Grand Opening Read online

  “After reading what Viktor Frankl went through, it’s been making me look at things a lot differently.”

  “We all go through stuff, but ultimately it’s to get to the same place. Before I read Man’s Search for Meaning I kept trying to make sense of things that didn’t make sense, and then it just made everything clear.” Despite the teddy, it was so hard to see her as one of Big Sam’s girls as I stood here discussing literature with her.

  “Exactly. When he says that suffering is in . . . in . . . Ugh!” She let out a frustrated sigh.

  “Inevitable,” I said, helping her. I liked how excited she was getting about that book. Most people read it because they had to.

  “Yeah, inevitable. It just made sense, you know? We’re not alone, and if he can live through a concentration camp and still remain positive, then we should be able to get through whatever challenges we have, too, without becoming bitter. Right?” She looked up at me, her face bright with hope.

  “Yeah, you got it.”

  “So what else you got for me? You said you were going to suggest some books by black authors.”

  I handed her the books I was holding, and she looked like she was going to cry. “Are these for me?”

  “Yeah, I brought you Man Child in the Promised Land, The Autobiography of Malcolm X, and my personal favorite, J.A. Rodgers’ Superman to Man. These are books every black person should read. I was gonna bring you The Spook Who Sat by the Door by Sam Greenlee, but I think my brother Larry stole it.”

  She was grinning from ear to ear—until a toothless old man grabbed her around the waist and yelled, “Hey, cowgirl, I wanna go for a ride.”

  If you ask me, the man was just straight up disgusting, and Chippy obviously thought so too. She wrenched herself away from him, but he wasn’t taking no for an answer.

  “Girl, I just got my SSI check, and I got money to burn.”

  “Maybe later, Richie,” she said. “I’m talking to someone.” She turned back to me, but dude kept on going.

  “I want to fuck you from the back while you wear that hat.” He was starting to get belligerent. My first instinct was to step in and give him the ass whooping he deserved, but then I remembered that despite the friendship Chippy and I were developing, this wasn’t my world and she wasn’t my woman.

  “What, you not working?” the old man shouted. His breath was so bad I could smell it from where I was standing, so I was sure it was killing Chippy, as close as he was to her. That was the final straw for me. I was about to make him back up off Chippy when her boss came over, reminding us all of where we were and what Chippy’s purpose was in that place.

  “Damn right she’s working! Chippy, get your ass upstairs. This man’s a paying customer!” Big Sam’s voice boomed. He grabbed her by the arm and shoved her and the snaggle-tooth man toward the stairs. She still had the books in her hand as she followed the smelly guy up the stairs, looking totally turned off.

  “Hey, young buck,” Big Sam said. “Sorry I had to interrupt your little conversation, but I already know you ain’t paying for a taste.”

  “No, not me. I’m looking for Lou.”

  Big Sam bared his teeth. He was trying to show me a friendly smile, but he always managed to look slightly menacing.

  “Ask one of the girls. I’m sure he’s in here someplace,” Sam said. “Him and Larry got a job to do for me today.” With that, he hustled off to God knows where. I didn’t know what it was, but I genuinely disliked that man.

  “You looking for Lou? He just went upstairs with Ebony.” One of Sam’s girls pointed me to the back staircase. “It’s easier to go that way. It’s the first door on your right.”

  I glanced over to where Chippy and the man had headed, but they were gone. Too much time had passed since I entered, which meant Donna would be getting annoyed at being kept waiting. I raced up the back staircase and knocked on the door. A minute later, a pretty dark chocolate girl wrapped in a towel, her breasts spilling out of it, opened the door.

  “Hey, sorry to interrupt. I’m looking for my brother Lou.”

  She nodded and closed the door. A few seconds later, Lou came out, buck naked and grinning.

  “LC, you have got to have the world’s worst timing. What is it?”

  I glanced past the woman staring at us from behind Lou. “You still want me to do that, you know, errand for you?”

