A Hustler's Wife Page 11

"Would I have on this uniform if I wasn't working? I am going to check you in when I get off the phone." What do I do?

  Should I ask to see her supervisor or should I just chill, since I am trying to get in there? I really don't need any hold ups. Right then and there, the bell rung for count. Yarni knew she had to wait now.

  "Oopps, look at there. You've got to come back after 10:30

  when the count clears."

  I can't believe this Jheri Curl wearing heifer. I'm not even going to comment on all that jheri curl activation on the collar of her shirt.

  Yarni left and came back around 10:35 when the lobby was packed with tons of people. When Yarni reached the front of the line the same guard informs her, "Oh, your jeans are too tight.

  You can't go in. Let me make a suggestion to you. There's a Dollar General Store down the street, maybe you can go and purchase some jeans."

  The nerve of this big dyke looking wench, she could have told me that before, when I was here the first time. I feel like smacking the hell out of her, but then I know that I really won't be able to get in there to see Des. Be cool, Yarni. And if you want to, you can show your ass, but wait until you come out from seeing Des.

  Yarni left the prison and returned with some jeans that were on the clearance rack for $6.00, at the Dollar General Store, the only store in the town. She left her shirt and shoes on. She was then processed in. She went into the room with this other guard that looked like she was an Amazon.

  "Face the wall, hold your hands straight like level with your shoulders." She began to pat Yarni down. You are too into this. Is this the highlight of your job? "Take off your shoes. Lift up your feet." The things a girl's gotta do to be supportive of her man while he's in prison. I realize, though, that this is the way the system is set up, to discourage us from coming in here to see our loved ones. These people want us to just say, "Oh, I'm not going through all this to get into a prison to see him. I'll see him when he's released. So me giving into these people would be allowing them to win this political war.

  Yarni walked in the visiting room, and handed her visitor's pass to the correctional officer sitting at the entrance door.

  "Ma'am he's at table 33. He's already visiting with another visitor so you can just join them. Table 33 is outside. Walk through those double doors and you should see him."

  "Thank you," Yarni said. He's about the only person who works at this place who has some sense. I think it must be a thing with the female guards. Most of the women are mad because you coming in here dressed all fly, with the hairdo to match. You got your head all up in the air. They know you know that you looking good, so the only way they know they can mess with you, is by trying to use the little toy badge and imitation police uniform to try to make your day rough, when all they gotta simply do is, ask "where did you get those shoes, or who did your hair?" I'd surely tell them, alls they gotta do is ask. No, that's just too easy, they've gotta reveal that nasty disposition instead, and guess what? They still don't know where I got the shoes from either. Wonder who's in here seeing Des? It's probably Joyce.

  Wonder why she didn't call to see if I wanted to ride with her?

  She knows my car was just torched. Yarni looked around the visiting room to see who was visiting whom. I can't believe there are chics in here with jeans way tighter than mines. Ooh, look at that plump chic over there with some stretch pants on, and they got the nerve to make a big issue about me coming in here with my jeans on. Just then, Yarni had the table in sight. The nerve! No he don't have some chic up here visiting him!

  The girl sitting at the table with Des was a bright light, pale complexion, with sandy brown hair. Her hair was geled back into a neat ponytail with a scarf wrapped around it. She had a single red pimple on her face that stood out from afar due to her light skin tone. She was tall and slinky possessing no shape at all. Her eyes were dark brown with black eyeliner around them, along with the same liner for her lips, which possessed candy apple red lipstick. She had on some bell-bottom jeans with some Bass denim bo-bo sneakers, blue and white Guess shirt with her neck, fingers and ears possessing an assortment of gold jewelry.

  Yarni was trying to keep her composure. After all I been through yesterday and today to get here, and I'm greeted with my man sitting at the table with somebody else. And on top of everything else I got on these cheap ass $6.00 jeans. Oh, hell NO!

  "Oh, isn't this just cute!" Des and Madam X both were in shock when Yarni snuck up from behind. Des always sat with his back to the police when he was in the visiting room. It was his way of being disrespectful to the correctional officers. "Surprise!

