Faces of the Game (17 page)

“I told you I was going to beat you here, lunch is on you I won!”  Chelle said joking with Ash as she walked towards the table.  They always met at a restaurant in Downtown Winston-Salem, NC.  It was very nice, laid back and classy yet casual.  They sat at a window table where they could view the skyline and look down at the cars driving by.  They both looked cute, and they had a lot to discuss.  The best thing about it, the restaurant didn’t typically open the top floor until later but they knew Chelle and Ash were good tipping regular customers, and they always made an exception for them.  “First and foremost, let’s trade trac-phones.  I’ll let him know if he calls, but you have to make your tracks make sense sis.”  Ash said knowing the code and making sure not to say but so much she just nodded her head.  “So you know where I’m going this weekend right?” Chelle asked.  “Of course, and you know I’m going to VA with him this weekend right?”  They both busted out into laughter as they had just told each other the complete opposite over the phone.  “Girl we are going to the beach in VA, you know just to get away and whatever else he has to do.”  Chelle just shook her head, “sis sometimes I question myself, like is all of this really worth it?”  “I know girl, you just have to roll with the punches.”  Ash responded.

“Here is your food ladies, one chicken salad croissant with no tomatoes and fruit salad on the side, one with chips.”  The waitress politely interrupted their conversation.  She filled the glasses of water and placed fresh lemon on a saucer beside the cold grey tin pitcher of water.  “You can take that we probably won’t need any more water.”  Ash said with a slight giggle to let the waitress know she wasn’t being rude.  “Who wants a big pitcher of water on the table?”  Ash said after the waitress left.  Chelle shook her head and bowed her head to pray before eating her food.  They both started eating and continued their conversation.  The sun was shining, lunch on the skyline of Winston-Salem, NC was dope and low key.  The two were semi-paranoid, they only talked about school and shopping over the phone so they made an appoint to have lunch often. “Oh here,” Chelle handed her trac-phone to Ash and vice versa, they swapped out phones for the weekend.  “So, when do you think you’ll be back?”  “Probably in like two days, you?”  “Girl tomorrow morning” Ash said laughing.  “In and out, in and out” Chelle said laughing too.  They often made jokes about the lifestyles they found themselves living, but often times they were worried and hopeful.  What’s understood doesn’t have to be discussed, the two saw eye-to-eye in a lot of situations often with little or no verbal communication.

              Chelle slid on her Gucci Sunglasses and turned the music up a few notches as she cruised Highway 85 South.  She thought about stopping in Gaffney, SC she loved the outlet mall there but she decided to stay on the highway, she knew she was saving time and money.  Her mind raced, final exams in school were coming up her boyfriend was all over the map running from the Fed’s and everyone seemed to have a situation that called for her attention.  She decided to call Tera from the trac-phone; she blocked the number to minimize the questioning.  “Hello?”  Tera answered the phone defensive yet inquisitive.  “What’s up cuz?”  “Nothing, why you call me from a blocked number?”  “Girl this little raggedy phone, what you doing?”  Chelle asked not wanting to waste too much time talking about the damn telephone number and why it was blocked.  “Girl why ole boy asked me if you got weight.”  Chelle’s heart dropped and swam in her stomach; she got very quiet and listened to every word Tera uttered thereafter.  “He said he heard you had it for the low, I think ummmm fat boy or somebody told him that shit man I don’t know.”  “Word, so why did he ask you that?  Do you think he said something to Chip?”  “Girl I don’t know, he was interested like a mother fucker, what you want me to tell him?”  “Shit, tell him what you want to tell him.”  Chelle was so stressed out, she didn’t know how to answer that damn question, and at this point she didn’t know what to say and who to say it to.  She didn’t know how to say things that she wanted to say without stumbling so she decided to be a bit more silent in every conversation.  After all, silence is golden.

              “Hey baby, how was the trip?”  Chip asked as Chelle walked into the kitchen from the garage.  She looked at everything around her and reminded herself that all good things come to an end.  “It was painless babe, what are we doing tonight?”   Chip leaned forward and gave her a huge hug, kissed her on the forehead and grabbed her keys.  “Bag in the trunk?”  He asked as he walked towards the door.  “Yeah,” she walked into the living room and sat on the couch.  As she kicked her shoes off she admired the living room, she wished that they lived comfortably she loved the luxurious townhome in Georgia.  It was beautiful, ducked off and everything seemed so perfect.  “Phipps is the move in the morning, I know you want to go shopping.”  He placed her overnight bag on the floor beside the loveseat.  “No, I just want to spend quality time with you babe.”  Chelle smiled at him, but her smile hid hundreds of tears.  She was happy to have someone so real by her side, but sad to have him living on the edge.  “You hear that?”  Chip asked in a paranoid tone as he took his thumb and index finger and peeped through the blinds in the living room.  “What the helicopters?  Boy, if you don’t sit down some damn where.”  Chelle was not in the mood for Chip’s paranoia, she was already jittery enough. 
He scared of a damn helicopter, but he want to hang out tomorrow in broad daylight at the mall?  This fool is crazy.
  She thought to herself.  He decided to try to stay calm, he didn’t want to piss Chelle off and he realized that he needed to be as calm as possible and enjoy each day.  He actually felt like he could make it 7 years without getting caught, and he was told that if he went that long without getting caught, there was nothing they could do to him.  The warrant at that time would be invalid…

