No Ordinary Love (3 page)

Catrina hugged herself close as she walked up 20
^th
Street to David’s mother’s house. She’d tell him, and then they would break the news to her parents together. It was something Catrina was scared to death of. Neither Catima nor Terry Price were the accepting type. Both were working professionals, classic over achievers, and faithful Christians who strived for perfection.

Catrina knew they would be devastated. They’d also be disappointed; endlessly disappointed as their family had just gotten over the scandal of her cousin, Chantel having a baby with David’s younger brother Chris. The sting of that betrayal of their trust still fresh, Catrina tried to think of something else but couldn’t. She felt certain they’d give her a speech on what being the oldest child meant and how important it was to set positive examples for her younger sister and brother; that she was supposed to be patient and a faithful servant of God. She figured they would also chastise themselves for allowing her too much freedom, wishing that they’d hurry up and save enough money to build that house in the surrounding suburb of Montgomery County.

David’s mother, Tyshina would be more understanding, Catrina assumed. Tyshina Johnson was the single mother of David and Chris who had started out as a teenage parent herself. She had struggled on welfare for many years before securing a job with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania as a clerk for one of the county’s welfare offices. The struggles David had seen his mother go through were something he kept fresh as a memory to fuel his ambitions in life, Catrina knew. The rationale of being able to help keep his mother’s lights on fed his desire to participate in the sale and distribution of drugs.

‘
I want the money, money, money
’, she could hear David saying. It was fast money David and his friends wanted but until Tommy’s death none of them realized that it, like everything in life, had a price.

Catrina’s parents had always taught her that the steady stream of income was always going to be more profitable than any splash in a pond. In other words; to her mind’s thinking they’d meant that honest money lasted longer than a dollar earned hustling. Her thoughts on the longevity of selling drugs were something she constantly shared with David. Catrina had learned early, that type of life did not provide means for retirement, medical or social security benefits after death or disability. She did however accept what he did momentarily, hoping that his present would not be his future. There would be no way she’d be able to share hers with him if it was. Armed with that knowledge, she did what she could to ensure that David’s life would be different. Catrina felt she had to, she couldn’t imagine her life without him.

The two of them had spent countless summer nights on movie and dinner dates, cuddling within the halls of the mansion, taking long walks along Penn’s Landing docks, and lounging on the grass at the Belmont Plateau discussing their dreams for a future together. None of those dreams included them becoming teenage parents themselves.

David was currently in his sophomore year of college at Temple University majoring in finance, while she was still in the eleventh grade at William Penn H.S. with serious intentions of earning a full paid scholarship to attend Howard University in Washington DC.

The thought that on one of those lazy nights in his campus dorm room they’d created a baby brought tears to her eyes. Catrina had no clue about the journey that they were about to embark upon. She was however certain that when you made life plans; that you needed to plan for detours. In some cases no routes were complete without at least one detour.

Shaking her head to clear it for one coherent thought to pass through it at a time, Catrina realized there were too many thoughts to count or file neatly in their place. She gave up trying and continued her journey down the cracked concrete sidewalks of 20
^th
St.

A friend called out to her from across the street to find out if she wanted to join her and some other girls for a game of double-dutch jump rope. Catrina declined as she side-stepped the little children out playing in front of their doors as they crossed in front of her path. She listened to mothers yelling at their children for going too far, or doing something they had no business doing, some yelling just to yell. This street was not unlike any other at the close of summer and beginning of fall.

Catrina sniffled as she thought of new seasons and reached down into her pocket for a napkin. The thought of crying when she reached David was as unattractive as the action. When she looked further down the street, she saw David’s brother, Chris running up the street toward their house. Catrina walked a little faster so she wouldn’t have to knock when she reached the door.

“Chris,” she called

After spotting her, he stopped in his tracks and passed his house. “Yo, wis up, Trina?”

“Dave here?” She’d hate to have to walk the six blocks to his dorm room on Temple’s campus. She knew that he had two morning classes but the majority of time he could be found at his mom’s during midday.

