(Letty's POV)
Leon and I walked to the baggage claim and rented two of those cart things. We wheeled them to the huge conveyor belts that had begun moving a bunch of people's shit toward us.
"Lett, wheel your cart over here! I think I see a box!" Leon called. That heinous hat on his head made it easy to spot him in the thick crowd. I ran toward him with the cart and sure enough, one of our boxes was making its way down the conveyor belt. Leon grabbed it and lifted it off the belt. He jammed it into my cart.
"Here, let's wait for the others." He spotted another box and heaved it into his cart. I spotted one and chucked it into my cart.
"That's all I'm gonna carry, they're pretty heavy." I struggled to push the cart away from the crowd. Leon retrieved our other two boxes and loaded them into his cart. He dragged his cart to where I was waiting and we both lugged the carts and our duffel bags outside. We were not the only ones waiting for rides. Several other passengers from our plane, wearing stupid leis and ugly Hawaiian shirts were milling around us. It was noisy and confusing. Leon and I were in the thick of the crowd and were just about to call Mia and Vince on their cell phones when we heard someone screaming my name.
"LETTY! LETTY, OVER HERE!" screamed a girl. Le and I turned towards the voice and saw that it was attached to a slim girl with long brown hair and a big smile. Mia! Mia began running toward us, followed by a scruffy guy with a majorly messed up arm. Oh, God. It was Vince! They reached us and suddenly, I was swept off of my feet by a pair of skinny little arms. Mia was actually holding me off the ground.
"Letty, I missed you guys so much!" cried Mia, tears rolling down her cheeks. She squeezed me into another tight hug. When we parted, I heard Leon speak to Vince.
"I thought you weren't hungry, pumpkin." Vince looked like he was ready to punch Leon, probably still angry with him for leaving. Then, a huge grin spread across his face and Vince scooped Leon into the biggest hug that a guy could give another guy. They both began laughing and Vince clapped Leon on the back.
"How the fuck have you been, brotha?"
"Livin' the life in Hawaii, dawg!"
"Meet any hot chicks?"
"Hell, yeah! This one named Olga." Mia and I decided against listening any more. Mia began squealing at me.
"You look so tired, Lett! Let's get you guys home. There's a fresh pot of ravioli on the stove, that is, if Jesse didn't eat it all." I picked up Leon's and my duffel bags and threw them over my shoulder.
"You look different, Lett." Vince peered at me, as we began walking to where a baby blue Integra and navy blue Maxima were parked along the curb not far away. Leon and Vince were dragging the carts of boxes.
"Yeah, too much time in the sun. My highlights grew out," I pointed out. We continued walking until we reached Vince's Maxima. He pressed a button on his key remote and the trunk began to lift up.
"Ha ha, the old Coyote's still got his blue nightrider!" cackled Leon. Vince turned toward him.
"I can't run it like I used to, dawg."
"I heard, sorry, man."
"It's aiight. I took your job, on the scanners!" Vince exclaimed. Leon cracked up.
"No problemo, dawg." Just then, they heard my pissed off voice float through the air.
"WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed. I was violently trying to cram one of my boxes into Mia's trunk and didn't want to admit that it wouldn't fit.
"Letty," Mia chided gently, as people began to turn around to see who had shouted so vulgarly. I ignored her and still tried to get the box in. Vince and Leon walked over to the Integra.
"She's a little edgy about seein' Dom tonight," announced Leon. "She's been like this all day." Mia and Vince nodded. Finally, I won the battle and smushed the box into the trunk and slammed it.
"Mother fucker," I spat at the closed trunk. Mia, Vince, and Leon all exchanged worried glances.
"Uh, Lett," Leon began. "Calm down, aiight. It's just a fuckin' box."
"The hell it is." I gave him one of my notorious dark stares and folded my arms across my chest. Vince had walked back to the Maxima and put the last of the boxes in.
"Let's roll!" he shouted. With that, Leon scrambled into the Maxima with Vince at the wheel and Mia decided to let me drive the Integra home. Our two cars roared out of the airport.
"Wooo hooo!" I hollered out the open window, as we followed Vince down the highway toward Echo Park in L.A., where the fort was. "It feels SO FUCKING GREAT to drive a decent car again!" Mia laughed.
"What did you have in Hawaii?" Mia asked. I turned to her.
"Some old-ass, beat-to-hell-and-back 1985 Iroc-Z Camaro," I said. "Probly fast as hell but needed a lot of fucking work."
"What did Leon drive?"
"A wreck of a Cutlass." I concentrated hard to cross a four-lane highway. I exited at the Echo Park sign and pulled onto a less-congested highway. Mia laughed, probly at the thought of Leon and me, car-lovers of the universe, driving junkyard vehicles.
"At least it was wheels," pointed out Mia.
"Hell yeah, but too bad I was afraid to take the car over 40," I laughed. I quickly sobered up. We drove along in silence. Mia probly figured that I was scared shitless about seeing Dominic but kept quiet.
When we pulled into the driveway of the fort, only three cars were there. Mine, Leon's yellow Skyline, and a new car - a Honda Civic SI, painted SI blue and looked as though there were 50 large under the hood of that monster. I pulled the Integra in next to the Civic and wondered whose car that was and where Dom's Mazda was.
