Trife Life To Lavish (A King Production Presents...) (10 page)

"Because I was with him when he picked out
this dress for you. The only reason he bought you the silver one too was because he knows it's your
favorite color, but he told me he hoped you would
wear the red one, because that color made your
pretty black skin shine even more."

"That's what your Daddy told you?" Tierra's
mother smiled, thinking how lucky she was to have
such a wonderful man in her life.

"Yes he did. He told me not to say nothing,
but since you asked me, I had to tell you the truth,"
Tierra shrugged.

"That's right, and I'm glad you did. It's been
decided. I'll be wearing this red number tonight.
Your Daddy ain't gonna be able to keep his hands
off of me. Maybe we'll make you a little brother or
sister tonight."

"Yeah, I want a little sister, so I can boss her
around and tell her what to do."

"I bet you do, with your grown self."

"I can't believe today is you and Daddy's one
year anniversary."

"Neither can I. It seems like yesterday you
were born, and now you're nine years old, we live
in this beautiful new house, and I'm married to
the man I've been in love with since I was in high
school. Life is good, baby!"

"It sure is, Mommy," Tierra grinned, wrapping
her arms around her mother's slender waist.
"Mommy, was that the doorbell?" Tierra asked, as
"The One I Gave My Heart" by Aaliyah dispensed from the radio.

"I don't know," she answered, turning the
music down. Then she too her the doorbell ring.
"Come on, let's go see who it is," she said, looking
down at the watch her husband had given her as
an early anniversary present. He told her it was
only the first of many.

"You think Daddy forgot his key?"

"No. When he called a little while ago, he said
he had one more stop to make, and he wouldn't be
here for another hour." But I wonder)Ao it is, she thought
as she looked out the peephole. "Oh, it's Calvin."

"Uncle Calvin, what are you doing here? Did
you bring me a present?" Tierra cheesed up, giving
her father's best friend a hug.

"How is the prettiest little girl in all of New
York? I don't have a present, but I did bring you
something," he said, pulling out a hundred dollar bill
and placing it in the palm of Tierra's hand. To Tierra,
this was normal. All she knew was the good life.

"Calvin, I'm sorry, but Terrance isn't here. He
should be home in about an hour. But then, we're
heading out. Since you were his best man, you know
it's our anniversary. He has some over-the-top night
planned for us, as only Terrance can pull off. But
you're welcome to come inside and wait for him."

Calvin stepped inside the spacious house
and looked around. Every piece of furniture, wall
decor to a simple light fixture, had Terrance's flamboyant touch to it. There was nothing simple
about the man. He hustled hard in the streets, and
lived life and spent money as if tomorrow wasn't
promised, because he knew it wasn't, being in the
drug profession.

"Calvin, sit down and relax. Tierra will
entertain you while I get dressed. You know
Terrance can't stand waiting. He's always late, but
heaven forbid if somebody else is late."

"Nicole, can you come sit down with me?"

"I can't, I have to get ready for my husband,"
she blushed, loving to call her man that.

"Yeah, Uncle Calvin, my Mommy is putting
on this red dress that Daddy bought her. She has to
go get ready, because they gonna make me a little
sister tonight."

"Tierra, hush your mouth! Calvin, I don't know
what we're going to do with her. She is too grown."

"No I'm not. Daddy says I'm just smart."

"You are smart... so smart that I want you to
do me a favor."

"What's that?"

"This guy who owed me some money handed
me this envelope, but I was in such a rush I didn't
have time to count it."

"No problem, Uncle Calvin, I'll count it for you."

"Do that, and make sure you write down the
exact amount."

"I will," Tierra said, with excitement in her voice as she grabbed the envelope and hurried
upstairs to her bedroom.

"Calvin, what's going on?" Nicole asked, feeling
uneasy.

"Come sit down."

"I don't want to sit down. I want to know
what is going on." Calvin sat there, stoic. "Hold up!
I know you ain't over here about to tell me some
ole' soap opera bullshit, like my husband ain't
coming home because he's leaving me for some
other heffa," Nicole popped, with crossed arms.

"Never that. You know you were the love of
his life."

'Were?" Nicole murmured, holding her hand
against her chest while the other one gripped her
waist as his words sank in. She then started shaking
her head from side to side as tears filled her eyes.
"Not today! Not this! Not Terrance! Not my husband!
Oh God, no!" Nicole's voice was so low, but anguish
and grief screamed loudly from her face.

"Nicole, I'm sorry."

"How... what happened?"

"He was leaving the jewelry store, picking
up a necklace he had specially made for you. He
planned on giving it to you tonight. But some punk
ass, low level dealer who knew Terrance was making
paper, tried to rob him. Of course, Terrance wasn't
gonna let that shit happen. He pulled out his gun
and shot the nigga. But the nigga's partner, who had been waiting in the car, ran up on Terrance
and blasted him. I still can't believe he's gone."
Calvin put his head down in astonishment.

"What happened to the son of a bitches
responsible for this?"

"The one Terrance shot died at the scene, and
the other one was caught when he was trying to drive
off. Luckily, somebody in the jewelry store saw what
was going on and had called the police."

"Why did Terrance have to be so damn stupid?
He should'a just given the man the necklace! This
shit don't mean nothing! It's only material bullshit!"
Nicole exploded, ripping off the platinum and
diamond watch she was wearing. Then picking up
anything she could get her hands on, from a vase
to a lamp to the crystal plates on the dining room
table, she began throwing them across the room.

