Enjoy!

That had been the sweet beginning, and now, Mercedes had to pull herself together and gather her thoughts. She wanted to call Gina so bad. She would come and resolve this whole situation, but Mercedes's pride wouldn't let her call. She began to ask herself, "What would my mother do in this situation?" She peeled the duct tape to remove the letter off of the jewelry box and put it in her pocketbook. She picked up the phone and called the police. She reported to the police that there was a break-in at her apartment. She knew none of her neighbors had seen anything because they all were probably at work or they wouldn't say they had seen anything even if they did. The police came and observed the forced entry. They filed a police report. Once they saw the photo of Sam on the floor, they drew the conclusion that somebody had robbed Sam. They honestly were not concerned about who did it or why. The police silently looked at each other, signaling that the case would be closed as soon as they left there. They gave her a copy of the police report and told her they'd keep her posted. All she was really concerned about was the police report anyway.

Mercedes sat on the plush carpet and telephoned her Aunt Andrea, informing her of what happened. She also called Sam' right hand man, Tank, and asked him to come over. When he got there, he couldn't believe his eyes. She reached into her pocketbook, unfolded the letter and handed it to him. Tank had just collected some money that was owed to him. He gave her $ 5,000 to at least get a hotel room and to look for some more furniture the next day. He also promised that he'd give her $ 5,000 more in 3 days. He motioned to a dude waiting in the car to come in so they could try to fix the door until the maintenance people could get there. They also helped her put what clothes they could fit into her Bently.

Tank picked up Mercedes's spirits because he was actually doing hard labor, and Tank doesn't do any manual labor for anybody. Tank was a bright, light skinned guy who weighed about 270 pounds He wasn't your average fat kid. Tank was the coolest, smoothest big dude that Mercedes had known or ever seen. He might have been overweight, but he was a bonafide fly guy. She never saw him wear the same shoes twice, or anything about his appearance ever out of order. Even his kick around gear was the average person's top -notch wear. Tank's weight was never a factor to him. He knew that he was a big guy, but he finessed the women and everybody else he interacted with. So to actually see Tank carry her clothes to her car and bust a sweat humored Mercedes.

Mercedes realized that Sandra had also taken all Sam's cars from the complex lot, including the Benz that was in Mercedes's name. As Mercedes waited while the maintenance man fixed her door, the phone rang. Rinnnggg, I hope this isn't Sandra. I swear I don't think I can keep from going off on her. Maybe I shouldn't answer it. Rinnggg, I better answer it, it may be Sam. Rinnggg

"Hello" Mercedes said.

"Hey, sweetie, it's mommy."

"Hey Mommy" Thank you God, I really needed my mom to call.

"Listen, baby, I need a big favor of you. I am not feeling well and I don't feel comfortable staying in this house alone tonight. I need you to come over and spend the night. Please baby I really need you. I am depending on you."

"No problem, mommy. I'll be over in a little while. Do you want me to stop at the drug store to get you something?"

"No sweetie. I'll be fine once you get here."

Mercedes hung up the phone. Mercedes began to think, mommy I need you now myself, but I'll be strong for you.

Nothing was wrong with Gina. She knew Mercedes needed her more than anything now. She'd seen the verdict on T.V. and Andrea had called and told Gina the stunt Sandra had pulled. She knew how strong minded and stubborn Mercedes was. She knew Mercedes wasn't going to call her.

Gina had also been keeping up with the trial on the news. She had a bad feeling about the outcome. While the trial was going on, she had a big oversized bedroom, gigantic walk -in closet, full size bathroom, and a den with its own entrance added on to her house. She was hoping that she wouldn't have to put it to use. She prayed that Sam wouldn't go to jail. The bottom line is, she had to be prepared for Mercedes's sake if he did. She brought a nice canopy bedroom set, and a leather sofa for the den along with an entertainment center, a 46 inch T.V., and a mini size refrigerator. She felt Mercedes could entertain her company as well as come and go as she pleased. She accepted the fact that Mercedes wasn't a little girl anymore. She even had Mercedes's phone line reconnected so she could have her own phone line back there. Gina knew that Mercedes would need somewhere to stay whenever she came home on the weekends from college. She knew that Mercedes would be in school for at least the next seven years. This had been Mercedes's dream since she was eight years old and found out her father was in prison and nobody could do anything to get him out. And now since Sam had been railroaded, she felt becoming a lawyer was her destiny.

