by Tracy Brown
Jada defended her. “No, Sunny, hold up. She’s right! What did you get me?” Jada stared at Born with a smirk on her face. She gave Mercedes a thumbs-up, as much for the question about the gift as for the fact that she had taken some of Sheldon’s food.
Born was momentarily caught off guard, but recovered quickly. “I’m giving you me,” he said, grinning.
DJ and the boys laughed at what they interpreted as Born trying to smooth talk his way out of not having a gift for Jada.
“That’s a cheap gift,” DJ joked, to laughter from everyone present.
Born shook his head at his protégé, chuckling to himself. “It’s actually a very expensive gift.” Born placed his hand over his heart. “This right here is very costly. In fact, it’s priceless. And I’m giving it to you.” He winked at Jada.
Jada smiled, touched by Born’s words even though the kids clearly thought it was corny. Sheldon and Ethan booed as if they were in the audience at the Apollo.
Sunny held her glass in the air for a toast. “To the birthday girl,” she said, cheerily. “Jada, girl, you are my very best friend in the whole wide world. We’ve been to hell and back together and the best is yet to come. To forty more years of friendship!”
Jada had been smiling, but it faded fast. “Bitch, I’m not forty yet! I’m thirty-nine.”
Sunny waved her off. “Girl, please! We know that’s just your stage age.”
Everyone laughed, and the adults clinked glasses in toast.
Sunny pulled out a medium-size box and handed it to Jada. “For you!”
Jada gingerly opened the paper that the box was wrapped in, smiling in anticipation the whole time. She folded back the tissue paper and pulled out a beautiful Hermes scarf.
“Sunny!” Jada exclaimed. “This is gorgeous! Thank you so much.”
Sunny smiled, pleased to see Jada so happy.
“So, Uncle Born, this dinner is really all you got her?” Mercedes asked, her voice dripping with disappointment.
Sunny looked like she was ready to pop her daughter. Mercedes’s eyes widened, defensively.
“What, Ma?” she asked, genuinely confused as to why her questions were out of line. “I mean it’s a nice restaurant, but…”
Born laughed hard. Then he leaned over and kissed Jada, stared into her eyes, his own welling with tears.
Jada wasn’t sure how to respond. Born looked almost scared and it was an emotion she’d never seen him deal with before. She wondered if the tears in his eyes were from laughter or from something else.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, blocking everyone else out. “What’s the matter, baby?”
He shook his head. “Nothing.” He held up a blue velvet box. “Not unless you say no.”
Jada stared at the box for a moment, dumbfounded. Then it occurred to her that this was a proposal and she really took leave of all her senses. She squealed and her eyes flew open at the sight of the flawless diamond in a platinum setting. Her mind wrapped itself around the reason for Born’s tears—the reason for that fear she saw in them. She understood that he had been serious about giving himself as her birthday present, that he must be scared to death to give her his heart again.
“You want to marry me?” she asked, incredulously.
Born nodded. “It would make me the happiest man alive.”
She threw her arms around him and kissed him over and over again. Both of them giggling between kisses, finally she managed to say a breathless, “YES!”
Sunny dabbed at her eyes, completely caught off guard by the proposal she’d just witnessed. “Y’all are getting married!” she exclaimed. Sunny had seen the peaks and valleys of their love for each other and was thrilled that they were making it official. Mercedes, Sheldon, DJ and Ethan clapped and hollered while the entire restaurant erupted in applause.
Jada threw her arms around him and buried her face in his neck, crying happy tears. “I love you,” she whispered amid the clapping and whistles.
“I love you, too.” Born wiped her eyes and shook his head at her, smiling. “I was gonna ask you later on while we were eating dessert, and I had little hints I was gonna drop throughout dinner … but little Sunny Jr. over here had to know now.”
Mercedes smiled, glad that she had gotten to the bottom of what Jada’s real present was. She had seen enough fine jewelry in her life to know that the marquee diamond Born had just given Jada was far better than dinner in any fancy restaurant.
Jada took a deep breath and sat back as Born finally placed the ring on her trembling finger.
“You ready?” he asked her.
She nodded. “Yeah.” She couldn’t stop her hands from shaking, couldn’t take her eyes off the exquisite ring he’d adorned her with.
