The durham mob, p.15
The Durham Mob, page 15
Coy thought about having a surprise birthday party, but Sid reminded him about Swazy’s independence and that it would be difficult for him to come to Coy’s without a good reason. He didn’t go to other people’s parties often. He loved to have his own, so he could direct and control the action. “I’ll just tell him that I’m having a birthday party for him and I’ll have a special present for him. Maybe that’ll spark his interest,” said Coy.
“That, that might work,” said Sid. “I’ve known him, him longer than you so, so I’ll call too.” So, the plan was at work. They both called Swazy and convinced him to come. Swazy still wasn’t convinced, but he said he would come. After all, no matter how much money he had, he knew he might one day need one of his homeboys since they were the only ones he could really trust. He was especially close to Wake and Bob, even more with Charles, who, of course, was no longer there.
So, Coy and Sid set about preparing for the party. There would be the usual stuff like Ripple wine, some weed and food and, of course, bowls full of coke. Coy asked Sid to round up a slew of women which was a job well suited for him. Coy would provide Swazy’s present.
Coy had had many parties, but this was the first one just for the homeboys, except for the ladies who would entertain them. The ladies were easy to get. Most, who had been there before, wanted to return. Others, who had heard about, “The Apartment,” and the coke, wanted to be invited. Sex was the easy part. Most of the guys had money, or at least, the ladies thought they did. That was all they needed. Money and coke could get you all the sex you could handle. Occasionally, a few of the guys would have a guy’s night out just to get away from the ladies. Sometimes they were sexed out, except for Sid, whose guns were always loaded.
The night of the party arrived. Sid had the girls come early so the guys would be occupied immediately. He reached out to get some of his and Coy’s women that the guys had not seen before. William always came early to any affair. That was his habit. Wake, Cody Mack and another homeboy came together. Bob came with a few other homeboys who were not as close, but were known by all. Finally, Swazy made his grand entrance. “So, what’s this all about?” he asked, with a big smile on his face. “It’d better be worth it!” Everybody yelled “Happy birthday!” All they needed was Charles, but he was long gone. They would just have to make it dramatic without him. They all held up a glass and toasted him. He just smiled and pretended he wanted to be there. Actually, this was the first big birthday party ever held for him. That alone made it special. Everybody continued drinking wine and snorting coke, and there was plenty. A few of the ladies smoked some weed. Most of the home boys didn’t particularly like weed so they stayed with the coke. They were all talking to Swazy at the same time. “You’re getting on up there.”
“Boy, when I was your age…”
“I might have, have to start helping you, you with all that pussy,” Sid said, laughing.
“I don’t need any help with that. I’ll call you if I need you,” Swazy said with a big smile. After a while, everybody was high and getting higher. Swazy, who didn’t use drugs or smoke weed, was drinking a small bottle of Ripple. Coy came out of the bedroom and said, “Come and get your birthday present.” Everybody shouted in anticipation. Swazy followed Coy to his bedroom. Lying on the bed were three beautiful, naked ladies, one black, one white and the other Chinese. “I wanted to make sure we got the flavor right.” Swazy’s eyes got bigger. Having three ladies wasn’t new for him but having these three new ladies was. “Hey, this is your party, do what you want to do!” Half the people were crowding the doorway trying to see. Four of the homeboys were in the kitchen doorway where they could see clearly. Swazy looked around for a second and began to take off his clothes and the three ladies helped him. He wasn’t bashful. “You mean I can have all three flavors at the same time?” he asked jokingly.
“It’s your birthday,” Coy reminded him. Swazy took off his clothes and crawled into the middle of them. He had become such a big “freak” that he was not embarrassed to strip in front of the guys. The girls all began kissing and licking his body all over. He was in Heaven!
The people in the door-way looked on for a few minutes and then moved back into the living room. The girls began dancing with each other. A few guys just looked on. Sid, William, Wake, Cody Mack and Bob were in the kitchen snorting coke. They could see the action just turning their heads slightly which they all did occasionally. “When Swazy is finished, finished his slice of the, the cake we can all cut, cut a piece,” said Sid. They all laughed. They continued talking about home and some of the fun they had as kids. “William, do you remember when we were in high school and you were singing for the Easter program and you forgot The Lord’s Prayer,” asked Wake.?” “That was some funny shit?”
“I remember that,” said Bob. “You just stood there like a deer in the headlights! That was funny?”
“I didn’t forget the Lord’s Prayer, assholes. I just lost my place when I was singing,” said William.
“How could you lose your place? It’s the Lord’s Prayer.”
“I was singing and I forgot for a minute it was a prayer. It was a song to me, so I started looking at the students and they all had their heads down, I got distracted. I didn’t come back in on time, so Mr. Gattis, (The piano teacher) played around again and by this time I was nervous, I missed my second chance. But, on the third time, I came in and finished like a champ.”
“Distracted! That’s the big word you want to call it. You just forgot,” Wake said and they all laughed loudly!
“Fuck you. Maybe you can’t hear me or understand what I’m saying because you got too much coke on the brain. There’s that part when you stop and the piano plays and you come back in. Well, as I said, I got distracted,” William insisted.
