A/N: Welcome to the FINAL chapter of this tale! I appreciate all my readers and fans that enjoyed this story...of course, as my usual policy, there will be no sequels to "HAM" or spinoffs. Originally the concept of this story started out as something else, but without certain inserts, the story wasnt as cohesive as I needed it to be...thus the development of the relationship between J and Corliss, which made it so much easier to go in different directions, and get some of the much needed "desired effects" for this tale. I hope you all had fun reading this as much as I did writing it- what a difference a year makes!
Spaghetti Junction
THREE DAYS LATER…
“Jacoby?”
“D…Dad?”
I looked up into his shadowy visage, as he and Teja stood over me…I then heard my name being called again. “Jacoby!”
I blinked.
Everything started to come into focus, as I zeroed in on Corliss’s face. She smiled. “Thank God you’re alive! I thought you weren’t gonna make it- Melissa did the best that she could with the equipment she had…”
I looked around….I was in Melissa’s room- that meant we were at Reagan’s apartment. The last thing I remember, was hearing Corliss cry, and Detrick rushin us… I tried sittin up, but a sharp pain caught me. I growled, clutching my side, where the bullets had chopped through me. Corliss placed her hands on me, pushin me back to the bed. “She took the shells out of you and repaired you. You have to give it some time to heal, Jacoby,”
“What happened?” I asked. “How long I been out?”
“About three days,” answered Corliss. “You really gave us a scare. Melissa took us to an animal clinic that one of her classmates works at. She used the tools there, to open you up, and remove the shells…she did a good job, Jacoby, I was so grateful that she could help,”
She opened a couple of prescript bottles. “Here…some antibiotics, and some painkillers,”
“Be careful…we don’t wanna mix em, and kill the guy. He just woke up,”- I looked to the door as Melissa stood there. She had a slight smile on her face, as she walked to the bed, and peeled back the sheets, lookin at my wound. “Looks like it’s healing fine. Just keep your ass lying down, unless you have to go to the bathroom,”
“So which one do I give him first? The pain pills or the antibiotics?”
“Give him the pain meds first…as soon as his pain alleviates, then give him the antibiotics,” said Melissa, as she covered me back up. “I’ll let everyone know that you’re awake. That will be good news,”
She left the room, as I looked back to Corliss. I reached out caressing her face. “You look tired. Go get you some rest, baby,”
“I couldn’t sleep. I was too worried about you…you had broke out in a fever, and we had to watch you over the past few days. I wanted to call your mom, but I didn’t wanna risk alertin any po-pos if they were watchin her,” said Corliss. “I’m just glad you pulled through,”
“I had a crazy ass dream…it felt so real,” I breathed.
“Was it about your father?”
“How’d you know..?”
“Before you woke up, you called for him,” she explained. She helped me raise up for a lil bit…long enough to take the pain meds, and take a drink of water…she then lie me back onto the bed. “Detrick and Ross them took the drugs…they split the money amongst the seven of you,”
“You could have taken some money,” I said.
“Well, I did…but I gave it to Sheryl, to cover her hospital bills and stuff,” said Corliss. Once again, she had that look on her face- that she couldn’t read me to see how I was gonna respond. I took her hand…a smile warmed across her face.
“That was really nice Corliss,” I said.
She gave a wry smile, then lowered her head. “Um…Jacoby?”
“Yeah?”
“I need to know something…are you angry with me, because I didn’t listen? I just feel so bad, because I didn’t listen, and I ended up shootin you- I didn’t mean it, I was squeezin on the trigger coz Quint was blockin me..! I know that doesn’t sound like a legitimate, viable excuse, but it’s the truth!” Corliss confessed. She paused for a minute…tears dropped from her eyes. “I’m so sorry, baby…please forgive me,”
I extended my hand, liftin her head and then wipin her eyes. My thumb rested on her soft cheek, as she looked to me.
