"Hey, G, after what you went through at Quadir's funeral, I knew you was in the zone. But one thing's for sure, Viola Richards brought you back with the dumb-a.s.s s.h.i.t, didn't she?" Rik nudged her with a laugh.

"Quadir was my heart, Rik. He was the only thing that mattered to me, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Just remember that Q is up there, G. He's watching everything you do, and he expects you to move on. In time you will, but it's nice to know that there's somebody up there watching over you, somebody protecting you. And that is what Qua is doing. He's got his wings and right about now, they're shielding you. So, do the right thing, Gena, and don't sweat that house. You came out on top, baby. f.u.c.k the money, f.u.c.k the house, f.u.c.k the cars. You still a winner. s.h.i.t, you was shootin' for the moon with the n.i.g.g.a and now you among the stars, baby. Just remember that." Rik handed her the keys to Lita's car. "Drive safe."

"I will." Gena kissed Rik on the cheek and got out of the car.

"Gena, don't sweat no paper out here. Call me, understand?"

"Okay. I will, Rik. I will." She drove Lita's car to Gah Git's and told her grandmother that she wanted the room upstairs and that she would pay to have all the junk that was piled in there put in storage. Gah Git understood why Gena wanted to come home, especially after she told her about Quadir's mother coming there and telling her to get her a.s.s out in a week. Her poor baby was losing everything, and Gah Git was scared that Gena wouldn't be able to handle all of this.

Downtown in the Federal Building, Agents Fields and Burson sat with the U.S. Attorney Paul Perachetti.

"He's willing to testify sir, but we need to place him in the Witness Protection Program. Without him, we have nothing," said Agent Burson.

"If we want these a.s.sholes, we need his testimony. The death penalty is riding on his testimony, sir," said Agent Fields.

Perachetti sat back listening to everything they were outlining for him. The men waited in silence as the man considered and finally agreed.

"Our Witness Protection Program in North Dakota would serve best. Its rehabilitation facility is superior, and he'll have access to therapeutic modalities to get him back on his feet, so to speak. What about the wife and kids?"

"They'll want to be with him," said Burson.

"Fine. Well, then, we've got it all straight. The witness will be transported to North Dakota." The field agents breathed their sighs of relief as the U.S. Attorney continued. "We'll want to keep this low key, you got that? You'll bring him in by helicopter from the hospital. Collect his family now, and take them all down together." He continued to give his instructions and opinions as he made arrangements on the phone.

It wasn't difficult for Forty. The agents were glad he decided to cooperate. Actually, they were overly delighted. They had the leader of the Junior Mafia behind bars. They had a live witness. Sure, they were going to put him in protective custody, but that was their job. To them, Forty was only worth his testimony and past that was nothing but a drug dealer in a wheelchair.

Forty was distressed about the entire situation. Sharon was in tears, having to choose between her life in Philadelphia with her family and her world. She thought long and hard about it. She loved her man and now that he was paralyzed, and in a wheelchair, she couldn't turn her back on him. Besides, her sons needed their dad.

All in all, it had been a difficult call. For Forty, it was hard to walk away from the life he had lived for so long. After all, he was leaving friends and family, not to mention having to adapt to life in a wheelchair. Forty couldn't help but to sit back and ask himself, what was it all for?

MEMORIES.

Gena had taken care of everything before she moved. She forwarded the mail to a post office box. She paid a company to box and store her furnishings and clothes. Rik had given her twenty thousand, and she put the majority of it away. What she didn't put up, she used to fix up Gah Git's project housing unit. She got exterminators and even painters.

Light-blue carpet was delivered the same day the handyman in the neighborhood laid down a new kitchen floor. She put the navy-blue leather furniture from her family room into Gah Git's living room, along with a big-screen TV and wall unit. She went to a furniture store and purchased a new bedroom and dining room set for her grandmother.

The nosey neighbors knew something was going on. Before it was all over Gena had a tiny chandelier in the dining room. Gah Git was overwhelmed. Everytime she opened the door, she tried to figure out whose house she was stepping into. She never thought her little project housing could look like it did.

Gena took Gucci upstairs and went in her room and closed the door. She couldn't sleep. She hadn't been able to sleep since Quadir's pa.s.sing. The entire situation was so overwhelming for her.

