by Saundra
I all but ran to the door when the doorbell rang. I was excited about her coming to stay with me. “Hey,” I greeted her with a huge grin. Two large, plain suitcases stood on either side of her.
“Dang, Precious, you could have told me that your man left you a mansion.” She didn’t even try to hide her astonishment. This had been her first time coming over to my place since we met.
I grinned. “It’s not a mansion.” But I knew exactly how she felt, since I had the same reaction the first time I laid eyes on it. Because coming from my old neighborhood, just having a four-bedroom house with two full bathrooms was considered luxury.
“Ain’t no need to be modest with me. I know a mansion when I see one. You must show me the entire house.”
“Well, I guess since you will be living here, I will give you the grand tour. Come on in.” I stepped outside and pulled the handles of her suitcases.
“I’m surprised you answered the door because from the looks of this community, I was sure everyone had a Bentley and the butler answered their door,” she joked.
“Ha-ha, ain’t no butlers here, silly.” I laughed. “But you’re right. I’m sure most if not all of my neighbors have one. But DaVon didn’t have one and I don’t see any need to.”
We started down the foyer just as Maria rounded the corner from the den.
“And you must be Promise.” Maria greeted her and reached for a hug. “I knew the first time I saw you at the other house that you were family. Such beautiful girls.” Maria smiled with Promise now in her embrace.
“I remember meeting you.” Promise welcomed the embrace.
“Promise, this is Maria. She’s family, as you can tell.”
“Only the good half,” Maria joked. “I got your room all ready for you. And I cooked my famous spicy sausages with green peppers, and guacamole. You’re going to love them.”
“Thank you so much, Maria. I am hungry.” Promise rubbed her stomach.
I chuckled. “No, you’re just greedy,” I joked. “Come on. Let me give you a tour and get your things to your room so we can eat.”
We walked the entire house and finally landed in Promise’s room; she would be down the hall from me in one of the big guest rooms.
“This room is giving me life. A full bathroom with a shower and full-sized luxury tub. I’m in heaven.” Promise plopped down on her king-sized bed. “Girl, this is the life.” She could not stop grinning.
“I’m glad you like it, cause I want you to be comfortable while you are here. And remember, you can stay for as long as you like,” I reassured her.
“Hey, in that case I’ll be here until I retire,” she gibed. “Nah, for real, I thank you so much and I just need to get on my feet. Then I’ll snatch me up a crib.”
“No worries, you good. Just know that I got you.”
“Now, Precious, what’s the story behind Maria? She was the lady that answered the door at the other house when I first came looking for you. Whose family is she? Girl, was DaVon Hispanic?”
I laughed at her. “I swear, you silly. No, DaVon was very much black.” I could not stop laughing. “Maria has been his housekeeper since like forever. I say she’s like family because she is. DaVon treated her like family; he cared for her. I like her too. She does a good job around here. She cooks, cleans, does laundry, whatever. She even cleans the other house twice a week.”
“That’s pretty cool. Shit, I thought she was some kin to DaVon or some.” Promise looked around the room. I could tell by the way she snapped her neck back in my direction she was not finished. “Now, dear sister, I have one last question for you. What is it that you said DaVon did again?”
I had to pause for a second before I answered the question because I could not ever remember mentioning to her what DaVon did. I had to smile at Promise, she was good. “I didn’t say,” I answered with a smirk.
“At least I tried.” She laughed. “You showed me every inch of this house, right?”
“Yes,” I answered, wondering what she was leading up to.
“Well, not once throughout this whole house did I see any doctor, law, or business degrees of any kind posted. Which probably means he didn’t attend university . . .” She raised her right eyebrow in a suspicious manner with her eyes glued to me. “So I take it he was a drug dealer?”
Boy, was she blunt and straight to the point.
“Promise, I swear you are so nosy and pushy. What a few bad things to figure out about your sister in just a short time.” I chuckled. I was learning really fast that Promise said what was on her mind, regardless of what it sounded like. And she did not take no shit.
