It's Like Candy (30 page)

“How many thangs we talkin' about?”

“I got a large order this time,” Willie said.

“How large we talkin' about?”

“About eight. You can do that for me?” he asked.

“I might. I gotta call my peoples,” Eric stated.

“And one more thang, I'm stepping my game up, tryin' to hit a home run. I need a HI' extra points on the scoreboard,” Willie mentioned.

Eric was surprised. He knew what Willie was talking about. He wanted that yayo.

“Yo, you know I don't pitch at that speed,” Eric said.

“I know, but I'm doin' a few practice runs. My coach is beggin' for it. Might go MVP this year,” Willie informed him.

Eric sighed. He knew it was more money in his pocket, but the deal was risky. He didn't see the warning signs, because since business had started with Willie, he only ordered four pounds of weed, nothing more and nothing less. And it had been that way for a year now.

“Can you make that happen?”

“I'm gonna see what I can do for you. I'll call you,” Eric told him, and hung up.

 

Crowe's Funeral Home
on Sutphin Boulevard was packed with friends and family on late Thursday evening. Everyone came out to
give their condolences to Donald's family. It was a closed-casket viewing because of the shots he received at such close range.

Eric walked in dressed in a pair of black pants and a button-down shirt. He came alone to pay his respects to his childhood friend. He greeted the family and said he was sorry about what happened. Donald's mother, Brenda, a southern woman in her late sixties, hugged Eric close, and cried out, “They took my baby from me, Eric . . . they took him from us. Why they killed my baby? Why?”

“I don't know, Mrs. Jones. He didn't deserve this,” Eric said.

“I know he wasn't an angel, but my baby was trying,” she cried out, still gripping Eric. “He was trying to get his life right.”

A relative next to Mrs. Jones pulled her off Eric, embracing Donald's mother in her own arms. Eric stood there for a moment, gazing at the grief-stricken mother, and tried to compose himself. He then turned around and peered at the closed casket his boy was lying in.

He took a deep breath and made his way over to the viewing. There was a large picture of Donald encircled by dozens of flowers arranged formally by the casket. Eric stood over the casket, lowered his head, and said a small prayer to himself. A few tears started trickling down his face as he thought about his longtime friend.

It could be any one of us lying here tonight,
he thought. He couldn't take standing over the casket too much longer, so grief-stricken in his heart and soul, and he made an exit from the room. He met up with Mel and Raheem out in the foyer. And to his surprise, he noticed Rahmel walking into the building with his wife, Vivian. Rah noticed Eric and gave him a slight nod and smile.

Eric walked up to Rah and hugged him.

“I just recently heard,” Rah whispered in his ear. “They know who did it? “

“Nah,” Eric lied. “How long you been back in town?”

“Two weeks now,” Rah said.

Eric looked over at Vivian, and she was so beautiful dressed in a black skirt and white blouse with her hair in a French twist.

“Hey, Vivian,” Eric said, giving her a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Hey, Eric, I'm so sorry about your friend,” she sadly said, embracing him tightly. “You okay?”

“I'll be fine,” he replied.

“If you need us for anything, don't hesitate to call,” she suggested.

“Thanks.”

“Baby, can you give us a minute alone?” Rah asked of her.

“Sure. I got to use the ladies' room, anyway.” She walked off to the bathroom.

“I can't go in there. I just can't do it to myself.” Rah said. “I know it's a closed casket, but the last memory I want of Donald is when he was at my wedding having himself a good time.”

“I understand,” Eric said.

“Shit is goin' to hell, E. Everything's changing,” Rah continued.

Mel and Raheem joined Eric and Rah, and soon afterward, Critter walked into the funeral home alone. It was a small reunion, minus Yung Slim, and unfortunately, Donald.

As they all talked, Eric noticed that Rah was aloof from everyone else. He looked troubled about something. Eric gazed at his friend, and asked, “Rah, you okay?”

“E, we need to talk,” Rah said.

“No doubt,” Eric replied. “Yo, fellows, we'll be back.”

