Durty South Grind (33 page)

By the time that he had gotten halfway down the aisles, he saw Rainbow roll out at the bottom. Even from that distance he could clearly hear the moan escaping his lips.

“Aw shit,” Sparkle mumbled as he watched in anguish as he started to struggle to his feet as soon as he finished rolling. He continued to walk toward him when Rainbow looked up and spotted him coming. The look in his eyes stopped Sparkle in his tracks and he started having flashbacks to the days when they were young thieves stealing candy apples and other goodies out of the corner store in the old neighborhood. Even from his own
mama's store. They had made a vow way back then—
Only one fall at a time
—and they all had stuck with it ever since.

After a momentary pause, he started scanning the surroundings for the vics and even worst, the store security guards. As he was radaring the scene, Rainbow waved him away, struggled to his feet and hobbled past him favoring his already bad left shoulder and leg. It seemed like everybody in the store had stopped to check out what was going on.

Sparkle waited until he got close to the door before he started to follow him. Unconsciously, he placed his hand on the .38 pistol inside his pocket, in case he had to ward off any interference if it occurred. He would protect his boy at all cost, regardless of that “one fall at a time” credo.

Before he stepped on the automatic door pad, Sparkle eyed Rainbow gently into the street and took one last look around. It seemed like there was a dozen pair of eyes watching him, but the vics weren't in sight. Nor was anyone in pursuit, so he walked out of the store and followed his still hobbling partner up the stairs to the MARTA trains.

Sparkle finally caught up with him when he was about to get on the down escalator to the subway. Since Rainbow was still walking gingerly, Sparkle lifted his arm and draped it over his shoulder.

“Ow, godayum, man, take your time, shiiiit, humph,” Sparkle grunted, leaning against his own weight to try to balance himself before he looked down at his boy's grimacing face. “Damn, dog, you aight? That was a nasty fall you took back there.”

Rainbow looked at him with the full intensity of the pain all over his face, pressed his lips together and growled, “Do I look like I'm aight? Damn, this shit hurts, dog.”

Knowing now that they were out of any immediate danger, Sparkle sighed in relief and started snickering.

Rainbow glared at him. “Man, what in the hell do you find so muthafucking godayum funny?”

Sparkle halted their journey down the steps to grab his side, spitting all over himself laughing. “Dude, you should have seen the look on your face as your ass was tumbling. Damn, that shit was like three stories up—that's a long way, dog, a long-ass way. Whew! Man, I'll never figure out why you want to do this shit anymore. Your crazy ass got money's mamie. You just a wild muthafucka; that's all I can say.”

Rainbow leaned up against the moving railing and looked at him seriously for a couple of seconds before a small smile creased the corners of his mouth. He blinked a few times. “Yeah, I guess that shit was funny from where you was at. But dog, there wasn't a damn thang funny about it from my end.”

Sparkle stared at him really hard trying to hold on to a serious face, but that wasn't about to work. He sprayed Rainbow's face with sprinkles as he burst out laughing again, even harder than before. “I betcha it wasn't, oooh shit. Hold on a minute, dog, damn.” He leaned away and grabbed his side and the railing to keep both of them from falling.

They took a few more steps before Sparkle stopped again.

Rainbow grimaced. “What now, man?”

Sparkle cocked an eye at him, looked down the steps and then back at him. “This here ain't working, partner. Hold on for a second.” Before he could respond, Sparkle grabbed him by the elbow and pushed up under his armpit with all his might.

The only thing that Rainbow could do was form his mouth into a silent scream until he heard his collarbone pop back into place.

With his mouth still wide open in shock, Rainbow leaned on Sparkle until the pain subsided. Finally, he took a couple of deep breaths and sighed. “Damn, thanks, dog. You remember this broken-down old body, don'tcha?”

Sparkle sat down on the moving steps. “How can I not? I've been popping that bitch back in place all my fucking life. But forget that, where we headed, man? We surely can't go get your car right now because those hillbillies have got to be roaming all up and down Peachtree hunting for us.”

Rainbow rotated his shoulders around a few times, aahed and started rubbing his knee. He stepped up his pace heading down the moving steps alone. He got close to the bottom and said over his shoulder, “To the club at the West End stop.”

