Authors: Nikki Turner
Joyce and Gloria hadn't spoken in over two years. Joyce even called Gloria, leaving her a message on her answering machine.
"Gloria, this is Joyce, I'd like to apologize for the way I carried on. I've actually grown to really love Yarni and I am so glad that she's a part of Des' life, as well as mine. I never got the opportunity to tell you how much of an outstanding job you did with raising Yarni. You see, I couldn't understand why Des loved her so much. I never took the time to try to understand either.
He'd been with so many other girls in his day, and this young girl came along and just swept him off of his feet. You know how it is; the ones we love never love us back. I didn't want her to hurt my son. See, before Yarni, he'd never, I repeat, never loved any of those hos. The bottom line is Yarni and Des have made it very clear that they're going to be together whatever the weather is.
So there is no need for us to hold ill feelings against each other.
I guess what I am trying to say is, "I surrender." I don't want war with you anymore. Gloria, please call me when you get this message. 777-9311."
Gloria heard the message. It takes a big woman to surrender, that's for sure, and to fess up to her shortcomings. Shoot, I realized a long time ago that Yarni and Des were going to be together no matter what. I guess I could at least call her back. I will, but I've got to hype myself up. I hope she doesn't want to meet for lunch or anything.
Everything was going fine until one Saturday when Yarni was visiting Des and he asked her to make the ultimate sacrifice. He wanted her to put her freedom at stake. He asked her to smug-gle heroine into the prison to him so he could sell. He said she could do it one of two ways. She could put it in her panties or put it in balloons and swallow it and she could throw it up in the bathroom in the visiting room. She felt like the sharpest knife ever had just stabbed her through the heart.
How could he ask me to jeopardize my freedom? Why does he want to break the law still and risk running up his time? He isn't starving for anything in there. His commissary stays stacked.
He was a good dude from the street so somebody is always sending him some money. On any given day I could see somebody who knew him from the street and they'd give me a $100 to send him. Shit, why he ain't tell his mother to bring it? What, she too good? Damn, and I am supposed to be the one he loves? Yo, he straight violated.
She didn't have any type of understanding. As she left the penitentiary, she had so many thoughts going through her head.
She felt like the one who she loved with all her heart had just crossed her, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't even know how to approach this situation. She didn't want to tell him no and let him down, but at the same time, this one time, she had to think of herself first. She was so confused. For the first time in almost five years, she avoided him. She thought maybe she needed to stay away a little. She started going out, hanging at all the happening places, and meeting other guys.
THE JOKE'S ON YOU, BOO
One evening Yarni and her girlfriend, Sophie, were hanging out.
Sophie was one of those girls straight from the projects who was just as fly as Yarni was, but her life goals consisted of hooking the biggest drug dealer, being the flyest chic in Richmond, keeping a nice ride, and to moving out of the projects to one of the nicer Section 8 communities. Sophie and Yarni met because they both were captains of cheerleader squads back in school. They used to see each other at the games and both saw the material potential in each other. So, even though they were from two different sides of town they always kept in touch, and eventually became good friends.
Sophie was skinny, barely weighing in at 110 pounds. She never wore her real hair, only braided extensions. Displaying long, fat, neatly done box braids neatly in a ponytail on the top of her head, Sophie, without a doubt, set trends with her braided styles. Along with her braids she wore a small diamond earring in her nose and four holes in her ears. There was a permanent scar within her chocolate skin on her temple that she got from a scuffle years ago. Sophie wasn't self-conscience about her cut. Nobody was perfect and everybody had a flaw, and that was hers. She was very confident and couldn't be touched with a ten-foot pole.
Sophie and Yarni were at the "Summer League" basketball tournament over on the West end on Idlewood Avenue.
"Summer League" was packed. All the ballers were there showing off their cars as well as placing bets on which team was going to win. All the young adults knew that in Richmond, back in the earlier 90's, if you were a female looking for a major player, or if you were a major player looking for a female, Summer League was the place to be on Tuesday and Thursday evenings.
It was always jammed packed with wall-to-wall people. Girls were in their Daisy Duke shorts riding on bicycles or rolling around with pure white roller skates, and a few guys were sitting or standing near their sport motorbikes. Cars lined up, double-parked, horns honking because they were blocked in. Then there were the set of guys walking around with the super soaker bazooka water guns, who were searching for any stuck up, con-ceited, bourgeoisie acting female so they could soak her with their water guns. There were a few dudes scattered around who had their dogs on a leash, walking them. They either had Pitbulls or Rottweilers. Whenever the dogs would get in a thirty-foot radius of one another, the owners would have to pull the chains back to separate the dogs, as they growled at each other.
Throughout the night during the basketball game, there would be somebody taking bets on which dog would win the dog fight, which was scheduled after the game later that night. The funni-est part was that there was one guy, who always showed up wearing no shirt, with a super thick herringbone necklace on, and an albino, yellow and white Boa Constrictor snake around his neck. Now, he knew nine times out of ten, that most the females were afraid of snakes, so he'd get his entertainment by walking around watching the reaction of the ladies when he moved closer to them.
On this particular Thursday, Yarni and Sophie were standing by the fence turning heads of the ballers walking by, acting like they were not paying any attention to all the ooh's and ah's.
Tthey were speaking and mingling with all by-passers. They noticed from across the court on the other side of the fence, this tall, kind of chubby, bumpy face, dark-skinned dude. He had thick eyebrows and was sporting a baldhead and a mouth full of gold teeth. He had just got out of this bright yellow, flip-flop paint job BMW sitting on chrome. Chrome rims are like the shoes on a car. If an outfit doesn't have the right pair of shoes, the whole thing will be thrown off. It's the same thing with an automobile. Rims give it a whole different look as the right shoes would give an outfit a distinct look. They must be 18 inch or better. Although, when you take the original rims off a new car, the car depreciates. Some feel it's more important to make the car look good.
