Push Comes to Shove (35 page)

Jewels and GP sat on her bumper, in front of his building, passing a joint back and forth.

She pushed the thick marijuana smoke through her nose. “Sticky Fingers fell off the face of the earth. Heard he crossed some official headhunters on the rob tip, too. I swear, when I find him, I’m gonna do some Chinese torture shit to him for hours before I split his watermelon.”

“Let it go. He’ll get what he has coming. Everybody does sooner or later.” He plucked the marijuana roach.

“Punk, I could’ve hit that again.”

“What you could’ve done was blistered your lips.” Five seconds passed. “Hold Kitchie and the kids down for me. I go to court next week. Vivian worked out a sweet plea bargain. I’m gonna take it.”

“I can’t take a plea. They gotta spend their money fucking with me. I’m picking twelve of my peers every time. You see what they did to Manny Cool and Limbo. I understand you gotta do what’s best for you, though.”

“When I come home, I’m gonna break down and buy you that diamond ring.”

Jewels looked at her finger. “Punk, stop faking. You’ve been selling me that dream for years. How much time are they talking?”

“Eighteen months. It’s official; tomorrow is my last day at the booth.”

“It’s fucked up. The mayor is an undercover crackhead. He be making decisions for the city with a glass dick in his mouth.”

GP sighed. “I’m not surprised by nothing anymore. You had something to do with Mr. Reynolds’s death, didn’t you?”

Her brows furrowed. The marijuana made her feel good. “What makes you say that?”

“You saying that you didn’t?”

Silence.

“I knew it.” He looked at the light shining from his apartment.

“Somebody had to get it. I couldn’t find Sticky Fingers while I was in the mood.”

“Thank you.” He closed his eyes. “I rehearsed it in my head a million times. I just couldn’t bring myself to act it out. I ain’t got that type of heart.”

“I can’t tell; you tried to let Desmond have it.”

“It’s a difference when you do something in the heat of the moment instead of doing it in chill mode.”

Our mayor is a crackhead
. Jewels stood up. “I got a plan.”

“I got the munchies. A plan for what?” He wondered what Kitchie was fixing for dinner.

“To keep your punk ass out of the pen.”

“Nah, I’m good. All your plans include dead people.” She climbed behind the steering wheel. “Get off the front of my car before you become Cadillac’s new hood ornament.” She turned the key and the engine began to purr. “When I drop y’all off in the morning, I’m taking Secret and Junior with me.”

“What are you up to?”

“You need to be getting yourself together so you can go flip burgers. I’m gonna need to get that diamond out of you.” She stepped on the gas and sped away.

M
orning had arrived much too soon for GP. Between working the booth during the day and his Wendy’s gig at night, he was exhausted. The fact that Jewels was leaning on the horn seemed to fatigue him more.

When Kitchie opened the car door, Peabo Bryson’s “I’m So Into You” poured into the quiet street.

“It’s too early for your bullshit, Jewels.” GP slid in next to Secret and Junior, then slammed the door. “Turn it down; everybody don’t want to hear that.”

“Fuck you! You know how I get down. If you don’t like it, beat feet; get on the motherfucking bus. I ain’t begging you to roll with me.” She pulled the gear shift into Drive. “Excuse him, y’all. Good morning.”

“Hey,” Kitchie said as she settled against the headrest.

“What’s up, Aunty,” Secret said. “Daddy said we get to hang out with you today.”

“Would you have it any other way?” Jewels looked back at Junior and winked.

He pulled his leg back inside the Honda when a family of four came out of a building and piled inside of Jewels’s Escalade. “Son of a bitch!” His patience was wearing thin, waiting for the right moment to exact his punishment. He sat a silenced .9mm on the
seat beside him, gripped the steering wheel, and continued to follow Jewels.

Jewels pulled next to the booth’s curb and switched the hazard lights on.

GP put a duffle bag on the sidewalk, then leaned inside the car and kissed his children’s foreheads. “Drive her crazy. You have my permission.”

Jewels peered at him through the rearview. “Nobody can outdo you.”

“Be good.” Kitchie waved at Jewels and the children.

Jewels hit the horn two quick times as she pulled into downtown’s growing traffic.

GP began to unpack. “This is it, Mami Chula. When we walk away today, the fat lady will be singing.”

