Stone de la Bru Familia (3 page)

"You going with me, right?" he asked. 

She swooned like a schoolgirl while batting her eyes. "Why of course, Mr. Sweetwater. It would be my pleasure." She straightened up then. "Oh shit! I have to buy something to wear!" 

Stone pulled a thick square of money from his pocket and snapped off ten one hundred dollar bills and handed them to her. "You gotta be fly to ride with me." 

"So, who is this girl you supposed to be marrying?" 

“She’s the opposite of everyone in this house." This drew a playful slap from Keasha as she jumped from the bed. Stone closed the folder and retreated through the door amidst Keasha’s playful laughter. 

When they emerged through the hallway all eyes were on them. Ebony was still seated at the dining room table. "Take care of yourself," he said to her. 

"I want to take care of you!"  Paradise said seductively from her seat on the leather sofa. She played her fingers like the piano when he looked at her. 

"I'm demanding and aggressive," he responded. This caused an uproar of cheers and pronouncement from the women. Paradise stood from her seat. 

"That's what I'm talking about. I need an aggressive man." she cheered. 

"Don't encourage her." Keasha pleaded as she ushered Stone through the doorway and into the night air. "Be careful Stone," she said, her words surrounded by the excited cheers he'd created. 

Stone took a deep breath. He was still thinking of the oath he'd taken. He could hardly say what really happened. He held hands with the infamous BRU Capo himself, Isiko Cooks, who’d flown in from Baltimore, and Milo Sempier.  

Together they recited the words to the Constitution scribed on parchment paper. The thickly rolled scroll was held by the three of them together as it smoldered under a light burning, with the intoning of what it was to be a member of the BRU family. He couldn't say that his heart didn't beat widely during the entire burning and didn't settle until Milo and Isiko welcomed him home; a place where loyalty was everything and brotherhood was family. 

Stone Sweetwater was up early. Today was to be a day of serious business. The social worker was supposed to show up at some time during the morning. She was determined to see him without Serena. 

          Her reasoning was that the father, who was locked up, had final say-so. What the fuck kinda say-so he got? Stone asked, thinking that any say-so he had was forfeited when he went to prison. And this final say-so was to have Serena live with his mother who was a part-time alcoholic.  

               Candi told him enough stories about Serena's grandmother to know that she was not equipped to raise a little girl. Everyone involved knew that granny only wanted Serena so she could receive money from the county. 

This frustrated Stone to no end. There was no one who cared for Serena or could provide her with the good life as well as he could. He'd already checked her into a private school and purchased private health insurance for her. He didn't even want money from social services. All he wanted was to be her legal guardian. 

Stone worked to keep the frustration from his heart. This was why he pulled all of his cars out of the garage and washed them himself. He'd been in the backyard since daybreak. He started with a black Range Rover. Next the Harley-Davidson bike and the Viper truck. He was now on the beastly BMW. There was still the ‘79 regal and ‘69 Camaro to soap up, rinse and Armour – All. 

"Hey lil bro," Lillian called from the back porch, holding a phone in her hand. "Coretta's on the phone." Her slim, shapely figure was hid  beneath a baggy black BRU Capo nylon tracksuit that Stone recognized as his own. 

"You bin in my room?" He'd turned from the bimmer with the soapy goat hair mitts covering his hand. 

"Of course not!" Her smile betrayed the lie. "Coretta says what do you want for lunch? I want some orange chicken from Tao's…" 

"You better stay outta my room." He waved her away with this, giving her permission to tell Coretta whatever she wanted. He heard the words orange chicken and then soft laughter. He resisted the urge to turn for the smile on Lillian's pretty face. 

"He's washing his toys," Lillian teased  into the phone. They were having a good time discussing  Stone. "She wants to know if she can bring her car for a detail… Shoot! I need mine done too." 

Stone rounded the back of the BMW to rinse the trunk off, looking to Lillian. He smiled, knowing she didn't expect him to say what he was about to say. "Y'all better hurry up." 

Lillian grew animated. "Girl, he said to hurry up. It is not often we get to put him to work!" Lillian leaned back with her laughter, her beige face reaching for the sky. "I know that's right! See you in a minute girl." 

 Stone's mother appeared behind Lillian, hitting her gently with the opening of the screen door. Lillian stepped forward on the porch, careful not to fall over the edge. Mabel looked to her curiously. 

