Things Fall Apart

6 . GROWING PAINS

Jasmine in media.

July 29th, 2002
Harlem, New York

"Is this the beginning of the end?
Is my love in competition?
Whose been playing my position?"

"You didn't have to do this."

Naomi smiled sweetly, sniffing the small bouquet of pink roses in her hand. They were fragrant and sweet, how apology flowers should be.

Chris left for New York almost immediately after school let out. Let Bishop tell it, they had no time to waste on "kid shit" and the quicker they got to New York, the quicker the real work would begin. Bishop had a wife, Kelly, in Virginia. She was one of those girls who'd been pretty her whole life and never dated high school boys when she was in high school. She'd been with Bishop since she was 16. She was in her 20's now and a kept woman—she didn't have to lift a finger for anything.

But in New York, Bishop had Diamond. A young, stylish thing with a slick mouth. She was younger than Kelly, but had her own apartment upstairs from Bishops friend Biz and his son TJ. TJ and Chris were around the same age, so while Chris got settled in downstairs, Bishop got comfortable upstairs.

It was the perfect setup.

He'd wake the boys up every morning to write and record music in a makeshift studio in their hall closet, and once they proved they were serious, he started paying for actual studio time.

They worked most days, all day. And when they weren't working, they hit the streets outside. Harlem came alive in the summer— cookouts, block parties, dirt bikes, dance battles and basketball games. The girls in New York were quicker, experienced and advanced. The city left little to hide, and as young as 13, they'd pretty much seen it all.

They told Chris things, offered him things he'd only heard in stories from his cousins and the guys he ran with outside of school. He'd been exposed to a lot back home, but the girls at school didn't talk like this.

And for the three weeks before Naomi got to New York, he dodged their advances for dear life. Their offers were tempting, and he knew the clout attached to going back to VA with a wild story, but nobody held his attention for more than a second.

Every second of the 25 days they spent apart was torture for him. When they talked on the phone, he didn't ever want to hang up. He wanted to be at the airport when her plane landed but running into Mr. Webb was a risk.

So he waited.

For a month they saw each other just about everyday. Naomi would leave her grandmothers house with Steph, but they'd split up so she could go see him, and meet up in time to go back home. Sometimes they'd all hang out at the park or on TJ's front stoop.

But yesterday, Chris showed up so late to meet her that by the time he got there, she had to head home. She was pissed. So when he responded to her complaining with a sarcastic remark, she stormed into the house and ignored his calls for the rest of the night. He felt bad immediately.

"Yeah I did." He smiled down at her, holding her face and gently pushing her hair from her eyes. "I'm sorry about last night."

"It's okay...I'm sorry too."

"Can I take you for a walk? Just us...alone." He smirked, bending down to peck her lips while she nodded.

"Yes please. But I have to go help at grandma's salon at 3:00, okay? I can't be late."

"No problem."

They strolled along Central Park hand in hand for about 15 blocks, before she started complaining that she was getting too hot. They ended up sitting on a bench outside the park, with her in his lap, watching people and taxis go by. She told him about the first time she rode in yellow taxi, and pointed out everybody she saw wearing a fashionable outfit.