4. Jovani “Von” Bendetti
Chapter 4
Jovani “Von” Bendetti
“So doc, tell me somethin’.”
Standing over the doctor who was sitting on a footstool while listening to the stethoscope that he had placed at Girl’s chest, I sucked in a wad of smoke from the blunt pinched in between my index and thumb. When my chest couldn't take more of the exotic weed, I exhaled, filling the air with a potent funk before ashing the blunt.
I watched as Doctor Slater Massey counted the seconds on his Rolex. I’d half a mind to blow his receding hairline further back than it already was the moment he crossed my threshold. But I refrained. I didn't want to traumatize the baby more than I'm sure she already was from being linked together like cattle with the rest of the trafficking ring. I’d paid him to give Girl an assessment because my brother was right when he spoke about it being no telling what she may have been subjected to. I would hope that those sick motherfuckers didn’t fuck with a baby but if they could try and sell her off like she was a puppy, there was no measure to their madness.
“Well, just by my assessment and the fact that the gum around her teeth looks to be a bit swollen, I’d say her teeth just came in not too long ago. There is no real way to give her age without the proper testing or access to her records,” Doctor Massey gave me a sideways glance but if he wanted to walk out this bitch with his life, he wouldn't say shit.
He pulled at the gray polo shirt underneath his white coat and cleared his throat when my response was a cloud of smoke in his face.
“If I had to guess, she is around nine to ten months old. Maybe even less with her height and weight. What have you been feeding her?”
My eyes shifted to the untouched food carryout, resting on my dresser. Last night, when we got home, she slept through the night. I woke up before her this morning and immediately called the doctor because there was no way her ass was still sleeping. Doctor Massey could wake her, but she’d only opened her eyes briefly before she was back asleep. He’d done her entire assessment while she was sleeping.
“Shit regular food. What the fuck else she supposed to eat?”
My grandma had said she fed her table food, and from the looks of it, it had her sleeping like a baby. I was going to ask that ole lady had she put some fucking melatonin in that damn food because this baby wouldn’t wake up for shit.
“If my prediction is right and she’s the age I think she is, table food is fine as long as it is in bite-sized portions. She has all of her teeth, but I’d be cautious. However, she should drink formula until she is a year old.”
Doctor Massey stood, grabbed his briefcase, and handed me a piece of paper.
“This is the brand of milk most of my patients take. While I do feel breast milk is the best-”
“Do I look like I got breast?”
I was shirtless, so the doctor had the nerve to glance down at my inked chest.
“I’m afraid not. I was saying, give her a balance of food and formula. This is the brand I recommend. You should be able to find it at most, if not all, grocery stores.”
“Other than that, she’s good, right? She healthy?”
Doctor Massey nodded.
“As far as I can tell, she is. She’d be even better if you had her medical records. It’s important Jovani. Or at least, bring her into my office where I can get an in-depth examination and run some tests.”
He looked at the sleeping baby over the rim of his glasses.
“You see her fingers and hands?”
Swallowing hard, I nodded.
“It’s nothing to be too concerned with. It can be corrected.”
“Cool,” I replied.
“If she doesn’t wake up in the next few hours, give me a call. There may be some vitamin deficiencies. Ugh-”
Dr. Massey grew red in the face. He’d been jumpy from the moment he crossed my threshold.
“Did you and your brother, uh, handle that?”
Cocking my head, I crossed my hands at my waist.
“Handle what?”
By now, Dr Massey was as red as a tomatoe and looked like he needed to take a shit. As long as it wasn’t on my floors, he would live for now.
“Look, man, Myron, Chen, Andrew, and I don’t want any trouble. We called you and your brother because even though we dibble and dabble in illegal shit from time to time. Human trafficking was pushing it far. If you handled Tony-”
“Aye,” I shot him a warning glare.
I didn’t trust this nigga. Anybody that was buddy buddy pal pal with Tony was just as fucked up as his ass was. With my brother and I, it was strictly business when it came to these clowns, but I couldn’t say other muhfuckas shared our same sentiments. I wasn’t about to tell Slater shit. I damn sure wasn’t about to tell him that Tony could be talked about in the past tense because that niggas remains had been oxidized by flesh and bone eating acid. Yes, we had dirt on these niggas if they ever decided to turn on us but I wasn’t taking no chances.
“Very well,” he cleared his throat.
“We can also discuss surgeries.”
“Bye, Doc.”
I lead his ass out of my home and watched as he hopped in his Benz and left. The rain had finally let up, and the sun had appeared. On days like this, I would be tearing down the mall, bending some shit over on the balcony of my condo or cruising Ocean View drive. But, here I was in the fucking house. Once I could no longer see the tail lights of the doctor, I closed the door and turned on my heels.
“What the fuck!”
It wasn’t too much that could spook me, but seeing a one foot tall figure sitting in the middle of my entry with her head cocked, eyes bucked, and plaits spiraling in different directions had me clutching my chest. I had the ears of a fucking bat but, I hadn’t heard her little ass coming up on me.
