Chapter 2
CHAPTER
TWO
Missing in Action
Cars lined the streets. Bumper to bumper. Tops were dropped, and music was pumping. The sun hid behind the trees on this beautiful Wednesday evening. The clubs were closed, but the Boulevard was always open. Summer in Dooley didn’t require a dwelling.
Just people.
Good music.
Good drinks.
And a meeting place.
The Boulevard had become our destination on Wednesdays and Thursdays as the hood prepared to go into the weekend with unmatched energy.
I placed the sealed blunt between my lips. My thoughts ran a mile a minute as the lighter fired the tip of it. I inhaled deeply.
Good shit.
My chains brushed against each other as I pulled the blunt from my mouth and pushed the smoke through my lips. The street lights were on, and no one planned to go home. It didn’t matter that most had work in the morning. Tonight was the perfect way to get over their mid-week slump.
“Fuck you got going on over there, my nigga?” Sully asked, taking the blunt from my hand.
“Shit. Shit. Chilling on it.”
I slid onto the hood of my car. With my legs gapped, I immediately felt a void. Heaviness lured my thoughts in a different direction. There were a hundred hoes around, but there was only one woman I cared to see tonight.
Any night.
Any day.
Every day.
A firm knock on her door four days ago proved to be pointless. I didn’t see the inside of the five-star steakhouse I’d made reservations at. Neither did I enjoy alone time with the one I’d thought had gotten away.
Hyphen wasn’t new to the hood. However, her exclusivity made her presence rare and in high demand. Four years ago, she’d kissed Dooley goodbye. Yet, there wasn’t a week she didn’t cross my dome.
When word got around that she was back, every nigga on the block was ready to turn their pockets inside out to get her attention.
Because we all knew that’s how you had to give it up for Hyph.
I didn’t mind. Not because I was fond of breaking women off, but because I wanted to break her fine ass off.
That buttery skin, pretty face, long hair, and slim frame were mesmerizing. Standing at 5’6, Hyphen Stone was cold-blooded. Her thighs separated in the center. Her legs were bowed. Her ass was perfectly round. Her stomach hardly existed. Her breasts were small and perky.
I kissed the skin of my teeth at the mere thought of her. I prayed she understood my position because it would cause a lot of niggas pain if she chose to play. The quicker she understood she belonged to me, the quieter Dooley streets would be.
“There goes my baby–” Sully sang, pulling on the wood.
I turned toward him, eventually following his line of vision. Saga strolled up the Boulevard.
“You a dirty ass nigga,” I told him, laughing as I took the blunt.
“Ah– I told the nigga she was for me. He walked her down and then didn’t know what the fuck to do with all of that. Now, he got my baby apprehensive about fucking with a real nigga. I’m trying to be stepdaddy, baby daddy, forever daddy. I just know that pussy hitting.”
The realization that she was alone put a halt to my beating heart. I slid from the hood of my whip and watched as she mingled with the crowd.
Everyone knew Saga. Everyone loved Saga. Just like Hyphen, she was a diamond in the rough. A Dooley diamond. And, she put on for her hood every chance she got.
“Nigga, you’ll never get to feel it. She’ll always label you as her baby daddy’s homeboy.”
“It won’t be much longer. I’ve put distance between me and that fuck nigga for a reason.’
“What reason is that?”
“He ain’t taking care of his seed. I can’t fuck with niggas who spend more money and time on bitches than on their creation. I can’t respect it. I can’t get down with it. Nigga barely acknowledges the fucking kid.”
“I respect it. A nigga who doesn’t fuck with his kid is a questionable motherfucker.”
“Ya feel me?” Sully questioned. “I’ma let her have her way for now.
But, in a year, I bet I lock that fine motherfucker down.
Upgrade her life. Take that stress off her plate.
Put an end to the bullshit she has going on in an attempt to survive out here.
Bring some peace to her life. Fuck her good.
Get a few minis running around this bitch. ”
“And you’re ready for that?”
“Shit, I will be when I get her on my team.”
“Nigga, you need to be ready before she gets on your team.”
“You ready?” Sully asked, reaching for the blunt. “Don’t think I don’t see you sweating that damn Hyphen. I hope your pockets deep, homie. She ain’t giving that shit up for free.”
“I got the money for the pussy. I know she got that snapper for the money.”
Chuckling, Sully choked off the smoke he’d inhaled.
“Real shit, though– Yeah. I’m ready. I’m ready for whatever Hyph is ready for and probably a little more.
Some nigga just fucked her over. She’ll need some time to recover.
To trust again. To let her guard down again.
