Chapter 4
A Few Months Later
“Hey, my baby. I feel like I haven’t seen you in days.
You hungry?” Granny asked as I stepped into the kitchen.
She wasn’t exaggerating because I had been working nonstop for the last few weeks.
Gunna offered us the opportunity to get more work to see if we could handle it.
The money we stood to gain was too much to pass up on, so I hit the ground running.
We had a solid team that could have handled things on their own, but I had something to prove.
“My bad. I’ve been working.”
“Hmm, yeah okay. I’ve been wearing my kneepads out praying for you and that fine little dread head you like to hang around.
Young men like you are a target in this world, Essex.
They only want to see you in chains or in a dirt box.
The world doesn’t want black men to discover how truly powerful you are, so they set up these traps to take your freedom away from you, so you’ll never reach your full potential.
I appreciate everything you do for me, but I would rather struggle than see you laid up in a box. ”
I nodded but didn’t say anything back. My granny and I had the same talk regularly, and I understood exactly where she was coming from.
A lot of the men in our family were in the streets or locked up.
Two of her brothers had been killed before I was born, and my mom used to jump from one hustler to the next when she was growing up.
The moment my granny found out I was hustling, she made it known that she didn’t approve of it.
While I understood her position, I wasn’t going to allow anything to get in the way of my money.
“I’m about to fix your plate. Is there anything you don’t want?” she asked as she moved around the kitchen. Granny Nessa had her flaws, but she took care of me and made sure I was straight. I had lived with her since I was a youngin, so she was really the only parent I knew.
“Naw, I want a little bit of everything. Why are you cooking so much food?” Granny Nessa loved to cook for the neighborhood, but there were large foil containers on the table filled with food.
“Gloria, Clara, and I are selling dinners today. We’ve been doing it for the last few weekends. You would know if you came by more often.”
Guilt settled in because I had been slipping when it came to spending time with her.
Growing up, she spent a lot of time in the church, but after her pastor was recently exposed for impregnating multiple members of the church, she and many other members left.
She found a new church to attend, but she had been home much more often.
“Naw, don’t give me that sad ass face. I’m not tryna make you feel a way. I miss you, that’s all. You’re grown now, but you’ll always be my Essie.”
Recently, I had gotten my own spot, and it lit a fire under me to hustle even harder. I wasn’t going to be content until I was bringing in six figures in my sleep, so until then, the streets were my second home.
“I’m sorry, Granny. My mind has been so focused on chasin’ the bag, I haven’t had time for much else. How about I take you and a couple of your friends to the casino next week? My treat.”
“Hell yeah. You know I ain’t turning down shit but my collar. I’ll let my crew know and tell them to put on their good wigs ’cause we gon’ win some big money. I can feel it,” she cheered, dancing around the kitchen.
It may have been something simple, but I loved being able to put a smile on her face. I didn’t have a lot of people in my life I could count on, but she was the most important to me.
As soon as she set the plate in front of me, my mouth watered. There were smothered turkey wings over rice, mac and cheese, greens, potato salad, and cornbread. I wasted no time digging in, as it had been a few weeks since I had a home-cooked meal.
Someone knocked on the door, and I wondered who it was until I heard the sound of my aunt Pam’s voice. I smirked when she stepped into the kitchen with her jheri curl and red and black tracksuit with the matching Nike dunks. I always joked, telling her she reminded me of an old school pimp.
“What’s good, Nephew! One of your hoes must have kicked you out for you to be over here in the daytime.”
“Naw, never that. What’s up with you, Auntie? I haven’t seen you since you got your ass beat by Jojo,” I teased her. Jojo was her long-time girlfriend, and the two of them fought like cats and dogs. It didn’t matter what the occasion was; they would find a reason to argue.
“Man, fuck you. She didn’t beat me up. I had some dirt in my eye, and I couldn’t fight back like I wanted to. I let her win.” She lied through her teeth, knowing damn well she lost that fight.
“Pam, stop with the foolishness. Johanna put hands and feet on yo’ big ass. I almost wanted to jump in because I couldn’t let my bloodline go out like that, but then I remembered you owe me a pack of cigarettes,” Granny spat.
I hollered as Granny shook her head in disappointment. She never held her tongue for anyone.
“Ma, I can’t believe you. All you had to do was hit her with that stiff wig you keep putting on yo’ head, and I could have gotten the advantage,” Aunt Pam shot back.
“Tuh, you’ve got a lot of nerve talking about somebody’s wig when you had to use black hair spray to cover up those bald spots Jojo put in ya head. Walking around with ya jheri curl in a swoop ’cause you couldn’t keep ya strap in ya bookbag.”
“Yo, y’all gotta chill.” I laughed so hard, I almost choked on my food.
“Ma, you’re cold-blooded for that. Besides, it wasn’t my fault. I keep telling Jojo to leave my phone alone, but she won’t listen. As long as I take care of home, she shouldn’t have an issue with what I do outside,” Aunt Pam reasoned.
She and Jojo had been together since I was in middle school, and their relationship had been toxic from the start. Aunt Pam had never been faithful, and it seemed like things would never change. For whatever reason, Jojo refused to leave, so they were constantly at odds with one another.
“Yeah, whatever. I keep telling you to get your shit in order. You gon’ mess around one day, and Jojo will be letting another gentlewoman lick on her cooter cat,” Granny fussed.
