"I"m not on a social call."
"Oh. Well, um, what"s up?" asked Gena, wondering what the f.u.c.k she was there for.
Viola didn"t beat around the bush with idle talk about the weather. She got right to the point and she broke that s.h.i.t down without blinking an eye.
"Listen, Quadir was my son, and I loved him dearly. However, he is gone now, and life must go on." She reached in her pocket-book and pulled out a sheaf of paperwork, which she shoved in Gena"s face. "As you can see, this house is in my name. I own this house, dear, and I have plans for this property."
Gena couldn"t believe what she was seeing. Not just the deed to the house, she had paperwork on the Range Rover and the BMW. "Everything," said Viola Richards, "Not Montell. Not Montell and Viola, just Viola." The only thing that wasn"t in the b.i.t.c.h"s name was Gena"s furniture, the jewelry, and the Benz. That was it. Gena just sat there looking at the b.i.t.c.h.
Rik stepped in. "I think you should leave, now. I really think it"s time for you to go."
"Well, I will give you a week. I hope you understand." She stood up and shook it off as if she had said nothing out of the ordinary. "This has all been so difficult for me to deal with."
No one had noticed Gena coming alive. "Difficult for you? It hasn"t been that difficult for you to sink your claws into all of Quadir"s s.h.i.t!"
"These a.s.sets are in my name. Therefore, that makes them mine."
"And what exactly, now that Qua is dead, is yours?"
"The house, the furnishings, the cars, and the jewelry. I want it all back."
"Oh, no, b.i.t.c.h. That"s where you f.u.c.ked up. The Mercedes-Benz is in my name. Would you like to see my paperwork? And the furnishings I bought." By now she was towering over the woman. "Would you like to see my receipts? And the jewelry is mine, too. Everything in this house is mine. All you"re gonna get is the walls!" The teen-aged widow stood there waiting, wondering why grownups could be so mean.
Denise came to her mother"s aid. "Who you think you talking to?"
Gena slipped into superior gear. "Whom . . . do you think? Let me tell you something. When your son came into this house and needed something, the motherf.u.c.ker came to me. When he had a problem, he told it to me. I am the one who gave Quadir what he needed. Anything he needed, he came to me!" She was into it now; her eyes were boring into the cold-hearted woman and her violin string, tight-a.s.s, chicken hawk daughter.
"That man, my man, has only been in the ground two weeks and you"re already here to claim his s.h.i.t."
"My brother would have wanted us to have his things, that"s why he put it in our mom"s name."
"b.i.t.c.h, please. He put it in your mother"s name, Denise, because he was a drug dealer. s.h.i.t don"t mean he wanted her to have a motherf.u.c.king thing. Did the motherf.u.c.ker ever invite you over? h.e.l.l no. What"s this, your third visit? I know it, and you know it, and you know who your son bought this house for. He bought it for me. You remember that when you turn the key and unlock the door, you miserable b.i.t.c.h. And you never liked me, so I"m not surprised you got the f.u.c.king audacity to come in my house and tell me some bulls.h.i.t like this."
"Who you calling a b.i.t.c.h?" asked Denise.
"You heard me. I didn"t stutter. Your mother is a miserable b.i.t.c.h that goes around trying to make everyone else miserable. s.h.i.t, she can"t even hold her man. You want me out? f.u.c.k you, both ya"ll can kiss my a.s.s. I hope you burn in h.e.l.l!"
Rik was up. He"d been letting Gena get everything off her chest, proud as a peac.o.c.k and just as happy to see her again among the living, but enough was enough. "I think you two should go. You really have no place here. Neither of you do, and what you"re doing is wrong. Qua wouldn"t have wanted nothing like this. He wouldn"t have wanted this to go on." He stood his ground against the chicken hawks.
"They don"t care about Quadir. How could they? How could she? That b.i.t.c.h didn"t even raise him, Rik. His grandmother did, and his sister never knew him. Come in here telling me about my G.o.dd.a.m.n man. Motherf.u.c.k you and this motherf.u.c.king house!"
"You curse all you want. You can say whatever you want, you just get your low-life a.s.s out my house."
"f.u.c.k you, b.i.t.c.h," said Gena, as she spit at Viola missing her by a blow of the wind as Viola opened the door.
"Hey, Gena, don"t let me see you in the street, b.i.t.c.h, "cause your a.s.s is mines," said Denise.
"b.i.t.c.h, we can go round for round right here and right now. Let me go, Rik," said Gena, ready to f.u.c.k both they a.s.ses up. Gee was hyped. She was ready to be world champion.
"Gena, chill the f.u.c.k out!" Rik yelled. He ushered the chicken hawks out the door and closed it behind them. They must have caught a cab to the house or had someone drop them off "cause they d.a.m.n sure were taking the Rover and the BMW with them. Gena wanted to stop them, but what the f.u.c.k for? She wanted to kill the b.i.t.c.hes, but it wasn"t worth it.