Chris shook his head. “Naw, he ain’t stop through today. I think he workin’ on a paper or something he was saying.”

“Shit, let me page him from inside, and when he call back you can tell him to call me at home,” she asked.

He frowned. “I’ll do it for you. Go head home. Tell Chantel I’ll be up a little later,” he said quickly.

Too quick
, Catrina thought— then wondered if he was trying to get rid of her. She nodded in agreement.
He better not be being sneaky,
She thought.

“Tell him it’s important,” she said instead of the questions she was burning to ask.

“All right,” Chris said as she turned to walk away.

Catrina looked back and found him staring at her. “Bye,” she said with a wave as she waited for him to go inside the house. She shook her head. He was probably spying to make sure that she wouldn’t talk to any of the guys on the corner, she figured. Like she was stupid. David would probably kick her ass, if she even thought about it. Thoughts of her with another man would invite his violent side. Just as it would hers vice versa.

Then she saw David and Catrina’s heart sank. All six foot three inches of him, was there coming out of the house as he pulled on some short, thick, light skinned bitch. David, her man, the father of the child that lay resting in her womb, was smiling down at another girl, and she was looking up at him all wide-eyed. There was no mistaking that look, hadn’t she herself looked at him that way millions of times?

Catrina’s eyes watered instantly as she watched Chris murmur something to David. David looked straight into Catrina’s watery eyes and let the girl’s hand go. Her heart began to beat wildly in her chest, and drum in her ears. She laughed it off, and swiped the tears away.

No nigga gonna play me for a fool
, she thought. Holding her head high when she wanted to lower it and run, she strutted her way back down the street towards him.
With all the red haze in front of her eyes, Catrina barely noticed David send the girl in the house or the fact that he was now walking towards her. She felt like breaking something, preferably his jaw.

Balling her fist up, Catrina took a swing at David when she thought she was close enough to his face. She missed, and was furious when he caught her arm and pulled her to the wall of an abandoned house.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch me,” she yelled at him, yanking her arm away.

Catrina shook her head when he said, “Bey, it’s not what you’re thinkin’.”

“How could you do this to me?” She hated the humiliating plea before it left her lips. Catrina was so sure she couldn’t move. It felt as if her legs weighed a hundred pounds each. There were words coming from his lips, but she was in a place beyond hearing. She pushed him away from her and began walking.

David pulled her arm. “Bey, let’s go in the house—” David didn’t care that he’d sent the girl in there.

“Don’t fuckin’ touch me!!” she yelled.

“Would you fuckin’ listen?” he pleaded trying to hold her still.

“Don’t ever try to touch me again! Stupid Nigga,” she raged, successful this time in pulling away from him.

“Trina!” David called after her.

Catrina continued to walk, ignoring him. But it hurt. Huge tears dropped from her eyes and hit her cheeks with impact.

Nyimah was standing in her doorway when Catrina walked pass her house. She was smiling, of course.

Smug bitch,
Catrina thought.
She better have the good sense not to say anything to me
.

She didn’t.

“Ummm Hmm. Niggas ain’t shit. Is dey, girl?” Nyimah laughed.

“How about you go ask your man?” Catrina flipped.

“Naw, it’s cool. I think Dave is example enough,” she laughed louder holding her stomach.

Catrina didn’t give her the satisfaction of an argument. She called Nyimah a bitch and kept going with tears in her eyes and a broken heart in her chest. The disappointment more apparent when she realized that he hadn’t followed her to the corner.

Chapter Two

Full of Decisions

The Meeting

The comfort of Daemon’s kitchen had always been their secure meeting place. Serena always seemed to be off assisting with some after school program or church event that gave Daemon a large amount of freedom to do as he pleased.