“Good!” Sunny chimed in. “Cuz I’m picturing a spring wedding.”
Born and Jada looked at each other and laughed because they knew Sunny was dead serious.
Frankie sent over a bottle of vintage Dom Pérignon, and they all placed their dinner orders, although suddenly Jada wasn’t so hungry at all. She forgot all about Sheldon and the damn quesadillas.
Over dinner they chatted about what roles everyone would play in what was sounding like the wedding of the year, something Sunny had envisioned from the moment Born and Jada reunited.
“Of course I’ll be the maid of honor,” Sunny said, guzzling some champagne. She paused with a thought. “Or maybe you’ll want to ask Ava.” Her expression changed from happy to sad.
Jada chuckled. “I can have two maids of honor. That solves it.”
Sunny was beaming again. “Born, who will be your best man? You’ll need two now.”
Born thought about it while he chewed his food. “It should be Dorian,” he said, sadly, making eye contact with Sunny. She nodded, knowing that if he were alive, Dorian would be so proud to be Born’s best man. “So since he can’t be there, I’ll need DJ up there with me.”
DJ smiled proudly. “Me?” he asked, his eyes wide. “Wow. That’s an honor, for real.” They gave each other a pound to seal the deal.
“DJ and Zion,” he said. Born looked at the two young men at the table. “Ethan and Sheldon can be … what do you call the rest of the niggas that stand up there?”
Sunny shook her head. “Groomsmen, Born.”
Born laughed, shoved some food in his mouth. “Yeah, that!”
Ethan smiled broadly. Sheldon shrugged. He didn’t really care what role he played, as long as there was gonna be a party.
Sunny got back down to the details. “Make sure that bitch Mindy Milford is on the guest list so she can talk about it on her new TV show.” Sunny was smiling at the thought.
Everyone got momentarily lost in thought as they enjoyed their meal.
“Why are you just now doing this?” Mercedes asked. “Getting married, I mean. Mommy’s got pictures of you two together way back in the nineties!” To Mercedes, the nineties were as long ago as the twenties. “You shoulda got married a long time ago.”
Sunny shook her head, sorry now that she had encouraged her daughter’s boldness over the years. “Little girl…”
“You’re right again, Mercedes.” Born said, nodding. “I should have married her a long time ago. We let some nonsense get in the way.”
He decided that this wasn’t the moment to rehash the whole ugly truth—that crack cocaine had torn a hole in their relationship so wide it made the Grand Canyon seem shallow; that ten years had passed before they’d found their way back to each other; that what they were doing now, getting married, felt like bungee jumping off the Empire State Building using only a bunch of knotted-together bedsheets; that both of them were scared to death.
“Better late than never.” Jada smiled at him and Born kissed her hand, which was steadier now in his own.
A breeze poured through the restaurant as the front door opened again. Jada’s already permanent smile widened as she watched her baby sister Ava being shown to their table.
Jada stood up and embrace
d Ava tightly. “Hey, sis!” She held up her left hand proudly. “Look!”
Ava’s shock was evident on her face. “Jada…”
“They’re getting married!” Sunny exclaimed, drumming her hands on the table excitedly.
Ava smiled, and looked from Jada to Born and back again before hugging her sister and jumping up and down. Suddenly, Ava pulled away. She looked concerned. “Who’s gonna be your maid of honor?”
Jada laughed at the tug-of-war between her sister and her best friend. “Both of you!” Jada insisted. “Now, back to happy!”
Ava smiled and the sisters hugged and jumped around like Celie and Nettie in The Color Purple.
Born laughed and shook his head. “Y’all just wanna get dressed up and be on display.”
Sunny nodded, drained her glass and sat back. “Exactly!”
* * *
Two days later, Sunny hosted a ladies’ brunch at her midtown Manhattan apartment. She lived in a luxurious high-rise building on Seventy-third Street, and the sprawling flat on the top floor was her haven. She and Mercedes lived there alone, but her housekeeper/nanny, Jenny G, was there so often that she had her own room. Jenny’s hours were 7 A.M. to 7 P.M., Monday through Saturday, but the Dominican woman was so devoted to Sunny (and so in love with Mercedes’s spicy personality) that she even stopped in for a few hours on Sundays to make sure the place hadn’t burned down in her absence. Sunny paid Jenny G more than any other domestic worker she knew, and in return she got devotion that was unmatched.
