by J. Jakee
“I pray that God moves in my life as he moves in yours,” she continued.
I huffed, “Marley, don’t start with the God talk right now. I’m not in the mood.”
She laughed. “Tough times are the best times to talk about Him!”
While Marley giggled, a tall man with a knit Eagles hat approached my sofa.
“Excuse me. Can I sit here?”
I shook my head “no” and continued with Marley, “No preaching. You preach even when you don’t realize you’re preaching.”
The man, who was still standing in front of me, looked to the left and then to the right just before sitting next to me anyway. S shocked by his blatant mutiny, I dropped my phone to my lap and snapped my neck back like a ‘hood girl would.
“I said you couldn’t sit here, Rosa!” I spat.
The man tilted his head… and then he slowly shook it. Still, he didn’t budge.
“Hello?! You need to move. I’m having a personal conversation with my friend. I’d appreciate it if you respected my privacy.”
“Look man—“
“Woman. I’m obviously a woman.”
“—I had a rough day. There is nowhere sit, and I’m tired. I don’t feel like standing, nor do I feel like having a confrontation. So if you don’t mind, I’d like to study my bible.”
“I do mind. And, your bible? Are you kidding me? Go to a church! If you’re tired, go home!”
The unbothered man flipped through his bible and shifted in his seat in an effort to get comfy. Then he said, “I’m gonna ignore you.”
“Jerk,” I mumbled as I lifted my phone back to my ear.
Marley was still connected.
“Nola! What happened? Is someone bothering you? Maybe you should head to your hotel now. Crazy people come out at this hour.”
***
I think my mother was pretty happy to see me. My father, not at all. He stood against the kitchen cabinet with his arms folded and his face wrinkled with agitation. My mom sat at the kitchen table with her chin resting on top of her folded hands. Even when she was concerned, she looked strikingly beautiful. She used to model for catalogs to help pay her way through medical school, and she still had “it.” Tonight, she looked as if she were modeling her grey satin pajamas. Her dark thick, long hair fell suavely and draped over her shoulders as if it were a hooded blanket. Her long eyelashes batted as her gaze wavered from me to my father, and then back to me.
“I can’t believe he fired you, then kicked you out of the condo all in the same night,” she shook her head. “And, he gave you gonorrhea…”
My father groaned, “After all the money we shelled out for that wedding.” He pointed at me, “You have a case. Take him to court and get EVERY penny I spent.”
My mother exhaled and gently placed her hands on top of mine.
“Before you do anything, you need to figure out where you’ll live right now.”
My father chimed, “That’s what her trust fund is for. She should have enough to find a good house in the morning.”
I rose from the table and grabbed a bottle of Riesling from their wine rack. “That’s what I needed to talk to you both about,” I added as I poured myself a glass.
My mother eyed me, and suspiciously asked, “What, Nola?”
I took a large gulp of the Riesling and swirled in my mouth allowing myself time to get the words out. My father instantly read my body language.
He pounded his hand against the cabinet and yelled, “SHE EMPTIED IT!”
“Nola… No,” my mother moaned.
I said, “Not exactly all of it. There just isn’t enough to buy a good house… or rent a good place. And, you know I’m not going to any old neighborhood.”
My father paced the floor the way attorneys do, running his fingers through his white hair. His pale face was now red from anger. “Your grandfather worked until it killed him…. and you just blow it…like it’s nothing… like it’s toilet paper to wipe your ass with.”
My mother exhaled, “Nola, I thought you had your spending under control.”
“Mom, I tried. Trav dragged me through hell for the past several months. I was so stressed… I maxed his cards, and then I maxed mine.”
My father laughed sarcastically, “Stressed. You lived in a building with millionaires. You were practically handed a career. Your wedding was being paid for. You drive a Range Rover paid off by us. Your bank account has never been under $50,000 for more than two weeks with the help of the trust and with the help of us, and YOU were STRESSED? Do you know that your brothers haven’t touched a penny of their inheritance?”