“Sorry, but for me it’s a bit obvious. I dated a few in my day. Unfortunately, I just never found one who cared enough not to mistreat me. They were all cheaters and assholes. From the looks of things you’re lucky.”
I was, without a doubt, when it came to DaVon and the feelings he had for me—blessed. But at the same time, I didn’t think I was really lucky. Everything I loved seemed to get taken away from me. “Yes, DaVon was good to me,” I confirmed. “There is no denying that.” I was proud to be able to confess to that. I would never love again or be loved again the way he loved me. But I was in a happy mood at the very moment, and the last thing I wanted to do was be sad. “Let’s get downstairs, eat, and get dressed so that we can hit the club on time. The club will not wait all night, not even for us,” I chanted.
* * *
“You were supposed to be here an hour ago,” Keisha complained as soon as we stepped into the VIP area. Nicole was standing beside her like a guard dog with no bite.
“Maria cooked for us, and you know she can throw down, so that slowed us down.” I kept it real. And Keisha knew exactly where I was coming from; she loved Maria’s cooking.
“Guess I’ll give you a pass for that. Maria do be throwing down.” Keisha decided to forgive our tardiness. Then she eyed Promise, who was standing right next to me.
“Keisha, this is my twin sister, Promise,” I said proudly. “Promise, this is Keisha and Niki.” I noticed that Buffy was nowhere in sight. And I was okay with that. I still had not laid eyes on her since I had to check her about disrespecting me about DaVon, which had been a long time ago. And she had dared not come to his funeral. I would have not been up for her on that day.
“Hey, nice to meet you two,” Promise said.
Keisha and Niki both stared at Promise as if she’d disappeared in front of them then returned. “Damn, I can’t believe y’all look so much alike. Just two different skin tones. That shit wild,” Keisha replied, and I felt as if her comment was a bit over the top.
Promise chuckled. “Stranger things have happened.” I didn’t laugh though, because for some reason I figured Keisha was being sarcastic. But I was used to Keisha and I knew her mouth was like a sawed-off shotgun, so I brushed it off.
“What’s up with y’all girl Buffy?” I asked. The last I had heard from Keisha, she was locked up, but she never said anything else so I assumed she was out.
“She cool, her ass was supposed to come out tonight. But her ass playin’ us. Probably for some bomb-ass nigga that won’t even remember her name tomorrow,” Nicole jumped in, and I was shocked to hear her negative comment about Buffy. They were usually joined at the hip.
“What happened to her gettin’ locked up a while back?”
“She still waitin’ on a court date about that, is all she said to me. She got some wack-ass lawyer who keep gettin’ the date pushed back. I don’t know.” Keisha shrugged it off.
“Dang, he just prolonging the situation. I would want to get it over with,” I said.
“Yep, that’s what I told her, but she say that he know what he doing. He told her don’t worry, they probably gone dismiss that shit. If not, she might get a short stint of probation. Cause she hit that lady on the back of her legs with that bat. That shit left bruises, so it’s hard to dispute that. But his dumb-ass tryin’, and she cheering him on.” Keisha rolled her eyes in a sarca
stic manner.
“That girl crazy.” I laughed.
“That’s my bitch though,” Niki chanted, with a drink in her hand. Now there was the Niki I knew. Always rooting for Buffy. I just looked at her. She was just like Buffy but a little toned down. Buffy was just loud, and plain nasty.
“What’s up, baby?” Quincy approached Keisha and tongue kissed her, all the while grabbing and squeezing her butt.
“What’s up, ladies?” Clip greeted us. He and Quincy were together.
“Quincy and Clip, this is my twin sister, Promise.”
“Dang, that’s what’s up.” Quincy smiled. “Yo, this crazy that y’all look so much alike, identical and all.”
“That’s why they call them identical,” Keisha said mockingly.
Clip was eyeing Promise like she was the next best thing to fried chicken. Finally, he responded, “It is dope, though.” His eyes never left Promise.