  Surprise! Surprise!" Yarni pounced upon them.

  "Hey, baby" Des got up to embrace her with a hug and a kiss. Yarni turned her face away from Des and he ended up kissing her on the cheek. She sat down.

  "Oh, Flo, this is my wife, Yarni. Yarni, this is a friend of mine, Flo." Your friend, huh?

  "Nice to meet you, Yarni," Flo said.

  "Can't say the feeling is mutual, honey." Yarni looked Flo up and down. This bitch gonna try to extend her hands out to me, flashing her big, cheap, $99.00 rings that she got from Broad Street, all in my face like she doing something!

  "On that note, Des I am about to go," Flo said as she stood up.

  "Look, sweetie, you ain't going anywhere until I get an explanation about what the hell is going on here," Yarni said in a firm tone.

  "Baby Girl, calm down. Don't make a scene. I'll explain everything." Des tried to get the situation under control.

  "Yeah, I want it right now while your ho, excuse me, I meant while Flo is here."

  "Baby, calm down, this is not what you think."

  "How did I know you were going to say that?"

  "Sit down, Flo, because you ain't going nowhere," Yarni said as she pointed to the chair.

  "Baby Girl, I know I went against the grain when I asked you to bring narcotics in here. I know the severity of me asking you to jeopardize your freedom. My man hooked me up with Flo.

  She's a mule. She goes to different prisons visiting dudes to take them the pack. That's her hustle. All those money orders I been sending you, I get them from doing my thing in here, not just from cigarettes."

  "I am still trying to understand why, Des?" Your commissary stays stacked. You don't want for anything. I just don't understand why you'd resort to this?" Yarni was truly at a loss.

  "Well, Baby Girl, opportunity was there. There is a lot of money to be made in here."

  "Every time opportunity knocks you can't open the door for it. Des, what you have failed to realize is that you were a major player on the scene. Simply because you walk in the spotlight, believe me, there's a rat or a snake in the shadow, because all a nigga needs is to get a whiff of what you doing and they'll drop a note or a kite on you. Then here comes the heat. They put you under investigation, then they control your destiny." Yarni could feel her blood pressure increase knots.

  "Baby Girl, calm down"

  "Calm down? Let me enlighten you to this, Des. I am out here ripping and running up and down the damn road to every place that I think will listen to me to help out with your appeal.

  Wouldn't it just be ironic if I get a break on your case and you mess around and get a drug charge in here? That's a street charge. All it takes is for them to do a shake down on the late night/early morning shift. Even if you got somebody else holding it, who do you think is going to take the charge? Not even a

  "Flunkey Junkey" is that stupid. No, baby! Brothers are doing anything to get outta here. People are snitching like crazy. You should know just from reading your subscription of the Don Diva magazine? That's the proof in the pudding right there." Just then, Flo stood up. "My work is done here. I am about to go."

  "Flo, I am not finished with you either, and it's to your best interest that you sit your bony butt down. Don't worry, I am going to get to you in a minute." Des couldn't say a word because he knew if Yarni had never been right about anything else, she was right this time.


  "Just think about this. Now suppose somebody got a whiff of this whole conspiracy going on, and set the whole thing up." She points to Flo as she continues. "Flo, they wait for you to come in here with the pack, and catch you in the process. Oh, I don't know if you can hold your own, but say they put the pressure on you. They want you to tell on the person who gave it to you." Flo interrupted, "Oh, I can do mines if I catch a case. I'm not going to tell on nobody. It was my choice to do it, so I can handle the consequences."

  "Flo, they all say that, that's until you're presented with all that time." Yarni rolled her eyes in disgust. "Now, back to what I was saying. Then they connect the mule, you, Des, and then everybody's locked up with a rack of time, all because you say opportunity knocked. How much money could you make in here? A few hundred dollars, Des? You were never a $100 dude when you were on the streets, so why come to jail and become a $100 man? You're in the penitentiary throwing bricks at the exit door. You must really like it here, huh? Are you trying to come home or what?"

