“So, Lashawnda, tell me about this dude you’re always hanging out with?” Stacy asked enthusiastically. “Cause Lord knows I’m relieved you finally found someone. Girl, you are way too beautiful to be spending your nights alone watching old Monk episodes.”
“Preach!” Crystal hollered. “That man doesn’t even know how much of a prize he’s got.”
These women were my cheerleaders even when I didn’t need it.
“Oh gosh, Stacy he’s freaking amazing. I swear there isn’t anything about him I don’t like. I keep waiting for him to mess up, but everything he does is perfect.” I started kicking my legs in the air like I was truly back in high school again. “I can’t wait to make love to him!”
“You haven’t tapped that yet?” Stacy asked loudly.
“No, we decided to wait a bit. You know…get better acquainted. But, I think I know more than enough to get the ball rolling,” I said with a huge smile. “I’m gonna have to kick up the action in our relationship. I know Sean’s trying to be a gentleman, but he’s just punishing both of us at this point. I mean, it’s been almost three months! That’s enough time, right?”
Crystal laughed and smacked me on my upper thigh.
“Girl, that’s what I’m talking about. You need to be excited!”
“Shut up, Crystal.” I rolled over on my stomach and pushed a pillow underneath my chin. “I am so happy, you guys. Sean makes me happy.”
“He better,” said Stacy. “Because if he gets out of line, I’ll be down here in a heartbeat to put him in his place. Speaking of getting out of line, what is up with you and that chocolate drop Brian? The last time we spoke you sounded as if you didn’t even know what was going on between you two.” She turned her attention to Crystal.
Crystal flipped over on her back and placed her hand underneath her head. “Honestly? Not much has changed. We talked about our marriage, and we decided we would take some time to get to know each other properly before we make any rash decisions like getting divorced.”
I looked over at Stacey and saw her staring at Crystal with a confused expression.
“I don’t know if I like what I’m getting to know. Brian is just…I don’t know—boring. He never wants to do anything besides watch movies at home. I can barely get him to come and have dinner with Mom and Dad on Sundays. When I suggested we go to the club last month, he came up with all kinds of excuses for not wanting to go. I told him I just wanted to get out of the house and go dancing.”
Crystal hopped off the bed and threw her petite frame into the chaise lounge next to the window. Her body language clearly displayed her irritation.
“We used to do stuff almost every weekend while we were dating. Since the moment we came back from our honeymoon, we hardly ever go anywhere.”
“What does he like to do? Maybe y’all can explore some new hobbies together,” Stacy suggested.
“His ass told me the only thing at the club was sweaty ass dudes and whorish women wanting to shake their ass. I almost slapped him. I reminded him that’s where he met me. He apologized, but I was so pissed I didn’t talk to him for almost a week.” Crystal folded her arms under her chest. She looked like she did when our mom told her she couldn’t get something when we were kids.
Stacy erupted in fits of laughter. “Well, don’t pay him any mind for the next two days. We are going to hang out and have some fun. Tonight, you can dance like it’s your last night on Earth. Then on Monday, go back to living a dull life.”
“Stacy, don’t laugh at my sister,” I said, bumping her with my shoulders.
“I’m not laughing at Crystal. But she looks like a big baby pouting.” She rolled off the bed and went over to the chaise and sat on the floor. She rested her head in Crystal’s lap and made a sad face that matched her own. “Come on, don’t be mad at me. I promise I’m not making fun of you. I just think you need to make up your mind about this situation and stop dragging it out. You can try all you want, but to me, it’s pretty clear you and Brian just aren’t compatible.”
“I don’t want to be a two-time divorcee, Stacy,” Crystal pleaded.
“You’d rather be a miserable married woman?” Stacy asked in a patronizing tone.
“That’s the same thing I asked her,” I chimed in.
“Y’all don’t understand,” Crystal said, her voice heavy with frustration.
“Yes, I do. You are afraid of what everyone might think about you. But, I’m telling you nobody who truly knows you, and cares about you, will be that surprised. We were more shocked you married him. So what if you divorce Brian? It’s not the end of the world.”
