Chapter 11
“Where the hell have you been?” my mother shouted as soon as I entered our house, popping me on the back of my head with a rolled-up magazine.
“Chill, Ma. I was out.”
“No shit, Rowdy. Out where?”
“Ma, I’m grown.”
“I don’t give a damn if you’re grown. You think just because you’re grown, I’m not supposed to worry about you?”
“I ain’t say that, but you need to calm down. I had a date and stayed at her place.”
“You couldn’t have called or sent a damn text to let me know you weren’t coming home?”
“I didn’t plan to stay, but time got away from me.”
She shook her head in disgust and disappointment.
“Next time you don’t plan to come home, tell me. We’re in a new and unfamiliar city. I thought you—”
“My bad, Ma. You’re right, and I’m sorry for making you worry. I need to get ready for work.”
I leaned in to kiss her cheek and she backed away. “I don’t know where your mouth has been.”
I laughed. “Damn, Ma. You think I would kiss you after—”
“Bye, boy. I’m going to work. See if your sister needs anything before you leave.”
“I’ll see you later,” I said as she left out of the door I’d just entered.
I yawned on my way to my bedroom. If I could sleep for the rest of the day, I would.
Noelani was under the impression that fucking all night was something I did often.
Little did she know, her pussy was what kept me going.
The last time a woman had that kind of effect on me was in my early twenties.
My first and only serious girlfriend, Marlena, had my heart. We dated for a year and a half, but her parents hated me. I somewhat understood because we were from different worlds. Her family was wealthy and expected her to be with someone from a family as wealthy or wealthier than them.
They did their best to break us up, but she stood ten toes down for me .
. . until she didn’t. I didn’t know what her parents finally said to convince her to end things, but she did.
My pride wouldn’t let me beg her to stay with me, so I hadn’t seen or spoken to her since the day she broke my heart.
About six months after she ended things with me, her mother showed up at my house.
I was surprised because I didn’t know she knew where I lived.
She came to tell me that Marlena was happily married and expecting a child.
After confirming the child wasn’t mine, I asked why she felt the need to come to my house to share that information.
She said, “Because I want you to stay away.”
She even offered me money to do so, but I declined. I suspected Marlena wasn’t as happy as her mother wanted me to believe, but she was no longer my concern. She made her choice, and she had to live with it.
As soon as I laid eyes on Noelani, I got the same feeling I had when I first saw Marlena. My stomach was nervous, my hands were sweaty, and had we met under other circumstances, I probably would’ve been stumbling over my words. The only other time that had happened was when I met Marlena.
Noelani had a problem that needed to be solved, and I was focused on solving it. When she began flirting with me, the nervousness disappeared because I knew she was feeling me. The more we talked, the more I wanted to talk. I would’ve done anything to extend my time in her presence.
After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I took a quick shower, then dressed in a black T-shirt and black athletic shorts. On my way to the kitchen, I knocked on Ramina’s door.
“Come in,” she said, her voice slightly muffled.
I opened the door to find a pillow over her head.
“Hey, I’m about to head to work. You need anything?”
“Can I have money to get food?”
“Let me know how much to send unless you need cash.”
“School starts next week, and I need a few things. Can we go shopping later?”
I sighed because I knew I wouldn’t feel like going shopping after work.
“Can it hold off until this weekend? I’ll ask Uncle David if I can get off a few hours early on Saturday.”
“Okay. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
I closed her bedroom door and headed out, turning on the alarm and locking the front door. When Ramina was old enough to understand, I made sure she knew not to ask our mother for anything. Whatever she wanted or needed, I made sure she got it.
Thankfully, she didn’t ask for all the name brand shit that girls her age liked, but for her birthday and Christmas, I spoiled her with that shit even though her bad ass didn’t deserve it half the time.
She had enough high-end shit to keep up with everyone else back in Savannah.
Hopefully, it was the same here in Onyx City.
When I entered the shop, I couldn’t get past the waiting area without Sammi stopping me to be nosy.
“Who was the girl?” she asked, getting straight to the point.
I shook my head and chuckled. “I don’t know what girl you’re talking about.”
