URBAN: In Love with A Boss Nigga (2 page)

***

Sienna’s plan for that Saturday was to go shopping. Sienna was searching for a reasonably priced white dress to add to her wardrobe for her and Tiffany’s annual trip to Essence Jazz Fest in New Orleans. So she thought she would head to some of the shops around Lexington Market in Baltimore. She had gotten lucky a few times when she was looking for the perfect outfit for the perfect price. Sienna has always been a frugal shopper, her mother taught her that. Sienna felt that it didn’t really matter how much things cost. What mattered was how you put things together.

Sienna thought, ‘Tiffany would not be caught dead out here.’ Lexington Market was a one stop shop for clothes, accessories, prepared food, fresh vegetables, meats, seafood and any type of drug you desired. You just had to know the right people. Sienna didn’t know the right people and did not care to know them. She just wanted to find a nice little dress and get the heck out of there without getting robbed.

She found a cute little black dress for about $15. She also found some nice earrings and necklaces but she still didn’t find a white one. She knew she would have to continue her search. The food smells in Lexington Market were irresistible. She just had to get something to eat to take with her. On her way out of Lexington Market, she bought a slice of pound cake from the bakery and a roast beef sandwich with a large half and half from the deli. As she was walking out, she was trying to find her keys in her purse. She was digging and digging but she could not find them. She knew they were in there because she just had them. She was standing in the middle of the parking lot trying to figure out where she saw them. She was always misplacing her keys in that big heavy purse of hers. All of a sudden this man walked up behind her.

He said gently, “Excuse me Ma’am, didn’t you hear me trying to flag you down?”

Shocked because of the break in her train of thought, she jumps and says, “No sir, I’m sorry. I did not hear you. Can I help you with something?”

The tall handsome stranger said, “No but I can help you with something. I can help you get home. I have your car keys that you left on the counter at the deli. I was trying to catch up with you but you were walking so fast through the crowd.”

Sienna laughed and said, “Oh my goodness.” I was standing here trying to figure out why they were not in my purse. I thought someone in there had pick pocketed me. Thank you so much! Let me give you a reward.”

As she tries to retrieve $10 from her wallet, he stops her by placing his phone in her face. She looks up.

He smiles and says, “You can reward me by putting your name and phone number in my phone. By the way, my name is Derrick. Just so you know who will be calling you.”

Sienna smiles back. She really doesn’t want to give him her number but one, she is by herself, and two she is in the hood. So she puts her correct name and number in his phone.

He looks down at the phone and says, “Ok Sienna. I am preparing to go on a business trip tomorrow but I will definitely call you on Tuesday. Enjoy the rest of your day and be careful where you lay your keys.” He turns and walks away.

Sienna waves good bye, thanks him, and watches as he struts across the parking lot. The first thing she notices is his confidence and that he is dressed very nice for a Saturday. He is wearing a pair of Levis and a black button down shirt with a pair of black loafers. ‘What type of man dresses like that on a Saturday unless they are working?’ She thought. Sienna was curious about this man but didn’t get him much thought. Her mission was to find that white dress. Four stores later she found the perfect white dress for her trip.

***

That night the four ladies met at Tiffany’s house prepared to paint the town of D.C. First they would go to dinner at a restaurant on K Street and then finish out the evening at one of the clubs that was in the area. The group of ladies who were known to hang out consisted of Tiffany, Sienna, Amber and Portia.

Amber, who met Sienna through work, was the level headed one of the bunch. She was the friend that stopped the rest of them from doing something crazy and something that they might live to regret. Her method was to rationalize their plan and help them weigh the consequences of their actions. The ladies had a running joke about Amber. They said that Amber would be the friend that came with them to rob a bank but would call the police and then say, “I told them not to do it officer.” Amber was frugal like Sienna but she was because she had to be. She made less money than Sienna and she liked to keep up the appearance that she had money. She was a county social worker who always complained about how stressful her job was and how she was going to quit but she was still there three years later. Amber was shorter than the average woman but she was a little on the thick side. Men usually gravitated to her based on her long dark hair, her exotic appearance and her full breast and big butt. However, Amber wasn’t interested. She was in love with her boyfriend of two years, Joey. She was keeping the faith that he would propose soon. She was out that night with the ladies only because he was out with his boys but she was prepared to have a good time with her friends.

