Single Ladies (19 page)

“Scoop, what it do, my nigga?” Manny greeted him, hopping out of his black Yukon Denali.

Manny was from the west side, but had grown up all over Charlotte, and pretty much knew everybody. Scoop used to score dope from him awhile back when things dried up. He had some good prices, too. Ralphy had put a halt to all that once he got back in the game, so it had been a minute since Manny had been around this way.

“Tell me something good,” Scoop said, giving him dap.

“I know ya boy Ralphy got da block back, but I thought you should know that I got dat work for da low, low,” Manny said, lighting up a cigarette. “Whenever you ready to do ya own thing, just let me know. I got a steady connect who's blessing me right now. I can get you right. All you gotta do is give me the word.”

Scoop looked at all the dopefiend traffic walking up and down the block and thought how much he wanted his block back. Ralphy had his claws dug in deep, and he wasn't trying to let go. Scoop was making good money too, just not as much as Ralphy was.

“Ay, yo. You remember da boy Dre who got killed on the other side?” Scoop asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Good dude, just gave back a life sentence before coming home,” Manny said, nodding his head.

“Yeah, well, homicide detectives came around here asking a bunch of questions. They think Ralphy had something to with that. Between me and you, I don't think my boy gon' be out here much longer,” Scoop added.

“Damn, you sure about that?” Manny asked, picking up on where Scoop was going with his comment.

“Yeah, they said he stood over Dre and hit him up close range. Punk-ass police asked me if I gave him the gun to do it. I said, ‘Hell no.'” Scoop chuckled.

Scoop didn't have to talk direct in order for Manny to understand that Ralphy was the one who killed Dre, and Scoop was the one who supplied the gun and was possibly there. Scoop wasn't trying to get Ralphy locked up directly, but he knew that if Manny spread the rumors to the right people, niggas was going to be gunning for Ralphy. With Ralphy all the way out of the way, Scoop could get his block back and probably be the number one man on the east side. Now that he had Manny ready to supply him with whatever he needed, there was no need for him to keep pinching pennies and riding Ralphy's coattails. It was time for a change. This was the part of the game Ralphy had forgotten about; but he was going to be reminded of in the worst way, real soon.

* * *

Falisha sat in the waiting area at the OB/GYN clinic waiting for her name to be called. A lot of unprotected sex had been going on between her and Lamar, and since Falisha knew that Lamar and Kim were also having unprotected sex, it was time for her to get checked out for any STD she could have contracted from them.

“Hey, Linda,” Falisha greeted her, walking into the room. She and her doctor were on first-name basis since Falisha didn't hesitate when it came down to her health. After changing into her gown, lying back on the table, and getting an STD swab, Falisha sat there and waited for her results. After about twenty minutes, Linda came back into the room.

“You got a clean bill of health, Falisha,” Linda said, looking at her clipboard. “Now, here's your vitamins. Take one a day. Studies show that babies mature better when the mother takes her—”

“Wait, did you just say ‘baby'?” Falisha interrupted.

“Oh, my God! You didn't know that you were pregnant?” Linda asked. “You're about six months along.”

“I can't be. I just had my period about two weeks ago.” Falisha laughed, thinking it had to be a mistake.

After Linda explained to Falisha that it was possible for her to get pregnant and still have some bleeding, the laughing stopped. Falisha sat there on the patient table and let her head drop into her hands. She didn't know what she was about to do, and for the next fifteen to twenty minutes she continued sitting there, allowing the shocking news to settle in.

* * *

Tammy sat on her bed, looking at the set of keys Darious had just passed her, and still couldn't believe that he had rented out a three-bedroom home in the country for them to live in. He put Tammy's name on the lease along with his, just to let it be known that they were in this together.

“What about my kids? Chris is going to always be in their lives and so will his family. I don't wanna bring that kind of drama out there,” Tammy said, looking over at Darious standing by the window.

“Look, we can keep this as a front. His family can still come over here to check up on the kids but, at nighttime, I need you home with me,” Darious explained.

“And how long is that supposed to go on?” Tammy asked.

“Until ya baby father and the rest of his family get it through their head that I'm not going anywhere.” Darious meant every word of it, too. The lengths he was willing to go in order to be with Tammy had no boundaries, and Tammy was loving the fact that she had somebody like him willing to stand up and fight to be with her.