Promise laughed. The waitress approached with drinks for all of us.
“Hey, I just want to toast my girl Precious for bossin’ up and building out this bitch,” Clip boasted.
“Word is fuckin’ bond,” Quincy added. We all raised our glasses and let them click.
It was quick, but I noticed Promise give me a strange gaze. It was a look of confusion. I thought she was wondering about the meaning of the toast. I pretended that I didn’t see her. Hopefully, I was reading something into nothing.
Chapter 33
I woke up with a major growl in the pit of my stomach and a craving for some pancakes. I made my way to the kitchen and started to cook. Maria was off.
“Good morning.” Promise strolled into the kitchen. “I had hoped to smell something sizzling or brewing at least.”
“I know, I woke up starving. I’m about to make some pancakes. Want some?”
“Sure, I could eat a horse.” Promise walked over to the refrigerator. “I am dying of thirst.” She reached for the Tropicana then walked over to the cabinet and grabbed a glass. I couldn’t help but smile. It was amazing how alike we were.
“I see you finally got out of bed. I thought you might never get up.”
“Ha, you should talk.” Promise laughed.
“I can’t believe I still have some of that headache from yesterday. I swear I ain’t hanging out with them ever again,” I declared.
“I know, I still can’t believe we slept all yesterday like that.”
We were still hungover from hanging out with Keisha the night before. I had introduced Promise to all of them and the turnup was real. We had shut the club down and paid for it dearly the next day. Promise and I couldn’t even get out of bed.
“Thank God Maria wasn’t here. She would have made us get up, Sunday or not, trying to feed us or some. She don’t believe in rest on the Sabbath.”
“No, she should have been here; we needed her. She could have nursed us back to health. I see she ain’t here this morning either. When she coming back?”
“She should be back today. Unless she decides to take the day off. Sometimes she takes off on Mondays.”
“Mane, I thought I was dead when I opened my eyes yesterday morning. I felt like I was stuck to the bed and my head was forty pounds heavier. Them damn Don Julio shots are a beast,” Promise declared.
“I swear you are not lying,” I agreed. “I wanted to get out of bed and come check on you, but I didn’t have sound judgment or muscle strength.” I laughed, but the slight headache reminded me that was not a good idea.
“Yeah, well I guess you must have gotten something back, since you in here bout to get this kitchen right.”
“Yes, I’m hungry.” I poured the pancake mix into a bowl and added water.
“But what’s up with your girl Keisha though?”
“What you mean? She cool.” I continued to stir the mix.
“I know that’s your friend. But that bitch was a live questionnaire the other night.”
“Ahh, that.” I paused and giggled at her facial expression. “She didn’t mean any harm. Once you get to know her, you will see. She cool people.” I poured my first round of pancake batter onto the piping-hot skillet.
“If you say so.” Promise sighed. “I can let it slide this one time . . . But what I’m tryin’ to know is what’s up? I mean what’s really good?”
I smiled at her. “What now, my sister of much curiosity?” I teased her. I put the finished pancakes on a plate.
Promise placed the syrup on the table, plopped down in a chair, and wasted no time continuing the conversation. “I just want to know what was up with that toast your girl gave you? Are you like the president? And nobody bothered to tell me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh because she was being extra. “I wish I were the president. And if I become the president, you will be among the first to know. Oh, and by the drastic changes I would make.” I giggled. “But nah, Keisha was just congratulating me on the success of the dry cleaners.” I still wasn’t ready to admit to her what I was sure she already knew. That was the best and fastest answer I could come up with that was half legit. “It really has come a long way. I had no idea that it could be as successful as it has been.” That part was no lie.
“That’s what’s up,” Promise agreed, then stuffed her mouth full of pancakes.
“Actually, I’m thinking about opening up a second one. Since I’ve discovered I’m not bad at this business thing. Keisha asked me to invest with her to open a hair salon.”
