Playing Hard To Get

by Grace Octavia

  “All rise,” the bailiff said as the judge, whom Tamia had seen twice for other cases, walked into the room, “the Criminal Court for the District of Kings County is in session. The Honorable Judge Sadie Tanner is presiding.”

  The judge sat and as the reporter and she conferred about the day’s cases, Tamia felt her palms sweating to the beat of her heart. She felt heavy, so heavy she could fall to the floor and lay there and sleep forever.

  Lehman, the district attorney, looked at Tamia and then past her, a grin coming together on his face.

  “Are the parties present?” Judge Tanner asked, looking down at the papers on her desk.

  Tamia wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt and turned to look at the door, praying, hoping this was one of those miraculous moments in any book she’d read or movie she’d watched when the long-lost witness walks into the room at the last minute. She looked and looked, but there was nothing. The door was closed and through the glass panes she could see that no one was outside. He wasn’t coming.

  “Counselor,” Judge Tanner called to Tamia, “is your client present?”

  “Your honor,” Tamia answered slowly.

  “Counselor Dinkins, you know I don’t have time to waste in my courtroom. Is your client present?”

  Lehman was grinning again. He was squirming around in his seat looking like he wanted to announce Malik’s absence himself.

  “He’s—”

  “Counselor?” The judge removed her glasses and looked at the bailiff. She was about to issue the order of arrest.

  Tamia felt the weight dragging her to the floor.

  “Your Honor, I—” She tried but there was nothing to say. Then there was something. Something she knew. A smell. A spice. Frankincense. Myrrh.

  “Wait,” she hollered so loud the judge stopped speaking.

  And then Tamia turned to the doors and the back of the courtroom where she’d seen so many miracles happen. The doors opened and in walked a brown brother in a sharp blue suit. Her hope was lost. It wasn’t Malik. It couldn’t be. The man had a short cut. No jewelry.

  Everyone, even the judge, seemed upset when Tamia turned back around.

  “Bailiff,” the judge began her order again.

  “Your honor,” someone called and Tamia turned to see it was the man in blue. “I’m here,” he added and the closer he got, Tamia saw that it was who she thought it wasn’t.

  Malik, looking like a different man, a new man, walked past the railing and toward Tamia.

  “I’m here,” he said again, peering into Tamia’s eyes. “I’m here.”

  “Well, thank you for joining us,” the judge said sarcastically.

  “You cut your hair?” Tamia whispered, her eyes wide on Malik as the district attorney addressed the court with the charges. “I can’t believe you did that. Why? I mean, you didn’t—”

  “This is war,” Malik said. “And if this is the strategy I need to play to save my people, I’ll do it.”

  Tamia smiled and grabbed Malik’s hand.

  “Counselor?” the judge called and it was clear she was repeating herself. “Are you deaf today? Or am I mute?”

  “No, no, no,” Tamia answered, standing up. “I was just conferring with my client.”

  “Isn’t that wonderful. Now how does he plead to the charges?”

  Tamia looked at Malik and he stood up beside her.

  “Not guilty,” he said. “I’m not guilty.”

  

  The outside of the Kings County courthouse looked like a poetry reading at the Royal Ankh. Dreads were everywhere. Dashikis lined the steps. Babatunde had his drum. In the middle of a small circle of folks, Kali had taken off her shoes and was doing a dance beneath the sun. Even Tasha stepped into the circle and was doing a little two-step—in her red devils.

  While not much happened in the courtroom—Malik was only able to enter his plea and the judge set a court date—they celebrated the fact that the case was moving along. That Lehman saw, when Malik walked into the courtroom, that this wasn’t actually going to be an open-and-shut case. The opposition was ready to fight, and they weren’t giving in.

  When Tamia and Malik emerged, everyone cheered and held their fists in the air.

  “No justice! No peace!” someone yelled and then they chanted in celebration.

  In the middle of it all Tamia and Malik hugged and when they let go, Malik looked at Tamia in a way she’d seen only once before. But this time, on her, it was different. New. Less in childish adoration and more in mature admiration. In his eyes she saw herself. She saw love.

  “I can’t believe you cut your hair,” she said, running her hand over his nude scalp. “I loved it so much. It was so beautiful.”

  “I’m letting go. I’m moving on. It’s time,” he said in a way that both he and Tamia knew what he was talking about. “I’ve harmed you. I’ve hurt you and I can’t continue to carry that past around with me. I had to cut it off. Because—”

  “What? Because of what?” Tamia asked.

  “Because I love you.”

  Malik pulled Tamia into his arms and wrapped his hands around the back of her bald head.

  The crowd went wild as they kissed for a long time.

  

  “Now, was the kiss a part of your original plan?” Tasha asked as she, Troy, and Tamia walked away from the courthouse. “Because it looked pretty planned to me.”

  “Stop hating,” Tamia said, waving goodbye to Malik. He had agreed to meet her at the Freedom Project later. For now, she was off to celebrate her new beginning with her old friends.