Holiday Season

              Chelle booked it from Georgia to North Carolina checking her rear view mirror constantly, and observing the exit ramps.  Cops usually hide on the side of the road, in the median of the highway, and on the ramps that exit or enter the highway.  She was skilled to make the drive and knew where each hot spot was along the highway.  She was so good, she could point out the make and model of damn near any car on the road.  Undercover Cops drove Chevy Tahoe’s, Dodge Chargers, and on occasion they drove anything else that didn’t look suspicious.  The difference was, they were allowed to have tint as dark as they wanted, sometimes there would be longer than normal antennas on the front or back left or right side of the car; and police lights were even detectible in the rear windows of cars sometimes.  Roadrunner duties and wisdom taught her this technique.

              “Meet me somewhere sis, you want me to come to Winston or you want to come to Greensboro?”  Chelle said into the receiver as Ash answered the cell phone.  “I’ll just come over” Ash said right before hanging up, the cell phone was going dead.  Chelle pulled into the apartment complex where she lived and backed her car in the parking spot she usually parked at.  Chelle glanced at the parking lot and realized Ash hadn’t got there yet, she popped the trunk and got her overnight bag. 
I can’t deal with this Lord, please help me cope with everything going on around me…
(Tears fell onto her jacket
).  Chelle kneeled down at the edge of her couch and continued praying.  Lord, please help Chip to make the best decisions in this situation.  Please allow me to keep my freedom, please protect me from all mishaps oh Lord save me from the wrongdoing that I have done.  Save Chip, Lord protect his children and his loved ones in this time of struggle.  God, please grant me serenity… In your name, I pray – Amen. 
Chelle slid onto the floor and wiped her face.  She was told once that if you pray don’t worry and if you’re going to worry then doesn’t pray.  She decided to let go and let God take control of her worries.  Chelle gazed out of the bay window in her living room, the stars shined awfully bright.  She had a gut feeling that everything was going to be fine. 
Knock, knock, knock… 
Chelle’s heart skipped a beat, she remembered that Ash was on her way, she opened the door “Girl you scared the shit out of me.”  She walked over to the couch and sat down.  “Why are your eyes so red?”  Ash asked as she sat on the bar stool that sat in front of the kitchen bar.  “Girl I had a little talk with Jesus.”  Chelle said as she smiled a little.  “Oh, here” Chelle grabbed the trac-phone in her messenger bag and handed it to Ash, Ash grabbed Chelle’s phone out of her bag.  “Girl crack the bottle of wine, we have to talk” Ash said walking over to the couch.  Chelle walked into the kitchen and searched for the wine opener.  “What’s on your mind sis?”  She asked as she screwed the wine opener into the royal blue bottle of Moscato Diasi.  “Girl, why did your cousin get locked up over the weekend?  I’m so glad he wasn’t riding dirty.”  “Wait, what?  What in the world?”  “Driving while license suspended.”  Chelle had a long sigh of relief.  “Girl what is wrong with him?  How did he get caught and how long did he stay?  Girl what did they try to say to him?  I know they harassed the hell out of him.”  Chelle wanted to know all the details Ash had.  She filled the small Remy signature glasses almost to the rim and walked into the living room, “spill the beans, here girl.”  She handed one of the glasses to Ash.  “Well, he was in the Cadillac of course.  Anyway, he was speeding and got pulled over.  They cuffed him off gate, and searched the car without asking if they could.”  Chelle interrupted, “I wonder if he can file a complaint for harassment, they are always suppose to ask if they can search the car or present a warrant.”  Ash continued, “Let me finish girl”.  “Los swears he wasn’t speeding, but I can’t say if he was or wasn’t either way the Lac is hot now.  So, after they searched the car and didn’t find anything they said the car smelled like weed so they threw a little ticket on top of everything else for ‘suspicion of marijuana’.  Anyway, since he was driving without license he was locked up on a five thousand dollar bond.  It was only five-hundred dollars to get him out but who wants to deal with that?  (Ash took a sip of wine)  I don’t have time for his foolishness, that car is in my name for one and I was scared to death, I didn’t know why the heck he was in there.  Not to mention, I could have bought my books for next semester with that five.”  Ash was aggravated and stressed out.  “Well, we have finals coming up so I don’t think you need to spend too much time worrying about it.  He didn’t stay in there; just tell him he can’t just drive any and everywhere.  Where was he anyway?”  “Girl, where do you think!?  The East Side of course, so now they know that car on top of his truck.”  “Oh gosh, so now what?  You know he won't stay away from that side of town.”  “Girl I know.”  They both took a few moments to sip on their wine and mentally ponder on their personal situations.  “So how is bruh?”  Ash asked Chelle changing the subject.  “Girl, he is too damn paranoid.  He pissed me off when I got there; he heard a helicopter and ducked a little bit, peeped out of the window and asked if I heard it.  Guess he thought, they were in helicopters looking for him.”  The girls busted out laughing, that added a little humor to the situations.  Los was always in petty trouble, he had already done his major time but that didn’t mean the Cops would let up.  Chip had always thought he was too slick to get caught up in anything, but now he was sleepless and living along the east coast considering himself ducking the law.  “Girl, I know y’all went shopping.”  Ash said excited to see what Chelle came back with.  “Girl I didn’t want to, I just wanted to spend time with him.  He might be in cuffs right now and not come back for a long time.  Besides, I didn’t want to go out in public.  I cooked, we drank, had fun at the house and stared into the sky while we talked about the future.”  Ash shook her head, “girl I know you are like when is it going to happen, or what’s next.”  “Girl…”  Chelle took her last swig and walked into the kitchen for another glass.  The girls sat up for hours talking, laughing, crying and the usual girl talk; their agenda had a comforting weekend closure. 

