Get It Girls (32 page)

“Yo, thank you for looking after my sister. You saved her life, man. You really came through.”

Sweets blushed and said, “Man, anything for you, Chubby, you know that.”

Chubby nodded and said, “I’m gonna come see you with your split of the money in a couple of days.” Chubby reached inside his pants pocket and peeled off five hundred dollars. “In the meantime, take this. It should hold you down till then.”

Sweets looked at the money and shook his head. “No, Chubby, I’m not going to be needing that right now.” Sweets saw that Chubby was confused and continued, “I just signed myself in to the Harlem Hospital drug program, and I’m going in right now. Like you said, I should give my unborn child a chance in this world.”

A huge smile came over Chubby’s face as he nodded and put his hand on Sweets’ shoulder.

“Just do me a favor, Chubby.”

Chubby nodded.

“After we leave here me and my girl going away to a six-month treatment program and we ain’t gonna have a place to stay after that with the baby. You think you can find us an apartment by then?”

Chubby shrugged and said, “You ain’t got nothing to worry about. I got you covered and don’t worry about your share of the money either because I’m gonna hold it for you till you get out.”

Sweets smiled and thanked him one last time and headed upstairs and into a new life.

T
he papers dubbed it the worst drug-related massacre in Harlem’s history, but the people in the neighborhood called it a blessing in disguise. Because of infamy the building received in the news and press, the New York City mayor made a crackdown on drug spots and dealers who lorded over tenant buildings. The mayor received a slap in the face when news teams began interviewing tenants of the building who questioned his leadership ability. How could he allow an open drug market right under his nose without one single arrest or raid after tenants had been complaining for years about it?

To ensure that the building never returned to its former state again, the mayor ordered police presence in front of the building and a team of inspectors from various agencies to write up and fine the building’s owner of any defects in the building and have them fixed. Since it was drug-related homicides, the detectives did not consider it a high priority case, and after two months the case would never see the light of day again.

It took nearly two days to count up all the money, and when they finally did, it was a grand total of nine hundred fifty seven thousand dollars. Each player involved, Chubby, Vonda, Jessica, Doc, Shooter, Johnson, Cleveland, Sweets, and Tiny, would receive one hundred thousand dollars.

The remaining fifty seven thousand was endowed toward Lynn’s funeral and the remaining share to her family. They knew from the beginning that there was nothing they could do to bring Lynn’s killer to justice without complicating matters, so they mailed her head with Lynn’s full name and address to city coroner’s office, who’d already found an unknown black female headless body floating in the East River. That was the only way they could possibly give Lynn a proper burial.

Since most of Tiny’s family was still on drugs, Vonda would hold onto Tiny’s share of the money until someone in her family became responsible enough for them to take it. Vonda offered to pay for their stay at a rehab, but no one was ready at that point so she simply put it a bank and waited. They threw Tiny a warm and beautiful funeral that was attended by many of her former schoolmates and neighbors alike. Vonda and Chubby vowed to sponsor a yearly memorial in their old block in memory of Tiny and Lynn and have free food, drinks, a D.J. playing music, and games for the kids in which they’d win prizes.

Chubby even had a change of heart when Vonda told him what it was like when she walked the streets of Harlem posing as a crackhead and how horrible it must be on the women who were caught in the cycle of addiction to get abused on a daily basis. And when she told him how she felt when she had to smoke the pipe, it nearly brought him to tears.

That same night, Chubby sat by the river on west side of Harlem till the sun came up. After sitting and thinking for six hours about his sister, his brothers who were all strung out on the poison, and finally Tiny. Chubby came to a decision and went to the trunk of his car and removed the four kilos of cocaine that he took from the night of the robbery. One by one, he tossed each package of drugs into the river. Chubby never looked back as he drove off in the sunset a new man with new principles.