“Come here,” he said, walking over and grabbing her hand and pulling her off the bed.

When they got downstairs, Darious reached in his pocket and pulled out his car keys. Tammy looked at him with one eyebrow up. She wondered what he was up to now. They both walked out onto the front steps. Darious's two homies were still standing in front of the house and, in the middle of the street, Darious's white Dodge Charger was double parked.

“Dis ya car now,” he said, separating his house keys from his car keys and passing them to her. “This is so you can get back and forth from here to home whenever you need to. I'll transfer the title over to your name when I get off of work tomorrow,” Darious said, leaning in and giving her a kiss. “It's team us. Is you wit' me?” Darious asked, sticking his fist out for a dap.

Tammy dapped him, looked into his eyes, and smiled. She threw her arms around his neck and pulled him down to give him another kiss. “Yeah, it's team us,” she confirmed, kissing him yet again.

Just when Tammy was in a state of bliss, she looked down the block and saw an all-black Chevy Impala creeping up. Knowing whose car it was, Tammy tapped Darious for him to pay attention to what was about to go down. Outlaw was back on his bullshit again but, this time, Darious was on point.

* * *

“Now don't be over here cryin' an' shit,” Ms. D said, walking into the room where Falisha sought refuge. “Women get pregnant every day. All the fun and games are over. It's time to put on ya big girl panties now,” she said, taking a seat in her love chair.

“I don't even know if I'ma keep it,” Falisha said, wiping the tears from her face.

Ms. D shook her head, reached over, and grabbed her stash of weed from the corner of her chair. Ms. D always was and always would be against abortion, except for in certain situations like rape or incest. Other than those two things, she felt like a baby being terminated was an act of cowardice.

“You listen to me, Falisha, and you listen good,” Ms. D said in a serious manner while she poured some weed into her rolling papers. “That is a blessing from God, and He don't give you more than you can bear. That baby you got forming in ya stomach didn't do nothing to you. You was woman enough to lie down and spread those legs, so be woman enough to become a mother as a result of those fifteen minutes of glory you enjoyed so much. What if your mother didn't wanna have you?” Ms. D asked, rolling the joint up and licking the tip.

“Lamar ain't ready for no baby,” Falisha spoke.

“Well, that's Lamar's problem. He'll get his mind right; and if he don't, oh well. Plenty of women have done it by themselves. That baby is going to have you in its life, and that's all he or she really need,” Ms. D said, lighting up her joint and taking a puff.

Falisha looked at Ms. D in confusion. Despite the good jewels she had dropped on her, Falisha was trying to figure out why Ms. D was smoking weed. Her whole time of knowing Ms. D, she had never seen her smoking weed, and here she was blowing it out of her nose like a steam dragon.

Ms. D had forgotten that she didn't tell the girls about her cancer. She wanted to, but she still wasn't up for the pity party she knew was coming after she revealed it. She sat there thinking about it while Falisha waited for an explanation. She realized that she wasn't going to be able to hide it forever. So, as an afterthought, she made it known.

“I have cancer, Falisha.”

* * *

Outlaw and Ratchet got out of the car, but only Outlaw walked over to where Darious and Tammy were standing. Ratchet stood between the passenger side door with a Mack-90, as he was instructed by Outlaw. Darious gave his boys a look, letting them know that drama was approaching. They both put their hands on the butts of their guns sitting on their waists. Outlaw noticed it, but didn't care, nor did he show any signs of fear. He walked right past them and right up to Darious and Tammy. If looks could kill, Tammy and Darious would have been dead by now, 'cause all they were getting from Outlaw was the mean mug.

“So, my brotha tells me to leave you alone and you free to be wit' whoever you wanna be wit',” Outlaw told Tammy, but looked over at Darious. “He's not gon' call you, write you, or bother you about seeing the kids while he's locked up. I also give you my word that I'm not gon' mess with you or your sucka-ass boyfriend. But you can rest assured that I'll be over here to check on my niece and nephew often. I shouldn't have to tell you what I'll do if you ever put ya hands on one of them,” he said, looking at Darious.

Darious was silent. Tammy was so shocked at everything he said, she didn't even know how to respond. What she did know was that everything that came out of Outlaw's mouth came from Chris, and if this was what he said, then this was what it would be. Outlaw was about to walk off, but stopped and turned back around. He had something else he wanted to get off his chest.

