The Wilderness Years - V.

And so the date was set for a Friday night... Veronica said vodka and Grey Goose being all the rage way back when that's what i picked up along with a bottle of 7-Up. As with almost everyone i knew in this city she lived on the third floor of a three floor walk-up. A proper six unit building complete with a wooden swinging bench on the porch for those who didn't want to smoke in their apartments... which meant it was almost never used. Of course with all the plans laid, the time set, business would inevitably crop up. Ginger Mick was the son of that nutter Barry who i worked with and who had become one of my biggest movers. Because of that fact i usually tried to accommodate him. What i liked about Ginger Mick was that he was all business and while that could come with a bit of tension now and then the facts were he always had his money straight and didn't fuck about. And so when he needed to pick up five pounds on said Friday night i had to figure out how to get it done and still get over to Veronica's place for quasi-official first date. 

Being the resourceful sort i decided to give Veronica a bell and see if she would mind if i had someone roll by her place for a minute. I explained to her the situation, i needed to make this deal but i also had to do it where i could make sure the money was correct and since it involved a sizeable amount of gear her apartment would be perfect. What could she say? well no obviously but i also understand the allure of the bad boy and so she had no problem with me meeting Ginger Mick at her place and getting the deal done. I phoned up Ginger Mick and gave him address, set the time and proceeded to get things ready. I grabbed the gear and put it in a backpack that was fairly bulging at the seams, got myself together, then headed out. I stopped by the local liquor store, hit mini-mart for some 7-Up and made my way over. 

I hit the buzzer and heard her footsteps on the stairs. As she hit the last section i could see the smile spread across her face. She was wearing a long, black, flowing skirt and a white shirt, she was barefoot and beautiful. Nice of you to make it, she grinned. Thanks for having a local hood over, i smiled. We went up the stairs and i sat on the couch as she made us drinks. She asked if she could see all the weed and i said sure. I pulled out the five pounds and spread them across the table. Her eyes widened. She picked one up and smiled at me, you could use these as pillows she said. Sometimes i do, i grinned. As if on cue the buzzer rang again and i ran down the stairs to let Ginger Mick in the front door. I briefly explained to him the situation and hoped he understood the honor among hoods creed. We all have secrets to keep. Of course i also realized this little episode would give him information that might be useful at some point down the line but at the moment i wasn't thinking about that i was thinking about getting this deal done and him out the door and focusing all my attention on Veronica. 

The apartment was typical for the Rust Belt. One walked in the door to a living room which led to a small kitchen on the left with a tiny breakfast nook, a short hallway with a bathroom behind the kitchen and a large bedroom in the back. As was often the case in the Rust Belt there was no air conditioning and the place was warm and humid in mid summer. Veronica had curled up on her couch to watch the proceedings as Ginger Mick and i got down to business. He pulled the cash out of his bag and handed it to me as he started loading in the pounds. He made small talk with Veronica as i counted the money, almost nine grand for the five pounds. Back then this was a good price for weed that was high midi, the market not yet saturated with the high end product that is basically the only game in town these days. Ginger Mick rolled a joint and with the money counted we had a smoke and then he was out the door. There is a certain type of girl who would find the whole deal attractive... the money, the drugs, the excitement, the danger, whatever you call it. Veronica was one of those girls and she was interested to hear how it worked. Her ex-hoodrat boyfriend had brought her along for the nickel and dime buys and bravado and bullshit of the local small timers but here i was, a step or three above those guys. I'm sure in her eyes i was the real thing, a bona fide professional and not some half ass yinzer moving stepped on blow or mismatched ecstasy pills for exorbitant prices. She asked how much of the cash was mine and i picked up a stack of fifty twenties and said, sadly only this... her eyes widened and she laughed, only!

With business done we got back to the task at hand. This was the first time we had ever been alone together and she made more drinks and moved over to the couch i was sitting on. We talked. First about what we should do? should we go out? where could she get in? Her options were limited. I explained that i had to be careful and she understood the situation i was in and that fucking up that situation would be bad for business and business was king. I pulled out (not my dick you naughty bastards, that's later) a quarter of weed and laid it on the table. Housewarming present i grinned. With the bottle of Grey Goose and the gear we decided we should stay in. She turned on some music and we talked and drank, she packed a bowl and set in on the table for us to hit. We both had jitters, of course the vodka and mary jane helped calm those and we relaxed and talked for a couple hours. I had arrived around 7:30? and now it was around 10pm. The apartment had gone from bright sunlight to grey dusk to dark and Veronica had turned on the overhead light basking us in the glow of multiple bulbs of 60 watt hell. 

She had made another round of drinks and set them on the table. She sat down closer to me and i had turned sideways to face her on the couch. She smiled and we were silent. I leaned towards her and she leaned towards me. We kissed. I pulled her towards me and from there things escalated as they are known to do with young and new lovers in lust. We fumbled and fidgeted a bit, pieces of clothing began falling to floor here and there though we somehow remained half-dressed. We stayed locked together, periodically taking breaks to take a quick drink or catch our breath. It was well after midnight by the time it ended and i began to get myself together. I have to go, i said. She nodded and gazed as she lay on the couch. I got my things together and she stood up. As i walked towards the door she got up and grabbed my hand and pulled me towards her, she kissed me with an intensity that surprised herself. She stood looking at me and holding me and then smiled and whispered, next time we do that we'll be in London. I looked at her, what did you just say? But i had heard. You have a passport? i asked. Not yet she said. Well you better get on that then, i said, kissing her one last time before opening the door and bounding down the steps.