“Papi, there’s still time to reconsider this. You don’t have to do this. As long as you’re working and using this as a secondary income, we’ll be fine. Ms. Pittman said that if I pass the test next week, I’ll get the opening with Social Services. Volunteering worked in my favor. I’ll ace the test, so we’ll have even more income. Baby, we’ll be straight.” She laid T-shirts on the table. “You can still do this, and I’ll still help.”

“Good morning, GP, Kitchie,” the book vendor said and set a box of doughnuts on their table. “I brought you guys a little something-something for your bellies.” He rubbed his gut in a circular motion.

“Thanks, Smitty. What you know good?” GP said.

“Not a damn thing.”

“You’re a sweetheart, Smitty.” Kitchie plucked a glazed doughnut from the box. “How’s business?”

“For the first time in a long time, I must admit that it’s good. I have this book,
The Key To Life
; I can’t keep enough of them. They want it like it’s crack. I have a line of books from 4Shadow Publishing that are flying off the shelves, too. Come by and get you a copy. See you guys later.”

Kitchie leaned against the table. “GP, I want to ask you something.”

“What’s wrong with your asker?” He lined the booth with comic books.

“You don’t really trust me, do you? You
say
you do, but on the inside, you don’t.”

He stopped what he was doing. “Where’d that come from?”

“You. You had the audacity to think that I was in another man’s bed. You disrespected me, and for you to even have a stupid thought like that is not to trust me.”

“Ahh, Kitchie.” GP shook his head. “Don’t do this. I don’t want to talk about this right now. Why you always want to show your ass in public?”

She rolled her eyes. “I want to talk about it. You tried to kill a man. If I were in there, would you have shot me, too?”

“Mami, no! You sound crazy.”

“When did you start not trusting me?”

“This conversation is a wrap. If you were going to stress me, you could’ve got your ass in the car and went with Jewels and the kids.”

“You’re bobbing and weaving real good. Answer me, GP.”

“The pieces just fit, Kitchie. You satisfied now? It made sense for it to be you.”

He trailed Jewels as she circled the congested block for the
second time. She wheeled the Escalade into an alley and parked.

He picked the .9mm up from the seat. “Time to pay the piper.” He parked and his Nikes hit the pavement.

Jewels walked through the door of the Mayor’s office as though she had been given permission.

“You can’t go in there.” His secretary went after her.

Mayor Brandon Chambers spun his chair around to face the door. He took the phone away from his ear. “Who the hell are you?”

“Like you give a fuck.” She tossed a piece of crack cocaine on his desk.

He covered the rock when his secretary crossed the threshold.

“I tried to stop her,” the secretary said.

“Don’t worry about it, Karen. It’s okay. Close the door behind you and hold my calls.” He hung up on his caller.

Jewels spoke again once Karen was gone. “I know all about you and how you get down.”

“You don’t know a damn thing about me.”

“Motherfucker, watch your tone. I don’t let crackheads get away with one fucking thing. Now, if you don’t want me to let the public know you suck glass dicks, I need you to yank a few judicial strings for me.” She took a bag of Starbursts from his desk and began eating them. “Your wife know about Shea?”

“That bitch.” He watched her throw candy wrappers on his floor. “So what is this, blackmail?”

“Call it a favor that only the boss of this city can do.”

“Whatever it is, forget about it.” He poked a finger at Jewels. “Fuck you. Fuck Shea. You can’t prove a damn thing. If it’s one
thing I know how to do, it’s how to cover my ass. Neither one of you are credible enough to make accusations against me.” He leaned forward with confidence. “I’m the mayor, the head niggah in charge. Now get the hell out of my office before I have your ghetto ass arrested.”

She got up to leave and placed a crack pipe and lighter on the desk. “I didn’t know if you had one stashed here or not.” She went to the door and pulled it open. “Y’all come here for a minute.”

Secret and Junior came in.

The head niggah in charge seemed as though he was struggling to get air into his lungs.

“You better breathe, Mayor.” Jewels smiled. “The public won’t have any problem believing them.”

“Hi, Brandon,” Secret said. “I didn’t know you were our mayor. I would’ve let you drop us off at our front door.”

He sighed and looked at Jewels. “What is it you want me to do?”

“How tight are you with the district attorney?”

“I’m having lunch with him today.”

“That’s a damn good answer.”