Welfare Wifeys (8 page)

“Who the fuck is Murphy?” Devil asked.

Don B. gave Devil a stupid look. “It’s a saying; anything that can go wrong will go wrong. There are gonna be a lot of important people coming out to support this event and I don’t need no bullshit souring my game.”

As if on cue Don B. heard someone calling his name. Devil moved between Don B. and the man half shambling toward him, hand already reaching for his pistol, but he froze in mid-draw when he recognized his old partner. “Remo?” Devil asked in disbelief.

Remo had really let himself go. His clothes were expensive, but they looked like he had slept in them for the past few nights. His normally clean-shaven head was now covered in tight clumps of knotted hair and it had been a while since his face had seen a razor. When Remo smiled and showed his teeth that had begun to rot, Devil felt like his heart shattered in his chest.

“Big D, you slipping. I could’ve laid both of y’all down and been in the wind before you drew that rod!” Remo said jovially. “What, you just gonna stand there gawking or give me some love?”

Devil managed to snap out of it and embrace his old friend.
Remo smelled like he hadn’t washed in a few days but Devil didn’t shy away. “Damn, it’s good to see you, homey.”

“It’s good to be seen. You know it ain’t many of the old crew left,” Remo said. His eyes drifted toward Don B. who was standing off to the side scowling at him. “What’s good, nephew.” Remo spread his arms.

“What up?” Don B. replied dryly and gave him dap.

Remo eyed him suspiciously. “I swear, boy, you and ya daddy always did know how to hold grudges better than anybody else in the family.”

“
Family,
” Don B. snorted, “now that’s a word niggaz use way too freely.”

Remo couldn’t mask the hurt in his eyes. “Don, I know you’re salty with me because I fucked up, but ya uncle is pulling it together, that’s why I came down here to see you.”

“Is that right?” Don B. asked in a very uninterested tone.

“Yeah, man. I heard through the grapevine that you got this big event lined up and I wanted to help out, maybe do some security work for you, nephew.”

“I don’t know if that’ll be such a good idea, Remo.”

“C’mon, Don, you know ain’t nobody ever watch ya back as good as me and Devil when I was still rolling wit y’all. Just give me a chance to prove myself.”

“I did give you a chance to prove yourself, and you proved unworthy. I can’t trust my life to a crackhead.”

“Is that all I am to you now?” Remo asked emotionally. “Don B, when you was out there handing out CDs and getting kicked outta clubs I was the one holding you down, not these new cats you’ve taken to running around with, who praise you like some damn pagan god!”

“You’re right, but you fucked up what we had when you decided that your habits and these bitches came before business.” Don B.
took his shades off and looked his uncle directly in the eyes. “Remo, you’re fam so I’ll always love you, but I can’t fuck wit you,” Don B. said sadly and walked off.

“Don . . .” Devil called after him but Remo stopped him.

“Fuck it, let him go,” Remo said, wiping the tear from his ashy cheek.

“Remo, let me try and talk to him, okay?”

“Nah, Devil. It’s gonna be what it’s gonna be. I ain’t gonna keep you because I know you got stuff to do. It was good seeing you though, family.” Remo hugged his partner.

Devil took all the money he had in his pocket and placed it in Remo’s hands. “Remo, you know that whenever you’re ready to come in out of the cold I’m here for you.”

“Devil, your heart is now and forever will be in the right place, so you’ll always be my brother. Ya man though”—he scoffed and pointed at Don B.—“he’s got a lot to learn about this here game. The faster you go up, the harder your black ass is gonna land when it falls from grace.”

Long After Don B. and Devil had pulled off Remo was still standing on the curb looking down at the toes of his scuffed boots. He had come to Don B. almost on his knees only to be brushed to the side like someone who had had nothing to do with building Big Dawg Entertainment. Don B. playing him off like a common smoker not only hurt Remo but it made him bitter. He stopped seeing his nephew as the little boy he had helped sculpt, and saw him as just another perpetrating ass cat who needed their ghetto pass revoked.

“What up, big homey?” a voice called from behind Remo, startling him. He cautiously started backing away as he didn’t recognize the heavily tinted Acura sitting on shiny chrome rims. “It’s me, son.” The driver rolled the window down.

“Shit, youngin, don’t you know better than to be rolling up all
suspect and shit?” Remo capped as he ambled over to the car. “I heard you was dead.”

