The Yin Yang Effect

by Dana Littlejohn

  “Uh-uh, Roy, don’t be inviting yourself over. You know the rules. We call you, and you come. You’re our threesome guy. Just sex, no strings, remember?”

  “That‘s right, Roy. Look, I’ve got a nice buzz going and I’m trying to drown in my afterglow. Don’t fuck that up for me.”

  “Yes, Roy. Now, please, shut up and handle your business.

  “Ok, ok, ok, just sex.” He dropped a kiss on Debbie’s lips then Opal’s and smiled. “But tonight it’s gonna be ‘great sex.’” His smile widened as he eased himself into her.

  Chapter 4

  Pearl was up earlier than usual and making breakfast when Opal walked into the kitchen.

  “Mmm, smells good in here. Looks like someone had a really good night if they’re waking up cooking,” she said in a singing voice as she sat down.

  She chuckled. “Good morning, Opal. It’s more like I got lots of sleep…even with all the noise that you guys were making.”

  “Girl, we were drinking Tequila. I’ve only got pockets of memories from last night. Now, what’s this about sleep? I thought you were seeing your mystery man. That wasn’t the plan, was it?”

  “No, it wasn’t, but it wasn’t a total loss.” She pushed a plate of scrambled eggs and sausage links across the table to her.

  “Thanks. Why not a total loss?”

  “Well, he did lick me up pretty good.”

  “Fantastic! I like him already. Wish I knew him, though.” She pushed her chair back and yelled out the door. “Debbie! Come on, girl! Breakfast! I swear molasses can beat her down the stairs on a cold winter’s day,” she mumbled.

  “Come on, Opal, don’t start, please.” She sat a plate on the table for Debbie, who she heard running down the stairs.

  She shook her head. “I’m not trying to start. I’m just saying…”

  “What are you saying?” Debbie said, walking in.

  “Nothing.” Pearl poured three glasses of orange juice and brought them to the table.

  “You’re not eating?”

  “I’ve been up for a while. I ate.” She slid the glasses to them.

  “I was just mentioning to Pearl that I’d still like to meet her mystery guy. He sent her home early last night.”

  “He sent you home? Was that with or without some nooky?”

  “Kinda. She said she got that thang licked.”

  “Opal! Do you mind?”

  “What?” she said, full of innocence.

  “Damn.” She sat back and downed her glass of juice.

  “Chica, stop it. What’s this all about, Pearl? It’s been a long time since we had breakfast at home before work.”

  She took a deep breath sitting up. “Guys, I have a confession to make.”

  They looked at her between bites and urged her on with their forks.

  She took another breath. “Well, I’ve been seeing Jake--”

  “Jake is it. Well, at least we have a name.”

  “Chica, stop it!”

  She put her hands up in surrender and continued eating.

  Debbie shook her head. “Go on, Pearl.”

  “Anyway…” She rolled her eyes. “He’s, he’s not a booty call. Jake and I have been…seeing each other…for a while.”

  She glanced at Opal, then back to her. “How long is a while?”

  “Umm, eleven months,” she said in a small voice and closed her eyes, bracing herself.

  Opal choked and Debbie patted her back as she took a sip of her juice.

  “That’s a little longer than you led us to believe, isn’t it, Pearl?”

  “Damn right it is! You lied to us!”

  “No, no. I didn’t lie. Well, maybe a little white lie, but nothing major. I, I might have, umm, withheld some information more than anything.”

  “Withheld the truth! Ain’t that about a b--”

  Debbie touched her shoulder and interrupted her. “Ok, then why tell us now, Pearl? What’s changed?”

  “Yes, Pearl, what the fuck is going on?”

  “Damn, Opal, calm down.” She threw herself back in her chair.

  “Calm down? How the fuck can you tell me to calm down?” she yelled and stood pointing at her as her fury grew. “You’re my sister. My twin! Same goddamn genetic makeup! That makes us the same person in two different bodies and you lied to me. We don’t do that! You don’t fuckin’ lie to me! We do not lie to each other and we don’t keep secrets. Not like this!”