“There is nothing to forgive,” I said. “If it weren’t for you, Quint would’ve gotten that gun and murked my ass. You got him to focus is anger on you, so he didn’t see me until I put the gun upside his head. So in retrospect- you saved my life…I’m not mad with you,”
“Thank you, baby,” she squeaked, as she smiled her usual smile- showing her pearly whites. She then leaned over the bed and planted a kiss on my lips. “I’m gonna listen to you, and go get some rest. I’ll be back tomorrow to check up on you,”
She grabbed her purse, and bags and left the room. I looked up at the ceiling…then my gaze shifted to the door again, as Reagan entered the room. He had that goofy smile on his face as usual. “Sup, partner?”
“I feel like Donkey Kong straight whooped my ass, and left me for dead,” I groaned, as he chuckled. “So…how much money did we make out with?”
“A little over 2.4 mil,” answered Reagan. “Lucky for us, we caught them on a transitional night- where they had gotten in all the money from all the sales people were doin. I told everybody that we had to lay low for a while- no splurging on expensive stuff…the AJC said the police are treating it as a drug/turf war,”
“Is anyone sayin anything about Detective Robbins lookin for me?”
“Nah…Robbins wrote it off as Quint plantin himself as a mole inside Mos’s organization, so that he could kill Mos at a later time, and take over,” said Reagan. “Your lawyer said that he had you placed into protective hiding because your life had been put in jeopardy, so even if Robbins had suspicions that you were involved, he never could prove it. We killed em all,”
“The drugs?”
“I kept a lot of the weed…I let them have the crack and coke,” He said, as I laughed a little. I grunted as my wound began to hurt. “Hey…take it easy, J,”
“I’m good,” murmured. “You just don’t know how much this is off my shoulders, man. I’m fuckin sick and tired of the streets…it’s just a matter of time before I’m out the drug game altogether. This shit is for the fuckin birds- you have to not wanna have a future to keep wantin to do this shit…even with the pills, one day someone is gonna step in wit a new drug, Reagan, and were gonna be forced out or die by the new order. The same damn way we did Mos,”
“Yeah,” sighed Reagan. “Until then, I’m gonna make my money…for however long as I can,”
“Nigga, you been hangin around me too long,” I said, as Reagan laughed.
* * * *
My strength and health eventually returned…Reagan gave me my chunk of the money we took from Quint nem, and I put it with my other stash. I was sittin on about three quarts of a mil($750,000)! The first thing I did, I was brought Moms and Max back home…of course, Moms saw the wound, and fussed me out.
“Who took care of that for you!?” she bickered, while applying peroxide to it…it burned a lil, but there was no way I could say “no”- Moms wouldda beat my ass.
“A friend of mine…a med student,” I said.
She studied it over, then let out a sigh. “Not too shabby…but homegirl betta not touch my baby boy next time, or Imma act a fool!”
“Maaaaa,” I groaned.
She reapplied some fresh new gauze and patches. “Jacoby, you are my only son. Even though you are now a man, I’m still gonna worry about you,”
“I worry about you too, Mom,” I said. “You and Max are all I have, so it’s my job to protect y’all,”
She let out a small sigh. “Come by the hospital later this week so I can give you a tetanus shot. We don’t want that wound to become infected from within,”
She got up, placing the cap on the peroxide. “So…you handle yo business? Is everything good now?”
I nodded, then stood from the sofa…I don’t know- I kinda felt like things were gonna go back to status quo between me and Mom…I enjoyed bein able to come back over, and not argue and I especially enjoyed when she hugged me at the hospital. She hadn’t hugged me in years…I wanted to do right by her. She was all I had left…when Dad died, I kinda blamed some stuff on her, and she blamed some things on me. It was like she was my Mom, but at the same time she wasn’t…but now, I was ready for her to be my mother again.
Coz I definitely wanted to be her son.
“You comin over for Sunday dinner?” she asked.
I smiled. “Whatchu cookin?”
“Catfish, Potatoes Au Gratin, and some green beans,” she answered. “Bring that Hamilton girl over…I know she had to lose weight, worryin about yo butt,”
I laughed a little, as Mom smiled. “Aight,”
I wanted to give Mom some money, but she refused it…however, she allowed me to buy Max a car for her graduation gift. Max was screamin Dodge Challenger, but I bought her a Dodge Neon instead…she pouted at first, but then the little storm blue efficiency car grew on her. It was good, because she could get good gas mileage out of it, and it didn’t bring attention to us. Peeps figured that my mom had enough money put back, and that I pitched in, and bought my baby sis a car for her graduation.
