Too Close for Comfort

by La Jill Hunt

  “Are you talking to me?” Camille laughed. “For a minute, it sounded like you were talking to yourself.”

  “You know what, Cam, if I wasn’t, maybe I shoulda been.” Paige smiled.

  “You know, I was gonna mention that to you.” Camille smirked.

  “Don’t even try it.”

  “I don’t know who was crazier, Quincy for letting you go or Marlon for not holding on to you,” Camille said. “You are one in a million.”

  Paige thought about what Camille said. It was one of the greatest compliments anyone had ever given her, and she realized that she was right. She had been having a pity party of her own, thinking that there was something wrong with her, when it was Marlon’s and Quincy’s loss. One thing she was determined not to lose was her relationship with her mother.

  “What are you doing here?” Aunt Gayle asked, when Paige walked in the following morning.

  “I’m here to see my mother. Where is she?”

  “She’s not here.”

  Paige raised her eyebrow. “Her car’s outside.”

  “She walked up to the church for a little while,” Aunt Gayle answered.

  Paige looked over at her aunt and saw just how pathetic she was. She looked much older than her fifty-two years, in her short, faded-red Afro and usual attire of elastic waist pants and an oversize flowered blouse. Paige knew that was exactly how Celeste would look at that age, and she felt sorry for both of them.

  “How’re you feeling?”

  “I’m making it.” Aunt Gayle, surprised by the question, looked at Paige.

  “You’re here alone? Where’s Celeste?”

  “She ran out to the store to get me some herbal tea. She’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Well, I can sit with you until she returns.”

  “No, I’ll be fine.” Aunt Gayle began looking nervous. “You go ahead on up to the church. Your mother is there.”

  “No, its fine, Aunt Gayle. I can stay for a few minutes.” Paige sat in a chair.

  “Well, I’m a bit tired. I was about to go get in the bed and take a nap.” Aunt Gayle stood up so quickly, that she nearly lost her balance.

  Paige quickly jumped up and caught her aunt by the arms to prevent her from falling. “Aunt Gayle, what is the matter with you?”

  The door opened and Celeste walked inside.

  “What are you doing to my mother?”

  “She was about to fall. She got up too fast off the chair.”

  “I told her I was going to be fine and she could go ahead and leave,” Aunt Gayle said nervously.

  “Yeah, Paige, I’m here now,” Celeste said. “You can go and leave us alone.”

  Paige looked at both of them and wondered what was going on. They were both acting like two teenage girls who had been caught smoking and trying to cover up the scent. She looked at the two pathetic women and decided that finding her mother was more important than being around them.

  “Well, take care of yourself, Aunt Gayle.”

  “I will.”

  “You want me to call your mother and tell her you’re on your way?” Celeste escorted Paige toward the door.

  “No, I can just go up there. By the time you talk to her, I’ll be there.”

  “Good-bye,” they both said to each other.

  Paige got into her car and drove the four blocks to the church. Her mother was making copies in the church office when she arrived.

  “Hey, Mama.”

  “Well, isn’t this a nice surprise.” Paige’s mother gave her a kiss on the cheek.

  “I went by the house and Aunt Gayle told me you were here.” Paige sat in a nearby empty chair.

  “Yes, I had to run up here and run these programs off for Sister Amelia’s funeral day after tomorrow.”

  “Sister Amelia died? Wow! What was she, like a hundred and three?”

  “Shut your mouth, Paige Micheals.” Her mother laughed. “You know she was only ninety-two.”

  “Close enough.”

  “Yes, she lived a full life.” Her mother picked up the program and looked at it. “Lived to see her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.”

  “A little while longer and she woulda seen her great-great grandchildren—you know that Aisha is buck wild.”

  “Shhh . . . be quiet. You know someone may hear you. She was truly blessed, though. I pray the Lord lets me live long enough to experience that.”

  “He will, Mama.” Paige picked up some of the programs and began helping her mother fold them.

