"Come on, let's go celebrate our new beauty salon. It's your birthday, right?"

"Where will we go?" she asked, happy he hadn't forgot her.

"I don't know. Let's go get dressed and go to dinner."

Once they got home, Quadir just stood there looking at Gena. She was as beautiful as the night he met her on 125th Street in Harlem.

"Something the matter?"

"I don't know if I should give you your birthday gift now, or if I should wait until tomorrow."

"You know, I was beginning to think you had forgotten."

"Me forget and have to hear that s.h.i.t forever? Besides, I know how nice you perform when I remember holidays, birthdays, the day we met, the day we first did it. You know, all your reasons to get a gift."

"Qua, please, you're exaggerating. Now, where is it?" She looked a little possessed as he stood there picking the dirt from under his fingernails. "Quadir, don't mess with me."

"Just pretend you're coming through the front door." She went into the vestibule that connected to the hallway, which spread throughout the rooms of the first floor. On the marble table, placed on the marbled floor near the doorway sat a 5 by 10 professional picture of them, a candy dish, and a crystal vase with red and white roses in it. Quadir would buy her two dozen roses every week, which she placed in the same crystal vase week after week. Gracing the upper corner of the 5 by 10 picture was a twenty-four-karat gold and diamond bracelet designed with carat diamond charms, giving it a total weight of twelve karats.

Gena delicately removed the charm bracelet from the picture, adoring it like it was the Holy Grail. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I love it. It's so blue," she said, trying to get the bracelet on.

"Here, let me help you," he said, fastening the clasp for her.

"So blue," she said, marvelling at the radiant colors that were bouncing off the chandelier.

"I got you something else upstairs."

"Kiss me." Letting him go was so hard to do. Pulling from her, he held her hand and walked her upstairs.

It didn't take her any time to open the boxes and find a black Versace pantsuit, a pair of gator boots, and a black Chanel bag with thick gold Cs on the side.

Both of them dressed in black Versace and black gator boots, then arrived at the Malibu Dining Room. Quadir informed the hostess that their reservation was for Richards. She grabbed two menus and escorted them away from the dining room downstairs to the lower level.

The entire lower floor was quiet. As the hostess opened two large double doors, everyone stood simultaneously and yelled, "Surprise!" They'd only been waiting about forty-five minutes. For the first five minutes, Gena was inundated with people in her face wishing her: "Happy birthday! Happy birthday!" All of her girlfriends were there, as if they would really miss a free meal. All she could do was stand beside her man and take it all in.

"How much did this cost?" she whispered in his ear.

"I don't know. I haven't gotten the bill yet."

She spotted Gah Git, her cousins Bria and Brianna, and Gary all ready to eat, too. All of Qua's friends were there, which meant all the players were in the house. Everybody was determined to make this a good one. As Gena's girlfriends began standing around her, Quadir drifted off to find Rik.

"Come look at the bracelet this b.i.t.c.h got on!" said Andrea, dragging Bridgette over to see it, who after a glimpse, was as astonished as Andrea.

Looking across the room, Gena spotted Quadir and Forty surrounded by some girls, but didn't pay it any mind. Rik and his wife Lita walked over to where Gena and her girlfriends were standing.

"What's up, Rik?" said Veronica. The hair on Lita's back stood straight up.

Lord, thought Gena, they gonna tear this motherf.u.c.ker up tonight on my birthday!

"How you doing, Veronica?" he said.

Lita spoke up. "Why are you talking to her? Do you know her?"

Lord, here it comes, thought Gena.

Rik tried damage control. "Lita, all the girl said was hi."

"Whatever. Happy birthday, Gena." She leaned forward, kissed Gena on both her cheeks and said, "I hope you like it." Then Lita walked away. Gena would have never walked away. Rik looked better than he ever looked in his entire life. Or, maybe it was the diamonds blinding everyone, since Rik wasn't the most handsome man in the world. Yeah, it must have been the rays of light emanating from his body.

They all stared unbelieving as Veronica turned her venom on him and whispered in his ear, "What happened? I still want my abortion money, or your b.i.t.c.h is gonna find out how her man spends his spare time."

"See, that's why I got nothing for you. And even if you did tell Lita, she'd just kick your a.s.s and still stay with me." Rik stood his ground with Veronica, leaving everyone else standing still trying to figure out what the h.e.l.l she whispered in his ear. Unfazed, he turned to Gena.

"Happy birthday, G." He kissed her cheek and handed her a small ribboned box.

"Thank you."

"No problem," he told her, rolling his eyes at Veronica before returning to Lita's side.

Everyone near was eager to see what was in the box, reaching their hands out as she opened it. She glowed as she felt the envy.

"It's so nice. A diamond initial pin. G. For Gena."

"That is nice," said Andrea.

"It sure is," added Bridgette.

"Let me go thank Lita and show Gah Git," Gena said, playing the perfect hostess. "Excuse me."

Gah Git was overwhelmed. "Oh, Gena! Look at you. Look at that!" Her eyes roamed all over her fine granddaughter, taking in the bracelet, the pin, and Gena's beauty. "That Quadir is a good man. You take care of him, you hear me, girl?"

"Gah Git, I am taking care of that man. Until the day I die, I'm gonna take care of him." Hugging her grandmother, she asked, "Where are the twins?"

Looking about for the girls, Gah Git noticed a bit of commotion across the room. "What's going on?"

"I don't know. I can't see."

Across the floor, Rik and Quadir were wrestling with the girl Quadir and Forty had been talking to earlier. Before Gena could get a glimpse of the whole picture, the girl had been ushered out of the dining area by the staff.

"What's happening?"

Gena touched her grandmother's shoulder and told her, "I don't know, but I'll find out."