"Don't you fall now," she warned with wide, dark eyes before looking to Stone with one hand shielding her eyes from the sun. "Baby, the social worker is here for you." His mother's voice was a plea to be on his best behavior. 

"Send her around the side mama." 

"She's in the living room. Maybe you should come on inside and clean up a little bit," Mabel suggested.  

She was rarely without an apron over a flower print dress. Her large breasts and wide hips only added to her matronly disposition. Long black hair (pulled into a loose ponytail at the nape of her neck) and smooth black skin was a reminder of the extraordinary beauty of her youth. 

"She'll be all right out here mama," he replied, moving to the other side of the BMW to spray water over the soapy top. He didn't see any reason why he had to stop what he was doing for someone who wanted to take Serena away from him. Besides, what he had to say was better said out of earshot of his mother 

"If you say so," Mabel said at length before turning back into the house. 

"You gone have that poor woman out here in the hot sun?" Lillian wanted to know, shielding her own eyes now, suddenly infected by their mother’s sensitivity to sunlight. "You know she's probably wearing a suit," she added in a lower tone. 

Stone smiled to her mischievously. "So, what you about to do?" His question caught her off-guard. She considered protesting his subtle suggestion for her to make herself disappear (she'd wanted to stay), before turning abruptly into the house. 

Stone was watching her as she stopped in mid-stride through the doorway. Something in her posture told him that the social worker was right in front of her. He turned his attention to the rims as Mrs. Karen Cartwright negotiated the back porch and looked out towards the backyard of luxury automobiles. 

"Mr. Stone Sweetwater?" the thin, dark skinned woman asked. Her words came out fast. If they were cars on the highway they'd rear end one another at the slightest lull in traffic.  

The red linen pantsuit clashed against her dark skin with purple paint over her eyes. Why did black women paint themselves purple? Stone wondered as he observed her carefully stepping down the porch in red high heels. 

“I forgot your name," Stone answered as he moved around the front of the BMW. 

 A large Rottweiler lounged lazily in the shade of the house. He looked up suddenly when Mrs. Cartwright rounded the trash bin which obscured him from view. She jumped to the grass, startled, nearly dropping the bright red folder and lizard handbag she cradled in the crook of her thin elbow. 

Stone watched her silently along with the animal, whose eyes were intently upon her every frightened move. 

"He wont bite unless you do something crazy," Stone advised, resisting the urge to laugh as she struggled to pull the heel of her shoe from the dirt while keeping a wary eye on the uninterested dog. 

"His name is Max." Stone tapped his leg and the beast reached his full height and trotted to his side. This seemed to ease Mrs. Cartwright’s fear as she moved to the spot she’d jumped from. 

"Is he trained?" she asked, trying to regain her composure. 

In response Stone snapped his fingers and pointed to a spot along the yard where a lemon tree stood by a wooden bench. Max confidently strolled by the social worker with a casual glance in her direction. His leisurely pace seemed to relax the shook woman. Max found a spot at the base of the lemon tree and lowered his body to the cool grass, his massive head resting on his paws while his eyes looked alertly to Stone. 

Stone was watching the thin lady as she surveyed the backyard. "You seem to do all right for yourself," she said with a slow nod of her perfectly coifed head of curly hair held tight to her scalp in pineapple rows. 

"Fair to middling," he responded as he sprayed the hood of the BMW. He'd heard this in  a  movie and waited for the right time to use the cool phrase. He was closer to her now, aware that she had a lot on her mind, mostly having nothing to do with the welfare of Serena. 

"And what did you say you did for a living?" 

"Pray." 

 This brought a smile to her thin lips before a cloud passed over her face, signaling a return to the purpose of her visit. "Well, that might be true, but how about your employment?" 

Stone busied himself with the sheepskin cloth, positioning it to the roof of his car to begin drying. "Well, I work at my sister’s health food café." 

"Oh?" 

"Yeah. Simply Wholesome on Slauson." He never looked up to her with this reply. 

"Oh. That's good. Are these your cars?" 

"Yep."  

She looked to him with skepticism, no doubt figuring him for some type of drug dealer. "You must work a lot of overtime," she said finally. 

Stone didn't bother answering. He disappeared from sight as he kneeled to wipe down the driver's side door. When he stood up she was looking in his direction with what he felt was a reaction to feeling disrespected. Her eyes were wider than usual, making her look like some type of rare bird. 

"Well, as you know Mr. Sweetwater," she began with a clap of her beak, hugging the folder to her chest. "We at social services feel that the place for Serena is with blood relatives." 