  “I’m having a hard enough time dealing with you and Myla. I don’t know if I can take a third generation.”

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “You’re stubborn like your father—Everything has to be your way, and you never want to see things from anyone else’s perspective. Your being an only child has something to do with that, too, though.”

  “I don’t try to be difficult, Mama, I swear, but it’s like you don’t see what Aunt Gayle and Celeste are trying to do.”

  “They can’t do no more than what you allow them to do, Paige. If you know they’re trying to annoy you and get under your skin, then don’t let them. The madder you get and the harder you fight, the more they win. Look at how you looked at the brunch at Meeko’s house—You looked like the crazy one.”

  “Mama, if you knew half the things Celeste was doing—”

  “I know what she’s doing. I also know you’re giving her all the ammunition; all she’s doing is pulling the trigger. You gotta learn how to handle things differently, think smart.” Her mother tapped on the side of her head. “I know you’re brilliant, Paige—I ain’t raise no dumb child. You just gotta learn to use it.”

  “I feel you, Mama. Are you almost done here? I can drive you home.”

  “Just about. Let me lock this office up, and then we can go back to the house. If you’re in a hurry, you can go ahead. The walking does me good.”

  “Nonsense, Mama.”

  Paige waited for her mother.

  As they got into the car, she told her, “Aunt Gayle and Celeste were acting all crazy.”

  “What else is new?” Her mother laughed. “Lord knows, they’ve been getting on my nerves. I love my sister and all, but I can’t take having her complaining about my house much longer. And that Celeste, that girl is so lazy. I don’t see how she keeps that job they’re always bragging about. She never goes to work, always complaining about a headache—you’d think she was the one on dialysis, rather than Gayle.” Her mother sighed.

  Paige laughed so hard that her side began to hurt.

  They arrived at the house to find a car sitting out front.

  “Who is that?” Paige asked.

  “Gayle probably got one of her bingo friends over here visiting.” Her mother got out the car.

  They could hear loud laughing as they walked toward the house.

  “Told you it had to be one of her loud friends.” Jackie opened the door and stepped inside.

  The laughter stopped immediately.

  Paige walked behind Jackie to see what had caused her to stop at the doorway. She looked around her mother’s living room. Her heart was beating so fast and hard that she thought she was about to fall out. Red and white spots appeared before her eyes, and she kept blinking to make sure she was seeing correctly.

  “What the hell are you doing in my house?”

  “Jackie! Don’t you stand there and disrespect my guests like that,” Aunt Gayle told her.

  “You need to get outta my house right now!”

  “Aunt Jackie, please . . . I told them they could come by and visit for a little while,” Celeste said. “It’s my fault.”

  Paige remained quiet. She knew that if she opened her mouth, she may have ended up putting her hands on someone and going to jail.

  “I don’t give a damn whose fault it is. I’m telling both of you to get out of my house.”

  “I see your daughter got her ill manners honestly!”

 
Paige shook her head, trying to step past her mother.

  Jackie put her hand up. “It’s okay. I got this.”

  “Ms. Micheals, we didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”

  “The only trouble will be if you don’t hurry up and get the hell out of here before I throw both of you out!” Jackie took a step forward.

  “Let’s go, Ms. Lucille.” Kasey stood up, her fat body wobbling.

  Paige’s eyes fell on her stomach, which now had a slight bulge to it. She honestly couldn’t tell if it was fat or the child she was carrying.

  “You don’t have to leave, Lucille,” Aunt Gayle said. “You sit right there. Jackie, let me talk to you in the kitchen for a moment.”

  “You don’t need to talk to me; we don’t have anything to talk about—you need to be talking to them, so they can get the hell out of my house!”

  “I can’t believe you’re acting like this. Kasey and Lucille haven’t done anything to you. Now, if this is the way you’re going to treat the people who come and check on me in my time of need, then maybe we don’t need to be staying with you.” Aunt Gayle was now standing directly in front of Jackie.

  “You’re right—you need to get your shit and get the hell out with them!”

