He looked her up and down. “You going to dance for me again?”
She smiled wryly. “You should be so lucky. Sit down a minute. I want to talk to you about something.”
They sat across from each other in the two chairs next to the window, and he leaned back and stretched his legs. He had on dirty work boots and jeans that were littered with specks of dry paint, yet he looked sexy to her. It was strange how Brian repulsed and attracted her at the same time.
When she won the lottery and quit her job, she’d sworn to herself she was through with Brian. But she couldn’t get him out of her system. After Patrick brushed her off a couple of months ago, she began calling Brian again. Sometimes she thought she wasn’t right in the head.
“You not gonna propose to me, are you?”
Jolene couldn’t help but chuckle. “Stop being silly, Brian. You’re good, but not that good.”
He lit a Marlboro without even asking if she would mind. Jolene normally never let anyone smoke in her presence but she just fanned the smoke as he blew it into the air. She could make an exception just this once, considering what she was about to ask Brian to do to Pearl Jackson.
PEARL SET THREE Giant grocery bags on the countertop and dropped her shoulder bag in a chair. As she removed the wheat bread and placed it in a drawer, she heard a loud thud. She paused and cocked her head to the side. What on earth was that? In all the months she had been coming to Patrick’s house she had never once heard that sound.
Thump! There it was again. It seemed to be coming from the basement, and she wondered if it could be a burglar. She was reluctant to investigate since it was Monday and Patrick wasn’t home from work yet. But the girls should be home and her concern for them overcame her fear.
She opened a lower cabinet and removed a cast-iron skillet. Not that she expected to be able to overpower an intruder, but it gave her a small sense of security. She walked briskly out of the kitchen to the top of the basement stairs, paused and listened. Silence.
She held the skillet out in both hands and took a few steps down. Then she paused and listened again. She heard nothing and took a few more steps. As soon as she reached the basement landing she heard a loud clash. She turned in the direction of the sound and saw Lee and Juliette circling each other like two angry cats.
Suddenly Lee lunged and grabbed Juliette’s head. She held it in a lock and yanked at the hair weave. Juliette’s arms flung about wildly as she struggled to free herself, and together they crashed into the big-screen television set.
Pearl lowered the skillet to the floor and ran to them.
“Stop that!” she yelled. “Stop fighting before you break something.”
The girls ignored Pearl. Juliette used the best weapon she had available—her long gel fingernails—to scratch and claw at her enemy. Lee let Juliette loose, then grabbed Juliette’s weave at the ends and jerked her around like a rag doll.
Pearl caught Lee from behind as Juliette flung her arms about wildly. Pearl pulled Lee hard, trying to get her to release Juliette.
“Let her go!” Pearl shouted.
Suddenly Lee released Juliette, swung around and smacked Pearl in the eye. Pearl jumped back and held her face.
Lee covered her mouth with her hands. “Oh shit!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hit you, Pearl.”
Pearl didn’t say a word. She was stunned. She couldn’t believe this child had just smacked her upside the head.
“Are you OK?” Lee asked. She reached out to look at Pearl’s eye, but Pearl brushed her hand away.
“What is going on down here?” Pearl asked.
“She attacked me!” Juliette screamed. She was nearly in tears as she pointed an accusing finger at Lee with one hand and rubbed her head with the other.
“I told you to quit messing with my man,” Lee said.
Uh-oh, Pearl thought.
“It’s not my fault you can’t hold on to your boyfriend,” Juliette retorted.
Lee lunged after Juliette, and Pearl stepped in between them. Lord knew she didn’t want to get hit again, but this fighting over some boy had to end.
“For God’s sake. Both of you stop this now. I can’t believe you’re down here carrying on like this about a guy. I thought there was a burglar in the house.” She stared at Lee. “You ought to be ashamed of yourself, beating on her like that.”
“Tell her to stop messing with my boyfriend,” Lee said, pouting.
“Ghetto bitch,” Juliette hissed as she tried to put her weave back into place.