That Sunday, we pulled up at the house- there sat Detective Robbins, in his plain car. He stepped out of the car to approach me…Corliss pulled at me a little. “Jacoby, you don’t have to say anything to him without a lawyer present,”
“What do you want, Robbins? You tresspassin on my Mom’s property,” I snarled. “I haven’t done anything,”
“Like hell! I know you had something to do with Quint Jeter and Mos- I know it!” he growled. “I read your juvie file on the history that you and Jeter had,”
“Oh yeah? How you know- did yo ‘word on the street’ tell you?” I asked, bein an asshole. Robbins brows furrowed, as his lip twisted up in a scowl of disdain, as I smirked most fiendishly at him. “Didn’t you tell the press that that mess was a whole drug turf incident? You know me, Robbins- I don’t sell no more,”
“You think you’re slick, you little presumptuous prick!” he growled. “If I find any bit of evidence that points in your direction, I’m gonna be all over you like white on rice!”
“Don’t you think enough people have been hurt?!” yammered Corliss. “You knew Mos and Quint were strong-armin Jacoby, and y’all stood by while countless others got hurt or killed! Mary-Ann, Renata…and my friend Sheryl- she was beaten because yall were too busy trynna squeeze Jacoby into a corner! You better pray, that Sheryl’s parents, and Miss Millie Gately is as forgiving as I am…coz if not, the APD is finna face a lawsuit, for negligent handling of an investigation. Your career is gonna be on the line, Detective Robbins…the damage has been done, enough- let it go,”
Robbins stood there, lookin kinda stupefied, now that Corliss had set him straight. He swallowed, hating the taste of his defeat, then started back to his car…nothin else came out his mouth, as he got in, and left. Corliss looked to me. “Can we please, go eat some of yo mama’s good cookin?”
I smiled. “Yeah…you can have whatever you like,”
SIX MONTHS LATER…
“Now back in the days, Mycha Jordan was it…aint no other player could match up against Jordan. Now days, you got these er-ruh, these second rate wannabes, like Kobe Bryant, and LeBron…they aint never gon’ match up to Air Jordan!” laughed Ezekiel, as he sat in his barber chair.
“Whatever,” I huffed, as I focused on cuttin Wood’s hair. “Only thang LeBron aint got is the rings…but those are comin soon enough. Other than that, he matches up to Jordan in erry way,”
“Yoon know whut you talkin about!” hissed Lester. “See Jacoby, that’s that youngblood in you,”
The channel was on NBATV, as we carried on our conversation. It was quiet for a Tuesday at Paramount, the barber shop I chose to work at on Ponce De Leon and Charles Allen in Midtown. I had made it- graduated from Sam Verly as one of the top five of my class( I was like #3, but hey- that is cool), and I had apprenticed at Paramount for about a month, before they gave me a chair. I wasn’t as fast as the others, but my skills were up there…niggas didn’t mind sittin in the chair a lil longer, to have a nice fresh cut.
And they tipped me big, too.
The older cats called me Jacoby, but the cats my age and maybe a few years older than me, called me “J”. It was cool, coz I still worked Target in the evenings on the weekdays, but on the weekends I just did the barber shop. I put the finishin touches on Wood’s hair, then handed him the mirror, to let him observe his fresh new cut…a smile came across his face. “You hooked it up, J,”
“You my boy! So you know I gotta set you straight, Wood,” I said, as I took the cover smock off him and dusted the excess hair off his neck. Wood stood up and gave me daps, then pulled out his knot. “How much?”
“Twenty,” I said.
He handed me that, plus an extra ten. “You gonna come out to Dugan’s and watch the game this Saturday? Junior said he was comin,”
Junior was another dude who worked at the barber shop. He kinda looked like Tyrese, and all the lil hood rats from across the street in 4th Ward would sometimes come over and try to holla at him…he would only give the finest ones the time of day. I knew Junior was also movin hot technology as his side hustle, but what do I care? That nigga hooked me up with a nice ass Bose home theater system for the low…and a Blue Ray DVD player too.
“Nah…Imma be spendin the weekend wit my ol’ lady,” I said.
