In The Company of My Sistahs

by Angie Daniels

  “He ate my coochie on the kitchen table, and when I didn’t think I could come anymore, he slid in all eleven inches and fucked the shit out of me.”

  “Hell naw!” Nadine screamed. “Are you serious? Eleven inches?”

  I nodded. “And girrrls, he made sure I felt every inch.”

  Lisa chuckled. “Only you would find a brotha with a big dick.” “Bamboo, Lisa. Renee found her big bamboo,” Nadine said with a chuckle.

  “I know that’s right.” I picked up a napkin from the table and began fanning it across my face. “Now I see why Stella got her groove back. Solomon made me a firm believer that Jamaica is a black woman’s paradise.”

  “So, does he have his own place?” Lisa asked.

  I reached for my glass of water. “No, he lives with his grandmother.”

  Kayla looked appalled. “You had sex in his grandmother’s house?”

  I simply shrugged. “She was asleep.”

  Nadine practically fell out of her chair with laughter. “Oh my God! Y’all screwed with Grandma in the other room?”

  Lisa and Kayla eyed me suspiciously, so I didn’t bother to answer. Instead, I dropped the napkin and reached across the table and retrieved my plate.

  Lisa shook her head. “I can’t believe you.”

  “Shit, he started it, not me.” I reached for my fork. “I didn’t even get a chance to say no.”

  Kayla snorted rudely. “Not that you would have.”

  Memories of me leaning against the sink flashed before my eyes. “Hell naw. My coochie is wet just thinking about it.”

  This time Nadine fell off the bench and farted. The three of us screamed, then got as far away from her funky ass as possible.

  Chapter 50

  RENEE

  When we finished breakfast, I returned to the room for a little private time while Kayla stopped to chat with Clayton. After my evening with Solomon, I was no longer jealous of them. As far as I was concerned, Kayla could have Clayton. Like I said before, I already found my big bamboo.

  Just as I shut the door, the phone rang. I thought about ignoring it just in case it was Everton calling me again, but I was sick of running and dodging his ass. It could be important and I wouldn’t even know it. I walked over to the nightstand and snatched the phone off the hook. “Yeah?”

  “May I please speak to Kayla?”

  My brow rose with curiosity. “May I ask who’s calling?”

  “Yes, a good friend.”

  I sucked my teeth. “Uh-huh. This must be Reverend Leroy Brown.”

  “Uh, no. You’ve got me confused with someone else. My name is Clarence.”

  “Clarence, my ass,” I spat as I lowered onto the bed. “Reverend Brown, I know this is yo’ trifling ass. You need to be ashamed of yourself.”

  “Who is this?” he inquired.

  “Don’t worry about who the fuck this is,” I barked in the telephone. “What you need to be worrying about is me telling your pregnant wife about your latest escapade.”

  “You wouldn’t do that,” he said, trying to sound all bold and shit.

  “The hell I won’t. I love my girl and don’t want to see her hurt. So I’ll tell you what. You stay the fuck away from her and I won’t let the church know where you spend your Wednesday afternoons.”

  “Now, sister, you don’t—”

  “I ain’t your sistah. Now, I know all about you sleeping with them Campbell twins and about you going to the motel with Bonnie only to find out she was a he, so if I was you, I wouldn’t fuck with me, ’cause I play for keeps.”

  He hesitated for a long moment. “So what is it that you want?”

  “For you to stay the fuck away from Kayla, and I mean it. Let her have a chance to find someone who truly loves her, not the games you be playing.”

  He started laughing. “You can’t stop me from seeing her.”

  “Oh, yes I can. Personally, I don’t know what she sees in you. Now what I should be asking is what the hell she wants with you and your little shriveled-ass dick. Oh yes, I’ve seen the pictures.”

  “Pictures?”

  I giggled inwardly before continuing. “Didn’t you know? See, you used to mess with Shanika Martin, who is really John-John from over on Eighth Street. Anyway, one afternoon when he, oops, I mean she, had your ass tied to the bedpost, she had her older sister Ursula in the closet, taking pictures. You should be ashamed of yourself. Does your wife know you’re on the DL?”