“Nah, I ain’t dead I’m just keeping a low profile after that thing, smell me? But fuck all that, I got something lined up that you might be able to help me with if you still ’bout ya cheese?” The driver popped open a suitcase full of money that was on the passenger’s seat.

“For that kinda paper I’d tear a niggaz head off!” Remo said hungrily.

“Glad to hear it. Get in the car and let’s take a lil ride while we talk.”

Tionna took a long gulp of air when she ascended from the train station on Ninety-sixth and Broadway. It was about a thousand degrees beneath the streets of New York, but it was one of the fastest ways to travel if you didn’t have a ride. She had been spending a lot of time on the subway lately, but didn’t think she’d ever get used to it. How she longed for the days of hopping in and out of foreign cars, but she knew those days were over, at least until she found another come-up.

Once upon a time Tionna had been regarded as royalty in Harlem. She was thick in all the right places, with flawless chocolate skin and silky black hair that hung down her back. Every cat holding a few dollars was checking for her, but she belonged to Duhan. Since they were teenagers they had been dating on and off and even had two sons together. Duhan was on the fast track to stardom and she was at his side for the entire ride. Duhan was a sure bet to be a boss, but jealousy and the government threw a monkey wrench in his plans and hit him with five to life on a trumped-up kingpin charge.

With Duhan out of the picture and no real means to support herself Tionna wound up back on the block with her old friends
and up to new tricks. For a minute it seemed like Tionna was returning to her former glory, but as they said, “What’s done in the dark always comes to the light.” In the end Tionna’s ways had cost her Duhan and her last apartment. A mysterious fire had broken out that claimed everything she owned except the clothes on her back. Thankfully no one had been home at the time of the fire, but Tionna found herself completely assed out and back to square one. She knew who had been the catalyst for both, but had only herself to blame for even allowing herself to get caught slipping. It was a mistake she had no intention of making twice.

The months that followed were rough for Tionna. Her best friend Gucci’s mother had let Tionna and the kids stay with her while Section 8 tried to find her another apartment, but that situation turned out to be a crazy one. Ms. Ronnie was cool, but she had too many damn rules for Tionna’s taste, so it was a blessing when Tionna got the letter about her new place. Tionna had initially thought that the apartment would be in some renovated building like the one she had just been burnt out of, but it was actually in a nice section of Manhattan that boasted easy access and a great school system.

On her way up from the train station she grabbed two bags of piff from some of the local corner boys. Their haze wasn’t the best in the world, but it was way better than anything else within a ten-block radius. Tionna often missed the convenience of living uptown, but she’d much rather deal with
so-so
weed than shoot-outs in front of the building. Her new hood was a far cry from the one she’d grown up in and not as upscale as the one she’d lost, but it would have to do for the time being and she was determined to make the best of it.

Tionna rolled into the smoke shop to grab two cigars and spotted a girl named Zada who lived in her building. Zada was a cool chick, but she had way too many problems and made it a point to share them with everyone, whether they wanted to hear them or
not. Tionna started to turn around and go to another store, but Zada had already spotted her so she mustered a plastic smile.

“Hi, Tionna.” Zada hugged Tionna and kissed her on both cheeks.

“Sup Z?” Tionna said.

“Not much. Just came to get a Dutch so me and Harv can smoke. You wanna burn one with us?” Zada offered.

“Nah, I got a lil piff so I’m gonna do me. Thanks though,” Tionna said pleasantly.

What she really meant was that she didn’t want to smoke the cheap shit they were about to put in their lungs. Zada and Harv would smoke damn near anything as long as it got them high. Tionna had standards with hers though. If it wasn’t piff or chocolate she wouldn’t smoke it.

“Well, if that’s the case then I need to roll with you,” Zada said shamelessly. Tionna liked Zada well enough, but her constant quest for the next blunt session got on her last nerve.

Tionna had to think fast or run the risk of Zada ruining what little bit of downtime she would have before the kids got in. “Ah, you can come by, but give me about an hour or so. I’ve got something I need to take care of right quick.” Tionna gave her a wink.

Zada showed all thirty-two of her teeth. “Got a little shorty coming by, huh?” Zada asked, trying to get into Tionna’s business.

