“Nigga what?!”
“Dats TOO PIPTY!!”
“Yo man, what the hell is Too Pipty?”
Cintron looks at John Bennet, who stands right next to him, they’re both in the local corner store buying tall cans. John Bennet drinks Sapporo, Cintron, Rolling Rock. The Arab vendor behind the counter sits perched atop a wooden stool, he is elderly, his beard is long and gangly and when he speaks the cavernous void that is his mouth is missing teeth.
He his humble, he sits there overlooking the wall of goods, reminiscent of an Arab Bazaar, ancient spices are now replaced with Sazon and Vienna Sausages. What a dull existence.
“Na man, he said Two Fifty.” John Bennet exclaims.
“AHHHH YES!! HAHAHAHAAA TOO PIPTY!!”
The Arab smiles at John Bennet and nods his head in the affirmative.
“Too Pipty, John Bennet knows” says the Arab.
They both place what they owe on to the counter and as they leave, Cintron bestows his wisdom upon the old man.
“Nigga….speak English..AHHH HAAA!!”
Cintron and John Bennet laugh, the Arab, he laughs too!
It’s a summer night in Brooklyn, NY and Cintron sports the fashion of his tribe, that is, the tribe of the loafer. He wears a sweat shirt with matching sweat pants and upon his feet he wears Reebok sneakers. They are old, worn and dirty, a throw back to his hand ball days.
John Bennet gestures in the direction of the Williamsburg Bridge, near there is where they shall commiserate, where they shall sit on the same bench and drink the same beer and tell the same stories. And at some point secrets will be revealed.
At the waterfront, Manhattan Island glimmers in the distance, a tug boat passes and its foghorn is heard and echoed, below them from where they sit, are two lovers situated atop the rocks, they nestle and fawn close to each other, Cintron and John Bennet stare at them in contemplation.
John Bennet breaks the silence, he crack opens his tall can.
“What’s up with Sucio?”
“Na man” Cintron shakes his head, he places the contents of his tall can into another bottle,
“less obvious this way nigga” he says while ignoring John Bennet’s question.
“That bitch is whack” John Bennet says.
“Nigga she wouldn’t let me into her apartment” Cintron continues his tirade.
“She asked me to go to the store to buy toilet paper and then get her something at McDonald's. But I was telling her that I could get the toilet paper for free”
“yea” John Bennet says
“When I was at the park with Nero, before we left, I went through all the bathroom stalls and snatched up all the toilet paper, son”
“Man you crazy” John Bennet says while taking a gulp of his Sapporo. “Nasty, son”
Cintron continued, “Nero went home, So I went to go pick up her food at McDonald's, she lets me into her building and when I get to her apartment, she opens the door half way. And I’m like yo open the door let me in? And you know what this bitch said"?
“Na man, what?”
She said… “Leave it on the floor puto”
“Damn” John Bennet grins and masks his laughter with another gulp of his Sapporo.
“She was like, “nigga just leave it there on the floor” and she tossed me a few dollar bills and some quarters, yo son one of the quarters rolled down the staircase and it got wedged in between the steps, it took me like fifteen minutes to get it out, fo real”
Cintron stares into the direction of the couple sitting on the rocks, he then puts his head between his legs and starts to cry. “That’s terrible” John Bennet says, “But I could go for some McDonalds right about now”
To be continued..