  Pearl jumped up yelling back. “I know that! Don’t you think I know that? I’m sorry!”

  Debbie stood up pushing them both back. “Enough! What’s gotten into you two?” She shook her head again and sat back down. “Sit down, both of you.”

  They stared at each other from across the table huffing and puffing, not moving.

  “I said, sit down. Now.”

  Recognizing the “I mean business” tone in her voice that they’d heard many times over the years, they looked at her, then to each other and sat down slowly and simultaneously as they both fought back the tears of fury.

  Fighting back her own urge to knock their heads together, she took a calm, cleansing breath and spoke to them again. This time using a cool, soothing tone that they’d also heard many times over the years.

  “Now look, this has obviously been bothering Pearl for a while or she wouldn’t be so upset. Let her finish telling us the whole story, Chica. Ok?”

  Opal wrapped her arms around her chest and slammed back into the chair.

  “Fine,” she said tightly through gritted teeth.

  “Go ahead, Pearl.” She rubbed her temples and leaned on the table.

  Her breathing was calmer, but her voice was low and shaky.

  “I wanted to tell you guys before this, but I…” She sighed. “Do you remember

  when my brakes were bad last year? Janet sent me to where she got her brakes done, on 38th and Illinois. I met Jake there, he owns the place. He told me it would take about an hour so I stayed to wait, but when it took longer offered to buy me lunch, since I was the only one there.”

  “Hmm, wonder if that’s a courtesy he extends to all his single clients,” Opal mumbled.

  Debbie sent her a “shut up” look and urged Pearl on.

  She sighed again. “Nothing else to tell. We talked, had a good time and we started meeting for lunch a few times a week after that. One night he invited me to dinner and offered to cook.” She shrugged. “From there our lunches turned into dinners and we’ve been seeing each other ever since. Whenever he asked to take me out I’d go over there with movies, drinks, food, sometimes with no clothes, so we don’t have to go out.”

  “Does he live alone?”

  “No, he has a roommate.”

  “Really? I bet the roommate knows about you. Why are we the last to know?”

  Debbie cut her another look and Opal threw her hands up again and finished her juice.

  “Does the roommate know about you, Pearl?”

  “He does now. He walked in on us last night. We were on the kitchen floor making use of some whip cream, strawberries and champagne.” A small grin came to her face at the memory, but vanished quickly. “We were still on the floor when he came in.”

  “Champagne, huh? Celebrating something were you?”

  She leaned on the table. “Jake asked me to come over because he wanted to celebrate our time together and to tell me he wants to take our relationship to the next level. But I don‘t know if I‘m ready for all that.”

  Opal sat up. “Spit it out, Pearl. What’s wrong with the man?”

  “Nothing. He’s romantic, loving, caring, and sweet. The sex is the bomb. I think he loves me. Well, he says so, anyway.”

  “Do you love him?”

  She ran her fingers through her hair. “Yeah, I think I do. That’s the scary part.”

  “What’s scary? He sounds great.”

  “What does he look like? He’s got some kind of deformity, doesn’t he? A peg leg, a hump, what?”

  She chuckled. �
��Don’t be stupid, he’s fine. He’s about six foot one, nice wide chest and a really nice booty.”

  “Yum, sounds tasty.”

  She giggled. “He’s got black hair and a goatee that comes across his jaw like this…” She traced a line from her ear lobe across her face to her chin and smiled dreamily. “Mmm, the prettiest, clearest blue eyes with long swooping eye lashes…”

  “Blue eyes? His eyes are blue?” She looked at Debbie then back to her. “Is he white?”

  “Yeah, he’s white.”

  “Well…how white is he?”

  She chuckled. “What do you mean, how white is he? He’s white. A white lady had sex with a white man and had a white baby.”

  “Is that the problem, Pearl? You’re not hiding him because he’s white, are you?”