“Just give me an hour and then you can stop by.” Tionna hurried to make her purchase so Zada wouldn’t press her any further. Tionna normally would’ve told someone trying to get all in her mix to go kill themselves, but she kinda liked Zada and didn’t want to hurt her feelings. By the time Zada came by Tionna would’ve been high as a kite and better equipped to deal with her emotional ass. With her Dutch Masters secured in her purse, Tionna made tracks toward her new residence.

The Marquis was what they called
prime real estate
. It was a beautiful twenty-seven story building with round-the-clock security
and was located within walking distance of six trains and four buses. From the huge supermarket in the courtyard to several different stores that shared the property, Tionna never had to go far for anything. Every time she woke up and looked out at her view of Central Park she wondered how for as much dirt as she did, she could still be so lucky.

When the building formally known as Westside Manor was sold, the new owners jacked the rent for new tenants to ten times what the old ones were paying. A good amount of the residents had inherited the apartments from their parents or grandparents, but every new tenant had to pay the piper unless they managed to hit the Mega Ball. The Mega Ball was a lottery the city forced the Marquis to hold every few years that gave government-assisted tenants a shot at getting into the building. Because of the circumstances surrounding how Tionna had lost her apartment they made an exception to the rule and gave her a two-bedroom that had just been vacated.

As soon as Tionna touched the foyer of the lobby the security guard, Angel, buzzed her in. He was a handsome Puerto Rican kid who wore his hair in a low cut that he kept freshly shaped. Angel was a good dude who had run into some less than favorable luck and ended up catching some short time. As a condition of his parole he ended up doing security at the Marquis. Unlike some of the other guards he wasn’t a hard ass. Angel was easygoing and unless you were harassing the tenants or doing something to put his job in jeopardy you were cool.

“What is it, ma?” Angel greeted Tionna when she crossed the threshold.

“Chilling, just getting in from work,” Tionna replied.

“Yo, how is that shit for you? Working at a law firm and all, I know you get the four-one-one on a lot of shit.”

“It ain’t even that serious, Angel. I just answer the phones and do a little filing. I do my job and come home, period,” Tionna said.
She had been working at the law firm of Gould and Silva for over a year and still didn’t know everyone there by name.

“I still wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall for one of those crazy muthafuckers who roll through there. I hear the broad’s specialty is castrating niggaz,” Angel half joked.

“Marlene isn’t that bad, she’s just good at what she does,” Tionna defended her boss. She really thought Marlene to be too uptight, but she had to admire her. Here was a woman who had managed to claw her way up out of the same ghettos and managed to become a successful attorney. Gould and Silva practiced a variety of law, but their specialty was divorce. Marlene was like a freak of nature when it came to making sure her clients left their spouses with nothing. Some said that she was a scorned lover seeking to take her revenge out on all men, but whatever her motivation you couldn’t deny the fact that Marlene Silva was one of the best at what she did. It was even said that on more than one occasion Marlene had reduced abusive husbands to tears in open court. Tionna figured if she could muster up a fraction of Marlene’s determination she’d be all good.

“So you say. Just hope you don’t ever come across her in a courtroom. My man Jose had to get two more jobs just to keep up with the payments she got his bitch of a wife,” Angel said.

“She wasn’t a bitch when he was laying with her now was she?” Tionna shot back. “Yo, if I’m fucking a nigga, washing his drawers and breeding his kids, then I need to be taken care of when we split the pie. What, you think the wasted years of that woman’s life don’t count for anything?”

Angel took a step back and raised his hands in surrender. “Damn, T, I wasn’t looking for the cross-examination. You’re starting to sound like your boss.”

“Nah, I ain’t sounding like Marlene. I’m sounding like somebody that’s been through it. Angel, when you’ve given your time and your heart to somebody only to have them pull the plug and leave
you with nothing but your sorrows then we can have this conversation again,” Tionna said and headed for the elevator.

Tionna stepped into her apartment and breathed a sigh of relief. After dealing with the bullshit at Gould and Silva all day it felt good to be home. The kids were still at school so she had at least another hour to herself. She planned to roll up a blunt and pour herself a glass of wine and soak in the tub before she did her homework. Since she had been working at the firm Tionna had developed a fascination with the law and decided to take some paralegal courses online. There was no way she was going to put herself through eight more years of school to try for the bar, but with the certificate she could push for a promotion or at least a pay raise.