Eve Read online

  One night Eve was in the park hanging with some of the homeys. Beast was just passing through and stopped to chat for a few minutes. About five minutes after he got there, a group of guys and girls came rolling into the park. They weren’t from the hood, so it had to mean trouble.

  “Which one of y’all is Eve?” the leader of the group asked.

  Eve, being the bad ass that she was, stepped up. “I’m Eve,” she said defiantly. The boy outweighed her by at least twenty pounds, but Evelyn Panelli was never one to back down from a fight. Be it with a guy or a girl, she was always down to squab. Eve didn’t know what the boy’s problem was, but she was about to find out.

  The boy looked over his shoulder and motioned for one of the girls to step forward. When the fat dark-skinned chick stepped forward out of the group, Eve started to get the picture. The girl was a chick that Eve had beat the hell out of the day before for trying to bully Cassidy. Eve had whipped her out, but she seemed to be a slow learner.

  “Yeah,” the boy said. “I heard you and ya bitches jumped my lil sis the other night. I wasn’t feeling that shit, hoe.”

  “First of all,” Eve said, getting loud. “Didn’t nobody jump ya fat-ass sister. Me and her shot a fair one and she lost. Straight like that. And second, you better watch who the fuck you’re calling a hoe or you can get the same treatment.”

  “We’ll see, Miss Badass. I’m gonna let my sister whip ya little ass. Maybe then you’ll shut that big-ass mouth of yours.”

  “Nigga, let’s do this.” Eve said, sliding out of her Snorkel coat.

  The girl hesitated for a minute. It was clear to everyone except her brother that she didn’t want to fight. She looked from her brother to Eve and had to struggle to keep from running. She knew that Eve had beat her ass all by herself, but she had made up the jump lie so she wouldn’t look soft. Now she had to get down or lay down.

  The girl tried to catch Eve off guard, but the punch was fired awkwardly. Eve weaved the punch and countered with a left. Before the girl could get her balance, Eve threw a haymaker that had the girl out on her feet. When the fat girl crashed to the ground, Eve started kicking her viciously.

  The girl’s brother sneaked up on Eve and clocked her. To his surprise, she kept her feet and fired right back. Eve got off two good punches before Beast stepped in. He swung his mitt so hard that you could hear it cutting the wind. When the blow connected, you could hear the boy’s jaw crack. Before he could hit the ground, Beast had him by the throat and was trying to juice his neck.

  By this time, both crews were going head-up. Punches and kicks were flying everywhere. Eve was busy whipping on a girl and a guy near the jungle gym, so she momentarily lost sight of Beast. Suddenly a lone gunshot rang out. Eve got low while everyone else scattered. She scanned the area to see if any of hers had been hit. It was then she noticed a lone figure sprawled on the concrete.

  Eve’s eyes filled with tears at the sight of her slain comrade. She ran over to Beast and knelt by his side. Blood was running from a tiny hole in his forehead and pooling beneath his head. Eve sobbed for her friend. When all seemed lost, she noticed that Beast’s chest was still rising and falling. It was a long shot, but she hoped that she might be able to get help and save him.

  Eve ran into the middle of the street and started screaming frantically. Luckily, the park where Beast had been shot was right behind Harlem Hospital. They rushed Beast into surgery, but things didn’t look good. When it was all said and done, Beast had lived but his life would never be the same. The university discharged Beast, putting an end to his college education and his football career. He would live through the shooting only to spend the rest of his days as a grown man with the mind of a child.

  The homeys flipped over what had happened. They eventually caught the kid and murdered him, but the pain would never go away. They had lost a stand-up soldier in Beast. Nobody felt worse about what had happened than Eve. She knew that the whole thing was her fault. This was the reason why Eve still dealt with Beast while everyone else made fun of him. She owed him that much. Beast would forever be her friend.

  “That’s a nice kitten,” Eve said, pushing the memories from her mind.

  “Yup,” Beast said, stroking the patchwork kitten. “I found him on da ave. He was all dirty so I took him home and washed him off. Now he’s pretty again. Ain’t he, Eve?”

  “Yes, he is, Beast.”

  “Come on, heifer!” Cassidy shouted from the car window.