“You know, I'm kinda glad my brotha finally finished with you. The nigga really loved you too much. Y'all been together all these years, and from day one he took care of ya ungrateful ass. He sacrificed his life out here on these streets to make sure you and his kids didn't struggle. Yeah, he could have been a bitch-ass square sucka,” he emphasized, looking at Darious. “But that wasn't him, and you damn sure didn't complain when all that money was rollin' in. But now since he's at the worst place in his life and you got the upper hand, you got the nerve to turn ya back on him. Of all people. Shit, to me that shows a lot about your character and the kind of woman you are. You couldn't even be there for him. That's foul, and I don't respect that. Some wife you are. Buddy, I hope you know what you getting.” Outlaw smirked. “Good luck with dis chick,” he told Darious before walking off.

Darious was going to set him straight, but figured he would leave well enough alone. He knew what he had in Tammy, and there was no need to try to tell a nigga like Outlaw what he or his brother couldn't see.

“Ralphy, what are you doing here?” Lisa asked, surprised, when she walked out into the waiting room and saw him sitting there reading a magazine.

“Did you forget I had an appointment to get my teeth cleaned today? This is still my dentist's office right?” Ralphy smiled, putting the magazine down.

Lisa smiled, too, and walked over to the receptionist desk to check the log. He wasn't lying. It was for today at two o'clock. “I'm sorry. Come on to the back,” she directed, leading the way to the second room near the rear of the office.

Small procedures like cleanings were minor enough for Lisa to handle by herself. Ralphy knew this too; that's why he didn't mind when Lisa put on her mask and latex gloves and began adjusting the chair.

“Hold up. Before you get started, I know I really haven't been around that much, and I know you been handling the bills all by yourself. So, here, I got a li'l something for you,” Ralphy said, coming from under his cape with a brown envelope. “I'ma start dropping you off something every week for you and Naomi,” he continued.

“Thank you. I really do appreciate it,” Lisa responded with a huge smile.

They stood there and had a moment, staring into each other's eyes. No matter what had transpired, both knew that they would forever have love for one another. Lisa had always been Ralphy's one true love, and now with Dre dead, Ralphy was the only man alive Lisa had ever wanted. The intense mood was interrupted by a loud commotion coming from the waiting room. Lisa walked to the door and peeked down the hallway to see if she could hear what was going on. Out of nowhere, two men with hoods over their heads and automatic pistols clutched in their hands came walking down the short hallway. They kicked in doors as they passed them by, as if they were looking for somebody.

“Oh, shit,” Lisa whispered, backing up into the room.

Ralphy saw the fear of God in her eyes, causing him to jump up from his chair.

“They got guns,” Lisa told him in a low tone, hoping they didn't hear her.

Ralphy pulled his gun from his waist, and by the time he spun around to head for the door, there was a loud sound and he felt a bullet strike him in his left shoulder. Ralphy stumbled backward, but not before firing his weapon and hitting one of the gunmen in the chest. The other shooter dipped behind the partition, but stuck his arm inside the room and let off at least another eight rounds, hoping one of the eight hit Ralphy. The gunman got himself together and darted down the hallway toward the exit.

“Ralphy,” Lisa called out, sitting on the floor in the corner with both of her hands over her stomach.

Ralphy was in pain, but he needed to make sure that the threat was neutralized. He walked over to the gunman who he had shot in the chest, stood over him, and fired another round into his head.

“Ralphy!” Lisa called out again, now lying on her side.

Ralphy ran over to her, laid his gun down, and sat her up. When he moved her hands, he could see the blood on her coat. He wasn't sure where exactly she had been hit, because by now both of them were covered in blood. From the look she had on her face, Ralphy knew that the bullet was starting to burn, just like the bullet that hit him in his shoulder was.

“Look, baby, just hold on. Help is on the way.” Ralphy was concerned, but he also knew that a situation like this could turn ugly from a legal standpoint quickly. “Listen to me, Lisa. You gotta say that I wrestled the gun out of this guy's hand,” Ralphy said, pointing to the guy lying dead in the hallway. “Remember, babe, he had two guns and I took one,” he said again.

Ralphy was thinking on his toes, getting his story right before the cops got there. Trying to explain a dead body could be hard, and even though he was protecting himself and his wife, self-defense didn't work too well when you were a black man.