Approaching Quadir, she asked, "What's going on?"

"Nothing."

Why the h.e.l.l does he always say nothing, when it's perfectly clear something is going on. "Q, aren't you gonna tell me what happened?" Rik jumped in, asking her how she liked the pin.

"I love it, Rik. Look, Quadir, did you see the pin Rik and Lita got for me?"

"Let me see."

She showed him the pin and let him kiss her, waited a moment longer, then asked, "So, are you gonna tell me who that girl was?"

"That b.i.t.c.h followed me here and was questioning Quadir about me. Qua told her that I didn't want to f.u.c.k with her like that and she got mad."

Quadir broke in, glad that Rik had lied for him. "She's a stalker." He added, laughing weakly, "Rik, I don't know how you do it."

Rik finished the lie. "You're not gonna tell Lita, are you?"

As the men lied to Gena, others were watching the girl through the window.

"Look, that girl is staring at Quadir," said Tina.

Gina noticed, "Look, Bev. Look out the window."

Beverly took a good look. "d.a.m.n, she looks like she's about to cry. Don't she?"

Once the girl realized she'd been recognized, she hurried away.

"b.i.t.c.hes are so desperate," said Bev.

"She straight played herself," said Tina.

"I know. Did you see them haul her a.s.s out of here?" asked Gina.

"So embarra.s.sing," said Tina, shaking her head.

Bev was savoring the gossip. "Wait til I get back in the hair salon. You know, she the one who is supposed to have the baby by Quadir, but don't say nothing."

"We won't." Tina and Gina gave each other a knowing glance.

Gena was across the room greeting everyone. She finally saw her cousins, Bria and Brianna. Quadir was busy introducing his friends to Gena's friends, trying to hook everybody up. Gena couldn't believe the number of people surrounding her.

"Tonight's the night," whispered Rik.

"Rich Green?" asked Qua.

"Yes."

Quadir was thoughtful. "You know Jerrell isn't gonna like this."

"I know, let him bring the noise. He started this s.h.i.t. He's been f.u.c.king up my pockets for the longest. Enough is enough. He pushing every motherf.u.c.ker I know not to buy c.o.ke from me. You know how many bricks I can't get rid of because of him?"

"You, what about me?"

Quinny Day showed up at their table. "Yo, this was really nice, man. I can't stay for dessert, but I just wanted to let you know this was real smooth, Ock."

"Where you got to go, Quinny?" asked Rik feeling a heavy weight of frustration just seeing Quinny's happy face.

"Nowhere. I just got to meet this girl. She's going back to Connecticut and, you know, I'm just saying good-bye to her tonight, if you catch my drift."

"I hear you, player," said Quadir.

Rik spoke up. "When you gonna have my money, Quint?" He'd given Quinny two keys three weeks ago and was starting to wonder when he was going to get paid.

"n.i.g.g.a, I got you. Don't sweat that s.h.i.t, baby. Be cool. I got you." Tyrik just shook his head, watching Quinny mingle himself away in the crowd. Wasn't nothing he could do with the boy. Quinny Day never had his money. If he weren't Lita's cousin, he'd have had him knocked off.

"Why do I continue to even ask that motherf.u.c.ker for my money? Do you know what he owes me? Them motherf.u.c.kers Lita's related to are a trip."

"Rik, I want to get out of this s.h.i.t," Quadir said.

"Out of what?" Rik had no idea what his mentor could be talking about.

"The game. This s.h.i.t is too much for me. I want to sit at home instead of hustling out here in these streets."

"I know that's right. The motherf.u.c.kers is pa.s.sing out time like it's government cheese."

Qua turned to face him. "I don't know what I'm going to do. Cherelle calls the house and she follows me around. The b.i.t.c.h is a fatal attraction."

"You played it real cool, though. You didn't even blink when you seen her walking over to you."

"s.h.i.t, I wanted to run my a.s.s the f.u.c.k out of this motherf.u.c.ker, but Gena's nosey-a.s.s girlfriends would've had something to say."

"Those b.i.t.c.h-a.s.s girlfriends she got. How do you take it? I done f.u.c.ked almost all of them." Qua's eyebrows went up at the revelation and Rik warmed to his subject. "The only one I was really f.u.c.king with though was that Veronica b.i.t.c.h, and she tried to baby trap me, man."

"Yeah, right. I heard."

"I admit I was sweating the girl back in the day, but sis wouldn't give me no play, then I got a little paper. You know, became the man, and who do you suppose was on my d.i.c.k?"

"Veronica."

"I been playin' that b.i.t.c.h ever since." The brothers clinked their gla.s.ses and drank. On the table sat two bottles of Dom and one bottle of Remy XO.

Gena took advantage of a lull in her own conversations to look around. The Malibu Dining Room was fabulous. The only thing missing was Sahirah. Her pretty face, her small frame, and her warm smile. If only she was there with her. She's the one that pulled over Rasun that day in Harlem. If it hadn't been for her Gena wouldn't be standing there, portraying the perfect queen of the crack stars. "Sahirah," she mouthed. I miss you so much, she thought. Not a day would pa.s.s without Sahirah being in her thoughts. She held her gla.s.s up, and there was Sahirah with her. A toast for old times, thought Gena. She toasted to the memory of her best friend.

"Hey, Gena. Happy birthday," Black said, trying to figure what she was staring at.

"Hi. Where's Pam?"

"Home with the kids. Where's Q?"

"See him? He's over there, at that table in the corner," she said, pointing as Black brought Rik and Quadir into view. As soon as he had left, she heard someone singing, "It's your birthday, happy birthday, it's your birthday."

"Charlie tuna, you're so crazy."

"Yo, Gena. You think you can hook me up?"