But, the moment she does, I’ll be in position to sweep her right off them pretty toes. ”
“This nigga in love!” Sully bellowed. “This nigga in love.”
Shrugging, I nodded.
“I’m just a nigga who knows exactly what he wants and sees no reason to fuck around.”
“Hyphen Stone is what you want?” He asked, wanting to be certain.
“She’s exactly what I want.”
“Lock your shit down, and I’m going to lock my shit down. We meet in Vegas and make it forever.”
“Nigga, I can bet my last dollar I’m beating you to the courthouse,” I countered.
There wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I’d make it official with Hyphen. I didn’t want to make her my woman. When this shit was all said and done, I wanted to make her my wife.
My father had made it abundantly clear that if I didn’t plan to make an honest woman out of someone, then I shouldn’t pursue them in the manner that I intended to pursue Hyphen. I’d secretly saved my energy for something real. Someone real. Someone special.
When she took off three years ago, my heart was still hurting too bad to notice. But, as the weeks grew into months, her absence became the bane of my existence. I wanted to kick my own ass for not hollering at her the week before my mother and father were murdered at his place of business.
A year later, my world was still spinning and she was out of Dooley. Many nights, I wished I could turn back the hands of time.
“It’s a bet then, nigga. A band?”
“Two bands, nigga.”
“Say less.”
The night progressed and so did the void I felt. Hyphen wasn’t pinned to Saga’s side. She’d passed me enough times to know. Her absence disturbed me to the core. As much as I wanted to stop her to make sure Hyph was all good, I decided against it.
Maybe she’s gotten a new job.
Maybe they’ve had a fight.
Maybe she’s resting.
Maybe she’s still healing.
The scenarios played in my head one after the other. However, none of them felt accurate. Something else was happening in Hyphen’s world. And, if she didn’t emerge soon, I’d go searching for her fine ass in the daytime with a flashlight. Because, I refused to let her get away this time.
“What’s on your mind, homie? You’ve been quiet all fucking night.”
“Shit. Shit. I’m ‘bout to get up out of here.”
“You good?” Sully was no fool. But, I didn’t care to elaborate.
Nah. Not really.
“Yeah. Everything is lovely.”
“Bet.”
I gathered my bearings and started the engine of my whip. The Chevy made itself known. Loud pipes startled everyone within a few feet.
Honk.
Honk.
I tooted the horn, making it known that I needed space.
And Hyphen.
And my crib.
And my bed.
7:26p
I pulled in a breath of fresh air. My palms pressed against my threads, ironing out whatever wrinkles the car had created. The mugginess of the evening air stuck to my white shirt. Uncertainty hung over my head like a dark cloud. Still, I stepped forward and pressed the doorbell.
It sounded in the distance. I rolled the toothpick around in my mouth as the wait began.
It had been six days since I’d gotten a glimpse of Hyph.
Her absence was unsettling. I needed reassurance.
I needed to see that pretty face and hear that sharp tongue spit words that were either offensive or dismissive. The silence was unacceptable.
Locks turned. I stepped backward, giving the door the space necessary to open. Mentally, I prepared myself for the verbal massacre. Showing up at her door unannounced possibly broke some rule in her book. But I didn’t give a damn about her rule. I had one of my own.
Never go missing again.
The iron door pushed toward the right side of the porch on the white brick home that had recently been remodeled. It didn’t belong in Dooley. Neither did Hyphen. But she was here, and she was home. That’s all that mattered.
Behind the screen door stood Saga with a sleeping toddler in her arms. With furrowed eyebrows, she stared out the door, motionless. Wordless.
I waited for Hyphen to appear behind her. The wait was in vain. I realized it by the second minute of standing with my eyes trained on the space beside Saga.
“Hyphen– is she home?”
“She isn’t.”
“Where she at, Saga? She ain’t been ‘round in a few days. She good?”
“Not you worried about a woman who wants you to stay out of her face.”
She was amused by my foolishness. Sometimes, I was as well. But, the gravitational pull the damn girl had on me didn’t leave much room for a dispute. These feelings for Saga weren’t fresh. They’d been suppressed for years.
I promised to get my head and my bread right before stepping to her. By the time I was ready, my people were gunned down like dogs. It took me too long to shake back. I looked up and Hyph was gone.
“She doesn’t know what she wants. Where she at?”
“County,” Saga said, smacking her lips.
“County?” Baffled, I repeated her.
“Yeah. As in jail. And, she refuses to let me help her make bond, so she’s waiting to see the judge on Tuesday. I figured the least I could do was keep an eye on her house.”
Flabbergasted, I stared blankly at Saga as she shifted her weight from one side of her body to the other.
“Jail?”