by Dawn Desiree
“How’s about I smack that phat ass?” Terrance shot back.
“This ass is for admiring, not for harassing,” Rain joked.
“A’ight, well, how about I admire it, and then I harass it?” Terrance asked seductively.
“Damn, I can’t win for losing with you.” Rain laughed. “No, for real, though, I called you on a serious note.”
“That ass is serious,” Terrance continued, laughing and choking simultaneously from the weed.
“Listen to me, Terrance.” Rain interrupted. “My little brother might call you looking for me. If he does, I want you to call me ASAP. I know you heard by now about what happened to my father.”
Terrance now spoke with some sincerity. “Yeah, that’s messed up that big J went out like that. Are you okay?” Terrance asked softly.
Rain could feel her tears about to betray her again. “Well, it’s like they say: When it rains, it pours, and right now it’s pouring down real heavy,” Rain answered. “Jody got locked up, I’ve been to two foster homes within twenty-four hours, and now the fuckin’ state done split me and Rome up. I don’t know what to expect next. It’s some foul shit going down right now,” Rain continued. It felt good to vent and get some of her troubles off her chest.
“Damn, baby, I’m sorry to hear all that,” Terrance said. “You are too sexy to be going through this shit. If your little youngin’ calls me, I’ll be sure and get at you. Do you want me to call you at the number that came up on my caller ID?” Terrance asked.
“Yes, this is where I’m laying my head for right now,” Rain answered.
“Can I come and lay my head beside you?” Terrance asked, back to his old tricks.
“It depends on which head you’re talking about,” Rain retorted. She was back on joke time, too, stepping up her game with him.
“I see that you’ve made yourself at home,” Cathy said, startling Rain.
“I have to go now.” Rain hung up the phone with a quickness and gave her undivided attention to Cathy, hoping that she wasn’t in any kind of trouble just for making a call. If she was in trouble, she would just lie and say she was calling to find out when her father’s funeral service was going to be held. She wasn’t sure how much of her conversation with Terrance Cathy had overheard.
Rain automatically started pleading her case. “I had an important call to make. I asked Sunshine and she said that it was okay for me to use the phone.”
Cathy started smiling, amused by Rain’s bewilderment. “Of course it’s okay for you to use the phone. That’s why I had it installed, not just for decoration. I’m not some uppity old witch who smiles easily by making young girls’ lives like yours miserable,” Cathy added. “Believe it or not, I was a young girl once, and I know how vital a telephone is. I don’t have a problem with you using the phone, as long as your male friends don’t call past eleven and your girlfriends don’t call disrespecting.”
Rain was relieved and could now allow the tension in her shoulder muscles to loosen up. “That’s what’s up,” Rain said, smiling too.
Rain sensed that Cathy was exceptional. She had all the divine assets of a classy woman from the hood. For one, the fresh Louis Vuitton halter-top with the belt and sandals to match set her style off to a higher level. Secondly, her personality was smooth and easygoing, almost like a dude. She wasn’t sassy or uptight like most of the women Rain had bumped heads with. And finally, who could overlook her exquisite house, with all of the Italian leather and imported statues? Life-sized portraits adorned the walls and emphasized wealth and style. She even had an oversized framed photograph of herself with Snoop Dog and Tupac. Now that was some real gangsta shit.
“I came up here to tell you and Sunshine that I made dinner reservations for us at Royals. It’s an all-American cuisine restaurant. I figured that since this is your first night here, it would be a great way for all of us to get to know one another.”
Rain nodded her head in agreement. “Do I have to dress up?” Rain wanted to know. She mentally assessed the few articles of her wardrobe she’d brought and knew she definitely didn’t have anything worth wearing somewhere nice.
“No, it’s a nice place to dine, but it’s not too high-class. You don’t have to throw on no suits or gowns. You’ll be fine wearing some slacks and a nice blouse to match.” Rain didn’t think she even owned a pair of slacks or any pair of nice pants, for that matter. Usually, she would wear skintight jeans with different colored tank tops.
