To Olivia’s delight, shortly after their divorce finalized, a judge granted them joint legal custody. They worked out an amicable visitation schedule and functioned as a family again. Christian and Simone loved their bedrooms at her house.
Brinson never reared his head in her life again. She ran into his friend, Nell, at a restaurant. He shared that Brinson had just welcomed a baby into the world last month somewhere in Minnesota.
Found guilty of his crimes against Quinn and Olivia, Dr. Blair Fluellen received a sentence to serve time in prison. The mental health facility released Quinn, who moved to Ghana to continue healing from her ordeal.
Olivia’s phone rang snapping her back to the present moment.
“Hey. Whassup, girl?” Savvy squealed. “I know you’re on vacation. I couldn’t wait to share my news with you.”
Olivia pressed the phone to her ear to listen above the crash of the waves. “Did you get the Marketing Director position?”
“Yes.” Savvy’s joy emanated through the phone. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen this soon after the last promotion.”
“I don’t know why not. You’ve been working your tail off. Congratulations.” Olivia celebrated with a raise of her glass. “I just toasted you with a Tahiti Drink.”
“Thank you. Also, you’ll never believe who called me last night.”
“Who?”
“Remember Lil’ Bud from Tallahassee?”
“How could I not remember him. No one will ever forget Mr. Personality. What’s he up to these days?” Her glistening skin warmed by the sun welcomed the gentle Papenoo Beach breeze. The hot pink bikini she wore, complimented her melanin-rich skin tone. She adjusted the oversized beach hat and sunglasses to block her face from the rays.
“He’s coming to San Antonio for a meeting and wants to get together with us for dinner in a few weeks.”
“Oh wow. I haven’t seen him since we all graduated. Where does he live now?” Olivia asked as she scrunched her toes in the exotic black sand of the beach.
“He relocated to Houston a couple of months ago.”
“No way. I can’t wait for us to get together with him. Is he married?” Olivia asked.
“Nope. He said he had been engaged to someone two years ago. They broke up. He’s living the bachelor life and traveling the world.” Savvy laughed.
“Good for him. I’m sure he’s the life of the party wherever he goes.”
“You know it. I enjoyed our conversation about social life adventures in college and now,” Savvy chuckled. “FYI, when you see him, don’t call him Lil’ Bud. He goes by his full name. Buxton Davis.”
“Are you serious? Does he think we will ever call him by his first name?” Olivia asked with a dollop of sarcasm. “Whatever. He’ll always be Lil’ Bud to me. I don’t care what he calls himself now.”
“I kind of like the name Buxton. It’s different and memorable,” Savvy said.
“Hmm. Am I sensing some interest in Lil’ Bud or something? You sound smitten by defending his name,” Olivia pried.
“What? Me? Interested in Lil’ Bud?” Savvy asked feigning shock. “Girl, please. I’m excited about seeing an old friend after all these years. Why do you always have to elevate things to the extreme?”
“Ha. To the extreme, huh?” Olivia laughed. “I merely asked a simple question. Don’t worry, I won’t make any assumptions. I’ll wait and watch this scene play out. Before you know it, I’ll boastfully tell you ‘I told you so,’” Olivia chided.
“Whateva. You’re a mess,” Savvy laughed.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. See, you’re floating above clouds thinking about Lil’ Bud,” Olivia teased.
“Never mind. I see this conversation isn’t going anywhere,” Savvy said. “What are you doing answering your phone anyway?”
“Why are you contacting me when you know I’m on vacation?” Olivia laughed. “You called at the right time. We’ve been in the ocean for hours surfing. I’m in a beach chair watching the surfers now. I picked up my cell to snap a picture
when your name popped up on the screen. Believe me, I’m not spending much time on the phone since I’m on vacation.”
“Good. You better not be.”
“You won’t believe this. I got a tattoo.”
“What? I never knew you wanted one. What did you get and where?”
“It’s a black butterfly on my shoulder.” Olivia lightly ran her fingers across the ink on the sore area. “They represent transformation. Lord knows I’ve gone through life as a caterpillar, crawled into a cocoon, fought to get out, and now I’m flying free with beautiful wings.”
“Nice. Send me a picture. By the way, where is Mr. Wonderful?” Savvy asked.
“Hold up.” Olivia raised the beach hat back from her face. Soft lips landed on hers. “Hey, baby. You were great doing a hang ten out there on one of those monster waves. I’m impressed.”
Durbin’s freckled, tanned-face spread into a broad smile. The ocean water curled his afro around his ears. Droplets fell from the coils of hair across his chest. “You know I wanted to impress you. Are you coming back in to catch a wave before sunset?”
“Naw. I’m done for the day. I prefer watching you riding on that surfboard.” Olivia lowered her sunglasses and fluttered long eyelashes at Durbin. “You look sexy out there.”
“Anything to entertain my beautiful lady. You look pretty sexy yourself,” Durbin crooned.
“Ooh. Stop it,” Olivia swatted Durbin on the back of his board shorts. “Don’t stay in too much longer. We have dinner reservations at seven. Let me give you another kiss for luck.”
The two of them locked lips. Olivia’s hand grazed his sand-covered chest before he ran back to the ocean. “Surf’s up, baby,” Durbin yelled before paddling his way into the water on his board.
Olivia sighed and heard Savvy’s voice coming through the phone.