Stacy picked up a shoe and threw it on the bed at my feet.
“Hey, what was that for?” I asked rolling over on the bed to avoid the projectile.
“That’s for you. I know you. You didn’t just tell her straight up she needed to leave that lame ass loser. Shit, he’s fine as hell but still a lame.”
“I sure didn’t. It is not my place to tell people how to live their lives. Crystal knows if she leaves him I would support her decision.”
“Yeah, but she would feel better about it if she knew that you felt like she should leave him,” Stacy replied.
I sat quietly, thinking about Stacy’s statement. Was I doing my sister a disservice by not telling her I wasn’t a big fan of her relationship with Brian? Should I tell Crystal I thought she could do better than him? I didn’t want to instigate the situation or stick my nose where it didn’t belong. Often people just need an ear to listen or a shoulder to cry on not more advice.
We were all in our own thoughts when a knock sounded at the door. I was the closest and rolled off the bed to open it. My dad popped his head in and grinned. He’d been gone all morning on his weekly golfing excursion with his friends from college. Just like any other Saturday he spent the morning fishing or golfing with his friends which allowed Momma some free time to herself.
“Hey, Stick Stickly!” He yelled when he saw Stacy sitting on the floor.
“Poppa Price!”
The twenty-five-year-old woman hopped up and ran over to him like a three-year-old welcoming her father home from work. Dad engulfed Stacy’s slender frame in a big bear hug. She was 5’6” of lean muscle. Many people thought she worked out to get her definition, but Stacy had always been slender growing up.
“Mom told me I had a surprise upstairs waiting for me. If I had known it was you, I wouldn’t have come empty-handed,” he said placing a kiss on her forehead.
“Don’t start, Poppa. I may be slim but don’t think I won’t eat you out of house and home,” Stacy said smiling from ear to ear.
I loved that my best friend had been treated like a daughter by my parents, especially my father. Her own father walked out on her mother before Stacy was even born. When Stacy first started coming over to play with us, she was afraid of him. Dad noticed and started doing little things like sneaking her extra dessert at dinner. Each time he would include some funny joke or story to make her smile. Over time she warmed up to him, and it became an ongoing joke he was fattening her up because she was too skinny.
“Well, I guess we’ll have to put that to the test.” He walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the forehead. With Crystal, he gave her a kiss and a hug. My dad was good at reading our emotions. Very rarely could we hide when we were in a bad mood from him. I can only imagine he was going to be pulling Crystal aside at some point during the weekend for a chat.
“I’m going to get cleaned up. I’ll see you girls later.” He walked out the door, then stuck his head back in. “Just a reminder, none of y’all are moving back in, so don’t get too comfortable.” His deep voice vibrated with laughter as all three of us tossed pillows at his retreating back.
The rest of the day was spent lounging around the house. We even helped Momma bake cookies for the children’s Sunday school classes. By the time we left the house all dressed up, it was after nine o’clock. We planned on meeting Jenny at Island Thyme Caribbean restaur
ant in downtown for dinner and then walk along the strip to find a bar or club that had good dance music.
I spotted Jenny outside of the restaurant talking to a tall, dark-skinned man with dreads down to his collarbone. Jenny looked gorgeous in a black sequined halter top that clung to her upper body like a second skin. She wore a short black skirt that hugged her hips and a pair of strappy high heels. The studs in her ears and shiny bracelet shone, reflecting off of the light from the restaurant like real diamonds. When she turned around and spotted us, she waved excitedly for us to come over.
“Hi, guys,” Jenny said in a high-pitched voice.
She wrapped her arms around me and gave a tight hug. She hugged Crystal and Stacy as well, although she wasn’t as familiar with them. She turned to the man she was speaking to and pulled him over toward our circle.
“This is Trevor. He works here at the restaurant. Apparently, tonight they are having some kind of celebration, so the restaurant is really full.”
