Authors: Blake Karrington
Jonathan removed his cell phone from his pocket. Knowing that he needed to get out of the house and do something to get Gator off his mind, he called up his boys and they all agreed to grab something to eat. He picked up the remote to turn the TV off. He had been watching CNN and the Zimmerman verdict was going to be read in a few minutes. Jonathan scoffed and sighed. Dude was going to get away with it. He had murdered a black male child, and the jury did not have enough melanin on it to make a difference. He didn’t have to wait to hear it.
__________
Gator checked her lip-gloss, her hair, and then her glock.
Moonie sat beside her, playing a game on her phone and laughing. “Damn Gate, calm yo self. You sitting ova dere like this gon’ be an issue. You need to relax.”
“Moonie, I don’t know how to relax… everything has to move like clockwork. I don’t need no damn hiccups in this plan. I’m on a timeline and you know it. Geter don’t need to get suspicious just yet.”
“Gate, he don’t even know me or nothing about me. Hell, I ain’t seen yo ass in two years. I saw mo of you when I was locked up than I have since I been out. I told you I can handle that nigga if you want me to. I can be in and out.” Moonie said as she played her game.
A blue H2 pulled into the parking lot of the old grocery store. Gator looked in her rear and side mirrors.
“All right, here we go… Moon put the fucking game down.” Gator said, sliding her glock down the back of her jeans.
“Cousin…” Moon said touching her thigh. “Calm down. Damn, the south done melted the ice you once had in your veins. I ain’t ever known your ass to be this jumpy about shit. Yo ass is making me nervous!”
The Hummer pulled beside Gator’s truck, and the window slowly rolled down. A light-skinned woman with blonde and brown wavy hair smiled at her.
Gator rolled her window down and nodded.
“Gata?” the woman said with a drawl.
“Yeah.” Gator said.
The woman stared at her for a moment.
Moonie leaned over. “Hey Poochie, what’s going on?”
“Hey Moon, this is Gata? Damn I thought it was gonna be a nigga.”
“Nah, nah dis my cousin. So what you got for me, boo?”
“Me and my man got South Carolina on lock, and a bunch of hungry ass niggas on deck. Since that damn sweep a few months ago, shit is not moving like it was before. The shit that is moving is moving on the other side of town. Shit in my spot is low quality and these fools is not feeling it. Niggas is scared of the feds right now is what is going on.” Poochie said, lighting up a Black and Mild cigar.
Gator shook her head. This is what she needed to hear. The feds were no issue for her. She knew how to work around their asses. It was about how to transport, and the packaging of the delivery. It was also about keeping your army small and tight. But most of all, it was about price, and since she had Jonathan and his crew robbing, she knew she could keep prices down.
“Aight, well I got what you need and the number on it is beautiful… I’m sure you will agree. I’m gone give ya a little something extra also, so I can see what you can do with it. If everything is everything, we going to have a wonderful relationship.”
Gator looked over to Moon, who opened her door and walked over to the passenger side of the Hummer. She placed the blue tote bag on the seat and closed the door. Poochie opened the bag and then looked back at Gator.
“What is this?”
Gator pulled her mirror down to check her makeup again while laughing. “That? That is the new south, boo.”
__________
Jonathan pulled up to Barah’s Restaurant.
“Yo, what it do, brah.” Jonathan greeted Kevin, who was standing outside in front of the eatery rolling up a blunt.
“Nothing, ready to get my eat on and hear about this next lick you got for a nigga.”
“I feel you, brah, but we might as well wait for A.J. before I tell you. A nigga ain’t tryin’ to say it twice, you feel me? Just know I got something big coming, brah.” Jonathan said before looking down the street to see A.J.’s car coming down the block.
“Damn, here dat nigga go.”
The old school Chevy pulled up and parked smoothly in a parking space right across the street. Jonathan had to admit, A.J. kept his ride clean. Red candy paint, 24-inch rims, and a system you could hear from a mile away.
“I see ya boyyy,” Jonathan said, extending his hand for some dap when A.J. walked over. “Let’s take dis shit inside.” Jonathan told his boys.