“Aight mayne, but if you change yo mind”-
“I’m good,” I responded. “But thanks for the offer. I’ll catch you next week Wood,”
“Later playa,”
I grabbed the broom, and started sweepin up. Lester cracked open a can of grape Fanta. “What you and that fine girlfriend of yours doin this weekend?”
“We goin to the Georgia Aquarium, then dinner and a movie,” I said.
The door’s bell sounded, which let us know a customer came in. I heard Lester serenadin. “Ooooooh wee! How are you miss?”
I looked to Corliss, decked out in a nice, pinstripe business suit…her curves were showin, but she looked dressed to command. Lester looked back to me, and laughed at the look on my face. “Get it, youngblood!”
I walked to her…damn, she was badass!
Corliss stood there smiling. “Sooo…how’s your day? You got free for lunch?”
“Can you do a one o’clock lunch?” I asked.
“Yeah,” she answered. “I swear…you look so sexy in your black barber smock,”
I pulled her to me, as we kissed…it was strange- we now lived together, over at the Cotton Mill Lofts, off Boulevard near Memorial Drive and the Oakland Cemetery. Either she was in her final classes, or interning at Sun Trust, while I was learnin the ropes at the Paramount Barber Shop on Ponce. Since then I had took her Honda Accord, and I bought her a Nissan Murano- silver wit all the kicks to it. I wanted my girl to drive in style, as well as have a dependable, and safe vehicle.
A 2009 white, Kia Rio pulled up… Corliss groaned.
“Corliss…I thought we talked it over,” I said, expressing concern. “It happened- before we committed to each other. If I could take it back, I would,”
She sighed. “I know you didn’t mean to hurt me, Jacoby…and I know it still bothers you how the whole ‘Mary Ann’ thing turned out, in your reluctance to want her to get an abortion- I’m trying to be understanding of this,”
“I know this is a bit too much for you, but I appreciate how strong you are. I love you, Corliss Hamilton,” I said. A smile grew across her face, as she then dived in for another kiss, a kiss that I was all too willing to give. “Lunch at one-ish?”
“I’ll be there,” she said. Corliss walked away, as the door to the Kia opened…out stepped Melissa. She waved to Corliss. “Hey giiiirl!!!”
Corliss gave her a back-handed wave as she got into her Murano, and drove away. I looked as Melissa closed the door, and walked towards me. Her face was looking more beautiful than ever, and the bulge on her belly that she carried was lookin cute too. I pulled a plastic seat out of the barber shop for her to sit on…she smiled. “Thanks, J,”
“You know you can call me Jacoby,” I said. I kneeled down to her protruding belly. “So…how is little J’bari Martin doin?”
So now you know…that night that I had slept with Melissa- we both were fucked up, and I didn’t wear a condom. The result was, that Melissa was pregnant- by me. It nearly tore me and Corliss apart, but Melissa talked with her…assured her that, it wasn’t intentional- that she didn’t do it with intent to split us up.
“You little lyin bitch!” screeched Corliss. “You’d do about anything, to get your hands on Jacoby! If you want him, that bad, you can have him!”
“I’m NOT lying!” screamed Melissa…she cradled over, her face into her hands, cryin. “I’m…really, really scared. Truth is, until J, I only liked girls…but then I met him, and one thing led to another. I admit- I still do have feelings for J, but only as a real good friend! I told him to talk you, after you guys argued that night at the club! I know how he feels about you…but this- this involves him, and I wanna make sure I’m making the right decision…I talked with Kady about it, and she said, I should let you know. She wants to help me raise this child on our own…I’m sorry I made a mess of things,”
“I don’t think I can handle this,” said Corliss. “I can’t,”
She left…it was the longest week of my life after, without her. I called several times, but she wouldn’t speak to me…finally, one Saturday morning, I was gettin ready to go into the shop to work…I opened the door, and paused.
There she stood, with her bags.