Pearl stuck a finger in Juliette’s face. “And you, Miss Smarty Pants, shut your mouth now.” She looked at both of them. “Wait until I tell your father about this. He’s going to be very upset to hear you two were carrying on like this about some boy. Is it Phillip?”
“She’s been seeing him behind my back,” Lee said.
Pearl looked at Juliette. “Is that true?”
Juliette swallowed hard.
“Don’t lie,” Lee snapped. “Two people done told me.”
Juliette shrugged. “We went out a few times, but only ’cause he told me he broke up with you.”
“That’s a damn lie,” Lee shrieked.
“Well, he’s the one lying, not me. If you’re still seeing him I don’t want to have anything else to do with him. But he definitely told me he broke up with you, probably ’cause you’re so ghetto and . . .”
Lee jumped toward her, and Pearl stepped between them again.
“Stop it, Lee,” Pearl said. “Let me handle this.”
Pearl took Juliette’s hand and pulled her aside while Lee stood with her arms folded angrily. “Don’t let me ever hear you call her ghetto again. Do you understand?”
Juliette rolled her eyes and tapped her foot defiantly.
“You’re lucky your parents could take good care of you, and raise you in good style. Some kids aren’t so fortunate. But that’s no excuse to make fun of them. That’s just plain mean. And if I ever hear you calling her ghetto again, I’ll smack that smirk right off your face. Do I make myself clear?”
Juliette blinked, obviously startled that Pearl would threaten to hit her. “My mother would never approve of you talking to me like that.”
“Well, your mama ain’t here right now, is she?”
Juliette stuck out her bottom lip.
“Now apologize to Lee,” Pearl said firmly.
“For what?” Juliette protested. “It’s not my fault she can’t keep her man. I don’t want him anyway.”
“I’m talking about for calling her a ghetto bitch.”
Juliette sighed and walked slowly across the room. “I’m sorry for—”
“I want to be able to hear it loud and clear from over here,” Pearl said, interrupting her.
“I’m sorry for calling you a ghetto bitch,” Juliette shouted.
Lee cut her eyes and looked away.
Pearl looked at Lee. “What do you say to her?”
“I don’t have nothing to say to her,” Lee said stubbornly.
“Accept her apology. Or do you want me to tell your daddy you beat her up?”
“Apology accepted,” Lee blurted.
“She should apologize for messing up my hair,” Juliette pouted. “It’ll cost a fortune to get this fixed.”
Pearl had to fight to keep a smile off her face. Strands of Juliette’s brown hair weave were dangling loose all over her head. “She’s right, Lee. Apologize.”
“I didn’t mean to mess up your hair,” Lee said.
“Good,” Pearl said. “Now go on upstairs, Juliette.”
They both headed toward the stairs, but Pearl reached out and touched Lee’s arm. “You stay here. I want to talk to you.”
“But—”
“But nothing. Come sit down.”
They walked over to the couch in front of the TV, and Lee flopped down. Pearl sat beside her. “Listen. I thought this Phillip was a nice guy. You probably did, too. But if he’s telling Juliette he broke up wi
th you and—”
“She’s lying. He didn’t tell her that.”
“I find it hard to believe that she would lie. Have you talked to Phillip about it?”
“I don’t need to. And even if he did say that, she didn’t have to go mess with him.”
“I agree. But you should ask him about it before you accuse her of lying.”
Lee jumped up. “I don’t want to talk about it no more.”
“Sometimes it helps to talk about these things.”
Lee kept her back to Pearl, and Pearl thought she heard a sniffle. “Are you crying?”
Lee shook her head. “I’m fine.”
Pearl stood, put a hand on Lee’s shoulder, and patted it gently. Suddenly Lee turned and hugged Pearl tightly, and Pearl could feel her body shaking with sobs. Pearl was surprised at the sudden change in Lee but glad she could be there to comfort her.
“It’s OK,” she said softly as she patted Lee on the back. “Go ahead and let it out.”
Lee jumped back and wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “But I don’t want to cry,” she said between sobs. “I told myself I would never cry over some stupid dude.” She sniffed and Pearl looked around for some tissue.
