Spilled Milk

Two weeks later, Chris, Fathead and I were eating Breakfast at the Diner...We all had Blueberry Pancakes,sausage and Orange Juice with Hot tumblers of coffee... It was early in the morning..Daybreak...Fathead was the only one talking..

"Hey Chris...did you see that babe I had at my party?" he laughed.

"Who, Cherry?" I said, knowing that that was not who he was talking about..and ignoring Chris's side eyed glance.

"Nah, Nah, I'm talking bout that babe Marsha.....man, the rack she got on her.....lawdddd....Chris man, I took her in the bathroom and was wearin her outtttt..." he bragged.

"Aint that Mingus's girlfriend?" I asked again. Chris just shook his head, gave me a side eyed glance again and continued eating.

"I heard it used to be....but sheeeet, so what? Mingus know he better not come down in West Philly unless he's comin heavy and he aint got the heart nor the manpower to bump with me."
snorted Fathead.

"Come on Fathead...that's somebody else's girl....I hear you good at that.....takin somebody else's
girl." I said leeringly looking Fathead dead in the eye. He was confused..He had no idea what I was talking about and now the man most people in the know feared looked at me with fear in his eyes... He didn't have a clue as to what I was talking about.

"What you talkin bout Chess?" he said. Finnally Chris stopped eating, looked at me and said quietly-

"Chess, cut it out...stop playa hatin......don't pay him no mind Fathead..He just hatin from the sidelines."

Fathead laughed uneasily and then we all laughed and finished our breakfast.

Later on, I was giving Chris a ride to one of his many places of "residence " around the city and I
knew that I was going to hear it.

"What was that back in the diner man? You still cryin over spilled milk Chess? If you wanna do the babe..then step to her and be done with it..but don't hate on Fathead because he with her.Actually ,he doin you a favor...She aint the one for you...You're with Rell and you and Rell are good together..You and Cherry, yall had secrets..and secrets aint never good between a man and a woman....Leave her be Chess...Just leave her be...Why can't you do that?" said Chris.

I said nothing..I just drove him to where he needed to be. I waved goodbye to him and just drove off. I don't know how long I was driving until I happened to be driving down a strange neighborhood and I happened upon Marsha..the girl Fathead had been with that night. She was
attractive....even with the black eye she was sporting.

She was standing on the corning crying. I pulled my car over to the side and I walked over to her.

"Hey girl...what's up? who did this to you?" I asked.

"Chess, just get away...you don't want to get involved with this." she said, still sobbing..I could see she was very upset and slightly frightened. Then I heard the booming voice and I understood why.

"Hey nigga, get the hell away from my girl before you wind up just like her." came the voice.

It was the player they called Mingus...he was ,like Fathead, big and bald headed...He had a fierce rep, but that didn't move me one bit. I turned and faced him and then said-

"Come Again?....I don't believe you know me." I said.

"Ah know you...you're Chess, Chris Thompson's boy...Do I care about who you are ??Hell No." he spat. Famous last words.... I picked up a trash can and rammed it into his huge belly...He made a groaning sound, then I took the can and brought it down on his fat bald head..he grunted some more...then I punched him in his jaw and sent him flying... I took my left leg and kicked his legs from under him and sent him sprawling to the ground... He tried to get up, but I punched him again and knocked him down and pretty much out. I walked into a local store, bought a carton of milk and poured it on top of his head.... I don't know why, I just felt like doing that to him....I got a perverse and wicked sense of elation and pleasure out of doing that. One day a shrink would explain why.

"Wake up...wake up Mingus..." I said..pulling my nickel plated .45 out and placing it cooly to his temple...

"I want you to get in your car and get the hell out of West Philly,feel me?....If I see you again...it aint gonna be milk I'll be pouring on you, ? Now get to steppin." I said. The so called fearsome gangster got up and got in his car and pulled off without so much of a threat... The people who were standing nearby started clapping and giving me dap... My anger was now gone..I was the only one who knew that it wasn't really Mingus that I was angry at, it was something else ,something crazy knawing at me....He had just been handy to take it out on.

"Oh Chess, thank you so much...Thank you....I'm gonna tell Fathead how you helped me...Don't
worry about Mingus...he won't be alive next week this time once my fiance finds out." she said.

"Your fiance?" I said.

"Yeah, Fathead and me is gettin married." she said. I scratched my head.

Later on that night I was at Josie's having a drink at the bar when Cherry walked in, with Fathead.

"Chess...Chess...I heard you whupped Mingus's ass today.....Man, you my main man...Don't even
worry about that bum...I got people on him....He won't be bothering anybody else...ever..." said
Fathead.

"Look man, really, you aint gotta do that..we just had a little beef, is all..let him be..forget about it." I said.

"Too late, he's already gone..."said Fathead with a wink and a conspiratorial look at me as he eyed Cherry...Meaning, don't mention to her that I was defending Marsha. I continued to drink as Fathead worked the bar.

"You got in a fight with some player? Wow Chess, there's more to you than I thought" said
Cherry.

"Yeah...More to you too." I said.

"What do you mean by that?"she said.

"Nothing" I said, laughing to myself.

"Fathead and I are going to get married soon." she said.

"Married? He told you that?" I asked.

"Well, kinda sorta.." she said.

I smiled to myself and continued to drink my drink....What a day this had been...

"What's that on your pant's leg?" asked Cherry.

"Oh...I spilled some milk." I said.

TO BE CONTINUED...