  It took Lou a second, then his eyes opened wide. “Oh, fuck yeah. Damn, I almost forgot about that shit. Baby, hand me my pants.” He motioned to the ebony sister who had let the towel fall all the way off. Damn, did she have a hell of a body, but it still didn’t compare to the image Chippy had installed in my brain with that hat and boots. The woman handed over the pants, and Lou pulled out his billfold, handing me some money and then a small .22 caliber handgun. “You know what to do, right?”

  I tucked the gun in one pocket and the money in the other. “Yeah, Lou, I know what to do. I just hope this don’t take too long. I can’t be late for work again.”

  “You ain’t gonna be late, and if you are, I’ll go talk to Old Man Byrd myself.”

  “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

  “I don’t know why you care so much about that two bit gas station job. Me and Larry will pay you ten times what you make there, and after a while we’ll make you our partner like Daddy wanted.”

  “That two bit gas station could be a gold mine if he’d run it correctly,” I said. “Besides, I like working on cars. You know that.”

  He patted me on the back. “Yeah, I know that. Now get out of here, kid. I got something waiting on me in there, and you’re not gonna use me as an excuse for being late.”

  I hurried back down the stairs and out the door. My stomach turned into knots, and I felt like I was going to pass out when I opened the door and saw Big Sam leaning against the car, whispering in Donna’s ear. She had her head thrown back in laughter like whatever he was saying was the funniest shit she’d ever heard.

  “Yo, what the fuck are you doing? Stay the fuck away from my girl!”

  Big Sam stepped away from the car with his hands in the air and an expression on his face that said he was trying to look innocent.

  “What’s the problem, young buck? I was just talking to the young lady is all, keeping her company while you left her waiting out here alone in the hot sun. With all those girls in there looking to give pleasure, who knew how long it would be before you even remembered this beautiful young thang? I was only doing my gentlemanly duty.” We both knew he was full of shit. The only one who didn’t know was Donna’s grinning ass. Just seeing them together had me so hot I almost pulled out the .22 and blew his ass away.

  “Everything all right, boss?” one of Sam’s goons asked from the porch behind me. I was sure he would have shot me in the back if I tried anything, so I walked around to the driver’s side.

  “Everything’s fine. Isn’t that right, young buck?” Sam lowered his hands.

  “Just stay the fuck away from my girl.” I hopped into the driver’s seat and sped away.

  “What the fuck were you talking to him about?” I snapped at Donna, who didn’t look the least bit concerned about how I felt. In fact, she snapped back.

  “Don’t talk to me like that, LC. I am not a child.”

  “Do you know who that man was?” I asked.

  “No, but whoever he was, there was no reason for you to embarrass me like that. He was just telling me a joke.” Donna shook her head, giving me a disapproving look.

  “Well, then the joke’s on you, because that was Big Sam Bradford, the pimp.”

  “That’s Big Sam? Well, I guess the rumors are true. He’s not bad on the eyes at all.”

  “What?” I swiveled my neck around to glare at her.

  She tried to clean it up, but the damage had already been done. “That is, if you like handsome, light-skinned, green-eyed men, but I’m a chocolate-lovin’ girl all the way.” She leaned her head on my shoulder, reaching for my crotch.

 
; Chippy

  15

  I sat at the bar, smoking a cigarette while reading the autobiography of Malcom X that LC had given me. I’d never been big on non-fiction, but this book had me hooked from the very first page. I was trying to get as far into it as I could, because in about twenty minutes, the after work crowd would start to come in. Since the incident with Big Shirley, Sam had been sweet as pie, showering me with gifts and stopping by my room every night for some loving. I liked the way things were, and I did not want to miss any chance to make money, which would piss him off.

  “Heads up,” Little Momma whispered, walking past me then sitting two seats down at the bar. “You got trouble coming down the stairs.”

  I glanced in the direction of the stairs, where Big Shirley was making her way to the main floor. She’d had about sixty stitches put in on the right side of her face, but she was on her back three days later, doing tricks for half the price of the rest of us to make sure she made her quota. Despite everything that had happened last week, she and Sam were back on speaking terms, although the fat bitch still seemed to have a problem with me. I was sure Sam didn’t care as long as she made her quota. Plus, I think he felt sorry for her in some way I’d never understand.