Sparkle threw his hands up in the air. “Why am I not surprised to hear you say that? Junior and 'em still got that spot?” He reluctantly followed him.

Rainbow grunted his way down to the bottom, whewed and turned around to face him. “Oh yeah, those niggas still got paws in that joint, but they done really fixed it up from back when you was out. They got a funny-styled nigga down with them on it now, but shit still be popping on the regular.”

“Yeah, I heard a little something about it, but words out that the showcase spot is Magic City. Now that spot there is hot for a mug, dog, even way down there in the penitentiary.”

“For real, yo.”

“Hell yeah, for real,” Sparkle said.

Rainbow nodded his head in agreement. “That's the place nowadays, for real, but our boy's spot keeping paper rolling, too. Hell, they even had a couple of video shoots up in that bitch—Outkast, Usher and a couple of other hot groups. It be popping, yo, on the real.”

“Well, speak no more. Let's roll up in there, my nigga,” Sparkle muttered as the train was pulling up. Just before the doors closed, they heard some voices hollering at them and looked up to see the hillbillies running down the escalator. It looked like the big
one started tumbling down as the train pulled out. Rainbow and Sparkle shot those muthas some birds as the train wheeled out of their sight. “Ain't that one lovely sight; serves the bastard right causing me all that their pain,” Rainbow said as he elbowed Sparkle in the side.

L
ess than five minutes later, they were pulling into the West End station. Rainbow was still walking with a slight limp, so Sparkle slowly walked beside him in case he needed his help.

In the distance they could hear the rat-a-tat-tat of Morehouse's marching band throwing down on some funky cadences. They looked at each other and started bobbing their heads, marching to the beat. For a brief moment, Sparkle even thought of going to watch some of those young tenderoni majorettes and cheerleaders bumping and grinding the air to the jazzy rhythm, but let the urge slip away.

He noticed that the parking lot seemed to be a lot bigger than he remembered. Then it dawned on him that the bank was no longer there.
Damn, a lot of shit done changed in the years since I left,
he thought, admiring the assortment of luxury cars.

As they was about to cross the street, he felt Rainbow nudge his shoulder. “How about going over to the Krispy Kreme and hook us up with some of those chocolate and strawberry donuts and a couple of milk shakes? I'll be at the bar kicking it with Big Bertha.”

Sparkle leaned away frowning with his mouth turned down and gritted. “Damn, she still here, man?”

Rainbow gave him the kinda look that said,
Damn, ya'll really
don't be hearing about shit down in that joint, do you?
“Shiiit, man, Bertha's been the one running the joint ever since Junior and Mack got shot up right after you got busted. I can't believe you ain't heard about that there, man.”

Sparkle stopped and gave him a puzzled look across his shoulder. “Man, I must have just been starting that bit, way up in Jackson somewhere not to hear about that there, dog. Why you just now hipping me to that? You know them my niggas, dog.”

Rainbow hunched his shoulders and spread his arms apart before he covered his mouth. “Hell, man, Mack's been…hey, we can finish this when you get back with the donuts, nigga. Right in now all I can think about is getting off of this bum-ass leg, man,” he moaned, limping his way across the street waving him on to get the treats.

“Aight bet, I'll see ya in a sec,” Sparkle said over his shoulder as he headed for the doughnut place on the corner of Lee Street. After getting a dozen of each kind of doughnut, a chocolate and a strawberry milk shake, he headed back to the club. When he elbowed his way through the first set of doors, the first thing he saw was a “Girls admitted free on Thursdays” sign with silhouettes of exotic dancers in various poses plastered on the wall behind a podium. It was an exact replica of a drawing he had done for Junior, when he and Mack had first converted the cafeteria-gas station combo into one of the hottest strip joints in the ward.

It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the red, yellow and black blinking lights when he entered the main room. He heard Rainbow's voice over the din of loud music and crazed customers. Then he spotted him at the bar gulping out of a pitcher of Olde English.

He gave Bertha a warm smile as he placed the boxes on the bar and sat down beside Rainbow. She didn't even take the time to acknowledge his smile before she reached over and ripped open
one of the boxes and crammed a donut between her ruby-red lips.

