by D. A. Young
“Oh. How did you wind up here?” Avery asked curiously, sensing there was more to Jenny than what she was showing.
“Well…I came home from college for a…funeral and rekindled a flame with…a high school sweetheart. He was home to visit for a spell too. One thing led to another, and we decided to move away,” The younger woman said defiantly and straightened her shoulders proudly.
“Does your family know?” Avery asked gently, her curiosity was growing stronger by the minute, and she found herself wanting to help this young woman in any way that she could. “I’m not trying to pry, but if there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.”
“Thanks, Ms. Monroe. I really appreciate the offer, and there is somethin’ you can do.” She hesitated briefly. “This shindig here, it’s to raise awareness for domestic violence right?”
“It is. The Take a Stand Foundation is a new organization formed by the Sullivan brothers,” Avery replied proudly.
“So then…the brothers are…good guys?” Jenny asked, blushing when Avery just stared at her. “I wanna make a donation. I…I just wanted to make sure it was for a worthy cause ya know? I’ve heard the stories in town, but didn’t know-”
“The Sullivan brothers are some of the finest men I know, Jenny,” Avery stated firmly. “They are savvy businessmen with big hearts, and I’d trust them with my life. This foundation is not something they take lightly. If you would like to make a donation, please be assured it would go to the right people.”
Jenny’s relief was palpable. “Thank you kindly, Ms. Monroe. You’ve taken a load off my mind. Well, I’d better call Mr. Winters back. I reckon’ he’ll be a bit discombobulated that he can’t come in.” She gave Avery a wan smile. “See ya later.”
Avery turned and watched her walk to the employee entrance; she was very bothered by the change in the young woman’s personality. It was as if the light had died inside of her. She was so deep in thought, she didn’t hear Noelle and Sidra approaching.
SMACK!
“HOLY CRAP!” Avery yelped and grabbed her stinging behind. She quickly swung around fists flying. “The hell?!”
Jumping out of arm’s reach, Sidra burst out laughing. Noelle, who wanted no part of the unfolding drama, walked over to a table and pulled out a chair. “Sorry, Avery. I tried to warn you, but I guess you didn’t hear me. You looked like you were in a trance. Everything okay?””
Still scowling at Sidra, she answered Noelle. “Yes, I was just making sure the delivery times Jenny and I went over were correct.” Avery then turned back to address Sidra, “If you ever, in your twisted, evil, little life do something like that again, I will kill you in your sleep.”
Shaking her hand, Sidra said, “Don’t worry, I think I’ve learned my lesson. Your booty is firm enough to bounce bricks off of it. Have you been doing squats?”
Avery tried to maintain her scowl but never could resist Sidra for long. “Come here, brat!”
They exchanged a tight hug before Sidra pulled back to smile at her fondly. She linked arms with Avery and guided her to the table where Noelle was sitting. “Here, have a seat. It’s good to see you, love. I missed you so much! How have you been?”
There it was: the question that her friends and family couldn’t stop asking her. She really just wanted to break down and cry, but now was not the time. That would be for after the holidays, when she was alone in her apartment. So Avery pasted a bright smile on her face and gave her normal, bland, cream cheese answer: “I’m fine.”
Noelle and Avery stared at her warily, clearly unconvinced. So she smiled harder and their faces grew even more alarmed. Hmmm. Clearly it wasn’t working today.
“The best thing about being such great friends is knowing each other really well, knowing the things that make each other happy and sad. Sorry, Ave, but you’re going to have to give it up,” Noelle said gently, with an apologetic smile.
Sidra was her usual blunt self. “I’m sure that in your mind you’re giving the perfect ‘I just won the crown’ Miss World Beauty smile, but in reality it looks more like the Joker’s when he’s on one of his psychotic sprees.”
Avery’s fake smile flat-lined, and she squinted her eyes at Sidra. “Bish! I knew there was a reason I didn’t miss you.”