"Whose.where's." I trailed off. Mia unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Jesse's new car. The Trans shot the Jetta to shit, remember? But even though we fixed it up, it didn't look the same. We sold it and Jesse got the SI from someone in Hector's circuit." Mia opened her door and got out. I opened mine and slowly stepped out, drinking in the sight of the two- story house in front of me where I grew up. It left goose bumps along my dark arms. Leon and Vince, who started out ahead but ended up getting there a few minutes after we did, roared up in the Maxima. They jumped out.
"It's so good to be back!" hollered Leon. He bent down and kissed the driveway. Vince and Mia laughed at him.
"Start getting the boxes, Vince." Mia ran up to the front door and threw it open. I followed her slowly with my hands jammed in the pockets of my Dickies.
"JESS!" she called. "Come on down here!"
"KAY, MIA!" Jesse's voice floated down from upstairs. Mia ran back to the cars. I stood on the porch. A few seconds later, Jesse trotted down the stairs and stopped in the doorway.
"How you livin', Jess?" I asked quietly. He gave me a huge ass smile and grabbed me into an even huger ass hug.
"Letty! How's my big sister?" exclaimed Jesse. He pulled away and slung his arm across my shoulders. He walked me to the Maxima, where everyone had gathered.
"Fine, how 'bout you? I heard about the Trans," I told Jesse.
"I'm doin' okay now, Lett. Don't worry about me." Jesse smiled again and gave me one final hug.
"I'm glad the team is back together," Jesse told everyone. He noticed Leon looking at him. He had gotten tears in his eyes the second he saw Jesse in the doorway. Jesse slowly made his way to Leon, as if he were afraid to go near him.
"You okay, little brother?" Leon asked gruffly. Jesse nodded and ran the rest of the way to Leon. He leapt into Leon's arms and they hugged for a very long time, clapping each other on the back occasionally and mumbling things to each other while Vince looked on. Mia and I smiled and each took a box from Vince's trunk and began to carry them up to the house.
As soon as we got inside, I dropped my box and began looking around for a certain someone who hadn't run out to greet us. Mia noticed as she put her box next to mine.
"Don't worry, Letty. He knows that tonight's the night." She smiled and pulled me to her in a hug. "Go upstairs, okay?" I knew that she was right, so I took one of my boxes and hauled it upstairs. The next morning I would go and check out my baby that was waiting for me in the driveway. She would have to wait. Mama Letty was tired.
Leon and I walked to the baggage claim and rented two of those cart things. We wheeled them to the huge conveyor belts that had begun moving a bunch of people's shit toward us.
"Lett, wheel your cart over here! I think I see a box!" Leon called. That heinous hat on his head made it easy to spot him in the thick crowd. I ran toward him with the cart and sure enough, one of our boxes was making its way down the conveyor belt. Leon grabbed it and lifted it off the belt. He jammed it into my cart.
"Here, let's wait for the others." He spotted another box and heaved it into his cart. I spotted one and chucked it into my cart.
"That's all I'm gonna carry, they're pretty heavy." I struggled to push the cart away from the crowd. Leon retrieved our other two boxes and loaded them into his cart. He dragged his cart to where I was waiting and we both lugged the carts and our duffel bags outside. We were not the only ones waiting for rides. Several other passengers from our plane, wearing stupid leis and ugly Hawaiian shirts were milling around us. It was noisy and confusing. Leon and I were in the thick of the crowd and were just about to call Mia and Vince on their cell phones when we heard someone screaming my name.
"LETTY! LETTY, OVER HERE!" screamed a girl. Le and I turned towards the voice and saw that it was attached to a slim girl with long brown hair and a big smile. Mia! Mia began running toward us, followed by a scruffy guy with a majorly messed up arm. Oh, God. It was Vince! They reached us and suddenly, I was swept off of my feet by a pair of skinny little arms. Mia was actually holding me off the ground.
"Letty, I missed you guys so much!" cried Mia, tears rolling down her cheeks. She squeezed me into another tight hug. When we parted, I heard Leon speak to Vince.
"I thought you weren't hungry, pumpkin." Vince looked like he was ready to punch Leon, probably still angry with him for leaving. Then, a huge grin spread across his face and Vince scooped Leon into the biggest hug that a guy could give another guy. They both began laughing and Vince clapped Leon on the back.
"How the fuck have you been, brotha?"
"Livin' the life in Hawaii, dawg!"
"Meet any hot chicks?"
"Hell, yeah! This one named Olga." Mia and I decided against listening any more. Mia began squealing at me.
"You look so tired, Lett! Let's get you guys home. There's a fresh pot of ravioli on the stove, that is, if Jesse didn't eat it all." I picked up Leon's and my duffel bags and threw them over my shoulder.
"You look different, Lett." Vince peered at me, as we began walking to where a baby blue Integra and navy blue Maxima were parked along the curb not far away. Leon and Vince were dragging the carts of boxes.
