A Woman’s Work: Street Chronicles (23 page)

“Y
es, I need to make an airline reservation leaving Richmond, Virginia, going to Acapulco, Mexico.”

“How many in your party?” the reservationist asked.

“Just one. Oh, and I need a one-way ticket.” Abie held the phone to her ear with one hand while scribbling notes with the other. Everything was falling into place, and pretty soon she’d be on a plane to Mexico with the madam’s money, on top of her savings, which included some of the money she’d skimmed from Scoot. Since getting her transition package, she was ready to make her move and collect her $250,000, which was scheduled to happen in a few hours. Once she got that money, she’d head straight to the airport, hop on a plane to Mexico, and never look back.

Abie was tired. She was tired of being used by men, tired of being pimped by women, just tired. After receiving one of those pop-ups on her computer about taking a luxury trip to a resort in
Acapulco, she’d started dreaming. She dreamed of a life full of turquoise water, palm trees, and sandy beaches. The more she researched Acapulco, the more she realized that it was where she wanted to be. Then, reality set in. What would she do in Mexico? Be a whore to survive? That was all she knew how to do. She was still about ten credits shy of the college degree that Madam was pushing her and the rest of the girls to get, but Abie was done with that too. So, in an effort to move on to a new life, she’d be the one using men and the one woman who’d been pimping her for the past few years—Madam Celecia. Abie knew she had to have enough money to survive for a while wherever she decided to go, so she’d cracked the code on Madam’s identity and conjured up a blackmail scheme. Her surfing the Net for everything she could find about Acapulco, Mexico, had turned into a search for Madam. If her identity was revealed, all hell would break loose.

Abie was so engrossed in making her reservations, she didn’t hear Rachida come into their room.

“Yes, I’ll pick up my ticket electronically at the airport. Thank you very much.”

“Airport? Where are you going, Abie?”

“ ’Chida, damn! You scared me. Why are you spying on me?”

“Spying on you? All I heard was that you’re picking up a ticket at the airport. So where are you going?”

“The less you know the better, okay?” Abie avoided eye contact with Rachida. She hated lying to her best friend, and she wished she could take her with her, but she didn’t want her to be a part of the scheme. Abie grabbed clothes from her dresser and threw them into her suitcase in an unorganized fashion. She could feel Rachida behind her but she ignored her. She only had a few hours before everything went down, and very soon after that she’d be boarding an airplane, getting as far from Richmond as possible. Once she reached her destination, she’d call Scoot to let him know where she was.

“Abie, where are you going? And didn’t you hear? We have an emergency meeting with the madam today.” Abie perked up and stopped packing.

“What?”

“We have an emergency meeting. Uncle Brick just came over and said we need to be downstairs in the parlor in an hour. That’s why I came up here to get you.”

“Shit. Emergency meeting about what, did he say?”

“Nope, only that it was mandatory.”

Abie turned to face her friend. “I need you to cover for me. I have somewhere to be, and it’s very important. I need you to tell Uncle Brick I was never here. I’m going to sneak out the back door, and as soon as I see Uncle Brick come over for the meeting, I’m going to jump in my car and leave.”

“Abie, what the hell is going on with you? First the black eye, then I see you leaving Uncle Brick’s apartment, now you’re packing a suitcase heading who knows where.”

“You saw me leaving Uncle Brick’s apartment? What the fuck, ’Chida, now you following me?”

“No, Abie, I’m concerned about you. Something’s going on with you and you won’t tell me what. Is it Scoot? Are you running from him?”

“ ’Chida, please, don’t ask me questions. Just leave it alone.” Abie turned back to her suitcase and took a few more items from her dresser. Rachida grabbed her arm.

“Abie, tell me what’s going on right now or I’m going downstairs and telling Madam everything and I mean it. If you’re in danger, she needs to know.”

“No! Damn, ’Chida, I told you, this doesn’t concern you. And I don’t appreciate you following me around. The only reason I went to Uncle Brick’s was for help getting my transition package. I needed to get it expedited, that’s all. I got my package, I got my
money, so I’m ready to get away from here. Maybe that’s what the meeting is about.”