“I need a doctor! I need a doctor!” Ralphy yelled out. “Somebody help me!” he continued yelling.

The only person who had courage to come down that hallway was Dr. Mathew, one of the dentists. He was only a dentist, but he knew his way around the medical block. If Lisa had any chance of making it, Ralphy was going to have to get out of the way and let the Doc do what he could.

* * *

Tammy and Falisha had decided to go to the mall to relieve some stress. So much had been going on in their lives, and the only thing that could make them feel better was to shop. It wasn't just a few items here and a few items there; they really were getting it in like money wasn't an issue.

“Wow, girl, you really about to be a mom?” Tammy said as they sat at the food court, eating.

“Yeah. I'm scared as shit, too. I don't know the first thing about being a mom,” Falisha responded.

“I didn't neither, but as soon as I pushed that big head–ass boy out of my little vagina, my motherly instincts kicked in, and everything came to me like second nature. You gon' be a'ight, I promise you. Now the million dollar question is who in the hell is the daddy?” Tammy grinned, pointing her cheesy breadstick at Falisha.

The only person who knew that Lamar was the father was Ms. D. Falisha wasn't sure how she was going to tell Lamar, and feared that he would either deny it or tell Falisha he wasn't ready to be a father. She wanted to wait for the right time to do it, and since Ms. D was having a dinner for everybody tomorrow, she figured that would be a good time. So, for now, Tammy was going to have to wait to find out.

“You'll find out along with everybody else, at Ms. D's dinner,” Falisha said, stuffing her face with funnel cake and ice cream. “Until then I need you to keep this between me and you.”

“A'ight, girl, no problem. But you better make me the godmother, or I swear as soon as you have that baby, we gon' fight,” Tammy joked.

They shared a laugh then went back to eating.

* * *

Kim and Lamar ran through the hospital, straight for the emergency room in search of Lisa and Ralphy. Before the ambulance and police got to the dentist's office, Lisa made Ralphy call Kim so she could pick Naomi up from school. After dropping Naomi off at Ms. D's house, Kim grabbed Lamar and headed for the hospital.

Unfortunately, Lisa and Ralphy were still in surgery by the time they arrived.

“Who in the hell could have done something like this?” Kim asked, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Lamar pulled her in and held her. “Everything is going to be all right,” he told her in an attempt to comfort her fears.

They waited there for hours before the nurse came out to the waiting room and informed them that Lisa was out of surgery. Although he was only shot in his shoulder, Ralphy had lost a lot of blood. The bullet went in and out, but Ralphy had been so focused on making sure Lisa was okay, he hadn't thought to apply pressure to his wound to stop his bleeding. He was now in the process of receiving a blood transfusion, on top of patching up his wound.

Kim walked into Lisa's room with her hand over her mouth in shock at the many tubes that were sticking out of her girl. Lisa was out of surgery for now, but not yet out of trouble. The bullet had penetrated her spleen, causing massive internal damage. It was going to take several more surgeries in order to remedy the problem. For now, the doctors wanted her to get some rest and allow her body to heal from the first surgery before they went back in.

“It can't be that bad,” Lisa said in a groggy voice when she cracked open her eyes.

Kim dropped her hand from her mouth and smiled. “You know I wanna rock that outfit,” Kim joked, tugging at Lisa's hospital gown.

“Where is everybody?” Lisa asked, looking around the room. “Naomi?”

“She's wit' Ms. D. When I leave here, I'ma take her to my house. Lamar just went to check up on Ralphy.”

“How is he?” Lisa asked in a weak voice.

“He's doing a lot better, but—”

Before Kim could finish her sentence, Falisha and Tammy busted into the room. “Oh, hell no. We came as soon as we heard what happened,” Falisha said, putting her shopping bags down and walking over to the bed. “How is she?” Falisha turned and asked Kim, while hovering over Lisa.

“I see y'all bitches went shopping wit'out me?” Lisa asked jokingly. “Y'all better have something—”

“Shhhhh! Don't be worrying about that. You try to get some rest, girl,” Tammy said, walking over and grabbing Lisa's hand.

Lisa smiled. It felt good having her girls all around her, even though she was in hospital. She could feel the medicine kicking in, and although she could hear the conversation, she began to drift back off to sleep.

The girls just sat around the bed talking quietly among themselves. Nobody could figure out why somebody would have done this to them. Not to mention at Lisa's job for that matter.