The following day, Chubby went to the pediatric wing of Harlem Hospital to visit a little girl who had recently made the papers from getting shot in her tiny arm during a drug war in 142nd Street. He stood at the entrance to the hospital room with a stuffed teddy bear and brown shopping bag in his arms. The little girl’s mother smiled when she saw him and welcomed him inside.

He eyed the floor as he approached them and said in an almost whisper as her rocked back and forth. “How are you ma’am? But I read about your daughter in the paper and I just wanted to bring her something that might make her feel better.”

The woman smiled brightly and thanked him. She led him over to her daughter’s bed and her arm was in a long cast that reached her little shoulders. “Monet, this kind gentleman came by to give you a little gift.”

Chubby finally got the nerve to look her in her eyes and handed her the large fluffy teddy bear. She reached for it with her good arm and quickly smiled and hugged her gift tightly. Her mother watched her daughter with glee. It was the first time she’d seen her daughter smile in the time since her tragic incident.

The woman thanked him and said, “Now, Monet, tell the kind gentleman thank you.”

She turned toward Chubby and asked, “Oh, I didn’t catch your name.”

Chubby only stared at the floor and simply said, “Just say it’s from a Harlem boy that was lost.” He then handed the woman the brown shopping bag and said, “Maybe this will help y’all out with everything y’all been through.”

As quick as he’d entered, Chubby exited even quicker. The woman found the visit rather odd. She opened up the bag and looked inside and suddenly became weak in her knees and sat down to prevent herself from falling. She looked toward the doorway before she looked inside the bag again, only this time she reached in and pulled out stacks and stacks of hundred-dollar bills.

**********

Vonda was so moved by her brief, yet powerful experience as crack addict that she decided to go back to school and pursue a career in drug prevention and social work. She thought about the Get It Girls every day and it only added strength and motivation to her when times got too rough. She became a model student and hoped someday to receive her Masters Degree in Sociology.

**********

Jessica had to complete six months in prison for violating her parole. The timing, she thought, couldn’t have been worse. She felt she’d let everyone down and was powerless to do anything about it. What pained her the most was knowing she would have her baby born under the supervision of the prison system. She was relieved to know that Kenny and her mother understood enough to stand by her during one of the darkest moments of her life.

When Vonda came to visit her, she was also relieved that they’d pulled off their mission and that they were now free from fearing about their future. But when she told her about Tiny, she was surprised and sad. They hadn’t a clue why Tiny would show up in her condition, but Vonda told Jessica that if wasn’t for her she would not had come out of it alive. Jessica felt bad about not being able to attend her two best friends’ funerals, but Vonda explained that she was there with the in spirit. Vonda held Jessica down the entire six months she was away with visits and commissary.

Kenny came every visit to see her to see her through it and to see the baby grow. They talked mostly about their wedding, the baby, and their future together as a family. Kenny told her that his real estate worries were over and that he could now began receiving rent again from his tenants. Jessica was pleased everything was finally going well for the both of them.

Jessica spent most of her time brushing up and perfecting her French, which she began speaking nearly fluently compliments of her cellmate, who was also pregnant and a Haitian named Gwendolyn Corde. Jessica made it a point that she and Gwendolyn only spoke French around each other so she would get better. Jessica dreamed of her wedding day when she’d be ask to say her vows, and when she read them, it would be in French to prove to her husband she cared enough to learn his native language.

It was exactly 5:46 in the morning when Jessica felt the first sharp pain, then another. She clutched her stomach and immediately knew the baby was coming and woke up her cellmate.

“Gwen, I think I’m having the baby.”

Gwen awoke instantly to press a panic button that was installed in the maternity wing of all expecting mothers’ rooms. The C.O.’s and medical staff arrived immediately and took Jessica to the infirmary. After the doctor examined her and was sure she was in fact in labor, a call was placed to the local hospital for her to be picked up and admitted in the hospital to give birth.

Three hours later, Jessica was ready to deliver, and the nurses prepped her for birth. As she endured that labor pain, she hoped that her mother and especially Kenny were there to watch her give birth, but state regulations would not permit it. Moments later, Jessica delivered a healthy baby girl. She was excited as well as relieved when she finally gave birth.

