Stripping Asjiah II (10 page)

T he correctional facility looked more like a detention center or a reform school rather than a prison. I was expecting dudes with bowl cuts and matching uniforms to jog down the street chanting some rhyme that repeated the phrase “sound off”.

I didn‟t know the details of Angel‟s sentence, but I did know my brother didn‟t belong here. Prison was supposed to house hard core criminals; pedophiles, rapists; niggas like Cash.

It was for embezzlers, arsonists, serial killers, murderers; people like my father.
Angel was none of those things. Sure, he sold crack and I could see why some might frown upon his profession but he had a legitimate reason for doing so. You may not feel that way, but just in case you haven‟t been paying attention; I really don‟t give a shit.
I don‟t have time to debate everyone‟s opinion of my brother‟s lifestyle; because someone is always going to have one, and just like assholes, they‟re usually full of the same thing that comes out of them.
It‟s funny how older people can turn their noses down at us and point fingers but they were doing the same things when they were younger.That‟s all they did was have sex and get high, where do you think all of us came from? Hell, the majority, if not all of Angel‟s clients had been junkies since the seventies. He simply became part of a phenomenon that was going to continue to thrive with or without him.
Unfortunately along the way a few people died due to the treatment he provided to aid their addictions; but if it wasn‟t from the rock candy that they smoked or shot into their veins, it was going to be by some other vise of their choice.
You see, my brother never really had one of those; a choice that is, he wasn‟t given a fair chance; he had to hit the ground running and if that meant cooking up coke in order to put food in his mouth, so be it. He wasn‟t like these wanna be dope boys out here who did it for the attention, the money, or because they thought it was going to bring them pussy by the pound; Angel did it as a means to an end. He saw things on a grander scale, on a canvas so to speak; his plan was to paint a picture that would get him and I both out the hood.
Glancing in the rearview mirror I ruffled my curls and reapplied my Dior Reflect lip gloss and exited the car. Even though I wasn‟t showing, I didn‟t want to draw any extra attention to myself so I decided to wear black cargo pants and a white long sleeve thermal shirt that said BeBe down the right sleeve. I cinched the drawstrings just enough so they would sit perfectly around my black BCBG ankle booties.
I signaled the alarm on my car and walked across the gravel towards the entrance. Just as I was getting ready to go in; she came out.
“Stacey?”
I said her name more as a question to myself rather than a salutation.
“A‟…Asjiah,” Stumbling over her words she tried to force a smile.
“What are you doing here? Did you see my brother? Is something wrong with him?”
“Angel? He…”
Something about her wasn‟t all there. She looked as if she had just seen a ghost. Her eyes were red around the rims obvious proof that she had been crying.
“If something is wrong with my brother Stacey tell me.”
“He‟s okay; it‟s just weird seeing him in here. The fact that I get to walk away and he has to go back to some tiny box bothers me.”
She was avoiding eye contact, looking at the ground and acting as if she was in a hurry to get away from me. She was lying about something.
“Angel‟s been through a lot worse; its going to take more than jail to break him.”
“Yeah, I guess you‟re right.” Fumbling with her car keys she took a few steps towards the parking lot. “I gotta go A‟, it was nice seeing you.”
Stacey wanted to run to her car but she was sure Asjiah was still watching her. Her hands were shaking; she could barely put her key in the ignition. Her heart raced as Asjiah‟s words reverberated through her mind.
Angel was here?

“W ho you here to see baby girl,” The brown skinned corrections officer smiled as he watched me approach the counter. The gold cap that covered his front tooth made the rest of his teeth look even more yellow as he tried his best to flirt with me.

“I don‟t think that‟s any of your business.” I turned my nose up at him and reached for the pen to sign my name on the clipboard.

His words made me think of Cash and I wanted to reach across the table and punch him in his fucking nose for calling me that, but if I did; they would cuff me in a heartbeat and throw my little ass in a cell for assault.

I didn‟t have time to come up with something witty to say because my attention was diverted elsewhere. Just as I was putting the pen back down I saw it;
Stacey Johnson
. And as my eyes followed along the line they read the person she had signed out;
Lashon Travis
. This bitch had been here to see LT!