Rah and Eric walked outside the funeral home and continued up the block. Eric wanted to know what was troubling his friend so much. They stopped at the corner and Rah proclaimed to Eric, “E, I'm a saved man.”

“What?”

“Vivian, she changed me so much, and I love that woman. Because of her, I'm not wit' that rowdy shit anymore. I made my peace wit' God, and I need to make my peace wit' you tonight,” Rah said.

“What you talkin' about?” Eric questioned, looking at Rah with bewilderment.

“I ain't gonna lie to you, I got beef wit' your cousin. I was the one that helped to get him locked up,” Rah stated.

“What?” Eric replied, trying to understand where he was coming from.

“A few years ago, I was stressed for some cash, so I got down wit' this dude named Loco . . . some Spanish niggah from Brownsville. We did a few stickups here and there out in Brooklyn. One night, Loco's cousin put us onto one of Yung Slim's stash houses he had out in Brooklyn, told us there had to be about fifty thousand or better in the place. So I was down. I wanted payback. You don't know this, but remember Tammy I used to fuck wit'?”

“Yeah, you were lovin' that girl,” Eric said.

“She was cheating on me wit' your cousin, and she ended up gettin' pregnant by that niggah,” Rah proclaimed.

Eric was shocked. “You serious?”

“Russell used to throw that shit up in my face every chance he got. He always thought I was pussy. But I let it be,'cuz that was family to you, and I respect you. So I kept my mouth shut about it and ate that pain. The bitch had his kid, a son, and he doesn't even take care of it. All due respect, but I hate your cousin, E . . . he a grimy niggah. So Loco and I ran up in his spot, and robbed that niggah. It was risky, but we pulled it off, and came off wit' fifty G's. We laid low for weeks, because we knew the status Russell had, and I thought he would use you to get to me, but he never did. A month after the hit, Loco came up dead, shot four times in his head. I knew Russell had a hand in that. I got scared, and went to the police. I told them everything I knew, and they set up a sting for him, with me as their pawn. They knew Russell wanted me dead. The cops started using inside informants to get the word out to Russell about my location,'cuz they knew he was going to come after me for my life and his money.

“An inside informant in Russell's crew gave him bogus information about my location, and Russell believed him. He told Russell that I was hiding out in an apartment on Atlantic Avenue, and I was alone and scared. But the police was staking the place out twentyfour/seven. Only something went wrong, and the informant ended up dead, shot twice in his head. But he was wired when he was murdered, and cops ran up on Russell and arrested him. I gave my testimony to the police and grand jury and left town soon afterwards. I thought that they had enough evidence on Russell to give him life. But he still outsmarted the judicial system and got only ten years. And now the niggahs is out early on parole. You believe that shit?

“E, I didn't mean to keep this from you, but I was scared to tell you. We've been boys since forever, and somehow I felt that I betrayed our friendship by keeping so much from you.”

“Fuck, Rah!” Eric exclaimed.

“You needed to know this. This shit been eating me up since it happened,” Rah stated.

“Does Vivian know this?”

“Yeah. I told her everything. She was the one that encouraged me to confess to you. And she got me believing in God now. After my wedding, I wasn't planning on coming back to New York. I was goin' to take my bride and start a new life far from here. But her family's here, and they're very close, and they love me to death. So I got this home out in Brentwood, Long Island, and took my chances coming back. I know if Russell finds out I'm back, he'll come after me.”

“What you need from me?” Eric asked.

“I want you to come through, so we can really talk. E, this lifestyle, it ain't us anymore. I don't want my soul condemned by my past. I'm a changed man now, and I want you by my side. We're like brothers, E . . . fo' real. And I know if I can change, you can, too. Have Donald's death open your eyes. The streets done took so much from you already . . . your father, your mother. I don't want it to take your life and soul too,” he said.

“I feel where you're coming from, Rah. We gonna link up and we gonna talk. I won't let my cousin come after you,” Eric said.

Rah smiled. “I ain't worry about him anymore. I'm wit' a higher power now. I just had to get that off my chest. I've been holding that secret from you fo' so long. But try and come by tonight,” Rah told him. “And plus, I want you to see the new crib I bought for my wife.”