She laid in bed thinking about him as she cradled Gucci. There was a lot of noise outside, and she couldn't help but to peek out the window. The brothers were on the corner shooting dice. How can they see in the dark? Gena wondered. A huge 4 by 4 pulled up and sounded like it robbed a discotheque. The music was so loud and the ba.s.s rumbled so hard, it shook Gena's bedroom windows. Then she saw a skinny girl in a blue sweater and gray skirt with a pair of pink socks and red slippers come walking up the street. She didn't have a coat on, let alone a bra. She went over to a guy who was on the corner and Gena watched the exchange. The girl turned and proceeded to walk back down the block.

"I miss you, baby. I wish you could come back. I wish you were here." Gena felt tears well up and trickle down her face. "Why'd you leave me this way, Qua? G.o.d, you don't know what you took from me when you took him." She couldn't stop the tears or the pain. "Why is it so hard to let go?" She let her head drop to her lap and let the tears fall, hoping that each teardrop would take a drop of pain with it.

It was 3:47 AM exactly when Gena heard people hollering outside. She peeked her head above her headboard and looked out the window to see a man and a woman fighting in the middle of the street.

"Don't make no sense," Gah Git said. "Them fools is probably out there fighting over who drunk the last of the C&C. It's a d.a.m.n shame. I don't know how they've stayed together. She is forever kicking his a.s.s."

"For real, Gah Git?"

"Yeah, the police will be here by time it's over. Child, this is every weekend."

"For real?"

"Honey, this is all the time. Now, go on back to sleep," she said as she shut Gena's door and went back in her room.

The next morning a knock at the door distracted Gah Git from her tirade, and she greeted a girl who lived down the street, a smiling, skinny girl with a fat baby in her arms.

"Ms. Scott, can you help me?" she asked, looking hopeful at Gah Git. "I have a test in English cla.s.s today and I was wondering, could you watch Ayonna for me?"

"Oh, Lord, child, I guess so. Where's your mama?"

The girl looked away for a split second. "She getting high again, and she said no."

"Well, you know I'll help you out."

"Ms. Scott, the house looks real nice," Brenda said, looking all around.

"Well, thank you. You know Gena?"

"No, ma'am."

"That's my oldest grandbaby. She's Bria and Brianna's first cousin."

"Hi," Brenda said. Gena acknowledged her with a look, but she didn't speak to the girl. "Well, here goes her baby bag and everything you'll need." Gena felt sorry for her. She didn't look no more than sixteen.

"Gah Git. I have to go. I'll see you around dinnertime," Gena said, kissing her grandmother on the cheek.

"Good-bye. You be careful," said Gah Git.

"I will," hollered Gena as she brushed against Brenda on her way out the door.

Brenda handed Gah Git the baby. "I'll be right back after school."

"Okay, she'll be fine."

Gena stepped and hopped in a cab to the body shop where the car was being fixed. While she sat in the lobby of the Mercedes-Benz dealership, she started scribbling to Quadir.

I Reminisce I reminisce for you I reminisce the days I try to forget But the feelings never go away.

I reminisce for you I reminisce the nights For the things we did And how it was so right.

I reminisce for the love For the love that was always there I reminisce, I reminisce, and I know in my heart That you really did care.

Even though my mind plays tricks on me And I can't seem to let you go I believe it's because you're still loving me I reminisce, I reminisce And the memories tell me so.

Gena got in her car and drove straight to the bank. She was seated in a room with a table where she opened her bag and carefully began to deposit her jewelry: the ten-karat diamond engagement ring, the cl.u.s.ter diamond ring, the charm bracelet, the diamond initial G that Rik and Lita had given her, two Rolexes, one Ebel, one Omega, one Cartier, all of which were diamond bezel, two gold Gucci watches, and one stainless steel and 18k Movado. The girl knew what time it was. She kept her plain gold Rolex. Of the five tennis bracelets she owned, she put four in the box and kept only one. She put her two-karat diamond earrings in the box and kept her quarter karats in her earlobes. Then she placed fifteen pairs of gold earrings in the box, keeping only three pairs, which she put back in her pocket.

She deposited strands of gold chains, diamond pendants, diamond pins, bird pins she never wore, and a total of seventeen gold and diamond bangles. They all went in the box except for two, which she put on her other hand, letting the smallest 6-karat tennis bracelet lay over the Rolex, instead of the twelve. Once she was done placing all her things neatly in the safety deposit box, she started on Quadir's.

