Trife Life To Lavish (A King Production Presents...) (22 page)

What was supposed to have been a couple
days of Nichelle hiding out at Renny's house quickly
turned into a few weeks. But it was understandable
why Nichelle was finding it so difficult to leave.
From the moment the private elevator took them
from the garage to the top floor, she started tripping. She thought she was living beyond good at the
condo she shared with Carmelo, but in comparison
to the townhouse Renny called home, they had
been slumming it.

Nichelle had never even known cribs like
this existed. The four bedrooms, three and a half
bathroom domain was spectacular, to say the
least. It had direct southeast views of the Hudson
River and the Manhattan skyline. Even though she
didn't know how to cook, when she walked into
the kitchen, it made her want to learn how. It had
custom cherry cabinetry with opaque glass fronts, a
granite countertop island and flooring, onyx mosaic
back splash, and of course, top-of-the-line stainless
steel appliances.

The three-level staircases were granite and
marble, with marble floors in the great room,
dining room and family room. The upper level had
bamboo flooring, and the lower level had a home
theater. The hotness of the crib was almost too
much for Nichelle to take in.

"I know you're ready for me to leave,"
Nichelle said, as she sat at the kitchen table eating
a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, Crunch Berries cereal.

Renny sat across from her at the table reading
the Wall Street, journal like he did every morning, and
ignored her for a few minutes. For the past week,
she would make the same statement, only for Renny
to pacify her. This time it would be different.

"You're right. I am ready for you to go. Hurry
up and get your things together so I can take you
home," he answered, not moving his eyes away
from the newspaper.

Nichelle dropped her spoon, and the milk
and cereal splashed on the glass top.

"I'm so sorry!" Nichelle jumped up and
retrieved some paper towels and wet them to
clean up the mess she made. The shock of hearing
Renny's reply to what she said made her whole
body jump. "After I finish cleaning up this mess, I'll
get dressed so you can take me back to Queens."

Renny looked over his newspaper on the sly,
and could see the sadness on Nichelle's face as
she steadily kept wiping the same spot that was
already clean. "I was fuckin' wit' you! You know I
don't want you to leave."

"Yes, you do. You're only saying that now
because you feel sorry for me."

"Nichelle, I'm serious. It was a joke. Every
day it's the same routine, you make that statement,
and I always tell you, you're good. But it's like you
don't believe me, so I wanted to cure you from that
shit. So, do we have a deal? Will you stop asking
me that same bullshit question? If I wanted you
gone, I would've helped you get your shit together
and took you home. . .believe me!"

During the time Nichelle had been around
Renny, it was true that he wasn't one to hold back his thoughts. If he didn't approve of something, he
was quick to let you know. Nichelle got a small
dose of it on the second day she was there. While
touring the three-level townhouse, she came across
a room on the top floor with the door closed.
Thinking nothing of it, she opened the door and
was about to turn on the light when Renny walked
up on her. He didn't ask her any questions, he
simply told her to close the door. And in a very
calm, cool, collective manner, he said that she was
welcome to make herself comfortable in any room
in the house, except for that one, and to never go
in there again. His direct, no-nonsense approach
would make even the boldest person back down
and follow his directions.

"I do believe you. I guess what it is, is that
I'm not ready to leave. But then who would want
to leave a place like this?" she smiled, admiring her
surroundings.

"So what, you want to move in permanently?"

The question caught Nichelle so completely
off guard that she didn't know how to respond. "Is
this a trick question?" she finally asked.

"The only trick is what your answer is gonna
be," Renny laughed. "Living in Edgewater, New Jersey
is a big difference than Queens. You have to think
about being away from your family and friends."

"Besides my mom and Tierra, there ain't nothing
left for me in Queens. My mother's always working, so I hardly saw her anyway and Tierra, we can still
hangout sometimes. And it's not like I would stay
here forever, just until I got my mind right."

"Is that a `yes'?"

"Of course it's a `yes', as long as you're cool
with it."

"Good, but I only have one stipulation."

"I knew it. So what do you want from me?"
Nichelle wouldn't admit it to Renny, but she hoped
the stipulation would be that she had to stop
sleeping in one of his guest bedrooms and give
him some pussy. Since she'd been there, Renny
hadn't so much as tried to kiss her, and it had made
her want him even more. When Ne-Yo had said it
was the year of the gentleman, Renny was it. He
had provided her with clothes, food, and shelter,
not asking her for shit in return. Now he had a
stipulation, and Nichelle wanted it to be one where
she could show him how grateful she was for all
his generosity.

"I want you to finish high school. You're a
senior with only a few months until you graduate. If
you want to stay here, you have to finish school."

Nichelle put her head down and sighed. "I
don't want to go back there."

"Why not?"