  “I’m n-not on the d-down low,” he stuttered nervously.

  “That’s what they all say.”

  I laughed in his face and finally I heard him sigh and say, “I do love Kayla.”

  “Then if you truly love her, you’ll leave her alone.”

  “What will I tell her?”

  “The truth. You never had any intention of leaving your wife.”

  “That’s not true. I did. It’s just hard when you have so many people looking up to you, and then Darlene got pregnant and everything changed.”

  “Yeah, yeah, save that sappy-ass story for someone who cares.” I heard the knob turn so I spoke quickly. “Don’t call this room again or else.” I quickly hung up the phone.

  “Was that Leroy?” Kayla asked as she stepped into the room.

  I glanced up to find her eyes wide with anticipation. I dropped my gaze to the floor and shook my head. “Naw, that was Everton’s worrisome ass. Damn, I wish I never stepped to his ass.”

  She cupped her mouth and giggled as she moved to the edge of her bed to remove her sandals. “That’s what you get.”

  “So,” I began as I pushed back on the bed. “How was your evening with Clayton?”

  Her lips curled slightly upward. “He is a nice guy.”

  “Nice? Girl, he is too fine to be just nice. What were y’all talking about just now?”

  She gave a dreamy smile. “He wants to see me again tonight.”

  “Damn! My girl hooked her a professional football player. Ain’t that some shit!”

  She gave me a dismissive wave. “Girl, it ain’t like you don’t meet anybody.”

  “Yeah, but Solomon ain’t a ballplayer. Damn, did you ask him if he had any other friends?”

  “Yes, I did, and he said they ain’t nothing but a bunch of hoes.”

  “Shit, that’s what I like.”

  We both started cracking up.

  “Ain’t you nothing.”

  “I’m happy for you, girl. Really I am.”

  She leaned back on the bed and rested her weight on her elbows. “Yeah, I just wish I knew where my relationship with Leroy was going.”

  “Going? Kayla, that shit has gone and died. Get over him and get on with your life.”

  She sat there shaking her head. “I can’t until I know for sure. You sure he didn’t call?”

  I couldn’t believe this shit. She has a fine rich brotha sweating her fat ass and all she can think about is Reverend Brown’s no-neck ass. This is crazy. “Naw, his ass didn’t call, and he probably won’t, so get over it.”

  “Maybe you’re right.” With a weary sigh, she rose from the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.

  This trip was beginning to be a trip. I just can’t believe the soap opera. Kayla would rather be with some out-of-shape preacher when she could be the wife of an NFL player, and I had met my Mandingo. What could possibly happen next?

  Chapter 51

  NADINE

  Nadine left the room certain something was wrong with Lisa. She hadn’t put her finger on it but she could tell she wasn’t well. She was tired all the time and when she didn’t think Nadine was looking, Lisa was popping pills, lots of pills. Yesterday, while Lisa was out of the room, Nadine had pulled out the bottles and jotted down the names of the prescriptions so she could make sure to look them up when she got home. One of them she had a suspicion about but she wasn’t sure she wanted to guess where her friend was concerned. She hoped she would have confided in her, and it hurt her that she had not. However, she planned to find
out what it was before their trip was over.

  Suddenly feeling hungry again, she went to grab a muffin and a cup of coffee. She took a seat at a table closest to the pool and stared out into the water.

  Against her will, RD came to mind. Last night had been a mistake. She knew that now. RD was not at all what she needed to get Jordan off her mind. In fact, she didn’t think any man was going to be able to do that.

  “Do you mind if I join you?”

  Nadine glanced up and almost dropped the hot coffee in her lap when she noticed it was her mystery lady. She shook her head. “Uh ... sure have a seat.”

  She lowered a plate of fresh fruit onto the table, then took a seat across from her. “Hi, I’m Lavina Spencer.”

  Nadine wiped a damp palm on her thigh, then extended her hand. “I’m Nadine Hill. So nice to finally meet you.”

