Relapse: A Novel (14 page)

“Tell him I’ll be down in about forty-five minutes,” she said sleepily.

Less than an hour later, she had showered, dressed, and was in the lobby, where Lootchee was having a cup of coffee and reading the paper.

“Morning, beautiful,” he said with a smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Like a baby.” She sat down across from him. “What do you
have planned for today, early bird?” she asked and then yawned, covering her mouth. “Excuse me.”

“Early bird gets the worm,” he quipped. “But to answer your question … we’re going to Six Flags, shopping, a concert tonight, and I have a surprise for tomorrow.”

“A surprise? I love surprises! Tell me.”

“If I tell you, it’s not a surprise.” Then he gave her the rundown of the day’s itinerary. “For starters, it’s unheard of for you to be my guest in my town and not go to a Cowboys game. We play the Dead Skins tomorrow and I got a bundle on the big game.”

“I’ve never been to a professional game before,” Beijing admitted. Football wasn’t really her thing, but she was willing to give it a try. “Just gotta get something to wear. You know the weatherman was all wrong about the weather.”

“The only person who can give wrong information and still have a job,” Lootchee said, “but we’ll be at the Galleria when they open to do a little shopping for the occasion.”

Once they were at the mall, Beijing was in her element. She tried on about ten outfits and decided to keep four. Then she and Lootchee argued about who was going to pay for them. He insisted that the least she could do was allow him to be a gentleman in his hometown.

“Thank you very much,” she said, “but I can pay for my own clothes. You’ve done enough and I appreciate you.” She gave him a hug.

Lootchee raised his hands as if he was surrendering. “You win.”

After she sent the sales associate to search for a pair of boots that she’d seen on display, Lootchee said, “I’m going to step out for a minute to use the phone.”

Beijing was admiring another pair of shoes as she said, “Okay, no problem.”

No sooner had Lootchee left the store than he peeped this cat named Owen coming out of the jewelry store.

Owen and Lootchee had never liked each other. Owen was “the man” at one time. He owned a few car lots, among other things. He made plenty of money and had no problem spending it. And just as two billy goats can’t stand at the top of the hill without butting heads, Lootchee and Owen were always trying to knock each other down.

Much to Lootchee’s delight, over the past ten to twelve months Owen had fallen off in a major way. He still dressed the part because when he was getting it, the getting was good, but now his pockets were hurting. Owen walked past Lootchee with hate in his eyes and envy in his heart. Lootchee laughed and went into the jewelry store that Owen had just left.

“What up, Jo?” He gave the jeweler five.

“Nothing much, just trying to stay afloat.”

“I feel that,” Lootchee said. “I see ol’ Owen just left. What dat nigga buying?” If it was anything worthwhile, he would buy a bigger one just for spite.

“Nada.” Jo shook his head in disgust. “He returned a piece I custom-made for him. He asked me to lend him money on it till he can do better.”

“Word, let me see the piece.” Lootchee had heard stories that Owen had been strapped for cash and was spinning out of control but had not seen it firsthand.

“I feel bad for the guy because he has spent a lot of money with me,” Jo said, shrugging, “but I’m in business. I just can’t give my creations away for free.” The Mexican man went over to the safe and pulled out a necklace. “Such a beautiful piece.” He shook his head. “I think Owen is getting wasted on a regular basis. I can see it in his eyes,. He tries to hide it, but I know the look.”

Just then Lootchee saw Beijing step out of the clothing store, looking around for him.

He stuck his head out of the jeweler’s shop. “I’m over here, beautiful.”

Beijing joined him in the store just as Jo handed him the necklace. “The heart pendant is made up of ten carats.”

“Ten?” Lootchee was impressed. “Really?”

“Yup and the necklace is …”

Lootchee cut him off and asked Beijing a question he already knew the answer to: “Baby, how long has it been since our first call?”

“Today makes ten days.” She smiled, thinking about the first night she’d called him.

“That’s what I thought.” Lootchee looked at Jo and said, “I’ll take it.” He instructed Beijing to turn around so that he could put the necklace on her neck.

“I can’t accept that,” she gushed.

“Sure you can. It’s a sentimental moment. Now turn around,” he instructed her.

“What do you mean, sentimental?”

“I mean it’s significant. How could it not be? What’s the chance that my main man Jo would have a gorgeous custom necklace that signifies our courtship—ten carats? A carat a day. It was meant for me to buy this for you today. I believe in fate.”

Beijing smiled and took another look at the breathtaking piece of jewelry. The diamonds were so clear they looked like ice cubes frozen from the finest springwater. There was no denying that it was beautiful. She slowly turned around and let Lootchee clasp it around her neck.

“This is just so gorgeous. I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say nothing. You don’t even have to say thank you. Seeing you smile is all the thanks I need.”

The timing couldn’t have been better because just then Owen walked past the shop. He said, “Turn this way baby, so I can see how it catches the light.”

Beijing turned facing Lootchee but in Owen’s sight. She did as she was told, pulling her long flowing silky hair up off her neck.

Owen turned and stared from the doorway. His eyes were burning with hate when he saw Beijing wearing the necklace he’d had made for his mother.

Lootchee laughed.

After Beijing and Lootchee left the mall, they spent the day at an amusement park. The time seemed to fly by. Lootchee had dropped Beijing off at the hotel to change clothes for the New Edition concert. After he changed his own gear, he scooped Beijing back up and took her to Club Celestial.

As Lootchee pulled into his reserved parking space, people were treating him as if he were a movie star, running up to his car, greeting him, and giving him fives as he got out. Beijing was impressed at how people respected him.

A tall, handsome man spotted Lootchee getting out of his car. He stepped from behind the black velvet ropes, meeting the two of them at the curb.