             
Thank you Lord for waking me up this morning and starting me on my day.  What should I wear? 
Chelle rolled out of bed, rubbed her eyes and walked to her closet.  She decided to wear a black fitted sweat suit by Guess, a pair of black Air Max’s, and she grabbed her little black bag.  She jumped in the shower and sang “Lovely Day” by Kirk Franklin to the top of her lungs.  As she brushed her teeth, her cell phone rang it was Neese.  “Hey boo!”  She said into the phone right after rinsing her mouth out.  “Hey girl, what are you doing’?”  Neese sounded like she had something important to talk about.  “You straight?  Everything alright?”  Chelle asked a concerned Neese.  “Girl why yo Aunt Nettie called my momma and said she heard you was dealing.”  “Whaaaat, girl she crazy.  Anyway, what you doing this weekend?  We need to go Christmas shopping.”  Chelle replied as if she could care less about what her Aunts, Cousins, or anyone else had to say.  She was tired of the rumors, gossip and salt being thrown her way.  Her family was notorious for gossiping and her Aunt Nettie was the gossip Queen!  “Girl I don’t have any money, I just paid my bills.  I don’t know what to get my Momma and my Daddy said he doesn’t want anything, but I have to get him something.”  Neese said wanting to get back to the subject, but realizing that it wasn’t going to happen.  “Girl, I don’t know what I’m getting anybody but I think I’m going to play Ms. Clause this year.”  Chelle said as she giggled, placed Neese on speaker phone and slid her t-shirt on.  “Girl I know KaKae said she wants a polo coat she saw at Dillard’s, maybe we can go half on it, I think it’s one-nineteen.”  Neese said as she kicked her feet up on the foot rest in her living room.  “What’s that sixty a piece?  Yeah, we got her out of the way.  We can take her to the nail salon with us too.  She loves that shit.”  Chelle said laughing.  Their little cousin, Nettie’s daughter was a mess, she always wanted to trot behind them, and even though she was 10 and 12 years younger than Chelle and Neese; she could hang almost as tough as the two of them.  “Yep, her little grown ass.”  Neese added as the two thought about how mature their little cousin was.  “Well girl, I will call you later let me know what you want to do about hitting’ some of these NC malls this weekend.”  “Alright, bet.”  The girls hung up and Chelle proceeded to walk out of the house for class.  She noticed a car that she didn’t usually see in the parking lot, she immediately studied the vehicle it was a white Crown Victoria.  She relaxed after she saw a young boy and a little girl with beads get out of the car. 
I need to get it together and stop worrying so much.  I get my study guides today I am so ready for this semester to be over with.
  Chelle sat in her car, slid her sunglasses on and cranked it up. 
Gosh it’s cold today I might need a bigger coat. I’ll be fine.  I need to hurry up so I can find a good parking spot at the Student Union. 