“I wanna make this work, Jacoby…I really do,” she said, as the tears started to pour from her eyes. “I wanted to be the one who would give you a child. I know you didn’t intentionally mean to hurt me, but you did,”
I took her into my arms as she cried on my shoulder, caressin her hair. “I am so sorry, Corliss…once again, I made a mess of things concerning us. I wanna do the right thing…but I can’t lose you. You are the one constant, that makes me give a fuck about everything…you don’t want me to be a part of that child’s life- tell me. I won’t,”
“I can’t…I can’t be selfish like that,” she said. “Not when I know there is a child at stake,”
“I mean, I know I fucked up massively, wit Mary Ann,” I said. “I just wanna do the right thing this time,”
“Then do it, Jacoby…be a part of that child’s life, as well. Like Melissa said, she and Kady want to raise that child as a family- the two of them. That’s her choice- but, you can be that father that the child will need…she wants you to be there, for support. I will be behind you,” Corliss said.
I wiped the moisture from my eye. “What the fuck did I do right, to deserve you? You know I don’t wanna be with anyone else, but you,”
She smiled, as I wiped the tears from her eyes.
I onno what it was…she could easily not have come back…she also could’ve not listened to Melissa, who later told me that the two of them talked. She said she told Corliss that I needed her, to keep me straight…she also said, she was afraid that if Corliss and I didn’t talk and see what was up, she feared that I might go back to sellin again, and end up gettin myself killed…
The question in that, I guess is…would I? Would I go back to sellin drugs, if I couldn’t get her back?
I don’t know…
“You SO sure it’s a boy, eh?” questioned Melissa, with a giggle. “What if it’s a girl? And the name is gonna be Slater-Martin,”
“Or Martin-Slater,” I said.
Melissa gasped. “Oh hells no! You can’t have your last name first!”
“Why not?”
“Coz Kady and I will be the main guardians! You’ll be like the back up,” said Melissa. “In case something happens to us,”
“Aint nuttin gon’ happen to you, girl,” I laughed. “Y’all will be just fine,”- I placed my hands on Melissa’s belly…she giggled a little, then I felt her little fingers on top of mine.
I smiled. “So what brings you here?”
“Not much…school’s goin great- Kady is doin well at Oglethorpe, taking up her pre-studies. Reagan’s planning on goin to visit his mother in Savannah…he’s takin Maxine with him,” she lowered her head for a minute, then lifted it and smiled. “Other than this baby debacle, I can’t complain about anything else,”
“Well, you know…if you or the baby need anything, I’m here,” I said. “Have you spoken with your family yet?”
Melissa let out a long sigh. “I’ve talked with my mom…she tried to get me to call my dad, but I refuse to talk to that sumbitch. I haven’t told her about the baby yet…shit’s crazy enough with her starting to accept that I like girls. She’d flip, if she knew I was preggo,”
“I feel ya,” I said. “You look a LOT better without that hair color and all those ear, nose and lip piercings,”
Melissa laughed. “Fuck you! They didn’t stop you from talkin to me,”
The moment grew silent, as we both looked a lil uneasy. Melissa took my hand. “I know that Corliss is it for you, and I wouldn’t want it any other way…but, I just wanna say…thanks. For being a friend, a buddy. For helpin me get back up and do something to help myself when I was down. I swear, if you weren’t around, I wouldn’t have this swagger that I have. I’m really grateful for you bein in my life, and know that I won’t ever keep you from seein the baby if you want to,”
“That’s…good…to know,” I said.
We locked eyes with each other for a second, before Melissa giggled again, blushing. “I’m gonna go now…I gotta meet Kady for lunch. You gotta do the same,”
“Yeah!” I remembered, as I stood up. I helped her up from the chair, and watched her as she walked back to the Rio. A few minutes later, she left…I walked back into the shop, and grabbed my keys off the stand. “Hey Les, Zeke…I’m goin to eat lunch wit my girl- watch the throne!”
“I’m already sittin on it!” Ezekiel yelled from the bathroom. Lester and I bust out laughin…
* * * *
Almost seven…we were closing down the shop. I did decent today, addin more money towards my paycheck, and also makin fifty dollars in tips. Lester put on his coat, as Ezekiel had already left an hour ago. “You doin good, Jacoby. I think you gonna do fine up in here with Junior, Beezy, and Kris,”
“Thanks, Les. I’m just glad I was off today from the other job,” I said.