“Abie, you said one-way ticket. That means you’re not coming back. What are you running from? Something else is going on.”

Abie paused, breathed heavily, then addressed her friend.

“Okay, something’s going on, but I can’t tell you right now. But I promise, as soon as I get to my destination, I’ll call you and tell you everything you need to know.”

“You promise?”

“I promise, ’Chida. But right now, I really have to go. Please, promise me that you’ll keep all this to yourself. I really have to leave, though.”

Rachida hugged Abie. “Okay, I promise. But you better call me as soon as you get wherever you’re going. I can’t believe you’re leaving me.”

“I’m only leaving for a little while. When everything blows over, you’ll see me again. Now go downstairs and distract Uncle Brick for me.”

Rachida did as her friend asked, looking down the hall to ensure that no one saw her leaving the room. Abie zipped her black rolling suitcase and set it by the door beside the matching bigger one. She checked her cell phone, and moved to the window to see if Uncle Brick had come over yet. Her nervous energy took over and she paced the floor several times before returning to the window. When she saw the door to Uncle Brick’s apartment open, her heart started beating really quickly. She hoped Rachida could keep him downstairs in the parlor long enough for Abie to get down the back stairwell and out the back door. She’d parked her car on the main road, so she’d go through the woods to get to it. The footsteps and voices in the hallway told her the other women were heading downstairs to the parlor. She grabbed her suitcases and hid in the closet until the coast was clear. When all the voices
had trailed off, she slowly opened the sliding doors to the walk-in closet, grabbed her purse from the bed, and opened the door to her room. The women’s voices could all be heard in the parlor, as well as Uncle Brick’s. That was Abie’s cue to get off the premises quickly. She headed down the long hallway, past the other bedrooms toward a bay window that provided a fair amount of sunlight. The hardwood floors in the hallway creaked in certain spots, so she tried to be careful getting to the stairs. The winding stairs led to the oversized kitchen, which was located in the back of the house. Abie’s heart raced as she got closer to the door, and she almost panicked when she realized that as soon as she opened the door, the alarm sensor would beep, causing Uncle Brick to investigate. “Fuck!” she said softly. How was she going to get out the door without it beeping? She sent Rachida a text to come to the kitchen. She stood in the pantry and waited for her. She entered the kitchen, looking around for Abie.

“Abie?” she whispered so Uncle Brick and the others couldn’t hear her. Then she noticed her and rushed over.

“What is it? The meeting’s about to start in like two minutes.”

“I know.” Abie pointed to the alarm panel box on the wall beside the door.

“It’s gonna beep when I open the door. So I need you to act like you opened the door so I can get out of here.”

“Okay. Be careful, Abie. Whatever you’re doing, just be careful.”

“I will. I promise, I’ll call you. Bye, sis.” They hugged and then Abie opened the door, and with both pieces of luggage in her hands, and her purse on her shoulder, she ran down the wooden plank steps and disappeared into the woods. Rachida closed the door behind her and rushed back to the parlor.

“Did someone come in the back door?” Uncle Brick asked.

“No, I was double-checking it because it wasn’t closed all the way.” Rachida took a seat beside one of the other women and
watched as Uncle Brick dialed Madam’s phone number. The women all waited attentively for her to pick up.

“Good afternoon, Madam.”

“Hello, Brick. Are all the ladies there?” A noise in the background made it hard for them to hear her.

“What was that, Madam? We can’t hear you.”

Madam paused for a moment before speaking.

“I’m sorry, I’m not in my office. I asked if all the ladies were there.”

“Everyone except Abie. I couldn’t get in touch with her. I believe she had a last-minute client who wanted to see her,” Uncle Brick lied. He knew everyone’s schedule from morning until night.

“Is that right?”

“Yes.” Uncle Brick really had no idea where Abie was. Even though she’d been given her transition package, she was still on the payroll for two more weeks.

“Well, good afternoon, ladies,” Madam Celecia said to the group.

“Good afternoon, Madam,” they all said in unison, almost sounding like a classroom full of students.

