Concrete Rose

Maverick has been working for Mr. Wyatt for a month now. Working in the store is easy, but the garden is so much work, and the pay is a joke—Maverick only makes enough to cover the electricity bill and buy diapers and formula. But he likes working in the garden. Plants are “a trip:” one day they’re fine, the next they’re half dead. They’re like girls, or babies: taking care of a baby is all about survival, and it’s the same with plants. Maverick’s job is just to get the plants and Seven what they need to survive.

Maverick has decided that his son’s name is Seven, though he hasn’t spoken to Iesha. Two weeks ago, he learned that she moved out of Ms. Robinson’s house, and he hasn’t been able to track her down. Ma wants Maverick to talk to Cousin Gary, but Maverick knows he and Iesha can figure it out. They have to; he can’t handle this much longer. Some days, he drops Seven off with Mrs. Wyatt and goes home to sleep until work. His grades are going to be awful, but he doesn’t care. Now, it’s a Friday night, and Maverick is doing laundry instead of homework while Seven sits in a bouncer nearby. Ma has taken on extra shifts at the hotel.

The phone rings—it’s King. King asks Maverick if he’s going out tonight, but Maverick says he’s doing laundry. King invites him to join him, Junie, and Rico anyway. Maverick misses his friends, but he explains that Ma is at work, and he can’t pay for a babysitter. King says that Dre is the one keeping Maverick poor, and he hangs up before Maverick can defend himself. Maverick puts his head in his hands; he’d do anything to go out with his friends.

Seven watches Maverick with concern, so Maverick tells him it’s okay and lays him on a blanket. They play on the floor for a bit. Maverick recently sent pictures of Seven to Pops, but he hasn’t been able to take Seven to meet him yet. When Seven starts to rub his eyes, Maverick picks him up, dresses him for bed, and gives him a pacifier. He leaves Seven to fall asleep on his own while he showers, but when he gets out, Seven is still staring at his mobile. Sighing, Maverick returns to laundry and homework and wishes that he and Lisa could hang out.

Suddenly, the doorbell rings. Afraid it will wake Seven, Maverick peeks outside and sees Dre’s car—but not Dre. When he steps outside, he finds a full Super Soaker on the porch. As soon as Maverick picks it up, Dre leaps out of his hiding place and shoots Maverick in the face with water. They shoot each other until Maverick douses Dre with the hose. Dre picks his watch up out of the grass and notes that it got scratched. He explains he wants to hang out with Maverick; he got pizza and the new Lawless CD, which doesn’t officially come out until next week. Lawless is a GD, but he’s a fantastic rapper, so no one messes with him.

Maverick would rather eat pizza and listen to Lawless than sort laundry and write a history report, so he grabs the baby monitor and hops into Dre’s BMW. He’s disgusted when he sees that Dre got Hawaiian pizza; pizza shouldn’t have pineapple on it. Dre likes weird food, though. Maverick moans about losing Lisa and says that his life sucks now: his friends don’t want to hang out with a baby, and he’s exhausted. He doesn’t feel like him anymore. Suddenly, a loud shout interrupts the conversation—it’s Bus Stop Tony, a local “crackhead.” When Tony notices the pizza, Dre asks if Tony has eaten today and gives him the rest.

Seven’s cries come over the baby monitor, so Maverick invites Dre inside to play video games. Dre says he’ll be a minute; he needs to call Keisha and say goodnight. While Dre is on the phone, Maverick shouts that Dre is “whipped” so Keisha can hear. Inside, Maverick discovers that Seven has a dirty diaper. He’s discovered the secret to changing diapers is to distract Seven, so he starts to rap. As Maverick puts Seven back in his crib, he hears two gunshots outside. They’re too close. Maverick rushes outside, and he hears screeching tires. When he gets to Dre’s car, Dre doesn’t answer—there’s a bloody hole in his head. Maverick drags Dre out of the car and shouts for help.