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The call abruptly ended. Jude always named his locations and told his customers where to get their fix on any given day.
He peered beyond the curtain and found Paul still working.
“Alex is comin’ through soon. Give Cecil three grams for him. Five others are coming through between three and four today. I will text you their names.”
“Okay, Judge. Got it.”
“Cecil will have his hands busy after midnight because there’s nine more. I’ll let Kash know, too. Cecil will bounce between the two houses here because I don’t want him at the same spot for each transaction. I will let him know he needs to bring Kyle with him.” Cecil, Kash and Kyle were three of his distributors. They always kept heat on them, twenty-four-seven. Kash was being personally groomed. He had the most promise. “You remove this curtain and put the door back up today, with the bolt. Got it?”
“Yes, sir.”
Jude headed out the house, then proceeded to do an inspection of the second home next door. This one was also equipped with a meticulous lab, run by a lady named Sizzle, who knew her shit. She often had the assistance of two other people—who he’d vetted—and they got the product primed and ready on a consistent basis. He gave her the run-down of the customers coming through soon and let her know how much supply was needed for the next twenty-four hours.
“Be on the lookout for anyone you’ve never seen before, Sizzle.”
“Oh, I will, Judge. I’ll let you know if I notice anything. Just like always.”
Jude bid her a good day after seeing that things were in working order and met his standards. He went on to check on some of the other facilities, made a few calls, then returned home in the evening to get dressed for dinner. Typically, he favored meeting a couple of friends and going to a favorite steakhouse, but tonight, he decided to go it alone. Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse was the place to be.
After valeting his truck, he got a table and ordered several items from the menu. He was a regular, so the staff knew the types of drinks he liked, and how he enjoyed his food cooked. Every now and again, someone would see him sitting there, in his dinner jacket and jewelry, and introduce themselves then ask what he did for a living. He always gave the same spiel:‘I’m in sales. An independent contractor.’It was an honest answer. He ate his appetizer of crab cakes, indulged in a boneless ribeye with bourbon peppercorn sauce and truffle fondue, their signature macaroni and cheese, and fried veggies. When it was time to leave, his leftovers were packed nicely, and he exited the place, the taste of his cabernet lingering on his pallet.
He lit a cigar on the drive back home, first listening to the sounds of Revel Day’s, ‘Baby it’s you.’ He enjoyed the music as he drove slowly on the streets, slick with a fresh drizzle of rain. The air smelled sweet and clean. Moments later, he parked at an adult living facility he’d been to so many times, grabbed the leftovers, and headed inside.
“Good evenin’, Deloris,” he said as he passed the nurses’ station. He went on up the hall, his back straight, humming the melody that had played in his car. The plastic wrapped around the containers of the black cloth carry-out bag crinkled with each step as they rubbed against each other.
He arrived at the closed door, where the glow of red and purple lights filtered through the threshold. He input his key, then turned the knob and entered.
Eli sat with his back to him on the end of the bed, watching television. He was making jerky movements, his arm up as he swayed in awkward ways to music. Jude approached and rested his hand on the man’s stiff shoulder.
Eli turned and looked up at him with those big blue eyes, a tilted smile on his face. His lips curled in a smile, gums showing.
“Jeeeeewd… Jeeeeewd…”
“Yes, it’s me.” He kissed the top of the man’s head covered in silky carob brown waves, then cleared a table surface laden with drawings and candy wrappers and placed the containers of leftovers there. “I brought you some steak. I ordered way too much food tonight on purpose, and look, I even got ya your own dessert, Eli. Chocolate cake!”
Eli began to move his left arm excitedly up and down, as though tugging on a pulley. Jude sat down beside him, helped him tie on a bib, and cut up his steak. After Eli had finished eating and washed it down with a vending machine Pepsi, they sat side by side, with Nick Jr. on in the background, drawing and coloring. The purple and red spinning light in his room was peaceful. He could see why he liked it. Eli began to get sleepy, yawning over and over, so he removed his pajamas from the drawer and waited while the man dressed, then brushed his teeth. He helped tuck Eli into bed, bringing the soft teal and cream sheets to right below the man’s stubbled chin.
Jude reached for the remote, then turned the volume to low. Eli preferred to fall asleep to the faint sounds of the television.
He stood there for a moment, watching, then listening to Eli’s soft snores. When he was sure the man was asleep, he leaned over, kissed his cheek, and headed back out…
CHAPTER FOUR
True Blue
“There he is.”Lark stuffed the last bit of her creamy chocolate éclair in her mouth, then pointed towards the automated front doors where their gorgeous customer was walking in. He hadn’t been around much lately.What a pleasant surprise.“I should take some salami and slap him with it.”
Iris burst out laughing. She was a few minutes away from the end of her shift, and now, the tall stranger called Jude—who’d refused to entertain her offer to set him up with Lark—was in the building.
“You just being mean for no reason.”
Lark chuckled, put her hand on her hip, and shook her head.
“At least, when he let me down easy, I ain’t have to see his face. You should go on ahead and holler at him if he asks you again.” She crouched down to tie her sneaker. “I don’t have no claim on him no-how. Better one of us get a date with him instead of none.”
Iris wasn’t certain she believed Lark, for the woman didn’t sound very convincing. “Do you regret asking me what he and I were talkin’ about now? I wasn’t going to say anything, Lark. He said you were pretty though. That had to count for something.” She felt a bit hot and strange as the man disappeared out of sight down one of the aisles.
“You can stop repeatin’ that, Iris.” Lark stood straight and smirked. “The whole, ‘He said you were pretty’thing. Ugly babies are called precious for a reason. It’s a way to save feelings. Anyway, I ain’t pretty enough apparently.”Yup, she’s sulking. Licking her wounds. This shit is awkward as hell.“He must think he’s too good for lowly ol’ Lark.” She laughed, picking at herself.
