Read Wifey 4 Life for Free Online Page A

could get the
    hell out of here again.
    Doing what I did best, I hopped into a taxi and instructed the
    driver to take me to the Hilton, which was right on the corner of Military Highway
    and North Hampton Boulevard, only five minutes from the airport. This was a prime
    location for me. I knew no one I knew would hang out there, because it was more
    upscale than most hotels in the city. A lot of pilots, flight attendants, and business
    executives frequented this place. The hustlers I knew were more likely to get a
    room in downtown Norfolk at the Sheraton or the Marriott. And when they wanted to
    be incognito to creep with one of their side hoes, they’d take a trip up to Williamsburg
    or Lightfoot and get a room out there. I knew their fucking tricks. That was how
    I always stayed a few steps ahead of them.
    Speaking of which, that was what I should have told Nikki’s
    mother when the bitch asked me why I was still alive while everybody else kept falling
    down around me like flies. Shit, if you asked me, they were all just dealt a fucked-up
    hand. I couldn’t explain it any better than that. But the next time she came out
    her mouth and insinuated that I was the reason Nikki was murdered, I would tell
    her just that. Fuck it! I was so tired of biting my tongue and being the nice guy.
    From here on out, everyone would feel my wrath. That was my word.
    Driving at the speed of twenty miles per hour, the taxi driver
    finally got me to my destination fifteen minutes later, although it should have
    only taken five minutes. I was annoyed, but I didn’t take out my frustrations on
    him. I paid him while the bellman opened the door to the cab.
    After I got out of the cab, I handed the bellman a crisp ten-dollar
    bill and headed straight into the hotel lobby, which was somewhat empty. It was
    probably because it was a Thursday, and tourists normally started their vacations
    on a Friday. Once my room was paid for, I got on the elevator and made my way up
    to the fifth floor.
    Inside my room, the curtains were drawn back, allowing the sun
    to beam right in. I dropped my handbag and my carry-on on top of the bed, kicked
    off my sneakers, and sat down.
    I gazed outside and wondered what was going on out there in those
    streets, since Ricky, Russell, Brian, and the rest of the crew were no longer out
    there to throw their weight around, I knew there had to be a new crew out there
    holding down the streets. That was just how the game was played. When one crew left
    the set, another one came right in and set up shop. It was called free rein, the
    last rule in the hustler’s manual. Every cat knew that.
    As I thought about the rough streets of Norfolk, I couldn’t help
    but think back on the things I did when I’d lived here, and how popular I was.
    Niggas loved me, and the bitches hated my guts. I was hated by
    some of the hottest chicks out here. But what they didn’t have that I did have was
    Ricky, a hot commodity when he was alive. I literally had to fight a few hoes to
    keep them in check. The street chicks from VA ain’t to be fucked with. They would
    fuck your man right in front of you. Oh, yeah, most of them were scandalous, so
    I kept a blade on me at all times. Being back in Virginia really had me remembering
    how my life used to be. They were not pleasant memories.
    After I finished reminiscing, I ordered some room service and
    chilled in the room for the rest of the evening. Right after I set my empty dishes
    outside the room, I climbed into bed and dialed my baby’s number.
    He answered after the second ring. “I was wondering when you
    were going to call,” he said.
    ***
    The very next morning I got up, called Donovan to let him know
    that I was about to hop in the shower, and told him that I would call him back as
    soon as I left the funeral. He said, “OK,” and then we hung up.
    The hot water in the shower did me some justice. I didn’t want
    to get out, but I knew I had somewhere to be. I got dressed in a