“You lie all day long, Rowdy. You know what girl I’m referring to. Who is she, and why did you give her so much special treatment?”
“I haven’t given anyone special treatment. If you’re talking about the woman I brought here before we closed last night, she was in a bind and needed help.”
“In case you didn’t know, we don’t change tires here.”
She pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest as if she’d just told me something I didn’t know.
“I know that shit, Sammi. My uncle said it was cool, so if you have a problem with it, take it up with him.”
She smacked her lips. “Is she your girlfriend?”
“Chill with all the questions, Sammi.”
I walked away shaking my head. On my first day at the shop, Sammi made it clear that she was interested in me.
I did my best to ignore her subtle advances for the first couple of weeks.
Ultimately, I had to let her know I didn’t shit where I ate and wasn’t interested in hooking up with anyone I worked with.
She’d backed off and been cool since then, but I guess seeing me give Noelani special treatment struck a nerve. I hoped her attitude was short-lived because I didn’t have the energy to tiptoe around her feelings, whether I continued to see Noelani or not.
After chopping it up with my uncle and some of my coworkers, I got a call for a tow. The first call was always the bat signal, and I’d continue to get calls for tows for the next few hours. I left the shop and headed to my first stop, which was forty-five minutes away.
When my personal cell phone rang, I was disappointed it wasn’t Noelani. Instead, it was Myra. I let it ring several times as I contemplated letting it go to voicemail before finally answering.
“Wassup, Myra?”
“So . . . Your phone does work?” she questioned sarcastically.
“What are you talking about?”
“Oh, maybe it only works one way.”
“Myra.”
“The only time we talk is when I call you, Ro. I thought we were better than that.”
She was almost whining, which was very unlike her.
“I’ve been busy.”
“You got a real job?”
“Something like that. Is my name still hot in the streets?”
“Not really, but Zelle is still obsessed with finding you. I ran into him at a kickback last weekend, and he probably asked everyone at the party if they’d seen you or heard from you. When he saw me, he got excited because he thought I knew something.”
“What’d you tell him?”
“That you moved to Chicago. I hope that’s not where you are.”
I chuckled. “You shouldn’t have told his ass shit because you might have led him right to me.”
She gasped. “Is that where you are?”
“Don’t worry about it, Myra. I gotta go.”
I ended the call before she could respond. She called back, but I ignored her calls. A few minutes later, I arrived at my destination.
The rest of the day was busy, and time cruised by. I expected to hear from Noelani at some point during the day and was disappointed that she hadn’t reached out. Before clocking out for the day, my uncle called me into his office.
“Wassup, Unc?”
“Have a seat.”
“Oh shit. What did I do this time?”
“Hopefully nothing yet.”
“Did you hear something?”
“No, but I talked to your mother.”
“Please don’t tell me she called you about me not coming home.”
“She did because she was worried, and you didn’t answer your phone.”
“I was wrong, but she worries too much.”
“After she told me about the . . . hobby you had in Savannah, I believe she has reason to worry.”
“I’m trying to turn over a new leaf, so she don’t have to worry about me doing that shit no more.”
He narrowed his brow. “You sure about that, Nephew? It might be hard to stop cold turkey like that.”
I frowned. “You act like I’m a drug addict or alcoholic.”
“No, but I know the kind of adrenaline rush you get from that lifestyle. Before long, you’ll start to miss it.”
I wanted to tell him he was wrong, but I couldn’t. There had only been a few nights since we’d moved to Onyx City that I hadn’t thought about going out to find my next hit. So far, I’d managed to fight the temptation, but I wasn’t sure how long I’d be able to.
“I was robbing niggas who made a career out of pushing poison. It’s not like I was stealing money from upstanding citizens.”
“That’s true, but that’s all the more reason you need to leave that shit in Savannah. You were robbing criminals, which puts you in danger. I’m paying you a decent salary and preparing you to take over within the next few years. Don’t do something to fuck up your future.”
I nodded. “I hear you, Unc.”
“But are you listening?”
“Yeah, I’m listening.”
“All right. There’s one more thing I wanted to run by you before you go.”
“Wassup?”
“I think it’s past time for you to meet your brothers.”