They would all occasionally glance towards the bedroom to see Swazy swimming between the three girls and waiting for him to finish. At least, Sid was waiting. The other guys didn’t like to do seconds and none of the others had screwed women with many people watching. They were still somewhat conservative. William never would screw a chick after someone else, not even his brother. They kept passing around the small ash tray of coke and continued reminiscing.
A critical time comes when one snorts coke and you have to stop if you want to screw. Your dick will be as hard as a rock, but if you go past a certain point, your dick is dead for that night. All of the other guys paused for a minute and decided they didn’t want to screw that night and continued getting high. Sid stopped before that point so he could clean up the leftovers after Swazy. Having sex for Sid was more important than most other things; more important than coke. The party went on until the early morning. Swazy had a happy birthday and the guys shared a moment. When the guys got together, it was always fun. It was like the old times before the money interrupted and changed them. They returned to being the home boys from Durham. They had many pleasant memories of their hometown, their university, and the friends they had in common. There was never any animosity. Only Charles used to feign anger at times. But inside, he was a caring and giving person. Even Sid was fun to be around. They used to have fun gambling for quarters. It didn’t matter who won or loss, it was the comradery. They would never again be in the same space at the same time again.
William’s friend, Bill Stewart introduced him to a very attractive lady named Carol Spencer. Bill liked her but she thought of Bill just as a friend. William was attracted to her, as she was to him, but he couldn’t make a move without clearing it with Bill. Those were the rules! You were not allowed to be a wolf with your friend’s ladies. So, William called Bill and told him that he would like to pursue Carol if he didn’t mind. Bill knew that Carol liked him just as a friend so he gave the green light. William called Carol and told her he had cleared everything with Bill. Everything was a go.
A few days later, Carol invited William to come by her apartment. William went by and Carol introduced him to her roommate Gerri. Gerri was tall and slender and a classic beauty. Right away, out of habit, he told Gerri that he had a brother that he would like her to meet. He had done that so many times that he forgot for a moment that this was not the Coy he had introduced to so many women before. Plus, Coy had plenty of women. It was too late because Gerri had become very interested. She didn’t have a boyfriend, so she agreed to meet Coy. Since he didn’t know when he would see Coy, he called and gave Coy her phone number and left it to him to follow through. Coy called Gerri and went to visit her. He took Sid with him, which he shouldn’t have done, knowing that Sid was worse than he was when it came to ladies, but he did it deliberately. It was always easier for Sid and him to date ladies at the same address who were friends. Often this meant that they could screw each one for a while, and after some time and coke, they would change partners. Nobody fell in love. They shared and moved on. William was not aware that Coy had taken Sid. Just like with William, Carol was attracted to Sid, especially after they took them to their lair. After a few days, Sid had spent more time with Carol than William had.
The first date that William had with Carol was to take her to an Aretha Franklin concert in Philadelphia. He picked her up and brought her to his apartment. He was riding down to Philadelphia with Coy and Gerri. They didn’t want to take two cars. Sid dropped by and William introduced him to Carol. Sid knew she would be there. They pretended they didn’t know each other. The rest of the evening, Carol was cold. After the concert, she was supposed to spend the night with William but she coldly said, “I changed my mind.” He let it go thinking there would be another occasion. Several days later, William called her. She answered the phone in a rushed tone. She said she was on her way out. William asked her where she was going in such a rush. She replied, “Sid is taking me to the doctor to get birth control pills.” It was as cold and icy as that. William later learned that Coy had been a part of this conspiracy by taking Sid with him to see Gerri and encouraging Carol and Sid to get together. Gerri helped by pointing out how much fun it would be for them to be dating roommates and going to that fabulous apartment together. So much for brotherly love, friendship and loyalty. Coy had betrayed him again! William had a few other stronger relationships with other women, so he moved on. Carol was an attractive and intelligent young lady, but a little more flawed than he realized. However, Coy and Sid continued breaking the unwritten codes of the homeboys. They no longer cared. They were going to prison, even though Coy unrealistically believed that he might escape or at least minimize his stay. They were still employing the scorched-earth policy for women. Most of the guys didn’t even realize it for a long time, since Coy and Sid were scooping them up and taking them to their man-cave without the other guys even suspecting. They had thrown out the rules. Nobody was safe! This would be their last hurrah! This was part of the continuation of the disrespect Coy had been showing towards William.