“Oh, girl,” Pearl said. “Sometimes the worst thing you can do is keep things bottled up inside.” She found a few napkins on a side table and handed them to Lee.
Lee dabbed her eyes. “I was wondering why he stopped calling me. Shoot. I’m never gonna bother with dudes no more.”
“Don’t say that. You’re a very pretty girl. Someone else will come along in no time.”
“And then what? He’ll just dump me for Juliette or a carbon copy of her. No thanks.”
Pearl took Lee’s hand and patted it. “You know what? I think you could use a little pampering. And school starts in a couple of weeks. Why don’t you come down to my salon? I’ll fix your hair, do your nails and . . .”
Lee pulled her hand out of Pearl’s grasp and backed up. “Unh-uh. You ain’t getting me in there.”
“Just listen. I know you don’t want to look too girlie. And I’m not trying to do that. But baby, I have a son and I know for a fact that men . . . boys . . . like girls to look a certain way.”
“Too bad. You’re not making me a carbon copy of Juliette.”
“I would never do that. You don’t have to wear a long weave. We could cut your hair into something short and nice. It would be cute.”
“I’m not cutting my hair for some dude.”
“It wouldn’t be for a dude, baby. Do it for yourself.”
Lee wiped her nose with the napkins. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t have to decide now. Just come to the salon with me one Sunday afternoon and look around. I have lots of pictures of pretty hairstyles. If you see something you like, we’ll do it. If not, we won’t. Simple as that.”
Lee shrugged. “I’ll go over there with you but I’m not promising nothing.”
“Fine,” Pearl said. “You just might have fun.”
“Can I come?”
They both turned to see Juliette standing at the bottom of the stairs. She had changed into a fresh pair of hip-hugging blue jeans and pinned her hair up neatly at the back of her head in an elegant twist.
Lee took one look and rolled her eyes to the ceiling.
“How long have you been standing there listening to us?” Pearl said, smiling.
“Please?” Juliette pleaded. “I could definitely use some help up here after what she did to me.” She pointed to her hair.
Pearl looked at Lee. “It’s up to you. This is going to be your treat. I can always take Juliette to the salon another day.”
Lee narrowed her eyes. “Uh . . .”
“It would be a nice gesture to let her go with us,” Pearl added.
“Tell you what,” Lee said. “She can come, I don’t care, if you promise not to tell Daddy that we were fighting.”
Pearl folded her arms across her waist and pretended to think about it for a moment. “It’s a deal. I won’t say anything to your daddy as long as you two behave from now on. But if I ever catch you fighting again, the deal’s off. You’re sisters, for God’s sake. Don’t waste your time fighting over boys. There are more than enough of them to go around, OK? Now shake on it.”
They nodded and shook hands.
"YOU WANT WHAT?” Brian asked. He sat up in his chair and turned to face Jolene. knees. “You heard me,” Jolene said as she crossed her legs at the
“Let me make sure I have this right. You want somebody’s beauty salon busted up?”
Jolene nodded. She had given this a lot of thought. In fact, it was practically all she had thought about since Patrick rejected her advances a couple of months ago. And Brian was the only one she knew who might be able to pull it off.
“Damn. What the bitch do to you, Jolene?”
“Don’t get me started. Just tell me, do you know someone who can pull it off?”
Brian shook his head and slowly exhaled smoke from his cigarette. “Not offhand, I don’t. But I can ask around. You serious about this? ’Cause once you get something like this moving, ain’t no turning back, baby.”
“I’m dead serious.”
Brian stared ahead silently. Jolene could see his brain ticking rapidly. “I’ll pay good money.”
“Hell, yeah, you will. Shit like this don’t come cheap. How much you paying?”
She had no idea what something like this went for. “What’s a job like this normally cost?”
“Considering you just want her salon smashed up—”
“Destroy it,” she said. “Patrick seems to think the earth moves under that bitch’s feet just because she started her own beauty salon.” But that would all change if Jolene had her way.
