Excerpt 1
”So, what you sayin' is we charge for pussy?” Now that ReRe had said it, it sounded logical to me. I mean here we were, out there messin' wit these stupid lil boys for nothing. We got absolutely nothing out of it. ”Well, yeah I know it sounds crazy but, just think about it. We doin' it anyway, this way at least we’d have some shit to show for it besides sore legs and a broke heart.” The girls all looked at each other and then at me.”I’m in.” That was Candy. I knew that if she did it, Lil Mama would do it just so I wouldn’t think she was a punk. Lil mama agreed next, then it was up to ReRe. ”Look Re, you don’t have to. I mean if we all not gone participate then nobody does it ok?” She finally looked at me and said. ”you know what Ice, if this may get me the money I need to get me and mama out of here fuck it. I’m in.”
Now, in the beginning I was willing to do the shit too, but it was Candy’s idea that we needed someone to be the leader. ”Look we all can’t be out here sellin ass somebody got to look out for us. Somebody everybody respects. That would be you Ice.” That’s how I became a pimp.
To be honest, I was a little shocked that the girls took to the idea of hoein' so quickly. They agreed that it wouldn’t be something they would normally do, but it was all good. We all wanted out and we all had the tools to get what we wanted. The thing is we had to be discreet and figure out how to actually start getting paid for the goodies. Like I said Candy was the hoods most wanted, so we decided to see what she could tap into first. We wanted to get a feel for what we were getting ourselves into.
I had already figured out that we wouldn’t be able to really start business from this neighborhood. I mean there were some prospects but not too many, and besides these nigs was dead broke anyway. It took us 3 months to figure out that we’d have to travel. We used the nigs in the hood as practice and soon realized that this was not gone work. First of all, they all wanted Candy and that was pissin Lil Mama off and I didn’t want no shit. Candy’s first job was with Deon Sons. Him and his pops owned a hardware store up on 59th St. Deon was 26 years old and had a little green. Candy started goin in the store getting keys made and askin' questions about paint and shit. Deon made his move one day and Candy reeled him in. To this day he is still one of her peeps. That’s what we called the dudes. Johns was too stank soundin' and customers seemed too cliché.
Lil Mama appealed to gangsta type niggas. The dealers around the way were willin' to pay her for the goods. Not the petty dealers sellin dime bags of weed, but the real dealers that drove the latest shit and had the phat cribs. She was rakin' in money too, but not enough.
Re Re proved to be good with married men. For some reason, they would talk to her about their dysfunctional marriages and she considered herself a counselor of sorts. There were a few who would pay her for just a couple hours of light petting and conversation, something they said they couldn’t get at home. She was happy with that, sayin she knew she couldn’t deal with the hardcore nigs like Lil Mama anyway. We held many meetings at my house and at the library in the study room. By the time we got our feet wet and knew what we were really doin', it was time to take our show Chicago wide.
Excerpt 2
On the way back home, I see Re’s mama leanin’ on a gate in front of a abandoned building. I stop the truck and tell Dex what time it is. I tell him to stay put. I get out and call her name. “DoDo! Over here.” She so gone, she can barely lift her head. “Doris, it’s me Ice. You ok?” She finally looks at me and her eyes are blood shot and her mouth is white around the edges. “Huh? Hey you got a dolla?” I tell her maybe, but she gotta get offa the streets. “Where I’m gone go? Ain’t no where to go.”
She begins to lean into the gate again and I hold her up. “Doris, we can take you home ok? Just come with us. I’ll give you a dolla.” Her eyes light up then and she says. “Ok. Can you make it twenty? Then just drop me off on the low. I’ll be ok.” I tell her I ain’t givin’ her shit unless she goes home. “Home? Home? Fuck that. My home is right here. Rocky done put me out again man. His trifling ass. Where ReRe? Ooh that’s my baby. Maybe I can stay with her. Or you?” Hells naw. We talk it over for a few more minutes, but she’s determined not to go home. “Look, just gimme the money and go away. I been on the street befo honey and it ain’t so bad.” Not so bad! She standin’ here smellin’ like, pee, whiskey, and funk and it ain’t so bad? I can’t just leave her out here like this, but I ain’t takin’ her ass wit me. “Ok, I’ll give you a twenty, but you gotta let me put you in a room for a coupla days. ReRe won’t forgive me if I leave you out here like this Doris. Come on. When I get you settled I’l
C H A P T E R E L E V E N
I put her up at the Oasis on 63rd st. It ain’t the Ritz, but it’s safe and reasonably clean. I pay the clerk in the office enough money to get her a 3 day stay. I ask Dex to drive over to the 24hr Walgreens and grab her a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. When he gets back we wait in the room until she’s done showering and changing. When she comes out, it takes everything in me to keep from laughin’. Dex brought back a pair of Blue and yellow sweatpants that had CHICAGO written down the legs and a White Sox T-shirt. She looked like a confused tourist. He also grabbed her some mens house shoes and a extra t- shirt. The room had a mini fridge and he was kind enough to bring back a couple of lunchables, a box of crackers, a bag of cheetos, some Vienna sausages and a six pack of pepsi. Doris just stood there and stared at us. “You ok? What’s the matter?” Dex asked her.
“Ain’t nobody been this nice to me in a long time. My own mama won’t take my calls. She got the other kids ya know? Shit, I’m a fuckin’ mess is all. I try to stay clean and sober, but I can’t do it. Once a junkie always a junkie.” She throws herself onto the flimsy flowered bed spread and starts cryin’. “Doris, you can do it if you really want to.” I tell her. “You been to re-hab before?” She starts laughin’ and says that she been to at least 5 of them. “That shit is a mess too. They wanna hear ya story and all ya confessions and shit. Says it makes it easier to admit you got a problem. Shit, shootin’ up and suckin’ dick for a hit should tell anybody I got a problem. I just can’t kick it. I go in all ready and then nobody supports me. I know it’s my own fault, but it hurts. Mama always say, she’ll believe it when she see it. My daddy say I ain’t shit and ain’t gone be shit, so fuck it.” I really feel for her. It’s gotta be hard to be out here alone, even if it is your own doin’. “Listen to me. When you think you ready just give me call ok? I’ll support you. We’ll support you.” I look at Dex and he’s smiling and nodding his head.
“My cousin used to be out there like that too. Took a lot of patience on the family’s end but he got it together Doris. It was a long hard road from hell, but he survived. God’s love and the family’s support got him through. You can do it too. You just gotta want it. We got ya back.” I looked at my man and beamed. He didn’t know Doris from a hole in the wall, but was willin’ to help her out. “Y’all serious? Whewee! I just might take ya up on that real soon. I gotta think it through tho. Hate to disappoint folks again. I gotta be sho I’m really ready. I’ll call when I am.” We get ready to leave and she hugs us both. “Here’s yo twenty Doris. I promised, so here it is. You got the room for 3 days and if you need some food or somethin’ call. I can’t give you no more money though. You understand?” She nods at me and snatches the twenty.