Mercedes spoke to Jenny G in fluent Spanish, instructing her to set up tray tables in the media room for her and Olivia’s daughter, Adiva, to enjoy their brunch while watching the new Disney princess movie. Jenny didn’t speak English and Mercedes was bilingual, slipping easily from Spanish to English and back again. Upon hearing Mercedes’s request, Jenny went off to set things up for her young charge and her expected guest.
Sunny had given the names of her guests to the doorman so that they would not have to be cleared before being sent upstairs. So when the doorbell rang, Sunny glided across her marble floors to answer it. Her look today was understated elegance, as she wore a floor-sweeping pale yellow maxi-dress and her hair in a chignon. Her makeup was simple and she wore no jewelry besides a pair of Juicy Couture earrings Mercedes had given her for Mother’s Day. Seeing Jenny scurrying toward the door, Sunny held up her hand. “I’ll get it,” she said with a wink and a smile. “You go make sure the little divas are set up.”
She swung open the door and cracked up laughing when she saw Olivia and Adiva standing before her in matching outfits.
“This is too damn cute!” Sunny exclaimed as they stepped into her foyer wearing safari green shirtdresses, belted at the waist. Adiva’s long curly hair, which she’d inherited from her father, Zion, hung loosely about her shoulders and Olivia’s flawless and expensive weave did, too. They spun around so that Sunny could take them all in.
“These are Vintage dresses,” Olivia pointed out. “I haven’t started a children’s line yet, but after making this dress for Adiva, I might need to!”
Sunny nodded. “You should. Cuz this is gorgeous.” Sunny hugged both of her guests and ushered them into her home—a place familiar to them. Sunny and Olivia were frequent visitors to one another’s homes. With daughters about the same age and their shared history of being on the arm of major players in the drug game, the two women had formed an unbreakable friendship over the years.
Mercedes appeared and smiled at Adiva excitedly. Adiva beamed, happy to see her friend with whom she shared all her girly secrets. Mercedes wore a pink T-shirt, white leggings and pink ballet flats, her hair swept back into a ponytail. She saw Adiva’s outfit and her smile spread even wider. “I love your dress!” she commented, before taking her friend by the hand and heading to the media room.
“Thanks,” Adiva said, as they strolled hand in hand. “And pink is definitely your color.”
Sunny and Olivia exchanged knowing glances and shook their heads. “Those two are gonna be impossible in a few years,” Sunny said.
Olivia nodded. “I’m scared just thinking about it!”
They laughed together as the doorbell rang again. This time, Sunny found Jada and Ava on the other side of the door and kisses, hugs and greetings abounded as they stepped inside.
Jada looked fresh-faced and relaxed, devoid of makeup, her hair hanging loose around her shoulders. She wore True Religion jeans, a simple black T-shirt, and no jewelry besides her huge engagement ring. Ava, though, was decked out in a charcoal-gray jumper that clung to her body in all the right places. Her neck, wrists and ears were adorned with diamonds, and she wore her hair in an elaborate updo.
“Look at you!” Sunny said, taking a step back to admire Ava’s finery. “Did the invitation say ‘black tie’?”
Ava laughed, and blushed slightly as Sunny and Olivia gushed over her outfit, making her twirl around so they could admire it from every angle.
“I have a partners’ retreat that I’m leaving town for after our brunch.” She winked at Sunny. “There’s a cutie at my firm who I’ve got my eye on, so I might as well look good on the plane, right?”
Sunny nodded, glad that Ava had been taking notes. Usually the more reserved of the two sisters, Sunny was trying to get Ava to live a little, to walk on the wild side every once in a while. She was certain that Ava was only single because she was so uptight.
“That’s right,” Sunny agreed, slapping her a high five. “Where’s the retreat?”
“Martha’s Vineyard,” Ava answered. “Three days of rest, relaxation and brownnosing.”
“And hopefully some fucking,” Sunny added, causing Ava to blush.