“Er, destroyed then,” Brian said. “I’d say several thousand, low five figures.”
“Fine. And they can take anything they want, but don’t hurt Pearl or anyone in the salon.”
“You sure you don’t want her thrown around a bit?”
“Yes, I’m sure. I’m not that evil. I just want to ruin her business, not harm her physically. Now that I think about it, do it on a Sunday or Monday when the salon is closed. I don’t want to take any chances.”
“Shouldn’t be a problem. Shit. If that’s all you want and you paying that kinda money, I can probably handle it my damn self.”
Jolene shook her head emphatically. “No, no, no. I don’t want you anywhere near that salon. You can be connected to me too easily if you get caught.”
“I don’t plan on getting caught.”
“No, Brian. It’s too damn risky. I’ll give you a twenty percent finder’s fee after the job is done but I want you to get somebody else to do it.”
“Yeah, yeah. Fine. It’s your money.”
“How soon can you find someone?” Jolene’s heart was racing at the thought that she might be able to pull this off. That bitch was going to get it good, right where it would hurt the most. She leaned forward, flipped her weave, and tapped the toe of her shoes on the carpet. “The sooner the better.”
“Whoa. Take it easy. I’ll have to ask around. I should know something within the week.”
“Fine. And Brian?”
“Yeah?” he said as he stood up to leave.
“Don’t mention my name to anyone. Are we clear on that?”
“Hey, you and me, we got something sweet going on here. But holy shit. What you’re talking about now with this woman Pearl . . .” He shook his head. “I didn’t know you had it in you.”
Jolene smiled slyly. “Now you know.”
BARBARA HELD THE door open to the Gap for Marilyn, but as soon as they stepped in, Barbara immediately felt twenty years older. It had been years since she’d entered one of these jeans outlets. It was noisy and crowded and assaulted her nerve endings. But Noah wanted to take her to an out-of-the-way restaurant in Frederick, Maryland, that evening and he said the place was cozy and laid-back. She wanted to wear som
ething a little less ritzy than St. John jeans.
Barbara smiled as she thought about Noah and their first night together. And the second and third. In the six weeks they had been together, she hadn’t gotten around to cooking for him yet. They spent almost all their time together talking about everything from real estate to books when they weren’t getting to know each other’s bodies from head to toe. Noah liked to explore in bed, and she had discovered that she liked being explored.
Noah was sweet and attentive. And he made her feel so special. From the moment she stepped into his house until she’d left, all of his attention was focused on her. He was always trying to get her to smile or relax. And, most exciting, he wanted to please her in bed. It had been ages since Bradford had tried to please her. She had forgotten what it felt like until now.
“Barbara?”
She snapped to attention at the sound of Marilyn calling her name and looked to see her friend holding up a pair of blue jeans.
“Sorry,” Barbara said. “My mind wandered.”
“I’ll bet,” Marilyn said wryly. “Girl, you are hopeless.”
Barbara smiled with embarrassment. She knew that Marilyn only halfheartedly approved of her affair with Noah. Although Marilyn said she understood why Barbara might get involved with another man given Bradford’s history with other women, Marilyn thought that Noah was far too young for Barbara.
Barbara looked at the jeans Marilyn was holding. “I don’t think they’re right for me. They’re cut too low on the hips.”
“Well, that’s all you’re going to find in here,” Marilyn said as she replaced the jeans. “That’s what kids wear nowadays, you know.”
Barbara ignored the “I told you he’s too young for you” tone in her friend’s voice, but as they searched the clothing racks, Barbara began to see that Marilyn was right about low-cut jeans being all she would find at the Gap. How depressing. They spent thirty minutes searching, until finally Barbara found a pair of waist-level jeans with a slender leg cut. She decided to buy two pairs, since it seemed they were a rarity. She also picked out several casual tops.
“Lunch?” Marilyn asked as they left the store.
Barbara shook her head as she glanced at her watch. “Sorry, but I need to get back. I’m meeting Noah in a couple of hours.”
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