  “No, of course not, and I’m not hiding him. I’ll admit that the thought crossed my mind that if we got together and it didn’t work, I’m bound to have some problems finding a man to help me raise my kids. Who’s to say I’ll date another white man?

  This one kind of slipped in under the radar without me even noticing.”

  “You sound like you got a problem with white boys.”

  “No, it’s not that. You know better than that, Debbie. I’m just saying they ain’t lined up outside my door waiting to date me.”

  “Ok, so you do have black guys that want you, you know.

  “Yeah, but how many brothers you know will be willing to help me raise some mixed babies?”

  “Well, Pearl, I think the key word in all that was man. In case you haven’t noticed, mixed babies are all over the place with the white girls dating black guys. Huh, give it another generation, we’ll be so mixed we won’t know who’s who anymore.”

  “Besides, sister dear, there are brothers raising mixed babies. What do you think they do, when they get with a white girl who already has kids by another black guy?”

  “Yeah, but when they have babies with one black guy, don’t they mostly stick to black guys after that? This is the first white guy on my short list of men. The white boys don’t cross over as freely as the brothers do.”

  “Damn shame, too, coz I ain’t got no problem jumping their bones.”

  “Big deal, Pearl. It’s no big taboo like it used to be back in the day. Maybe your boy will start a whole new trend. You know how men are, monkey see, monkey do.

  When I end up with someone our kids will be mixed, too. It ain’t like there’s a swarm of Puerto Ricans running around Indianapolis, if you haven‘t noticed.”

  “He does sound kinda cute, too, Pearl. Black hair, blue eyes, a good job, no hump... You always did have good taste in men.”

  “Pearl, I know you’re not really tripping off of an interracial relationship.”

  “No, Deb, what really scares me is the long term picture. I think I love this guy and I don’t want it to go farther and then he dumps me for some cute little white girl. I’d feel so stupid, like he lied to me the whole time.”

  “Oooh, there’s a new and different concept. A man who lies to get some pussy.”

  “Opal, please. So, Pearl, I guess you’d feel better if he were black and dumped you for a white woman, hmm? Or maybe you feel better if you were dumped by a black man for a black woman.”

  She sighed. “No.”

  “Dumped is dumped, Pearl, and it doesn’t feel good no matter who does it.”

  “What if he just wants to be with me to see if, you know, the grass is greener?”

  Her sister laughed. “It doesn’t take eleven months worth of fucking to check out the grass, honey. If that was his intention, he’d have checked out your grass and bounced a long time ago.”

  “Stop making up reasons to sabotage the relationship. You already have you guys married, with kids and divorced. You’re on that emotional roller coaster and nothing has even happened yet. You’ve made it these past eleven months and he’s been faithful.”

  “Yeah, but we haven’t been out, we’ve only kept to ourselves.”

  “Oooh. So you think that he stayed in house the whole time you guys have been together? Only walking out his door to go to work, huh?” She looked at Debbie and they both laughed.

  “No, I’m not stupid. I know better than that.”

  “Pearl, if that man wanted a white girl or any other girl for that matter I’m sure he’s had plenty of opportunities to have one. Especially with all the good qualities you just named off, plus a job and a pretty face. Huh, women probably throw themselves at him, and he still chooses to be with you. So give the man a chance to fuck up before you condemn him.”

  “So, tell us, why did you leave last night? Did his pretty face say something stupid?”

  “No, his stupid roommate not only walked in on us, but he stood there watching us for who knows how long. I was so embarrassed I just ran up out of there. I didn’t want his roommate to find out about me like that.”

  “He watched…without being invited? Mmm, hmm, yup, he was definitely in violation for that one.”

  “No doubt. What you should have done was introduced him to a pot on the back of his head.”

  “Yeah, well, I was focused on getting out of there.”

  “And what did your white boy say?”

  “He was pretty pissed at Joe, that’s his roommate’s name, and he followed me to the door trying to get me to stay. He wants me to come over tonight, so he can make it up to me,” she said, fiddling with her fingers.