My face felt like it was on fire as I counted softly to five in an effort to calm down. Why was she coming to see him? Did Angel know LT was here?

I didn‟t see my brother so I decided to get him a few things before the guards brought him out. There was no telling what kind of garbage they fed him in here. Although these canned juices, quarter bags of chips, and microwavable cheeseburgers weren‟t exactly gourmet dishes, it had to be better than the mystery meat he was eating.
“What‟s up pretty girl?”

“Really? I can‟t go to the fucking vending machine…,” My voice fell short as our eyes met.
Dressed in Phat Farm jeans, a red long sleeved tee, and red, blue and white Timberlands; I had to do a double take to make sure it was him.
“Caleb!”
“What‟s good A‟?” Caleb retrieved the apple juice from the dispenser and handed it to me.
“Where have you been? I haven‟t seen you in forever.”
“I‟ve been around, laying low, staying out the way.” He rubbed his hands together allowing me to catch a glimpse of the platinum bracelet that peaked from underneath his sleeve.
I chose a section in the corner for us to sit. I knew Angelwouldn‟t want to have his back to anyone and this angle would give him a view of the whole room.
“You looking good.”
“Thank you.”
Sitting the snacks down on the table I tried not to blush as I felt my face become flush. Was Caleb flirting with me?
Before our conversation could go any further a familiar voice made me smile.
“Little baby,”
“Angel!” Jumping out of my seat I almost knocked him over as I hugged him. He had put on a little weight since the last time I saw him; of course I wouldn‟t admit to that because he would probably start flexing his muscles telling me how good he looked.
Instead of the wrinkled, off brand blue khakis and button down shirts the other inmates were wearing, Angel‟s Dickies were neatly pressed and so was his shirt. As a replacement for the rundown sneakers they were given, a pair of fresh black Air Force One‟s were on his feet.
Noticing Gabriel behind him, who was just as clean as Angel, I rushed over and hugged him as well.
“What‟s up with you Caleb?” Angel and Gabe both took turns exchanging pleasantries with their friend.
“What‟s good fam?”
I felt like my family was being reunited as we all sat down and began to talk.
“So how you like your car A‟?”
“I love it, thank you so much.” It seemed as if all the excitement had awakened the baby. I ran my hand across my lower back as I felt Jai shift then reposition comfortably against my kidney.
“Your welcome princess; so how you been, everything okay?”
“I‟m straight, how was your visit with Stacey?” I knew she had been here to see our cousin but I wanted to probe his mind first.
“What?” Angel‟s lip twisted in disgust at the sound of her name.
“Stacey, I just saw her outside.”
Angel looked at Gabriel, who then looked at me before I continued. It was obvious that he wasn‟t aware of her visit.
“She was fronting telling me that she was all heart broke and shit about seeing you locked up in here and for a minute I actually believed her, until I signed in and saw her name next to LT‟s.”
Angel‟s jaw clenched tightly causing the veins in his temple to bulge. He thought she loved him, he had confided in her, told her things that he hadn‟t told anyone else and she had betrayed him. She wasn‟t deserving of all the things he had done for her. She was nothing more than a backstabbing, opportunist, selfish ass bitch.
Angel slouched down in his chair and pushed all thoughts of Stacey out of his head, he would find a way to deal with her later.
“So how long has she been fucking him?” I didn‟t know if he was really banging her but what other reason could she have for coming to see him?
“I don‟t know but Gabe overheard him talking to her on the phone.” Angel took a deep breath, “She‟s pregnant.”
“What?”
“Congratulations dude.”
“Not by him dumb ass.” I punched Caleb in his arm then turned back to my brother.
“Are you serious?”
Angel would never admit it, but I knew he was hurting, we all did. Stacey had somehow infiltrated the armor he had built around himself and he had given his heart to her.
“What about LT?” The wheels in Caleb‟s head were turning as he tried to piece everything together.
Gabe quickly picked up on Angel‟s mood and addressed Caleb instead. “He didn‟t notice me, so as of right now, he has no idea we‟re here.”
“Shit, that‟s deep. How ya‟ll plan on handling that?”
“We…,”
Angel put his hand up to silence Gabe. “I haven‟t decided yet.”