“Hunny, calm down. You need to relax,” my mom said in her usual angelic tone.
He spat, “She’s a joke!”
I cut my eyes at my father and barked, “Frankenstein, I’m YOUR monster!”
“Don’t you DARE blame me.”
My mother jumped to her feet, “Walter. Nola. Enough. Dominic is upstairs sleeping. You both are getting too loud.”
I sat down and said, “I need to squat here. It’ll be temporary - just until I get myself together.”
My father shoved his hands into his pockets, still pacing the floor. “You’ll never get it together. You were born a failure,” he said coldly.
Then, there was a CLINK-CLASH! I flung my wine glass, and shards flew in every direction as it crashed to the floor. My mother jumped back, dodging the shatter.
“Nola!” she cried.
“He’s an ASSHOLE! And, why do always you allow him to talk to me like that?”
My father groaned, “No, I’m your ATM!” He turned to my mother, “If she breaks another dish in our house, we’re cutting her off. I mean it this time.”
He left us in the kitchen sitting silently. Finally, my mother handed me the broom and followed her darling husband upstairs. I sat and stared at nothing in particular as I recalled the events of my day. Trav gave me gonorrhea, yet I’m the one who ended up fired, homeless, and on the verge of being cut off by my parents. What a day…
CHAPTER 5
Marley stood up and rose her hand after President Gabrielle asked our sorors if there were any announcements or closing remarks.
Always looking painfully nervous whenever the chapter gave her their undivided attention, she fumbled with her fingers and swayed in her pleated brown dress before Gabrielle handed the mic to her. She looked at me, then shrugged her shoulders and flashed a slanted smile. I knew exactly what that exchange meant, my heart pounded with anxiety. Yet, I smiled sweetly with bright eyes, disguising the ranting that took place in my head. She better not. If she mentions my situation, I’m gonna hurt her! If she wants to live to see tomorrow, she better not dare mention me. Don’t do it! Do not do it!
Marley cleared her throat, “Actually… Nola, may kill me for bringing this to your attention…” You’re already dead!
Despite my icy glare and forced smile, she continued, “…but I couldn’t bear to hold it to myself. She’s an amazing woman to us. When a soror faces hardships, I don’t care if they say they have it under control, it’s our duty as a sisterhood to uplift one another. We must be a blessing to each other whether it’s through encouraging prayer or words, or through gifts of monetary value. It’s our duty to be there.”
Some of our sorors were nodding in agreement, while some where sliding me facial expressions of confusion and concern. I sat stone still with the same phony smile, cringing on the inside as I prepared to redeem myself from looking like the charity case that Marley was about to make me into.
She continued, “With that being said, I sadly announce that Nola’s condo caught fire last month. Although she was able to recover all of her belongings, she and her fiancé have no choice but to live in a hotel until they get something permanent.”
Our sorors gasped, and I burned with aggravation. The ones at my table patted my hands and shoulders with empathy. Marley looked choked up with emotion as she gestured towards me.
“She plays such a pi
votal role within our chapter. She was so gracious enough to fund our retreat while she’s getting married next year. The least we could do is lift our soror up in prayer and bless her with an abundance of donations.”
By this time, sorors began to stand and gather around my chair. The pity party had officially begun, and I wasn’t at all about to be the celebrated host. So I rose, walked towards Marley, snatched the mic with a smile of course, and shut it all down.
“Sorors, please. The absolute worst thing you could do is send me donations.” It took me eight years to build my notable reputation within the chapter. I wasn’t about to have that transformed into “the soror in need,” especially for something that didn’t happen anyway.
I continued, “Yes it’s been a crazy month for me, but believe me, it’s all taken care of and under control.”
I patted Marley’s shoulder. “Marley, sweetie, you can sit down now.”
President Gabrielle, who completely disregarded my pitch, stood and took the floor. “Sorors, Marley has made a great point. Let’s all organize donations and care packages for Soror Nola and her fiancé.” She turned to me, “Could you let the chapter know in which hotel you’re currently residing?”