“Celebration?” Stacy asked looking at Trevor.
“Yes. Monday is a holiday in Jamaica, so most of the island people in town come out to celebrate,” he said in a thick accent. “But, don’t worry; I’ve been able to get a table for you lovely ladies.”
“Well, thank you very much. I’ve been anxious to try the food here,” Crystal said.
“No problem. Follow me,” Trevor replied before walking ahead of us.
When we reached the restaurant, it was indeed very packed. The waiting area was buzzing with loud chatter. Island music filtered through the air with heavy bass and the sultry voice of Beres Hammond. A waitress came careening around the corner with a tray filled with drinks and began calling out orders. We made our way through the crowd. Some people were shocked to see us walking past as if we were VIP. They had been waiting for over an hour for a table. One of the older women went up to the hostess to inquire how we were being seated.
“Yo, my girl. How come dem four gyal dem a si’ dung and dem jus’ a come in?” she asked.
“They had reservations, Ma’am,” replied the hostess before giving Trevor a pointed look. Whatever strings he pulled to get us a table apparently didn’t sit well with her. I started second guessing eating here.
“Likle gyal yuh must a tek mi fi fool. Mi no know weh kinda fuckry uh-nu a gwan wid. But, I naw waste mi time.” She turned to the woman she was sitting next to and motioned for her to get up. “Come, Patsy. We a go find someplace else fi nyam.” The woman and her companion pushed past a few other patrons and left.
Crystal and Stacy looked at each other and shrugged. I waited until we got to the table and placed our drink orders before questioning Jenny.
“Jenny, did you really make reservations?” I asked.
Jenny took a sip of her island mango rum punch and waved her hand in the air dismissively at me.
“Girly, please; I did not make reservations. When I got here and saw how long the wait was, I went back outside. I saw Trevor standing outside, and we started talking. I told him I had three girlfriends coming to eat with me, and it would be in his best interest if he got us a table.”
Stacy put her hand in the air to stop me from asking another question. “Hold up. What exactly did you promise him?”
“You know…” Jenny said with a high-pitched giggle.
“Uh…no I don’t,” said Stacy with a bit of snark in her voice.
“I told him we could get to know each other a little better later on tonight. Besides, did you see how tall and handsome he was?” she asked while shimmying her hips.
Crystal started laughing and shaking her head. “Jenny that is so trampy. I can’t believe you offered to sleep with some random guy so we could get a table at a restaurant.”
“Eww, that’s just nasty,” Stacy said, scrunching up her face at Jenny as if she smelled something bad.
I felt terrible for Jenny because of how my sister and best friend were making fun of her.
“You guys come on, don’t be mean; at least we got a table? Right?” I said, coming to Jenny’s defense.
“Whatever…you guys can say what you want, but I see nothing wrong with using what you got to get what you want. I do it all the time. Besides, I don’t actually plan on sleeping with him.” She stopped talking and waved flirtatiously at Trevor when he passed by their table with a tray filled with drinks. “I just told him that so we could get in.”
Crystal finished her first margarita and was motioning for their waiter to bring another. “I’m sorry but you don’t play with men like that. There are far too many instances of women getting assaulted for doing basic shit like going on dates or just simply walking down the street. You’re over there playing with a man’s emotions for a free meal? No, ma’am, you better stop doing that mess before you run into someone who is going to demand you pay up.”
“I don’t see what the big deal is,” Jenny said dismissively.
“I can tell. I bet you do shit like this all the time. You better be careful before a man comes to collect what he’s purchased,” Stacy said warningly.
Jenny rolled her eyes. She looked over at me and tried to make eye contact, but I was uncomfortable with the situation. How do you tell another woman she was displaying hoe behavior? Especially hoe behavior you don’t cosign.
“Okay, forget that. We are here to have fun tonight. Are you ladies single?” Jenny asked looking at Crystal and Stacy.
“No,” They both said in unison.
“I’m married,” Crystal said.
“And, I’ve been in a relationship or the last two years,” said Stacy.