  “Hold on!” Eve shouted back with an attitude.

  “I don’t like your friend Cassidy,” Beast said, frowning. “When I say hi to her, she acts like she doesn’t hear me, or whispers to her friends.”

  “Pay her no mind,” Eve said, touching his arm. “Cassidy just has issues.”

  “She’s mean. You know, people think I don’t know they laugh at me, Eve,” Beast said sadly. “They laugh at me cause I don’t think as fast as them. I’m men…men…what’s the word you used?”

  “Mentally challenged,” she reminded him.

  “Yeah, that’s the one. Sometimes I forget stuff. I forget a lot of stuff lately.”

  “Have you been taking your pills every day?”

  “Nah. Sometimes I take em, but not all the time. When you went away there was nobody to make sure that I took em. Plus they make me feel icky.”

  “Beast, you know you have to take your pills.”

  “But why?”

  “Because they help you to stay calm and think clearer.”

  “Do not. I can get calm on my own. Watch.” Beast straightened out his face and tried to look serious.

  “That’s not what I meant, Beast. Listen, I gotta go, but I’m gonna catch up with you later to make sure you’re taking care of yourself.”

  “You gonna come and see me?” he asked excitedly.

  “Yep, and I’m bringing your favorite snack.”

  “You bringing Cracker Jacks?”

  “Sure am.”

  “Yeah!” Beast shouted and pumped his fist. “Then I can show you all my new pets. I’ve got a snake named Bone Crusher, some fish, puppies. I had a squirrel, but Bone Crusher hugged him too hard. I buried him in Central Park.”

  “That’s interesting, Beast. You can tell me all about it when I come over. But if you don’t take your pills, no Cracker Jacks.”

  “I’m gonna go take em right now,” Beast said, sprinting in the other direction. He had gotten about a half block before he came back. “Forgot the cat food.” Beast ran into the store.

  Eve stood there and waited to make sure that Beast had gotten the correct change. After making sure he was good, she headed back toward the car. People often took advantage of the big guy. Beast had a very gentle and trusting nature, but heaven help you if you got him started. Beast could snap a man’s bones with little effort. The best way to handle him was just to leave him alone to his animals. Few men had made the mistake of trying Beast, and they all ended up being treated to very lengthy stays in the hospital.

  5.

  “Damn,” Cassidy complained. “You were taking all day with that nigga.”

  “You know I fuck with Beast,” Eve said.

  “I don’t know why. That boy is a headache.”

  “Beast is cool. You just gotta get to know him.”

  “Why the fuck would I wanna know him? He’s a big for nothing muthafucka that always smells like a pet store.”

  “Cassidy, you’re acting like Beast was always like this. It ain’t his fault that he got shot. Have a fucking heart.”

  “Have a heart my ass. I’m so fucking tired of Beast and his sob story. ‘College Star Shot In the Head.’ We all read the paper, Eve. Shit happens in the hood. Get over it already.”

  “I don’t fucking believe you, Cassidy. How are you gonna be so cold? Beast is one of us.”

  “One of y’all,” Cassidy corrected. “You know I ain’t wit all that thug shit. If you chose to claim that walking sideshow, be my guest. Just don’t bring that nigga arou
nd me. Retard muthafucka.”

  “Okay, that’s enough,” Eve snapped. “All that shit you’re popping doesn’t compute to me, Cassidy. Beast is my friend, period. I don’t wanna hear no more of that slick talk about him. That goes for you or any of these muthafuckas out here. That’s my fucking dawg. I don’t give a fuck who doesn’t like it!”

  Cassidy looked over at Eve to see if she was serious. Sure enough, there was steam practically coming from Eve’s cornrows. Cassidy couldn’t understand why Eve wouldn’t let go of the guilt she carried around in her heart. It might’ve been her beef that got Beast shot, but it wasn’t her fault. These things happen when people put themselves in high-risk situations. Cassidy decided to let the argument die. She knew Eve was bullheaded and there was no changing her mind.

  “You got that, Eve,” Cassidy conceded. “I didn’t know you were gonna take it like that.”

  “It’s all good,” Eve said, calming down. “I just don’t like people making fun of him.”

