White Lines (13 page)

But as much as Marquis admired his father, he longed for a more consistent relationship with Leo. When they spent time together, Leo taught his son all that there was to know about being a hustler. He constantly pointed things out to Marquis, and explained the intricacies of the game to him. But soon Leo’s absences from home became more frequent and prolonged. Ingrid was working harder than ever. And with Leo pulling more disappearing acts, Ingrid was forced to look for a babysitter. Marquis was only ten years old, and Ingrid didn’t feel comfortable leaving him home alone. Especially in their home, which was filled with guns, drugs, and cash hidden in the most unexpected places. Sometimes her sister Betty would watch Marquis. But he was bored at her house, and
would protest whenever he was forced to go there. Betty didn’t tolerate noise and childish nonsense, so the hours spent at Aunt Betty’s were almost unbearable for him. Marquis would cry and throw a fit whenever his mother suggested sending him there. Ingrid would often give in, and bring Marquis to work with her. Ingrid worked the overnight shift at a home for the mentally retarded. She was well liked and well respected by both the staff and the residents. When Marquis came to work with her on the overnight shift, Ingrid would let him play records or watch TV in the lounge. They also spent hours playing cards, talking, and laughing, until Marquis fell asleep in one of the vacant beds. Once her shift ended in the morning, she would bring her son to school and go home to get some rest. Marquis’s bond with his mother was solidified during his father’s unexplained absences. Those evenings spent at work with his mom would form memories that he would forever carry with him. They became closer than ever. Marquis loved and idolized his father, but his mother was the one he depended on and counted on to be there for him day after day. She was the one consistent factor in his life, and he loved her for it.

Leo’s absences only made Marquis more excited whenever he did come home. He would see his dad and light up like a Christmas tree. To Marquis, Leo was the ultimate gangster. He adored his dad. Every moment with him was packed with excitement.

One day, Leo had Marquis riding in a car with him and two of Leo’s boys. Their destination that day was a mystery to Marquis. But wherever they were going, everyone seemed to be in a big hurry to get there. Leo was speeding along the expressway, when all of a sudden sirens sounded behind them. The cops pulled the Cadillac over, with their weapons drawn and everything. They patted everybody down, including young Marquis. They searched every inch of the car as well. But after a while they had to let them go, since everybody was clean. The cops gave Leo a ticket for speeding, and let him leave. It seemed like the police wanted to find something on Leo badly—anything! But they found nothing. Marquis had had no idea that his father and his cronies had just been involved in a major bank heist. All Marquis knew was that his father had
stopped off at the bank and gone inside, leaving him in the car. Leo’s two friends had gone inside with him, as had another carload of Leo’s associates, who had been riding behind them. When he came out, Leo had strode confidently over to his Cadillac, followed by his two friends, and they’d peeled the fuck up out of there.

Marquis never noticed where the other carload of Leo’s cronies had gone, but would find out much later that their car had been the one with the money in it. Marquis was clueless as to what types of day-to-day activities Leo was involved in. But to him, at such a young age, getting pulled over and patted down by the cops was just another exciting story for him to entertain his friends with. He loved telling them about the things he saw while with his father, the places he went, the excitement he experienced. He grew up feeling like his dad was the man, and he was proud to be his son. Leo taught his son the streets as if it were a science. And Marquis studied those streets, studied that man. Leo did what he could to capitalize off of anyone else’s success, and that included a lot of different activities. Be it extortion, loan sharking, illegal numbers, prostitution, or gunrunning, he was a man who got all his gains by questionable means.

As he got older, people would ask Marquis what he wanted to be when he grew up. He didn’t know how to explain what it was that Leo did. So he would tell them that he wanted to be just like his dad. Once he asked Leo what his job title was: “What do you do for a living, Pop?”

Leo had smiled, and shrugged his shoulders. “I do what I can. That’s all there is to it.”

Marquis accepted that answer, and from that day on whenever he was out with his dad, watching him handle his business, Leo would remind him of his motto. “Do what you can, young man.” Marquis would always remember that phrase.

