URBAN: Chosen By A Kingpin (62 page)

That evening at dinner the ladies talked and joked about the men that had come in and out of their lives. Portia’s conversations always reverted back to sex and the act engaging in sexual activity. Portia was very open about her sex life not just to us but to her co-workers as well. According to Portia, “Sex is an act between two consenting adults and if that’s what they want to do then they should. I hate when women make a plan to not sleep with a guy until 30 days or so. Hell, if she knows she wants to fuck, then just do it. I bet the man she’s saving herself for didn’t save himself during that 30 days.” Portia laughs and takes a sip of her Chardonnay.

Tiffany laughing says, “You know, I have to agree with Portia on this one. Why wait? I’m not saying go have sex the first time you go out. I think that is tasteless but I would talk to a man on the phone a couple of times. Meet him out for drinks and/or dinner. Kiss a couple of times. Rub on each other a few times, because I need to feel if it is even worth my time to pursue talking to you any longer. Hell, if Capone had called me today, I would be considering letting him rub me.” “WOW! He didn’t even call after all that? He’s done.” Sienna says, rubbing her hands together as if to clean them off.

“Who the hell is Capone?” Amber asks, smiling and waiting in anticipation.

“What the hell is a Capone?” Portia asks with her nose turned up.

“This thug she met in Fells Point yesterday. She thought he was going to call her today but he probably had to work the corner all day.” Sienna laughs.

“Whatever! He was sexy as hell. I think. Plus I’m grown. I good. We have all given our phone numbers out to men that have never called.” Tiffany says convincing her friends that she didn’t care. However, she was really upset thinking how dare he not call me after the chemistry that they had.

The ladies finished up dinner and went to the night club. They had fun as usual dancing, laughing and drinking. At the end of the night, they rode home and talked about the men they met and some of the ridiculous clothes some of the people had the nerve to wear. Portia ended the conversation with the ladies when her phone rang. It was a call from one of her male friends wanting to meet her at her apartment for a late night conversation he said. When they arrived at Tiffany’s house, it was about 3:00 in the morning. They parted ways and decided that they would talk this week and try to get together again soon for lunch or something. Sienna told Tiffany she would call her tomorrow.

Tiffany went into her house and got ready for bed. She knew that her parents would be looking for her in the morning for church and then expecting her at their house for Sunday dinner. Tiffany’s phone had died hours ago. So she plugged her phone up to charge while she took her shower. When she came out of the shower and looked at her phone, she noticed that she had three voicemail messages and six text messages. ‘Oh my goodness.’ she thought. “Something must have happened to someone in my family.’ First she looked at the text messages.

“Hey Beautiful! This is your boy Capone.

I’m sorry I didn’t call you earlier.

Please don’t be mad.

Hello???

I’ve called you several times this evening. If you don’t want to talk to me, I understand.

At least, text me or call me to let me know that you are ok. “

The voicemail messages were basically the same. He seemed worried and upset that she wasn’t responding to his calls. It was like he was upset with himself. In fact, the last voicemail message was left about 15 minutes earlier. Tiffany realized that he must be awake. She didn’t know how to respond to the fact that some guy was a little worried about her. She decided to text him back.

“
Sorry to text you so late. I wasn’t ignoring you. I spent the evening with some friends and I forgot my portable charger at home. Call me when you can. Good night!
”

Tiffany pressed send and laid her head down on her pillow, hoping that she would be able to make it to church in the morning. Then her phone rang. Somehow she knew who it was. “Hello!”

“Hey Miss Tiffany! I hope it is okay that I called you. I was worried and I just needed to hear your voice.”

Rolling her eyes because of the bullshit line he just fed her, Tiffany said, “Yes, it’s okay. I am fine. I just wanted to text you to let you know that I received your messages and that I wasn’t ignoring you. My girls were rushing me out of the house so I left my charger on the table. I’m sorry Daddy. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She said sarcastically.

Capone laughs and says, “Whoa Ma! Be careful. I could get use to you calling me daddy.”