“Gag me with a spoon. You lovebirds are too much,” Savvy teased. “I’m going to let you go. Keep enjoying your man. I love you, Sis.”
“I love you too, Savvy,” Olivia responded. “Oh, and by the way, tell Lil’ Bud whassup. We can’t wait to double date with y'all when we get back. Melanindoubledate.com worked out for me after all.”
The End
Discussion Questions
If you were a psychologist and Olivia walked into your practice for help, what would your treatment plan be for her?
What does ‘insatiable revenge’ mean to you? Which characters sought revenge?
Were you intrigued, or turned off by Kolby when Savvy first met him?
What were your impressions of Durbin?
Simone experimented with cutting herself. What do you know about cutting as a form of self-harm? Did you see the connection to Olivia?
How has Olivia grown?
Is Olivia’s behavior typical for someone in her forties?
How would you have handled a date like the one Savvy had at Pharrell’s house?
Did Olivia have the right to sleep with Malcolm since they were still married although he was engaged to Mariah?
Should Olivia have given Malcolm another chance at their marriage?
Who did you believe initially, Quinn or Blair?
Pastor B preached about being on either Team Righteous or Team Ratchet. Which team are you on?
Why do you think Olivia was reckless when she met Brinson?
Why did she have a problem with remembering having sex with Malcolm and Brinson?
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, I thank the Lord. Without you, God, I am nothing. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11. Thank you, God.
To my loving husband, Jay. I love you and appreciate who you are. Your prayers, encouragement, support, energy, laughter, motivation, and more, have given me what I needed to finish writing this book. Thank yo
u for believing in me and dreaming with me.
To my beautiful mother, Merilyn Freeman, thank you for everything and for giving me life. I appreciate your love for reading and proofreading over again. Thank you for the life filled with love that you and Dad provided to all of us.
To my mother-in-law (Mommy); my siblings, Chevelle, Dion, and Jamille; sister-in-law, Vicky, and brother-in-law, Damon; my aunts and uncles, Jerome & Willa, Angela & Bruce; my nephews and nieces, Sydney, Joshua, Derek, Julian, Anya, and Victor; my talented daughter/soror, JaLeesa; and all of the rest of my family members who I love very much.
To Betty, Carolyn, Christa, and Joei. Thank you for taking the time to read my rougher than rough draft. I hope you enjoy the final version.
To Brown Girls Books, ReShonda, and Victoria. Thank you for taking a chance on me and helping me to start my life as a published author.
I have so many people to thank since the launch of Reasonable Insanity and my writing career. The support has been amazing and overwhelming. I apologize if I left anyone off. Please know I thank everyone who hosted an event in your home, the book clubs, organizations, churches, businesses, hosts for my book signings, interviews, bookstores, libraries, and everyone who showed me so much love.
Here goes my long thank you list: To San Antonio Alumnae Chapter, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., SAAC Delta REaDs Book Club, B. Michele, Tha1 Media Hub, Heal The Healer Caregiver Symposium, Black In San Antonio, Dreamweek, Florida A&M University, Vida GumboFest, ARC’s Wine Plus, Divas of SA Book Club, Pastor Brown and the Resurrection Church family, TAAN TV, Pure Juice, The James W. Brown Studio Gallery, BridgeNorth Wealth Advisors, Carver Library, NAACP, BGBReads, St. John Outlet, United Black Writer's Association, Cover 2 Cover Book Club, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. National Arts and Letters Commission, Delta Authors On Tour, Hemline Boutique, Carver Page Turner Book Club, Oklahoma City Alumnae Chapter, Phoenix Metropolitan Alumnae Chapter, Slidell Alumnae Chapter, Brazosport Area Alumnae Chapter, Harrisburg Alumnae Chapter, Shelby County (TN) Alumnae Chapter Minerva Book Club, North Dallas Suburban Alumnae Chapter, Southwest Dallas County Alumnae Chapter, Jalayna, Suburban Houston-Fort Bend Alumnae Chapter, River Parishes Alumnae Chapter, Gamma Epsilon Chapter-Texas College, Upsilon Nu Chapter-UTSA, Austin Alumnae Chapter, Austin African American Book Festival, Christian Business Network, Water to Wine, "LIT"erary Lounge SA, Tobin Library Writers Group, Twig Bookstore, African American Author Showcase, Houston Defender, Mids Up Worldwide, Voyage Dallas, C. A. Henderson Blog, Dinner In Black, St. Paul United Methodist Church Bren and Friends Book Club, Women At Work-Texas A&M University-San Antonio, St. Philip’s College, Novel Ideas Book Club, Orchid Salon, Landa Library, Straight Talk Book Club, AALBC, Lansing, MI Book luncheon hosts, 50 Shades of Red Book Club, Cultural Literacy Club (CLC), Schertz Library Local Author Fair, WCSUfm.org, Jamaica Jamaica Cuisine, LLC, MLK Commission Literary Empowerment Networking Summit, Lighthouse Luncheon, San Antonio African American Book Festival, Jacob's Chapel United Methodist Church Book Club, Secret Place Book Club Showcase, Black Diamond Book Club, Black Orchid Book Club, Sista's Book Club, Page Turners Book Club, MargaReader Club, Next Level Creations.
Finally, to my loyal readers, everyone who has purchased, recommended, or gifted my book or encouraged me, and to my new readers, thank you for your love and support.
God bless you all.
Cynthia
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