Portia was the wild one of the bunch. She had been friends with Tiffany since college. She had a tendency to be a little promiscuous. She was a big flirt and she would always get the ladies into situations that were hard to get out of. They stopped letting her make plans because one time they ended up in a night club about to get in a fight with a group of women because she got so drunk that she walked up to this guy and started kissing and groping him. He didn’t seem to mind but his girlfriend, who was also at the club with her girls, did mind. The girlfriend and her group of “hood rat” friends tried to fight Portia and her group of ladies but the ladies were not willing to stoop down to that level to fight. The guy actually stopped his girlfriend and her friends. Yet during the process of stopping the fight, he managed to slip his phone number into Portia’s bra. Portia and the guy messed around for about a year. Portia said she screwed him on the principle that his girlfriend should not have tried to fight her girls. No one ever would have guessed that Portia was a licensed therapist that specialized in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and victims of sexual abuse.

That evening at dinner the ladies talked and joked about the men that had come in and out of their lives. Portia’s conversations always reverted back to sex and the act engaging in sexual activity. Portia was very open about her sex life not just to us but to her co-workers as well. According to Portia, “Sex is an act between two consenting adults and if that’s what they want to do then they should. I hate when women make a plan to not sleep with a guy until 30 days or so. Hell, if she knows she wants to fuck, then just do it. I bet the man she’s saving herself for didn’t save himself during that 30 days.” Portia laughs and takes a sip of her Chardonnay.

Tiffany laughing says, “You know, I have to agree with Portia on this one. Why wait? I’m not saying go have sex the first time you go out. I think that is tasteless but I would talk to a man on the phone a couple of times. Meet him out for drinks and/or dinner. Kiss a couple of times. Rub on each other a few times, because I need to feel if it is even worth my time to pursue talking to you any longer. Hell, if Capone had called me today, I would be considering letting him rub me.” “WOW! He didn’t even call after all that? He’s done.” Sienna says, rubbing her hands together as if to clean them off.

“Who the hell is Capone?” Amber asks, smiling and waiting in anticipation.

“What the hell is a Capone?” Portia asks with her nose turned up.

“This thug she met in Fells Point yesterday. She thought he was going to call her today but he probably had to work the corner all day.” Sienna laughs.

“Whatever! He was sexy as hell. I think. Plus I’m grown. I good. We have all given our phone numbers out to men that have never called.” Tiffany says convincing her friends that she didn’t care. However, she was really upset thinking how dare he not call me after the chemistry that they had.

The ladies finished up dinner and went to the night club. They had fun as usual dancing, laughing and drinking. At the end of the night, they rode home and talked about the men they met and some of the ridiculous clothes some of the people had the nerve to wear. Portia ended the conversation with the ladies when her phone rang. It was a call from one of her male friends wanting to meet her at her apartment for a late night conversation he said. When they arrived at Tiffany’s house, it was about 3:00 in the morning. They parted ways and decided that they would talk this week and try to get together again soon for lunch or something. Sienna told Tiffany she would call her tomorrow.

Tiffany went into her house and got ready for bed. She knew that her parents would be looking for her in the morning for church and then expecting her at their house for Sunday dinner. Tiffany’s phone had died hours ago. So she plugged her phone up to charge while she took her shower. When she came out of the shower and looked at her phone, she noticed that she had three voicemail messages and six text messages. ‘Oh my goodness.’ she thought. “Something must have happened to someone in my family.’ First she looked at the text messages.

“Hey Beautiful! This is your boy Capone.

I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier.

Please don’t be mad.

Hello???

