Part 15 (1/2)
”Yeah, but if I ain't here leave the gat in thehteous”
I went in the house through the back door and h the kitchen I watched as Joker and Li'l De told the other homies that I'd be out later The small croent one way and Joker and Li'l De went the other Joker had the big 45 in his waistband, so I didn't worry about theht a collection of , the Temprees, Barbara Mason, and Sam Cook I went into the den and put on Jin to htly putto be listening to toorooh my photo album I sat next to her and played with her hair
”Kody, let's leave Let's go and be alone,” she said, never taking her eyes off the photo albuht, but let me eat somethin'”
”I want to take you to dinner I know a nice little place you'd like”
”Okay, let ”
”She already knows,” Ta up at me seductively
”Well, well, what is this, a conspiracy?”
”No, babes, just natural instincts”
”And what about this?” I said and fell hard upon her, crushi+ng the photo albuirlfriend”
”And this?” I kissed her full on the lips,in and out of her mouth
”That,” she said between kisses, ”is called ani of the Jun-”
”Kody?” Mo in the doorway
”Huh? Oh, Moet off Ta to lie down If you leave, lock the house up, okay?”
”All daI mean, yeah, sure Mom”
I had been so used to our natural response to ”okay”- Sixty-Ninety killer-which would be ”All day,” that it just came out
Moo,” I told Tamu, and we left
She took me to a small restaurant on Crenshaw Boulevard called Aunt Fish We could sit in theand look across Crenshaw and watch the DJ spin records at Stevie Wonder's radio station, KJLH We ordered jumbo shrimp and red snapper Tamu, who ate like a horse, matched my appetite, and we tore that food up The entire ti hardcore eye contact with h only when Ta and the woht up until it was time to pay the tab The bill was forty-nine dollars When Tamu went to pay she found that she was short ten dollars The woave me a look that clearly said ”Help her,” but I didn't have a dime I was so embarrassed, as I'm sure Tamu was But it was especially difficult for ” when I couldn't help pay the tab It took all the strength I had not to shout ”I JUST GOT OUT OF JAIL!!”
Surprisingly, the wo as Tamu promised to return with her money Tamu thanked her and turned to exit As I turned to follow Taet my attention When I looked, she handed me a restaurant business card with her name, phone number, and address on the back side I put the card in my pocket and followed Tamu out to the car
In the car I tried to console Ta theand of the woainst it We went to Tamu's house and retrieved the neededthe wo Motel on Western Avenue Fro erection that threatened to tear a hole in the front of er children up to our room Once behind the door we literally tore our clothes off To arters She knew I had developed a liking for such things while in Youth Authority We wasted no time as we fell into one another i occasional breaks to sood time By the time ere buzzed to leave we both were spent, and it was another day e ean, talking in et an apartet a job, babes”
”Yeah, I know,” I said, but I really had no intention of getting a job hell, I was going to do like Joker and Li'l De said they were doing: sell cocaine Whiteboy Eric, as like a cousin to me (we told everybody ere cousins) was already heavily into it I knew he'd kick me down, but I didn't want to tell Tamu that
”'Cause, babes,” she continued, ”with your job and et a nice little place soht, babes,” I said, not really payinga faan to roll down his , so I started rolling downthe 45 from Joker
”Hey,” he hollered to me, ”ain't yo' name Kody?” He didn't seem to have any venom in his voice, but it could be a ploy
”Yeah, wha's up?” I said skeptically
”Aw, nigga, you don't 'member me from Horace Mann, Terry Heron?”
Terry Heron, Terry HeronI turned the naht, and when it did it was too late Enee in st the da before the Sixties-Eight Tray conflict, but during the conflict I had shot him Luckily for hinition to ai , ”I ain't in that bangin' shi+t no et wit' it”
”Awright then,” I said with a slight hand wave, un He turned right on Sixty-seventh Street and into his 'hood, and we drove two more blocks and turned left into our 'hood
Tamu dropped me off and we made plans for later It felt likeIt was Li'l Crazy De asking otten the strap
”Naw,” I said, ”where was it?”
”In the bushes where you told me to leave it”
I told him to hold on and went out back to retrieve the weapon-a 38 Browning semiautomatic pistol I came back to the phone and told him I'd found it and asked how many hot ones-murders-it had on it
”Oh, three or four,” Li'l De replied, ”but don't sweat it, 'cause you was locked dohen they happened, you know?”
”Righteous,” I said and spaced the line
I checked the weapon for rounds and went into the den to jam some sounds I took Jimmy Reed out of the tape deck and put in a tapePayback” by Ja out: I can do wheelin', I can do the dealin',
but I don't do no da rappin'
But I cant dig that back stabbin'