We get a little more insight of what's going on with Ms. Jones and her inner circle, and what's going on with her Sam. Hope you enjoy. Please tell me what you think.

Mercedes gave Cara a ride up to McGeorge Toyota to pick up her car. Whenever they were together they always laughed and joked. They were "tell-it-like-it-was friends," as her and Zurri were also. There was a difference between Cara and Zurri's friendship with Mercedes. Although Cara and Mercedes hung out more than she and Zurri, she always felt closer to Zurri.

Mercedes said, "I can't believe that Drew's been dead for a year."

"I know time flies right?" said Cara. "Do you remember when Drew flew us to New York? Didn't we have the best time?"

"We sure did," Mercedes responded slowly.

"Mercedes, you miss Drew don't you?"

"Honestly?" asked Mercedes.

"Nah, tell me a lie, yeah honestly!" joked Cara. When Mercedes still didn't respond. Cara questioned, "Did I touch a soft spot? I am sorry if I did." Mercedes didn't respond. They both were silent for a minute. Cara asked Mercedes sympathetically, "Mercedes, what are you thinking about?"

"How come everybody I love has to be taken away from me under the hands of another man? I mean my father, Sam, my grandmother, Jake and now Drew. I mean Drew was out of my life before he died, but I am mainly speaking on Sam, I love him so much, and it seems like they're never going to let him go. Am I supposed to be lonely forever? Then it seems as though when I meet somebody else, they aren't worthy, and I'm the last person to figure that shit out. Why?" Mercedes continued, "Do you think somebody could've put a root on me, so I won't have a companion?"

Cara responded, "Yeah, you definitely had a lot going on in your head. I don't think it's nothing against you per say, no offense you promise?"

Mercedes responded, "No offense taken, so give it to me real."

Cara went on, "As far as Sam, I think he was on his way to jail when you met him. The police wanted him long before you even came into the picture. The reality of it is, Sam was notorious. He did a lot of blatant things, and he covered up his madness well. He moved in silence and violence. So, police could never catch him slipping. So, they played dirty with him, and you just happened to be the love of his life. Mercedes, it's just a part of the game. As far as Drew, he just started getting money out of control and it went to his head, and the way he was living, the streets weren't going to tolerate it much longer anyway. I'm just glad you left when you left."

"Yeah, you're right," agreed Mercedes.

Cara told Mercedes, "Well, at least they can't hold Sam forever."

Mercedes pulled in the parking lot at McGeorge Toyota; Cara noticed that her car was parked out in the visitor spot. "Mercedes, by the time I pay for my car. I should be on my way; I'll call you later." She shut the door and Mercedes pulled off.

When Mercedes got home, she checked her mail and saw she had one from Red Onion correctional facility. She opened it immediately. She received the news that Sam had been transferred from Red Onion Correctional Facility, which was a seven-hour drive, to Haynesville Correctional Center, which was only an hour away from her. She was happy and relieved by the transfer.

After the good news, she went to see Sam faithfully. Their relationship grew stronger and stronger. His calls were cheaper, and Sam called each day. She never got tired of talking to him. He was her best friend. He always made her day. It really bothered Mercedes that jail was wearing on Sam. He was aging, getting a few gray strands of hair. His eyes were filled with a multitude of feelings within, some good, and some melancholy. Love, hate, confidence, fear, optimism, depression, comfort, and pain all struggled for dominance for him to prevail.

Cara and Mercedes decided to go out. Cara was avoiding her live-in boyfriend, Rick. Rick was very jealous and abusive to Cara, and Mercedes could not stand him. Cara told Mercedes to meet her over a male friend of hers house. Mercedes questioned Cara about the meeting place. The club they were going to was in Shockoe Bottom. Cara lived in the historic Churchill area, which was five minutes away from the club. Mercedes lived on the other side of town in Western Henrico County, which was twenty-five minutes away from town. Cara told Mercedes to meet her at her friend's house, who lived in Newtown. Mercedes wanted to meet over Cara's house, so when the club was over she could just hop in her car and go home from there, verses Cara having to come back over her friend's house to drop Mercedes at her car. Cara insisted that Mercedes meet her at her friend's house. Mercedes had a gut feeling that she should've just driven to the club. Cara informed Mercedes that she wanted her car to be parked at the club so if Rick drove past, he would see it out there and would assume that she was in the club. She added that she didn't want him to see Mercedes's car outside because if she decided to stay with her guy friend then she would use the excuse that she had to take Mercedes to the far West End and just spent the night over there. Mercedes reluctantly agreed.

When Mercedes arrived at the guy friend's house, Cara introduced her to his friends. Mercedes wasn't interested in any of them. They were all loud and out of order. She could tell that they had been drinking long before she'd gotten there. Once Mercedes was introduced to the fellas, Cara and Mercedes hopped in Cara's car and went to the club. When they arrived, Cara sat at the bar the whole time with her guy friend. Mercedes mingled throughout the club with different sets of people, but kept going back to the bar checking on Cara.

Gina paged Mercedes while she was at the club, so she went into the restroom, and called her mother right back. Gina answered in a groggy voice.

"Mommy, what's wrong? What are you doing up this time of night?"

"I have indigestion," Gina explained. "Larry and I went to that new Greek restaurant, and something I ate didn't agree with my stomach. Please stop and get me some Tums on the way home."

"I'll be there soon. I am riding with Cara and this club is wack, so we should be leaving in the next few minutes."

Mercedes went back over to the bar where Cara was sitting, ready to go.

"On the way back to my car, I'm going to need you to stop for me at the store, so I can get my mom some Tums. She isn't feeling well."

