Get It Girls (35 page)

Chubby remained silent and just stared at her.

“Chubby, I’m serious. Get my daughter out of here!”

Chubby reluctantly nodded and got into the driver’s seat.

Jessica took a deep breath and proceeded up the walkway. Before Jessica could make it to the door, it had opened and an older couple stood at the doorway smiling. Jessica introduced herself and they eagerly shook her hand and hugged her. Jessica was overwhelmed by their by their friendliness and knew it was genuine.

The woman spoke first. She was in her late fifties with smooth, radiant skin. “Hi, Jessica, I’m Kenneth’s mother Deidra, and this is my husband, Kenneth’s father Leland.”

He took off his dark glasses to get a good look at her and it was then, did Jessica saw where Kenny got his hazel eyes from—his father eyes was just like his.

Still excited, Kenny’s mother asked, “So, where is the baby at?”

Jessica took a quick peek inside their home and said honestly, “Is it possible I can come inside and talk to you first?”

The couple sensed something was wrong and welcomed her in. After nearly twenty minutes went by, Jessica emerged from the home smiling and waved for Chubby to bring the baby out. Chubby went to the rear door and brought out Silver and carried her up the walkway. The couple shook with anticipation as they approached. When they saw Silver’s face, they knew instantly that she was their first and only grandchild.

Jessica found out that his parents knew nothing of their son’s child until one day Kenny had called and told them he had a daughter and that the baby’s mother had died and he had custody of her and wanted them to raise her. They told Jessica that they were happy to take their grandchild, but he never contacted them, and shortly that they were notified that he died.

When Jessica asked about his uncle, Kenny’s mother’s eyes turned cold and she explained that he was arrested for murder and died before he could be sentenced nearly a year ago. She always blamed his uncle for Kenny getting mixed up in his side of the business because he was a bad man. Jessica decided against telling his parents everything that went on with her son to spare them more heartbreak.

Over the years, Kenny’s parents enjoyed their time with their only grandchild and pampered Silver as if she was a princess. Since Silver was Kenny’s only biological daughter, his entire estate, which included five residential buildings throughout the city of New York, including the infamous Castle of Greyskull, were transferred over to Silver as the owner, and her mother Jessica and uncle Jordan now ran them.

**********

Almost twenty years to the day four impressionable teenagers got charged with a murder they didn’t commit, the case was reopened when Nikki of the Lenox Avenue crew came forward and turned herself in and told the authorities the whole truth that had been weighing her down for years. She apparently found God and told her pastor of her past atrocities and he simply advised her what was stated in the bible in John 8:32—“Then you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

As a result, Tay-Tay was found and arrested, and she made consistent statements backing up Nikki’s claim. A month later Jessica and Vonda learned through the District Attorney’s office that they were exonerated of the crime they were charged with twenty years ago. Nikki and Tay-Tay, who were now productive citizens with families of their own, avoided jail time only after Vonda and Jessica spoke on their behalf at their sentencing. When Jessica got her turn before the judge to make a plea on their behalf, she removed a letter and opened it.

“Twenty years ago, me and my three best friends, Vonda Williams, Claresse Maynard, and Lynise Davis, had our whole lives ahead of us. We went to our prom and found love, or what we thought was love and decided to become women that night and give away what was sacred and holy—our virginities. Because of that decision we made a secret pact to keep it between the four of us, which it was our right to do.

“Unfortunately, the most memorable night in our lives also turned into the most tragic—a girl was murdered. To make a long story short, four innocent young girls, still in their prom gowns, were all charged with the murder. Because of this pact we made, the only truth we left out to the authorities was that we all were in a hotel to spare our parents the embarrassment. The one fatal omission also proved to be a life changing error and cost us six years of our life.

“The day we were convicted, we made another pact, that no matter what happens when they close those gates on us, we would stick together and do whatever was necessary to make it out of prison alive. I stand before the same court, twenty years later, to tell you that we failed at our pact and two of our best friends didn’t make it out alive. They died the same day they entered prison. They would die a miserable death years later, but it was all the same, because of the injustice that would ultimately suck away their souls.

“One would wonder why, after so much pain, after so much hurt, why I would defend the very people that played such a role in ruining our lives? The answer is simple, I already have too much blood on my hands, and I refuse to bloody them any further and take another person’s life by doing the same thing the penal system did to us. They suffered equal burdens over years, I’m sure, and salvaged their lives the best way they knew how and became productive citizens.

“We ask you, to not weigh down our burden any further. Today we chose life over death. So, Your Honor, on behalf of Claresse Maynard, Lynise Davis, myself, and Vonda Williams, the four of us still stand by our pact. We still stand collectively together in spirit, for we are and forever will be, the Get It Girls!”

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