Cathy could read the uneasy look on Rain’s face. “If you don’t have anything casual to wear, don’t stress. We can stop at a shop in Georgetown to pick you up something fierce. Royals isn’t that far from the shops anyway.”
Rain liked that idea a helluva lot.
“We’ll be leaving in about an hour, so that should be enough time for you to shower and freshen up,” Cathy said. “There’s a bathroom down the hall to your left. You’ll find everything you need to beautify yourself, not that you need much help in that department.”
Rain was psyched. She loved when people openly admired her beauty. She knew that she was sexy down to the very thin layer of her bone, and compliments only confirmed the truth.
“If you don’t see something that you need in the bathroom, just let Sunshine know. I will be downstairs getting myself together. I am very excited about tonight. I’m looking forward to getting to know each other better,” Cathy added as she turned to leave.
Rain jumped up from her bed and ran down the hall to get ready like a child on her way to Chuck E. Cheese.
The bathroom was enormous and filled with full-length mirrors for Rain to admire her brick house. There were even mirrors on the ceiling.
Damn, this joint is sexy, Rain thought.
Rain searched to see if she could find a small radio to listen to while she bathed. She couldn’t find one, but that didn’t matter. She would just grab the clock radio from the nightstand in her room. She raced back to get it. She had to have her music playing while she got ready.
Behind the brown, genuine leather shower curtain covered with thin plastic, Rain found a tub that you could live in.
“The hell with a shower. I’m taking a bubble bath,” Rain said to no one. She noticed an assortment of bubble baths lined up along the vanity that stood next to the tub. There were so many that it was hard for Rain to decide which one to use. Finally, she decided on a soft Hawaiian silk fragrance.
She ran warm bath water and let the delicate scent fill the air. She plugged in the little radio and tuned it to her favorite hip hop station. Rain began to finally relax from all the past days’ tensions. For the moment, she could exhale and not dwell on the death of her father, not worry about how her brothers were, not trip about Terrance, and not stress about what would become of her in this life.
While the enormous tub took its time filling up, Beyonce’s powerful voice squeaked out of the teeny tiny radio. Rain wished she could get more volume out of the infant radio, but that didn’t stop her from moving and twisting her naked body all around to the beat. She watched herself in the tall mirrors while she bounced her ass up and down like she had seen Beyonce do so proudly in so many of her videos.
“Beyonce, you are one vicious woman, but you ain’t got nothing on me.” Rain smacked her apple bottom with a loud SMACK! as she continued moving seductively to the music. Gradually, she grinded her way to the ground, while slowly winding her hips in a tick-tock motion, grooving her way back up.
“Let me stop fucking around and act like I have somewhere to go,” Rain told herself. As she soaked herself clean in her foam bath, the thought crossed her mind that she’d much rather stay in the house and just order some shrimp and rice. She wasn’t sure if this nice neighborhood had a Chinese carry-out restaurant, but she would’ve bet money that it did. Why wouldn’t it? Her old hood had a carry-out on every other corner. Most carry-outs sat next to the liquor store, which was usually right next to a beauty supply, which was generally accompanied by a mini-mart. Rain woul
d surely miss her old hood. On the other hand, she was definitely not unhappy about her new hood.
Rain wondered how Cathy could afford such a luxurious house with such fancy trimmings. Clearly, she’s not getting no fat check from the cheap-ass government, that’s for sure, she thought. Maybe she got herself a nice, paid boyfriend who’s pushing bricks, ’cause it ain’t that much foster caring in the world.
“Do what you do,” Rain said out loud. Rain had seen enough drug dealing in her life to be in her right mind to start her own business. Of course, she would never do that, because she also saw what happened to most drug dealers. One of four things: jail, shot, killed, or they became rappers selling hate records to young thugs.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
“Rain, it’s Sunshine. Cathy thought I should let you know that we’ll be leaving in fifteen minutes.”