  “I’m not hating, I’m just saying,” Tasha said.

  “Saying? Saying what?” Troy asked. “Because you haven’t said anything!”

  They all laughed and linked arms, walking down the busy New York street to wherever their stilettos would take them.

  

  A READING GROUP GUIDE

  PLAYING HARD TO GET

  

  GRACE OCTAVIA

  

  

  ABOUT THIS GUIDE

  

  The following questions are intended to enhance

  your group’s reading of

  Playing Hard to Get.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Topic: Sisterhood

  The sisterhood of the 3Ts endures in yet another novel. The three women look to one another for support, guidance, and the cold, hard truth. While they often steer each other in the wrong direction, most often the sisterhood serves as a launch pad to brilliance. From the Queen Bee plan and the tea party to Code 3T and the rules of sisterhood, their traditions and tips serve as reminders of the power of the sisterhood.

  Questions

  —When is the sisterhood strongest among the women?

  —How do they handle bad advice they receive from one another?

  —How do they handle giving one another bad news or sharing the hard truth?

  —While Da-Asia, Tamia’s coworker, isn’t a 3T, should Tamia have shared with her the office’s attitude about her style of dress and way of communicating?

  —How does your sisterhood circle compare to this one?

  —What are some of your circle’s traditions and tips?

  Topic: Hair

  In the first section of the novel, the reader learns that Tamia both perms and presses her hair to achieve a desired flatness. She admires women with specific grades of “good” hair and even when she meets women with natural hair at the Freedom Project, she only admires it for its length. Before she agrees to cut her hair, she considers why she feels this way and why her hair has meant so much to her during her entire life.

  Questions

  —What did Tamia seem to appreciate so much about her flat hair?

  —Did Malik’s insistence that she’d be more beautiful with natural hair influence her decision?

  —How attached are you to your hair and/or hairstyles?

  —What would it take for you to make the kind of decis
ions Troy made about changing her hair and not wearing a wig? Have you already? Why?

  —Do you think more black women would wear natural hair if the men they desired requested and celebrated it?

  —Do you believe black men care if you have straight or nappy hair?

  Topic: Sex and Spirituality

  Afraid that she will negatively influence her husband on his spiritual path, Troy refuses Kyle sex and endures nightmares of beheading him should she give into his constant sexual overtures. In contrast, Kyle, who was a virgin before he got married, is experiencing a sexual awakening and seems to desire the exact risqué sexual behaviors Troy feels will pull him farther from his mission as a man of God—per the women in her mission group at the church.

  Questions

  —Was Troy correct in abstaining from having certain kinds of sex with her husband to avoid spiritual corruption?

  —Is it okay for a man of God to have such desires as Kyle requests of his wife—can they get freaky?

  —Should one’s sexual desires/practices be separated from his/her spiritual life?

  —What are some of the myths and/or facts of sexuality that you’ve heard at church?

  Topic: Finance

  Troy’s acceptance of Kyle’s being her “provider” meant that she’s now a “baller on a budget.” Yet, she can’t seem to ball on her budget, so she continues to use her family’s wealth to support her hugely expensive buying habits. After a while, this leads to what would’ve been a bunch of bad credit for most people, but is simply an empty bank account for Troy. Her decision to dip into church funds compromises her marriage, Kyle’s position, and the entire church.

  Questions

  —Should Troy only live on her husband’s salary if her family is wealthy?

  —Why do you believe Troy shops so much?

  —Do you make more money or have more wealth than your partner? How would you handle it if he/she suggested that you live within the means only he/she could provide? Could you do it?

  —Do you believe you have a shopping addiction or know someone who might have one?

  Topic: Religion

  Throughout the novel, Troy struggles with the fear that she’ll never experience the same kind of mystical or miraculous spiritual awakening (getting the Holy Ghost, speaking in tongues) as her peers at the church. As the First Lady, she believes she must encounter this kind of salvation in order to fully be welcomed into the church and heaven. Led by her nemesis, church members confirm this belief by constantly questioning her spiritual maturity and Kyle’s decision to marry her, citing that the pastor should’ve married a “saved” woman.

  Questions

  —Can Troy act as First Lady if she admits that she hasn’t experienced a “mystical or miraculous spiritual awakening”?

  —Is it necessary to have a “mystical or miraculous spiritual awakening” to be saved?

  —Is it right for the church members to question her spiritual path?

  —Was Kyle wrong in selecting an unsaved woman as his wife? Can the marriage work?

  Topic: Motherhood

  In Take Her Man, Tasha was struggling with her failure to develop a relationship with her mother. While they reunite, in Playing Hard to Get, the relationship has gone sour again and the lack of communication now affects Tasha’s ability to bond with her own children—and their ability to trust her. Tasha constantly tries to outdo her abandoning mother by being present with the girls, yet she doesn’t understand how to really connect with them, as this was never done with her.

