“Yeah, tell ya story walkin’,” Kat said sarcastically. “And tell Ma I’ll drop Eric off later. Bye!” As soon as Jackie left, she continued, “Don’t pay dat bitch no mind. Don’t let her scare you or spook you. Do it fa you! ’Cause ain’t nobody gonna do it fa you. Na’mean?”

Unexpectedly, Kat’s other houseguest, Gloria Cruz, aka Goldie, came strolling into the house. She was fresh off an overnight date.

“Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!” she happily exclaimed, mimicking a character off an old TV show. “Yo, Kat, what’s up wit ya sister? She just walked by me witout sayin’ a word. She looked madder than a motherfucka. What you do to her?”

Gloria was a short pint-sized cutie. A Puerto Rican sex kitten, with bubble-shaped brown eyes, long straight black hair that flowed down her back, and a body that begged to be touched. She and Kat had met some years back under unusual circumstances. And just like Kat was doing for Tonya, rescuing her off the streets, she had done the same for Goldie. She even stuck up for Goldie, on several occasions, protecting her from extortion attempts and unwanted sexual advances at the club. But they shared something much deeper than a friendship, they shared a secret.

“Fuck her!” Kat sighed. “Long story.”

“Oh, she trippin’ again,” Goldie commented. “Quotin’ scriptures and shit.”

“Yep!” Kat replied. “You know how she gets. Anyway …

Goldie, dis is Tonya, our new roommate.”

“Hey, Tonya,” Goldie said, taking right to her. “Girl, grab a seat. You ain’t gonna hold up da walls all morning? Is you?”

Tonya smiled and sat down. She still was unsure of what to say next. After a short awkward silence, Goldie spoke. “What, da cat got ya tongue? You can talk, right?”

“Huh?” Tonya responded.

“If you can say huh, you heard,” Goldie playfully said. “Girl, talk up. No need to be shy. You around fam. We all in da same gang here.”

Tonya grinned at her.

“Listen, Tonya,” Goldie stated, “The first thing we have to do is change ya name. You can’t be lettin’ niggas know ya government like that. That ain’t cool. So I suggest we change ya handle now, before anybody gets use to callin’ you by ya real name. Kat, any suggestions?”

“Yeah. Bein’ dat she’s young, how ’bout Baby Girl?” she said.

“Bitch, you been watchin’ too much Good Times,” Goldie joked. “Plus dat’s da name of dat dirty bitch outta North Philly you can’t stand.”

“You right. So, naw, dat won’t work,” she agreed. “How ’bout Brown Sugar? After all, she is brown-skinned and I always like that record by DeAngelo.”

“Naw, you can’t get dat off either. We need to be a li’l more original. Dat’s too common,” Goldie said. “Tonya, you got any suggestions?”