Two weeks had passed since Tommy’s funeral when Daemon, David, and Tyree decided that something needed to be done in the near future to ensure that what happened to him would never happen to them. They’d been given the opportunity to make a few extra dollars selling marijuana when they were fifteen. That led to selling cocaine and prescription drugs. In their neighborhood the four of them had gotten the reputation as the school boys. Except these school boys were the ones other school boys didn’t want to be caught alone with in the hall after the bell rang.

They all had their duties within their small group. Daemon had the connection, it was his cousin Dametrius who they worked for. David handled all the money. Tyree was the muscle and location man; he was the only one of them to have his own place, they put the product together there. Tommy had been their daytime dealer since dropping out of Temple University his freshman year with no intention of going back. They all graduated from high school and the remaining three were attending college for various interests.

“So you saying that you’n wanna sell no more?” David questioned after Daemon suggested that they stay off the streets and hire some younger guys to place on their three block stretch of 20
^th
St between Dauphin and Norris.

“He’s saying that if we gon’ stay with this drug shit we run our own block,” Tyree explained. “This time it won’t be the mills, for me and I ain’t wit’ that jail shit.” At the age of fifteen Tyree had been sentenced to complete a year at Glen Mills; a Pennsylvania reform school for boys referred by the court system. Since then he made it his business to not get caught doing anything to send him back into the justice system of the Commonwealth.

Daemon smiled. “Thanks for the reminder, Ty.”

“I’m saying it’s a good idea. We all in school and we get to a couple dollars sellin’ weed, pills and coke but we don’t got time like we used to. Tommy was our day man and now that he’s gone one of us would have to do it. And I’m figuring that this corner shit is old and beneath us.”

“So we invest,” David finished. He could see it now. Thinking in numbers was his niche, so the thought of investing easily appealed to his senses.

“Simply put,” Daemon responded, tipping his bottled water to his lips. “I talked to Meat and he said as long as we ain’t bullshitin’ he’s willing to give up the block to us for a small percentage of the profit.” He could feel their disapproving stares.

Daemon tipped his water bottle to David. “You can go over some of the numbers, but I’m trying to negotiate the block as a gift. But the way I see it, in about five years we can drop this shit all together. All we gotta do is pour our money into this little project and invest some in stock. You could find something for us that’s a sure thing, right?” he asked David.

David nodded. “You know that’s right.” His academic advisor and professor had an investment program for students that had been yielding record returns for the past eight quarters. David smiled as he went over the figures in his head. He’d had plans on investing his own money, but now their pooled money offered greater returns.

“I got a couple young boahs I trust that we can put on,” Tyree murmured thinking about the desperate teens he knew who wished they could break into the drug game.

“Y’all down?” Daemon questioned. Tyree smiled. “Yeah.” He turned to David who had his own smile.

Having made one of the most important decisions in their lives, they all sat back and assessed what the changes of becoming investors would bring to their lives. There would be no more alternating late night shifts on the corner. They would have more time to dedicate to their studying and personal loves. There would be more money to spend on their desires and to spread around to their families.

“So, how is Case doin’?” Tyree asked. He hadn’t seen her for a couple days.

“She’s okay. Been hanging out with Trina and Bri. You know how tight they all are so they keep her pretty much together. I be tryna be there for her but it’s hard.” Daemon winced as he thought of his arising interest in Casey. Those new set of feelings were currently being assessed by him, because it unsettled Daemon that they were anything other than brotherly. Up until recently Daemon viewed her as a relative with the faint knowledge that she was not. It was that faint knowledge that kept his mind wondering to thoughts of her being more than the little sister.

“I saw her in the mall with her boyfriend the other day. He treatin’ her nice. She had a pile of shopping bags.”

Daemon scratched his head, “Wit’ who?” He asked disturbed. To his knowledge she didn’t have a boyfriend. Now that he’d thought about it, she had been spending a lot of time on the telephone with guys from the neighborhood.

“The young boah Curt from 16
^th
St.. You better watch her with that one. That nigga sweet talkin’ more girls on their backs than a little bit.” David laughed and tapped Tyree’s arm.