Time had changed things. The fate that lay in the hands of another, altered Gena's future as well as Quadir's. Gena was ready to lock it up, taking the safety deposit key and adding it to her own key chain, Quadir's diamond Q.

By the time she got home, Bria and Brianna were fussing about homework and teachers and why Gah Git didn't go up there and defend them like the other parents did for their kids.

"What's up?" Gena said coming into the house. "Gah Git, I got the car."

"You got the car?" said Brianna.

"Let me see," Bria said, as if they both had never seen it before.

"Oh, Gena! Can we go for a tide?" Brianna asked, pushing past her to get a glimpse of Gena's 300.

"Yeah, can we?" Bria whined. Bria was just too nice these days. What a change.

"Later," said Gena.

"Good, we gonna be all that," they said, slapping high fives, not thinking about trying to get Gah Git to go curse out their teachers.

Then Gena heard a baby. "That baby still here?" said Gena.

"Yeah, Brenda not coming back for that baby no time soon, and Gah Git trying to make us take care of it," said Brianna, eating some Georgie Woods potato chips.

"Like we having that," Bria added.

"Y'all are a trip," Gena said, looking at the twins in disbelief.

"Will somebody go get that baby?" Gah Git hollered. "Ya'll see me trying to cook!"

Gena looked at the twins. They looked like they were deaf and dumb and definitely wasn't moving, so Gena went and got the baby. It was smelly and too small. Gena had no idea what to do with it. "Qua wanted me to have one of these?" she said, looking at the baby as if it were not a part of the life force here on Earth.

"Here," she said taking it to Brianna and giving it to her. "We're going for a ride later, remember?"

Brianna took the baby. "d.a.m.n, she stinks."

"What just came out your mouth, Brianna?" hollered Gah Git.

"Nothing! Darn, I said darn this baby stinks."

"That's what I thought I heard you say. You need to go to church. You want to go to the seven o'clock service?"

"No ma'am."

"Oh. Then watch your devilish tongue. Child, do get it honest," Gah Git said, mashing her potatoes. The baby was still crying. "Oh, my G.o.d, what's that child's name?"

"Ayonna," said Bria.

"No, her mother."

"Brenda," said Brianna.

"Where could she be?"

"I don't know, Gah Git. She has English cla.s.s with me and she wasn't there and we didn't have no English test today," said Brianna.

"I don't know why you're always helping people," said Bria.

"You might need some help one day," Gah Git reminded her.

"Yeah, well, Brenda shouldn't have had no baby if she wasn't gonna be able to take care of her child," said Brianna.

"I know. That's Brenda's baby, not ours. She somewhere now with a boy or something, 'cause she sure wasn't in school today," said Brianna.

"I know, Gah Git, and we're the ones that suffer when you go out your way to help people," said Bria.

"Girl, hush your mouth," said Gah Git, trying to hear what was going on outside.

"You hear that?" Brianna asked.

They got up and went to the window.

"It must be those idiots next door," Bria said.

"That baby is crying," said Gena, looking at the helpless infant.

"Go get it," Bria said, nudging Brianna.

"No. Ain't my baby," Brianna answered. "Gena, you go get it."

"What I look like? I ain't never had no babies, and I never babysat no brats. You go get her." The baby was starting to cry louder.

"I wouldn't get that baby if it rolled off the couch and fell on the floor," said Bria.

"d.a.m.n, that's cold," Gena said, looking at her cousin's despicable grin.

"It sure is," said Brianna, slapping high fives with her twin. All of a sudden, Gary came running in the house with Khaleer behind him.

"Grams!" He saw his grandmother picking up a strange baby off the couch. "Aunt Gwendolyn done stabbed up Royce, y'all. The police is arrestin' her and everything."

"Khaleer, come here, baby," she said, handing Ayonna to Brianna. Brianna took the baby and sat it back down on the floor.

"You okay, son? Gah Git's grandbaby okay? Well, what happened?" she asked, holding her youngest grandson.

"I don't know. She on that s.h.i.t, Grams, and she out there with her hair all wild, half naked, t.i.tties hanging out, fighting the police."

"Oh Lord," Gah Git said, shaking her head. Bria and Brianna silently went out the door to get a dose of the commotion.

"That girl is gonna have to learn the hard way. Did you call Paula?"