“Yup. Been doing it for five years now. Get money, travel to dance, but this is home based.”
“I hear ya.”
“You got somebody picking you up?” she asked.
“No. About to head to this taxi line over there.”
“My boy coming to get me. We could drop you somewhere.”
“Nah, I’m good, but I appreciate that though.”
“Look, take my number in case you need anything,” Yogi said. “Plus, I’ma take you out for a drink later.”
“Okay,” Bianca said slowly, wondering what Yogi was really into.
Yogi caught her hesitation. “Look, let me get yo’ number so I can call and check on you later.”
“I gotta go get me a phone. I left mine by mistake at the rest stop bathroom and didn’t realize it until we was gone,” Bianca lied. “Had me real fucked up.”
“I know how that can be. Shit’s the worst.” She turned to a lady walking by. “You got an ink pen?”
The lady gave her a pen. As Yogi went to write the number down, Bianca stood there wondering if Yogi was bi, too, and trying to come on to her, or if she was just being nice.
“Here, girl, call me. No strings attached. Trust me. I know what you thinking.”
“Really?” Bianca said sarcastically.
“Yeah, I don’t want to try to get at you. You a bad bitch and all, but it ain’t that kind of party. I’m from Memphis, and I’ve been the new girl, too, and wish I had a ‘me’ in my corner when I got here, ’cause I went through so much shit.” She paused for a second. “I don’t wish that shit on my worst fucking enemy, man.”
“For real?”
“For real.” She nodded. “I’ll tell you ’bout it some other time.”
“Damn,” was all Bianca could say as she took the number out of Yogi’s hand, folded it, and put it in her purse.
“There go my boy right there.” Yogi pointed over to the Maserati that pulled up. She waved to him, then put a finger up to motion to him that she was coming, as the two girls stood at the end of the taxi line.
“Well, it was good meeting you,” Bianca said with a deep breath.
“I know we gon’ hang for sure,” Yogi said as she gave Bianca a hug and told her, “I work at The Den. If you wanna come out tonight or tomorrow or the next day, let me know. I got you.”
“Okay. Thanks again.”
Damn, what is the temperature? Bianca thought, as she watched Yogi walk away. She wished she had checked the weather before she left so she would have worn something other than black skinny jeans, but her mind hadn’t been on what Mother Nature was doing. It had been on one thing: getting the hell out of dodge.
“Damn,” Bianca said, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead. She couldn’t believe that sweat had formed within seconds. She waited for the next cab and looked around for a moment, taking in the sights of what she would now call home. She’d definitely have to get familiar with her surroundings, but not today; not in this heat, for which she was dressed so inappropriately.
The next cab rolled up, and a guy hopped out to assist with her luggage.
“Where you going to?” the cabbie asked Bianca.
His question stumped her. Her only plan had been to make it to Miami, and she was there. Exactly where she would lay her head in Miami, for now, was still up in the air. “A hotel,” Bianca said. “One with a pool. Maybe near life, fun, beach, malls . . . where I can easily get around.”
The cabbie began rambling off the names of several hotels as he loaded Bianca’s two suitcases into his trunk. Her other items she kept on her persons. By the time they’d pulled off from the bus station curb, Bianca had decided on the Marriott. Who could lose with the Marriott? She just hoped the location was right. Having no transportation, she couldn’t stay anywhere where things weren’t accessible and transportation was limited. She would utilize the services of the hotel staff to learn as much about her new city as she could.
She was glad she’d taken all of her savings and some of Caesar’s stash from his private safe. In all, she had a little over half a million in cash on her.
As she rode in the backseat of the taxi, she made sure to pay special attention to her surroundings and the direction in which the cabbie was taking her. She made a mental note of all the landmarks and street names.
The driver noticed her looking around. “The ocean and the beach are as far east as you can go, so everything away from the beach is west. That will help you in getting around. Most things are east and west or north and south. Miami is south, and going toward Fort Lauderdale and West Palm is north.”
“Thank you,” she said. “That was a nice little jewel. I definitely appreciate that.”
Once she began to put her plans in place for the city, she had to at least act like she knew, even if she didn’t. The last thing she wanted people to think was that she was a little lost Dorothy looking for a group of sidekicks to help her find her way. Thin and petite in stature, she had to make it appear as though she was larger than life, and she was more than ready to do it.
Although Bianca had cried all the way to Miami, she knew there was no more time for tears. It was time to get down to business and make a new life for herself.
Caesar had come from Miami to Virginia, ignorant of what the streets had branded her as: a hood rat, a ho, a chicken head, a bum bitch. He’d fallen in love with her for the woman he’d met that day in the beauty shop parking lot. He didn’t care what other people thought of