  Questions

  —While it’s clear that Tasha will always secretly long for a relationship with Porsche, would pursuing it any further cause her more problems?

  —Can she be a good mother if she’s never experienced good mothering?

  —Was she right in not accepting “extra” help?

  —Do you believe the fact that Porsche had abandoned her so many times made it easier for Tasha to just up and leave her own children?

  —How can Tasha’s desire to be a good parent and lack of understanding of good parenting relate to current issues new parents who were raised in a single-parent or parentless environment face? Moreover, is it harder for a man to be a father if he’s never had one?

  —Is it harder for a woman to be a mother if she’s never had one?

  —Does experiencing abandonment from either parent make it easier to abandon children?

  Topic: Afrocentric Culture

  When the worlds belonging to Tamia and Malik collide, there’s both confusion and dread. Both think nasty things of the other—Tamia thinks Malik is a brutish revolutionary and Malik thinks she’s a spoiled BAP. Over time, both seem to understand the other, yet the biggest level of compromise comes in Tamia’s surprising introduction to Afrocentric culture at the Freedom Project. Participating in the rites of passages journey changes Tamia’s outlook on community, culture, and career. By the close of the book, in fact, she isn’t sure she can ever look back at her old life.

  Questions

  —Was Malik behaving brutishly by treating Tamia the way he did after he realized she didn’t ascribe to the same kind of Afrocentricity as he did?

  —Was he correct in saying that she wasn’t “really” black?

  —Can there be more than one way to be black?

  —Would you be willing to undergo the same kind of cultural change if you thought it might make you a better, happier person?

  —Was Tasha correct in saying that Tamia had simply caught the “Afrodisiac” or was Tamia’s interest in the Freedom Project genuine?

  —Do you support Malik’s decision to “clean up” to impress the judge at his hearing?

  Topic: Maturity and Lifestyle Changes

  Tasha is perhaps the one T of the three who has experienced the most changes in her life as she matured from being a young NYC It Girl to a grown, suburban housewife. In her story, Tasha, who now lives in a huge house in New Jersey and spends most of her time with her two children, communicates that she feels alienated from her old life. She makes many drastic and emotional decisions to try to salvage what was left, only to risk losing everything she now has.

  Questions

  —Should Tasha simply be happy with what she has?

  —Did she deserve what happened to her—did she have it coming?

  —Should Lionel assume any of the blame in his wife’s downward spiral?

  —Should he take her back?

  —Does a woman/man have to leave everything she/he once knew as a single or newly married person behind in order to be successful at parenting and developing a healthy family—is it necessary to sacrifice so much?

  —Can you really have it all?

  —What has your experience been?

  Topic: Workplace Politics

  Supported by Charleston, Tamia keeps reminding herself that to make it to the top, she’ll have to make some sacrifices—meaning do things that are commonly considered illegal (or at the lowest level trifling). This leads to her initially planning to lose Malik’s case and later supporting a move to have another black attorney removed from her case.

  Questions

  —Was Tamia wrong not to want the black case and have the other black female attorney on her team if she knew it would lead to her being stigmatized as a “black” attorney at the firm?

  —What other options did she have?

  —Is it ever okay to compromise your integrity if you are sure it will lead to success?

  —Have you ever been put into a similar position at your place of work?

  Topic: Activism

  Malik makes it clear that he believes that true, radical activism comes with sacrifice, and if his activism and standing up for what he believes in includes the sacrifice of his freedom, he is willing to do it.

  Questions

  —Was he right to admit to the criminal charges that he thought were correct, knowing he’d go to jail?

  —Is there space for radical activism in today’s American
culture?

  —Do we still need radical activists like Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, and Assata Shakur?

  Other Possible Topics to Discuss:

  Dating up/down, homophobia, dating sports stars, swinging, interracial dating, marriage and older women, romance and finance, etc.

  

  If you enjoyed the adventures of the 3Ts in

  Playing Hard to Get, don’t miss

  Take Her Man

  Available now at your local bookstore

  

  

  Here’s an excerpt from Take Her Man.…

  Prologue

  Put the Jimmy Choo on the Other Foot

  I know what you’re thinking: How does a fine, successful, educated sister find herself mixed up in a situation where she actually believes she has to try to take her ex-boyfriend back from another woman? Shoot, I’d be thinking the same thing if the Jimmy Choo was on the other foot, so I can’t even blame you for initially judging me. I mean, if I would’ve heard any other sister even whisper the words “Take her man,” I would’ve immediately asked her what kind of ghetto situation she was involved in. What happened to black sisterhood? We’ve come too far to be scratching each other’s eyes out like there’s only one brother left on the plantation. Trust me, there are plenty of fine fish in the sea—especially in the sea known as New York City. In this city I call home, brothers come in all shapes and sizes, colors and hues. They have multiple degrees and talents that range from the boardroom to the bedroom to the kitchen. So why would any sane sister be stuck on one?