Choices 2: Alter Ego

“Hello.”
“Lady we got the baby so what you gone do? We want our money.”
“Well honey, I’m pregnant now. These fertility drugs worked like a charm. I might be having twins. So I don’t need her. Take her back or do whatever you want with her.”
“What! Bitch, you owe me money! How am I gonna just walk back in there with this baby. The kidnapping is all over the news. I oughta kill yo ass.”
There was a long silence before Lil D noticed that she was no longer there. He was steaming. He had been played, and he was in an uproar about it. Now he had to figure out what to do with the baby, and how he was going to get revenge on the mystery lady and he didn’t even know her name.
“Chris!”
“What? Stop yelling, you gone wake up the baby.” Chris walked into the room.
“I finally got in touch with her and she don’t want the baby no more.”
“You lying. What we gone do? Aww man, we going to jail.” Chris put his head in his hands.
“No we not. We’ll get rid of her some kind of way.”
Let’s turn her in, and say we found her.”
“Naw, they will be asking us all kinds of questions. I don’t want to deal with five-o at all.”
“What about...let’s just take her back.” Chris shrugged. “Yeah, let’s sneak her in, like we snuck her out.”
“That’s too risky, I’m sure the police are all over there. Don’t forget that little boy saw our faces and he might put two and two together and snitch.”
“We going to jail.” Chris whined.
“No we not. Okay lets just…” Lil D saw the neighborhood crack ho walk by. He ran to the door and called out to her, “Hey Star! Come here.”
“Naw nigga, I ain’t comin’ nowhere.” Star kept walking.
“For real, I’m sorry for last time. This is important for real. I’ll pay you right now, up front no joke.” He waved a ten dollar bill that he stole from his mama’s purse while she was asleep.
Star looked back, saw the money, and turned around. “What you want this time. You still owe me for that blow job.” She walked up on the porch and reached out to grab the money.
Lil D moved his hand quickly so the money was out of her reach. “I know, I know, I got you. Dig this here, I want you to babysit my little cousin for a little while. I’m going downtown for a run real quick and my mama gotta work.”
“Oh no, I aint even got custody of my own, what make you think I want to watch yours.” She shook her head.
“Really mama, I’m about to make some real bread. I’ll give you a hundred dollars when I get back. I promise.”
She thought about the money. “Okay.” This time when she reached for the money he let it go. She stuffed it in the pocket of her soiled jeans and turned to walk away.
“Not so fast. You are forgetting something.” Lil D handed her the baby wrapped in a receiving blanket and the bottle. Just give me until the morning.
“Hey give her the diapers too.” Chris handed her the two diapers left in the three pack he bought at the dollar store. He didn’t feel right giving the baby to her but he did not want to go to prison.
Once the door was closed and Star was gone. The boys sat there silently. They knew that they were in big trouble, and they didn’t know how to get out of it.

Star walked down the street with the baby. She was on her way up to Grand River to stand on the corner, but now she had the baby, ten dollars, and one hundred dollars on the way. She kept going because even though she didn’t need to ho today, she still wanted her crack. The baby began to cry and she shifted her from one arm to the other and stuffed the bottle into her mouth. Chanel quieted for the moment and Star was satisfied. When she got to the crack house she knocked on the door.
Casey opened the door and saw Star. “I don’t want none of that funky ass ever and no mouth today. If you ain’t got no money then you need to get away from my door.”
“I got the money…here.” She handed him the ten dollar bill.
“What! What you do rob a bank?” Casey laughed. Star never had any money, and if she did it was in quarters, nickels, dimes, and pennies. Sometimes she paid in wrinkled dirty dollars. “What you doing with that baby? The state gave your daughter back?”
“This not my baby. I’m babysitting. Wanna buy her?” She held Chanel out toward Casey and the baby began to cry again.
“What I wanna buy a crying ass baby for? And what fool let you babysit? Take yo shit and get outta here.” Casey handed Star the drugs and closed the door without waiting for the answers to his questions.
Star began to return the way she came. On her way back she passed the abandoned building that she usually stopped in to smoke. She could never wait to get all the way back home before the urge to get high hit her, but this time she had the baby and she knew that she shouldn’t. Before she knew it she was inside the building. She sat Chanel down and propped the bottle up with the diapers Chris had given her. She sat next to her and pulled her pipe out of her pocket. “This won’t take long, I promise. We’ll be gone before you know it.” She talked to the baby as she lit the pipe.