We did as instructed once Spinna headed for the stairs. Gently setting the black suitcase on the glass table, my uncle did a quick overview to make sure he had everything he needed. Outside of a few chains and watches, jewelry wasn’t really my thing. I appreciated a nice diamond, but wasn’t pressed about having many. The spread in front of us was nothing but the best cuts, and even in the smaller pieces, the value was clear.
“His girlfriend is a big fan of emerald and oval, so that’s what I brought more of,” my uncle explained.
“That’s what’s up. If she already has rings, what makes this one so different? He about to get married or some shit?” I asked curiously.
I couldn’t care less what the diamond was for, but it piqued my interest.
“He didn’t say. I guess we’ll find out together.”
A few minutes later, Spinna resurfaced with his woman in tow. When she looked up and made eye contact with me, I had to force myself to look away. The last thing I needed was to come off as disrespectful in this man’s home, especially when there was a lot of money involved.
“Baby, you remember Dennis, and this is his nephew, Shane. This is my lady, Celeste. There is no budget for today, fellas. She gets whatever she wants,” Spinna explained.
My eyes landed on Celeste again when she took a seat on the couch across from me. Beautiful was an understatement and didn’t do her any justice. She had to be about five feet even and was more on the slim side. Her jet-black hair was parted in the middle and big, uniform curls framed her pretty face. I couldn’t tell if she had on makeup, but her skin was flawless. Her big brown eyes held sadness and mystery at the same time. The smile she offered my uncle and me didn’t quite reach her eyes and her body language told me she’d rather be anywhere else than here right now. I didn’t miss the way she scooted over when Spinna sat next to her, indicating there was trouble in paradise. The way I felt right now was a mix between wanting to get to know the beauty sitting in front of me and wanting to get this shit over with.
“I didn’t know what the occasion was, so I brought a few different pieces I thought you’d both be interested in.”
As the appointment went on, Spinna explained the ring being picked out today was a promise ring. He said the next time he called for our services would be for the engagement ring. I wasn’t sure if my uncle felt the same vibe I did, but Spinna’s ass wasn’t reading the room very well. From the emptiness radiating from Celeste, there was no way he really thought they were making it down the aisle. With no excitement in her tone or body language, Celeste expressed interest in two different rings. Once the important questions were asked, she stood from the couch and announced she had to get to work. Dressed in a bright pink, short-sleeved, button down and a pair of wide-legged blue jeans, it was hard for me to figure out what kind of work she did.
The jeans had rips in the front, and instead of fabric hanging, there were small chains. I could barely see the pink heels on her feet since her pant legs hung so low. The look was simple, but Celeste looked like a million dollars.
“Fellas, excuse me while I walk my baby to her car. I’ll only be a few minutes,” Spinna stated before disappearing into the kitchen and out the back door.
Shaking myself from the haze I was in, I took my phone from my pocket to see what time it was. After glancing at the time, I saw a missed call from my homie Tripp. I shot him a text since I knew I’d be a minute. We had plans to meet at the court and play ball in about an hour. I hadn’t let him know what I was doing this morning, just because I preferred to talk about it in person. Plus, I wanted to see how it would go before I shared anything with anyone.
When Spinna came back inside, my uncle wasted no time wrapping everything up. He was informed to be at the shop in two weeks with the remaining balance in cash. Spinna was feeling generous and ended up getting both rings his lady liked. It brought him to a grand total of twenty-five thousand dollars, plus the thousand-dollar fee for the home visit. A fifteen-percentdeposit was required, meaning my uncle would leave here today with almost four stacks in his pocket. I’d seen big money, but never this much in under an hour.
My uncle and I shook hands with Spinna after the transaction went through and the receipt was signed. Once we were back at the car, my uncle put the suitcase into the trunk before settling into the driver’s seat.
“So what you think? I will throw out a disclaimer and say not all appointments are that fast. Depending on what they’re looking for, your return clients will always be quicker,” he explained.
“It wasn’t bad at all, but I thought you said you didn’t extend your services to younger people? Spinna is about my age.”
“He is. A trusted client put in a good word for ’em a few years back. I’ve never had any problems and the money was always right, so I don’t mind doing business with him.”
“Unc, I’m not dick riding or no shit like that, but Spinna is surrounded by niggas with money. Long money. He could send hella business your way. I understand you wanna keep a certain image, but who cares what the customers look like or how old they are? Money is green, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters. I’d never suggest doing shit that would tarnish the brand, but I think you should consider expanding. If we’re being real, it would be something I put a lot of thought behind if I took the business over. It won’t be a problem for me to keep a good relationship with your older clients, but I feel like we’re leaving too much money on the table.”
“Shane, I’ve thought about all of that, but I don’t know. The young people these days are into the big ass, flashy jewelry. When the shit gets lost or stolen, it’s a lot on the insurance side. With older clients, I don’t have to worry much about that type of thing.”
“The insurance ain’t really got shit to do with us though. I get what you mean from an image standpoint, but I still think it’s something worth considering.”
My uncle let out a deep sigh before silence fell upon us. Hopefully he was really thinking about what I was saying. Business was business at the end of the day. My uncle wasn’t seeing the bigger picture, and not keeping up with the times could be the reason his business failed. He came from a time where people weren’t established until they were damn near forty. These days, with social media and sports, millionaires were getting younger by the day.
“I’ll tell you what… I’ll let you bring on three younger people and we can go from there,” he suggested.
“It’s a deal.”
“Okay. No big announcements or nothing like that. Just three people you know personally.”
“I got you, Unc.”
For the rest of the ride back to the office, we talked about more of the business and he briefly mentioned how Deontay wasn’t fuckin’ with him. I wouldn’t disrespect my cousin since that was his son but fuck that nigga. I didn’t owe him shit, especially no damn apology. If Deontay wasn’t man enough to have a hard conversation and change his lifestyle, what the fuck was he mad at me for? By the time we pulled into the office parking lot, the sun was reaching its peak and the temperature had risen significantly. My uncle and I agreed to meet in two weeks at the shop, so I could see how the rest of the process went. That was okay with me because I now had my Monday open and a while before I had to deal with all of this shit.
Before it slipped my mind, I called Tripp back once in my car. Since my dad hadn’t called me last night, I was anticipating his call at any time this morning or afternoon.
“Yooo, where ya at, nigga?” Tripp asked when the call connected.
“I just left from a meeting with Uncle Dennis. I’m on my way back home now.”
