Only the Strong (8 page)

“Tell me,” she said. “How does a man as big as you move without making any noise?”

“Practice. What are you doing?”

Pearl turned and went back to work. “What does it look like I'm doing? Hanging this artwork I bought for my man. Every time I come in here and see these blank walls, it makes me want to cry. Don't worry, I picked out something I knew you would like. See?”

Guts took a step back and saw that she had already mounted two paintings of ducks and had two more to install. The ducks looked nearly as real as the ones in Fairgrounds Park.

“They're Audubon prints. Don't the feathers look like you could just reach out and ruffle them? These are mass-market copies, but I figured if the frames were fancy enough they'd look just as good as the originals. What do you think?”

“They're nice. How did you get in?”

“I left the door unlocked because I knew I was coming back later to surprise you with these. The back door, like you insist. If I didn't know any better I'd think you were ashamed of me.”

“You left the door unlocked?”

“It's a good thing I checked you out before we got serious. I'd suspect you had a woman hidden in here somewhere. Sealed up in a secret room or something.”

“You left the door unlocked?”

Pearl left the third print hanging crookedly from a nail. She got down off the chair and put her arms around Guts's waist.

“Relax, sugar,” she cooed. “Who'd be crazy enough to break into Guts Tolliver's house?”

Guts didn't return the hug. “Most people don't know this is Guts Tolliver's house. I aim to keep it that way.”

Pearl dropped her arms. “You really trying to have an attitude about this? Sneaking me in and out through the back, changing the subject when I ask for a key. If anybody should have an attitude, it's me.”

“Slow down, Pearl. I told you, it's about your safety.”

“I
am
safe. You think I'm fragile because I like pretty things…. You're right, though. Maybe we
should
slow this down.”

“That's not what I said.”

“But that's what you're thinking.”

“Hold on, Pearl.”

“Hold on nothing. I'm getting dressed.”

She hurried out of the room. Guts sighed and scratched the side of his nose with his index finger.

Pearl emerged, carrying clothes. She sat them on the chair she'd been standing on. She put on her bra, glaring at him while she fiddled with the straps.

“Why do you think I'm decorating your house?” She picked up her panties.

“You said you do these things because you care for me and I deserve it,” Guts said.

She shook her head. “It's because I care for
us
and because
we
deserve it.”

“I thought you were happy with the way things are. I thought you understood.”

“Lorenzo, you treat me like a goddamn secret.”

Guts tried a gentle approach. He took her hands in his.

“Baby,” he said with a smile, “at least wait until sunrise before you start cursing.”

It didn't work. “Lorenzo,” she said. “Let go of my drawers.”

Pearl put on the rest of her clothes in a furious rush. “You claim to be looking out for me, but you're really looking out for yourself,” she said. “You're scared, and not of somebody coming to kill us while we sleep. You're afraid to commit to a real-life, grown-up relationship.”

“Baby.”

“Stop with the ‘baby.' I'm obviously not your baby. Look, you can be a gentleman and drive me home, or you can watch the doorknob hit me. And don't fret. I'm going out the back door.”

Guts drove her home in silence. Pearl refused even to look at him, let alone speak.

They arrived at her apartment far too soon. She put her hand on the door handle. “Violence follows you. I get that,” she said, looking out the window.

“That's not it,” Guts said. He paused. “I
am
violence. Last night, a man almost had a heart attack just looking at me. I saw everything
I've ever done in that man's face.” “That's who you were, Lorenzo, not who you are.”

“Then, there's Fish—”

“You think Fish got killed just because you went to see him? You weren't the only one there.”

“I know. It just got me thinking.”

“You been thinking on this a while, from what I can tell.”

“Well, I'm thinking on it more. If I care about you like I say I do, why do I put you in danger by being with you?”

Pearl rolled her eyes. “You sound like a dang fool. This is North Gateway.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning I face a little more danger every day as these neighborhoods change. We all do. People talk about Vietnam. They should spend some time north of Delmar. At the supermarket on Easton, a snake came out of the collard greens and bit a woman on the neck. A tree branch fell in the Clark Elementary schoolyard, crushing a little girl. It ain't just crime, Lorenzo. It's death, and it's been hanging around more and more since the fires. Sometimes I feel funny walking from my job to the bus stop, like somebody's watching me. And that's the nice part of town. You can't protect me from every little thing. But loving me means doing the best you can.”

“I'm still trying to figure things out.”

“After three years together?” Pearl got out and shut the door. She turned and leaned in the window. “It's easier when you pay for it. Isn't it?”

Guts got no sleep. He ate nine eggs and a box of bacon for breakfast. He washed it down with a quart and a half of milk. Hygiene was a half-hearted affair. His head and upper lip, normally shaved, each displayed a thin layer of shadow. His beard, usually kept somewhat in check, was bushier than usual. Bits of food glinted in it here and there and remained firmly nestled as the day progressed. Guts was wondering if the folks at White Castle had given him decaf coffee by mistake when Playfair poked his head in the office.

Guts tried to be perky but couldn't quite pull it off. “What do you say, Play?”

“Nothin' to it but to do it,” Playfair replied. He lowered his voice. “Look here, I have to pull your coat again. Remember that leather blazer I let you have for half price?”

“Yeah,” Guts said. “I remember you had a trunk full of 'em but only one XXXXL.”