Home for a Few

              “I’m not going home until I get my grades back, I’m excited” Chelle said, her Mother was on the other end of the phone.  “How do you think you did?”  She asked her Daughter, she was excited too.  “Girl, I think I made all A’s!”  Chelle said being silly.  “Well if you did we will have to go out to eat, it’s on me champ.”  Chelle’s Mother said being sarcastic.  “Bet!”  Chelle said, logging into her computer.  “Okay, I’m signing into Blackboard now.  My East Asia & America Relationships History class, I got a B.  Oh snap, my Public Relations Case Studies class I got an A.  My Public Speaking Class, I got an A.  My Biology class, I got a B oh well I cheated hahaha.”  Chelle giggled about that class, she knew without sitting in the back of that Auditorium she would have barely passed.  “Now Chelle, you cheated?”  Her Mother said knowing Science and Math were not her strong subjects.  “Yep” Chelle replied, scrolling down to look at the last grade.  “Oh and my Technical Writing class, an A of course.”  Chelle was very proud of herself, and her Mother was just as proud.  “Well dinner is on you, I said all A’s” her Mom said jokingly.  “Whatever boss, I’m about to pack I will see you tonight.”  Chelle said before she and her Mom hung up.  Before Chelle could walk into her bedroom, her front door swung open.  “Hey baby.”  Chip walked into the living room.  “Hey babe, where you been?”  Chelle said remembering that she hadn’t called him or told him she had made it home, it was Thursday she hadn’t talked to him since That Sunday.  “I’ve been good, the question is where the hell you been?  You couldn’t call a nigga; tell me you made it or nothing huh?”  He was crazy in his own way, but Chelle never felt threatened she just thought it was funny.  He liked her more than he would ever admit.  “Babe, you are going be so mad at me.”  Chelle said as she continued walking in her room.  “Why?  What have you done now busy body?”  Chip said in a sarcastic tone.  “No, I’m going to Winston in a few.”  “Damn, can I get a few hours or something before you go?”  “Of course.”  Chip sat on the small couch and turned the television on.  “I don’t know why you got cable, you don’t watch it.”  He said turning to Sports Center.  “I know right.”  Chelle said from her bedroom.  Chip checked the scores and went into the bedroom with Chelle.  “Hand me that brown leather duffle bag” Chelle said pointing to her closet.  Chip walked into her closet and looked around for it until he spotted it in the left corner.  He sat the duffle bag on the bed and sat in the round chair.  “I need to roll this in the living room don’t I?”  He asked Chelle.  “No, but you need to smoke in there.”  “Alright.”  Chelle started packing; she threw five pair of shoes in the bottom including two pair of stilettos, a pair of boots, a pair of air max and her Jordan flops.  Next a dress, a few pairs of jeans and shirts.  She placed her undergarments on one side, and her hair products in the other.  “I have everything else at the house.”  She said aloud.  “So, guess what!?”  Chelle couldn’t wait to tell Chip the good news.  “What’s up baby?”  He asked.  “I made three A’s and two B’s for my final grades this semester!”  Her smile was as bright as the sun, and her soft brown skin seemed to glow like the moon on a dark winter night.  Chip gazed at her for a few moments and admired her beauty; he had never dated someone so ambitious and smart.  He was proud to call her his girl, for once in his life he had met someone who made him want to do better, someone who made him want to retire and leave the street life to the youngsters.  “That’s wonderful baby, what do you want to do to celebrate?”  He asked, the sky was the limit with her especially when she had good news about grades.  “Nothing, but I did see this fly bag in Nordstrom’s.  It was a brick brown leather bag, and it had a weave design with braided handles and a tassel. Oh it was so fly, it had gold..”  “How much you need?”  Chip said laughing and interrupting Chelle, he didn’t plan on going to the mall to get it.  “I think it was four twenty-five, but I need a cute pair of shoes or two to go with it.”  Chip pulled out a wad of money and handed it to her as if he already had it counted out for her.  He knew it was time for her to get her grades back and he knew she would ace everything even if it meant doing extra work.  “Thank you!”  Chelle stretched her arms out to give him a huge hug and kiss. 
Muuuuah
.  She kissed him on the lips, she loved giving him hugs and kisses, and he loved giving them right back.  Chelle threw the loose money in her handbag and zipped her duffle bag.  She was done packing, so she threw the bag on the floor in front of the closet and sat on the bed.  “Let’s go to Outback in Burlington.”  Chip said as he walked into the living room to light the blunt.  Chelle followed him and sat on the bar stool.  “Are you sure?”  She asked.  “Yeah, I’m about to watch a little bit of the game and then I will be ready.”  “Ok, just let me know.”  Chelle grabbed the house phone and called her Mom back.  “Hey, I’m coming home early in the morning cool?”  Chelle said, making sure they weren’t doing anything special that evening.  “Ok baby, see you in the morning.”  Her Mom said, she knew Chelle was either going out or that Chip was there.  “Who was that?”  Chip asked Chelle, he knew it was either her momma or daddy he just wanted to act like he was worried.  “Why?”  Chelle said laughing, she laid across his lap facing him and he leaned forward and gave her another kiss.  Soon after, they went out for dinner and drinks, talked and had a great time.  It was like the first date every time they went out.  It was like the first time every time they’d lay down…