While Gina waited patiently for Mercedes to arrive, all she could think of was Sandra.

I can't believe Sandra's ghetto, no class having ass. I should have put her in check a long time ago. She doesn't know whose child she's messing with. I cannot allow this to go. I've got to call this wench and let her know that my child is not to be messed with and she better leave my child alone or else she's going to have serious problems.

Just then, she looked in her beach scene cover phone book that Mercedes had brought her back from St. Lucia, retrieved Sandra's number, picked up the phone and called her. Rinnnggg, Rinnggg, This huzzy better hurry up and answer if she knows what's good for her. Rinnngggg, she doesn't know who she's playing with. I'll go over her house and sit on her porch and wait for her to arrive. Hum!

Although Gina was middle aged, she possessed a nice figure and up beside any 21 year old, she could hold her own. She was a fighter back in her day. She didn't care. Gina would fight anybody, man, woman, or child, and could care less about their size. Since she birthed Mercedes, she tried to tone down her bad temper. But by no means, she most certainly did not play when it concerned her daughter. Just from looking at her, one would be shocked to learn of her temperament.

"Hello," Sandra finally picked up the phone. "Sandra, this is Gina, Mercedes's mother."

"Yeah, Gina, how are you doing?" Just as nonchalant and carefree, as if butter would not melt in her mouth.

How am I doing? The nerve of her to ask me how am I doing? This woman is so fake! "I didn't call to talk about me. I called to talk about your childish ass."

"I beg your pardon?" Sandra said, and Gina could tell that she was no longer sitting and no longer trying to play calm. Gina didn't care because if she got out of line, Gina had plans on going over her house anyway.

"No, don't beg my pardon. Beg me not to come over there and personally whip your ass for going out of your way to give my child a hard time. She's been nothing but respectful to you. She's having a hard enough time dealing with the fact that Sam is in prison for God knows how long. I am giving you this first and last warning, leave Mercedes alone or you'll have me to deal with me. And honey, let me be the first to inform you that you don't want that. I am so sick of you and I can't believe that shit you pulled today, you take that furniture and shove it up your ass. Have a blessed day."

Gina hung up the phone. I think I handled that well, considering. I guess she knows where I am coming from now. Just then, Gina noticed the lights on Mercedes's Sterling pulling up in the driveway. Gina headed towards the door to meet Mercedes, then she realized, I am supposed to be sick, let me lie on the couch and let her use her key.

When Mercedes arrived, she noticed that her mother had added an addition to the house, as if the house was not big enough already. When Gina showed it to her and informed her, that it was for her, Mercedes got real emotional. She couldn't believe, that after being away from her mom for 2 years, how her mom still had her back regardless of what happened.

As soon as Mercedes got her mother comfortable, she wrote Sam a letter informing him what his mother did. She enclosed the letter Sandra left on the jewelry box along with her new phone number and living arrangements. She told him that she would be there on Thursday like she did faithfully every other visiting day. He knew that, though. She also told him that there was no need for him to stress his mom about the stuff she took. She must have needed it more than Mercedes anyway.

The next day, Mercedes called the renter's insurance company to file a claim in Sam' name. The policy was $ 50,000, she then mailed off the letter that she wrote Sam as well as some "Power of Attorney" papers.

With the money that Tank had given her, Mercedes paid a retainer to Sam' lawyer for his appeal. She set up a payment plan. She went shopping with the rest. She brought an appropriate comforter set for her bed with the curtains to match. The one Gina had on the bed was the typical mother's comforter: pink flowers. She fixed up her room. She bought a cordless phone, DVD and stereo for her entertainment center, and a nice chaise chair for the corner of her room. She also bought stuff to decorate her bathroom. She bought all new personals, perfumes, Chanel, Dolce and Gabana, Gucci, and the lotions to match.