  “And you’re going, right?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know, Pearl, if what you say is true, he doesn’t sound half bad to me.”

  She looked at Opal.

  “Don’t look at me. I’m reserving judgment until after I meet him, face to face, and it’s time we did. No more stalling.”

  She sighed. “I don’t know. I’m still kinda scared.”

  “Suck it up. That’s the risk you take when you fall for a guy, any guy. If it doesn’t work, it doesn’t work. Chalk it up as another lesson learned in the never ending study of men.”

  “That’s easy for you to say when you’re on the outside looking in.”

  “Well, if you’re afraid he won’t stay, make him want to stay. Shit, you’re a Jefferson, act like it.”

  “Hmm, so you think I should let him make it up to me?” She grinned.

  “Absolutely. Show that slimy roommate of his you can still hold your head up high.”

  She slapped the table. “Debbie’s right, so it’s settled. First go show that roommate what you’re made of; then get your Jake ready to meet us. It’s way overdue.”

  She nodded. “I know. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you guys sooner.” She leaned across the table and grabbed their hands.

  Debbie took her hand. “No more secrets, ok?”

  “Ok.” She looked at her sister.

  “No more lies…ever.” She took her sisters hand and squeezed it.

  “No more secrets, no more lies, I promise.” She smiled and looked up at the clock. “I have to go. I’ll talk to Jake tonight.” She stood up. “Love you guys, see you later.”

  Debbie stood, grabbing the plates and glasses. “Bye. Come on, Chica. We should get going, too.”

  She sat back with her arms folded across her chest again. “Man, I cannot believe this shit.”

  She sighed. “Let it go, Chica.” She closed the dishwasher.

  “Let it go? Debbie, she lied to us.”

  “Withholding information isn’t lying.”

  “It is in a court of law.”

  “Well, it’s a good thing that we’re not in a court of law, isn’t it?”

  “Debbie--” She stood up.

  “Opal!” She turned on her with that tone again; then she smiled. “Let--it--go.

  Don’t turn this into another feud…like the one that lasted over a month over that stupid crystal necklace you had when you guys were 14.”

  “Hey! That was my favorite necklace and she broke it!”

  She leaned on the sink and crossed h
er arms over her chest. “Yeah, she did, but she broke it in a fight with you, which you started, as I recall.”

  “Humph! I don’t seem to remember that part.”

  “Whatever. Anyway, she told us and that’s all that matters.” She walked back to the table. “Now, let’s turn our energy toward something else, ok? Please.”

  She sighed and sat back down. “Ok, you’re right. I’ll try.”

  She smiled and pulled her up again. “Good. Now, let’s go make the world beautiful.”

  ***

  The morning ran smoothly at Double Your Beauty, and after lunch Opal stayed at the desk confirming appointments for the next day. She looked up, hearing the bells ring.

  “Thank you for coming to Double Your Beauty. How can I help you?” she said cheerfully and pushed the book back.

  “Hi, my name is Jackie. Betty Jackson is my mother. She told me she comes here to get her hair done.”

  “She certainly does. Miss Betty’s been a loyal customer of ours since we first opened. She comes on Fridays to get her hair done and every other Wednesday for her nails.”

  “Really? So, was she here yesterday to get her nails done?”

  “Well, she came in, but she got her hair done, not her nails. She said she had a hot lunch date.”

  Jackie leaned on the counter and sighed. “Did she mention anything about this date? What his name was or where she met him?”

  “Well, she said he was a nice old man she was talking to online, and they were going to meet for lunch at the mall. Is something wrong?”

  Jackie sighed again and knocked on the counter. “I was afraid of this. She’s been horse back riding, salsa dancing, go-cart riding at the putt-putt range… she even tried to roller blade a week or two ago. She’s been doing all kinds of wild stuff in the last three months that we can hardly keep up with her, but this computer…” She paused shaking her head. “She’s like kid in a candy store with that thing. Lately, she’s been on it day and night. You know, I went to visit her the other day and she was online having cyber sex. Can you believe that?”