"Yeah, too much time in the sun. My highlights grew out," I pointed out. We continued walking until we reached Vince's Maxima. He pressed a button on his key remote and the trunk began to lift up.
"Ha ha, the old Coyote's still got his blue nightrider!" cackled Leon. Vince turned toward him.
"I can't run it like I used to, dawg."
"I heard, sorry, man."
"It's aiight. I took your job, on the scanners!" Vince exclaimed. Leon cracked up.
"No problemo, dawg." Just then, they heard my pissed off voice float through the air.
"WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed. I was violently trying to cram one of my boxes into Mia's trunk and didn't want to admit that it wouldn't fit.
"Letty," Mia chided gently, as people began to turn around to see who had shouted so vulgarly. I ignored her and still tried to get the box in. Vince and Leon walked over to the Integra.
"She's a little edgy about seein' Dom tonight," announced Leon. "She's been like this all day." Mia and Vince nodded. Finally, I won the battle and smushed the box into the trunk and slammed it.
"Mother fucker," I spat at the closed trunk. Mia, Vince, and Leon all exchanged worried glances.
"Uh, Lett," Leon began. "Calm down, aiight. It's just a fuckin' box."
"The hell it is." I gave him one of my notorious dark stares and folded my arms across my chest. Vince had walked back to the Maxima and put the last of the boxes in.
"Let's roll!" he shouted. With that, Leon scrambled into the Maxima with Vince at the wheel and Mia decided to let me drive the Integra home. Our two cars roared out of the airport.
"Wooo hooo!" I hollered out the open window, as we followed Vince down the highway toward Echo Park in L.A., where the fort was. "It feels SO FUCKING GREAT to drive a decent car again!" Mia laughed.
"What did you have in Hawaii?" Mia asked. I turned to her.
"Some old-ass, beat-to-hell-and-back 1985 Iroc-Z Camaro," I said. "Probly fast as hell but needed a lot of fucking work."
"What did Leon drive?"
"A wreck of a Cutlass." I concentrated hard to cross a four-lane highway. I exited at the Echo Park sign and pulled onto a less-congested highway. Mia laughed, probly at the thought of Leon and me, car-lovers of the universe, driving junkyard vehicles.
"At least it was wheels," pointed out Mia.
"Hell yeah, but too bad I was afraid to take the car over 40," I laughed. I quickly sobered up. We drove along in silence. Mia probly figured that I was scared shitless about seeing Dominic but kept quiet.
When we pulled into the driveway of the fort, only three cars were there. Mine, Leon's yellow Skyline, and a new car - a Honda Civic SI, painted SI blue and looked as though there were 50 large under the hood of that monster. I pulled the Integra in next to the Civic and wondered whose car that was and where Dom's Mazda was.
"Whose.where's." I trailed off. Mia unbuckled her seatbelt.
"Jesse's new car. The Trans shot the Jetta to shit, remember? But even though we fixed it up, it didn't look the same. We sold it and Jesse got the SI from someone in Hector's circuit." Mia opened her door and got out. I opened mine and slowly stepped out, drinking in the sight of the two- story house in front of me where I grew up. It left goose bumps along my dark arms. Leon and Vince, who started out ahead but ended up getting there a few minutes after we did, roared up in the Maxima. They jumped out.
"It's so good to be back!" hollered Leon. He bent down and kissed the driveway. Vince and Mia laughed at him.
"Start getting the boxes, Vince." Mia ran up to the front door and threw it open. I followed her slowly with my hands jammed in the pockets of my Dickies.
"JESS!" she called. "Come on down here!"
"KAY, MIA!" Jesse's voice floated down from upstairs. Mia ran back to the cars. I stood on the porch. A few seconds later, Jesse trotted down the stairs and stopped in the doorway.
"How you livin', Jess?" I asked quietly. He gave me a huge ass smile and grabbed me into an even huger ass hug.
"Letty! How's my big sister?" exclaimed Jesse. He pulled away and slung his arm across my shoulders. He walked me to the Maxima, where everyone had gathered.
"Fine, how 'bout you? I heard about the Trans," I told Jesse.
"I'm doin' okay now, Lett. Don't worry about me." Jesse smiled again and gave me one final hug.
"I'm glad the team is back together," Jesse told everyone. He noticed Leon looking at him. He had gotten tears in his eyes the second he saw Jesse in the doorway. Jesse slowly made his way to Leon, as if he were afraid to go near him.
"You okay, little brother?" Leon asked gruffly. Jesse nodded and ran the rest of the way to Leon. He leapt into Leon's arms and they hugged for a very long time, clapping each other on the back occasionally and mumbling things to each other while Vince looked on. Mia and I smiled and each took a box from Vince's trunk and began to carry them up to the house.
As soon as we got inside, I dropped my box and began looking around for a certain someone who hadn't run out to greet us. Mia noticed as she put her box next to mine.
"Don't worry, Letty. He knows that tonight's the night." She smiled and pulled me to her in a hug. "Go upstairs, okay?" I knew that she was right, so I took one of my boxes and hauled it upstairs. The next morning I would go and check out my baby that was waiting for me in the driveway. She would have to wait. Mama Letty was tired.