She also brought a few cases of Pepsi and Mountain Dew so she could stock her refrigerator and have cold drinks when guests came. She went to pick up her Uncle Bo so he could go with her to the apartment to get the rest of her clothes and any belongings that Sandra didn't take. She also got her uncle Bo to hook up her stereo and DVD. She bought all kind of music, mainly rap, but she also purchased R&B to soothe her for the times when things were rocky, and these times were sure to come.

Mercedes and Bo got to the apartment, she checked her answering machine. Sandra was on there demanding that Mercedes bring the title to the Benz to her, she told Mercedes to get her mother back in check, because she didn't appreciate Gina's foul threats. Mercedes would never get indignant. She simply told her that she wasn't giving her anything until she spoke to Sam. She also told Sandra if she got something to say to her mother, then to address her mother, not her. Pulling no punches, Mercedes relayed all of this to Sam in a letter.

When Sam received the mail from Mercedes he was furious. He could not believe the stunt his mother had pulled. He loved his mother more than anything on Earth, but his mother was dead wrong and out of order. He couldn't understand why she even took the furniture anyway! What did she do with the furniture? Sam knew his mother didn't need any furniture? He had just brought her new furniture a couple of months before. He couldn't believe how humble Mercedes was concerning the incident with his mother. The way Mercedes handled the episode made him love and respect her even more. At the same time, he could not allow his mother to just totally disrespect his wife in such a way. He wouldn't let Mercedes disrespect his mother either.

Down in the city jail, the inmates had a phone list, but Sam didn't care about anybody's phone time, he had calls to make. The first one was to his mother. He stressed to her that he was very disappointed with her. He asked her where she got the gall to put her nose in his business. He also stressed to her that until she made the situation right with Mercedes, she could not be a part of his life.

He then called Tank to make sure he got the rest of his money from off the street. He instructed Tank to take whatever money he collected to Gina. Familiar with the old saying, "out of sight, out of mind," he wasn't expecting all his money to be straight. When somebody goes to jail and is not present to get their own money, the money is always short. He also told Puck, his other right hand man, to give Mercedes an allowance of $500 a week. And then, the final call was to Gina. She answered.

"Hello?"

"Hello?" She heard an automated operator.

"This is C& P with a collect call from, Sam. The automated voice continued, "If you do not wish to accept this call, please hang up now. To accept this call, press zero now." Gina hurried and pressed zero. The automated voice responded after she pressed zero. "Your call is being connected, thank you for using C& P."

"Hello, Sam. How are you under these crazy circumstances?" She asked with a sincere voice.

"Honestly, Gina, I am fine. I am just a little worried about Mercedes, that's all."

"Mercedes will be fine, Sam. I promise you that."

"I know you will make sure of that Gina, but I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything, Sam."

"I need you to promise me that please, Gina, by no means will you let Mercedes get sidetracked. Even though I am locked up now, she still has to stay focused on pursuing her dream to become a lawyer."

"Oh, I have every intention of doing so," Gina said without hesitation.

"I am also aware that the seventy-five G's that I had given you to hold for her college education, well, that's not going to be enough. I am going to need you to take out some loans to cover the difference."

"I'd already banked on that anyway since the trial was rigged up. I was prepared to do that."

"My man , Tank, is going to bring you some money later today that he's collected for me."

"O.K."

"Gina, nothing has changed, I still want Mercedes to have the best of everything. At the same time, you've got to be very frugal with that money. She is going to have to tone down her spending."

Had he not been in such a solemn position, in prison, he might have chuckled at Mercedes's spending habits.

"I know, Sam. I will take care of everything."

"I know you will, Gina, but you know I worry about her. I want to thank you for getting the house addition for her. I really appreciate it."

"Sam, say no more. I need you to do me a favor."

"What?"

"Never give up hope and always remember, tough times don't last, but tough people do." This was a special man, incarcerated or not, and she didn't want him to get lost in the crooked system.

"Man, Gina, I got mad love for you."

"Yeah, son-in-law, I do for you too." He and Gina had their ups and downs, but overall he knew he could definitely trust Gina.

Tank only collected $26,000 off the street, which was no surprise to Sam. He knew people would put larceny in the game since he was in jail. Tank brought it to Gina and she put it up. Gina had already applied for the loans for the full amount of the tuition because she didn't want to bring any kind of heat to herself. Her daughter was going to be a college graduate.