My mind scrambled. Part of me wanted to tell the truth and reveal that I’m pretty close to being broke, I had no job, and that I was living with my parents. A bigger part of me wanted to cover it all up. They didn’t need to know the truth. The truth distorts perception.
I exhaled, “I’m actually staying at my parents’ house in Delaware in the northern section of Wilmington.”
I scanned the room for reactions. Although some of my sorors looked as if they were confused, most of them had stains of pity left on their faces, and that bothered me to the core. I couldn’t have that. No. Hell no. I’d much rather have the entire chapter talk crap behind by back, than to have them look at me with sorry eyes, offering cheap advice on how to get my life together! As far as they were concerned, I have my life together, and I needed that conception to remain. So, the lies flowed and flowed like the Mississippi River. I told them that my parents needed help with my baby brother, Dominic, and that I decided it was the perfect time to step down from my career to further my education. I added that I was starting an internship with one of the top Real Estate agencies in country. They looked intrigued, so I continued. “This is why I don’t need your donations. Everything happens for a reason. If anything, what I need from you all is support.”
I placed my hand on my chest and mimicked the same choked-up expression that Marley used earlier. “Trav… Travis Beaumont didn’t lend his support... So… we broke up… The wedding is off, but what doesn’t kill me makes me stronger! I’m not at all affected by losing my condo or my fiancé. Sometimes in life, you have to make an ass out of adversity, before adversity makes an ass out of you!”
Pity left the building, and admiration filled the air. There were smiles on my sorors’ faces - warm, genuine smiles. There were compliments and encouraging words. At the end of the meeting, Marley mentioned to the chapter that she was felt lucky to be my mentee. I soaked it all in like it was a lavender infused bubble bath.
CHAPTER 6
One year two months later…
“I’m outside,” Marley said when I answered my ringing phone that added to the pain in my head.
“Why?” I grumbled.
“Church! Remember?”
“Go home,” I moaned.
“Nola!”
I disconnected the call.
Just as the doorbell chimed. I rolled over, smothering my face into the pillow. I had a few drinks the night before, and remnants of pomegranate martinis clung to my taste buds and seeped through my pores. I was a wrinkled mess, clothed in yesterday’s taupe midi-dress, suffused in yesterday’s glittery make-up. The big, poufy, grease-mop on my head sopped up all of the cigar fumes from yesterday’s lounge. I couldn’t go to church for the first time in over ten years feeling like a brothel escapee!
“Marley is downstairs!” my baby brother, Dominic, cheered at my bedroom entryway.
He smiled wide enough to expose all thirty-two of his teeth. His eyes glowed like two full moons.
“I love her!”
“I know, but remind me to never respond to her text messages while I have a drink in my hand.”
Dominic nodded in all seriousness, “I will.”
I dragged myself out of bed and stood on the tips of my toes to kiss his forehead. While he happily bolted back downstairs to join his crush, I straggled down the hall to shower. Yesterday, I would have become Mrs. Gonorrhea, and only a small part of me yearned to be in relationship again, which was great considering my history. My line sister, Bailey, and I caustically celebrated the nearly $150,000 dollars that my parents wasted on a wedding that never happened and the $8,000 that they were able to recover from a returned wedding dress. I danced on our booth, puffed a cigar, and stuffed my face with German chocolate cake as I officially tore out the pages to a chapter in my life that never finished.
I scrubbed off yesterday, skipped make-up, slipped into a floral maxi dress and strappy heart shaped Louboutin heels, and brushed my mane into a sleek and low ponytail. It was the best I could do considering I didn’t look or feel like myself anyway. It was just church. I just had to sit pretty for about two hours, then go home to my bed!
Marley didn’t look like her usual self either. She was dressed in a chrysanthemum pink skirt suit with an olive green blouse - our sorority colors. Her hair was freshly spiraled, and her face was glammed to the gods with a hot pink lip glass I spotted from the top of the stairwell. In the nearly two years I’ve known her, she had never worn hot pink lip glass. Hell, she barely wore lip glass at all.