“She knows better. Can’t nobody put it down like me,” Aunt Pam boasted arrogantly.
“You sound like a damn fool. They didn’t stop making rubber dicks when they made yours.” Granny Nessa huffed, then turned her attention to the food in the oven.
“Whatever, Ma. I came over here because I wanted to see what time you were gonna start selling dinners. I have a list of people who want to put an order in.”
“Clara is on her way with the desserts, and Gloria has the plates and stuff to pack the orders. Once they get here, we’re gonna get started,” she informed her.
“How much are you selling the plates for, Granny?” I asked, sending a picture of my plate to Logic, knowing his ass would want some. Then my mind shifted to Lyric, and I sent her the picture as well. She had been distant the last few months, but I wasn’t sure why.
Logic and I checked on her from time to time to make sure she wasn’t going without anything.
With my schedule, I hadn’t physically laid eyes on her in a while, and I needed to change that.
Logic mentioned she seemed off the last time he saw her, but she claimed nothing was wrong.
I planned to see for myself when I had some free time.
Lola Bunny: Did you mean to send this to me?
I was taken aback by her response because it seemed off.
Me: Granny Nessa is selling plates, and I was tryna see if you wanted one. I’m sure Trina ain’t cooking like this.
Lola Bunny: Naw, I’m cool. I wouldn’t want to interrupt your busy schedule.
I didn’t think we had any issues, but from the way she was responding to me, I could tell something was off.
Me: We got beef?
Lola Bunny: Nope. I just know my place in people’s lives.
Me: You know I don’t do all this textin’ shit. Do you want some food or not? I can bring it by later today.
Lola Bunny: Lol no, I’m good. If I were to wait on you, I would never get the plate anyway.
Damn. I could admit that I hadn’t been as present as I should have been, but it wasn’t like I was out fucking off. I had been making money, so I could provide for myself, my granny, as well as Lyric and Keynauri. I guess I never stopped to consider how my absence affected the people I cared about.
Guilt once again left me stuck as I sat there with my phone in my hand, trying to figure out how to respond to what she said. First, my granny, and now Lyric. It was obvious that I needed to find some time to make things right with the two of them.
Logic sent me a message to let me know he wanted to place an order. He ended up sending me money for six plates because he always looked out for his family. While I responded to him and a few other folks, Granny’s friends showed up. They greeted us, then washed their hands and got straight to work.
I grabbed a piece of paper, wrote down Logic’s orders, and handed them to Ms. Gloria.
“Granny, can you make me a plate to go?” I asked, getting ready to head out. It was obvious that we weren’t gonna get anywhere through text, so I decided to go see Lyric in person.
“I’m not making a plate for one of those desperate and delusional bitches you like to hump on. If they want to eat, they need to buy a plate like everyone else,” she quipped.
“It’s for Nauri’s little sister, Lyric. You remember her, right?”
“Yeah, I remember her pretty self. How is she holding up? I heard her momma out there smokin’ on them glass dicks.”
I wasn’t shocked by her revelation because the streets had been talking about Jazzie for years. I guess she decided not to hide it any longer.
“Yeah. Lyric lives with her aunt Trina, and I figured I would bring her a plate because I know she hasn’t had a meal this good in a while,” I explained.
“In that case, I’ll make two plates. Poor baby has been through hell, and the adults in her life are as dumb as a box of rocks.” Granny huffed, grabbing two plates and then heading toward the food.
“Trina is just as bad as that no-good sister of hers. My cousin, Lunell, lives over there by them, and she said Nate’s nasty ass has been touching her little girl for years.
He loves messin’ with young girls because they don’t know any better, and he can manipulate them with his money.
Lunell said she’s seen him coming and picking her daughter up in the middle of the day ’cause the young girl is always skippin’ school.
I won’t be shocked if she ends up pregnant,” Gloria revealed.
“That’s a damn shame. It ain’t the first time I’ve heard about him messin’ with young girls.
Seems to me that he has a problem with keepin’ that little shrimp skewer to himself.
I remember Rosalee and her daughter were fighting over him a few years back.
The young girl was only seventeen, fighting her momma in the streets over that man,” Granny Nessa added.
“What happened to the girl?” Aunt Pam asked the question that was on my mind, too.
“She turned up pregnant, and Nate drove her right to the abortiana clinic,” Granny declared.
“You mean the abortion clinic, Mama?”
“You know what the fuck I meant. Either way, he took that girl up there and sent that fetus right back to our Lord and Savior. According to the streets, he has some frequent flyer miles up there. I find that crazy ’cause the mothafucka still has about seven chirren running around the city.
I like shrimp as much as the next bitch, but I’m not risking my coochie lips to lay down with that walking SDP. ”
“It’s STD, Mama.” Aunt Pam corrected her again.
“This ain’t no mothafuckin’ spelling bee, Pam. I should start calling you Pernell because that’s who you look like. I said what I said.”
The two fussed back and forth while Granny fixed Lyric’s plates.
My mind was still on the conversation I had with Lyric.
I needed to figure out what was going on with her.
Once Granny finished packing up the plates, I headed out the door.
My cellphone was going off, and I knew it was the money calling.
It was still early in the day, so I decided to make a few runs before I stopped by Trina’s house.
As much as I cared about Lyric, I couldn’t pass up on the money.
I just hoped she would understand where I was coming from.