“What’s popping, my nigga?” They gave each other dap. The tall guy leaned over to Lootchee and asked, “Who’s the honey? I never saw you bring sand to the beach.”

“First time for everything,” Lootchee said, and then he took
Beijing’s hand. “This is Beijing. Beijing”—Lootchee moved his eyes from her to his man—“Jeff.”

Beijing remembered him from the fight and gave Jeff a warm smile. Jeffrey couldn’t help but notice that the lady was a straight dime, and he pulled his eyes away from Beijing before getting himself in trouble. He said, “The fire marshal already been here.”

Lootchee looked around. “I can’t tell.” The music was still jumping from the inside. “Looks like the party’s out here, not in there.”

Beijing had to agree with Lootchee as she looked around. The place was jam-packed. People were standing all around in the back and front parking lots, conducting some sort of business, envious of those who were inside.

“Naw they partying like rock stars in there. We sold out, and the bar is bananas for sho,” Jeff assured his partner with a nod. Beijing could only image the fun people must be having inside. The strong aroma of the marijuana hit her nose before she actually noticed the people who were smoking weed. There was no denying that Lootchee smelled it too.

“Sounds like everything going all right.” Lootchee nodded.

“That crook wouldna gave a fuck if we had the entire Chinese Republican Army in that bitch after I put them Franklins in his pocket.”

Lootchee smiled at his boy, but Beijing was thinking how she needed to have the fire marshal added to her Rolodex.

“The bar sales looking good, but man, I didn’t even have to tell you that, you can tell by the looks of this crowd out here.”

“Let’s go in,” Lootchee said.

“New Edition’s inside. They haven’t taken the stage yet, but they gon go on in a short,” Jeff said.

Jeff led the way followed by Lootchee and Beijing, with Steve covering the rear. Beijing was confident and felt good as all eyes were on her checking her out hand in hand with Lootchee. As they walked past the long lines of people desperate to get in, Beijing
felt sorry for the guy with the guest list. He was being bombarded by people claiming to be on it. Another girl was saying that she was on New Edition’s VIP list but the guy with the list didn’t see her name.

Beijing wished that all the people trying to get in could see the performance, but she was glad she was with the man throwing the event.

Once they broke the seal of the entrance, there were so many people stuffed into the huge club that it looked like sardines in a can. Lootchee turned to Beijing and said, “We going to the VIP area.” He gave Steve a nod. Steve then squeezed his way to the front of the group and started elbowing his way through the crowd with Jeff, Lootchee, and Beijing right on his heels.

After they got about fifteen feet away from the VIP booth, they came to a standstill. Even though it was such a short distance, it turned out to be a chore to get to their desired destination. Steve was in front of them as they pushed their way through the crowded, smoked-filled, musty nightclub. Steve was inching his way one step at a time but not making much progress. Frustration set in for various reasons not only with Lootchee and company but with almost every person in that place, especially a guy named Boo.

Boo was pissed beyond pisstivity and he wasn’t letting anybody cut in front of him. He was bothered that he had been at the club since 9
PM
and the show had not started at 10
PM
as promised. To top it off, his girl had stood him up, the event was oversold, everyone was jam-packed like circus clowns in a car, it was hotter than fresh-poured black tar, and he had big pellets of perspiration coming from every gland in his body wetting up his new linen outfit.

“Motherfucker, go to the fucking back,” Boo screamed at Steve.

Steve ignored Boo at first and kept trying to inch by. Boo was about three inches shorter than Steve and ten pounds lighter. Boo
was so amped by his frustration that he wanted to go toe-to-toe with somebody and it really didn’t matter who. If it was a heavyweight boxing match, both Boo and Steve would have made the ticket. Boo turned around filled with liquor and mischief, wanting a chance at the belt, and Steve had given him all he needed.

Boo said “What’s up” with a two-piece to the side of Steve’s head and then again to the jaw.

Unfazed, Steve asked, “Are you crazy?” with three vicious blows of his own.

All hell broke loose and all Beijing saw were fists, feet, and elbows all over the place. Somebody caught Steve from the back with an Absolut Vodka bottle. The bottle shattered against his skull, sending him down to one knee. Then the situation got out of control and someone else hit Steve, sending him to the ground, and then out of spite people started to kick him. In the midst of everything, Lootchee let go of Beijing’s hand and dropped the bottle-wielding chump with a flurry of blows to the head. There was no way Lootchee could stand by and watch his childhood friend get beat down.

Security guards came to break it all up, but they were unsure what was what and who was who. Tempers were still flaring and at that point the entire club was outraged. This one incident almost incited a riot. Somehow, through the chaos and madness, Beijing was sucked out the front door. She was shaken up but unhurt. She had no idea where Lootchee was. Her new outfit was ripped, and she had lost one of the Manolo Blahniks she had bought that morning.

After about twenty minutes of standing outside, scared to try to go back in, she managed to hail down a cab to take her back to the hotel. The first thing she did once she was back safely in the room was sit down with a glass of wine to clear her head. She could not believe that Lootchee had gotten in a fight
… at his own event!

She plopped down on the sofa in her hotel room, thinking of
Lootchee, the night they had shared together, and how something so wonderful could turn into something so horrible. One thing for certain, two for sure, she was planning to be on the first thing smoking out of Texas in the morning and wasn’t coming back.

Someone knocked at the door. She got up and looked through the peephole to see Lootchee standing there, looking fresh as the morning. She was shocked, happy, and mad all at the same time.

“What do you want now, Lootchee?” she asked through the door. She wasn’t quite ready to forgive him.

“Will you let me in so I can explain?”

“What’s there to explain? You left me for dead while you got in a fight at your event. What type of businessman does that?” She had her hands on her hips. “What type of man does that?” She asked the same question again, but she stood aside, waving him to come into the room.