Authors: Nikki Turner
"My man, Slim, is going to bring you some money later today that he's collected for me."
"O.K."
"Gloria, nothing has changed, I still want Yarni to have the best of everything. At the same time, you've got to be very frugal with that money. She is going to have to tone down her spending." Had he not been in such a solemn position, in prison, he might have chuckled at Yarni's spending habits.
"I know, Des. I will take care of everything."
"I know you will, Gloria, but you know I worry about her. I want to thank you for getting the house addition for her. I really appreciate it.
"Des, say no more. I need you to do me a favor."
"What?"
"Never give up hope and always remember, tough times don't last, but tough people do." This was a special man, incarcerated or not, and she didn't want him to get lost in the crooked system.
"Man, Gloria, I got mad love for you."
"Yeah, son-in-law, I do for you too." He and Gloria had their ups and downs, but overall he knew he could definitely trust Gloria.
Slim only collected $26,000 off the street, which was no surprise to Des. He knew people would put larceny in the game since he was in jail. Slim brought it to Gloria and she put it up.
Gloria had already applied for the loans for the full amount of the tuition because she didn't want to bring any kind of heat to herself. Her daughter was going to be a college graduate.
That night when Yarni got home, Gloria approached Yarni's room. She overheard Yarni on the phone talking to Melanie.
Yarni was crying.
"I don't know exactly what my plans are now. I don't know exactly how I will go to college now with Des in jail, or exactly how I am going to maneuver going to college, working a part time job to support myself, study, as well as go see Des. Des is still a priority in my life." Yarni was distant and Melanie had no easy answers for her friend.
When Yarni got off the phone Gloria advanced slowly and told her, "Baby, everything is going to be O.K. I don't care what I've got to do to support you. You're going to college. Between the money I've saved for your college education over the years and the money Des has given. Oh, honey, you'll be off to college in a couple of weeks. I've never let you down, and I'm not letting you down now."
The next day they went together shopping for everything Yarni needed for school. They also traded her Sterling in for a brand new Volkswagen Passat. Des would understand.
A few weeks later, Yarni left for Norfolk, part of the freshman clan at ODU.
* * * *
For the next two years Yarni excelled in school. She was focused on her schoolwork as well as on Des. Not a day went by when she didn't send him some kind of mail. She made sure that his name was blown up at "Mail Call". Every single weekend, she went to visit him. They had him housed at Greenville Correctional Center. She visited him faithfully. She accepted all 55 his collect calls. She would even forward her calls to her cell phone when she wasn't at home. She would never miss any of his calls. Every month, she had at least a $500 phone bill. She always managed to pay it and never complained about anything she did for him. It all came from the heart. She also stayed on top of Des' attorney about his appeal. She would look over his transcripts to try finding any type of technicality. She also went to law schools all across Virginia and North Carolina so the law students could look over his case.
Castro faithfully gave Yarni, her $300 every week, and sometimes he would give her more. He was loyal to Des' and his friendship and always kept tabs on Yarni. There was nothing bad to tell, and had it been, he would have never uttered a word to Des. Over the years they became close too, as did her and Slim.
Castro checked in more so than Slim did. Slim only checked on Yarni when there was a problem, whereas Castro called regularly. Castro was handsome. His golden brown complexion drove the girls crazy. He loved two things, money and the women that came with it. He had slept with most of Yarni's friends, even after she warned them that he was a whore. They didn't care, they only saw his money, and he spent it carefree.
He had pretty white teeth, with a gold crown on the side, which some girls thought enhanced his appearance. He wore round wire framed glasses, had a short haircut and an egg shaped head. He was about 6 feet, and weighted about 170 lbs. He wasn't the flashy type by day, he wore a brown work suit and some balded up boots everyday all day until nightfall, which was when he transformed into his Don Juan, city slicker type clothes. He sported silk suits, and Stacy Adams shoes were his specialty.
Yarni sat in the tan colored chair in the visiting room waiting patiently for Des to come out from his building. She had been waiting for forty-five minutes. She walked over to the table set up as a desk in the visiting room and asked the correctional officer if they'd called for Des? "He should be out soon. Maybe he had to take a shower or something. However, I will call again." Just then Des, walked in the visiting room and she had to deliver the news to him that his right hand man, Castro, had just gotten picked up by the jump out squad.
Yarni smiled as Des walked over to the guard to give the correctional officer his inmate ID. Yarni was so happy to see Des.
She laughed with pleasure because he did not look as if he had left the streets. The only thing that gave it up, is that prison blue oxford shirt. He had ordered some blue Levi jeans. He was wearing some Huarache Nikes that Slim wore down there to see him in. Des wore some old sneakers in the visiting room and when the guard wasn't looking they swapped shoes. He also had on some Ray Ban glasses. He had gotten, Castro, to pay a doctor to act as if Des had glasses before he left the streets. The optometrist sent the sunglasses to Des so he could have them in the prison. Otherwise he'd have to have state issued glasses, and no sunglasses are even allowed. Des knew that the state didn't supply any sunglasses. The optometrist talked to the doctor in the medical department at the prison and convinced them that Des had surgery a few years ago and his eyes could not come into direct contact with sun light. Uncle Stanka, impersonating a clergy person, called the prison's chaplain and convinced the chaplain to accept a religious pendant for Des to wear. That was how Des was able to get and keep his necklace and cross to wear around his neck.
On his way from across the room to greet Yarni, other inmates stopped him and talked with him. The only time he gets to see some of the inmates on the other side of the prison is in the visiting room. Yarni shakes her head when he finally makes it over to the table where she is.