But Marquis began to have mixed emotions about some aspects of his father’s life. Leo thought nothing of bringing Marquis with him whenever he went to visit one of his many girlfriends. Marquis didn’t understand the relationship his father had with these women at first. It didn’t dawn on him that there was anything out of the ordinary when Leo first
began bringing him to the homes of various women. Marquis had assumed they were friends of Leo’s, just like the men he hung around with, until Leo began to bring him to the home of one woman in particular, who really seemed special to him. The woman, whose name was Audra, lived in Park Hill. She went out of her way to make Marquis smile whenever Leo brought him by, cooking for him and being very nice to him. The pretty young woman always offered him something to drink, made sure he was comfortable, and asked him all kinds of questions about himself. Marquis was polite to Miss Audra, and he enjoyed her cooking. And his father seemed to really like her. Marquis could tell by how Leo smiled around her, how he acted, that he had feelings for this woman, more than for the rest of his mistresses. This began to tug at Marquis’s conscience, because as much as he loved his father, he loved his mother as well. And the last thing he wanted was to see his mother hurt.

Feeling, even at that young age, that what his father was doing was wrong, Marquis told his mother about the incident. He knew that it wasn’t right for Leo to cheat on Ingrid. But his mother’s reaction had been completely unexpected. She did absolutely nothing. There was no argument, no fight, no hostility between his parents. Ingrid had simply thanked Marquis for telling her the truth, and assured him that everything would be alright. He never pressed the issue out of the sheer respect and admiration he had for his dad. But over time Marquis came to realize that his mother knew about the other women. She knew about
all
of them, and there were several. Ingrid didn’t make a big issue out of it. She never tripped about Leo’s cheating ways, because she felt that those women were only getting whatever they were getting. She was the
wife,
she had the name, his youngest son, his home. Ingrid didn’t trip about the other women. Because as far as she was concerned, all they provided for Leo was an assortment of pussy. Ingrid was Leo’s number one, and no one was going to take her spot.

But for Marquis, it was intriguing how his dad juggled so many chicks. It was almost admirable that he could manage to have a wife with a few mistresses on the side. Marquis was impressed. In fact, he later
came to realize that women were a part of Leo’s big business. This fact came to light during an episode that happened when he turned thirteen.

“Marquis, get your shoes on. I’m taking you out with me today.”

Leo didn’t need to say another word. Marquis sprang to his feet and ran to his room to look for his sneakers. He felt like a man whenever he went out with his dad. Puberty was having an obvious effect on him. His voice had deepened, there was more muscle definition in his arms and torso, and he had even begun to have wet dreams. Ingrid had embarrassed him upon discovering her son’s sticky sheets and pajamas balled up at the bottom of the hamper.
“What’s all this shit on your sheets, Marquis?”
Ingrid had demanded. He felt mortified, and was grateful when his dad had intervened, telling Ingrid to “stay out of the young man’s business.” A young man. That’s what he was. And Marquis felt like that whenever Leo was around. He adored Leo. Being in his father’s presence made him feel invincible.

They got into Leo’s car, and Marquis rolled the passenger-side window down all the way. He wanted all his boys to see him. He wanted them to see how lucky he was to have a father as gangsta as Leo. They drove down the block with Marquis calling out to his friends, and Leo singing along to a Marvin Gaye hit that was playing on the car stereo. A Newport dangled from Leo’s lips as he maneuvered the car through the streets of Staten Island. Finally they got to a house on a dead-end street that Marquis didn’t recognize. He often accompanied his father to collect money that was owed him or to deliver mysterious packages to his henchmen. So he assumed that this was one of those occasions.

A man answered the door. Marquis didn’t recognize the dapper older man, but Leo greeted him warmly. They walked inside, and Leo introduced his son. “James, this is Marquis,” he said, smiling proudly. “My boy turned thirteen, and it’s time for him to get his feet wet. You know what I’m saying?”

Leo’s friend laughed. “I don’t think it’s his feet that he needs to get wet.