Stone listened casually as he moved to the other side of the BMW. He was now closer to her, his back facing the words spilling from the social worker's mouth. 

"And personally I don't feel that you qualify as a suitable guardian." She cocked her head as Stone turned to look at her. He fixed his gaze on her in an easy manner. "You don't even know me," he said, the sheepskin cloth hanging to his side. 

"Well… There's hardly much to know. I do know that you have no experience with children. You don't have one of your own. You aren't married. You appear to be…"  

She waved her arm out to the yard of fine automobiles. "It appears that you are doing more than working at a health food store." 

Stone wanted to drop the hammer on her now, but instead he said, “These cars ain't got nothing to do with Serena. She cool right here. Ain't nobody gonna look after her like I will. " 

"See, that's exactly what I'm referring to. We at social services are not seeking for her just to be looked after. We are more interested in her growing up in a home with blood relatives. It's important to have continuity in her life, especially given the circumstances of her mother's death." 

"One has nothing to do with the other," he responded, unable to keep the anger out of his voice. He'd taken a step in her direction. 

"Umm…" She looked towards the back door before shifting her gaze to Max, who would raise his head from the earth to gauge the treble in Stone's voice. "Where is Serena? We agreed that she would be here so I could have a word with her." 

"She's at school." 

"Oh. Did you take her yourself?" 

Stone thought to lie but instead said, "No. My sister Lillian did." 

"Okay. This is usually who takes her to… What… public school, right?" Her brow furrowed in a way that made Stone feel as if she were making fun of him. He wondered if she was serious. 

"St. Mary's Academy," he replied slowly as he walked up to her. She flinched with his sudden closeness. "Mrs. Karen Cartwright." She cocked one eyebrow up as if to agree that this was indeed her name. She looked across his face from eye to eye. 

"You owe a half million dollars in taxes. You own a home in Calabasas and Topanga Canyon. You live with your mother in Torrance. You're having an affair with your boss. You have three private bank accounts with seventy nine thousand dollars in combined savings. The joint account with your husband has twelve hundred dollars  in it. You want me to tell you more about yourself .. or should I tell you that I know your college degree is from a fake school in Delaware?" This last seemed to force her back a step. 

Max made a slow saunter to his side. He too looked to the social worker for her reaction. 

"Well… Wha… You… How?" 

"Don't worry about none of that. What I need from you is to make sure that Serena is right here where she belongs until she wants to leave. We clear on that?" 

"Umm…" she stammered with wide educated eyes. Her mind worked quickly to gather who exactly she was dealing with. She quickly realized that she'd not done her proper homework and he'd gotten the upper hand. Now, she wondered who he'd gotten this information from and what was the extent of his knowledge. It was obvious that the automobiles represented more than some common drug dealer. 

Stone's mother appeared at the back door, "Y'all okay? Mrs. Cartwright, would you like something to drink? We have lemonade and iced tea." 

The social worker forced a smile as Stone stepped back from her, smiling to ease his mother's questioning gaze. "No. No, thank you. I'm nearly done Mrs. Sweetwater."  

"Okay. Suit yourself. It's mighty hot out here," Mabel sighed, her cool gaze upon Stone with a look of warning to be nice. 

"Sure," Mrs. Cartwright said, turning back to Stone, her mouth suddenly dried out. She swallowed hard. "I believe we may be able to accommodate you. It does appear that this is a stable environment with plenty of loving people to look after Serena." There was another forced smile that quivered on her broken lips. 

"And something else you're going to do for me," he began, ignoring her shaking fingers. He imagined that she was very afraid. Good.  

“You going to get two clean birth certificates and Social Security cards for two black people… A man and a woman in their late twenties." 

She looked at him frightfully. "I can't do anything like that," she shrieked just as a low hum started up at the far end of the yard. A black grill gate slid open and a pink Jaguar eased into the backyard. 

"Where you want me to put it at?" Lillian asked with a wide smile of accomplishment. 

"Pull it next to the Regal," Stone replied and turned his attention back to the bird lady. She'd lost her confident shine. She was shaken and ashen, awaiting his next command. He shook his head sadly before he said, "It's in your best interest to do what you say you can’t do." 

"Is this good?" Lillian screamed from her car. 

"Pull the top up!" Stone instructed. 

"Well…" Mrs. Cartwright breathed the last of her resistance out. "I never expected this."