the city bus on Saturday night, Tasha ran up to hug her. “Hey, girl!” she said.
They walked the few blocks to Tasha’s house. Up in her room, Tasha did Alessa’s makeup and hair. Alessa changed into the clothes and shoes she had brought along in her duffel bag.
Tasha quickly put on her outfit. The V-neck of her shirt almost plunged to her navel. The inner curves of her breasts peeked through and her brown skin shimmered, accentuated by a silver necklace with a peace sign hanging around her neck. The two girls appraised each other’s appearance and decided it was time to go.
Shortly after 10 p.m., they arrived at Harlin’s house, where he and his friends were hanging out. When they entered the living room, Harlin glanced at Alessa, pausing for a second look. Alessa smiled openly as his eyes pored over her.
“You remember my friend, Alessa?” Tasha asked.
“Yeah, I remember her,” Harlin acknowledged. “She looks a little different tonight. She looks better. You do this work on her?”
Tasha put her arms around her brother’s neck. “I sure did. I’m damn good at that shit, huh?”
“Yeah, you are. But you’re good at everything you do,” Harlin said, hugging her tighter.
Alessa noticed how close they were and detected the love Harlin harbored for his sister in his hard eyes. Tasha is lucky to have a brother like him, she thought.
Within minutes, they were in Harlin’s van—a large black vehicle with chrome wheels and door handles—with five of his friends.
When they got to Pulsations, Tasha took Alessa by the hand and headed toward the bar. Tasha ordered two beers and turned to look at all the people. “Isn’t this place cool? I love it here.”
Alessa nodded. “Yeah, I’ve never been in a place like this.”
Alessa was still taking in all the lights and sounds. The place dazzled. People were dancing everywhere. Dancers in cages hovered above the dance floor. When the bartender handed them their beers, Tasha grabbed her hand again and pushed her through the crowd onto the dance floor.
Alessa, who had always loved to dance, immediately moved to the music. Soon she was swaying to the beat as if the song had been choreographed with her in mind. Tasha was smiling at her, watching her with wide eyes.
Alessa caught her looking and stopped dancing. “What? Why are you staring at me? Do I look stupid?” she asked self-consciously.
Tasha shook her head. “No, you don’t look stupid at all. You’re an incredible dancer. Hell, I think every man within eyeshot was watching you.”
“They were? You think I’m a good dancer?”
“Yes, they were,” Tasha said firmly. “And I know you’re a good dancer. Did you ever take lessons?”
“You’re kidding me, right? No, I never took lessons. I barely had clothes that fit me, and I wore shoes until my feet grew so big I thought my toes would break off. There definitely weren’t any dance lessons. I always loved to listen to music. When I slept at Rhonda’s house, we turned on music and danced in her living room. It’s fun to dance. I love it.”
Tasha and Alessa danced together all night. It was the best time Alessa had since Rhonda died.
Later in the evening, Tasha lifted her beer mug in a toast. “Here’s to new friends.”
“Yes! New friends,” Alessa yelped, lifting her mug to meet Tasha’s.
The evening had been perfect, and Alessa was happy to be alive. She was filled with anticipation and was looking forward to the future, instead of regretting her past.
As the group left Pulsations and headed back to North Philadelphia, the two girls spoke excitedly about the evening, oblivious to Harlin and his friends, who were busy making fun of their enthusiasm. Tasha shot them looks and pointed her finger at them occasionally.
Finally, one of Harlin’s buddies addressed Alessa. “Hey, girl, you sure can shake that ass of yours, can’t you? Any time you want to shake that thing for me, I’d be happy to oblige.”
Alessa’s senses went taut, and her body stiffened.
Sitting next to her, Tasha felt the tension build up in her friend and struck out. “Why don’t you shut up?” she spat. “Her name is Alessa, and she ain’t no slut. So don’t be talking to her like she’s one. You understand what I’m telling you?”
Harlin glanced over at his friend with a look of contempt in his eyes.
“Yeah, I got it,” the boy said gruffly. “You don’t have to get all crazy about it. I was only messin’ with her.”
When they got back to Dauphin Street and climbed out of the van, Alessa thanked Tasha.
“How come Harlin’s friend got so nervous when you freaked out on him? He seems so tough,” Alessa asked.
