Wifey (16 page)

I smiled back and said. “Yeah, I know I got skills!” I removed the cape from around his neck.

“How much I owe you?” He asked as he reached into his right pants pocket.

 I grabbed his left hand. “Stop! Don’t do that!” I told him.

“Do what?” He answered as he pulled out a fat roll of C-notes.

I tried desperately not to stare but since everybody else was watching him, I couldn’t dare pass up the opportunity.

“Here you go,” he finally said as he handed me two one-hundred-dollar bills.

“What you doing? It doesn’t cost $200 dollars for a treatment and an edge up.”

“I know that.”

“So, what’s up, then?”

“It’s just a tip for good, quality service.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yep. So, go on and buy yourself something sexy to wear for your husband tonight.”

“Are you being sarcastic?” I asked him with a smile.

“You figure it out,” he said in a gangsta-type slang. And believe it or not, I got a kick out of it.

“How much time you giving me to do this?” I replied in a sassy tone.

“For you, Ma, I’mma let you take as much time as you want. But, don’t keep me waiting for too long.” He just gave me one of them looks like,
“Yeah, I want you! And I know you want me too!”
I mean, I was catching feelings for this nigga already.

Now here I was standing in the middle of my salon with a nigga I knew everybody in here would kill to have. But he wasn’t interested in them. He wanted me. And the crazy thing was that I wanted him too. But, I couldn’t act like I did, especially around these talking hoes. Half of them would have loved to run back to Ricky with some drama. So, I’d have to play this thing right. But first, I had to get Russ outside so I could keep everybody out of my conversation.

“Come on, let me walk you to your whip,” I told him.

On our way out the door, I caught Sunshine and her client out of the corner of my eye, whispering to each other as me and Russ walked by them. I wasn’t going to pay her ass any mind because she wasn’t doing nothing but hating on me. That bitch would have killed to be in my shoes. So, when Russ grabbed the doorknob and opened the front door for me, I walked ahead of him.

“Where’s your car?” I asked, trying to get his attention off my ass. Even though I didn’t have eyes in the back of my head, I could read men’s body language. The moment I walked by Russ, he got quiet. That’s because he only had a couple seconds to concentrate on either how I looked underneath my jeans, or how his dick would feel by hitting my ass from the back. I just hoped that if I did ever decide to screw him, he didn’t have no little dick.

“It’s right there,” Russ finally said.

I looked in the direction he was pointing and saw a small, beat-up car. I looked back at Russ and said with a smile, “That’s cute, if you ain’t trying to leave outta this parking lot.”

Russ laughed. “I ain’t as fortunate to ride in a Benz like your hubby.”

“I ain’t as fortunate, either.” I replied as we walked toward his car.

“Look who’s talking.”

“What you mean?”

“I peeped out your whip while it was sitting up in your driveway. You ain’t doing bad at all.”

“What else you done peeped out?”

“It’s too soon to say. But I’m sure you’ll find out, if you want to.”

“And what does that mean?” I threw him one of my sexy smiles.

“Just be patient. Time will reveal it.”

“Is it good or bad?”

“Look, all I’m gon’ say is that when I present it to you, I promise you ain’t gon’ look back.”

“A’ight!” I told him as he hopped in the car and drove off.

Catching Feelings

From the moment Russ left, that’s when I began to think of nothing else but him. I mean, the last time I felt like this was when I first got with Ricky. I knew from jump I was gonna have to put my creeping skills into overtime. Luckily, Ricky wasn’t at home when I got in. I wasn’t in the mood to see him right now. After I took me a hot, long shower, I hopped in bed and flicked on the TV. I laid back and started watching a good movie on the Lifetime Channel until my cell phone started ringing.

I didn’t recognize the number. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t answer it. But somehow, I felt I needed to answer this call. “Hello,” I said, putting on my sexiest voice.

“Were you sleep?” the caller asked me. After hearing the voice it kind of threw me for a loop. At first, it sounded like Russ. Then again, it sounded like Ricky.

Now, there was one thing I couldn’t do and that was say the wrong name. Ricky would have flipped the script if I mentioned another nigga’s name, especially the name of somebody who did business with him. So instead of answering the question, I threw a question back at him.