"The b.i.t.c.h can have it, Rik. She can have it all. s.h.i.t, the insurance is up on the BMW. I should blow it up." Looking around, she felt her belly sinking again. But only for a second. "What am I gonna do, Rik?"
"Call a storage company, pay them to come and pack your s.h.i.t up and store it for you. Then you"re gonna figure out where you"re gonna stay and you"re gonna move. If you want a house, I"ll get you one, or you can come and stay with me."
"No, Rik. I"m okay." She finally sat down. "I want to go home." For the first time in her life, she wanted to go home to Gah Git"s house.
"You got money?"
"Yeah, there should be some here. Come on." She led him downstairs to the safe and unlocked it.
"d.a.m.n. There should be more. There"s only two thousand here."
"Two thousand? Where the f.u.c.k is the dough at?" asked Rik.
They sat silent for a moment. Gena wondering what dough.
"There should be way more than that in the safe. Qua said he had millions."
"Millions?" Gena asked.
"Yeah, baby. True motherf.u.c.king blue millions."
"Millions?" Gena asked again.
"Gena, don"t get that s.h.i.t twisted. Quadir made it clear to me that he was a millionaire. Now, I don"t know where, but he had millions."
"His mother must have it. She got everything else."
"d.a.m.n, that"s f.u.c.ked up. Gena, you don"t have no money saved?"
"Yeah, a couple of thousand."
You spend thousands like it"s dollars, and you have no major paper saved, thought Rik. "Gena, you holding at least a half million just in jewelry, furniture and furs, and you have no cash? Go figure. How much do you spend a week, ten?"
"No, more like fifteen maybe twenty thousand."
"See? And you have two thousand. When is the Benz coming out of the shop?"
"I don"t know. It should"ve been ready."
"I don"t know what to say. And why do you want to go to your grandmother"s house? She lives down Richard Allen, right? I mean, d.a.m.n, if you don"t want to stay with me, then at least let me get you a house or an apartment."
"No, Rik. You act like you"re my keeper. Quadir was my keeper and he"s gone now. I want to go home. I haven"t been home since I was seventeen. I miss home, and I"m sorry if the projects scare you, but I grew up there, remember?"
"I just can"t figure out how you, Quadir"s woman, is broke and going back to Richard Allen."
"And Rik, what part of that don"t you understand?"
"I don"t understand why you want to go back to the projects. Motherf.u.c.kers want to get out and you trying to go back."
"I want to go home, don"t you understand? The projects isn"t my home. My home is where my family is. They"re the ones who care about me. They"re the ones who will take care of me."
Rik looked at her. "Gena, you"re a big girl. You can take care of yourself. You don"t need to be living down in no Richard Allen. Man, those n.i.g.g.as down there is crazy." He knew. He ran Richard Allen.
Gena suppressed a smirk and looked at him, feeling normal again and liking it. "I want to go home for a while. I really need my family. I mean, this big old house is the best shelter from the cruel world, but without Qua, it just ain"t the same. And now he"s gone," she said walking over to her fireplace. "He gave me everything, Rik. He gave me a purpose and he loved me like n.o.body has ever loved me in my whole life. He gave me loyalty, Rik. I mean, I know he cheated on me from time to time. I could tell. But even with the bulls.h.i.t, he was the most wonderful man. I don"t want to really leave here, Rik."
"I know you don"t. Look up in here. It"s the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. Qua said he was gonna get you this house. He said his children would grow up in this house and the two of you would live in this house together for the rest of your lives."
"He really said that?"
*Yeah, he really did."
"Isn"t there anything I can do to stay here?"
"Whose name is on the deed?"
"Hers."
"Then it"s her house. If she wants you out, she can get you out. She can get you out through the courts."
"What kind of f.u.c.king justice is this? I lose my man, I lose my G.o.dd.a.m.n house, the b.i.t.c.h just straight up took the Rover. Doesn"t she know the G.o.dd.a.m.n store is five miles down the road?"
"I know," said Rik. "That s.h.i.t was cold. I would have never thought his mother would come as raunchy as she did today."
"I have nothing. I"m losing everything," she said sadly.
"You buy Armani underwear. Look at all this furniture. Look at it, not to mention all the G.o.dd.a.m.n diamonds you wear. You look like someone went straight to Africa. Please, you sitting up here trumped up talking like life is over. You got more than any woman I know, Gena. s.h.i.t, you got paid. b.i.t.c.hes don"t see a portion of what you got. You better look around. All this is yours. In another apartment, or another house. What you got, five big screens up in here? Three living room sets?"
"Four," said Gena.