Lester tossed me the keys. “You open up tomorrow. Be here at seven,”
“Aight,” I said. I walked Lester outdoors to his old 1993 Cadillac Allante. He got inside, waved after he started the engine, and left. I started to walk back to the shop when I heard some footsteps…I turnt around and froze in motion.
“You MURDERER!”
Julian Jeter stepped out from the shadows with a gun. “I know it was YOU, who kilt my brother! Y’all used to beef all the time!”
“Look…Jules, I aint want it,” I said. “But yo brother wouldn’t let things go…you aint like him. You aint gonna shoot me,”
“How do you know, what I will and won’t do?!” he sniped, aiming the piece at my head. “Yoon know shit about me!”
“You right,” I said. “I don’t know you…but my sister Max does. Remember her- Maxine? Despite what your brother does, she thinks you’re a pretty cool lil nigga…which means you can’t be like him. A lot of people hated Quint, Jules…but, he also made life miserable for a lot of folks. I aint got no beef wit you,”
Julian slowly lowered the gun. “I want to hate you…and I know my bruh was an ass. Hell, he was an asshole to me sometimes…but all in all- he was my brother. I feel…obligated,”
“Are you fuckin serious? Fuck obligation! The only person you are obligated to is yourself, your parents, and the girl that you plan to have a future with,” I said. “Everything else is fuckin dust in the wind, Jules…is that ‘obligation’ to Quint that loyal, that you wanna spend the rest of yo life in prison for murkin my ass? Or that you wanna live with blood on yo hands?”
Julian stood there in silence as I walked up on him. He didn’t even resist, when I took the gun from his hand. I emptied all the bullets from the gun, and handed it back to him. “Go home, Julian…we are all too goddamn young to be throwin our lives away on such bullshit as ‘obligations’ and loyalties. Stop trynna die nigga, and try livin for a change,”
“I…I ont understand”-
“Neither did I…for the longest,” I said. “It seemed like when my dad died, I kinda died wit him. I was just one antic to another- doin shit, and didn’t give a fuck. One antic away from dyin…when I finally got wit Corliss, it seemed like I didn’t wanna die anymore. I was trynna live, and it was hard…but I’m gettin used to it,”
A minute or so passed…Julian finally nodded his head. “I get it. I aint gotta walk in his shoes…I got my own to fit,”
Julian tucked the gun into the small of his back, and walked away to his Ford Escape. Soon after, he left the parking lot, following behind a MARTA bus. I sighed, pickin up the bullets off the ground, then walked back to the shop to lock up. As I stepped in, I looked to a familiar figure sittin in one of the chairs.
Brandie.
“Long time no see,” I said. “Where’s Tonisha?”
“Toni,”
“Oop, my bad,” I huffed sarcastically. “Whatever…where is she?”
“At work right up the street at Home Depot,” Brandie answered. Her bod was lookin tone and yummier than ever. “I seent you in the parkin lot, and I figured you work here, so…”
“So…?”
“I thought I’d just holla at you before I go meet my baby at her job,” she said. Her glossy lips were very inviting, as I walked up on her…her hand reached out, caressing the contours of my swellin hard-on. I imagined those glossy lips of hers, suckin the shit outta my dick.
I found my hand on her inner thigh, makin its way towards that phat pussy. I looked down to Brandie, as she smiled, welcoming me into her pleasuredome. What the fuck? I took Brandie by the hand and pulled her up from the chair. “So you lookin quite ‘in-shape’ now…what you doin?”
“You haven’t heard? I’m workin at the Blue Flame…they lost a dancer. She quit, and they were lookin for someone else, so…I applied,” Brandie stated. I sat in the chair, as she mounted me, her nice denim ass restin on my crotch. She grinded on me as I looked into her amber eyes. “Like my lapdance?”
My hands cupped her nice bubbly asscheeks, as she leaned towards me. “You know you want it, J…our arrangement- just like before?”
I sat silent for a minute…my eyes surveyed Brandie’s heavenly body. It was gettin a little chilly outside, with it bein winter an all…
“You ever get fucked in a barber chair?” I asked her, as a pleased smile spread across her face. I grabbed at her, as we started strippin each other out our clothes.Yeah, Corliss was my girlfriend, and I had put a baby in Melissa, but what more can I say? I’m just a nigga that loves some pussy…
THE END.