“May I help you?”
I’m sure that I stuck out like a sore thumb because everyone around me was dressed in all black, and there I stood on the dingy doormat in some distressed jeans, a shirt, and some sneakers.
“Good morning, mam. I’m looking for Bashar?”
As soon as I finished my statement, she broke down crying. I kind of just looked at her for a bit because the outburst made me uncomfortable.
“He’s uh… he’s” before she could get anything out, the toddler on her hip started crying too.
I took a step back to give them both a moment. That’s when a woman from inside the house came to the door and took the toddler from the older woman. She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Whew,” she exhaled, “Bashar was murdered. This morning was his funeral, and right now is the repass.”
I tilted my head as I took in the information.
“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said genuinely.
She looked me in my eyes while still wiping away the tears that were falling.
“Were you two close?”
I shook my head before responding.
“Not really, he worked at one of my shops, and we haven’t seen him in almost two weeks.”
“Well, this is why. My Bashar wasn’t the type to miss work. He was such a good boy. Now I have to take care of hisdaughter,” she nodded toward the toddler that was just taken from her.
I heard her, I truly did, but I couldn’t stand it when someone died, and family members came with those damn lies, saying how the person was so good and how they would never do something bad. This little nigga stole damn radios out of my shop, and I’m sure he had something to do with the missing bricks. Shit, his involvement is probably what led to his death. The streets never played fair.
“Again, I’m sorry for your loss. When his last check gets mailed out, contact the number on it and explain what happened so that another payment can be sent in your name.”
She shook her head up and down.
“Well, thank you for coming to check on him,” she said before I walked off.
The thing was, I wasn’t coming to check on shit but a lead. I needed to know who the fuck was bold enough to rob me. That’s it, and that’s all.
As I made my way home, I just started thinking of how Sha and I were literally at a standstill with our little investigation. The situation wasn’t even a setback. I mean, how could it be when I was at the head of the Ruiz Cartel? This whole thing was about respect. I swear, the feeling made me feel uneasy, but if there were no leads, I had to leave the shit alone for now. I was making peace with the shit as I made my way home.
ETERNITY
I was standing in one of the empty spare bedrooms in the house. I was picturing how things would look as a nursery. We hadraised all our children in this house, and every single last one of them grew up in the rooms they are in now. Malik startled me when he wrapped his hands around my waist and then pulled me close. I didn’t even hear him walk into the room.
“So, the crib should go there. The changing table over there and,” he pointed in the corner of the room, “the mommy rocking chair you love right there.”
I smiled hard as hell at his recommendations on decor. He always knew how to read my mind. There I was thinking about filling this room with items that would be for the next member of this family, and here he was knowing what was going on in my brain.
“Stop doing that,” I said with a smile.
“Doing what?” he asked as he kissed the nape of my neck.
“Reading me.”
“Never.”
I turned around, pecked his lips, and then stared him in his eyes. We were really about to do this.
“What you going to do when I get big and round and just be wobbling around?”