That night when Mercedes got home, Gina approached Mercedes's room. She overheard Mercedes on the phone talking to Santana. Mercedes was crying.

"I don't know exactly what my plans are now. I don't know exactly how I will go to college now with Sam in jail, or exactly how I am going to maneuver going to college, working a part time job to support myself, study, as well as go see Sam. Sam is still a priority in my life."

Mercedes was distant and Santana had no easy answers for her friend. When Mercedes got off the phone Gina advanced slowly and told her,

"Baby, everything is going to be O.K. I don't care what I've got to do to support you. You're going to college. Between the money I've saved for your college education over the years and the money Sam has given. Oh, honey, you'll be off to college in a couple of weeks. I've never let you down, and I'm not letting you down now."

The next day they went together shopping for everything Mercedes needed for school. They also traded her Sterling in for a brand new Volkswagen Passat. Sam would understand. A few weeks later, Mercedes left for Norfolk, part of the freshman clan at ODU.

For the next two years Mercedes excelled in school. She was focused on her schoolwork as well as on Sam. Not a day went by when she didn't send him some kind of mail. She made sure that his name was blown up at "Mail Call". Every single weekend, she went to visit him. They had him housed at Greenville Correctional Center. She visited him faithfully. She accepted all his collect calls. She would even forward her calls to her cell phone when she wasn't at home. She would never miss any of his calls. Every month, she had at least a $ 500 phone bill. She always managed to pay it and never complained about anything she did for him. It all came from the heart. She also stayed on top of Sam' attorney about his appeal. She would look over his transcripts to try finding any type of technicality. She also went to law schools all across Virginia and North Carolina so the law students could look over his case.

Puck faithfully gave Mercedes, her $500 every week, and sometimes he would give her more. He was loyal to Sam and his friendship and always kept tabs on Mercedes. There was nothing bad to tell, and had it been, he would have never uttered a word to Sam. Over the years they became close too, as did her and Tank.

Puck checked in more so than Tank did. Tank only checked on Mercedes when there was a problem, whereas Puck called regularly. Puck was handsome. He loved two things, money and the women that came with it. He had slept with most of Mercedes's friends, even after she warned them that he was a whore. They didn't care, they only saw his money, and he spent it carefree. He had pretty white teeth, with a gold crown on the side, which some girls thought enhanced his appearance. He wore round wire framed glasses, had a short haircut and an egg shaped head. He was about 6 feet, and weighted about 170 lbs.

Mercedes sat in the tan colored chair in the visiting room waiting patiently for Sam to come out from his building. She had been waiting for forty-five minutes. She walked over to the table set up as a desk in the visiting room and asked the correctional officer if they'd called for Sam. "He should be out soon. Maybe he had to take a shower or something. However, I will call again." Just then Sam, walked in the visiting room and she had to deliver the news to him that his right hand man, Puck, had just gotten picked up by the cops.

Mercedes smiled as Sam walked over to the guard to give the correctional officer his inmate ID. Mercedes was so happy to see Sam. She laughed with pleasure because he did not look as if he had left the streets. The only thing that gave it up, is that prison blue oxford shirt. He had ordered some blue Levi jeans. He was wearing some whit Air forces that Tank wore down there to see him in. Sam wore some old sneakers in the visiting room and when the guard wasn't looking they swapped shoes. He also had on some Ray Ban glasses. He had gotten, Puck, to pay a doctor to act as if Sam had glasses before he left the streets. The optometrist sent the sunglasses to Sam so he could have them in the prison. Otherwise he'd have to have state issued glasses, and no sunglasses are even allowed. Sam knew that the state didn't supply any sunglasses. The optometrist talked to the doctor in the medical department at the prison and convinced them that Sam had surgery a few years ago and his eyes could not come into direct contact with sun light. Uncle Bo, impersonating a clergy person, called the prison's chaplain and convinced the chaplain to accept a religious pendant for Sam to wear. That was how Sam was able to get and keep his necklace and cross to wear around his neck.

On his way from across the room to greet Mercedes, other inmates stopped him and talked with him. The only time he gets to see some of the inmates on the other side of the prison is in the visiting room. Mercedes shakes her head when he finally makes it over to the table where she is.