As soon as he rolled up, all eyes were on him. Yarni and Sophie immediately acted as if they were not concerned, like they did not even see him. They were like sore thumbs sticking out because they were the only two who were not impressed.
He immediately inquired to his homeboys as to who Yarni and Sophie were.
He walked over with his Very Fine fruit punch drink in his hand, held his head back, drank his juice in one big gulp with his lips never touching the bottle, looks at Yarni from head to toe a reaches up to remove his sunglasses. All he could say is,
"ummp,ummp, ummp" He quickly glanced at Sophie.
"Didn't you used to go to Fairfield Middle School?" He eyed Sophie in recognition.
"Yeah. How you know?" Sophie says in a snobbish tone.
"I used to go there to for a lil while."
"Oh, for real? I don't remember you. What's your name?" Sophie squinted.
"Rallo," he said.
"No, I'm talking about your government name."
"Oh, Franklin Black"
"Oh, O.K. I remember your name. You look so different." They start reminiscing, going on and on about the good old days at Fairfield Middle School.
"Yo, I am trying to definitely meet your home girl right there," he turns his attention back to Yarni.
"Yarni, this is Rallo," pointing to Rallo, "Rallo this is my best friend Yarni," as she points to Yarni, making introduction.
Rallo throws up his head, acknowledging her. Yarni extends her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Rallo," She says in a sweet, innocent voice. Rallo looked and laughed. Damn, what type of shit she into? This chic gonna extend her hand for me to shake. Do she think she white or what? He threw his bottle in the trash and reached out and shook Yarni's hand. Yarni thought, Where in the world did Sophie pick this stray up from with no manners? She knows she is wrong for introducing me to him.
At that very moment the Southside boys got to fighting with the Church Hill boys. Sophie and Yarni made way to their car, afraid something more might happen.
The following Sunday Sophie and Yarni drove out to Byrd Park. Byrd Park is off the hook every Sunday. It is the only thing to do on Sundays during the day in Richmond. Luckily, they roll up when someone is leaving, so they get a good parking space.
It was a hassle not having a parking space on a Sunday. Traffic is at a stand still, this one and that one running to and from cars, carrying on conversation, females and guys catching up on gossip. No telling whom a person may run across. One is subject to see anybody and everybody at Byrd Park. You must also have a full tank of gas when riding through Byrd Park on a Sunday.
People would sit in any one spot for twenty minutes before traffic would inch up even a few feet. Byrd Park was the happening place for all ages, but just like everything else, when there is a whole bunch of blacks folks, the police get scared and over react. They started blocking certain sides of the park down. Then they put signs up "No Parking, on Sundays 2pm-8pm." Nevertheless, Sunday life at Byrd Park went on. The crowd just moved the party over to the other side of Byrd Park. The police posted "No Stopping or Standing" signs all over the park enforc-ing hundred dollar fines.
They saw Rallo again, and he tried to get Yarni's number, but she wasn't pressed.
"Yarni, how come you don't like Rallo?" Sophie almost knew the answer, but she had to ask.
"I don't think I want to talk to no man who drives a canary yellow BMW." They both laughed. "Besides, that car looks like it could be a female car. To me only a female would drive that bright yellow car."
"Yarni, you know a brother is getting some money and want to shine."
"The only place shining gets you is in the penitentiary or in the diary of a stick up kid."
"Yarni, you right."
"But the crazy thing is, these brothers know this. They see so many of their boys right in their immediate circle fall victim. You would think they would learn. Right?" Yarni, in her own way, tried to make sense of the high rate of black men in prison, more than at ODU and all the colleges in Virginia.
"You would think, but I guess their motto is ball til you fall," Sophie fell out laughing at her own poetics.
"Guess so, but you can't tell them nothing. When they sitting in da clinker, they be wishing they had listened," Yarni said.
Later that night, Sophie wanted to go to Tropicana BADDD!!
Yarni didn't really have any money to be jerking off at the club.
She had just gotten her car out of the shop so her funds were very limited. To her the club wasn't where she wanted to spend her last money.
"Yarni, I'll pay your way in, and once we get in, some clown will buy our drinks and pay for our pictures." They still were not old enough to drink.
"I don't even like rolling like that. I like having my owns. Just the thought of some Wack Jack nigga, giving me the impression that because he buys me a little $5.00 drink that I have to entertain him and act interested in his conversation for the rest of the night. No, I am not feeling that." Gloria had trained her daughter well.
"Yarni, don't you got the money for your polo lessons?"
"Yep"
"Well, use that for your pictures and drinks and I'll give it back to you when I get paid tomorrow." Yarni seen that Sophie was determined to go, so she went.
When they arrived at "Tropp" the line was all the way up to the next corner. As soon as they walked by they saw Rallo and his crew at the very front of the line. He called out to Yarni.
"I got y'all, come on." He paid for them to get in, bought their drinks all night long, as well as paid for about six or seven pictures. He pulled Sophie to the side, peeled off five twenties and told her, he was paying her $100.00 for Yarni's number.
Sophie told him she'd get back to him before the end of the night.
"Look, Rallo is giving me a hundred dollars for your phone number. I'm going to give it to him. If he'll give up a hundred for your number you could probably get some shit out of him." At the end of the night, when they were walking to their car, he rolled up beside them in his canary yellow car with neon yellow lights under the bottom. Yarni was not feeling that yellow car. I hope when he calls he doesn't ask to take me out anywhere. I am not riding in that car looking like it came straight from the Universal Soul Circus, she thought to herself. He called Sophie over to the car.