  Paige could not believe her mother let the word come out of her mouth. Never in her entire life had she heard a curse word, other than damn or hell, come from those lips.

  “What are you saying, Aunt Gayle?” Celeste asked.

  “What?—Did I stutter?—Get out, both you and your mama!”

  Paige put her hands on Jackie’s shoulder. “Ma, don’t let them upset you. It’s not even worth getting your pressure up.”

  “Sweetie, my pressure is fine. I’m going into my bedroom and take my shoes off. My feet are killing me.” Jackie turned and added, “Make sure they get everything out of that guest bedroom and let me know when they’re gone.”

  “We don’t wanna be here in this stanky-ass house, no way. Who the hell does she think she is?” Ms. Lucille yelled. “She’s right—Get your stuff, Gayle; you can come and stay at our house! The nerve of her . . . How you gonna say you work at the church and kick your own sister out while she sick?—That’s a heathen for you!”

  Slap!

  The hit came so fast, if Paige hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would’ve sworn it didn’t happen. She looked to her mother and then to Ms. Lucille, who had been knocked back down to the sofa.

  “Oh, hell naw! Kasey, call the damn police. She done assaulted me!”

  “Get out my house, now! Or I’m gonna call the police! Believe me, there’s more where that came from. I got almost seven years of ‘whup ass’ built up for you. For years, you treated my daughter like dirt, and I didn’t say nothing, because it wasn’t my place. But now, you’re in my house, and you nor your sloppy daughter-in-law is gonna be in here disrespecting her in my house! Get out, get out, I say. Don’t make me go straight ‘Madea’ on y’all up in here—I got a gun, Gayle, you know that; you betta tell them.”

  Paige didn’t know whether to laugh or be scared of her mother’s behavior. It was so unreal that it was comical to her. Aunt Gayle and Celeste hightailed it down the hall. Paige could hear her aunt yelling at Celeste to hurry and get the hell out because Jackie had lost her mind,

  “You two had better go wait in the car,” Paige told Ms. Lucille and Kasey.

  They were still standing there, not knowing whether to move or not.

  Jackie opened the door as a hint.

  They wobbled out together, arm in arm.

  Within seconds, Celeste and Aunt Gayle were coming back down the hall, bags in arms, at a record pace.

  “I can’t believe you’re doing this, Jackie! You know I’m sick,” Aunt Gayle told her.

  “Yeah—sick in the head. And so is your daughter—God bless both of you.”

  “Don’t worry, Mama, we can go stay at Meeko’s,” Celeste said, tears streaming down her face. She looked over at Paige as if she had some support. “I guess you’ll get a good laugh out of this one.”

  Paige laughed. “You damn right about that.”

  Chapter 27

  “Yaya, here are the pictures I downloaded. They all are really nice. I thought Taryn was the best that was out there; now looking at these, I don’t know,” Camille teased, handing Yaya the envelope.

  “I’m flattered, but I will say T is the best. She is the one that taught me everything I know,” Yaya told her.

  “Yeah, I know that, but you took everything she taught you and took it to another level—that’s what being the best is all about. You have to be willing to learn and then be smart enough to build upon it.”

  Yaya looked at her. Camille constantly impressed her and she respected her more and more each time they talked.

  “Oh, I placed another Carol’s Daughter order this morning. We were running low, and I didn’t want us to be out of stock.”

  “We just did a big order last week. There was a box still in the storage room. Did you put all of that out?” Yaya flipped through the pictures.

  “Yeah, I put that out a couple days ago. I’ve been recommending products to customers, and they’ve been selling like hot cakes. I’m telling you, we should add the fact that we’re a local retailer to the fliers and ads; it’ll bring people through the door.”

  “That’s a great idea. Why don’t you call over to the print shop and set that up for me?”

  “I actually designed a flier myself... if you want to check it out and let me know what you think,” Camille said, reluctantly.