Tasha pursed her lips. “Because I don’t cause no trouble for anybody, but when I say something to one of Harlin’s crew, he expects them to mind me. My brother knows I’m easygoing. If I call someone out, then it’s important to me. When Harlin stared that dude down, he knew better than to challenge my brother.”
“Well, thank you. It was nice of you to stick up for me. Tonight was great. Thanks for everything.”
“Tasha, I need to see you,” Harlin yelled.
His sister walked over to where he stood, leaving Alessa by herself.
“Tonight was great, Harlin. Thanks,” Tasha said to him.
“Yeah, no problem,” her brother responded. “What was up with you freakin’ out on my boy in the van? I know this girl is a friend of yours, but you haven’t even known her for that long. Not long enough to side with her over one of my brothers.”
Tasha took him by the hand and led him to some steps in front of an abandoned row home. She climbed onto the first step, so she was at eye level with him. With his hand clasped in hers, she said, “Harlin, this girl means a lot to me. You know I ain’t had any good friends ever. Alessa is different. She doesn’t care where I come from or who my brother is. She likes who I am.”
Harlin looked deep into Tasha’s eyes, listening patiently to what she had to say.
“This girl has seen some bad stuff, man,” Tasha went on. “She ain’t got no one. When I’m with her, I feel like I have a sister. I don’t want no one disrespecting her. She is the kind of person you would want me to be friends with. So if you could tell your boys that she is off-limits, it would mean a lot to me. You know I don’t ask you to tell your crew what to do. This is a favor I am asking of you now.”
“Okay, baby,” Harlin said. “If this girl means that much to you, I’ll make it clear to my crew that there ain’t no messin’ with her. I love you, girl. If you say she is important to you, I know she must be. Good night, babe. See you tomorrow.”
They hugged tightly, and Tasha held on to her brother for a few seconds longer than she normally would.
Harlin wondered, as he walked away, what made Alessa so special. Now he was curious. What kind of bad stuff had she seen?
When he caught up with his gang, Harlin told them, “Listen, no screwin’ with Tasha’s friend. For some reason, this chick means a lot to her, and we need to respect that. So I don’t want any of you to say stuff to her that we would say to other chicks. Everybody understands?”
The boys grumbled but agreed to respect Tasha’s wishes. They all loved Tasha and were protective of her. That was a rule of the club. Tasha was watched over by them all and all the people they knew. No one messed with Tasha, Queen of Dauphin Street, as they called her.
“What’s so special about this white girl anyway, Harlin?” one of his friends asked.
“I don’t know, man. Tasha said she ain’t got no one. No family or nothing. She said she’s been through a lot of bad stuff. We know we have all seen bad times, so Tasha wouldn’t say that if it wasn’t something really bad. All I can say is that white girl can dance, my brothers. Did you all see her moving to that music?”
They all laughed and agreed. On their way back to Harlin’s house, the group passed Tag, the leader of the gang that had harassed Alessa on the bus. Harlin looked over at him and gave him a nod. Tag nodded back. Harlin could detect the fear on the boy’s face. Satisfied that they were showing him due respect, Harlin kept walking. He knew these boys were trouble for the neighborhood. With nothing better to do, they were always harassing the old people and the prostitutes on the street. Harlin also knew they were as ruthless as he and his crew could be. The difference between them was that Harlin was only ruthless to people who threatened him or his own. Tag’s gang of thugs picked on people for fun. Harlin had set the tone with them early on. He had made it clear that they were never to interfere with any of his weed-selling territory, his gang, and especially his sister.
The first time Harlin had laid down the rules, Tag took offense. “Who are you to tell me who I can and can’t mess with?”
Harlin had pulled out his .357 Magnum and pressed it against Tag’s mouth. “Who am I? I am the grim fucking reaper, and I’ll be here to collect your soul and send it to hell, you punk! You understand that I own this neighborhood and we’ll get along fine. Got it?”
With the barrel of the gun rammed hard against his mouth, Tag nodded vigorously. Meanwhile, Harlin’s crew was eyeing the rest of the boys, who clearly understood that if they ignored Harlin’s rules, there would be a price to pay. Everyone in the neighborhood was loyal to Harlin.
From that night on, Tag’s crew never hindered Harlin’s business transactions. Tag and his followers remained troublemakers and were feared by many in the local community. They acted like a pack of street thugs and needed little reason to disrupt those in the neighborhood. They thoroughly enjoyed that they could make people’s lives miserable . . . so they did.
