“Awesome.Thanks.But have a mind.My woman says it happensa lot.I don’twannabecomin’over here all the time asking you to have a mind.”
The man glanced behind Mo, decided to save face and puffedup his chest.“I can do what I want in my own house.”
Mo nodded.“Yeah, you absolutely can.You can even decide tobe an asshole and not give a shit about your neighbors in your own house, allbecause youwannahear a baseball game.And I’m freeto come to the door and ask you not to be an asshole.Somethin’I don’t minddoin’ if it bothers my woman.I alsodon’t mindcallin’ the cops andmakin’a complaint.Now, you can deal with that hassle, or you can decide not to be anasshole.Your choice.”
On that, Mo turned to leave.
And on that, the man called, “You know, it’s not cool tocome over and try to intimidate me like that!”
Mo turned back.“I made a request, did it as polite as Icould in the face of you notbein’ polite at all.Andyou decided to act your version of a man which is your call, but I’d argue itwasn’t the right one.I didn’t use intimidating language.I just asked you toturn your TV down and have a mind to that in the future.”
“You’re big as a house, yougot tenbig guys behind you and you told me you’regonnacallthe cops on me for listening to a stupid baseball game.”
“Igot tenbig guys behind mebecause they’re all my woman’s family, and like I said, she had a bad day andneeds her family around her and her neighbor not to act like a jerk.And Isimply informed you what I would do if you continued not to behave in aneighborly fashion.Last, I can’t agree baseball is stupid, but if you thinkthat, why would you go to the mat for it?”
The man’s face was getting red.“I—”
“Listen,” Mo cut him off.“You’reworkin’yourself up for no reason.Just turn it down and have a mind.”
The man’s face twisted and at that point he decided to workout what were probably some life issues, considering the fact he wasn’t allthat tall, and not built at all.
“You know, guys like you think they can do whatever theywant just because they look like you do,” he clipped.
“What I know, even the way I look, I’d have a mind to thepeople around me and wouldn’t turn my TV so loud, it’d disturb them,” Moreturned.“But mostly that’s because I don’t think the world revolves around meand I couldn’t give a shit about the fact that it actually doesn’t.I use myturn signal too.”
The man’s face got even redder at that.
He didn’t use his turn signal.
Mo sighed and through it said, “I think we’re done.Thanksfor your time.”
The second he moved out, Eddie moved in and stated, “Andjust to confirm, I’m family.I’m your neighbor’s brother-in-law.I’m also acop.And any noise complaint reported on this address will be expedited.So inthe end, you’d have been better off dealing with just Mo, considering he hascourtesy, patience and restraint, like you’d have been better off justapologizing and turning down your TV.Every day, we can learn new things.Thisis today’s lesson for you.Now you folks have a nice evening.”
Mo didn’t turn back to see the response to Eddie’s message.
Because Lottie and the rest of the Rock Chicks were crowdedon her front stoop.
Well, not all of them.There were too many.Some of themwere poking their heads out of the front door.
She had her arms crossed on her chest, that top droppingdown her shoulder, and it might be insensitive, but he hoped with all the loveand support she’d gotten that day, his blowjob was a lot less indefinitelydelayed.
“Your neighbor is kind of a dickhead,” he told her when hegot close.
“I knew that the first time he played his TV loud,” shereplied and tipped her head, the mass of her hair she’d arranged at the crownafter her shower falling to her shoulder.“You just couldn’t help yourself,could you?”
He stopped two steps down from her.“Nope.”
She smiled down at him, white and huge.
Then she listed forward, like a tree falling.
Mo caught her.
And stepping through a sea of Rock Chicks, he carried hissmiling girl into her house.
He felt bad he’d interrupted Eddie’s “You hurt her, we’llfuck you up” speech.
But…