  "And you Flo, for the love of money, right? Is this all really worth it? Let me tell you this, if I ever catch you in here bringing my man some damn drugs, I will beat you down unmercifully, you hear me? You can sit there and pick your fingernails as if you don't hear me, but this is from the heart, baby. Now, you are dismissed. You are free to go now."

  "Yarni, listen to me, baby. Please don't be hard on me, I understand your feelings about this, but try to recognize my plight. I know that you like nice things. I know that things are tight due to the fact you are trying to further your education. I don't want you to have to go through the bullshit with those clown ass niggas just to be able to keep your head above water.

  I feel that the main reason you're so caught up in that lifestyle is because I introduced you to it. By all means, I want you to have the best of everything, and I will do whatever's in my power to make sure that you're O.K."

  Yarni touched Des cheek and gazed into his eyes. "Des, don't try to turn this around on me. Let me tell you it doesn't matter what I drive, what I wear, or how much money I got if I don't have you with me to share it with. It's meaningless. If I won a million dollars tomorrow and had to pay $999,999.00 to get you outta here, it would be done in a blink of an eye." Yarni maintains her serious disposition. "Des, I love you with all my heart, but sometimes a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do. I need you to choose. Now, is it going to be me or your little prison drug ring? That's my bottom line." Des tried to respond but Yarni cut him off. "Don't answer right away. Think long and hard over this whole ordeal." Yarni got up as if she was leaving. Des jumped up, followed Yarni over to the exit door, and grabbed her hand.

  "No, baby, where you going, Baby Girl? I've made my decision. Yarni, I quit," Des said motioning his hands as if he was the umpire at a baseball game. Of all times, he knew she was serious by the look in her eyes.

  "Yarni, you're all I have, all I need and all I want. If it takes me to give up hustling, it's out the window."

  "If you truly love me and are willing to sacrifice and prove it to me, then give me what Flo just brought you." Des did not hesitate. He quickly reached into the pocket of his jean jumpsuit and handed it to Yarni. She took it out of his hand, balled it up in a paper towel, proceeded to the bathroom and flushed it down the toilet.

  They went back to sit at the table. She developed tears in her eyes, as she absorbed the idea of Des throwing the towel in on selling drugs. The streets had practically raised him, and him excluding drugs from his life for her was one of the ultimate tests of their love. It wasn't Rallo or Bengee who'd passed the test. It was Des. Time and time again, it was always Des.

  DA CLINKER

  All kinds of blessings were coming to Yarni all at one time.

  Joyce returned the Benz that she had taken over three years ago from the apartment as she wanted to start with a clean slate. She realized that Yarni had Des best intentions at heart. With the 300

  Benz, part of the money from the savings bond her grandmother had left for her, and the help of Bengee and Slim, Yarni was able to get her a black M-3 BMW.

  Things were going well between her and Bengee. They actually clicked as well as complimented each other. They liked a lot of the same things. They both liked to travel. They went everywhere together. Any time she had a break from school or long weekends, they would always be off out of town exploring or relaxing.

  They went on a Carnival Cruise. He would take her to Las Vegas to go to any of the fights that were there. She absolutely loved Vegas. He'd send her flowers for no reason. He'd take the initiative to plan scavenger hunts for her. The way he treated her reminded her a lot of Des. She never had to tell him what to do because he just did it. He had a way of looking at her. It could be a room full with beautiful, exotic women and he would only see Yarni.

  This was the first man besides Des that she'd ever genuinely cared about. They were tight as jeans. They communicated well.

  Communication is the key to any relationship. The sex was good. Now that they were in a deep relationship Yarni had no desire to go out to the clubs anymore. Bengee didn't tell her to stop going. He wasn't the going out type, just more of a home-body. They found things for them to do at home, or outside of the club scene, that were worthwhile.

  Though Bengee and Rallo were slightly similar in the method of operation, there was a difference between them.