“I called this meeting because I was just notified that a conference is being held at the Richmond Convention Center tonight for Gamma Alpha Psi fraternity. The president phoned me to see if I could have a few ladies available this evening. I figured I’d give him everyone, since nobody was scheduled to work today. Rachida, have you talked to Abie this afternoon?” All eyes turned to Rachida.

“Uh, no, Madam, not this afternoon. I spoke with her earlier this morning,” Rachida lied.

“Okay, no worries. I was going to give her the president of the Virginia chapter as a client, but since she’s not there, you can have the honors. The men will be finishing their meeting at
the Convention Center around seven p.m., after which they plan to have dinner. They’d like you all to meet them at the Doubletree Hotel near the airport at ten p.m. for drinks. Brick will give you your assignments. These men pay very well, and they’re gentlemen, so I want you all to treat them as such. I know a few of them will be flying out early in the morning, so you may not have to do a long shift. Since you’re all going to the same location, you can carpool. Keep an eye out for each other, and make sure you touch base with me throughout the evening via text. Any questions?”

“Madam, what if Abie shows up? Do you want me to send her over there or does she just take it as a loss?” Uncle Brick asked.

“She’ll have to sit this one out, Brick. Any more questions?”

The women whispered to one another about being able to work together. They always felt safer when they worked in the same location. Besides, they’d be able to drink and socialize together too.

“Okay, I’ll take that as a no. Brick has your packages. Have fun tonight, ladies.”

Uncle Brick pressed the
END
button on the speakerphone, then handed out manila folders. Rachida hoped Uncle Brick would call her name early so she could escape without being left alone with him. As luck would have it, though, he called her name last.

“Rachida, let me holler at you for a minute.”

Rachida tried hard to keep her composure and not give anything away. She knew what Uncle Brick was going to ask her.

“Tell me the truth. Where’s Abie?”

“I don’t know where Abie is.”

“Rachida, you and Abie are best friends, roommates, as close as they come. You mean to tell me she didn’t mention to you where she might be going today?”

Rachida shook her head. She couldn’t stop looking down at the
manila folder she was holding, constantly tearing at the corner out of nervousness.

“If I find out you’re lying to me, you know I could get you kicked out, don’t you?” He stood there, giving Rachida a chance to confess, but she wouldn’t take it.

She looked up at him. She didn’t like his threat, but she wouldn’t give up her friend, no matter what. “I told you, I don’t know where she is.” Her heart was beating so hard she was sure he could hear it.

“Well, if you hear from Abie anytime soon, have her call me, okay?”

“Okay,” Rachida answered. She turned on her heel so fast she almost knocked over a plant that sat on a table in the foyer. She took the steps two at a time up to the second floor, passing several closed doors until she reached the room she shared with Abie. Out of habit, she locked the door behind her and pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She sent a text message to Abie.

Rachida erased the text messages and relaxed a bit since it seemed like Abie had gotten where she needed to be and would be on her way to her destination soon. What she couldn’t understand was why Abie was running away from everything. She took her mind off Abie for a moment and concentrated on getting ready for her client.

“J
ust stand right there. I want to look at you,” Mr. Gamma Alpha Psi President, aka Eric Bosh, told Rachida. He’d had his share of Courvoisier, just as Rachida had had her share of apple martinis at the bar in the lobby. Now she stood naked in the doorway that connected the bathroom to the bedroom of Eric’s hotel room at the Doubletree. He was lying on his side staring at her while stroking his dick.

“Now turn around and bend over so I can look at your ass.” Rachida did as she was told, bending over and wiggling her ass at the same time. She was still wearing her stilettos, and with her legs spread apart, she grabbed both ankles so her ass was up in the air and Eric had a full back view of her pussy. He got even more excited and stroked his dick harder and faster. Rachida had been there for almost an hour and they still hadn’t fucked. Everything with him was visual. This was probably the first time she’d ever had a customer who got excited just by looking at and touching her body. Eric moaned from his own touch and gave Rachida more demands, which she followed with no problem. To her it felt more like a game than work, so she was happy to oblige.