Jada and Olivia laughed at Sunny’s potty mouth and all the ladies followed her into the dining room. They oohed and aahed when they saw the spread Jenny G had prepared for them. Mimosas, sangria, croissants, muffins, assorted fruits, cheeses and breads lined the long table. As they took their seats and poured their glasses full of libation, Jenny G entered, smiling, as she brought in a spread of Belgian waffles, French toast, eggs, and assorted meats.
“Girl, I think I gained ten pounds just looking at all this stuff!” Olivia said, rubbing her hands together excitedly. “I don’t even know where to start!”
Jada agreed. “I’m gonna be the fattest bride ever, messing around with Jenny G.” Still, Jada piled her plate high and spread her napkin across her lap. She said a quick grace over all the food and got busy.
Olivia smiled at Jada. “Congratulations, girl. Sunny told me about Born’s proposal. I’m so happy for both of you!” She was. But secretly, Olivia felt a twinge of envy.
“Thanks,” Jada said. “I still can’t believe it.”
Jenny came in and assured Sunny in Spanish that Mercedes and her guest were comfortable and enjoying their brunch and movie. Sunny thanked her and they all dug into their meal.
“So, Jada, do you have any idea when the wedding will be?” Olivia asked. She was seated beside Sunny, the two of them facing Jada and Ava on the opposite side.
Jada nodded. “We keep talking about it.” In fact, she and Born had talked about little else in the time since his proposal. They were both excited about it, anxious to make their love official. “Probably in May. June is so typical, and our relationship has been anything but typical.”
All the ladies agreed with that statement.
Sunny’s eyes sparkled. “Okay, so May is…” she looked at Olivia, the fashionista, for confirmation. “… pastels, soft colors. Right?”
Olivia nodded. “Definitely. Unless you’re planning an evening wedding.”
Jada chewed her food and shook her head in dismay. “I definitely want a traditional church wedding,” she said. “But I’m gonna need your help, Olivia. Born doesn’t like to get dressed up so he suggested jeans—”
Olivia threw her fork down on her plate in outrage. “Jeans?”
“Over my dead body!” Sunny said.
“You have
got to be kidding me,” Ava chimed in.
“I know, I know,” Jada agreed. She laughed a little at how upset her friends were about Born’s suggestion. “He wants me to let him and the guys wear dark denim jeans, button-ups and suit jackets.”
“Not even ties?” Sunny looked utterly disgusted by this prospect.
Jada shook her head. “I’m gonna need help convincing him to wear a tuxedo. He says he’s a simple man, and he’s not the type to get all dressed up.”
“He can still be a simple man and wear a simple tux,” Sunny said. “Nobody’s saying he needs to be in a bow tie, top hat and tails, but he should look as sophisticated as you will.”
Olivia shuddered at the thought of Born’s suggestion. “I’ll see if Zion can talk him out of it,” she said.
“Jeans?” Ava was still stuck on that part of the discussion. “I mean that’s just tacky.”
Jada agreed. “I can’t have that. I’m open to his feedback on everything else—the cake, the music, the honeymoon.” She smiled at the thought of that. “But I want to see my baby all dapper and debonair when I’m walking down that aisle.”
Ava chuckled. “It’s like that commercial … ‘While everyone’s looking at her, she’ll be looking at you.’” She loved that Men’s Wearhouse ad.
Olivia sipped her sangria. “Well, at least he proposed,” she said. Contempt was evident in her voice. “Zion and I have been together forever. And still, no ring.”
Silence fell between them, as the ladies pondered that.
“How long has it been?” Jada asked. “I know Adiva is eleven, but were you together for long before she was born?”
“I have been with Zion Williams off and on since 1992.” Olivia shook her head, half ashamed. “Seventeen years.” At times, the years that she and Zion had been together seemed like a genuine blessing. But other times, it was embarrassing to admit that she had remained by a man’s side for almost two decades without the security of marriage—or at the very least, a commitment that he would get out of the drug game. “Sometimes, I tell myself that the first five years don’t count since we were both young, and our relationship wasn’t serious then. Still, even if you knock off the first five years for that technicality, I’ve still spent the past twelve years with this man. And if things don’t get better soon, I think we could be at the end of our story.”