“Three months, and the one before that, I was there two months, and the one before that, six months,” Monte explained.
“Damn, no wonder she broke up with your broke ass. If you can’t keep a job, your pockets are dusty. Ain’t nobody on that type of time,” Mia Shaw, Raquel’s baby sister, declared.
“Ain’t nobody asked you for your opinion. Ole bunion-toe-looking ass,” Monte remarked.
Everyone laughed again. “Seriously, though, Monte. If you want a girl to take you seriously, you gotta learn to take yourself seriously,” I proclaimed.
“You don’t think I do, boss man? I be out here in these streets handling my business,” he retorted.
“More like clowning. Boy, bye.” Alicia Strum, another stylist, declared.
I returned my attention back to the client in my chair as I finished his lineup and brushed the hair off him before I removed his cape.
“Seriously, when you find a good woman, you have to make her feel that you treasure her. It ain’t easy to keep a good woman these days,” JC Adams, my other barber who was positioned behind my chair, declared.
“Do y’all even know what a good woman looks like?” Raque asked.
“I know she don’t look nothing like you or any of y’all trifling females up in here,” Monte replied.
“Don’t speak on me, Monte. Matter-of-fact, don’t speak unless spoken to,” Mia declared, halting from the lemonade braids she was installing to mug the shit out of him.
Monte sneered and sucked his teeth. “I was talking about females, Mia. Ain’t nobody said nothing to or about your rodent ass.”
“Excuse me? Who the hell are you talking to, Chipmunk?” Mia retorted, using the name that she teasingly called him about his teeth.
“You with ya hoodrat ass.”
“Well, at least you know we come from the same family,” Mia replied, returning to her client.
Everyone laughed, and I replied, “A’ight, y’all. Mind ya manners and act like somebody with some decency up in here.”
I knew my crew, and I knew once the trash talking turned to name calling, shit could get heated in a minute. If Mia’s big eyes welled with tears, Raque was gonna jump in and clown on the nigga talking shit. If it went much further than that, both sisters would be ready to throw hands on any nigga in the vicinity, excluding yours truly.
“That’s hard, seeing as how there ain’t a decent-ass person up in this place,” Isaac replied jokingly to my comment, causing everyone to laugh again.
“You right about that,” Stephanie Strokes, my fourth and final stylist, stated, walking in the shop late.
“Where the hell your ass been? Strolling up in here all late as usual, looking like you just crawled from underneath somebody’s bed while they distracted their wife, and smelling like you been hanging with the cats in that alley across the way,” Monte declared.
Stephanie sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes. “Not that I owe your trifling ass an explanation, but my first client isn’t due for another hour, and I had to take my babies to the dentist today.”
She strolled to the back as she threw a hand up at Monte.
“Seriously, though. Nobody answered my question, and I’m just curious as to what you think a good woman is,” Raque repeated.
“As long as she can make me bust a nut and bust my gut, she’s a damn good woman,” Monte stated.
“That’s why ya ass lonely and broke. Every time you get a woman, you’re so lovestruck by her putting that thang on you and feeding you that you can’t see her robbing you blind at the same time,” Alicia retorted.
“It’s all good. Money flows through these hands like nobody’s business,” Monte replied.
“My wife is a damn good woman. The fact that she has to take care of all three of those kids, keep them involved in extracurricular activities, keep a clean, welcoming home, fix good, healthy meals, and she’s holding it down on her YouTube channel, bringing in income that surpasses mine, I ain’t got a complaint in the world,” Josiah stated.
“Nigga, you should have started with the fact that she has to put up with your ass. For that reason alone, she’s a damn good woman,” JC replied.
“I treat my wife really well,” Josiah retorted.
“Well, I’ve had plenty of women, and not a single one of them were worth shit,” JC replied.