“Damn, what’s good, Selena?” Jonathan said, noticing her as he and his boys entered the restaurant.
“Who is this you got with you?” A.J. chimed in, noticing the beautiful young girl sitting across the table from Selena.
“Yeah, who is that, sis?” Jonathan co-signed.
“This is my little cousin from up top, Chatima. She came down to visit for a while, and why you want to know, Jonathan? Word on the street is you like them on their way to the nursing home!” Selena, Kevin and A.J. all started to laugh.
“Damn Selena… how you know about my people? I haven’t even introduced her to the fam yet. Does Bri know too?”
“Boy, you know the streets be talking. I’m not sure if she does or doesn’t, but you know you better say something to her. Because if I’m hearing it, it won’t be long before she hears it.”
Jonathan shook his head in agreement, knowing that conversation was going to be long. Brianna and Charrise were both protective as hell about their little brother, and the fact that Gator was much older wouldn’t help.
A.J. still had his sights focused on Chatima. Although he wasn’t usually into thick chicks, he had to admit she was stunning, and her thickness was in all the right places.
Kevin, seeing that both of his boys were caught up in one way or another, broke the temporary silence.
“Look niggas, I’m hungry, so let’s order before the line get too long”
“Yeah, why don’t y’all do that and call ya sista!” She yelled to Jonathan, who was already walking away.
As they stood at the counter A.J. continued to look back at Chatima. “Damn homie… she wifey material. Look at the way she eating all proper and shit,” A.J. said
“Nigga quit fronting… you looking at them titties and all that ass hanging off that chair. Talking about how she eating!” Kevin joked.
“Alright, my nigga. Leave my partna alone.” Jonathan laughed as they sat down at another table. “Let’s get to this official business,” he said, taking a seat and flipping it around before he sat.
“Look, on some serious shit we have to make a big decision,” Jonathan began. “We been takin’ money for a couple of months now, but in doing so, we have come up on some dope every now and then. I never was the one to wanna sell drugs, but my babe is putting something together for us that can prove to be very lucrative for all involved.”
“What about your sister?” Kevin asked, with a curious look on his face.
He knew that Brianna wouldn’t be to cool with the news that Jonathan was in the dope game. That was the last thing she wanted for him. She was still under the impression that he was going off to college after the summer, so she definitely did not know anything about him running around the city sticking up niggas.
“Don’t worry about her, brah… we going to have that talk, when the time is right,” Jonathan answered.
“I’m not gonna lie. I’m not that big on selling drugs, homie. The money good, but it takes too long to make, plus it’s more work,” A.J. said, scratching the side of his face.
“I feel the same way, homie,” Kevin cut in. “I mean, we be doing pretty good already, and right now, brah, I am feeling what we got going on now is good enough” he finished.
“Well, it’s something for y’all to think about, but just know me and my lady got huge plans. I mean we can do what we do, but I got to be there for her also… you feel me?” Jonathan asked, making sure they all had a clear understanding.
“Brah, you know we going to be here for you and yours, no matter what. So why don’t we do it like this? Whatever cash we get, we split, and whatever drugs we get, you throw us a love offering. Cool? Kevin asked while looking at both of his childhood friends.
Everybody nodded their heads in agreement. “Sounds like a plan to me, Jonathan smiled. “Now, let me fill ya’ll in on this lick I got for us. Trust me, y’all gone love dis shit …”
The ride to the clinic was a quiet one. Brianna pulled into the parking lot of the women’s medical center and Charrise’s eyes began to fill with tears. She didn’t want to abort her baby, but she knew that it would be in her best interest to do it. She thought about all of the questions and comments she made to Brianna when she was pregnant with Hakeem’s baby. What if the baby came out looking just like Duke, Tank or Hakeem? Charrise honestly couldn’t say that she wouldn’t feel hostile towards the baby.
“Charrise, look at me…” Brianna said, looking over at her sister. “I know that this might be the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do in ya life, but I want you to know that I am here for you. We gone do this together,” Brianna said, now getting teary eyed herself.
“What if this is my only chance to have a baby? What if something goes wrong while I am in there?” Charrise cried out.
