yes-
terday. We had car trouble and just made it into town.” I listened
as Hope made excuses that sounded like lies.
Trina frowned at her, and then asked me, “What brings you to
Tallahassee, L?” I thought I detected a trace of an accent.
“ I’m here on business.”
“ What kind of business?” she asked placing her hands on her
round hips. I noticed somehow she had inched up closer, the wind
blew her hair. A car passed, some brothas hollered at the girls and
the girls hollered back. I smiled like a sly fox, the way men do
when they’re lying to a woman and they both know it.
“ I’m in the import and export business,” I said turning the
gold bracelet on my wrist. Something about Trina pounced on
me, perhaps it was her eyes, the way she looked at me, bold,
aggressively. She made no secret about it. She was trying to get
with me, and when she walked away, she showed me more. I
watched for a moment, placing her index finger over her temple
like she was contemplating the plot.
“ Gee, Hope. You say that you left town yesterday, but your
paper tag has today’s date on it.”
“ Ummm, that was a mistake they made at the car lot,” Hope
stammered.
“ Yea, right. You better be careful Marcus doesn’t learn of your
mistakes,” Trina said, like a threat, and then winked her eye at me.
“ I’ll be seeing you around L.” She pointed at me like she had just
staked her claim on me. I raised a brow thinking I just witnessed
a cat fight. Trina jumped in her car. The girls clamored. The sys-
47
L i f e
tem in her car was turned up loud, thumping so hard I could feel
it vibrating. Mary J. Blige’s song “Real Love” filled the air as they
drove off.
“ Bitch!” Hope cursed giving me the evil eye. “Listen Life, you
got to stay away from her. Trina is bad news. Her family, or some-
body is heavy into drugs. Her last boyfriend was a baller, now he’s
doing life in the feds.”
“ Why are you telling me this?”
A car pulled up and two gorgeous women got out. They were
holding hands.
“ I don’t want you to get into any trouble. That’s all.”
She looked at her watch, a signal to me that she was about to
go. She turned and opened the car door. As I placed my hand over
hers, she gulped air, and took in a deep breath. So much more
innocence exuded from her. In the sunlight, I watched the wisps
of baby hair cascade down her delicate forehead. I noticed that she
did not remove her hand, nor did she blink for that moment in
time. Our eyes locked and I knew if there were a way to check her
heartbeat, it would be in the same rhythm as mine.
“ Life, you know I’m the kind of girl that believes in speaking
her mind. I’m very much attracted to you …” I watched as her
tongue moistened and primed her lips, lips that I wanted to kiss,
preparing to tell me what I did not want to hear.
“ … and … and last night you made love to me like I had
never been … been touched, made love to before.” She then took
my hand off hers, and looked away, breaking our physical com-
munication.
“ We’re from two different worlds.” Her voice now sounded
harsh and cold. “Your world is where I am running from. Poverty
and pain fills us with greed and envy. Money can’t buy love. It
can’t buy me.” She shook her head like she was trying to chase
away some evil demon. “You’ll end up dead or in them white folks’
prison.”
Her words stung me like a premonition. One of my knees felt
like it was going to buckle. A Black woman’s premonition is the
48
L i f e
closest thing to God, my stepmom taught me that. Somehow, I
know that Hope’s words held the truth. The kind of truth that no
hustler wanted to take heed to.
“ For you, Hope, I’d hang up my scale, no mo dope game,
place my pistol, Jesus, in the closet. If you help me, I’d go
straight,” I said, dead serious not knowing or caring where that
voice was coming from. I knew that it
terday. We had car trouble and just made it into town.” I listened
as Hope made excuses that sounded like lies.
Trina frowned at her, and then asked me, “What brings you to
Tallahassee, L?” I thought I detected a trace of an accent.
“ I’m here on business.”
“ What kind of business?” she asked placing her hands on her
round hips. I noticed somehow she had inched up closer, the wind
blew her hair. A car passed, some brothas hollered at the girls and
the girls hollered back. I smiled like a sly fox, the way men do
when they’re lying to a woman and they both know it.
“ I’m in the import and export business,” I said turning the
gold bracelet on my wrist. Something about Trina pounced on
me, perhaps it was her eyes, the way she looked at me, bold,
aggressively. She made no secret about it. She was trying to get
with me, and when she walked away, she showed me more. I
watched for a moment, placing her index finger over her temple
like she was contemplating the plot.
“ Gee, Hope. You say that you left town yesterday, but your
paper tag has today’s date on it.”
“ Ummm, that was a mistake they made at the car lot,” Hope
stammered.
“ Yea, right. You better be careful Marcus doesn’t learn of your
mistakes,” Trina said, like a threat, and then winked her eye at me.
“ I’ll be seeing you around L.” She pointed at me like she had just
staked her claim on me. I raised a brow thinking I just witnessed
a cat fight. Trina jumped in her car. The girls clamored. The sys-
47
L i f e
tem in her car was turned up loud, thumping so hard I could feel
it vibrating. Mary J. Blige’s song “Real Love” filled the air as they
drove off.
“ Bitch!” Hope cursed giving me the evil eye. “Listen Life, you
got to stay away from her. Trina is bad news. Her family, or some-
body is heavy into drugs. Her last boyfriend was a baller, now he’s
doing life in the feds.”
“ Why are you telling me this?”
A car pulled up and two gorgeous women got out. They were
holding hands.
“ I don’t want you to get into any trouble. That’s all.”
She looked at her watch, a signal to me that she was about to
go. She turned and opened the car door. As I placed my hand over
hers, she gulped air, and took in a deep breath. So much more
innocence exuded from her. In the sunlight, I watched the wisps
of baby hair cascade down her delicate forehead. I noticed that she
did not remove her hand, nor did she blink for that moment in
time. Our eyes locked and I knew if there were a way to check her
heartbeat, it would be in the same rhythm as mine.
“ Life, you know I’m the kind of girl that believes in speaking
her mind. I’m very much attracted to you …” I watched as her
tongue moistened and primed her lips, lips that I wanted to kiss,
preparing to tell me what I did not want to hear.
“ … and … and last night you made love to me like I had
never been … been touched, made love to before.” She then took
my hand off hers, and looked away, breaking our physical com-
munication.
“ We’re from two different worlds.” Her voice now sounded
harsh and cold. “Your world is where I am running from. Poverty
and pain fills us with greed and envy. Money can’t buy love. It
can’t buy me.” She shook her head like she was trying to chase
away some evil demon. “You’ll end up dead or in them white folks’
prison.”
Her words stung me like a premonition. One of my knees felt
like it was going to buckle. A Black woman’s premonition is the
48
L i f e
closest thing to God, my stepmom taught me that. Somehow, I
know that Hope’s words held the truth. The kind of truth that no
hustler wanted to take heed to.
“ For you, Hope, I’d hang up my scale, no mo dope game,
place my pistol, Jesus, in the closet. If you help me, I’d go
straight,” I said, dead serious not knowing or caring where that
voice was coming from. I knew that it
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