“Does it matter?” I said.

“Yeah it does.”

“For who?” I asked, trying to play hard to get after sensing who it was.

“For me.”

“Okay. But do you know what time it is?” I asked Russ.

“Yeah, I know. But, I figured this would be the best time to talk to you since your hubby ain’t lying beside you.”

“And how do you know that?”

“Because he’s in the middle of a dice game.”

“How you know that?”

“‘Cause, I just left him.”

“So, you be out there throwing away money too?”

“Every now and then.”

“So, to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?”

“I just wanted to say good night.”

“That’s it?”

“Yep.”

“Okay. Well, say it.”

Russ must’ve thought my comment was funny because he broke out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked him.

“You,” he told me.

“Well, I didn’t mean to be.”

“It’s all love.”

“Okay. But I’m still waiting for you to say good night.”

Russ took a deep breath and then he said, “Sweet dreams.”

“Good night,” I replied.

As I was about to end the call Russ said, “Can I call you tomorrow?”

“Did you ask me could you call me tonight?”

“No.”

“Well, there’s your answer. And anyway, don’t you think Ricky would have flipped the script if he knew you were chatting on the phone this time of the night wit’ his wife?”

“Yeah, he would. But, if his wife wasn’t in the talking mood, she would’ve hung up the phone a long time ago.”

“Is that so?”

“I think so.”

“Well, look, I’ll tell you what, since this conversation is going in the other direction, I’m gon’ have to call it a night. So, I guess that’s a good enough reason for you to call me tomorrow.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Okay, then. Night-night.”

I turned my cell phone off the moment I hung up with Russ. And when I turned over on my side to go to sleep, I couldn’t because once again, Russ was on my mind. All I could think about was how he tried to flirt with me at the salon earlier and how he looked at me. Truth be told, I was enjoying the hell out of it. And with Ricky acting up the way he’s been doing all these years, I was starting to believe that I might be able to play a game of get-back. After an hour of reminiscing about Russ, I finally fell asleep.

***

When I got up the next day, I heard voices downstairs in the kitchen. One of the voices was Ricky’s. I gave myself a chance to tune in to the other voice; that’s when I realized it was Russ. Without thinking, I jumped out of bed and threw on my robe. Now, I knew I was about to piss Ricky off by coming down stairs in my nightwear, but who cared about how he felt? It’s about me. As I walked down the stairs, my heart started pumping really fast. I knew it wasn’t because of what Ricky was going to say when he saw me; it was because I couldn’t wait to see the reaction I was going to get from Russ. And to make it look like an accident, I had to put on a front like I didn’t hear another voice. So, when I got ready to go through the doorway of the kitchen, I called out Ricky’s name.

“Ricky,” I said.

“Yeah,” he answered.

I walked through the doorway with a surprised expression, “Oh damn!” I forced my act to work. “I ain’t know somebody else was here.” I began to walk backwards. I did it slowly so Russ could get a good look at me.

“Well, now that cha know it, you know what to do,” Ricky replied, sarcastically.

Before I was completely out of sight, I noticed Russ getting a quick look at me. He couldn’t look at me too long, because he knew that it would be a straight-up case of disrespect for Ricky. To do it in Ricky’s face ain’t how the game was supposed to be played. On the otherhand, my agenda for that morning was complete, so there was nothing else for me to do but to slip on some clothes and head out to work.

On my way out of the house, Russ decided it was time for him to leave too. I had already started driving up the street when I noticed Russ coming up behind me. It was no coincidence he had to leave not even a minute after me. I just hoped Ricky wasn’t too bright that morning to figure it out. I guess Russ had the same thought in mind because instead of trying to get me to pull over; he turned off on another street. I was kind of disappointed that he didn’t follow me. Then I realized that it was probably for the best, so, I continued on my daily path to work.

When I drove into the parking lot of my business, I noticed that there were not that many cars parked out front. In fact, I only recognized two of the four cars parked. Before I got out of my car to see what the deal was, my cell phone started ringing. Whoever was calling me blocked out their number but this time it didn’t bother me. I answered it.