“Uh-huh. That baby was so rare it could have been a collector's item. I'm guessing it was custom-ordered by some defensive lineman somewhere.”

“Sounds about right,” Guts agreed. “It's a little bit roomy even on me. Wait, don't tell me you got hold of another one.”

“Naw, nothing like that. It's just that I would know that jacket anywhere on account of it being so unusual. I was rolling down Lexington over there by Kingshighway and I spotted it on a pile under a window. A whole lot of extra-large stuff, if you know what I mean.”

Playfair watched as the reality of Guts's situation settled upon him. “Lexington near Kingshighway? Damn!”

Playfair stepped aside as Guts blew past him. The big man raced to his car without so much as a nod at Shadrach and Cherry as they huddled over their dominoes. “What's up with the boss?” Cherry asked.

“My man's business is literally in the streets,” Playfair explained. “I think he's on his way to clean it up.”

Pearl was tossing the last of Guts's belongings out her apartment window when he roared up in his car. He got out and hollered up at her.

“Pearl! What are you doing?”

“That's the same thing you asked me last night,” she shouted back. “And once again I'll say to you, what does it look like I'm doing?”

“Sweetheart, let's not be so public about this.”

“I ain't paranoid like you, Lorenzo. Have I ever said anything to you about coming in and out of my house through the back door? About keeping the shades drawn?”

“You know I got good reasons for all that.”

“Uh-huh. And I got good reasons for pouring gasoline on your stuff and setting it on fire! That's what I'm going to do next if you don't hurry up and get it from under my window.”

“Pearl. I take care of you. I buy your groceries. I help you pay your rent so that you can save up and open that dance studio one day. Isn't that enough?”

“Obviously not, Lorenzo.”

“Okay, Pearl, what more do you want?”

“I want to know that you'll carry me through the fire.”

“What fire?”

“Sometimes you are so dense. Not a real fire! Through whatever I might have to face.”

Pearl slammed her window shut. Guts gathered his things and tossed them in his trunk.
One wrong move and everything's shot to shit
, he thought.
Maybe I overreacted about the unlocked door. No, I had to be straight with her. She thinks she knows these streets but not really. I guess I could have said that better.
He was still second-guessing himself when he got back to the cabstand.

Inside, Trina waved a fistful of phone message receipts. “That ballplayer's been calling and calling,” she said.

Guts sighed and dialed up Crenshaw. “Hey, this is Guts,” he said.

“Them bitches took my shit!” a voice yelled through the phone.

“Crenshaw, is that you?”

“Damn straight it's me! Find them bitches and get my shit back.”

“Slow down. Take a sip of whatever it is you're holding and—”

“How did you know I was holding—never mind. Let me hit this right quick.”

Guts heard the sound of a bottle being tilted and slurped.

“That's better.”

“Good,” Guts said. “Now let's try it again, only slower. All right?”

“All right. Them. Bitches. Took. My. Shit.”

“The girls you partied with last night.”

“That's right. April, May, and June.”

“You mean Summer, Spring, and Autumn.”

“That's what I said!”

“Okay. They robbed you?”

“I woke up and my wallet had been cleaned out. My chains are gone. Worst of all, them bitches took my World Series ring. I need you to find 'em, get my ring back.”

“Do you know their real names?”

“Um, no. We were partying and…well, there just didn't seem be any need to catch those details. But you can find out. You're a problem solver. Go out and ask around. Break some legs, goddammit.”

“You want me to risk my neck for a bankroll and some chains?”

“I thought you ran this town.”

Guts scratched his nose. “I never told you that. Besides, it's not like it used to be around here. When King died, people set their own streets on fire. Burned down the biggest grocery in the neighborhood. People will do anything. I used to be able to draw a line and dare a man to cross it. He still might not cross it, but he'll give me lip now.”

“Sounds like you scared.”

Guts paused. There was that word again. “Naw. Just alert.”

“Look, I know it was Goode or Washburn who paid you to take me around. Just add this to the tab. Might even be a bonus in it for you.”

“Yeah, what's that?”

“My friendship, baby. I know we clicked. We're like two peas in a pod.”

“I could see that your chains weren't cheap, Crenshaw. But they're just trinkets. You can get some more.”

“I don't care about the chains. It's the ring. It really means something to me.”

Guts could almost swear that Crenshaw's voice faltered. Was he choking up?

“That ring gives me strength,” he continued. “They can fine me, suspend me, make me look bad in the papers. But they can't take back that ring. It says I'm a world champion. My name's in the books and they can't take it out. It doesn't belong on any finger but mine.”

“Why were you wearing it in the first place? Why don't you keep it in a safe deposit box or something?”

“I wasn't wearing it. I was carrying it in my pocket. I'm telling you man, them bitches went through my stuff. Say, Guts—you ever killed a woman before?”

“Naw, and I don't plan to start.”

“Just asking, just asking.”

“Tell you what, All-Star. I'll put the word out. But I don't want to promise something I can't follow through on.”

“Okay, whatever you can do. 'Preciate it.”

Guts hung up and yelled for Playfair.

He entered the office immediately, almost as if he'd been listening outside the door.

“What it is? You heard about my wedding dresses?”

“Come again?”

“Wedding dresses. In my trunk. Bridal veils and trains and whatnot. I can let you have one today for half of what I'll charge tomorrow. One I'm keeping, though. For Nichelle.”