s just been sex. Good sex, and in some cases, great sex, but sex all the same. I don’t let women get close to me. I began to wonder if I’d ever be capable of loving any woman the way I loved Cassandra; or if I’d even want to. Who needs love when you got lots of money, right?

When I got to Cynt’s, the first person I saw was Bobby. I had known Bobby since the third grade, and we’d been best friends ever since. Bobby was more than my friend. He was my brother. He stood by the bar, talking to one of the dancers. I took a seat and Kevon went to the bar to get me a drink. It wasn’t too long before Bobby came to the table with two glasses.

"What you doin’ here?" Bobby said and sat down.

"Waitin’ for Nick."

"Who kicked your ass?"

"Had a fight with Crazy Joe last night."

"He dead?"

"No."

"How’d you leave it?"

"Joe said buy him a drink and we’ll call it square."

"Did you at least beat him down?"

"Let’s just say that I beat him until he didn’t want any more."

"Big as I heard that mutha fucka got in jail, you shoulda just shot his ass and been done with it."

"Then he’d be dead, and I wasn’t about to kill Joe over no dumb shit like that," I said as Nick sat down at the table.

"Dumb shit like what?" Nick asked.

"Killin’ Crazy Joe," I said.

"I heard you and him hooked up last night," Nick said and took a closer look at my face. "You don’t look that bad."

"Bad enough that Wanda said I couldn’t go to meetings with her lookin’ like this."

Bobby took out his gun and pushed it in front of Nick. "Go ahead and hit me," Bobby laughed. It was good to see Bobby and Nick laughing together. "If that’s all it takes to get outta them meetings, go on and bust me up," Bobby said. We all laughed.

Bobby used to enjoy going to meetings with Wanda; especially when those meetings involved Meka Brazil. She was an investment banker who’d been advising us on our corporation interests.

Did I mention that Meka was beautiful?

But since our meetings involved her less and less, Bobby seemed to have lost interest. Me, I always thought those meetings were boring as hell.

"So while I’m recuperating, I’m goin’ to Nassau. I’m goin’ to meet Jamaica there."

"To talk about expanding there?" Nick asked.

"What do you think about it?"

"I told him that we would back any play he made down there and that he should start to move on it."

"You know Jay wanna hear it from you," Bobby said.

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew Bobby was right. As far as Jamaica and a few other people were concerned, I was still running things. But that’s not what I wanted. Not what I needed to be happening then. I needed to keep moving in the direction I was going.

Legit.

Most times, this life only ends one of two ways: in jail or dead. Sometimes it takes people you love from you. It’s something I’ve always accepted. But losing Cassandra made me understand that this life had asked a price that I wasn’t willing to pay. I had to change the way I was livin’ for Michelle. I felt that’s what Cassandra would want me to do—to be a father to our daughter—keep her safe. For that to happen, I had to put my old life behind me. I needed Nick to step-up and make people understand that he was the boss of the family now.

"I’m goin’ down there to look for some property to buy. But I’ll let him know what you said."

"How long you gonna be down there?" Bobby asked.

"I’ll be down there for a couple of days," I said.

"Give me a call when you get back," Nick said and got up. "I got shit I need to do," he said and left Cynt’s.

Bobby sipped his drink. "So you’re goin’ to Nassau?"

"You should come with me," I said.

"You goin’ alone?"

"No."

"Which one you takin’?"

"CeCe."

"Should I read anything into that?"

"Into what, Bobby?"

"That you’re takin’ CeCe and not amazon Shy," Bobby said, referring to Maria looking so much like Shy.

Maria had been dancing at Cynt’s for years, where she went by the name Mystique, and I always marveled at how much she looked like Cassandra. I remember the first time I saw her. It wasn’t too long after I met Cassandra. I was at Cynt’s with Bobby. We were at the bar talking to Sammy when something drew me like a magnet to the stage. I remember losing myself in the seductive manner that she moved her hips. Maria was bigger than Cassandra, taller: five-eleven maybe; heavier, but not an ounce of fat on her. Her complexion, lips, and her facial structure all favored Cassandra. They had the same beautiful eyes. I used to wonder if Maria and Cassandra could be sisters.