  “I can dig it. But fuck the dumb shit. Where we at? The liquor store? Weed spot? What’s good, ma?”

  “Damn, girl. I ain’t been outta lockup for twenty-four hours and you’re already trying to get me to OD?”

  “Fuck that shit, Eve. Let’s do it up!”

  “I wish. I’m on paper. I can’t smoke weed until next year.”

  “Damn, that shit is a drag,” Cassidy said defeated. “Butter is on paper too, but he still smokes. He drinks this stuff to clean his piss.”

  “I ain’t trying to go through all that shit. As much as I miss blowing trees, I ain’t willing to jump through no fucking hoops for it. For all that, I just won’t smoke.”

  “I hear ya, but they don’t test for liquor. Do they?”

  “Nah, I don’t think so.”

  “So, there you have it. You’ll just have to make the transition from weed head to alcoholic.”

  The two girls fell over each other laughing as the Lex continued with the flow of traffic.

  Felon had just dropped the bombshell about what Sean had hipped him to. Just as Felon expected, Butter’s solution to the problem was to kill Spooky. Felon was no stranger to violence or bloodshed, but at this stage of the game, he was trying to rise above the bullshit.

  “Fuck that shit,” Butter spat. “That lil ingrate muthafucka has gotta go.”

  Felon hushed him. “Be cool. We gotta do this smart. You and me been under a microscope since we put that piece-of-shit Macho out of his misery. The police are tight because they couldn’t make that garbage-ass charge stick. Now if we go and kill Spooky all cowboy style, how’s it gonna look? You gotta start using your head, partner.”

  “Damn! That shit just makes me tight, yo. You put that lil nigga on and he crossed us. But that’s ya man, though.”

  “I know. I put the kid on. I knew him since he was a shorty. If he needed some extra bread, he could’ve come to me.”

  “That just goes to show that the lil bastard did it out of larceny.”

  “I gotta agree, the boy’s gotta answer for this. But we gotta be creative about it.”

  “You’re right.” Butter snapped his fingers. “I got the perfect plan, too.”

  “Let a nigga in,” Felon said.

  “Yeah,” Butter rubbed his hands together greedily. “I think you’re gonna like this, Felon. Say, does your uncle still have that nail gun in his garage?”

  Eve rode around with Cassidy for the better part of an hour before convincing her to swing by her uncle’s pad. Eve had enjoyed taking in the sights and sounds of Harlem. She hadn’t been away for a very long time, but it was long enough. Captivity could make the hours seem like days under the right conditions.

  Before going home, Eve wanted to stop by the store to get a pack of Newports. Smoking was a nasty habit that she had picked up while she was away. She promised herself that she was gonna quit, but not yet. Eve’s life was damn near in shambles and she had to put the pieces back together. All she had going for her was a GED, and that wouldn’t be enough to get her where she needed to be.

  As Eve was coming out of the store, a pair of strong arms encircled her waist from behind. Eve turned around, ready to flip out, and found a familiar face. Butter stood there, looking goofy as hell, making a kissing gesture at her.

  “Boy, get off me.” She swatted him.

  “Damn, girl. From the way you looking, all these hoes need to get locked up,” he joked.

  “Fuck you, nigga,” she responded.

  “Eve,” sang a familiar voice, coming from the left.

  She felt her body involuntarily tense up. Just hearing that voice after all of this time made Eve feel some kinda way. She tried to muster up the old animosities in her mind’s eye. This was the man who you went to prison for. He blew up while you counted days. She tried to call up the very same shield of rage that had kept her sane while incarcerated, but the flame wouldn’t light. Longing overrode whatever she thought she felt, and so went the anger. If she turned around, she would surely faint. Eve closed her eyes and tried to slow her breathing. Somehow she mustered the strength to turn and face Felon.

  Eve almost melted when she saw how good the months had been to Felon. His smooth chocolate skin was without a blemish or scar. The sweat suit he was wearing looked crisp, like he had just copped it. He wore a white do-rag beneath the Yankee hat that he wore cocked slightly to the side. Time had sure been on Felon’s side, Eve thought to herself.