"That doesn't make any sense the way you act like you are still on the streets, people running up to you and you're dressing like you're still in society." Des laughs, as he embraces her with a hug and a passionate tongue kiss.
"I am in society, baby. This is a world in itself." Yarni said on a more serious note, "Boo, Castro called me, they locked him up."
Des looked off and became distant. He took a deep breath.
"Damn."
They both came became very silent.
Yarni had already gone to the snack machine while she was waiting for Des to come out.
"Boo, I am going to warm your cheese pizza up. Do you want anything else from the snack machine?" Yarni said.
"No, wait a minute before you go. I am not ready to eat yet."
"Well, what took you so long to get over here? I was waiting at least forty-five minutes. I told you I was coming. You had to take a shower or something?"
"No, baby, I was ready when they called, but I had to stop by building A on my way over here to check on some money that this cat owes me from the game last night." She shook her head, "It don't make no sense you can take the thug out the streets, but you can't take the streets out the thug. That's a damn shame." Des laughed at her frustration.
"How did your exams go?" He changed the subject.
"Fine," but he noticed that she did not elaborate.
"I tried calling you last night but I didn't get any answer." He stroked her legs as he waited to see how far she would go in creating an alibi. But he hoped she would not go too far.
"My roommate and I went out for College Night last night, to celebrate that I had aced the one exam I was actually worried about."
"I tried calling this morning at about 7a.m. too," He added even though he was happy to hear about the "A" he knew she was capable of getting.
"I heard the phone ringing when I was leaving out the door to come down here. I just assumed that it was somebody for my roommate." She said for comfort.
Des looked into Yarni's eyes, and she saw a look on his face that she didn't recognize, insecurity.
"Baby Girl," he chose his words as well as he could. "By no means do I want you to stop living for me. I fully understand that you have needs too. You are not obligated to be my girl anymore, for real." Tears appeared in Yarni's eyes, but Des continued.
"Baby Girl, please don't start that. Don't cry. But I've got to be real with you. I am getting too comfortable with you being here for me. I'm going to be here a long time. I know one day you may find someone else to be with, and he's not going to tolerate you coming to see me. Out of sight, out of mind. So, baby, for real, I would rather that you just leave me now verses five years from now." He felt too dependent on her and he didn't like that feeling.
"Des, we made vows to each other. I know there were no legal documents involved, but we took an oath from our hearts, and as far as I am concerned, this is until death do us part. I don't want anybody else. Now stop acting stupid," She said while trying to hold her tears back.
"Baby Girl, if you feel the need to be with other cats, then you are free to."
"Yeah, I know that I am free to. You've made yourself clear.
Now let me tell you, the only place I choose to be is with you in your heart." Yarni could not believe his insistence.
"Look, we can still be friends. I don't need a woman while I am in here. I need a faithful friend more than anything. That's all any man in prison needs is a devoted friend. Don't get me wrong. Every man locked up wants a woman by his side for his own selfish reasons, but he needs a friend more. Now think about it. What does he need a woman for? He can't have sex with her unless he wants to degrade her and have sex with her in the visiting room, but is that really cool with people's children and other people watching? He can't parade her around town on his arm. He can't lay beside her every night in bed. So, on the real, a man incarcerated doesn't need the headache of wondering if she's laid up with someone else? I know I don't. I don't want to go through that whole shenanigan of why you didn't accept a call or why you didn't write back. Or even me calling to holler at one of my homeboys and he drops some news on me that he seen you with the next dude." Des was just as honest with Yarni five years down the road as he was with her on that first day, when she was just fifteen years old.
"Oh, now I understand. All this is simply because I wasn't in my dorm room when you called last night. So now all you need is a friend? Okay I got your friend all right," she said sarcastically. Des ignored her sarcasm.
"Yeah, all I need is a friend to talk to, listen to, laugh with, to joke with and to keep my spirits up. For real, Yarni, you can go your own way. We can end our relationship right now." He went back into his dorm frustrated with the whole ordeal, the legal system mainly, because he did not commit this crime.
He was confused. He knew Yarni was most likely telling the truth, but at the same time, she's young, and if his appeal doesn't come through soon, how much time can she really do with him?
He didn't go to dinner that night. Instead he went to a building to check on his money one final time, and when it was short, he asked why. When the dude said the wrong thing, he punched him in the face. He knew that it wasn't that serious, but he had to redirect his frustrations somewhere else. He returned to his pod, went straight to his cell, avoiding any of his homeboys he was cool with, knowing he may lash out on them too. The rest of the night, and well into the next morning, Des laid on his bunk wondering what he and Yarnie's relationship coming to.
The following day, he got a letter from Weasa. He thought about how she would definitely be there for him, but at the same time. He knew Yarni would really fly the coop if she ever found out he was corresponding with Weasa. He evaluated the situation.
After taking all those things into consideration, Yarni still knocked the doors down to see him. A few days later, she received a letter from him apologizing how he acted in the visiting room. She totally understood the mindset of a man incarcerated. People may think oh, what more do they want. They have three hots and a cot, but she understood just how hard it was on the inmate mentally to be away from his loved ones.
There would be no holidays and no family gatherings, except for the corny ones that the institutions put on once a year.
Joyce finally came around. She realized that Yarni did have good intentions where Des was concerned. Eventually, she also grew to have a lot of respect for Yarni. It had even gotten to the point where they would sometimes ride together to see Des.
When Des told Joyce, Yarni had the flu and Gloria was out of town, Joyce showed up on Yarni's doorsteps with orange juice and all kinds of flu medicine. Then a month later, Joyce had to go to the hospital and have surgery on her foot. Yarni was beside her the whole time. She went over to cook for her and checked on her everyday.