“How the fuck you get down here so quick?’
Looking past her, I checked the surroundings like I expected a muhfucka to pop out. She was dead asleep during her examination, but suddenly, she was sitting on her now dry pamper. I wanted to lay the doctor out when he removed her pissy pamper but had to remember he was only doing what I paid him to do. He’d showed me how to change it, but I wasn’t comfortable with that shit at all.
Standing over her, we both stared at each other while I rubbed my chest. She was still in my faded, oversized wrestling T-shirt that had the Rock on it. I used to be crazy as fuck about wrestling growing up. I’d nearly broke one of the neighborhood boys neck once trying to mimic his moves and got my ass beat by my Grams for it too.
“So, can you walk? Or did you damn near bust your knees up crawling in here?”
Carpet and sand didn’t mix; since my home sat directly on the beach, all my floors were marble. I wasn’t a fan of marble myself because the shit was too fucking slippery if you asked me but, with all of the moisture in the air, wooden floors would have shifted and cracked over time since they can’t expand. That fake floor shit was also out of the question.
Girl didn’t answer my question, so we stared at one another. When I saw her on the mattress in that building, I wanted to body every motherfucker in there. A strong tough ass black woman had raised me and even though I didn’t have any parents, my grandma did the best she could with us. Even then, I still had my big brother to lean on. A child that couldn’t even talk being thrust into the fucking black market had my big grown ass knees buckling. I had a fucking soft spot for children, always have. I didn’t have any of my own and made sure I double strapped my dick up so these hoes wouldn’t slip me up but I still loved the kids. When I first saw my nephews outside in that yard, I wanted to curse Rainah’s ass out but I wanted to kiss her ass on the forehead too. Kids were the most precious things in this fucking world. I didn’t know how Girl came to be a part of the fucking trafficking ring but I could guarantee she would never have to worry about that shit again.
Figuring she was hungry, I scooped her up in my arms. She still smelled like my grandmother’s home, which was comforting. My heart was beating fast as hell as I held her, just as it had done when I first spotted her. With her head reared back, she stared at the side of my face as I carried her into the kitchen. She wouldn’t be eating that cold ass Pluck it today. I didn’t have much in the fridge because I ate out most of the time, but my Grams ensured we knew how to cook from a young age. I could throw down when I wanted to, but I didn’t have the time to do so, as I was always on the go. It was ridiculous because I’d put so much money in the local restaurant’s pocket. With her in my arms, I opened the sub-zero stainless steel built-in refrigerator door. It didn’t make sense how I had a kitchen designed for a sous chef and maybe eight groceries in this fridge. Even with the skills my Grams taught me, it was nothing I could do with a bottle of hot sauce, spoiled milk, ketchup, apple juice, and an old carryout container that was no telling how old from Morton’s steak house.
“Fuck it, let’s head to the pantry.”
Again, my pantry was too damn big to be so damn empty. I grabbed two packs of Ramen noodles beside a box of expired cereal and headed to the stove. Crumbling both bags up, I put on a pot of water and waited until it came to a boil before adding both noodles. Standing over the stove, I observed our meal so as not to overcook it. When they were just right, I seasoned them with onion powder, garlic powder, seasoned salt, black pepper, and the chicken seasoning that came with the pack. When the juice was pissy yellow, I transferred it to two different bowls and grabbed the hot sauce and apple juice from the fridge.
‘You like your shit spicy?” I asked Girl as I sat her on top of the bar. Dropping an ice cube in her noodles since they were way too hot, I poured her a cup of apple juice and stuck a fork in her bowl. When she didn’t respond but looked me upside my head, I shrugged and sat at the bar. I liked my shit scolding hot so, after drenching my bowl in hot sauce I was ready to eat before it cooled down.
“Whew! Shit fye!”
Girl continued to watch me as I ate the noodles. Feeling my mouth grow too hot, I twisted the top of the two-liter apple juice and took it straight to the head. My refrigerator must’ve been up too high because it was so cold and slushy going down. When I was satisfied, a long burp erupted from my chest. Girl was still eying a nigga.
“Pick up the fork and eat. I know you hungry.”
Again, she just watched.
“Look.”
I placed my fork down and slurped up my spicy noodles. I grabbed her hand and stuck it in the lukewarm noodles. Looking at her fingers, I paused. When I first spotted the beautiful baby, I couldn’t understand why they’d had her for so long. According to one of the Hispanic women we’d rescued, she’d been with the Russians since she was weeks old. She was nearing a year old and the prettiest baby I’d ever seen. But, she handt been sold.
Ding Dong.
“What the fuck bro.”
An unwanted visitor snapped me from my thoughts.
Letting Girl’s hand go, I stood and pushed away from the bar.
“Ima get the door. Don’t fall and eat.”
Instead of replying, she cocked her head as if to say, nigga who you giving orders too.