"For one, do you know how early I would
have to get up to get to school everyday?"

"Anything worth having, you have to make sacrifices. It's only a few more months, Nichelle."

"Plus, I'm so far behind on my schoolwork
I'll never be able to catch up."

"Enough with the excuses. You see this
newspaper I'm reading?" Renny asked, holding up
the 1Vall Street, journal. "I read this every day so I can
know what the fuck is going on in corporate America,
because believe it or not, this shit dictates a lot of
what's poppin' off in the streets. Knowledge really is
fuckin' power, and being a dumbass will never get
you any fuckin' where in life. If I didn't think you had
potential to make something out of your life, I would
tell you to drop out and work for me doing some
street dirt. But, you're better than that."

"How do you know?"

"Because I read some of the poems and short
stories you've written since you've been here."

"You went in my room?"

"No, the other night when you fell asleep
in the theater room, your notebook was open on
the chair next to you, and I read it. There were
some powerful words in there. But you need your
education."

"I don't know, Renny. I have so many bad
memories at that school. I don't know if I can go
back."

"Yes, you can, and you will."

She looked up at him, and it was difficult to
tell a man like him `no'.

"Okay, I'll go back, but since it's Thursday, and
the week is about over, can I start on Monday?"

"Yes."

"Can you take me to Queens over the
weekend so I can stop home and get some clothes
and my car?"

"I tell you what. We can go to the mall here
in Jersey and get you some clothes for school, and
I'll drive you to school Monday. After I pick you
up, we can stop by your crib to get whatever you
need, and your car."

"Whatever you say."

"Good. I have to head out, but I'll be back
later on tonight. Call me if you need anything."

Nichelle did need something, and his name
was Renny O'Neal. It blew her mind how she went
from crying over Carmelo, to dreaming about falling
asleep in Renny's arms. But she felt like the tables
had turned, and Renny was no longer sexually
attracted to her, and only thought of her as a pet
project he needed to salvage. Now that she found
herself falling for him, she no longer wanted to be
just friends. She craved so much more.

Knock... Knock ... Knock

"Who is it?"

"It's me, Ms. Martin," Tierra said, starting to
feel like a stalker.

"Just a minute." Tierra could hear Ms. Martin,
unbolting the lock and chain so she could open
the door. "Good morning, Tierra, and no, Nichelle
ain't come home yet."

"Have you spoken to her again?"

"Yes, she called a few days ago."

"Did you tell her I said to call me?"

"Yes, I did, but I assume she still hasn't called
you. I'm sorry, but I think she's going through a
rough time and wants to be left alone. She won't
even tell me where or who she's staying with.
The only reason she's probably calling me is so I
know she's safe, and I don't file a missing person
report."

"I don't understand why she hasn't called
me. Next time you speak to her, tell her to please
call. Tell her I won't ask her a whole bunch of
questions, I just want to know how she's doing."

"I will, Tierra. I don't mean to rush you off,
but I have to get ready for work. You take care
now."

No more than five minutes after Ms. Martin
closed the door and started to get dressed, she
heard the phone ringing. "Hello."

"Hey, Ma, it's me."

"Baby, how are you?"

"Okay. I'm coming home Monday."

"For good, I hope."

"No. I'm coming to get some clothes and my
car. I'm gonna stay where I've been for a little while
longer, but I am going back to school."

"It's good to hear you're going back to school,
but why ain't you coming home, and who are you
staying with?"

"Where I am, it's better for me... no drama.
But, if you're home on Monday after I get out of
school, maybe you can meet the person I'm staying
with, and you'll feel more at ease."

"I haven't seen you in weeks Nichelle. I'll be
here Monday."

"Okay. I love you, and I'll see you then."

"Love you too...oh wait, Nichelle!" Ms. Martin
yelled out, trying to catch Nichelle before she hung
up the phone.

"Yes?"

"Tierra left here a few minutes ago, looking
for you again. Please call her, she's worried about
you and I'm tired of her knocking on my door
every other day to see if I spoke to you."

"Okay, I'll call her today."

"You promise?"

"Yes, I promise."

"Good. See you on Monday."

As Tierra walked to the beauty salon, she was
still pissed about her conversation with Ms. Martin.
It angered her that Nichelle had gone missing, and
hadn't bothered to call her. They were supposed
to be best friends. And not only that, Tierra was
concerned about her pregnancy. She wanted to
make sure that she and the baby were alright.
With each passing day, Tierra was becoming more
worried, but she decided she would figure out what
to do later, because right now, she had to get her
hair done.

"Hey, Charlene," Tierra waved to her
hairdresser when she walked in. For a Thursday
morning, it was already packed, but Tierra
remembered it was the first of the month, and
everybody was spending their checks.