When they got on the phone, it was around 3:30. When they got off the phone, it was 5:32. The only reason they got off the phone was because Tiffany kept falling asleep. They talked about almost everything. The most important things that Tiffany learned was that 27 year old Capone was his street name he had received because his name is Alton, which became Al, like Al Capone. He grew up in Boston but followed his estranged dad to Baltimore. He didn’t have any children. He just broke up with his girlfriend because she cheated on him. The evening they met he was with his cousins celebrating one of their birthdays and most importantly he was a blue collar worker. He worked as a maintenance supervisor in one of those high rise office buildings downtown. So the mystery was solved. He was not a drug dealer. He openly admitted that he had sold drugs when he was younger but he just got tired of hustling.

Tiffany actually liked this man. Even though they came from different worlds, they had a great conversation and he was easy to talk to. He was different than the men she usually dated but getting to know him wouldn’t hurt. Tiffany could use a little thug in her life and get a little street education. The two ended their conversation with plans to meet later on that week.

Needless to say, Tiffany did not make it to church that morning but she did make it to the weekly Sunday dinner where she became the victim of sarcastic remarks from her mother about missing church but she didn’t mind. She made a new friend and she couldn’t wait to tell Sienna.

***

Sunday evening Tiffany and Sienna talked on the phone for hours. Sunday evenings was their standing date to talk on the telephone. They would summarize the previous week, while preparing for the week ahead and discussing the logistics of their upcoming vacation to New Orleans. On this conversation, Tiffany told Sienna all about her early morning conversation with Capone. Sienna was glad that he called her but she was still cautious.

“Be careful, girl. You are stepping into a territory that you know nothing about. Can you really take him home to meet your parents?” Sienna asked.

“I am not trying to marry him. Our relationship or rather our friendship will never make it to that stage. Forget about me. I will be fine. What’s up with you and the guy from Lexington Market, you know the one you met in the hood? You started to tell me about him the other night but Portia started talking about sex so we never got back to the subject of him. He probably picked the keys out of your pocket just to meet you. I wouldn’t put anything past some of these men these days.”

“He’s not like that. At least, I don’t think he is. He’s a gentleman. Derrick is supposed to call me Tuesday. He went out of town on a business trip. He was dressed very nicely for a Saturday. He was dressed like he was dressed for work on a casual Friday.”

“Well keep me posted on your hood dude. Keep in mind you did meet him at Lexington Market. Find out why he was there.” Tiffany warns Sienna.

“Girl you know I will keep you informed with all of the details. I always do. I’ll talk to you later this week. Probably on Tuesday. Good night!”

The two friends end the call and Tiffany is about lay down in her bed and slowly fall asleep while watching the local news at eleven. Her phone rings. It is Capone.

“Hey Beautiful!” He says. “Did I wake you?”

“No I was about to lay down so that I could wake up and get to work on time. How are you?” Tiffany asks, even though she doesn’t really care.

“I am a little lonely. Can you come out for a while? I need to see your pretty face.” Capone asks. “Umm! I don’t know what time you go to work in the morning but I wake up at 6 a.m. to become this beautiful and then I arrive at work around 8 a.m. Now, if you had given me a little notice, perhaps I would have met you. But since you didn’t, I am going to go to bed. You can call me tomorrow though. Good night!”

Tiffany hung up the phone without giving him a chance to respond, turned off the lamp next to her bed and turned off the television. ‘Who did he think she was?’ She asked herself. “I see this man wants to play games. Ok! Let the games begin.” Tiffany smiled, rolled over, closed her eyes and went to sleep without giving Mr. Capone another thought.

By Tuesday, Sienna had already developed a scenario for her and Derrick’s life together. They would date for about a year. Then get engaged and be married within six months after the engagement. Sienna really wanted a husband and a family. Her first marriage ended badly for several reasons. First, she was too young. She got married just to get away from her controlling mother. Plus Tiffany was getting married to her high school sweetheart so what better time to get married. Sienna met her husband while she was in college. A group of her friends visited a new bar right outside of the military base Fort Meade. Her future husband had just come back from being deployed in Afghanistan. They married after knowing each other for about two months. He was good to her at first but then the effects of experiencing combat affected everything. She tried to make the marriage work but after he was diagnosed with PTSD he needed to work on his mental health. The final straw was when he hit her. That was when she left and never looked back.

