“Hey go wash up and then eat this. I got you another pair of pants and shirt.”“Wash up? With what water?” I asked.
Ali rolled his eyes and shoved a bar of soap into my hand. “The water that’s boiling
on the heater,” he said.
We were all going to take turns washing up. Since I was the only girl, the boyselected that I go first. However, I don’t think that the boys were being chivalrous. I thinkit was because I smelled like shit. I took the pot into the bathroom and started to undress.The tiles were caked with soap scum and lined with slimy black grit. There was a hugering around the tub that was missing a shower curtain. I decided not to use the tub. Afterall, I was trying to get clean. I went to shut the door when I heard the boys talking.
“Man, that was some crazy shit.”
“Yeah. Brother we did good tonight. We got enough to last us for a while.”“I don’t know man, I’m getting kinda tired of this nickel and dime shit. When are we
going to get some real money?”
“When you’re old enough to get a job bitch.” They all laughed. “Naw, I’m serious, I
hear that Nico got some shit going down.” “Nico, I ain’t fucking with that crazy bastard.”“Man. Nico ain’t crazy. He just acts that way to get respect, so people don’t mess
with him.”
“My momma used to tell me stories about that motherfucker.
He’s beyond crazy. He’s psycho.”
“Yeah, that bastard got more bodies on him than a cemetery. You fucking with him,
you know you got to come correct.”
“I don’t think that we should mess with him,” Ali said.
“Come on now brother, don’t tell me you scared. You’re my right hand man.”“Yeah, I am not up for being hacked up and cut up and shit,” Ali said.“ Man. Nico never cut up anybody. People just like to talk shit.”
“Just look at all the brothers that roll with Nico. They got girls, fucking gold chains,
clothes out of the ass. Now that’s the way to live, brother.
“Ohwee, and then there’s Blazen with her fine self.”
“Yes, that bitch is fine. She got an ass like this, titties like this, and I hear she’s real
generous with the fellows.” “Ali, Nico can hook you up with that brother.” There was
silence again.
“Alright, we’ll do some work for him, but if we end up drinking some fucking
poison cool-aid. I’m coming after your ass.”
They all laughed.
“Ali, I don’t know why you’re hesitating. You know Nico’s your daddy.” They boys
roared from laughter, but I got the weird feeling that Ali didn’t think that it was funny. I
closed the door. I didn’t want to hear anymore. Suddenly, I was sick to my stomach. I
washed up quickly, and then walked into the living room and forced the food into my
mouth. It felt like sandpaper going down my throat and into my stomach.For a couple of days, the boys talked about Nico. I was beginning to wonder if he
actually existed. It seemed that he was more like a mythical figure, like Bigfoot, or the
Jersey Devil. He was someone that no one had physically seen, but there were all kinds of
folktales and myths about him.
Nico had been in the United States for a little over thirty years and had very little to
be proud of. He had a police record that was ten inches thick, and he was wanted in four
Northeastern States and three third world countries. His career as a fugitive and as a petty
thief reached its height when he premiered in one of America’s most watched television
shows, Cops. Although Nico polluted his body with drugs and alcohol, he was inherently
fit. He could reach speeds of pivotal heights, especially when he was being chased by
patrol cars, and the barks of a K9 hound dog.
Nico’s words rolled out like a well-oiled machine when he was drunk. The infusion
of alcoholic beverages particularly top shelf vodka and dark colored rum would
exacerbate his temper, and much like a dragon, he would spit out curse words and insults
like a combustion of deadly flames. Nico would make his entrance into a bar quiet as a
mouse and exit loud and bustling like a wild bear. He was known to participate in many
nightly brawls, and he was always the recipient of a royal ass whipping. In short, the man
was a lunatic and a loser.
Yet, he somehow managed to command respect. Nico had mastered the crime game,
and never spent a single day in a jail. There were rumors of his enemies being shot to
death, or dying from a mysterious disease. It was only the people who didn’t know about
Nico who dared to cross him, and they were the ones who were sorry in the end. Ali
seemed to run errands for him, but he never told me exactly what he did. I wanted to ask
him about Nico and if he was our father, but I knew that the topic was off limits. I didn’t
think that I was ever going to meet the man, until Ali told me that we were going to go
and stay with him for a while.
After hearing all the stories about him, I was a little scared. But nothing was scarier
than being a squatter, living in an apartment building, under a roof that was due to
collapse any day. I just wanted to be able to flip a switch and have the lights come on,
and turn a spigot and have water come out. One of Nico’s men came to pick us up. We all
gathered into the car and drove to Nico’s house. He had a driveway that was at least two
miles long, and a backyard that was as big as a football stadium. We all rushed out of the
car.