“Now don’t you feel better, not having to pretend?” Sidra asked with a grin. “Remember when I was in the seventh grade and barely had a butt? How I tried to put equal amounts of paper towels in each back pocket to give me a nice side profile?”
Noelle and Avery started laughing, and Sidra shook her head. “That was exhausting; trying to make sure they stayed even every time I got up. Finally, I was just like fuck it and yanked them out of my pockets, in front of a group of neighborhood guys who’d just given me a symphony of whistles. They about died laughing, but I felt better immediately.”
Still laughing, Avery wiped tears from her eyes, “Man, I’d forgotten all about that! Seriously though, you ladies are absolutely right. So here it goes. I broke up with Pierce. It was ugly; and I’m a little ashamed of how it happened, and the part I played in it. Am I sad? Yes. Am I mad? Yes. Do I wish I hadn’t been such a big fool? Yes. Am I going to talk about why it happened? Not right now.”
She watched as her friends exchanged a long look. “What’s wrong?”
Sidra pulled her phone out. “Ummm…we kind of have an idea of what might have led to the breakup. Noelle’s sister sent her a video, which her son brought to her attention. A word of warning: It’s on World Star Hip Hop’s website and is their most viewed video.”
With a sense of foreboding, Avery snatched the phone from her. She read the title aloud: “‘Black Barbie takes on two dudes’. That just sounds like some hardcore porn.” She pressed the play button and waited for the video to download. Then it started to play. At first Avery was confused as to what was happening, then when it became clear, she screeched loudly, “Oh. My. Goodness! How did they get this?!?!”
“Honey, this is 2015, not 1972. Technology is accessible any and everywhere,” Sidra said gleefully. “I must say, after seeing that, I was a little reluctant to sneak up on you, but you know me, I don’t give a rip. Bravo, Avery!”
Noelle tried to suppress a smile. “Jack looked at it and said with your looks and moves, he could definitely get you a very lucrative contract. That is, if you wanted to change professions...”
Avery gave the phone back to Sidra. Dazedly she put her forehead on the table. She cringed as her mind flashed back to that horrible night.
New York City in December was a very festive affair. It was the time of the year that Avery really splurged on events such as skating in Rockefeller Center, horse riding in Central Park, and attending the Nutcracker ballet. Dinner at Alameida’s, her favorite tapas bar in the city, should have been an enjoyable affair. Drained after meeting with a newly engaged starlet, all Avery wanted to do was drink good sangria and savor a delicious meal. She was still contemplating ideas for a burlesque-themed bachelorette party when she arrived at the restaurant. Upon entering, she looked around searching for Pierce. She spotted him sitting at one of the small highball tables in the back, behind a larger table filled with people.
“Welcome to Alameida’s. How many in your party?” the friendly hostess asked her.
“I see my fiancée already waiting for me, thanks,” she told the hostess with a friendly smile and headed towards him. As she walked back, Avery took a moment to observe him. Pierce was very attractive with smooth, mahogany skin, deep-set soulful eyes, and a bald head. He dressed his six foot, wiry frame in business attire at all times. Extremely smart, fluent in three different languages, and a wine connoisseur, he was definitely considered a catch. Avery had been immensely flattered when he first approached her.
He treated her extremely well, as if she were a gem that had to be handled with kid gloves. Avery found this to be completely refreshing, after playing grabby hands with almost every date she’d ever had. In fact, Pierce was so respectful, that he refu
sed to initiate any type of physical contact with the exception of holding her hand. She had to be the aggressor, and it was HORRIBLE.
The first time he’d seen her naked, she felt sexy and confident that everything would be great between them. Avery had yet to meet a man who didn’t admire her generous curves. Until Pierce. His dark skin turned positively ashy, and she thought he was going to be ill. It had been a devastating blow to her ego, and she was left wondering what was wrong with her. Things got better after they got engaged, and they were committed to making it work. But she grew more insecure and longed for physical relations. Was she so desperate for love that she would stay with a man who couldn’t satisfy her?