Rain quickly sat up in the tub, splashing bubbles everywhere. “Oh, shit!” Rain had gotten so relaxed in her bath that she had lost track of time. “I’ll be right out,” she yelled.
Rain hurried out of the bath and into her room. She attacked the bags with all of her belongings inside, searching for a decent outfit to wear.
“All this gear is played out,” she mumbled while tossing wrinkled clothes all about.
“This might work.” She held a long summer dress up against her frame and observed herself in the full-length mirror.
Yeah, if I was going to a cookout, she thought. Rain threw the dress on the floor. Cathy did say that she would buy me an outfit if I didn’t have one, so it really doesn’t matter what I put on for now, she told herself. Finally, she decided on her green tank top and green Capri pants to match. It’s not dinner-wear, but it’s what I’m wearing.
When Rain got downstairs, Cathy and Sunshine were at the door waiting for her, and dressed to kill. A man could actually get hurt if he tried to look too hard. Rain was mesmerized for a moment, trying to figure out which fashion magazine they had just come out of. They were so dolled up that it looked as if someone had cloned two top models from Essence.
Cathy’s body was serious about her outfit. The black satin mini-dress she wore clung to her skin for dear life. She set it off with a tall pair of black stilettos.
Sunshine was on the scene with a tight Baby Phat wraparound skirt with a matching blouse that purposely fit too small. Her sandals were decorated with diamond Baby Phat emblems all over them. She was too much.
Rain felt a little out of her league but still knew that a compliment was mandatory. She would be hating if she didn’t recognize their jazzy attire.
“Y’all are going to get somebody’s man in trouble,” Rain said. “They’re gonna be mad ’cause their man supposed to be cutting their steak, but instead they’ll be cutting their eyes at you,” Rain added.
“Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment,” Sunshine said.
“Yes, thank you, Rain. You’re looking cute yourself, but I would still like to get you something fresh to wear,” Cathy said. “Because when we step up in Royals, all three of us are going to make everybody do a double take. We gonna make them cry and beg when we step up in there like we’re Destiny’s Child or something. You feel me?” Cathy asked.
‘Well, I’m Beyonce,” Rain said while rolling her eyes wild to every direction in the room.
“Okay, well, then I’m Kelly,” Sunshine said, smiling. She twirled her whole body around in an exotic circle while holding up an imaginary microphone to her mouth.”
“Well, then I guess I’m Michelle,” Cathy said. She put on her best dumbfounded look, trying to duplicate the confused and lost look Michelle always seemed to have when she was on stage. Rain and Sunshine broke out into tears from laughing so hard, as they continued to watch Cathy tripping over her own two feet. She looked more like a retard than a songstress.
“Oh, that’s messed up, Cathy. So what are you trying to imply?” Sunshine asked, still laughing.
“Let’s keep it real, girls. We all know that Michelle is a little off-balance sometimes with that threesome. She’s better off doing gospel music. That’s what she’s good at,” Cathy stated. “But don’t get me wrong. The girl can sang. Not sing, but sang, you dig? I just feel like her presence is not as strong and sexy as Beyonce and Kelly. Michelle should be a solo act, sanging some wholesome church music.” Cathy had to laugh at her own self.
“Come on, Kelly and Beyonce, let’s go turn some heads.”
Rain was beaming with happiness. For the first time since the death of her father, she actually felt good about herself and her life. Rain realized that she and Sunshine almost got off to a bad start because of her foolish assumptions, but now she felt as if she may have made two new friends.
FOUR
The Georgetown scene was filled with energy. People from all walks of life roamed about casually, lighting up the sidewalks and streets. Rain looked around the city streets as if she were a tourist.
She didn’t tell Cathy or Sunshine, but this was her first time ever being in Georgetown. She had never seen so many different cultures in one place at one time. All the hustlers in her hood always bragged about G-Town, always remaining fresh and geared up from the flyest stores like Solbiato, Coogie, and LaCoste. Rain felt official just by walking past the high-fashion, overpriced stores. It was exciting. Jewelry stores, foreign restaurants, antique shops, and designer clothing shops stood side-by-side, babysitting each other. Rain even observed one store with skimpy lingerie, silver handcuffs, and feathers displayed in the outside window.