“I'm glad to see you're happy,” Eric said.

Then Eric thought about his cousin, and asked Rah, “Who else knows you came back into town?”

“Nobody, I've been keeping a low profile. But I had to pay my respects to the family tonight,” he explained.

“Keep it like that.”

“I ain't stupid. I know I still got that beef wit' Russell. I've been hearing about him through the grapevine. I know he's family to you, E . . . but you need to stay away from him,” Rah proclaimed.

“It's funny, my uncle told me the same thing,” Eric mentioned.

“Listen to that man, E, he knows what he's talking about.”

Vivian came down the block in search of her husband and smiled when she saw him and Eric having a private talk.

“Why do I always find the two of y'all outside? Y'all trying to hide from me?” Vivian joked.

“No, baby, why would we do a thing like that? You know we both love you,” Rah commented back jokingly. “We were just having a one-on-one talk. I asked E to come visit us tonight so we can get more in-depth with what we were talking about earlier.”

Vivian knew what her husband meant, and smiled.

“I hope you can come by to see our new home,” Vivian said. “I would love to have you over.”

“I will definitely make it. I promise,” Eric said, gazing at Vivian.

“It will mean so much to us,” she replied.

“I'll be at your place around midnight. I just wanna make sure everything is okay here with the family,” he explained.

Vivian smiled and gave Eric a deep hug. “Thank you for being a
good friend to my husband. He needs your support in his life right now,” she whispered in his ear.

“He's a brother to me,” Eric replied.

Eric then gave Rah a hug and dap, and said to him, “Whatever happens, Rah, I got your back. Don't worry about the beef wit' my cousin. You're family to me too, just like him. Nothing will come between us.”

Hearing that definitely put a smile on Rah's face, and made it concrete that Eric was a true friend. Eric then watched Rah and Vivian walk off hand in hand to their car in silence. He wanted what Rahmel had, a loving and caring woman by his side. And that made him think of River.

He'd been by his uncle's place every day for the past week to see how she was adjusting, and to his surprise the two of them were getting along just fine. River didn't mind hiding out in his uncle's home. Eric took care of her, and warned her to watch her back when she left the house and not to wander off too far. She still carried around his .380, and only left if there was a reason to, and only in the daytime. She was wise to the streets and knew Big Red and Twinkie were going to be looking for her. But she was unaware that they'd been stalking her every move and waiting for the right time to strike.

 

Rah and Vivian walked
into their Brentwood home only to be greeted by a half dozen thugs loitering in their living room.

“What the fuck!” Rah shouted in shock. He wanted to run for the gun he had stashed in the bedroom but he was outnumbered and outgunned. He was a saved man, but he wasn't stupid. He still had some street in him.

Vivian shrieked as the men all pulled out guns and warned them to shut the fuck up.

“How was the funeral?” Yung Slim asked, slouched down in their chair, staring up at them.

“Look, leave my wife out of this, she has nothing to do wit' us. This is between you and me,” Rah pleaded.

“Niggah, she married your bitch ass, so till death to y'all apart,” Yung Slim said.

That statement enraged Rah, and he went charging at Yung Slim only to be beat down by a few thugs with their guns. He dropped to the floor, bleeding as they kicked and stomped him out.

“Nooooooooooo!!!”
Vivian screamed, trying to run to her husband's aid, but being restrained by two men who gripped her tightly.

Rah moaned, clutching his side as he peered up at Russell. “Why are you doin' this?”

“Niggah, you put this on yourself,” Yung Slim shouted. “You steal from me, snitch on me, tried to set me up, and you think it was goin' to be all good? What, you thought I would get life? I always come back to get mines, niggah.”

“Please let him go . . . please don't hurt him. I know you must have a soul,” Vivian exclaimed with tears streaming down her face.

Yung Slim looked at Vivian, and replied, “You gotta pretty bitch here. Maybe I'll put this bitch on the track and have her turn tricks to pay back the fifty grand you stole from me.”

“Fuck you! I'll kill you,” Rah shouted. He tried to rise to his feet but was violently knocked back down.