He leaned over the counter as the creamy filling started oozing out the side of those juicy lips. “Godayum, Big Red, can you imagine what that cream oozing around those red lips of yours makes a nigga think about, mmmmmmh.” He arched his brow in mock excitement.

He flinched when she bucked her eyes wide open and slammed her big mitts on the counter. “Well, I'll be damned, my baby boy Sparkle, when did you get up, you muthafucka,” she yelled in her squeaky little girl voice, sprinkling his face and shirt with particles of dough and cream. It was a voice that in no way fit her size and attitude.

Sparkle jerked his head back trying to avoid as much of the crumb avalanche as he could, brushing at his face and clothes. “Damn, girl, whatcha trying to do, give me a doughnut cream bath or something? I feel ya being happy to see a nigga. I'm just as happy to see your big ass but what the fuck!” he yelled as he reached over the bar and mushed her face playfully.

She snarled and snapped her teeth at his fingers. “Nigga, fuck dat, give me a hug with your little skinny ass.” Her eyes glittered with joy.

He rose up off of the stool and spread his arms, only to find himself gasping for breath as she bear-hugged the air right out of his chest and devoured his face and neck with a series of sloppy kisses.

He was finally able to squirm his way out of her bear-like grasp and grabbed a napkin out of a dispenser on the bar to wipe the wetness off his face and ear. “Thanks, Red, I really needed that, damn.”

Smiling warmly she reached out and mushed his face and whined, “Aw, bastard, you better cherish that sugar there. Ain't too many
niggas are worth that.” She lowered her face and started to pout.

Sparkle erased the frown off of his face and reached out to grab both sides of her face and gently kissed her on the mouth. “Don't look so glum, sweet stuff. You one of my favorite hoes.”

Like a puff of magic her expression changed as she looked at him under eyed, batted her lashes and frowned, “Baby, I ain't been nobody's ho since I got from under this dirty-ass yellow nigga here.” She nodded at Rainbow and rolled her eyes.

Rainbow cocked his head and brow like he couldn't believe what he'd just heard. “Aw, come on, baby, you know you'll always have my heart.” He gave her his brightest smile and squeezed his heart to emphasize his point.

She wasn't going for it and rolled her eyes again and mumbled, “Uh-huh, fuck you, Lah. Oh damn, it's Rainbow now, ain't it? Man, you change your name more than Erica Kane changes husbands.”

“That's right, and your big, fine ass better keep in mind that I'm that nigga that you're gonna always love.” He paused to rub the side of her face gently before he continued, hypnotizing her with his penetrating stare. “And gonna always belong to me.”

“Yes, daddy,” she said demurely before she snapped her head back. “Nigga, you wish, those days been long gone.” She finished with a snake roll of her head and three finger pops.

Sparkle and Rainbow looked at each other and said in unison, “Damn.” All three of them burst out laughing hard as hell.

After the laughter subsided, Sparkle nudged Rainbow in the side. “Yo, partner, go ahead and finish up that shit you was telling me about Junior and Mack.”

A reluctant Rainbow took a deep breath and rubbed his hand up and down his face, then twisted his mouth to the side. “My nigga Mack's been in a wheelchair ever since and Junior survived, but he's all fucked up in his left arm and leg.”

Sparkle sat there staring off into space as a frown slowly crept to his brow. The pain in his eyes couldn't even be measured. Rainbow reached across his body and started waving his hand back and forth in front of his face until he blinked a couple of times. “Where the niggas that done that shit, dog?”

Rainbow sat back, pinched his nose. “Hell, man, you can see dem niggas every time you pass the King station.”

That look in his eyes told Sparkle what he had already concluded, but he said it anyway. “Six feet deep, huh?”

“Oh yeah, me and Duke was in on that one, but that dirty-ass punk Wyatt Earp caught some fed time before we could catch up to his ass. Last I heard he was up there in Marion on super max.”

Bertha, who had been silent up until then, placed a tray of glasses she had been shining up under the counter and got in a little growl of her own. “I never did trust that dirty-ass sissy no how; especially from the way that he did my baby sister. I kept telling that stupid-ass bitch that he was a punk but she wasn't' hearing me. That is until she caught all that fucked-up time dealing with his sorry ass.”