Is that legal?
“What kind of place is that?” Rain asked curiously, dangling her first finger toward the adult toy store.
Sunshine noticed the store and was just as clueless as Rain, so she shrugged her shoulders as if to say, If you don’t know, I don’t know either.
“That, my inquisitive young ladies, is a special store that I will take you both to when you’re grown up and married,” Cathy said. “Until then, don’t worry your teenage heads about it.”
“Oh, so that’s what a freaky-deak store looks like?” Rain said teasingly.
Cathy turned the volume down on the radio because she wanted to hear Rain clearly before she answered her next question.
“And what do you know about a freaky-deak store, Ms. Thang?” Cathy was trying to figure out what kind of young girl she was dealing with—a roller, or just an inquiring one.
Rain could feel an unwanted speech coming on, so she gave a simple answer. “Not much, only that they sell cool nightgowns for men and women.”
“Uh-huh, just checkin’,” Cathy said, satisfied with her response.
She’s a smart one, Cathy thought.
Cathy turned into a residential neighborhood just around the corner from the shops. The streets were so congested that there was no room left for parking. Cathy turned off the ignition to her top-of-the-line Lincoln Navigator.
“Let’s go, girls. We gotta be quick because I’m parked on private property, and I can’t afford no parking tickets. I’ve got two teenage girls to support,” Cathy said.
Cathy began to walk the busy streets with stride, knowing exactly where to go as if it were her second home. She led Sunshine and Rain into a small urban store with all the latest fashions.
Rain was surprised that such a tiny store could have such enormous style, with prices to match. Within the first three minutes of strolling through the small aisle, Rain spotted three outfits that she would die for. She didn’t bother to tell Cathy. Since it was Cathy’s money, Rain would wait to see what Cathy had in mind.
Rain thought about stealing the shit but decided against it. The store was so closed in, she was sure that the owner could see her just thinking about it. Instead, she just placed the clothes to the side, in case Cathy decided to splurge on more than just one outfit.
Rain watched as Cathy quickly scanned through the items like a professional fashion consultant. Rain beamed as Cathy held different garments up to her to see what was appropriate.
Sunshine thought she liked Rain but wasn’t ready to commit to that opinion yet. She had to spend some more time getting to know her before deciding whether she was official. As far as she was concerned, Rain was still competition. She looked around the clearance racks as if she was interested, but nothing inside the store impressed her that day. Cathy had just brought her to this same store not even a week ago, so the merchandise was already familiar to her.
Sunshine stole subtle glances at Cathy and Rain. She watched them as they walked side-by-side to the cash register, looking like an all-too-familiar mother and daughter. That’s when she realized that their quality time was just about up. Sunshine couldn’t fake it any longer. She hurried back over to them like a green-eyed tiger cub abandoned by her mother.
Cathy noticed Sunshine standing behind them and gave her a gentle love tap on her cheek. Sunshine exhaled her envy; no one could come between them.
“Do you see anything in here that you want to get, Sunshine?” Cathy asked. Sunshine shook her head no. Cathy paid for the three outfits that Rain had her eyes on earlier, plus a silver alligator purse and a sky blue stretch Versace dress that she would wear to dinner.
The only thing left to purchase was a pair of shoes that would match the authentic dress. Cathy had the perfect place in mind for that.
“After the cashier scans this stuff, I want you to go into the dressing room and put this one on,” Cathy said. She pointed to the Versace dress. “Be careful when you take the tags off. You don’t want to accidentally rip the dress.”
The cashier handed the dress to Rain. “You’re going to look real fly in this,” she said. “This is one of our hottest sellers this summer.”
Rain already knew she would look good in the shit. She didn’t need a cashier making pennies to tell her.