After they cleaned up and checked the baby thoroughly, a nurse carried the newborn to Jessica and cooed. “Why she is such a beautiful child, you should be very proud.”

Jessica smiled, and said, “I am, I’m very proud of her.”

As the nurse cuddled her in her arms she said with amazement, “Look at her, she’s opening up her eyes for the first time.” She quickly handed her to Jessica and they both stared into her eyes.

“Wow,” said the nurse, “she has amazing eyes, they’re beautiful. They almost look silver.”

Jessica stared at her daughter and realized she had her father’s eyes.

“So, what is her name?” asked the nurse. Jessica never really thought about it, so she looked at her daughter again and answered, “Silver.”

Two days later, baby Silver was given to Jessica’s mother. Kenny was there also, but since they weren’t married yet and he wasn’t established as the father, state regulations only permitted the maternal parent to take custody at that time. Needless to say, Jessica was heartbroken and felt like a failure.

Though she only had a month left on her sentence it didn’t make her feel any better. Most of the inmates were mothers themselves and rallied behind Jessica and comforted her, making it easier on her to get by. Jessica and her mother opted not to bring the baby to see her because it was winter and extremely cold that time of the year. They didn’t want to risk the baby getting a cold.

Kenny showed up for nearly every visit to make her time go by quicker. On visits, Kenny brought Polaroid pictures so she could see their daughter and talk for hours about her. Kenny admitted that he didn’t know how precious it was to have a child and wanted only the best for her. He even got choked up when he talked about the safety of his child to having to grow up in Harlem. Jessica understood his concern, because of what happened to her despite being raised as well as she did with both her parents.

“I talked to my mother,” said Kenny, “and she feels the same way as I do, and she’s willing to let her stay there with her and my family till I can buy a house out there in New Jersey near them.”

Jessica was taken aback for a moment and asked, “Kenny, I never even met your mother, and what’s wrong with us staying at my mother’s house until we can find somewhere to live?”

“Because, she would be better off in New Jersey with my family to be raised. I’m not saying your mother is a bad person, but—”

“But, what, Kenny?” Jessica challenged.

Kenny stared at her for a moment and came out and told her how he really felt.

“Jessica, have you forgotten about your brother? Not for nothing, but look what happened to you. Jessica, I love you, but I have a daughter to think about now.”

Jessica could not believe he said that and turned away so he wouldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes. Kenny knew immediately he had made a mistake and quickly apologized to her.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I said that, and I didn’t mean it.” Kenny threw his hands up, stood up, and continued. “Jessica, it’s just that this is my first time having a child, a girl at that, and I’m scared.”

Jessica turned and looked at Kenny who seemed actually afraid and worried. “When I hold Silver in my arms, a feeling that I never felt before overcomes me and I get so overwhelmed with fear and happiness at the same time, I can’t explain it. One thing I do know is that I have to protect her at all costs, and if I’m wrong for wanting to do that then I’m guilty, Jessica. I just want what’s best for her, that’s all.”

Jessica did understand, because that was exactly how her own father had felt about her. She couldn’t fault him, but she knew he was acting on emotions and would allow him his right to feel that way.

“Kenny, I love you even more to know how you feel about our child, but understand equally that I love her the same way, even more. But, I will not let anyone raise my child if I have anything to do with it. We can talk about moving out of Harlem one day, but until that happens, we’re both going to be sure she’s ok.”

Kenny gazed at her, finally relented, and smiled. “I’m sorry, baby, I don’t know what I was thinking.” He recouped quickly and said excitedly, “Once you get out and get settled, you promised to take me up to the Poconos, remember?”

Jessica smiled. “You don’t forget anything do you?”

“No, I don’t. I need my time with my baby because I miss you that much. So, when you come home and settle in, the first chance we get I’m booking us a cottage up there for a weekend, ok?”