BOMAW Vol. 10-12 (162 page)

Putting her phone back to her ear, "My grandfather was talking to me about something - can't carry but one conversation at a time." She informed him, watching Oscar T. prepare to leave, she hoped to ask him for a bit more money, she'd almost gone through the money he'd already given her. She was barely paying attention to what Max was saying struggling as she was to get Oscar T. to stop and wait on her. He was out the door of the place he'd given her a key to, saying not a word to her, nor offering any more money. She wanted to be done with Max - Oscar T. was where the money was - and because he wasn't a bad looking man, with a certain way and look about him, it wasn't hard being his mistress.

"Fuck this! I'm 'bout to hang up this fuckin' phone! I'on know what the hell you got going on where you at-..."

His words snapped her back to paying him attention, "I'm lookin' for Lil'Kenny butt!"

"Quit lyin', you 'bout up in some other nigga's house! If that's the case, just say it - hell I know how to delete!"

"Calm down, I'll be on my way - give me a bit."

"Screw that, I'm on my way there!"

"Wait!"

He clicked the phone off.

"Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit! He on his damn way to my grandfather's house!" She panicked rushing from the bed. Oscar T. had left without a word to her, now she had to hustle back home before Max got there. In the bathroom, she didn't have time to shower so cleaned herself up quickly as she phoned herself a taxi at the same time.

Maxwell made it to her grandfather's house in record time. Stepping into the door opened by her grandfather, Mr. Reynolds, he was not surprised to hear that she was not home, hadn't been home most of the day. Playing it off, Max explained that she was on her way and went into her room to wait for her. Closing the door, while in there, he started going through her things, hitting the dresser first, he noticed a variety of things that looked new. Most of all however, sitting on her dresser was a bottle of perfume that was very familiar to him. He lifted it to his nose, taking a light whiff of it; immediately the scent startled him - taking him back, way back to when he was a young boy, trigging various snapshots of images that all surrounded his mother. His mother and this scent - after she showered, getting dressed, they could smell this fragrance coming from her room.

He stood gazing at the bottle, trying to figure the coincidence out? If he was right, it was a very expensive perfume - not something he figured Moniqua could afford, or would know about. Standing before her dresser - he stared at himself long and hard in the mirror - suddenly the man staring back at him, was his father. He blinked, shook it off and set the bottle down. He moved her other smaller, cheaper perfumes aside, noticing the corner of a large envelope under her vanity tray, lifting it slightly, he pulled the envelope out. It was from the fotomat where she claimed she'd worked part time a couple of weeks back. He opened it and looked inside, pulling out a lone picture of his brother and mother, "What the...? The hell she doin' with this?" He asked himself, but only took a moment to realize the picture was one of those that had been sitting on his entertainment center, along with other photos - such as the picture of his mother, and another picture with him and his mother.

"What you doin'?!" Moniqua suddenly opened her bedroom door, in time to see him looking at her photos.

Max's eyes lifted from the picture, narrowed, growing sharper and more angry as all the pieces fell into place. "You tell me, what the hell you doin' wit' this picture of my brother and mother? Huh?"

Moniqua's eyes showed the whites all the way around, swallowing - caught, she didn't know exactly what to say. Max looked back into the envelope to see a slip receipt inside, he reached in for it and Moniqua tried to grab it from him, "You betta' get the fuck back!" He bit out snatching it out of her reach.

"That was in my room - you got no right-..."

"This was in my goddamn house! One of my fuckin' possessions! You stole my pictures!" He looked from her at the sheet, which showed there had been 4 prints done and the sizes they were made to and the cost. He looked from the receipt at her, eyes blazing, "Where the other's at? Huh? Where the other three pictures - greedy ass bitch! I should kick yo' motha'fuckin' ass! You sold my pictures to him - didn't you? Huh? Man you ain't shit! I aught'ah beat the fuck out'ah you up in here! You sold my fuckin' mother's pictures to him?"

Mr Reynolds and Lil'Kenny could hear him raging from the other room and came to the door, looking in.

"I'on want no shit up in here - I ain't gone have it. Take that shit outside!" He fussed.

"No! He needs to get the hell up out'ah this house! I want you to just go!"

"I ain't goin' no fuckin' where until you answer me goddamit! You sell my mama's pictures to that-..."