The answer was YES. Because she wanted the dream of marriage and babies that badly. By the time her mother and sisters were twenty-four, they’d been married and now lived happy lives with their husbands. Pierce seemed like the perfect guy to settle down with and raise a family. They just had to find that pesky little thing called CHEMISTRY.
Avery’s steps faltered as she saw Pierce wasn’t alone. Sitting across from him was a reed thin, ivory-skinned, black woman with long, box braids. They were engrossed in an intensely private conversation. On the table was an assortment of tapas and two glasses of white sangria, which she hated. Suddenly Pierce’s hand reached out and grasped one of the woman’s.
She attempted to pull away, but he clung desperately to it, as if it were his lifeline. Agony was etched in every line of his face, as she struggled to get away. Avery had never seen him display such raw emotion. It was alarming to see that it was over another woman. Stay calm and give him the benefit of the doubt, she told herself as she reached them, heart beating frantically.
“Hi, babe!” she said brightly; surprised, Pierce released the other woman’s hand as if it were a hot poker. Avery smiled sweetly, “You didn’t tell me that it wouldn’t be just us tonight. Otherwise I wouldn’t have been late.”
Avery turned to the woman who appeared to be an immoveable statue and waited for her to turn around.
Pierce was sputtering like a fool. “Uh-uh- Avery…I wasn’t expecting…I mean…this is… a surprise.”
“What do you mean this is a surprise, Pierce?” she asked in confusion, her temper was rising fast towards the woman who had yet to show her respect and turn around. “We had reservations for six-thirty tonight.”
“I’m so sorry, Avery. I thought you got my message about calling to cancel,” Pierce explained wanly. He looked scared as hell; she gave him a hard stare as she rummaged in her trench coat pocket for her phone. There were eight text messages. One was from Noelle, another from her sister Fallon. The remaining six were from Pierce. She clicked on his first missed text.
IMPORTANT MEETING TONIGHT! HAVE TO RESCHEDULE DINNER. LOVE YOU, P.
“This is your important meeting?” she asked sharply, her voice rising and drawing attention from other diners to the table. “And it’s taking place outside of work, in a romantic setting, with a woman I’ve never met?! What the hell is really going on, Pierce?”
Suddenly the slim woman pushed her chair back with a loud screech, and all noise in the restaurant came to a halt. “Would you just be a man and tell her about us already! Even though she’s already spoken the words out loud, it’s clear innocent Lil’ Bo Big Booty here is in denial!”
Avery got her first glimpse of the woman and could only stare in shock. She was a little taller than her, probably about five feet, six inches and impeccably dressed in head to toe Zac Posen. Her makeup and box braids were expertly done. There was no denying she had style, just like there was no denying that SHE was really a HE. Avery was almost fooled, but Adam’s apples don’t lie.
Rage ran through her, as every attempt that she made and Pierce rebuffed, hurtled through her mind at lightning speed. All the attempts to make herself more appealing and failing enormously. This was the real reason he was so disgusted by her body. For too long, she’d thought there was something wrong with HER and attempted to fix herself. When she’d asked if there was someone else, he’d always insisted that there wasn’t. She supposed he hadn’t lied about that. There wasn’t anyone else. It was him, PIERCE. He had the problem of being in denial. In the background, some wiseass thought it would be cute to play Elle Kings “Ex’s & Ohs”
Well, I had me a boy, turned him into a man
I showed him all the things that he didn't understand
Whoa, and then I let him go
Now, there's one in California who's been cursing my name
'Cause I found me a better lover in the UK
Hey, hey, until I made my getaway
“Shut up, Cassandra,” Pierce said miserably, his eyes watching Avery cautiously. “Avery, I can explain.” But he didn’t get the chance to, as Avery swiftly grabbed the half empty sangria bottle and cold-cocked him upside the head. He slumped over in his chair, before sliding unceremoniously to the floor.