  Shirley eyed me maliciously the whole way down the stairs, only taking her eyes off me to speak to one of Sam’s thugs. I slipped my hand nonchalantly under my book, opening my straight razor just in case she had a relapse in judgment and tried to get some type of revenge. Thankfully, when she finished her conversation, she headed toward the door.

  The second Shirley hit the door, Little Momma slid into the seat next to me, picking up my cigarette and taking a long, slow drag. “Girl, did you see the way she was looking at you? Sooner or later she’s coming for your ass. I hope you ready.”

  I lifted my book so she could see the weapon. “Let her come. I’ll make the left side of her face match the right.”

  “Bitch, you just as crazy as her.” Little Momma laughed until the front door reopened. Instead of turning around, we both looked in the bar mirror, expecting to see Shirley coming through the door. Instead, I was surprised to see LC. He’d been by a few hours earlier to see Lou and bring me a couple books. He stopped by the door to talk to one of the girls.

  “Ain’t that your little friend who be bringing you those books?” Little Momma asked, staring at LC through the mirror like he owed her money.

  “Mm-hmm, that’s him.” I took back my cigarette.

  “He’s Lou’s brother, isn’t he?” I nodded, and she said, “You know, he’s kinda fine with his chocolate self.”

  “Yeah, he’s cute,” I said nonchalantly.

  Little Momma gave me a sideways look. “Girl, puppies and kittens are cute. That nigga is fine. What I wanna know is what kind of equipment he’s working with. Is he as big as his brother?”

  If there ever was a woman who was born for this business, it was Little Momma. I don’t think I’ve ever met a woman who loved to fuck as much as she did.

  I shrugged. “I wouldn’t know. We’re just friends.”

  “Oh, please. Friends, my ass.” She almost sounded jealous. “Hoes don’t have friends, Chippy. Hoes have tricks and hoes have pimps, but never friends.”

  I smiled. “Well, I do.” At least I wanted to think I did.

  “What does Big Sam think about this friend?”

  Truth was I didn’t know what Sam would say. I really hadn’t given it any thought. “What Big Sam doesn’t know won’t hurt him as long as his money’s right. He knows I love him.”

  “I heard that. You mind if I bed your friend to beef up my quota?” She knew damn well she was going to do it with or without my blessing, so I didn’t even know why she opened up her mouth. I didn’t know how I felt about that, but I damn sure couldn’t say no.

  “Go right ahead, but he’s got a girlfriend and he’s loyal. He’s not like most of these guys.”

  “I guess you didn’t know I’m a boyfriend’s best kept secret,” she said with a smirk. “’Cause I’ll do what his girlfriend won’t do.”

  LC walked up on us, but if he’d heard what Little Momma said, he must not have known it was about him, because he didn’t react at all. In fact, he didn’t look like his normal self. He looked stressed. Probably had another fight with that uppity girlfriend of his.

  “Hey, Chippy. You seen Lou?” He didn’t sound like himself either.

  “Nah, not since earlier. He left with Larry about fifteen minutes after you.”

  “It fucking figures.” He slapped his hand on the bar and slumped down onto a stool. “I feel like my life is falling apart.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Lou needed me to do something, so I was late for work.” He took a deep breath and I could feel his sorrow. “And Mr. Byrd fired me.”

  “Damn, that’s fucked up,” I said.

  Larry

  16

  It was a little after midnight when Lou and I returned from Valdosta, walked into Big Sam’s, and headed straight toward the bar. We hadn’t made it halfway there when that whore Chippy approached us, rolling her eyes and giving us shit about LC getting fired from that gas station. I didn’t really a give a damn what the whore had to say, because it was none of her fucking business, but I did feel bad for LC considering he really liked working at that dump. Thankfully we didn’t have to listen to her very long, because our conversation was interrupted by the twins, who explained that Sam wanted to speak to us in his office.

  Neither of us hesitated to get up and go. The good thing about going to Sam’s office was that it usually meant we were going to make some money. Lou knocked on the door then opened it. Sam was standing in front of his desk all smiles, holding a bottle of champagne and some glasses. Off to the left was an older woman, probably forty-five or fifty. She was dressed up like a whore, although I couldn’t imagine anyone paying for her old ass. Next to her were two whores I’d never seen before. All of them were holding glasses. Sam handed us each a glass and started pouring.