Sienna was hoping that Derrick was the one. She always got this feeling about the men that she met. She was a true romantic in every way. She wasn’t cynical like Tiff and many of her other friends. She believed that there was a man out there for her that would sweep her off her feet. She was open to both give and receive love. She believed in true love and was still hoping to find it. This time she was hoping to find it in Derrick.

***

That morning Sienna got up and went to work. She had an afternoon meeting to discuss student schedules for the upcoming school year. She sat in the meeting with her phone on the table waiting for that important phone call. She had already warned her co-workers that she was expecting an important call and she would have to leave when the call came. She was so excited when her phone lit up with a strange number. She grabs all of her things and excuses herself from the meeting and hurries back to her office for her private conversation.

“Hello!” She says using her professional tone.

“Hello! Sienna?” A strange male voice asks.

“Yes, this is she. To whom am I speaking?” She says hoping that it was him but still maintaining her professional demeanor.

“Oh good. This is Derrick. I met you at Lexington Market Saturday. The one who found your keys. How are you today?”

“Oh Hi Derrick. I am well. What’s going on with you today? How was your trip?”

“Everything went well. I had to go to New York for training for the company that I work for. I had training all day so I just wanted to make sure that I wouldn’t be distracted when I got the chance to call you. Is this a good time to talk?”

“I am at work but I can talk for a while.” Sienna said. She wasn’t about to let this man get off the phone with her at this point.

Derrick and Sienna talked on the phone for about an hour despite the constant interruptions from Sienna’s co-workers.

“You must be a very important lady.” Derrick noted.

“Not really. The month before school starts is actually a very busy time for the guidance office.”

The call ended when they decided to meet for dinner later that evening. Sienna was ecstatic. She couldn’t wait to call Tiffany to share her news. Tiffany warned Sienna to be careful and to not fall for this guy too quickly.

“You need to get to know him first.” Tiffany said.

Sienna promised that she would but for some reason she already felt a connection to him. He was perfect for her. He did not have any children. He wanted to be married. His dreams were the same as hers. He wanted to find the perfect woman to spend the rest of his life with. To Sienna, he had already established himself as a man of his word. He had called her when he said he would and on their first encounter, he showed that he was a true gentleman.

Sienna left work and went home to shower and change for her dinner with Derrick. She wanted to wear something nice but she didn’t want to look like she dressed up for the occasion. She settled on her low cut black and teal colored paisley print maxi dress with a pair of open-toed sandals with a little heel. She was planning on wearing this outfit on the plane ride to New Orleans this weekend but tonight was a perfect night as well.

Sienna and Derrick were to meet at Phillips Restaurant at the Inner Harbor. That was a central location for both of them. Derrick suggested that they walk along the harbor after dinner. When Sienna arrived at the restaurant, Derrick was sitting at a table that overlooked the harbor. He was dressed in a nice gray suit with a black paisley printed tie. Sienna didn’t care that much about expensive clothes but she knew that his outfit was expensive. Things like that didn’t really matter to her but she felt relieved thinking that she could possibly be dating a guy who she didn’t have to loan money to or pay some of his bills.

Derrick stood up, greeted Sienna with a smile and a hug then he pulled out her chair to let her sit down. ‘Oooh he smells good. What a gentleman.’ Sienna thought. At their table, in the space in front of Sienna, there was a small black box.

“Oh my goodness! What is this?” Sienna asked with a look of surprise.

“Open it.” Derrick says. Excited Sienna opens the small black box.

“A Tile?” She said laughing. “Yes Ma’am. That’s so if you ever lose your keys again another man does not have to chase you down. I don’t want you to meet someone else and forget about me.”