“I been thinkin’ about leavin’,” he went on to explain. “Only thing really keepin’ me here was Sonya. But now that that’s over, I’m out! We had a good run. No arrests. No indictments. No nothing. How long can our luck hold out?”
“Nigga, what the fuck I’m suppose to do, huh?” Mann shot back. “I ain’t got the dough you got. This shit is bread and meat right here. I ain’t ready to just hand over somethin’ I built up to the next nigga. I got’s to ride this shit till the wheels fall off.”
“Mann, I been tellin’ you to save ya money. Put somethin’ away fa a rainy day,” Tone commented.
“Nigga that’s easier said than done,” Mann told him. “A nigga got bills, bitches, and a spendin’ habit. C’mon my nigga, you know how that goes.”
Tone knew very well what it was like to be young, dumb and getting money. He knew about the reckless spending. He knew about living for today and dealing with tomorrow when it got here. Still, that didn’t justify Mann’s irresponsibility with his money. However, Tone understood his plight.
“Best I can do for you Cuzzo is co-sign for some consignment for you wit’ the connect. He gonna hit you off on my strength. Please, please, whatever you do, don’t fuck dis up. My name ridin’ on this. Nigga, it’s a one shot deal if you do. If you fuck up, it’s over.”
“Bet, that’s all I want. The opportunity to do my own thing and be my own man. I got this,” Mann assured him.
Mann felt like he could do it. After all, he had been Tone’s lieutenant, he had been responsible for a little bit of everything. Running his own show wasn’t anything more than what he had been doing for his cousin.
“I’ll see you on the block tomorrow,” Tone told him as he prepared to leave. “Be out there earlier so we can move this work a lil faster.”
“No doubt,” Mann replied. “Catch you in the A.M.”
When Tone had exited the house, Mann was still hyped at the prospect of having his own drug operation. Tone had done well in Baltimore. He hoped his cousin would do the same. He wasn’t just passing off his drug connection out of sympathy. He thought his cousin could excel if given the chance. Well, here it was and as he told him, he’d better make the most of it. Tone was leaving town, any problem Mann had, he’d have to figure it out on his own.
Somewhere in the back of his mind, Tone was already beginning to imagine life in Atlanta. He wouldn’t be doing anything illegal to jeopardize his freedom down there. Tone planned on leaving his illegal life behind.
18
It had been three and a half days now and counting. Netta had fretted over every second, minute and hour. Finally, the big day had come. Tomorrow they would be bidding farewell to Baltimore, forever. The couple had jammed some of their worldly possessions inside a large U-Haul box truck. They hitched a car trailer to that in order to transport Tone’s brand new BMW M3. Everything was set. There was nothing left to do except for Tone to collect the rest of his money off the streets and for Netta to say her goodbyes.
Netta’s bucket list of things to do before she left Baltimore was short as shit. She felt like she only had to share her business with one person before she left, and that was Mimi’s mother, Ms. Tina. The woman had done so much for her in the short time that she knew her. She housed Netta when she didn’t have any place else to go, fed her, nurtured her and loved her like she birthed her. So Netta felt justified in her actions to go see her. She completely disregarded Tone’s warning to, stay in the house.
Netta was glad to finally be coming from under that dark shadow that haunted her during her daily routines. It seemed to be waiting inside the apartment, ready to rear it’s ugly head every time Tone hit the streets, leaving her alone. Suddenly, her fears and concerns were a thing of the past.
Netta stood face to face with Ms. Tina as the two women gushed over each other.
“Where’s the baby?” Netta wondered, referring to Mimi’s infant son.
“The baby ain’t no baby no more,” Ms. Tina replied. “That boy is in daycare now. Thank God, cause my grandson is a handful. So you mean to tell me you just up and leavin’ Baltimore huh? Girl, you playin’ around.”
“I wish I was, Ms. Tina,” she replied. “It’s true, I’m leavin’.”
“I wish you could take that god damn daughter of mines with you,” she said in a stern tone with the happiness leaving her eyes. “That girl out here carryin’ on with them drugs. I don’t know what the devil got into her.”
Netta felt inadequate. She wished she could help Mimi, if only for her mother’s sake. However, she knew it wasn’t that easy. Mimi had to hit rock bottom first. She had to want to get clean for herself. For Netta, the fact of the matter was, she couldn’t save anyone until she saved her own self.
“Them drugs gone be the death of her,” Ms. Tina stated, in a matter of fact tone.
Netta shook her head in agreement as the terrifying sound of a mother’s pain filled her ears. In Netta’s book, pain was pain, regardless of whom it came from or what it was about. No pain resonated with a mother more that the pain of losing a child to death, drugs or the streets. That went beyond agony, especially when you have to watch your child die the slow death of addiction.
How could Netta tell Mimi’s mother that her and her daughter weren’t connected any more? That severance of their friendship was deeper than a simple disagreement. She didn’t