“Hello,” I said.

“Kira, this is Shapiro.”

“Hey. What’s up?”

“Will you be available later today for a meeting with the agents and the U.S. Attorney?”

“Do I have a choice?” I asked, and then sighed.

“Well yeah, but…”

“But what?” I asked in frustration.

“Look, Kira, these people are willing to give you immunity. And, of course, let your cousin get off scot-free. But in order for this to happen, you have to meet them on their terms.”

“Yeah, I know. People can’t go a day without throwing shit in the game!”

“What are you saying?” Mr. Shapiro asked.

I sighed again. “It wasn’t important. What time are they talking about?”

“Three o’clock.”

“But, that’s just three hours from now!”

I know I’m giving short notice, but, this meeting is very important.”

“So, where do I have to be?”

“At the new federal building on Granby Street.”

“I can’t go there!” I snapped. “What if somebody sees me?”

“Okay, I’ll tell you what. Meet me at my office by two-thirty and that way, I could get you in the back entrance with me.”

“A’ight,” I said nonchalantly.

“So, this means you’ll be there?”

Before I could answer, my cell phone beeped, letting me know somebody was trying to get through on my other line. I told Mr. Shapiro what he wanted to hear and pressed the flash button.

“Hello,” I anxiously said after recognizing the number.

“You hungry?” Russ asked me.

“Why? You bringing me something to eat?” I replied in one of my most notorious, sexy voices.

“Nah. But I can have it delivered to you.”

“Where you at?” I desperately wanted to know.

“Why?”

“Because I want to know.”

“Well, it’s a secret. So, just tell me what some of your favorite foods are.”

Before I answered Russ’s question, I thought to myself a minute. I mean, it wasn’t like I didn’t know what to say. But knowing whether or not he was playing some type of game was kind of eating away at me.

“So, are you gon’ tell me? Or am I gon’ have to play the guessing game?”

I smiled at Russ’s comment, which of course changed my mood from my last call from Mr. Shapiro.

“Hello. Are you there?” Russ continued.

“Yeah. I’m still here.”

“So, what you working wit’?”

“Well, I love salads.”

“What else?”

“And seafood.”

“What kind of seafood?”

“Crab legs, fried oysters and shrimp.”

“Is that it?”

“Well, I could go on but if I did, we’ll be on the phone for at least a couple more hours.”

“Are you at the shop yet?”

“Yeah. I just pulled up.”

“A’ight.”

“So, what you saying?!”

“Just sit back and do what you do. You’ll see.”

“Okay. Whatever you say.”

“A’ight.”

I headed into the shop and immediately found out why there were only four cars parked out front. Rhonda approached me at the door.

“Where’s everybody?” I asked her, as I looked around the shop.

“I thought you knew,” Rhonda said.

“Knew what?”

“Sunshine moved into her own shop this morning.”

“She didn’t tell me anything.”

“She didn’t say nothing to you?”

“Nah.”

“Well, everybody else knew.”

“So, when did you find out?”

“Last night,” Rhonda said. “She sho’ acted like it wasn’t a secret.”

“Well, it sho’ went over my head ‘cause I didn’t know anything.” I walked over to my station.

Rhonda walked behind me and said, “I’m glad she gone if you wanna know the truth.”

“Did she leave her booth rent?”

“Nope. But Penny and Tabitha did.”

“Oh, so they went too?”

“Yep.”

“What about Trina?”

“She called about thirty minutes ago and said she was gon’ be a little late.”

“Any of my clients called?”

“Nah.”

“Has the mailman been here yet?”

“Yeah,” Rhonda replied as she walked back over to continue rolling her client’s hair.

“Where is it?”

“I put it in your office.”

I closed the door to my office the minute I walked in. Then I started sorting out the mail. There were only three legal-size envelopes in the stack. All of them were pieces of junk mail and advertisement schemes, so I threw them all into the trashcan.

Meanwhile, the salon telephone started to ring. Rhonda answered it. and about a second later, she yelled back to my office to let me know the call was for me.

“This is Kira. How may I help you?”

“Why you ain’t answering your damn cell phone?” Ricky shouted very loudly.