“Shid, repeat that?” Promise’s face lit up. “I’m a master at doing hair,” she spit out before I could actually repeat what I had said. “I been freestyling since I was about twelve years old.”
“Oh, so my baby sister got them hands, huh?” I was surprised.
“No doubt. So are you going to invest wit’ ya girl Keisha, or what?”
“Nah, I turned her down already . . . just not sure if I want to venture into business with a partner. It kind of changes the course of things.”
Promise hunched her shoulders. “I could understand that.”
“So what’s up with you? Are you going in to work today?” I started clearing the dishes from the table and loaded the dishwasher.
Promise stood up to put the Tropicana back into the fridge. “Nope. Chillin’ all day.” She placed the plastic container in the fridge and shut the door.
“Why don’t you hang out with me then?” I invited.
“I’m good wit’ that.”
After cleaning the kitchen we got dressed, then hit the streets. My first stop was the dry cleaners to check on business. Then we drove over to a car lot that I had in mind. It was clear they were busy. There were like five salesman in sight and they all were helping customers.
“What you doing here?” Promise questioned, her eyes gazing over the parking lot.
“About to look for something for Maria.” I pulled into a free parking space.
“You gone buy her a new car?”
“Yep, she deserves it.” And her car gave her trouble all the time. I turned off the ignition of my whip and climbed out, ready to spend some money. I was tired of Maria’s car breaking down on her. She needed something dependable, and I would make sure she got that.
A salesman approached us. “How you ladies doing?”
Promise spoke up first. “We good.”
“I would like to look at those over there.” I nodded in the direction of the row of Cadillacs that had caught my eye.
“Sure . . . I can do that. I’m James.” He extended his hand.
“Cool,” was my response. Ready to get on with it, Promise strolled off to look at other cars. It took me ten minutes to pick out a fully loaded white Cadillac CTS. Promise sauntered back over to us. “This is it right here.” I filled her in.
“Damn, this shit dope. Maria about to be killin’ these LA streets in this.” Promise was hype.
“This is true,” I agreed. “So what is your favorite out here?” I questioned.
“That.” Promise didn’t hesitate
to point out a sports Audi.
I chortled. “James, I’ll be taking that one too,” I informed him.
“As you wish.” James smiled and I could see the dollar signs in his pupils.
“You really gone get it for me? Awww, thank you, thank you.” Promise rushed over to me and hugged me tight. I was glad to be able to get my sister what she wanted. After all of the paperwork was complete, we headed back toward the house, Promise in her new Audi, and I drove my car behind the truck that was delivering Maria’s vehicle to my house.
Inside the house, I found Maria folding some towels. “Maria, can you come outside and help me grab a few bags?”
“Sure, sweetie. I was wondering if you would make it back while I was still here. Thank you so much for sending the car for me. Such a sweet girl.”
“That was nothing, Maria. I was glad to do it. Let’s grab these bags.” I started toward the front door with Maria behind me. We got outside, where the Cadillac was the car closest to the door. Promise was already outside wearing a huge smile. A few feet away from the car, I halted and turned to face Maria. Extending my hand, I passed her the keys.
Maria studied the keys in her hand then gazed at me with confusion.
“Maria, those keys are for you. And this is your new car,” I announced with a smile.
Maria again looked at the keys, then at me. “You got this for me? This is nice.” She gazed at the car for the second time. Her attention came back to me, and this time her eyebrows were raised. “But I can’t take this, Precious. Too beautiful, and from the looks of it very expensive.”
“Expensive is true.” I nodded at the car and smiled. “But you deserve it. It’s dependable and can take you wherever you would like to go.”
“I really can’t, Precious. Always a sweet girl.” She tried to return the key to me, but I crossed my arms in refusal. There was no way I was accepting the keys back. “Maria, I ain’t taking those keys back. This car is legally your vehicle. Title and all, so get used to it. You have no choice.” I grinned. “Now go on and check it out.” I stepped to the side.
