Bullets In A Cold Winter Breeze

Chapter Twenty-Five Dreaming Of The Past Pt Two

****** (1:53 P.M, CTZ)

"Ayo, whattup ku?" Lloyd hollers, jumping up from the domino game as Melanie and I walk in through the back gate. His surprise lets me know he's slightly tipsy and likely has had a few blunts. Forcibly, I smile, saying wassup to the recognizable faces as I walk toward Lloyd and his intermediate family.

"How y'all doing?" I implore, dapping up my mans and nodding to the rest of his gigantic family that I don't have the time or the desire to have small talk with. Thankfully, Lloyd's backyard and the people in it are spread out far enough that they don't feel like running over to me either.

"We're all good. How you doing?" The family responds in harmony. Happy to take a brief break to get a few more blunts in rotation and pop a few more cans open.

I'm ready to go. "I'm straight."

"You should be! Got this beautiful woman at ya side." Lloyd's mom, Ms. Williams, grins, quickly taking in Melanie's embrace.

"How are you, Momma Shirley?" Melanie explores, sticking inside the woman's grasp as she waves to the rest of the group. Although Melanie and her real mother, Ms. Baker, are close, Lloyd's mother is like a second mom.

"Ecstatic, now I see you and yuh husband could make it!" The woman cheers, giving Melanie one last squeeze before allowing her to get up. "Ain't seen ya in a few weeks. How y'all been?"

"We're great. We'll be right back. Gotta change out of these work clothes." Melanie answers, raising the duffle bag of clothes before escaping inside the house.

"Shit, what's good foe?" Lloyd asks, taking his seat as they resume their game.

"Shit, we got a little business to discuss, but it ain't nothing that can't wait. I'mma go ahead and change foe." I announce, escaping the wandering glares and going into the home.

"I need to talk to you too, my G,"

"One of them?"

"Yeah," Lloyd admits, following me into his empty basement. The place where we always talk business whenever matters are grave, and I'm over his house.

"Spit."

"We need to pick a weed." He states, closing the door before we take seats at his full-sized bar.

"Well, don't beat around the bush."

"On this last reup, I found out Monique pinched a little off the top."

"Naw, not Monique," I decline, closing my eyes and violently shaking my head as I accept the shot of gray goose he pours after seeing he's poured himself some.

"Yeah, that little thot jugged us out of about five grand. I've got Paul Garcia and Van digging through the books to see if she's a repeat offender." He admits, scratching his scruffy chin hair that nearly blends with his dark skin.

"Well, tell Mr. Garcia and Van to stop digging unless they're gonna make a grave." I chuckle.

"You knew?"

"Of course. The bitch skimmed off five thousand exactly a month ago. We're actually coming from dealing with her."

"Understood. Mmcht... Sorry, I ain't catch that shit the first time around." Lloyd says, smacking his lips in distasteful defeat.

"She was always on point with everything else, so we gave her a pass," I state after sucking my teeth with disdain. I leave out the part where Van and Paul Garcia let me know when the incident occurred. The fact that they both knew to keep anyone else out of it makes me even more confident that they're doing their jobs right. The only one who actually has slipped is Lloyd.