The lack of emotion in his voice gave me goose bumps.
“And what about Stacey, do you want me to go see her?”
Angel smiled and tapped me on the head. “No, its cool Mighty Mouse, I‟ll take care of her.”
“Are you sure? I can go over there as soon as I leave here.” I wasn‟t in any condition to fight but I knew things would be one sided so I wasn‟t concerned with putting the baby at risk. I was simply going to knock on her door, and as soon as she answered, punch her right in the face.
“Yeah, it‟s cool.”
His demeanor surprised me. I thought he would‟ve been heated, irate at the fact his bottom bitch was sleeping with the enemy but he wasn‟t. He was chill, cool, and collected which only meant bad things for Stacey and LT.
“You quit fucking with that weak ass nigga CJ yet?” Gabriel leaned back in his chair and grinned at me playfully.
Sucking my teeth I looked back at him. For a brief second my phone call with Corey replayed and I revisited the anguish I felt in the abortion clinic.
“Actually I have.”
“For real,” Shocked at my response, they all replied in unison.
I raised one eyebrow, shook my head a little bit and twisted my lips giving them the „duh‟ face.
“Yes for real.”
“I told you that nigga was a lame.” Angel‟s voice had an „I told you so‟ tone to it as if he knew this was going to happen. He must‟ve seen the hurt in my eyes because he quickly changed the subject.
“A‟, would you tell this nigga Gabe about the lil‟ airplane game we had when we were younger.” Opening the juice, Angel took a sip from the perspiring can before placing it back on the table.
“Here he go with this shit.” Gabe ran his hand through his hair causing his curly afro to appear as if he had just gotten out of bed.
“What airplane game?”
“You remember the one joint we had with the VHS tape; you had a red jet and I had a black one.”
“Wait a minute,” I put my head down and tried to recall the name of the game. “Captain Power!” Laughing I felt like a little girl again as I shouted out the name of one of our child hood toys. It was good to talk about our past; it let me know he thought of those days just as much as I did.
“I think ya‟ll be making shit up.” Chiming in Caleb interrupted our celebration.
“That‟s what I said.” Gabe dapped him up in agreement.
“Why we ain‟t never heard of no Captain Planet game?”
“Captain Power.” I nudged Caleb in the shoulder teasing him for getting the name wrong, “Captain Planet is a cartoon.”
“Whatever.”
“Ya‟ll just mad cause we had all the rich kid toys and ya‟ll had all the bootleg shit.” Angel clutched his stomach as he began laughing.
Caleb tapped my leg, “Yeah Ok, but now ya‟ll stuck up asses got the same shit we do.”
We continued to reminisce and poke fun at each other before the conversation turned serious.
“We only got like a hour or so left on this visit so I think we should get down to business.” Angel pulled his chair in a little closer prompting us to do the same.
“As you know, we‟re probably going to do three years behind this bullshit and Ican‟t afford to lose any money; hell, none of us can so I need someone to keep things running for me, someone I can trust.” Angel looked from me to Caleb before continuing.
“A‟, I know you had your heart set on going to ATL for school but I need you here.It shouldn‟t be too late for you to enroll at Cleveland State; let me know how much your tuition is and I‟ll take care of it.”
“I don‟t want to go to Cleveland State.” I wasn‟t sure where this little discussion was headed but I didn‟t like it already.
Angel had always been protective of me and I appreciated that, but now he was trying to dictate where I was going to school? I wasn‟t on that shit. I‟ve been trying to get out of Cleveland since I got here and now he wanted me to stay for another four years? Fuck that.
“I know you don‟t but let me finish. I need you to learn the campus. Make a couple of white friends, go to their parties and peep things out; they‟re going to be your customers.”
“Customers?”
“Hold up, are you letting her run shit?” Caleb had been quiet the entire time but whatever Angel was talking about had obviously made him upset.
“Are you questioning me?” Angel‟s forehead wrinkled as he stared back at Caleb daring him to say something.
“Chill out; chill out.” Gabriel placed his hand on Angel‟s shoulder and pushed him back into his chair.