Both men laughed while Marquis stood there wondering what was so funny. Without any further discussion, James ushered Leo and Marquis
down to the basement. Once they got there, Marquis couldn’t believe his eyes. Four young women—all of them appeared to be in their early twenties—sat in various stages of undress. One girl, a petite, light-skinned sister with long brown hair, wore only a bra and panties. She sat with her legs spread open like a man, and she smiled at Marquis. Another lady was a thick, dark-skinned chick with a flimsy bathrobe pulled tightly around her full frame. She sat with her legs crossed as she smoked a cigarette. Two sexy Spanish girls flanked her. One wore her long hair in a tight ponytail, and she stared at Marquis as she chewed her gum. The other was short and wore her hair in cornrows. Both of them were topless. Marquis couldn’t take his eyes off of them.

Leo smiled approvingly at his son. Marquis stared hungrily at the four women before him, and Leo urged him to take advantage of the opportunity before him. “Happy birthday, son. This is my present to you. You pick any of these fine young ladies you want, and your wish is their command.”

Marquis looked at his father in astonishment. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He was speechless as it dawned on him that Leo had brought him to a whorehouse. Marquis didn’t know it at the time, but this was an establishment that Leo had a financial stake in. Leo had personally sampled every one of them, and he knew that his son was in for a good time. All Marquis knew was that there were four women in front of him. And he could have whichever one he wanted. He smiled.

James and Leo smiled as well. “I like this kid,” James said to Leo. He looked at Marquis standing there with a Kool-Aid smile on his face. “Since me and your father go back like bread and butter, I’m gonna make your birthday even more special,” James said. “You can have all four of them.”

Marquis’s mouth fell open in surprise, and Leo patted him on his shoulder encouragingly. “Do what you can, young man,” Leo said. “I’ll be upstairs when you’re finished.” Leo and James headed back upstairs, leaving Marquis alone with the four hos.

His heart was beating so fast he could almost hear it. Marquis stood awkwardly on the far end of the room, staring shyly at the women before him.

The Spanish girl with the long ponytail smacked her gum, sassily. “You can come over here,” she said. “We won’t bite. Unless you want us to.” She smiled at Marquis, and he felt himself blushing.

He walked over to where the women sat, and stood with his hands in his pockets. The light-skinned girl motioned him closer and opened her legs wider. She motioned toward her protruding pussy, signaling that she wanted him to come close. Marquis did as he was instructed and nearly fainted as she unbuckled his jeans and unzipped them. Sliding his pants down around his knees, she smiled at the woody in his boxer shorts.

“Looks like you’re happy to see me,” she said. The other women chuckled and began to surround Marquis.

He stood there nervously as the girl in front of him took his dick out of his pants. She kissed it, and Marquis thought his knees would buckle. She took the head in her mouth and sucked it softly. He couldn’t help but moan. The two topless girls each took one of his hands and placed it on their breasts. Marquis stroked them and marveled at the way their nipples stood at attention. By now, the light-skinned girl had all of him in her mouth, and she was sucking him like a Popsicle. He felt lightheaded, and euphoric.

“Sit down, baby,” the short, thick, brown-skinned girl said. “You look like you need a seat.”

The one sucking him off paused while he sat beside her. Once he was seated, she leaned over and continued her professional blow job. While she took him to paradise, the chocolate shorty knelt before him and began licking and lightly sucking on his balls, stroking them and making him want to scream in ecstasy. One of the topless girls put her titty in Marquis’s mouth, and he sucked on it like a newborn child. The other one took his hand and placed it in her pussy, and he finger-fucked her as she moaned, enjoying it.

Marquis knew he was about to cum. It seemed that the shorty giving him head sensed that as well. She abruptly stopped what she was doing as Marquis came in spurts. He became light-headed, and his heart galloped in his chest. The light-skinned girl stood up. Marquis’s dick lay limp across his stomach.

He was somewhat embarrassed, because he had cum so fast. He didn’t know what to say, so an awkward silence filled the room. Finally, chocolate said, “You want to lose your virginity?”

Marquis looked at her and nodded. But he felt so drained that he wasn’t sure he could go another round. His mind was willing, but his flesh might not cooperate.

She nodded. “Which one you want?” she asked.

He looked at all the girls, and all of them were sexy. But she was his favorite. “I want you,” he said. “But I might need a few more minutes.”