  “I would love to see it. Look, I’m open to any ideas you have about the salon. We’re a growing business, and you’re a valuable asset to us.” Yaya smiled.

  “Uh, I don’t think so.” Taryn walked into Yaya’s office. “This is my personal assistant, thank you.”

  “I’ve been thinking Camille may be better suited as our full-time receptionist and head buyer.” Yaya smiled.

  “Are you serious? I would love that!”

  “What am I supposed to do for a personal assistant?” Taryn frowned at Yaya.

  “She can still do both jobs. Hell, she’s been doing both for the past two weeks now that Celeste’s ass has been AWOL. Now she’ll be getting two checks instead of one.”

  “Can I, Taryn? Please? I know I can do both.”

  “I know you can too, Camille. You’re going to do great things here. That’s why I brought you on board when I did. I knew it was only a matter of time before my so-called partner and best friend saw the light.” Taryn smiled. “Now, you think you can go get a sister a smoothie from down the street?”

  “Not on company time, I don’t think so,” Yaya said. “She’d better go answer that phone and take that money from the customers.”

  “I’ll bring you a smoothie back too, Yaya. I know Jetty Punch is your favorite.”

  “See, that’s why I hired her, Taryn. She’s beautiful, talented, and brilliant. Reminds me of someone else, huh?” Yaya winked.

  “Yeah,” Taryn told her. “Me.”

  “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  Taryn sat in the chair in front of Yaya’s desk, threw her head back and groaned, “Whhhhh-hyyyyyyyyy?”

  “What’s wrong, T?” Yaya sighed, sensing her best friend’s stress.

  “I need a drink. What’s up with a girls’ night at the crib? You down?”

  “Why the hell not? I don’t have a life after the salon closes anyway,” Yaya told her.

  “I’ll let Monya know. I’m done for the day at six, so I’ll go home and get everything ready. Are those your latest pics? Let me see.”

  Yaya passed the pictures to Taryn.

  They looked at them together, talking about the different make-up techniques and styles Yaya used in them. Taryn got a kick out of the pictures from Diesel’s party.

  “I told you, it was wild!”

  “This must be the girl named Magic you were telling me about.” Taryn pointed. “She’s gorgeous!”
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br />   “Yeah, that’s her. She lives in ATL. I told her I would try and get her some work. She’s definitely not shy, and she has the personality to go a long way.”

  “Look at Diesel with his fine ass.” Taryn laughed. “He is still crazy as hell, I see.”

  “Yeah, he is. He still hasn’t changed. He asked about you. I told him you were in love with Lincoln, though.”

  “Yeah, right. Not happening.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’ll tell you tonight. Who is this woman? She’s pretty. I think I know her.”

  Yaya looked at the picture of Natalie and smiled. “She’s a special client of mine.”

  Taryn looked down at her watch. “I gotta get ready for my next client. Are you hanging these on the wall outside?”

  “Yeah. I’m about to come and put them up now.” Yaya gathered the pictures and her stapler.

  They walked into the main area of the salon. Yaya walked over to what was now known as the “wall of fame.”

  Camille had collected all of the pictures Taryn, Monya, and Yaya had of all the people they had worked with over the years and made a huge collage.

  Yaya took the pictures she had in her hand and added them to the group. She took a step back and looked at the pictures, which included dancers, singers, rappers, actresses, models, men, women, and children from all races, all walks of life.

  There was one particular picture that stood out. To Yaya it was her best work ever and meant more than all the faces combined. Natalie Frazier, now Natalie Doles, stared back at her, smiling brightly and confirming something Yaya knew a long time ago, but no one else believed, except for Taryn—this was her calling.

  “Yaya, you have a call,” Camille said, later that afternoon.

  Yaya had just completed a facial and was ready to leave for the day. “Hello,” she said, tiredly into the phone.

  “Hey, Yaya. It’s Celeste. I’m surprised that wench let me talk to you.”

  Yaya ignored Celeste’s comment. “What do you want, Celeste? I’m tired and I’m trying to get outta here.”