“Nah, if he feels a certain way about it then he should have the opportunity to get it off his chest.” Caleb glared back at Angel with a look of disdain in his eyes. His knuckles were beginning to turn red as he gripped the side of the chair.
“I‟ve been down with you since day one and this is how you repay me?”
“And how would you like for me to repay you; what do you want, some kind of ribbon for all your years of service nigga? What you want, a purple heart or some shit?”
Gabe could sense the tension that was growing between his friends and judging from my brother‟s temper and Caleb‟s mouth; he knew it was only a matter of seconds before one of them would start throwing punches.
“Both of you need to calm down. Caleb, I know you feel you should be next in line but regardless of how long we‟ve been down with Angel, A‟ is his sister and he‟s going to choose her over us every time. Look at everything that went down with that corny ass nigga LT last summer, wouldyou trust anyone after that?”
The irritation that cloaked Caleb‟s face soon subsided as he took in what Gabriel was saying.
“Um…,” I raised my hand as if I was in a classroom and patiently waited to be called on. “I have a question.”
“Yes A‟?”
“I guess I‟m a little slow today because I don‟t know what‟s going on. You‟re talking about me enrolling in State, partying with the white kids and them being my customers. What do I need customers for?”
“You know sometimes you are so smart and other times you areso fucking stupid.”
Gabriel chuckled at Angel‟s comment.
“Whatever Angel, just tell me what the hell you‟re talking about and quit acting like you‟re the fucking Godfather.”
“I want you to take over while I‟m in here.” Was he serious? I mean, I had run a few errands for him here and there, bagged a few things up and made a couple drops but now he wanted me to take over?
“Me?”
“Yes you A‟, no one would ever suspect it. When word gets out that I‟m in here, nigga‟s are gonna expect for shit to be shut down and these happy ass little wanna be thugs are gonna try n‟ run wild. But if they still think I‟m out there, then the balance isn‟t shaken up and shit still remains as is.”
“But I…”
Angel patted me on my head and smiled. “Don‟t worry; I‟m going to teach you everything I know. And Caleb will be there to make sure things run smoothly; right Caleb?” Angel stared into his eyes waiting for them to show any sign of disloyalty.
“Right,” Caleb felt like he was going to choke as he swallowed his pride. He knew Angel hadn‟t made this choice to spite him and that his decision had come after looking at things from every possible angle.
Angel was always twelve steps ahead of everybody and he was right, no one would suspect Asjiah. Angel had given him a task far more important, he trusted him to look after something that didn‟t have monetary value, something that couldn‟t be replaced; his sister.
“Alright, visiting time is over!”
I turned around to find the C.O. that was aimlessly trying to game me earlier shouting from behind the tiny desk.
“Come back next weekend and I‟ll explain everything to you then. Caleb; I‟ll be in touch soon.”
Angel and Gabe said their goodbyes to Caleb and then hugged me.
“I love you little baby.”
“I love you too Angel.”
After watching them disappear behind the metal doors I turned and walked towards the exit.
“So you‟re Cappelli‟s girl huh?” The guard looked me up and down and licked his lips as I approached the desk. I tossed my hair over my shoulder and smiled, “And what if I am?”
“Then I would tell you there‟s nothing he can do for you in here,” Reaching across the table, he caressed my hand. “And that you should let me take care of you.”
“Oh should I? And how would you do that?”
“I‟d start by eating that pretty pussy of yours.” “Really, you know everything you put in your mouth isn‟t good for you.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
I was trying so hard not to laugh in his face; I could tell by the way he was squirming in his seat that I was giving him an erection. This dude was too thirst y.
“And if he found out, what do you think would happen to that tongue of yours?”
“I ain‟t scared of that nigga,” The C.O. sat up in his chair as if he was trying to somehow demonstrate his courage through good posture.
I leaned in a little further so that my lips were almost touching his earlobe.
“My guess is, he‟d probably cut it out especially since I‟m not his girl.”
“You not?”
“Nah, baby, I‟m something much worse.”
“And what could that be blue eyes?”
I jerked my hand from underneath his clammy fingers and grabbed my ID, “His sister.”