DiAmond$ N’ The Rough: A Beautiful Collection of Flawed Gemstones

By Thadine N. Quick

In this hidden gemstone of a book, "DiAmonds N' The Rough" is a collection of short stories served straight out the bottle with no chaser. A school-age girl is forced to take a human life to save her own. A Gangster girl so deep rooted in the streets of Chicago that she must leave the cold-blooded City to survive. A self-taught businesswoman hustles herself away from Gangbanging and into the boardroom negotiating multimillion-dollar deals. A happily married woman risks it all when she succumbs to a secret rendezvous with a handsome stranger she met on the subway train in New York City. Interconnected, all these stories are somehow linked.
In this gritty, RISE TO POWER page turner, you will read about a rare but sexy DiAmond, the roughest DiAmond and Sapphire Blues and see how the beauty and splendor of all Diamonds goes well beyond the surface.

Disguised in a hard, unfeminine exterior their flaws are exposed right away. Each story is bold, hard to read, and at times, scandalous.

Anonymous once said, "PRESSURE MAKES DIAMONDS." Well, let's see.

Through the lenses of brokenness and pain you will witness firsthand how DiAmond and Big Tiny expertly navigates their way around Gang banging, SEX, LIES and MURDER proving time and time again that what don't kill you will make you stronger.
DiAmonds N' The Rough is a BOSS move. The characters are undeveloped. The dialogue… pushy, classy, ratchet; often written in very poor taste. The storylines beg for an absolute superhero that never comes, and the overall depth and synopsis of each story holds so much poverty, heartache and pain that it lacks the very charisma or literary showmanship required to land itself on any best sellers list. And that's just why this book is sooo good.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781098395551

Book preview

Halftitle

ALSO, BY THADINE QUICK

ADDICTED TO YOU…WHEN SAYING

GOODBYE COULD GET YOU KILLED

AMERICA HOUSE PUBLISHING

IBSN # 1-58851-701-2

Title

ISBN: 1-09839-554-4

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

DiAmonds N’ The Rough is a collection of short stories written over the many years of my life. An infusion of thoughts written down on a scratch piece of paper and later transcribed into Chapters. Some stories were pulled from an incomplete manuscript where the dust had begun to settle. Poems expanded upon and even an unfinished diary. While these stories are indeed fiction right down to the very core of my imagination, it is also a life that resides deep inside of me. Most recently, GOD reignited that storytelling gift he put inside of me. See that’s the thing about GOD, HE won’t give you a gift without giving you the tools and resources to use it. I want to THANK HIM first and foremost.

To my family who EMPOWERS ME and loves on me daily… My husband Tony of 26-years who tiptoes around and tries not to disturb me when I’m up writing late at night.

The absolute heartbeats of my life… Son, De’Marcus Jockquay and Daughter, Zaria Danielle Quick who serves as my anchors, my rock, and an incredible alarm clock.

My bonus children Brittany, Tamea and Tony (Teman) Quick along with my bonus Grandbabies… Kakea, Zigeria, Chappell, Tyler, Kayden whom I’ve loved and adored since the day we met.

My mom, Mosetta; brothers, Jerell, Jr, Jason Ill Dibiase and Darren. Sisters, Moniecea Deidre Desiree, Queen Jordan. Dessie (RIP) Brooks and the entire Brooks family in Marianna Arkansas, and many more; including my nieces and nephews, Porsha Lesha, Germene, Jazmyne, Me’Shae, Meechie, Tre (RIP). Shirlon Michelle Cobb Gibson (she made me put her whole government name in here) her twins, Andrea (Shirlay) and Andrew (Big Drew), Scottie, Sirus, Uncle Walter, Wendy… (Jazz hands) How u doin? The list goes on and on… The Shumate family in Little Rock Arkansas and Dallas Texas, Cobbs, Hines, Dishmon, Taylor, Doss, and Perry family. Cookie & Monzell, Marzetta, Shamia Carlvin (RIP).

Besties… Zaria, Demarcus, Tony, Michelle Shirlon, Cookie, Flavia, Keyes, Kayla who rode with me even when the wheels fell off.

Oh! Congratulations to my baby girl, Zaria Danielle, who at the time of this manuscript being packaged and sent to the publisher found out her and Prince Drive were expecting a bundle of joy. Just when I thought I had it all, she gives me everything. To my Grandbaby- girl (Zurie Chanel) you are loved and wanted. We are here preparing for your arrival. Decorating and shopping. We saw your ultrasound the other day (July 2021) and you gave us the thumbs up. You reassured us that you are doing fine. Your mom and dad are super excited to meet you and they will make great parents. I/we love you already for the all the things you are and for all the things you are not. See you soon in January 2022. Salute!

Finally, a very special thanks to Pastor Gary S. Stern (RIP) and Bishop Patricia Ellington Stern from Peace of GOD Outreach Church who prayed for me when my wellbeing was under attack. It is because of your prayers that I MADE IT!

Honorable mentions who have guided me to my definition of success and have always been my biggest fans: Grandma (RIP) Rosetta, and Grandpa (RIP) Mose Shumate. I feel your presence even from the pearly gates in the sky. Keep watching and surrounding me with your love.

Ramona Pina and the BookBaby Publisher family… [e-mail], and my amazing Book Cover designer, Corvin.Prodesign or corvin-bookcovers.com who put up with my many edits and revisions. My daughter’s company for the shares, and likes, [e-mail] DTP.co and the black book clubs, bookstores and all three of my faithful readers and enthusiastic fans.

Last, to the Streets of Chicago (South Side) Roseland (gang gang) Twelve-One Boogie. Follow me on Twitter and Like me on Facebook. Let’s Go!