  The object of her erotic fantasy shook Nadine’s hand, then smiled. “Me too. I’ve seen you so many times.”

  Nadine was immediately mesmerized by the dimples at Lavina’s cheeks, the shine of her eyes. Knowing she was probably staring like a damn fool, she quickly searched her brain for something else to say. “Where are you from?”

  “Dallas,” she answered, while chewing a slice of pineapple. “And you?”

  “My girls and I are from Columbia, Missouri.”

  “Well, it’s my first time here and I am enjoying myself.”

  “Me too.”

  “Really?” Wrinkling her nose, Lavina didn’t look convinced. “Every time I see you, you always look so unhappy.”

  Nadine wasn’t sure she liked the idea of a total stranger being able to analyze her emotions. “You didn’t look too happy at the party either. Man troubles?”

  She paused long enough to swallow her food. “Woman troubles.”

  Nadine gasped, then eyed her closely.

  Lavina shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. “Don’t look so surprised. I can tell you have the same problem.”

  “How did you ... I mean, is it that obvious?” Nadine was shocked, and for a moment she panicked.

  “To a fellow lesbian, yes. Anyone else wouldn’t notice.”

  Her shoulders sagged with relief. “Wow.” That was all she could say as she resumed eating her muffin.

  Lavina reached for her water glass. “Don’t look so sad. It is never that bad,” she said, smiling.

  “I’ve just got a lot on my mind these days.”

  “Care to talk about it?” she asked.

  Before Nadine realized what she was doing she started pouring her heart out. She started with the feelings that she had started having in her early twenties and ended with the fight she and Jordan had before she left. “I just don’t know what to do. I love her so much but she deserves so much better.”

  “Jordan obviously doesn’t think so. She loves you and is willing to stand by you no matter what.”

  Nadine rested her chin in her hand with her elbow propped on the table. “The problem is my family. They will disown me.” She was raised by a pediatrician and an interior decorator. Her parents were part of a high-society social circle. Everything she said and did was a reflection on them. She remembered when her mother’s youngest sister announced to the family at Thanksgiving dinner almost ten years ago that she was gay. Her mother cut her completely out of her life and has not spoken to her sister since. When Nadine divorced her husband, her mother had a cow, because she said men naturally messed around on their wives, but seldom do women divorce their husbands because of it. When she shot Arthur and her name was plastered all over the paper, her parents gave her clear instructions not to contact them until the case was over. Even after she was cleared of all the charges, it had taken her mother months to forgive her.

  More than anything in the world Nadine wanted her parents to understand who she was, but deep down she knew that would never happen.

  Lavina spoke between bites. “You can’t live your life for your parents. You’ll never be happy if you do. My mother had a fit when I first told her I was a lesbian, but she quickly got over it.”

  Nadine smiled shyly. “How long have you been ... you know?”

  “A lesbian,” she chuckled. “Nadine, you are going to have to learn to feel comfortable with that word. Until you do you’ll never feel comfortable with who you are.”

  She nodded.

  “I’ve been this way since high school. I tried denying it for years before I finally gave in to the feeling. A man could never make me feel the way a woman does.” She smiled and her eyes took on a dreamy, faraway quality, then her expression suddenly sobered. “I was with the same woman for almost five years. Then last month she told me she was pregnant and that she was going to live with her baby’s daddy. It hurt because we had talked about having a baby, but I never expected her to do it behind my back or fall in love with a man in the process.”

  “Damn.”

  “Damn is right.” She sipped her drink. “Do your friends know that you’re gay?”

  Nadine shook her head. “One does, but I haven’t told the other two yet.”

  “If they’re your friends then what’s the problem?”

  She laughed and sighed. “Because it’s too much like admitting who I really am.”

  “Exactly. And that’s where you have to begin. You have to first admit to yourself that you’re a lesbian, then the rest will be easy. Answer this.” She paused to lean forward. “Do you still like dick?”

  Remembering last night’s fiasco, Nadine shook her head.

