“Twenty million? You got twenty million?”
“Do I? Well, I did. Now Gena has twenty million, or better yet, my archenemy Jerrell Jackson has twenty million.”
“Oh, Quadir, twenty million?”
“Well, technically, a little over seventeen million, Amelia. And she’s spending it, like water running out of a faucet.”
“Well, what are you going to do? Quadir, twenty million is a lot of money.”
“Amelia, please, you’re making my head hurt,” said Quadir, scratching his head trying to figure out his next move.
“What makes you think that if you can’t figure out where the money is, Jerrell will? I’m sure Gena’s not that gullible. I’m sure she’s smart enough to hide the money in a safe place.”
“Amelia, Jerrell is the grimiest dirtbag I know. If he thinks Gena has something, he’ll torture her to death in order to take it. This shit is crazy. It’s getting more and more complicated as time goes by. Now, I have to babysit this nigga.”
“Listen, I have money. I can make you a loan; I can help you get a new start out here, if that’s what you want. I mean I don’t have twenty million dollars and I know that’s a lot of money, but Quadir, it’s not worth your life. It’s not worth prison. You know what I’m saying?” asked Amelia, hoping he was smarter than she thought.
“Amelia, a loan? Are you nuts? We’re talking my twenty million, Amelia, my twenty million dollars, and I will get my money back. I have to get it back!”
“No, we’re talking about Gena’s twenty million and we’re talking about you risking your life!” she shouted, hoping to penetrate his brain with common sense.
Quadir just looked at her blankly, not wanting to hear her logic. “That’s my twenty million. Mine. I busted my ass for that; I damn near lost my life for that. I want my money. I want it back!”
“Well, what do you want me to do to help? What about hiring a private investigator to help track the money down?”
“No, that would just be one more nose up in the mix. Shit, he’d probably find out where the money is and take it himself.”
“Quadir!”
“What? I would,” he said, eyes wide.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Yeah, what?” he asked, stopping his pacing for a split second to hear her out.
“Are you mad at Gena for having your money or are you mad at her for being with Jerrell?”
Quadir thought about her question and honestly didn’t know the answer. His pride was hurt, of course. Any man’s pride would be. That was just the tip of the iceberg. The truth was his archenemy had his girl and access to his dough. Nothing could be worse than that.
“Right now, I just want my money back,” he said, broken-hearted.
“She thinks you’re dead, you know,” said Amelia, trying to reason with him.
“I know, but he’s the enemy.”
“She probably has no idea who she’s dealing with.”
Quadir just shook his head. The situation was way out of control. Why didn’t I stop her at the apartment? Why didn’t I stop her then, before she had a chance to get into the car? What was I thinking?
“Damn, I want my money.”
Amelia said nothing; she just let him pace around, scratching his head, hoping he’d figure out something without harming himself or, worse, her medical career. Of course he knew that to do something foolish would just be plain stupid. He had everything going for him: a new life, a fresh start, and twenty million dollars somewhere out there. And he would figure out where. He had come too far not to. He would have his money. He might not have Gena, but he’d get that money back, one way or the other. What are you doing, Gena? Of all the dudes out here, why him? Gena had committed the perfect betrayal. If Quadir didn’t know any better, he’d swear she was in cahoots with Jerrell. No, she loved me, didn’t she?
“Are you okay?” Amelia asked, lightly touching Quadir’s shoulder.
“No, I’m not. I’m really not.”
“Seriously, let me hire someone to help you get your money back.”
“Not yet; not right now. She already has Philly PD on her, and if you hire a PI then it’ll look like a damn caravan going down the street. I just need to change up my tactics and I need to switch cars too.”
“You can use the Jeep, if you want,” said Amelia, hoping to be helpful. “Just be careful.”
“I will; don’t worry.”
“Quadir, don’t you worry. She’ll be back.”
Quadir thought for a moment, and the truth was that after he saw Gena and Jerrell together, he didn’t know if he wanted her back.
She’ll be back? Maybe she should stay where she’s at; maybe she don’t need to come back.
Amelia strolled out of the room while Quadir contemplated his next move. He would switch cars and push the Range and he would change up his hours. She was hiding the money somewhere and sooner or later she would lead him to it. Either that or Jerrell would, but one way or the other he was going to watch her like a hawk. And watch out for those snooping detective motherfuckers too! I wonder if they’re FBI.
“Doc!” he hollered as she walked by the living room and into the dining room.
“Yeah, what’s up?” she asked leaning backward in the doorway.
“Thanks,” said Quadir.
“Don’t thank me; I’m just waiting to see this twenty million dollars. Maybe I will let you pay me back,” she said, laughing.
“I thought you said money could never repay what you had done for me,” said Quadir, trying to match his voice to hers.
“Are you nuts? Twenty million… I’m ready to go out there with you and follow Gena around myself. She’s lucky I got rounds to make or I’d be out there with you. Now, you said you needed the Jeep, right?”
Sparkles
That night when Quadir returned to Amelia’s he found her in the kitchen preparing what appeared to be a gourmet homemade meal.
“Wow, I didn’t know you knew how to cook.”
“Yup, it’s true; you learn something new about a person every day. See, you never know, right?”
“I know I’m hungry.”
“Yeah, well, be patient. This is very serious food I’m preparing. So, how did it go tonight, private eye?”
“Well, it went. From what I could see, she’s definitely fallen for Jerrell, that’s for sure. She went back to his place. I stayed outside until…”
“Until what?”
“Until they turned the lights off.”
“Quadir, I’m so sorry,” said Amelia, as she stopped draining linguini long enough to see the hurt in his face.
“Hey, I guess that’s life. You know, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
“Yeah, but sometimes you lose, and you also win, you know?”
“No, I don’t.”
“Well, like right now, you feel like you lost, but Quadir, you’re on top, you’re alive, you have the upper hand, and most of all, you know what’s going on around you. Gena might not know, but you do.”
“How will I get my money back?”
“Now that, I don’t know. Have you ever thought of just simply asking her for it?”
“Yeah, but now that’s she’s with Jerrell, I don’t want her to see me. I’d rather her just think I’m dead.”
Amelia looked at Quadir as he lowered his head. She understood how he felt and wanted to do whatever she could to make him feel better. But the truth was, there was nothing anyone could do that would make him feel better.
“Hey, want to play cards?”
“I don’t much feel like playing cards.”
“Well, let’s eat; dinner’s ready.”
After dinner Amelia cleaned up the kitchen and loaded the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Quadir retired to the living room where he turned on the news. He sat on the sofa where he fell asleep.
Just then, Gena knocked at the door. Amelia entered the living room and let Quadir know she was there.
“Let her in.”
Gena walked into the living room where Quadir was. Their eyes met and Quadir took her hands into his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Quadir. I’m so glad you’re okay. Now we can be together.”