“Oh…well I guess it’s just you and me tonight, Lashawnda,” Jenny said tapping her glass to mine.
I was taken aback by her statement. I swallowed the mouth full of apple martini I had just sipped.
“What do you mean? I’m not single? Sean and I’ve been together for like three months now.”
“That’s right, I forgot about Sean. I guess it just sort of slipped my mind since you were without a boyfriend for like seven years or something.” Jenny’s voice was extra syrupy, and she smiled wide at me with an innocent expression.
I quirked my eyebrows and was about to retort when Stacy cut me off.
“It wasn’t that long. Besides, from the description I got of Sean, no real woman could ever forget he was taken,” said Stacy eyeing Jenny with an all-knowing gaze. I knew Stacy well enough to know she was not feeling Jenny and would probably curse me out for inviting her.
“Well, it must have slipped my mind; a little too much of these already,” Jenny replied shaking her half-empty glass in the air. “How are you and Sean doing?”
“We are doing very well,” I responded without giving off any emotions.
“I saw the flowers he brought up to your cubicle. Those were really nice. I bet you must have had a happy ending at the end of that date to get flowers like those,” Jenny said, flexing her eyebrows at me suggestively.
Crystal, Stacy, and I all started laughing. We had already talked about the first date weekend Sean and I had. I had spent hours on the phone going into detail about all the things I wanted to do to him. But, Elizabeth Price drilled some notions into our heads about giving it up too soon. Crystal and Stacy made fun of me for still following those rules.
“What…did I say something funny?” Jenny asked annoyed with not knowing the inside joke.
“Nothing…Sean and I didn’t hook up on our first date,” I replied reassuringly when I noticed how uncomfortable Jenny looked.
“Okay. I got to know. How is it?” Jenny asked with a smirk. “I know that’s your man and all but every woman at the office is drooling after him.”
“I wouldn’t know,” I said, bringing my martini glass to my lips. I felt my cheeks heat at the shocked look on Jenny’s face. I hadn’t expected to be questioned about my sex life.
“Shut up!” Jenny yelled. “Girl, what the heck are you waiting for? Do you have a hard time getting him aroused? Because, I have a girlfrie
nd who is overweight too. I’m sure she could show you a few tricks that could help you get him in the mood.”
“What!” “Shut the fuck up!” Crystal and Stacy respectively yelled at the same time.
I looked over at them pleadingly, hoping they wouldn’t do anything crazy. I was definitely the more reserved member of our trio. Crystal nor Stacy had any problems with cursing people out in a heartbeat. And Stacy was unquestionably not above scrapping.
“Thanks for the advice, Jenny.”
I placed a hand on my sister’s thigh underneath the table and squeezed it. Jenny was sitting between Stacy and me, so I couldn’t do anything but look at her pointedly, hoping she got the message to let it go.
“I appreciate your suggestion, but Sean and I aren’t having that type of problem. Actually, there’s no problem at all. We’re just taking our time to get to know each other before we take that step.”
Crystal and Stacy both brought their glasses to their lips at the same time and took very healthy drinks. I sent up a silent prayer that Jenny would keep some of her brash comments to herself or else she might be losing a few teeth before the end of the night.
The waiter arrived just in time with drink refills and our appetizers. The restaurant featured many traditional Caribbean dishes. We ordered pepper shrimp, jerk style hot wings, miniature beef patties, and spicy calamari with a sweet mango dipping sauce. The conversation was light, and I did my best to keep Jenny involved when I found we were talking about people or situations that she wasn’t aware of.
By the time dinner arrived, we had all had at least two drinks. Jenny had consumed the most alcohol but seemed to be able to hold her liquor well. I was on my third drink and promised myself it would be my last. I was already feeling very buzzed. The curry duck I had for dinner was delicious. The spices were perfect along with my choice of sweet drink. When the tab came, I pulled out my card to cover the expenses, wanting to treat everyone tonight. Jenny’s hand came up and pushed my card away.
Over the Hedge Page 15