“Shhhhh, everything is going to be alright.” Brianna told her, trying her best to comfort her sister.
She reached over and pulled Charrise into a hug. They both sat there and cried for a moment, letting it all out in the car before they got into the clinic.
“God is going to bless you with a good man who is going to love you and spoil you. Y’all are going to have a beautiful baby together. A baby that will be conceived out of love. You are going to be happy, and I promise you will be a great mother one day.” Brianna assured Charrise as she held her like a mother holding her child.
The sisterly bond between the two was like no other. Through thick and thin, they were always there for each other, and at times, they were inseparable. “You think I am going to find a good man?” Charrise laughed through her cries as she tried to get herself together.
“Yeah, as soon as we blow this city, ʼcause the men in Charlotte ain’t shit” Brianna joked.
“Damn, ain’t Brandon from Charlotte?” Charrise asked jokingly.
“No, he from Monroe, and he just grew up in Charlotte. Besides, he don’t count.” Brianna answered while giving her sister a playful pinch.
Charrise and Brianna took a few more minutes inside the car to gather themselves before getting out and walking into the clinic. Charrise could visualize her child being taken out of her the very moment that she walked through the door. Just like that, all the confusing feelings she had just minutes ago came rushing back to her at once.
She sat on the lobby couch looking at the magazine article about the latest reality television star’s dramatic entrance into some nightclub. She had been nauseous all month, and this morning was no different. Charrise smiled at another young woman who was also sitting in the waiting area. The young girl took in a deep breath before reaching down into her tote bag, taking out a bottle of water, and gulping it down.
A tall white doctor came out of the double doors and called for the next patient. “Mrs. Graham, Denise Graham?”
Charrise was not into white men at all, but he was attractive. Dark curly hair, green eyes, and a neatly trimmed goatee. He had full lips for a white guy, and it could have been Charrise’s hormones, but his cologne was intoxicating.
The young girl got up from her seat and followed the handsome doctor back through the large steel doors. Before they swung back closed, she looked back at Charrise one last time. Charrise could see the fear in the young woman’s eyes.
Charrise looked down, pretending to check her text messages as she choked back tears.
Brianna looked over at her sister. “Hey, do you know her? Are you okay?” Brianna asked, noticing the exchange between Charrise and the girl.
“Yeah, I’m good. I just want this over with, and no, I don’t know her.”
Brianna took Charrise’s hand. She knew that this was hard for her, but it needed to be done. Having this baby would not be mentally healthy for her sister, and not to mention the effect it may have on the child. This was going to be best remedy for everyone involved.
“Miss Palmer?” the petite white nurse said from the door. Charrise stood and looked at Brianna. She took a deep breath as she began her walk through the double doors.
__________
Charrise woke up to the sound of a woman crying in one of the rooms next door to her. She was so far along in her pregnancy that she had to be put to sleep for the procedure; not that she wanted to be awake for it anyway.
The doctor walked into the recovery room with a clipboard in his hand. It was as if he knew exactly when the anesthesia was going to wear off. “Good to see you again, Ms. Palmer. I was wondering when you were going to be amongst the living again,” the doctor joked. “Now as I told you before the procedure, you need to stay off your feet for a few hours. I don’t know if you have someone here—”
“Yeah, my sister is here.” Charrise said, cutting him off as she sat up in the bed.
The nurse walked into the room and passed Charrise a couple of big ass maxi pads that looked like they could be used to extract oil from the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Charrise took the pads and then looked around the room for her clothes and spotted them on the floor far off in the corner.
“Now, Ms. Palmer, if you have any problems, don’t hesitate to give me a call,” the doctor said as he left the room.
“Doc!” Charrise called out, stopping him at the door. “I need to ask you a question and I need you to be completely honest with me,” she said, looking up at him.
The doctor already knew what Charrise was about to ask him. This was the first question most concerned females would ask after getting a late term abortion.
“What was the sex of my baby?” she asked, taking in a deep breath before letting it out slowly.
“Usually when women ask this question, the answer only seems to make things more difficult,” the doctor advised, trying to save Charrise from any added heartache.