  “Do you like eating pussy?”

  Lavina’s stare was so intense, Nadine blushed, then lowered her eyes to her plate. “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Girl, either you do or you don’t. You’ve got to decide. Maybe you go both ways. For a while I still needed a dick stuck up in me every now and again but now there ain’t nothing a dick can do that I can’t get from a woman’s tongue and a dildo.”

  Nadine smiled, then stared across with envy. Lavina was definitely comfortable with who she was, and she liked that about her.

  “It’s going to get easier. Trust me.”

  Nadine had a feeling that was easier said than done. Although she loved Jordan and missed her terribly, admitting she was gay was almost as hard as an alcoholic admitting they had a drinking problem. Somehow the latter was much easier for her to accept.

  Lavina popped the last piece of watermelon into her mouth, then rose. “They’re getting ready to start a volleyball game. Want to play?”

  Nadine brushed her problems to the side and smiled. “Sure, why not?”

  Chapter 52

  RENEE

  “Aren’t you afraid of starting over again?” Kayla asked me as we took a seat out on the beach.

  I glanced over at the group of guests playing volleyball as I thought about her questions. You wouldn’t believe how many times I had asked myself the same thing. I am a thirty-six-year-old woman and I am planning to start over for the third time. “Yes, a little bit, but I really don’t look at it as starting over. I already have a house full of furniture. I have the same house I bought at age twenty. I’m still living in the same town around all my friends, so other than finding a job I don’t look at it as starting over. What scares me is that I have grown accustomed to living a certain lifestyle. When I leave him I’m going from first-class to coach again. Now that is going to take some adjusting to.”

  “How could you even consider giving all that up?”

  I shrugged. “It’s only material things.”

  “Yes, but then you’re changing your name again and going in front of a judge to ask for another divorce. How does that make you feel?”

  I gave a strangled laugh. “It makes me feel like shit. I can get everything else right in my life but not my marriages. But I blame myself for it.”

  “How so?” she inquired.

  “I married for all of the wrong reasons. I don’t care what anyone says, marriage has to have a foundation. If you start with nothing you’re going to end
up with nothing. I married a man fifteen years older than me who I have nothing in common with. We can’t go to my clubs; he dresses like my grandfather.”

  Kayla giggled. “Then buy him some clothes.”

  “I do. I buy him the things I love to see a man in, and you know what? They do nothing for him. I love a man in blue jeans and Timberland boots. I’m married to a man with a size fifty waistline, who isn’t even six feet tall. I can buy him a Sean Jean sweatsuit and in it he looks like a Weeble. I can buy him a Rocawear shirt and jeans, and on him it’s just a shirt and jeans. It adds no character to him at all.”

  Kayla simply gave me a sympathetic smile.

  “When I dress him, you can tell I dressed him and that he is out of his element. It just doesn’t make any sense. He has always said, ‘if you don’t like what I wear, then buy me some clothes,’ that he will wear anything I buy him, and it just doesn’t work for him.” I paused to shake my head. “I just don’t understand what the problem is.”

  “You know what the problem is.”

  I nodded. “Yeah, I know. I write all these love stories about these women instantly falling in love with a man and I ask myself, is it all just make-believe? Because when I think I’ve fallen instantly in love it’s been a lie.” I dragged my leg to my chest. “I wonder after the book is over do these characters really live happily ever after.”

  “I’m sure they’ve got to work at it like everyone else.”

  “Yes, but that’s the point I was getting to. They had something to begin with. If two people are truly in love and have built a life together as a team, when they find their relationship drifting apart all they have to do is rediscover what kept them together all these years. What attracted them to one another in the first place. With me and John, we never had anything.”

  “Oh, come on, you had to have had something if you married him in the first place,” Kayla said, shaking her head with disbelief.

  I shook my head because I no longer believed that. “Girl, I had blinders on. All I could see was that he was kind and willing to give me the stars. He had offered me a way of life I knew nothing about, and that excited me. A stay-at-home mom. You know how many women wish they didn’t have to work.”