Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Hood
Damn, I wasn’t expecting to run into Fumi this afternoon.
I wasn’t trying to sit on the proposition Skeet made last night.
I got the cash, so why not invest it? I’ve been in the streets all my life; it’ll feel good as fuck not to hit that pavement day in and day out, praying to sell out just to do the same shit the next day.
I dropped the duffel bag on Skeet’s desk. “Count it.”
Skeet unzipped the bag. Stacks of cash filled it from top to bottom. That’s real dirty money. “Damn, Hood, you ain’t fucking around.”
“I told you, not this time. I’m ready to start investing.”
Skeet zipped the bag back up. “I’ll get everything lined up Monday.”
“For sho.”
“We gone make your money work for you.”
“Bet.”
I looked toward the front of the restaurant.
“I’ll holler at you.”
“Damn, nigga you out already?”
“Yep. I need to see if Fumi is still outside.”
“You trying to holla at Fumi?”
“I’m trying. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me she was here? I would’ve been here earlier.”
Skeet laughed. “It’s not my business.”
“Shitting me, Fumi is my business, and she knows it.”
“Good luck.”
“A nigga damn sure need it.”
I slapped hands with Skeet, then jogged toward the front entrance. As soon as I stepped outside, my smile vanished. Her parking space was empty.
“Ain’t this ‘bout a bitch.”
I pulled my phone out and called her. Yeah, Fumi’s playing in my face for real.
Ring... Ring… Ring…
“Hello...”
“So, this, what the fuck we doing?”
Fumi paused, quick as hell. I’m not sure why she’s surprised. A nigga still got motion out here. Her number ain’t hard to get. I got that shit on my first day out.
“Who is this?”
“So, you don’t know my voice?”
“I don’t.”
“It’s Hood.”
“...Yeah.”
“So, this what the fuck we doing ,now?”
“What you mean?”
“I asked you for five minutes, and you left.”
“I did.”
“Why?”
“‘Cause we ain’t got shit to talk about.”
Fumi pauses for a beat. “I’m good, Hood.”
Click.
I stared at my phone, then laughed. I swear, Fumi keeps trying me. “She’s still hardheaded as fuck.”
I climbed into my Porsche. “You can run all you want, Fumi... But we’re going to have this conversation, whether she wants to or not.”
Twenty minutes later, I pulled up in front of Fumi’s building. I killed the engine, looked up at Fumi’s apartment, I took a deep breath, then climbed out of my Porsche. I walked along the sidewalk and made my way to her door.
I knocked on Fumi’s door.
Nothing.
I waited a few more seconds, then knocked again. Still nothing. I looked back toward the parking lot. Her Benz was parked in her usual spot. I’d been by here before, and it probably wouldn’t be the last time.
“Petty ass.”
I couldn’t even be mad at Fumi. I brought this shit on myself. I knocked again, already knowing she wasn’t going to answer. To make sure I wasn’t tripping, I pulled my phone out and called her.
Ring… Ring… Ring...
A muffled ringtone echoed from the other side of the door. A slow grin spread across my face.
“Yeah... Fumi, yo ass in there?”
I slipped my phone back into my pocket, then leaned against the door frame.
“Aye, Fumi... I know you hear me. I ain’t gonna bother you today. I’ll let you have this one, maybe.” I chuckled to myself. “But don’t get too comfortable; I might pop back up on yo ass tomorrow. I got time, as a matter of fact... I got plenty of it.”
I pushed away from the door and shook my head.
“You ain’t gotta open this door today. But sooner or later... we’re gonna have that conversation.”
I headed back toward my Porsche. For the first time in my life, I was chasing something money couldn’t buy. I looked back at Fumi’s apartment one last time before pulling away. I knew she was watching me.
I could feel Fumi’s energy. Whether she was standing behind the blinds or peering through that peephole...
Fumi heard every word I said. The moment I pulled up to Fumi’s spot, I already knew she wasn’t going to answer the door.
That wasn’t why I came. I just needed Fumi to know she wasn’t hard to find.
A nigga still got reach.
I smiled to myself as I eased out of the parking lot. Fumi could hide today; shit, her pretty ass could hide tomorrow. But I wasn’t going anywhere. Eventually... Fumi would have to face me. And when that day came, I wouldn’t waste another five minutes before letting Fumi know how I feel about us.
In all my years of hustling and thugging, I ain’t never had to chase a woman. But Fumi... Yeah, she was definitely worth the chase. My phone lit up on the console. It’s my momma.
“Hey, Ma. Everything good?”
“Yes, boy. Where are you?”
“I’m on my way home.”
“Good. Where are you coming from?”
“I just got done handling some business.”
She paused briefly before speaking again.
“Be careful, son. I worry every time you leave that house. I pray every day that you make it back home to me.”
I knew exactly what she meant. She wasn’t asking where I was. She was asking whether I was back in the streets, but I’m not fully committed to them again. I’m fucking with how Skeet’s moving, and I want that.
“Nah, Ma. I’m good. I promise. You ain’t gotta worry about me. I already gave it six years. I ain’t giving it another day.”
She let out a long sigh. “I know. I just had to hear you say it. I love you.”
“I love you too, Ma.”
The call ended, but her words stayed with me. For the first time in a long time, my mother wasn’t praying for me to win a case. She was praying that I’d keep the promise I made when I walked out those prison gates. And I fully intended to keep it.