I’ve called you several times this evening. If you don’t want to talk to me, I understand.

At least, text me or call me to let me know that you are ok. “

The voicemail messages were basically the same. He seemed worried and upset that she wasn’t responding to his calls. It was like he was upset with himself. In fact, the last voicemail message was left about 15 minutes earlier. Tiffany realized that he must be awake. She didn’t know how to respond to the fact that some guy was a little worried about her. She decided to text him back.

“
Sorry to text you so late. I wasn’t ignoring you. I spent the evening with some friends and I forgot my portable charger at home. Call me when you can. Good night!
”

Tiffany pressed send and laid her head down on her pillow, hoping that she would be able to make it to church in the morning. Then her phone rang. Somehow she knew who it was. “Hello!”

“Hey Miss Tiffany! I hope it is okay that I called you. I was worried and I just needed to hear your voice.”

Rolling her eyes because of the bullshit line he just fed her, Tiffany said, “Yes, it’s okay. I am fine. I just wanted to text you to let you know that I received your messages and that I wasn’t ignoring you. My girls were rushing me out of the house so I left my charger on the table. I’m sorry Daddy. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She said sarcastically.

Capone laughs and says, “Whoa Ma! Be careful. I could get use to you calling me daddy.”

When they got on the phone, it was around 3:30. When they got off the phone, it was 5:32. The only reason they got off the phone was because Tiffany kept falling asleep. They talked about almost everything. The most important things that Tiffany learned was that 27 year old Capone was his street name he had received because his name is Alton, which became Al, like Al Capone. He grew up in Boston but followed his estranged dad to Baltimore. He didn’t have any children. He just broke up with his girlfriend because she cheated on him. The evening they met he was with his cousins celebrating one of their birthdays and most importantly he was a blue collar worker. He worked as a maintenance supervisor in one of those high rise office buildings downtown. So the mystery was solved. He was not a drug dealer. He openly admitted that he had sold drugs when he was younger but he just got tired of hustling.

Tiffany actually liked this man. Even though they came from different worlds, they had a great conversation and he was easy to talk to. He was different than the men she usually dated but getting to know him wouldn’t hurt. Tiffany could use a little thug in her life and get a little street education. The two ended their conversation with plans to meet later on that week.

Needless to say, Tiffany did not make it to church that morning but she did make it to the weekly Sunday dinner where she became the victim of sarcastic remarks from her mother about missing church but she didn’t mind. She made a new friend and she couldn’t wait to tell Sienna.

***

Sunday evening Tiffany and Sienna talked on the phone for hours. Sunday evenings was their standing date to talk on the telephone. They would summarize the previous week, while preparing for the week ahead and discussing the logistics of their upcoming vacation to New Orleans. On this conversation, Tiffany told Sienna all about her early morning conversation with Capone. Sienna was glad that he called her but she was still cautious.

“Be careful, girl. You are stepping into a territory that you know nothing about. Can you really take him home to meet your parents?” Sienna asked.

“I am not trying to marry him. Our relationship or rather our friendship will never make it to that stage. Forget about me. I will be fine. What’s up with you and the guy from Lexington Market, you know the one you met in the hood? You started to tell me about him the other night but Portia started talking about sex so we never got back to the subject of him. He probably picked the keys out of your pocket just to meet you. I wouldn’t put anything past some of these men these days.”

“He’s not like that. At least, I don’t think he is. He’s a gentleman. Derrick is supposed to call me Tuesday. He went out of town on a business trip. He was dressed very nicely for a Saturday. He was dressed like he was dressed for work on a casual Friday.”

“Well keep me posted on your hood dude. Keep in mind you did meet him at Lexington Market. Find out why he was there.” Tiffany warns Sienna.

“Girl you know I will keep you informed with all of the details. I always do. I’ll talk to you later this week. Probably on Tuesday. Good night!”

The two friends end the call and Tiffany is about lay down in her bed and slowly fall asleep while watching the local news at eleven. Her phone rings. It is Capone.