wanted was for her grandmother to die alone.
After grieving a few more minutes, Gigi tried to regain her composure for the walk back to the train station. Grandma’s in a much better place , Gigi thought, pulling herself together.
Exiting the hospital, Gigi still didn’t know what she would do without Grandma. A car horn beeped, and she looked up to see Chico’s black BMW waiting at the curb.
“How’s Grandma?” Chico asked as she approached, then he saw the agony etched on her face. “Aww, don’t tell me.”
“She’s gone,” Gigi said.
Chico dropped his head into his palms. When he finally looked up again, tears were rolling down his cheeks. “I loved that woman. You know she was like a mother to me.”
Gigi nodded. “You gonna be okay?”
Chico grimaced. “I should be the one asking you that. But I know you’ll be all right. You’re strong. You know that, right?”
Gigi nodded.
He reached into the glove compartment, grabbed a manila envelope stuffed with something, and handed it to Gigi. “I know this can’t replace your loss, but I want you to have it.”
She glanced curiously at the package before opening it. To her surprise, it was filled with money, mostly fifties and hundreds. “I can’t take this.”
“Don’t talk crazy. That’s thirty grand. It was for Grandma’s transplant. I was on my way to give it to her. Now it’s yours. It’s the least I can do. If it wasn’t for Grandma, we’d probably still be in a drought.”
Gigi tucked the cash into the inside pocket of her Woolrich coat. “What you mean?”
“Our regular supplier got busted a few months back, and we needed a new connect. Grandma tried to hook us up with ya mother’s boyfriend, Guido, but he would only deal with Grandma, so she ended up supplying us.”
“Damn … so you were really working for Grandma?” Gigi asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. But she was our new connect,” Chico said.
Shaking her head, Gigi couldn’t help but smile. “I’m always the last to find out.”
“I know this ain’t a good time, but now that Grandma’s dead, I’ma need you to holla at Guido for me when it’s time to reup.”
Gigi nodded. “I got you.”
“Hop in. I’ll give you a ride back to the block.”
“Nah, that’s all right. I need time to think. The train ride should do me some good.”
“A’ight … holla when you need me. I mean that,” Chico said, before pulling away from the sidewalk.
With tears still staining her cheeks, Gigi couldn’t help but smile as she fingered her Lazarus chain. Even in death, Grandmawas making sure she was taken care of. She dried her tears and headed for her mother’s house to tell the rest of her family that Grandma was gone. Grandma had done everything for Gigi, and Gigi was going to do everything for her grandma, starting with never selling drugs again.
Holiday Hell
Dee Blackmon
Chapter One
R oberta Holiday flew down the speckled Berber-carpeted stairs as fast as her shaky legs would take her. She wobbled on the last three stairs but managed to right herself immediately. If she showed any signs of her addiction, then Carlos would never give her the money. He never dealt with hypes because he knew they weren’t reliable. But everything would be okay once she got the money. Life would be great once she got her fix.
She took a deep breath, stopped at the hallway mirror to put on lipstick and fluff her dull, flat, lifeless hair, then entered Carlos’s office. His handsome, muscular, mahogany body was hunched over his desk, the telephone pressed to his ear. She glanced around his office quickly. The office’s once stark white walls were now a creamy beige, and earth-tone accents had beenstrategically placed around the room. Plush throw rugs with beige, green, and brown hues were strewn across the hardwood floor. It looked rugged. It looked like ’Los.
Carlos’s voice rose above what Roberta knew for a fact was Christmas music. She distinctly heard the
After grieving a few more minutes, Gigi tried to regain her composure for the walk back to the train station. Grandma’s in a much better place , Gigi thought, pulling herself together.
Exiting the hospital, Gigi still didn’t know what she would do without Grandma. A car horn beeped, and she looked up to see Chico’s black BMW waiting at the curb.
“How’s Grandma?” Chico asked as she approached, then he saw the agony etched on her face. “Aww, don’t tell me.”
“She’s gone,” Gigi said.
Chico dropped his head into his palms. When he finally looked up again, tears were rolling down his cheeks. “I loved that woman. You know she was like a mother to me.”
Gigi nodded. “You gonna be okay?”
Chico grimaced. “I should be the one asking you that. But I know you’ll be all right. You’re strong. You know that, right?”
Gigi nodded.
He reached into the glove compartment, grabbed a manila envelope stuffed with something, and handed it to Gigi. “I know this can’t replace your loss, but I want you to have it.”
She glanced curiously at the package before opening it. To her surprise, it was filled with money, mostly fifties and hundreds. “I can’t take this.”
“Don’t talk crazy. That’s thirty grand. It was for Grandma’s transplant. I was on my way to give it to her. Now it’s yours. It’s the least I can do. If it wasn’t for Grandma, we’d probably still be in a drought.”
Gigi tucked the cash into the inside pocket of her Woolrich coat. “What you mean?”
“Our regular supplier got busted a few months back, and we needed a new connect. Grandma tried to hook us up with ya mother’s boyfriend, Guido, but he would only deal with Grandma, so she ended up supplying us.”
“Damn … so you were really working for Grandma?” Gigi asked.
“Well, I wouldn’t say that. But she was our new connect,” Chico said.
Shaking her head, Gigi couldn’t help but smile. “I’m always the last to find out.”
“I know this ain’t a good time, but now that Grandma’s dead, I’ma need you to holla at Guido for me when it’s time to reup.”
Gigi nodded. “I got you.”
“Hop in. I’ll give you a ride back to the block.”
“Nah, that’s all right. I need time to think. The train ride should do me some good.”
“A’ight … holla when you need me. I mean that,” Chico said, before pulling away from the sidewalk.
With tears still staining her cheeks, Gigi couldn’t help but smile as she fingered her Lazarus chain. Even in death, Grandmawas making sure she was taken care of. She dried her tears and headed for her mother’s house to tell the rest of her family that Grandma was gone. Grandma had done everything for Gigi, and Gigi was going to do everything for her grandma, starting with never selling drugs again.
Holiday Hell
Dee Blackmon
Chapter One
R oberta Holiday flew down the speckled Berber-carpeted stairs as fast as her shaky legs would take her. She wobbled on the last three stairs but managed to right herself immediately. If she showed any signs of her addiction, then Carlos would never give her the money. He never dealt with hypes because he knew they weren’t reliable. But everything would be okay once she got the money. Life would be great once she got her fix.
She took a deep breath, stopped at the hallway mirror to put on lipstick and fluff her dull, flat, lifeless hair, then entered Carlos’s office. His handsome, muscular, mahogany body was hunched over his desk, the telephone pressed to his ear. She glanced around his office quickly. The office’s once stark white walls were now a creamy beige, and earth-tone accents had beenstrategically placed around the room. Plush throw rugs with beige, green, and brown hues were strewn across the hardwood floor. It looked rugged. It looked like ’Los.
Carlos’s voice rose above what Roberta knew for a fact was Christmas music. She distinctly heard the
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