“Aite, If I come back and your lil ass on the floor, you bet not shed a tear.”
Taking one last glance, I jogged to the front door. I already knew who the fuck this was and figured, I needed to go ahead and get this shit over with.
I opened it without looking at the cameras or through the door, and there stood my twin.
“You can’t pick up the phone?”
“I haven’t gotten a call,” I lied. He and my grandma had called and I sent their asses right to voicemail too.
“Fucking liar,” Jeo pushed past me. I should have left his ass at the door but, he had a fucking key and wouldn’t hesitate to use it if I hadn’t. Knowing his way around since he’d spent too much time over before he settled with Celine’s bobble headed ass, he trudged through the house and went straight to the kitchen.
“Bro.”
Jeo stopped dead in his tracks, seeing Girl sitting on the countertop with noodles fisted in her right hand while she chugged back the apple juice with her left. Except she wasn’t using the cup I’d poured her; she was drinking from the bottle just as I had. My brother was looking back and forth between me and the baby while I just stood there smiling.
When she was done drinking, she placed the juice next to her, let out a cute little belch, and then stuffed her mouth with noodles. Her big eyes were focused on us probably trying to understand why two identical ass strange niggas were staring at her.
“You kept the fucking baby. No wonder Grandma wouldn’t let me in yesterday. You keep her in some shit,” my brother shook his head as he ventured further in the kitchen. I was on his heels.
“What the fuck was I supposed to do, Jeo?”
“Shit, the same thing we did with the other muhfuckas we found. Turn ‘em over and pray for the best.”
“The difference between her and the rest is that she is a fucking baby. She can’t speak up for herself,” I argued.
“Von,” my brother rubbed his temples before facing me. Girl’s eyes bounced between us as she continued to stuff her face.
“This a whole baby. A whole baby who belongs to people.”
“Yeah, she belongs to me. I heard all that shit you was talking yesterday so it ain’t even no need to get into all that. I’m keeping her. The folks she belonged to didn’t want her. They sold her not giving a fuck what could happen to her. Not knowing muthafuckas intentions. So, the best thing you can do is be a brother and an uncle. Cuz she mine.”
My brother and I engaged in a stare-off while suckling sounds filled the space. Girl was fucking them noodles up.
“You don’t know if her people sold her. She could have been snatched.”
“Like you said yesterday, there are parents who have been selling their children to the Russians. Look at her. I got a feeling her people sold her. You know I be knowing shit.”
It was true. I had an intuition like a muhfucka sometimes. This baby was sold for profit to the Russians, who had plans on selling her and making an even higher profit. Shit was sick.
“You like to club, hoe hop, and shop. You really ready for a baby, bro?” My brother’s expression softened.
We both turned to face Girl. Long lashes brushed up against her cheeks as she blinked.
“She’s a pretty ass baby.”
That I agreed with. Due to my brother and I being mixed with them racist bitches, our skin was light, noses were sharp and hair was fine. Fine hair and mixed didn’t mean shit because I knew black people with all different typed of textures of hair including fine and all different shades of skin. Girl was pretty as a picture even with those ugly ass plaits over her head. Her skin, too, was light, her brows were full and looked to be arched even though I knew they weren’t. I could tell that her hair was brownish, and baby hairs framed her square, round face.
“For sure,” I agreed with my brother.
“And you’re sure about keeping her?”
I nodded.
My brother rubbed his hand down his face and sighed.
“Aite.”
Furrowing my brows, I studied his expression.
“Aite? That’s it?”
“Yeah. Aite. What you want me to say? You say you keeping her and you know your ass is stubborn. So, aite.”
My brother reached out and grabbed Girl’s hand. A small smile tugged at his lips.
“So, what’s her name?”
I shrugged, “Girl.”
“Girl?”
“Yeah. Eventually, ima find out exactly where she comes from. Right now, Ima cool it until we get this Italian mafia shit under wraps.”
I was almost scared of what the fuck I was going to find when I did dig into Girl’s background. She was sold by one of her parents or someone close to her, that much I was willing to bet on. She was the only baby in that building because snatching babies made shit too hot and they had to be handled with care unlike adults and adolescents. I had to focus on the mafia and killing their asses off before I add Girl’s people to the murder list.
My brother brushed his thumb over her index and middle finger.
“Perfect lil self. So, now I’m a new daddy and a new uncle?”
Shrugging, I smirked.
“Join the fucking club. Now, let her eat her breakfast and show me how to order this shit. She need milk, bottles, clothes, diapers and all that good shit.”
“Maybe now, you’ll think about walking away from the streets.”
Coughing, I felt as if a hand was closing around my throat after hearing what the fuck had just come out of my brother’s mouth.
“And why in the fuck would I want to leave the streets? That’s what they make daycares and shit for. Ima sell my dope and raise my Jit. The fuck?”
Looking upside my head, my twin grunted.
“I swear you always got some shit going.”