Gently #3
Tina calmly sat her gun atop the dining room table. Elbow on the table, hand holding loosely to the glass where her liquor swirled the bottom.
“All Boom ever talked about was Turner this and Turner that. He was proud. I can’t recall a single bad thing that he’s ever said about you.
You think I’d have bothered to introduce myself to Prissy had he whispered ill shit about any of y’all?
I could’ve disappeared into thin air, and you’d have never known that I existed.
” Nisha stared Tina in the eyes, hardly blinking.
Tension filled the air as she tossed the bougie act out of the window to convince Tina that she was more of an asset than liability.
“Boom said that if anything happened to him, run to you. You’d protect our daughter even if you didn’t give a fuck about me.
He’d never tell me no flaw shit. So, if you’re saying he ratted, I need to see paperwork with his name because the man I loved would never. ”
“Well, he did and I don’t have to prove shit. My word is solid. If Boom really had nothing but good shit to say, then questioning me is crazy. You trusted his word so much, right?”
Nisha softened. “I guess you have a point. You have to understand that Boom snitching sounds so farfetched from the person I knew,” she explained.
“You know, you switch in and out of the hood and bougie roles so well.” Tina stared Nisha down, but she didn’t fold.
“Boom and I used to joke about me picking up his lingo so well.” She scoffed lowly with a smile.
“Is that how he got you? That city nigga charm?”
“I’m not going to lie. That’s what got my attention.
Baltimore niggas have a charm that you can’t find anywhere else.
And I’ve been all over the world.” She snickered.
“They’re naturally flirtatious. Boom made shit awkward a few times just by saying what he felt; they’re direct.
They look you directly in the eyes when they talk to you almost commanding you to take your clothes off.
” Nisha blushed covering her face. “And don’t get me started on the way they give compliments.
It’s like they’re annoyed that you’re pretty.
” She snickered. “So, yeah, he got my attention with that, but that’s not why I fell in love with him. ”
This wasn’t a speech that Nisha prepared. It’s what was on her heart. Had she been at his funeral that’s what she would’ve said about him. To them he was a rat. To her, he was everything she never had and probably would never find again.
“Boom taught me a lot,” she reasoned. “I didn’t know how to do much for myself until I met him.
Maids, nanny’s and chauffeurs most of my life.
I didn’t know how to do my own laundry. Never used a microwave because who was eating leftovers?
” she snickered. “With Boom I learned that some things tasted better the next day like cheesesteaks. He taught me how to drive, how to cook, and how to sit still.”
Every bit of that part of her speech was a lie.
Nisha had been raised the exact opposite.
She did everything for herself because Teddy required a lot of their mother’s attention.
She was stuck fending for herself. Boom let her see what it was like to not have to lift a finger to do shit.
It was a bare minimum for him at that. He treated her good just because he loved her.
“I don’t think I’ve ever met someone that thought so highly of him, it’s almost hard to believe,” Tina finally spoke.
“Then you know how I feel about you telling me he was a snitch. It’s unbelievable. But what’s very true is that me and this baby are hungry as hell. Have I told you enough to get a meal?”
She could tell Tina every detail of her life from the day she was born and it still wouldn’t be enough. Anyone could say anything. If Tina wasn’t there to see it herself, she labeled it bullshit. Nisha could stay with her but only because she wanted to keep her eyes on her.
VISITING | 4:26 P.M.
Prissy caught herself smiling when the guard came through the visiting doors with Hussein in tow. When the excitement wasn’t returned, she straightened her lips. Hussein moved towards her like she was there to conduct business.
“I need you to do me a favor.”
“Um, hello. How you doing? How you been?”
“My bad. What’s up, Prissy? How shit been out there?”
Prissy nodded her head, satisfied. “Shit is cool. Tina got Warlock down at the junkyard. This is my last week on night shift.” She rolled her eyes. “Tina’s making me go to days. She said a wife should be home with her husband.”
Hussein held his tongue, but he wanted to ask her what the fuck she was on. He made it clear to her and Tina that he wasn’t marrying Prissy. The wife talk was going in one ear and out the other. He didn’t even acknowledge it.
“Cassidy reach out yet?” he asked.
“Haven’t heard from her,” she lied. Telling the truth would require too many lies.
Nisha was supposed to be in and out before Hussein ever knew she was there.
It didn’t matter if Hussein was denouncing the Turner name, he wasn’t a Snitch.
He’d never go along with setting Tina up to rot in a cell.
“Has your aunt been to see you, yet? She’s being tightlipped about everything.
“TT always got something to say. Enjoy the break,” Hussein reasoned.
“What are they trying to charge you with?”
“Nothing to worry about, I’ll be out of here soon.”
“So, I’m not bugging. I’m the only one that doesn’t know, huh?”
Tina excluding her wasn’t a shock. She always had a reason why Prissy couldn’t be involved. But Hussein? That pissed her off. The romance was dead, but they’d always been friends.
“You know what you need to. They can’t prove shit. I’ll be out of here soon. I need you to get Jakia’s number for me.”
“I know you got me fucked up.” Prissy twisted her lip, leaning back in her seat. “I wish the fuck I would. You got a lot of fucking nerve.”
“What’s the issue?”
“We’re getting fucking married. That’s the issue. You promised me, remember?”
“I said what I had to say to get you to stop acting fucking stupid.”
“You want to see stupid?” Prissy threatened. “I’m holding you to your word.”
“Then I’ma disappoint you. It would be nothing more than a piece of paper.”
“That’s all I need,” Prissy argued.