  When Felon made eye contact with Eve, there was an instant spark. He sized her up and could’ve sworn his heart skipped a beat. She had filled out quite nicely while she was away. Felon didn’t mean to stare, but he found that he couldn’t help himself. It was like one of those scenes in the movies when everything else fades out, leaving only the two lovers. If “Shower Me with Your Love” was playing in the background, it would’ve been a pretty good love scene in a movie.

  “Hello,” Cassidy said, breaking the connection. “Damn, earth to y’all.”

  “Shut up, Cassidy. What up, homey?” she asked, looking at Felon.

  “Chilling,” he said, half smiling. “When did you touch down?”

  “This morning. I’m just now hitting the streets. What’s been up with you?”

  “You should know. I wrote you and told you every step of the way, shorty. You trying to say you forgot how to read?”

  “Nah,” she said looking at her boots. “I got em.”

  “So why no response, ma? Nothing heavy, just let ya big bro know you were good.”

  Eve caught the curveball that Felon had no idea he threw. “Wasn’t bout nothing.” She twisted her lips. “I had to hold myself down. I couldn’t let the troubles of the world invade my space. It was hard enough for me to get accustomed to the way shit worked in there, and getting letters from my peoples about how good or bad everyone else in the world was doing wouldn’t have helped my cause any. I had to do what was best for the kid.”

  “I hear that.” Felon looked her up and down. “You look more like a young lady than a little girl.”

  “My girl hooked me up,” she said, tugging at the too-tight shirt.

  “Sometimes we gotta change with the times. It looks good on you though, ma. Keep it up.”

  “I’ll take that into consideration.”

  “And the boat sunk, killing all the white people,” Butter cut in. “Y’all break all this Titanic shit up, a’ight?”

  “Why you gotta play so much?” Felon asked, irritated.

  “My bad, fam. I’m saying though, we’re all happy to see Eve. I wanna pop a lil shit wit her too. Y’all can do the Marvin and Tammy thang on your own time.”

  “Shut up, Butter.” Cassidy nudged him. “The only chick you gotta worry about being happy to see is me.”

  “You know I missed you, ma,” he said, putting Cassidy in a bear hug. “You ain’t wreck my car, did you?”

  “No, I ain’t wreck ya hoopty.”

  “Hoopty? Girl, you must’ve lost ya last mind,” Butter protested. �
�That there is a classic. Lexus GS 300. They don’t even make the chassis like that anymore. You better get up on it, baby.”

  “Whatever, nigga. Why, you want ya lil ride back or something?”

  “Don’t act like that,” Butter pleaded. “I ain’t stressing that car. If you need to hold on to it for a lil while longer, then do you.”

  “Oh.” she rolled her eyes. “I thought you was getting stink over your ride.”

  “Nah. I’m just happy to see Eve. What up, girl?” He turned to Eve.

  “Just trying to get on the right track,” she said coolly.

  “Speaking of which,” Cassidy cut in. “Butter, can I holla at you for a second?”

  “Sure,” he said, following her over to the car. Cassidy whispered a few words into Butter’s ear as he nodded and listened. A few seconds later he headed over to Felon. “Say, how much money you got on you?”

  “What?” Felon asked, confused.

  “Look, shoot me a grand or three.”

  “A grand or three? Nigga, what the fuck for?”

  Butter grinned. “Felon, would I steer you wrong?”

  “A’ight.” Felon dipped into his stash and peeled off fifteen hundred dollars. Butter took the bills and headed in Eve’s direction. Felon looked on in shock as Butter added twenty-two hundred of his own to the pot and presented it to Eve.

  “Baby girl,” Butter began, “this ain’t much, but it’s a lil something to keep ya belly full for a minute.”

  Eve stared quizzically at the wad of bills in Butter’s hand. She wondered what Cassidy had whispered into this lion’s ear to turn him into a pussycat. Eve hadn’t accepted Felon’s or Butter’s help while she was away, so the noble thing would’ve been to decline the money. Eve was hardly thinking about nobility as she snatched the bills and stuffed them into the pockets of her too-tight jeans.

  “Just call it a contribution to the ‘We Love Eve’ fund,” Felon added.

  “Be careful, baby boy,” she warned. “Love is a very powerful word. It can heal or harm, depending on how it’s used.”