"That doesn't make any sense the way you act like you are still on the streets, people running up to you and you're dressing like you're still in society." Sam laughs, as he embraces her with a hug and a passionate tongue kiss.

"I am in society, baby. This is a world in itself.

Mercedes said on a more serious note,

"Boo, Puck called me, they locked him up."

Sam looked off and became distant. He took a deep breath. "Damn."

They both came became very silent. Mercedes had already gone to the snack machine while she was waiting for Sam to come out.

"Boo, I am going to warm your cheese pizza up. Do you want anything else from the snack machine?" Mercedes said.

"No, wait a minute before you go. I am not ready to eat yet."

"Well, what took you so long to get over here? I was waiting at least forty -five minutes. I told you I was coming. You had to take a shower or something?"

"No, baby, I was ready when they called, but I had to stop by building A on my way over here to check on some money that this inmate owed me from the game last night."

She shook her head, "It don't make no sense you can take the thug out the streets, but you can't take the streets out the thug. That's a damn shame." Sam laughed at her frustration.

"How did your exams go?" He changed the subject.

"Fine," but he noticed that she did not elaborate.

"I tried calling you last night but I didn't get any answer." He stroked her legs as he waited to see how far she would go in creating an alibi. But he hoped she would not go too far.

"My roommate and I went out for College Night last night, to celebrate that I had aced the one exam I was actually worried about."

"I tried calling this morning at about 7a.m. too," He added even though he was happy to hear about the "A" he knew she was capable of getting.

"I heard the phone ringing when I was leaving out the door to come down here. I just assumed that it was somebody for my roommate." She said for comfort.

Sam looked into Mercedes's eyes, and she saw a look on his face that she didn't recognize, insecurity.

"Baby Girl," he chose his words as well as he could. "By no means do I want you to stop living for me. I fully understand that you have needs too. You are not obligated to be my girl anymore, for real." Tears appeared in Mercedes's eyes, but Sam continued. "Baby Girl, please don't start that. Don't cry. But I've got to be real with you. I am getting too comfortable with you being here for me. I'm going to be here a long time. I know one day you may find someone else to be with, and he's not going to tolerate you coming to see me. Out of sight, out of mind. So, baby, for real, I would rather that you just leave me now verses five years from now." He felt too dependent on her and he didn't like that feeling.

"Sam, we made vows to each other. I know there were no legal documents involved, but we took an oath from our hearts, and as far as I am concerned, this is until death do us part. I don't want anybody else. Now stop acting stupid," She said while trying to hold her tears back.

"Baby Girl, if you feel the need to be with other dudes, then you are free to."

"Yeah, I know that I am free to. You've made yourself clear. Now let me tell you, the only place I choose to be is with you in your heart." Mercedes could not believe his insistence.

"Look, we can still be friends. I don't need a woman while I am in here. I need a faithful friend more than anything. That's all any man in prison needs is a devoted friend. Don't get me wrong. Every man locked up wants a woman by his side for his own selfish reasons, but he needs a friend more. Now think about it. What does he need a woman for? He can't have sex with her unless he wants to degrade her and have sex with her in the visiting room, but is that really cool with people's children and other people watching? He can't parade her around town on his arm. He can't lay beside her every night in bed. So, on the real, a man incarcerated doesn't need the headache of wondering if she's laid up with someone else. I know I don't. I don't want to go through that whole shenanigan of why you didn't accept a call or why you didn't write back. Or even me calling to holler at one of my homeboys and he drops some news on me that he seen you with the next dude." Sam was just as honest with Mercedes five years down the road as he was with her on that first day, when she was just fifteen years old.

"Oh, now I understand. All this is simply because I wasn't in my dorm room when you called last night. So now all you need is a friend? Okay I got your friend all right," she said sarcastically. Sam ignored her sarcasm.

"Yeah, all I need is a friend to talk to, listen to, and laugh with, to joke with and to keep my spirits up. For real, Mercedes, you can go your own way. We can end our relationship right now."

He went back into his dorm frustrated with the whole ordeal, the legal system mainly, because he did not commit this crime. He was confused. He knew Mercedes was most likely telling the truth, but at the same time, she's young, and if his appeal doesn't come through soon, how much time can she really do with him?