"Yo' mama dead!" She screamed at him, "I'm alive! I needed that damn money-..."

Max slapped her so hard it knocked her to the floor and went to hit her again, "GET OFF MY MAMA! GET OFF MY MAMA!" Lil'Kenny rushed between them covering his mother as she lay on the floor sobbing, holding her throbbing cheek, too scared to try and defend herself, he had never hit her before - never been this angry with her.

"You ain't shit!" He spat at her, "Two bit piece'o'ho'! And you ain't even good at that! A slut for anybody with the bigger dollar! Stupid bitch! Some how, some way, that shit gone come back on yo'ass too!"

"Boy you gone leave o'I'mo have to call the po-lice?" Mr Reynolds stood his ground, looking from his sobbing granddaughter and son, to Max.

"I'mo leave, and I'm gone tell you now Mr Reynolds, you ain't never got to worry about seeing this nigga here again!"

"GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!!" She screamed from the floor.

He psyched her and them out, balling up his fist as if to go for her, "Say something else bitch! I'll beat yo'ass around yo'own son! You ain't shit! You raisin' him, he ain't gone be shit! Boy - run away from home, you better off out there, than being raised by a two bit hookin' street tramp! I almost spit on you, but you ain't even worth that!"

"Gone man, leave my mama alone!" Lil'Kenny was almost in tears.

Max shook his head and turned away, storming past her grandfather and out the door. Leaping into his car, he didn't feel he could get away from there fast enough - as his pealing tires indicated. He drove too fast, speeding and realized he needed to chill before he was pulled over. While he shouldn't have been surprised, he still couldn't get over that she'd gone so far to get money from Oscar T. his father. The moment his back was turned, she no doubt got a hold of those photos and couldn't wait to get paid. He wondered how much he gave her for them? As he drove, he also suspected that was the reason she had so little time for him lately, no doubt, she was prostituting herself with him, was probably with him when he'd called her, maybe in bed with him that very moment. His existence was proof enough that Oscar had a taste for black women, so it wasn't a stretch to see that she was no doubt casting her net for the really big fish. "Scuzzy, nasty, bitch - what the fuck am I doing? This shit is gettin' old - too quick!" Thinking over her deed he wished he could report her, but the L.A.P.D could give a flying damn about him, his property, or his mother.

He drove around for a while until he finally ended up at Wherrington Manor. At the gate, first time he'd gone there ever in his adult life, he rang the buzzer - it was soon answered by the butler.

"Who are you here to see please?"

"Oscar T. Wherrington, tell him - Maxwell - Franklin is here to see him." He groused.

"I'm sorry sir, Mr. Franklin, he is not in at the moment. May I leave him a message?"

"Yeah, the message is, to stay the fuck - out of my life! Sick prick!" Slamming back into his car, Max took off in search of his crew. Arriving at the park where they were known to hang out - he found only a few on hand.

Since the shooting, he'd tapered off a bit, and now - due to free hands, he sought them out once again. Parking, he noticed Big Mac's - Mack truck parked among a couple of other vehicles. Stepping from his ride, his blonde tipped afro standing out full around his head, bouncing with his stride towards them, with smooth ease, he had his hand up to slap and do their shake of greeting, "Whassup, Mad Max - long time dawg." Big Mac was the first to speak to him, smiling, happy to see him again. Two other guys standing near did the same. In their midst, sat Shorty, or Chaka - the only name she was willing to share with those she hung with.

His eyes going to her, he spoke to them collectively, "Aye, I know, life and crazy shit right?" He spoke, and next, to her because she'd turned to look elsewhere instead of at him. "Shorty, aye girl, you'on know how t'speak? When you gon' make some new friends, women friends?"

Her head rolled around to him to inform him, "Nigga' I ain't gay - what the hell I'm gone do 'round a bunch gossiping ass women?"

"Ah, so you knockin' the crew o'what?"

"As if! I do have my standards! This is just a learnin' curve, studying of a species! When my day comes, the man that gets me, gone have to be special! Respectful, about something other than a forty-ounce..." which Max happened to be holding, about to unscrew the cap of, her eyes went directly to it as she finished, "...a full time job, educated and cherishing me because I deserve the best! So I'm saving myself, for him - whomever he may be."

All four men looked at her as if she'd grown a horn.