After about a month or so, Coy quickly began to tire of Gerri. He had so many and was meeting new ones all of the time and Gerri was acting like she was his girlfriend. She began asking him after each time he saw her, “When will I see you and can we go to a movie or club?” If he wanted a girlfriend, he would have kept Lauren. He drove a red Eldorado Cadillac, wore finely tailored suits and sports-wear, and lived in a fabulous apartment. On top of all that, he had available coke. Anyone with those credentials could get all of the women he could handle. Swazy, Bob, Wakefield and even Sid, were having a field’s day. Even before all of that, Sid and Coy were players. Gerri had become a handicap, so he gave her to Sid. She became one of Sid’s main ladies, mostly because she was so devoted and seemed to care for both guys more than the average lady, and she was a big freak who would do almost anything sexually. With Sid, she could still occasionally come to the apartment and get some coke. She finally realized that she was not going to be the only one. Like some others, she hoped to be the main one. She had a better chance with Sid than Coy. She could never be his only one, but she could be his main one, she thought. There was a minor problem, Carol, her best friend was still involved with Sid; even though she had moved to New Jersey to attend school. The next time Carol came over, they had a sit down. Sid and Gerri explained to her the new situation. Carol said that she understood. “I’m not here all of the time and I realize that Sid is going to be with other girls and I’m glad it’s you. I love you and I love Sid. We will always be friends.” So, there it was. Problem solved. Carol really never knew how much of a player and scoundrel Sid was. She was so naive. Gerri knew that Sid had many other women but didn’t care. She was like many women in their circle who always believed that they would triumph in the end and become the only one. She did not know that Sid had always had many women at the same time and would never be with just one. She loved being around what she perceived to be, power. She really didn’t know that Coy completely ran the show, that Sid had only the money he got from backing up Coy. Without Coy, Sid would have nothing. Without Sid, Coy would be successful nonetheless. The love triangle was to continue, but now, everyone could relax. It was all as clear as mud. She also didn’t realize that the game they were playing would have a short life. It would end when they went to prison or before. It was a time of free love. Everybody understood the rules. No one complained or made demands. Many of the ladies were hooking up with other guys, but they also had a main guy they preferred.
Gerri had gotten a job as a Playboy Bunny and was looking for a roommate or a place to move. Lita told William that she needed a roommate, so he introduced them. He was not aware of Gerri’s strange involvement with Sid and his brother. He knew that Coy was seeing Gerri. He was not aware that he had passed her on to Sid, since he hardly ever went to Coy’s apartment. They led separate social lives. Gerri moved in with Lita the same week. Gerri worked late hours and Lita worked from 9 to 5. Lita was a social worker, dating only William, occasionally, and living a clean life. She didn’t smoke or drink. Gerri was a Playboy bunny, drinking and snorting coke, changing partners in the same abode, and had betrayed her best friend. They lived completely different life styles and still were roommates.
CHAPTER 31
Charles graduated from law school in North Carolina, but he was not able to practice law. He remembered again the warning by the district attorney, “You will never be able to practice law in the United States.” So, there it was. He had a law degree but no way to practice. That was what he always wanted, but now he couldn’t use it. He decided to go to Washington, D.C. where he had some contacts that he had made when he used to go there and spend lots of money. Some of those people thought he still had a lot of money and treated him accordingly. He did still have a little money left, but just enough to get by. He had spent some of the thousands of dollars that he had brought with him for law school tuition. He spent some of it on parties, and he still bought the coke for the college girls. He was worse than Coy, who spent too much but still had some coming in. Charles had no income. He took his show on the road to D.C. There he contacted some old acquaintances who helped him find an apartment. He had enough money to start his new life. He used his intelligence and gift for gab to talk his way into a law firm as a law clerk. He explained to them that he had the degree but had not taken the bar exam. They understood that. It never occurred to Charles that he had not been convicted of a crime and had never served time, so legally, he should have been able to take a bar exam and practice law. He had been so frightened that he never dared to try. Charles began working and the lawyers were impressed with and admired his drive and encouraged him to study for the bar exam in D.C. They even gave him occasional time off to study. They allowed him to use their law library. Charles actually studied so he could engage in intelligent and relevant conversation about the exam. He was deceiving them and playing the game for as long as he could. He knew he could play that game for months until the time of the exam. He had already planned his exit, to leave and find another clerk job and play the game over again. He was fooling his acquaintances that he was actually a lawyer at the firm. He had cards printed showing him as a lawyer.
One night he was at a social function that included middle class and wealthy people. He was introduced to a woman who told him about the plight of her son. He was introduced to her as a lawyer from that particular firm and he had the business cards to prove it. She told him that her son had been arrested for murder of his girlfriend in a dispute. She claimed, as most mothers would, that it was an accident while the couple was arguing. He was still in jail awaiting bail. She needed a good lawyer and asked if he could help. Charles got all of the details and told her he could help her. He told her that he would need a retainer. It was unusual to conduct this kind of business at a party, but she was desperate. She and Charles went to a table where she wrote down all of the details of her son’s case and where he was being held. She then wrote him a check for $10,000. She made the check to him, not to the firm. Charles assured her that he would call her in a few days and give her a progress report. The next day, Charles cashed the check and partied for several days with his friends. It confirmed to them that Charles was still rich. He never called the lady.
When the money ran out, he left D.C. for New York City. The woman eventually called the law firm and asked for Attorney Charles Clayton. They informed her that Charles was not an attorney and that he had suddenly quit his job. She was shocked and told the attorney that she had given Charles $10,000 to represent her son. Since Charles had told her that he worked for that firm, the firm took a small retainer and represented the woman. They did not want any bad publicity and they never reported Charles to the authorities. He had gotten away clean.