He didn't go to dinner that night. Instead he went to a building to check on his money one final time, and when it was short, he asked why. When the dude said the wrong thing, he punched him in the face. He knew that it wasn't that serious, but he had to redirect his frustrations somewhere else. He returned to his pod, went straight to his cell, avoiding any of his homeboys he was cool with, knowing he may lash out on them too. The rest of the night, and well into the next morning, Sam laid on his bunk wondering what he and Mercedes's relationship coming to.

The following day, he got a letter from Lisa. He thought about how she would definitely be there for him, but at the same time. He knew Mercedes would really fly the coop if she ever found out he was corresponding with Lisa. He evaluated the situation.

After taking all those things into consideration, Mercedes still knocked the doors down to see him. A few days later, she received a letter from him apologizing how he acted in the visiting room. She totally understood the mindset of a man incarcerated. People may think oh, what more do they want. They have three hots and a cot, but she understood just how hard it was on the inmate mentally to be away from his loved ones. There would be no holidays and no family gatherings, except for the corny ones that the institutions put on once a year.

Sandra finally came around. She realized that Mercedes did have good intentions where Sam was concerned. Eventually, she also grew to have a lot of respect for Mercedes. It had even gotten to the point where they would sometimes ride together to see Sam. When Sam told Sandra, Mercedes had the flu and Gina was out of town, Sandra showed up on Mercedes's doorsteps with orange juice and all kinds of flu medicine. Then a month later, Sandra had to go to the hospital and have surgery on her foot. Mercedes was beside her the whole time. She went over to cook for her and checked on her every day.

Sandra and Gina hadn't spoken in over two years. Sandra even called Gina, leaving her a message on her answering machine.

"Gina, this is Sandra, I'd like to apologize for the way I carried on. I've actually grown to really love Mercedes and I am so glad that she's a part of Sam' life, as well as mine. I never got the opportunity to tell you how much of an outstanding job you did with raising Mercedes. You see, I couldn't understand why Sam loved her so much. I never took the time to try to understand either. He'd been with so many other girls in his day, and this young girl came along and just swept him off of his feet. You know how it is; the ones we love never love us back. I didn't want her to hurt my son. See, before Mercedes, he'd never, I repeat, never loved any of those hos. The bottom line is Mercedes and Sam have made it very clear that they're going to be together whatever the weather is. So there is no need for us to hold ill feelings against each other. I guess what I am trying to say is, "I surrender." I don't want war with you anymore. Gina, please call me when you get this message. 777-9311."

Gina heard the message. It takes a big woman to surrender, that's for sure, and to fess up to her shortcomings. Shoot, I realized a long time ago that Mercedes and Sam were going to be together no matter what. I guess I could at least call her back. I will, but I've got to hype myself up. I hope she doesn't want to meet for lunch or anything.

Everything was going fine until one Saturday when Mercedes was visiting Sam and he asked her to make the ultimate sacrifice. He wanted her to put her freedom at stake. He asked her to smuggle heroin into the prison to him so he could sell. He said she could do it one of two ways. She could put it in her panties or put it in balloons and swallow it and she could throw it up in the bathroom in the visiting room. She felt like the sharpest knife ever had just stabbed her through the heart.

How could he ask me to jeopardize my freedom? Why does he want to break the law still and risk running up his time? He isn't starving for anything in there. His commissary stays stacked. He was a good dude from the street so somebody is always sending him some money. On any given day I could see somebody who knew him from the street and they'd give me a $ 100 to send him. Shit, why he ain't tell his mother to bring it? What, she too good? Damn, and I am supposed to be the one he loves? Yo, he straight violated.

She didn't have any type of understanding. As she left the penitentiary, she had so many thoughts going through her head. She felt like the one who she loved with all her heart had just crossed her, and she didn't know what to do. She didn't even know how to approach this situation. She didn't want to tell him no and let him down, but at the same time, this one time, she had to think of herself first. She was so confused. For the first time in almost five years, she avoided him. She thought maybe she needed to stay away a little. She started going out, hanging at all the happening places, and meeting other guys.