“Bitch!” Cassandra tried to run up on her, but Avery dropped her clutch and planted her feet firmly, waiting for the heifer. Eyes blazing with anger, Cassandra reached out her right arm in an attempt to swing at Avery. At the last minute Avery used it to pull Cassandra towards her body with one arm and clothesline her hard with the other, sending her crashing to the floor. Nighty night, Cassandra went.
Disgusted and pissed to the highest level of pisstivity, Avery reached down and picked up her clutch. Head held high, she walked away from the table, to the applause of the other patrons, adrenaline coursing through her body. She even high-fived some women who whistled and shouted words of approval at her. Although she was appalled to be brawling in public, she couldn’t help the immense feeling of satisfaction that she was currently riding highly on. It almost made up for her dry spell. Almost.
One, two, three, they gonna run back to me
'Cause I'm the best baby that they never gotta keep
One, two, three, they gonna run back to me
They always wanna come, but they never wanna leave
Ex's and the oh, oh, oh's they haunt me
Like ghosts they want me to make 'em all
They won't let go
Ex's and oh's
Since then, she’d sent Pierce’s ring back to him via messenger, refusing to see him. He begged her, but she remained unwavering. He threatened to press assault charges against her and sent pics of him with a large Band-Aid on his head and Cassandra wearing a neck brace. Avery threatened to tell his precious mama about her “perfect” Pierce and Cassandra. After that, he backed off, and she’d thrown herself into work wholeheartedly.
“I just feel like this love thing is never gonna happen for me,” Avery sadly shook her head. “It’s probably because I want it too badly. It’s almost like fate is saying ‘any and everyone but HER.’ I kept telling myself things would get better, but they never did, and now I know why.”
Sidra grabbed her hand and held on tightly, “Cut it out, Avery. It’ll happen, when it’s supposed to happen. You spent all this time and energy invested in the wrong man. Can you imagine what it will be like when you finally get the right one? All the things that intimidated dirtbag will be what the perfect one loves about you.”
“How could he treat you so badly?” Noelle asked angrily. “You’d think he would just say something after how hard you tried to please him.” Admiringly she asked, “By the way, where’d you get them moves from?”
“I love old school WWF wrestling,” Avery admitted with a sheepish expression. “I never thought I’d have to try the moves out, but I’m not sad I got the opportunity to!”
“They never saw it coming!” Sidra cackled, and then added proudly, “My baby is growing up.”
Avery shrugged. “When we first met, was I supposed to introduce myself to Pierce by saying, ‘Hi, I’m Avery, I suggest you really not sleep on me.’? I don’t think so, honey.”
‘You did the right thing. The high road didn’t work, so oh well,” Noelle agreed. “You can be ladylike and humble, but still let
these chicks know.”
“What a shady bastard,” Noelle growled, and Sidra nodded her head in agreement.
“He’s shadier than a yearlong eclipse. Don’t worry, I got you a pick-me-upper that you are going to love,” Sidra said excitedly.
“Well, let me see it! I need something to brighten up my day,” Avery urged, with a big smile.
This time, Noelle was the one to groan miserably, as Sidra eagerly removed her poncho and Avery’s mouth fell open in shock. “Ta-Daaaaa!!!”
Chapter Five
Vivienne Romankov couldn’t believe she was actually enjoying her stay in Whiskey Row. The town was decorated in festive holiday décor, so pretty and picturesque, that she almost forgot the heartbreaking tragedy that took place here all those years ago. Almost. It was four-thirty in the afternoon, and she’d just finished the last of her Christmas shopping. The glow and sparkle of the decorations and the carolers singing as they strolled through town put her in an extremely happy mood.
It was now time to head back to Jack and Noelle’s and get started making her collard greens that the boys had specifically requested. As she walked down Main Street, arms laden with shopping bags, Vivienne returned the polite smiles and greetings of the townspeople. Some faces she recognized, others she didn’t, but it was just as well; she wasn't here to be chummy or catch up with anyone. Especially him.