Contents

Prologue - A Rare Black DiAmond

1.The Roughest DiAmond

2.A Bitter Seed

3.Gangster Girls

4.A Businesswoman’s Hustle

5.A Silly Love Affair in New York City

6.Jade Stone

7.Ruby Steppingstone

8.A Thriller Marriage

9.The Lady with the Silver Locks

10.Sapphire Blue

WHAT GOOD IS A DIAMOND – NOBODY CAN SEE.

PROLOGUE

A RARE BLACK DIAMOND

I WAS THE RAREST BLACK DIAMOND NOBODY COULD SEE.

The black opal.

A girl with light brown piercing eyes, big juicy lips, and a fat ass. I had all the potential in the world, real gem-like qualities with a full set of spectrum colors inside of me that again, nobody could see. Moreover, they saw through me. I was INVISIABLE… man.

In my mind, I was always destined to be great. I was a black girl with long, coarse pigtails so thick that my mama had to wrap the rubber band around my ponytail three times and the rubber band would still break. Spotted brown freckles highlighted the contours of my face into a distinctive stain but unlike a spotted Dalmatian, my pigmented spots were not genetically placed there. It was beaten there. With a fist of a hand owned by the very person that gave me life. My mother. Each pattern filled beating told a ghetto story. One of neglect, heartache, and pain. Later, as time moved on, my ass grew bigger and so did my breast.

Those things were huge too. So as my backside got bigger, so did my head. Suddenly, I started getting all this attention and I liked it. I mean, I REALLY liked it. Finally, I was being seen, heard and adored. All because I had a big ass booty.

But wait! Let me back up.

Who am I?

Well, I’m DiAmond Rain Hall one of the roughest flawed diamond in this gemstone diamond collection and growing up in the streets of Chicago, one thing is for sure, TO CLEAN A STAIN YOU MUST WASH IT FIRST.

~The End of Prologue.

"Straight up and down…

DIAMOND$ ain’t shit until you expose them to the light.

-Dipa Sanatani

1

THE ROUGHEST DIAMOND

DiAmond Rain Hall

THE MELODY OF RAINDROPS DANCED outside the wicked streets of Chicago with an absolute rhythm that only hood *iggas could feel. It was just after 3am in the Robert Taylor homes where over 4,000 low-income black people lived, including Diamond Rain Hall. A deliberate silence filled the night air. It was much too quiet. In the hood this could only mean one thing… shit was about to pop off.

Inside one of the U-shaped cluster apartments, a pee-stained hallway rises to meet you at the door. The strong stench manipulated your smell taste buds into an intoxicating brisket of repulse. It was a complex cocktail of disgust known all too well in the hood. What savage peed in the hallway? A mosaic of gang-related graffiti outlined the concrete walls in a gem-like quality with the precision and technique surpassing the work of the great Van Gogh. The horizontal visual communication and war cry was easy to follow with every brush stroke. It told the ghetto story of pain, hurt, and poverty. Murals for the dead. Tupac, Biggie and Nipsey Hussle were the goal and template for their lives but we know all too well how their stories ended. Clearly there was an artistic sophistication with every brush stroke that if channeled correctly could put this tagger into a higher tax bracket. But that wasn’t the case here. This graffiti artist was on a mission to declare war against any mothefucker not representing the color blue and make no mistake about it, you were going to get-down with the program or lay-down.

In apartment 10B the color was blue but for all the wrong reasons. Chicago finest (Popo) lived in there. If word got out on the streets that he lived there it could mean another homicide. Still, the inside of the apartment was lit. Diamond and her family didn’t want for anything. Big screen TV, PlayStation, plush carpeting… they had it all. Well, except the ability to live free and out loud.

Absent of noise, apartment 10B didn’t even turn the TV volume up loud – closed caption. They couldn’t. It brought to much attention to the residence. But on this seemingly quiet, rainy night, shit was about to go down in the worse kind of way. I’m talking about the kind of shit you can’t take back.

DiAmond Rain Hall, we called her Bowlegs was a brown skin girl with thick coarse hair. She couldn’t wait to grow up so she could get a perm and straighten her hair. She was a petite child but for all the wrong reasons. She didn’t ask anybody for shit. Didn’t need shit. She was self-sufficient and today she was wearing pink toenail polish on her fingers and toes. She painted them all by herself. Earlier that day, she was dragged off the couch by the strains of her hair after mistakenly spilling the polish on the plush carpet in the living room. The older of her two sisters, Sky, 5 and Summer 3, DiAmond lived with her mother and her mother’s boyfriend and had more foresight than most adults.

DiAmond walked with a limp. She was born with bone abnormalities caused from being in a cramped position in the womb. The pediatrician noticed the bone deformity at her one- year visit and highly recommended leg braces. On the bus ride back home, mama reached over and grabbed the cheeks of her face. She squeezed down hard, and eye fucked her. Her eyes said all that her words could not say. It took at least 6 months after the doctor’s visit for mama to purchase the leg brace and she didn’t dare remind her.

On any given day, you could find DiAmond leg braces positioned gently against the wall of any room she was in. Carried like a tote bag, her leg braces were her best friend. Well, besides her sisters of course but the truth is her doctor cleared her to stop wearing the leg braces over three years ago. A small rumble broke out in that office that day after Ms. Diamond, then five-years old, snatched her leg braces back from the good doctor knocking his desktop items down to the floor. The good doctor froze and stared at her like he had seen a demon. Maybe he did.

Oh! I am so sorry about this Doctor Morgan. She is so clumsy with these things. Mama said as she came rushing in to see the commotion.

It’s okay. I gotta go. See you again at your six-month visit.

"What happened little girl? Mama asked but she already knew the answer.

Ummm, I stuttered.

"You and