  “What’s going on, Sam? Looks like you havin’ a little party back here.” Lou grinned, eyeing the two new whores like a dog drooling over a steak as we took our seats. Shit, he might as well have just grabbed them by the hand and took ’em upstairs, because he obviously wasn’t going to be able to concentrate on business until he did.

  “The party’s for you and your beautifully sadistic brother.” Sam laughed, placing his hand on my shoulder and squeezing it. “And because of the two of you, Big Sam is about to take things to the next level.”

  Lou and I glanced at each other, communicating that neither of us was really sure what the hell he was talking about.

  “Fellas, let me introduce you to my new business partner, Ms. Wilma Steward.” Sam gestured to the old woman. “Wilma and her girls work out of a house in Valdosta, and she was about to close down, until I sent you boys to handle that little redneck problem she was having.”

  Wilma stood up, walked over to us, and hugged each of us before gesturing to the girls, who stood up and approached me and Lou. “If there’s anything I can ever do for you boys, and I mean anything, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

  Lou wrapped his arms around the pretty Puerto Rican girl, pulling her down on his knee, while the blond-haired white girl stood in front of me. She posed a few times, trying to look enticing, and I rolled my eyes.

  “Don’t worry about him, baby girl. Sweet Lou’s got enough to handle you both.” Lou pulled her down on his other knee.

  “Yeah, Larry’s not too much for pussy, but he loves his scotch.” Sam reached in a bag behind him and pulled out a bottle of twenty-year-old scotch. “Here you go, Larry. This is for you. Don’t drink it all in one sitting. That shit cost a fortune,” he boasted.

  He handed the scotch to me. I didn’t know what to say other than, “Thanks, Sam.” Maybe this guy wasn’t so bad after all.

  “Don’t mention it. You deserve it.” Sam smiled then turned his attention back to Lou. He reache
d back on the other side of his desk and then handed my brother a wooden box. “Lou, man, I know how you love your cigars, brother, but it’s time you stepped up your game from those cheap things you been smoking. I had these smuggled in special for you.”

  Lou opened the box, and when he saw what was inside, he almost knocked the whores off his lap he was so ecstatic. “Are these fucking Cubans?” He pulled a big-ass cigar out of the box, sliding it under his nose to take in the aroma.

  “You bet your ass they are. Straight from Havana,” Sam said, handing him a cigar cutter. Lou cut the tip then shoved it in his mouth. Sam leaned over and lit it for him. Lou had this blissful look on his face that even those whores on his lap couldn’t have given him.

  Sam walked around to his chair and took a seat. “I just wanted you cats to understand how important you are to me and what I do.”

  “We appreciate that, Sam,” Lou replied sincerely.

  “Good, because there’s another piece of business I’d like to discuss with you two.”

  Lou puffed his cigar. “Well, you know we’re always open to talk business, Sam.”

  “Good, because we’ve been doing business for a long time—you two servicing one part of the community, and little old me servicing another. I think it’s time we come together, like me and Wilma. Together we can take over all of South Georgia, possibly even the whole damn state. Big Sam and the Duncan brothers. What do you think? We can do it just like those Italian cats do. I’ll be the godfather; Lou, you’ll be the under boss, and Larry, you be the consigliere. We’d scare the shit out of a whole lot of people and get rich doing it.”

  Lou puffed on his cigar a few more times as he thought about it. After a minute, he said, “Sam, Larry and I have a lot of respect for you, so I’m going to give it to you straight.” I knew Lou was about to go into one of his speeches, so I settled back in my chair. “What we do, our little business, was started by our pops, so it’s a little sentimental to us. He used to loan money to share croppers during the winter when times were bad, and in the spring when they needed seed. Some say he was a pariah, leeching off of black people’s misery; others said he was a godsend, helping folks when no one else would. I’m not sure which one it is, but I just know we’re not letting it go cheap—if we let it go at all.”