Calvin wanted to stop her, but Nicole was
storming through each room like a category 5
hurricane. All he could do was take cover until her
rampage came to a halt.

"Mommy, what are you doing? What's going
on? You're destroying the house!" Tierra yelled, as
she ran down the stairs.

But her mother ignored her. She was so
caught up in her own rage that it was as if Tierra
was invisible and inaudible.

"Tierra, your mother is upset right now. Go
back upstairs until she calms down."

"Uncle Calvin, I don't want to go upstairs!
What's wrong with my Mommy? Why is she acting
like this?"

Calvin held Tierra tightly, but her willpower
was too strong as she broke free from his clutches
and ran towards her mother.

Nicole had just picked up a beautifully detailed
crystal and 24k gold frame, with a picture of her and
Terrance holding Tierra at her Christening. Right
when she was about to smash it against the wall like
so many other objects she got a hold of, Tierra ran up
to her with fear and anger in her eyes.

"What's wrong with you!" Tierra screeched
so loudly that it could've cracked every mirror in
the house.

It was at that moment that reality kicked in
for Nicole. She realized that even though the love
of her life was now dead, they shared a daughter
who would now need her more than ever.

"Baby, I'm so sorry," Nicole finally said, as
she stared at the picture she was about to destroy.
The memory of how happy she and Terrance were
that day brought a moment of calmness to her heart
that she desperately needed.

"Mommy, what happened to Daddy? Only
he can make you this upset." A single tear rolled
down Tierra's cheek, and Calvin turned his head,
not wanting to succumb to his own need to break
down and cry.

"Baby, Daddy's gone. He's not coming back.
The world couldn't handle a man like your father.
He's gone to a much better place," Nicole sniffled,
trying to hold it together.

"I want to go to that place too, Mommy," Tierra
cried as she laid her head on her mother's stomach.

"So do I, baby... so do I."

Reflecting back to that day flooded Tierra with
so many emotions, she almost lost her balance
standing in the hallway. Not only did she lose her
father that day, but part of her mother died with
him. It was as if her mother lost all interest in love
and life. They moved out of their beautiful home,
and eventually ended up living in the projects in
Queens. Although Calvin and some of the other
dealers who ran with her father wanted to help
Nicole out, she refused. She now looked at all
profits made from pushing drugs as blood money,
the same money that took her husband away.
Nicole rationalized that if Terrance hadn't been a
drug dealer making all that money, he wouldn't
have been targeted, and would still be alive.

Tierra understood her mother's pain, because
she too was in pain, but at the same time, she wanted
her old life back... a life that was full of expensive
cars, nice clothes and never having to worry about
money. That was the life her father showed her, and that was the life she felt entitled to.

Because hermother had deprived herself of living
a lavish life out of some sort of commemoration to her
dead husband was beyond Tierra's comprehension.
She felt her father would instead want them to live
life to the fullest, like he always did. So as Tierra got
older, she decided to do just that. She hustled men
like her father hustled drugs, but yet it had come to
this. . .back at her Mama's crib. It didn't matter though,
because Tierra had the same determination as her
father, and she would once again rise to the top.

Everything has a price. Whether it is the designer
stiletto boots that you can't afford, but yet they
keep calling your name, or the trendy Gucci purse
you spent two month's worth of rent on, only for it
to go out of fashion before being able to fully floss
in front of the ghetto-fabulous `hood patrol. So,
what's the price of ones' soul? No one knows until
they put it up for sale.

It had been a week, and Nichelle still wasn't
getting any love from Carmelo. She knew he could
hold a grudge, but at this point, the shit was getting
ridiculous. As she stood in the kitchen washing
dishes, she thought about how nobody besides
her teacher and mother had wished her a happy
birthday. Nichelle didn't even mention how hurt
she was to Carmelo, because she felt it would turn
into an argument, and that was the last thing she
wanted. But her frustration was reaching a boiling point, and she didn't know if she could stand
another weekend of this madness.

As she contemplated what her next move
should be, she heard Carmelo opening the front
door. She decided it was time for war, and turned
off the faucet, then dried her hands. Nichelle knew
she had to confront her man now, before she lost
her nerve and continued to remain silent.

"Carmelo, I need to talk to you about
something," she said passively, greeting him at the
front door.

"Can it wait until after I give you something?"

"Sure." Carmelo handed Nichelle a garment
bag. "What's this?" she asked, unzipping it. "Oh my
goodness! This is a Zac Posen gown!" Nichelle was
in disbelief. She had only seen dresses like this in
magazines, decorating famous celebrities, never up
close, let alone holding one. She slowly pulled the
dress out of the bag and let her hand glide across
the lush fabric. It definitely didn't feel like the rayon
and polyester blends she had grown to adore.

"You like it?"

"Fuck like! I love it! I can't believe you bought
this for me. I don't even know a place to wear a
dress like this."

"I do."

Nichelle looked at Carmelo with confusion
written on her face.

"We're going to my man's birthday party tonight, and I want you to wear that dress."

For a quick second, Nichelle wanted to
mention how he had forgotten her birthday, but
decided not to be a mood killer. "Okay, but I need
you to take me to the store because I don't have
any shoes."

"Don't you see this other bag in my hand? I
got you covered."

"Baby, thank you. I know you were upset
with me because of the whole Tierra fiasco, but I
hope that's now behind us."

"It is. You're my baby, and I'm going to give
you a night you'll never forget."