"Pool table, video games, and with all the cases of Dom, you could bootleg. I"m saying. I just don"t want to see you back down the projects. I know G.o.dd.a.m.n well Qua wouldn"t want you down there. Stay in a hotel, then, find a place. I"ll pay for it."
"Rik, I have made up my mind. I"m going home for a while. When I"m ready you can get me a house."
"s.h.i.t, I really wish you would stop with that s.h.i.t."
"What is it you don"t understand? You don"t understand where the money is? I spent all the G.o.dd.a.m.n money, Rik. You don"t know why I want to go back home? "cause I"m not scared of no Richard Allen. I don"t understand what"s so hard to understand. I don"t want to leave here, okay?" She was crying again. "I just wish Quadir was here, that"s all. If he was here, everything would be okay. Now everything is falling apart. Don"t you understand?"
Rik had enough. "What the f.u.c.k do you think I been going through? Lita is gone. Lita is gone, by the hands of some n.i.g.g.a named Ran. Lita isn"t ever coming back. Khyree is gone with his grandmom. I don"t have my family. I don"t have the only motherf.u.c.ker out here that I could trust. So, all them tears you done shed isn"t doing neither one of us no good, and don"t start crying again." He really didn"t understand her thinking. Gena was a hustler"s wife. She was not supposed to be in no projects. It was too many other hustlers out there that would see her straight on the strength of Quadir.
"I don"t know, G. What can I tell you, sister, but to find that money. Before you leave this house, you find that money, "cause there"s money here to be found. Millions, Gena. Millions. We should be looking for it now."
"Do you really think there"s millions in here?" She stopped crying.
"I know there is. Qua got to have it in a safe."
"There was only a couple thousand in the safe."
"Then that ain"t the one, baby. Trust me, there"s gotta be another one. Qua had his s.h.i.t stacked. Why else you think he would give up a yield of fifty, sometimes eighty thousand dollars every week? Quadir had his own thing set up, Gena, with plenty of brothers on the payroll. Quadir had all the money. That money is up in here."
"There is no money in here, Rik."
"Yes, there is. You just don"t know about it."
"Rik, I live here, okay? I know every nook and cranny of this house. Trust me, there is no millions nowhere in here. If there was, I would know about it. Every week Quadir used to put money in the safe. That was it. That"s where he went to get his money. I wasn"t allowed to go near the safe until he told me the combination, and that wasn"t until after that b.i.t.c.h Cherelle called my house. There is no money. Quadir did not have no millions. His father was over here the other night, and he told Quadir that he had to go on a budget."
"Then his pops didn"t know about the money, Gena. Quadir was like that. I"m telling you, you can believe me or not. Quadir said he had millions, and when he said millions, he meant millions. Gena, it"s like hitting Lotto. Never having to worry about making ends meet, never having to worry about how you"re gonna eat, never having to worry about how you gonna get what you want. Millions. Quadir said he had saved millions and was retiring from the drug game. Now, you can believe me or you don"t have to, but I"m telling you now, the boy had money coming out his a.s.s and he didn"t take it with him, baby. I think we should search the house."
"You want to search this house?"
"Yeah, I do."
"Then you go ahead, "cause I ain"t searching s.h.i.t. Ain"t no money in here, Rik," she said walking away from him frustrated.
He started with the walls, looking for trap doors, hollow sounds as he went around knocking. He knew he"d have had them if he had this big house. He looked behind pictures, tapped on the walls, searched all over the bas.e.m.e.nt; anywhere one could store a hidden safe. After a good forty-five minutes of searching, Rik concluded that the money wasn"t in the house.
"I told you." Gena went into the kitchen and poured some milk for Gucci.
"Even the cat is paid," Rik said, shaking his head. "Diamond and gold Gucci tag, and you don"t have no idea where the money is."
"Rik, I don"t think Qua told you the truth because there would be no need for us to go on a budget."
"Gena, where is the money? You spend twenty thousand a week. Come on, he wasn"t serving the city kilos no more to be givin" you the money like that. That"s why he wanted you on a budget, just you."
"Well, it looks like I"m on a budget now, since you didn"t find all these millions," Gena said.
"Either that or my pockets is getting ready to hurt me."
"You gonna let me hold Lita"s Cadillac?" she asked with a smile.
"Yeah, if you want it," he said, not feeling right about some one else driving Lita"s car.
"Yeah, I do."
"Well, you want to go get it?"
"That would mean I would have to go outside," she said.
"Yeah, you"d be going outside to get the car."
"Okay. Let me get dressed." Gena went upstairs and threw on a pair of jeans and some riding boots, and a leather jacket.
Rik drove straight to the apartment and parked next to Lita"s car and gave Gena the keys. "You know, I"ll really miss Lita," Gena said.
"That girl meant the world to me, man. You don"t know how bad I feel. I lost her. That girl was my friend, besides being my woman."
"I felt bad when I didn"t go to her funeral."