  Bengee was eight years older than she was and more attentive with anything concerning her. Bengee definitely wore the pants in their relationship. Yarni could not just come with some lame excuse and expect Bengee to accept it. He was sterner with her than Rallo ever was. She respected him as well as his wishes. He made it clear that she was not to go see Des in prison. She would not disobey, but she still stayed in contact with Des via letters.

  Des had been transferred to a prison nine hours away from Richmond. Norfolk, where Yarni attended ODU, was two hours outside of Richmond. Des was considerate enough to tell Yarni that eleven hours was too far to drive to see him. He was more worried about her safety when driving the distance and through the winding country roads to the facility. Just corresponding on a regular basis until he was moved from up there, would suffice in his eyes. In all actuality, Bengee's demands never affected the relationship with Des and Yarni.

  During the weekdays when she was attending classes in Norfolk, Bengee would be there at least two of the four class days. She would stay with him when she was in Richmond on the weekends. She had keys to his house. He was becoming a permanent part of her life. After attending three years in Norfolk at ODU, she transferred to the University of Richmond. When she moved back to Richmond, she moved in with Bengee. This was the first time in her adult life that she had actually lived with a man.

  One summer night, right before Yarni's senior year at The University of Richmond was to begin, she and Bengee were riding down Azalea Avenue. The cops pulled Bengee over for no apparent reason. In reality, the reason was they were DWB--

  Driving While Black. The typical situation: the police spot an 850 BMW with rims on it and see a young black man driving and automatically think, drug dealer! The cop put the blue lights on them. Bengee pulled his BMW into the Brookhill Azalea shopping center. The officer approached the back of the car and broke the tail light. He went around to the driver's side of the car. He looked down with his round, shiny, mirrored reflected sunglasses and big brim hat while chewing tobacco.

  "License and registration please?" The officer said with a deep down south accent, Bengee cooperated. The officer studied Bengee's license hard. "Mr. Whales, do you have any drugs or weapons in here?" The officer asked while pointing his flash-light around the car.

  "No," Bengee politely responded.

  "Then you shouldn't mind if I search your vehicle, right?"

  "Sir, I apologize, but you can't search anything of mine," Bengee said in a firm tone. He knew his rights.

  "We'll see about that, Mr. Whales. We'll just see, won't we?" The officer said a
s he spit his tobacco. The officer walked back to his squad car, sat in his car for twenty minutes and returned to Bengee's car when another police cruiser rolled up. The other cop proceeded to Yarni's side of the car.

  "Mr. Whales, please step out of the car," the younger cop demanded.

  "For what?" Bengee asked. He ignored Bengee. The officer opened Bengee's car door while spitting his chewing tobacco.

  "Mr. Whales, I said, step out of the vehicle." As soon as Bengee proceeded to put one foot on the pavement the officer grabbed him, literally pulling him out of the car, and slapped handcuffs on him. Yarni could see something out of the corner of her eye on her side of the car. She called out to the police, "What's going on?" When she looked to her right, there was another police officer standing there with a loaded shotgun pointed at her. "M'am step out of the car." Yarni slowly got out of the car.

  "Mr. Whales, your license is suspended." The first police said to Bengee. Bengee knew for a fact he had a valid driver's license.

  Taking his lifestyle into consideration, he'd never let his license get suspended. At this point, two more police cars rolled up. The second police immediately removed Yarni out of Bengee's sight.

  She was placed in a mini van while they searched the car.

  "What's your name?" The police asked in a calm voice. Yarni ignored him. "Is that your boyfriend?" Yarni only moved around the back seat to try to get out of the van. They had her locked in.

  A lady cop entered the van wearing some black jeans with a white Polo style T-shirt and some combat looking black military style boots. "Hi, are these guys giving you a hard time?" Yarni only looked at her, as if she was crazy. Oh, they trying to play good cop bad cop, huh?

  "You mean to tell me y'all don't have anything else to do, but harass me? Why don't y'all go try to find some child molesters to catch? Listen lady, I haven't done anything." Yarni complained to all who would listen.

  "I know you haven't, but it's just standard procedure," the lady interrupted. "What's your name, honey? Whose car is that?" Yarni never responded to any of her questions.