“Hello,” she answered, sounding real snotty.
“Get off the phone, gurl, and give G’Mama the phone,” Trent demanded.
“Who dis?” Brandy asked in her broken English.
“Don’t worry who I am. Just put G’Mama on the phone.” Trent was becoming irritated.
“She ‘sleep right now. Who is dis?” she continued to ask.
“Damn, girl. Your ass is nosey. Just tell G’Mama, when she wakes up, that I’m coming to see her in a few.”
“That’s all fine and dandy, but who am I gonna say is comin’ to see her?” Brandy asked with an attitude.
“Damn. If you must know, it’s Trent,’’ he responded as sweat formed above his eyebrows.
“I knew that,” Brandy said, clicking back to the other line.
Trent envisioned choking his little cousin when he saw her.
“Why didn’t she say anything?” Trent wondered aloud.
Trent put the phone back on its base. He, then, grabbed his cell phone and texted Nicole: AYE! MEET ME AROUND THE CORNER IN TEN MINUTES. LEAVE AFTER I LEAVE. I NEED YOU TO ROLL WITH ME.
After Trent pressed the SEND button, he kissed his mom once more.
“Tell Pops that I said he owes me money from that bet we made,” he laughed.
“You be careful, you hear? By the way, how’s Kendra doing? Tell her I’m here for her if she needs anything. Poor baby, losing her mom at such an early age,” Mrs. Moore said, showing sympathy and concern.
“She’s coping, and I’ll make sure to tell her to give you a call,” Trent answered.
Thirty minutes later, Trent and Nicole were headed up the highway to Rialto. It had been awhile since Trent had visited his grandmother. If it wasn’t for the position he was in, Trent probably would have let another month or two pass before he made his visit. When they arrived, Trent rang the door-bell and waited patiently for someone to come to the door. After a couple minutes had past, there was still no answer. Trent became worried. He knocked again and shook the handle. Trent found that the door was unlocked. He entered with Nicole behind him. He walked through the foyer and found Brandy chatting away on the phone.
“Did you hear the fucking door?” Trent spat.
Brandy rolled her eyes and kept on chatting away. Trent snatched the phone from Brandy’s ear and hung up on whoever she was talking to.
“Trent, have you lost your damn mind?” Brandy exclaimed, reaching for the phone.
Trent, however, kept it behind his back and asked, “Where is G’Mama at?” He held the phone high above his head.
“Trent, you play too damn much. Now, give me back the phone ‘fo I tell G’Mama you swearing in her house,” Brandy threatened.
Nicole laughed as the two cousins bickered. Trent was ready to choke Brandy out, but Nicole caught his hands.
“Baby, calm down. She’s just playing with you. Just have a seat!” Nicole suggested.
Brandy rolled her eyes and sucked her teeth. Trent took Nicole’s advice and calmed down. Brandy was the daughter of Trent’s uncle. Brandy had lived with G’Mama since birth because her mother and father were strung out on heroin. G’Mama called Brandy her miracle child because, at birth, she had weighed only two pounds. Trent used this opportunity to get his bag out the trunk.
“Keep an eye out for me and let me know if my granny comes in,” Trent instructed Nicole.
He turned on the TV for Nicole and handed her the remote. Then, he headed for the shed in the backyard. The shed was dark and had a lot of debris in it. He moved some stuff around and found an old trunk. Trent, then, set the bag inside it. Before closing it up, he took out a whole bird and stuffed it in his Gucci backpack with all the money he could fit in it. After everything was secure, Trent locked down the trunk. He found a padlock sitting next to him and on the wall hung various keys. He didn’t want to really search for the key, so he picked out the funniest looking one and prayed that it worked. Trent stepped back into the house at the same time his granny walked in.
“Hey, G’Mama. How are you, baby?” Trent asked, giving his granny a kiss on the cheek.
“Boy, what you doing all the way out here? Are you in some kind of trouble?” she asked.
“C’mon, G’Mama. What kind of grandson do you think I am?” Trent answered in his boyish tone.
“‘G’Mama- my ass! I wasn’t born yesterday. You’re just trying to get your nut on, and this is not the Holiday Inn,” she uttered.
Trent fell out, laughing. “Nah, G’Mama. I really came to see you and kick it with you for a couple of hours,” Trent lied.
“I’m hungry, Trent,” Nicole announced, hoping that they could get out of the house soon and get back to LA, but Trent purposely ignored her.
“Nicole, you remember my G’Mama Gloria, right? G’Mama, this is my friend Nicole.”
“Hello,” Nicole said as she attempted to shake G’Mama’s hand.
“You better get on up and give G’Mama a hug. We don’t shake hands in this house,” she advised.
Brandy came back in the room. She rolled her eyes at everyone.
“Girl, don’t make me knock your eyes out their sockets,” G’Mama warned her. “Now, where are your manners? I know I taught you right. Well? Now, get over here and give me some suga.”
Brandy gave her grandmother a hug and a kiss. Trent caught up on some memories with G’Mama and, before he knew it, it was time to hit the highway.
“I’mma make sure I come see you more often,” Trent informed his granny while giving her a hug and a kiss.
“Oh, no! We don’t wanna see you like that,” Brandy hissed, walking towards the door. Trent stuck his foot out, making Brandy hit the floor hard. She was just about to say something slick when she realized G’Mama was still in the room.
“It was a pleasure meeting you, G’Mama,” Nicole said, giving her a hug.
Nicole was happy to leave. She liked Trent’s grandmother, but she couldn’t stand Brandy, and, if she had stayed in that house another minute, she would have hurt that girl.
“Do you have anywhere to be right now?” Trent asked Nicole.
She shook her head. “Why? What’s up?”
“Shit! I figured, on our way back home, we could hit up DT,” he responded. “You down to roll?”
Trent knew he was taking chances being downtown. It was only a short time before someone linked him to JD’s disappearance or that he ran into Wiz, but money needed to be made, and it damn sure wasn’t going to make it itself.
Kendra was exhausted from the two days she had spent with Wiz, and all she wanted was to go home and relax. She wanted to take a long, hot bath, but that was short lived when she saw Trent’s face, but she decided to ignore him. Kendra finally had peace of mind. She warmed some soup up for herself and decided to watch a movie in the den. Kendra was battling her love and affection for Trent. She had begun to think the love she really missed was the love from her father. She pondered that question all the time. She figured that it was time to visit her father. He could give her the answers her soul desired.
A side of Kendra felt that sneaking and creeping with Wiz was payback for all the hurt and agony Trent had caused her. Besides, it felt good. On the other hand, she knew two wrongs didn’t make a right, and, if her mom had still been alive, she would have torn her a new one. Kendra marked the calendar for when she would go visit her father.
Trent and Nicole made it to downtown L.A just in time for the police’s shift changes. They rode around for fifteen minutes before parking. Trent tried to make sure the coast was clear. He took the pack from his bag and started breaking down rocks. He made sure to have quarter pieces, eight balls, dubs, dimes, and nickels. He cut them up to perfection, like it was what he went to school for. After an hour of cutting, he was ready to get it over with. His first stop would be to the park. That was where all the fiends congregated, so he was sure he would dump the majority of his product off there.