The last time I’d seen Marley was at last month’s chapter meeting. Today she glowed. She sat patiently, looking as if she was sitting at the end of a rainbow with a pot of gold. Dominic had his head resting on her shoulders, while her manicured hands held tightly onto one of his train figurines. Across from them was Dominic’s manny (male nanny), assembling a brand new train track model. My father, I imagined, was upstairs in his office researching for another criminal case he’d predictably win, and my mother was more than likely at the hospital assisting a surgery.
“Nola, you don’t look very good,” Dominic said with concern. I knew Dominic meant “well.”
“I know baby. I partied last night,” I replied. I cut my eyes to Marley. “You owe me coffee or tea from FeliciTEAs and brunch, and whatever else I demand.”
“I got you on the coffee, and I have you covered for brunch. I know an amazing cook.”
“I’m holding you to it, Shirley Temple.”
She smiled and cheerfully. “I used the flexi rods you got me months ago!”
“… And, you’re rocking a bold lip that Stevie Wonder could see.”
“I got it from that place you told me about… MAC!”
Suddenly, I wanted to divorce my favorite beauty supplier.
***
Marley zipped down the highway blasting gospel music. She was tapping her stirring wheel to the beat and swinging her head side-to-side, while late March’s spring breeze blew through her curls. When she exited and reached a stoplight, she turned the volume low.
“Okay. So, I went to dinner with Greg last night and—“
“Greg?” I asked as my eyebrows curled with confusion.
“Nola, you met him at the playground build in September.”
“Oh, the young shy guy with the glasses? You’re dating him?”
“Yes! Since September.”
“I don’t know about that, Marley. He seems timid. And you’re timid. It will never work. I’m sorry. It never does. You need someone outgoing and outspoken to yank some spunk outta you… Light is green.”
Marley made an exaggerated pouting face and pressed the pedal. “I happen to love that he’s timid.”
“Love?” I playfully slapped her arm. “You got some last night! That’s why you’re so
dolled up.”
“Last night, he proposed!”
I glanced down at Marley’s bare finger and asked, “Proposed what?”
“Marriage, silly!”
I laughed.
“My father approves. My friends love him. He treats me amazingly. He grew up in church, he has a wonderful job, and he’s everything that I have asked God for.”
“Congrats… I guess. But, if he has a wonderful job, then why is your hand naked?”
“He’s saving for something marvelous.”
I was once told that if a man proposed without a ring, then the only thing engaged is pathetic conversation. However, I kept my mouth shut on that. I dug in my make-up bag for lipstick.
“We’re getting married in August.”
Found it! Passionate Plum. I puckered my lips at the visor mirror.
“I want you to be a bridesmaid,” she gladly announced.
“Absolutely not!” I fired back. The nerve of her.
“Maid of Honor?”
“The answer remains, No.”
She batted her hopeful eyes the same exact way she did when she visited our chapter meeting for the first time. With the back of her pants gathered in her behind, she anxiously stood in front of ninety other sorors and introduced herself as “a neophyte fresh out of college, eager to find a warm and welcoming chapter she could transfer into to, to begin an exciting life as a grad-level soror.” Child there is nothing exciting about grad-level, I wanted to tell her at the time. Just as I wanted to tell her that it was nothing exciting about being engaged to a man she had just met. Nine months isn’t even enough time to figure out if he’s a cock-burning nymph like Trav.
Marley parked in the PASTOR’S FAMILY spot at her church and turned off the car. “I think you will make a perfect Maid of Honor or bridesmaid.” She counted on her fingers as she listed the reasons for her choice. “I love you like a big sis, I value your opinions, and… it would mean a lot to me.”
“It would mean a lot to me if you didn’t talk to me about your wedding the day after I was supposed to have mine,” I retorted.