Cara never looked up while she was sipping on her drink. "Oh, I'm not going to drop you at your car. I am going let you ride back with my guy friend and his friends."

"What?"

"Oh, it doesn't make sense for me to go back to Newtown when I live five minutes from here, and they're going back up there any way."

Mercedes was pissed. "Cara, I told you this from the beginning, I wanted to park my car at your house or drive myself. You insisted that I ride with you."

"Mercedes, I'm not going up there and Rick is blowing up my cell phone calling from my house. I need to get home ASAP."

"Look, Cara, I don't feel comfortable about riding with three dudes who I don't even know who have been drinking, and who probably got bitter feelings towards me anyway because I haven't given any of them the time of day. Please, Cara, drop me at my car."

Cara said hastily while never looking at Mercedes in the eyes, "I know them, and I wouldn't send you with anyone who I thought would hurt you."

"Cara, I feel uneasy about riding with them," Mercedes desperately pleaded.

"Well, I'm not going all the way back to Newtown," and Cara meant what she said. Mercedes offered to pay her, but she refused and didn't give Mercedes a ride to her vehicle.

Mercedes's feelings were hurt completely. She couldn't believe that Cara would just leave her. She thought about just walking up to Cara and just smacking the spit out of her mouth, but she didn't. She could only think about the kidnapping. She wanted to cry because she felt stranded and betrayed by one of her dearest friends. She pulled out her cell phone and called Manhattan cab. They said, it would be an hour before they could pick her up. Although, she knew plenty of people in the club, she didn't want to ask anyone to take her anywhere. As she waited outside the club for her cab to arrive, Tina called her. She asked Tina to give her a ride, and she was there in fifteen minutes.

After she evaluated the situation and talked to her mother, she reflected on the fact that those guys could've possibly raped and killed her. They probably wouldn't have, but three strange dudes that had been drinking. Who's to say? A real friend would have never left another friend in that kind of bind. Her mother said, "Mercedes, I know you are hurt, but let this be a learning experience. From now on, drive your own car so you are in control. You'll never have to worry about being in this kind of predicament again." Mercedes never spoke to Cara again about this ordeal. She later forgave Cara in her heart, but they would never be friends again.

Two days passed.

Mercedes finally closed on her condo. She felt blessed and relieved. This was hers. No one could kick her out. She could do whatever she wanted. If she wanted to walk around butt-naked, she could. The first thing she did prior to moving any of her furniture in was, an initial cleansing of her townhouse. She burned Frankincense and Myrrh to purify the house. She lit a house blessing candle. Her Aunt came over to pray. Tina, and Zurri tried to convince Mercedes to allow them to give her a house warming party. She declined the offer because she didn't want anyone knowing exactly where she lived. She didn't want to seem as if she was begging for the things she needed for her condo. They completely understood, taking in consideration everything she'd been through.

Tina, Zurri and Sandra all gave her gift certificates. She was appreciative. Gina had some saving bonds that she'd gotten when Mercedes was a baby. She cashed them, so Mercedes could purchase some furniture. With Mercedes's expensive taste, the money from the saving bonds didn't go very far. She went to La Difference Furniture and purchased an exquisite imported sofa. She went to Circuit City and purchased a big screen T.V. and salesman talked her into buying surround-sound. She didn't know anyone personally who'd had surround sound. She'd only read about it in the magazines. Her uncle, bought her a state of the art stereo, hot off the streets from a crack head. She couldn't afford the dining room set she wanted, so she bought two bar stools for her bar. Her co-workers at the law firm got her a gift certificate to Bed Bath and Beyond.

Right after Drew died, when she received the insurance check from his death, she purchased herself a new bedroom set because the bed her mother had purchased years ago was so juvenile. So that bedroom suite was still pretty new. While she was still living at her mother's house, she'd been picking up odds and ends that she knew for sure she'd need.

Mercedes was glad that she was finally in her own place. But now, how was she going to finance the rest of her furniture? When her mother saw what little Mercedes had done with the money, she lectured her,

"Sweetie, you've got to buckle down. I can't believe this is all you got with the money, I saved those bonds for you over a course of twenty odd years? The bottom line is, you can't have champagne taste with a beer budget."

Mercedes had only been living in her condo for three months. When she arrived home from visiting Sam, she couldn't believe her eyes. Her condo door was cracked open. Mercedes walked through the door and stood in disbelief. Mercedes couldn't make sense of the whole situation because the person didn't take anything. They only broke in and trashed her condo. They used a knife to cut up her sofa. Her big screen T.V. was turned over and broken. All her minks and most expensive clothes were tossed in her marble bathtubs in both her bathrooms and bleach was splattered all over her garments. They even spray painted "BITCH" all over the walls. They snatched her comforter set off her bed and cut it and put cigarette burns all over it. They went through the house and poured bleach all over the carpet. Mercedes was devastated. She was already so frustrated that she couldn't afford all the things she wanted for her townhouse as it was, and now this. It really hurt her heart because these were all the things that she acquired on her own, no hustler or fast cash got her any of these things. She had worked an honest job for these things. Her homeowner's insurance conducted a full investigation because there was no sign of forced entry. After they finally decided to pay her, it didn't cover everything that was destroyed. She decided that she'd purchase the large things that were trashed with the money the insurance company gave her. She could pick up the little things and the clothes, here and there. So, she was back at square one. What was she to do now? She couldn't go running to her mother because she was a grown woman, not a little girl anymore. She tried to look at the bright side of it.

At least this happened before I actually got my place the way I wanted it. I'm grateful that the insurance company did give me some money, and now I have ADT coming out to install a security system, and I guess some type of break will come so that I can get this place like I want it.