“Yo, I just came from Ralphy's room,” Lamar said, coming into the room. “He's awake but the homicide detectives are down there questioning him. They're on their way down here, too.”

Falisha jumped up from her chair and tried to kiss Lamar, but only came away with a hug. He turned his head when she tried to kiss him and he informed her that now wasn't the time. She looked at him with an obvious attitude written all over her face. Kim turned her head, trying not to smile from the way Lamar had dismissed her. She knew that Lamar hadn't told Falisha about them, and she was tempted to do it herself, but Lamar stepped up before she could.

“Let me talk to you out here for a second,” Lamar told Falisha, pulling her by the arm.

Now was probably a bad time, but he knew he had to handle this immediately. He was tired of hiding and playing games about what was going on. He had love for Falisha, but now it was time for him to draw the line. Once they had gotten far enough from Lisa's door, Lamar took a deep breath and began.

“I really don't know how to explain this, so I'm going to get right to the point. This right here between me and you has to stop. You know I got love for you as a friend, and I hope we can continue to be that. But as far as anything more is concerned, that can't happen. Also, before you hear this from somebody else, I want to let you know first: me and Kim are together.”

“Nigga, are you fucking serious?” Falisha asked, cocking her head back.

“Look, I didn't mean for it to happen like this,” Lamar tried to explain. He knew that Falisha was about to snap. He expected her to make a scene right then and there, but to his surprise, she didn't say another word. Instead, Falisha turned, walked back into the room, and grabbed her bags. Lamar kept his eyes on her the whole time, just in case she started swinging on Kim.

“Please call me if anything changes with Lisa or Ralphy. And congratulations,” she told Kim before walking out of the room.

The whole room was quiet. Tammy didn't know what was going on, and it showed by the confused look she had on her face. “What's up with that?” Tammy asked, still confused. Neither Kim nor Lamar said anything. “Well, she came with me, so let me make sure she gets home okay,” Tammy said, grabbing her bags and heading out of the room.

* * *

The homicide detectives asked Ralphy question after question about what happened at the dental office. They even threatened to lock him up if he didn't tell them the truth, but Ralphy stuck to his guns and told them the same story he told the first responding officers when they got there. Two men came into the room and one of them began shooting. Ralphy wrestled the gun away from one of them and began firing back, dropping the man to the ground. The second gunman fired several more shots into the room blindly before taking off down the hallway. Ralphy said that when he went into the hallway to make sure the other gunman was gone, the shooter who was on the ground pulled out another gun, and that's when Ralphy shot him in the head. That was his story and he was sticking to it. Lisa gave the same story to another officer who rode with her to the hospital. The detectives didn't believe the whole story, but really they couldn't do anything, since both had the same version. After a few more questions, they left him and Lisa alone, calling it a justifiable homicide.

 

“Falisha! Falisha!” Tammy yelled, coming out of the hospital. “Wait up!”

When Tammy caught up to Falisha, she was crying and arguing with herself about something.

“What's going on wit' you?” she asked, getting Falisha to turn and face her.

Falisha looked at her, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Did you know?” Falisha asked.

“Know what?” Tammy responded in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

“Kim and Lamar being together,” Falisha responded.

Tammy was shocked. She never thought they would be together, especially knowing how much in love Lamar was with Falisha back in the day. Kim always stood firm on the “no dating the roommate rule” and always denied ever having sex with Lamar, or looking at him in that way. One thing Tammy was aware of was the fact that Falisha had been seeing Lamar off and on for the past couple of months.

“Girl, don't stress over dat nigga. It's plenty of fine men out here,” Tammy said to counsel her. “I'ma go get the car and take you home.”

“My ride is on the way here,” Falisha said, cutting Tammy off and looking down at her phone.

Before Tammy could say anything, Falisha was waving her hand in the air. Tammy turned around, and there Fox was, pulling up in his Cadillac truck.

“Falisha, let me take you home,” Tammy suggested one more time, knowing that being with Fox was not such a good idea right now.

Falisha cracked a smile through her sadness, then leaned in and gave Tammy a hug. Even though she was trying, Falisha couldn't hold back the tears, and her reasons were understandable. “I'm pregnant by Lamar.” She wiped the tears from her face. “He's my baby daddy,” she said before turning around and walking to the passenger side of Fox's truck.