"Savin' yo'self?" One of the guys, Reggie asked, his eyes darting to the other men present.

"Quit lyin', savin' yo'self!" Squeaky scoffed, named because of his voice.

"For what?" Max asked, "What you mean, savin' yo'self? What you savin'?"

She crossed her arms over her small breasts, rolling her eyes to the sky shaking her head, "That's for me to know, and that special somebody, to find out."

"What he gone find out?" Big Mac asked, trying not to laugh, his forty-ounce on the way to his mouth.

"Yeah, what he gone get, that ain't been got already?" Reggie asked, winking humorously to the others.

"He gone get - me." She answered simply, "All - to himself - just a matter of time, before I know who he is."

They all stared - each wondering was she saying what they thought she might be saying? Surely not - the word between them had always been that she was gay, but now, with the earlier disclosure along with this added mystery, they weren't sure what exactly it was they were hearing. It was clear, that either they'd been wrong about her, major wrong, or she was lying through her teeth.

"Ah - excu-u-use me? Is there a reason ya'll staring at me?"

"Damn skippy, what the hell you sayin'? Fuck the mystery shit, ain't no Sherlock Holmes, spit it out goddammit!" Reggie mumbled, growing impatient.

"Fine, when I get married, I will be wearing white, as it will be my right, to do so." She stated emphatically.

"A virgin? That what you sayin'?" Squeaky asked for clarification.

"If you must know, yes - why is that so hard to believe?"

"Yous a goddamn lie! Get the fuck out'ah here! Don' lost yo'damn min' - thank we stupid?" Reggie protested.

"Yeah, I do!" She fired back.

"Man that shit be over fo' most hit 15, at the goddamn latest, shit - what you tryin'!? 'Specially on a black woman, ya'll can't hold ya'll shit - too goddamn dick hungry!"

Chaka sat growing angry by the moment, her mood was already sparked off by the sudden appearance of Max, "You know what, shitty smitty, it's screwed up disrespect like that - the reason the world think we all have no morals - no class - no dignity or sense of value. Thinkin' all of us are the same, that all we want is one of ya'll simple asses to roll up to give us a ride. We ain't all like that, shit for brains! I'm a strong - educated black woman - who knows what the hell I like - and what the hell I want - and who the hell is not - gone screw me over! I like cars - I like to shoot the shit - and I wanna connect and understand some things, but that don't make me no common piece of ass - just to be used and passed around - then talked to and treated like shit! Up until now, I use to like ya'll ass - now - you can all kiss my ass - second thought, I don't think so, you not worthy! I'm out'ah here!" She stepped down from sitting on the higher back of the bench, carefully grabbing her walking cane, because she still struggled with her injuries from the shooting, having a limp since.

"Come on Shorty, don't get all worked up, you ain't got to go." Big Mac called to her.

She threw her hand up behind her, giving them the finger.

They stood and watched her hobbling away, her left leg gave her the most problems, having her knee cap just about shattered from being shot as well other injuries to her hip and thigh, she would probably never walk normally again - but at least she was no longer on crutches - she was happy for that improvement due to her physical therapy.

Max stood watching her leave and without warning, set his beer down and took off trotting to catch up to her. All three of the guys looked at each other, nodding their heads, "He in like Flynn after that shit." Reggie muttered making faces as if already knowing the outcome.

"Slo'up woman, why you all mad?" Max started right away, coming up behind her.

"Go back to yo'crew - leave me the hell alone." Shorty grumbled.

"You know you my girl - why you all upset, what I do to you?"

"Do you not have something better to do? Where's Moniqua?"

"That's dead, fuck Moniqua - kicked her ass to the curb - she ain't shit!"

"Imagine that? You been to Oz, seen the Wizard o'somethin'?" She asked smartly.

"What the hell tha's suppose to mean?"

"I been down to see the Wizard, I fin'ly got a brain." She sang sarcastically.

Max laughed, "Tha's wrong, you know that's wrong." He grinned.

"Go away Max - if I remember correctly, you've broken up with her before, and went right back."

"Not this time! It's over for good - she ain't nothing but a money ho' - simple as that. That's her god, that's what she worship and adore, now she - is exactly what the world thinks you all are - so, you know, that's that - goodbye, good goddamn riddance. 'Sides, she wasn't nothing but a piece of ass no way."