“What did it say?” he asks.
Men are just as bad as women when wanting to know the scoop! “Nothing, really. I hate that I brought it up. Please don’t tell Troy I said anything.”
“I won’t, but what did he say? How did he explain it?”
“I haven’t said anything to him yet. I just found it today. I’m going to wait until he gets home from Cincy.”
“I don’t know what was in the letter, but you are a bold woman to let your husband be in another city with a woman that you have proof wants him.”
Now he’s got me sitting up here, feeling like a big dummy. I should be on the road, driving to kick that girl’s butt.
Logan says, “I’m sorry. I guess you know Troy better than I do. Maybe he’s not interested in her at all.”
“Am I being stupid?”
“I think you’re being a good wife. A much better wife than Troy seems to deserve.”
This is the truth, and I’m so tired of trying to convince Troy of what he should already know. We’ve been together long enough for him to cherish me, and I am not feeling the least bit cherished.
Then it dawns on me. The thing that had been nagging me in the back of my mind since I picked up Aria’s note. If Troy didn’t care about Aria and her declarations of love, why did he save the note?
“Are you okay, Pam? Did you leave me?”
I draw my attention back to Logan. “I did go somewhere for a moment. I’m sorry. I was thinking about the letter again, and what I might do the next time I’m in the room with Aria.”
“I think you’re going to be a lady about the whole thing. I don’t see any hood rat tendencies in you.”
I cock my head to one side and give Logan my best sista girl neck snap. “You don’t know me, Logan. You don’t know what I’ll do.”
“Okay, I’ll be Aria. You be you. Go.”
“You been sleeping with my man?”
Logan shakes his head. “Nope. You sound like Squeak off The Color Purple. Talkin’ ’bout Harpo is my man!”
I poke out my lips and roll my eyes. “Is your fiancé not enough for you? You have to have my husband, too?”
“Better, but too passive-aggressive. You’re giving her too much power here. It’s like you’re saying that Troy is up for the taking if she wants him.”
Now I really stop and think for a moment before trying again. Then I narrow my eyes and say, “I found your letter.”
“Really? Which one?”
“Which one? Which one! She better not say that. I will go straight upside her head. And why do you sound just like her?”
Logan laughs out loud. “She wouldn’t be bold enough to say that. I’m just messing with you. More than likely, she’s going to pretend that she doesn’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Then I don’t know what I’ll do after that. I don’t want to seem like I’m threatened by her.”
“Are you threatened by her?”
Deep inhale, long, tired exhale. “I don’t know. Maybe. Look at her.”
“She’s all right. She doesn’t have anything on you, though.”
I feel my cheeks warm with a blush. “You’re just being nice, and I so appreciate that right now. I needed to hear that, even if it isn’t true.”
“I sure wish you were single, because I’d make you believe how incredible you are.”
Is it a sin that I just wished for a flash of a second that I was single, too?
CHAPTER 19
YVONNE
In lieu of our monthly Sister to Sister meeting, I talked a bunch of the ladies into helping Eva move into her new apartment at the church. It’s a beautiful evening and a perfect one to move. The weather is so perfect that I could just stand out here on Eva’s lawn until the mosquitoes eat me alive.
The church usually lets out the one-bedroom apartments for a short period of time to homeless congregants, but after I told pastor about Eva’s lack of education and resources, he agreed to let her have a six-month paid lease while we help her get her life on track.
She doesn’t say much about her past, except that she didn’t finish high school and that she had a rough childhood. I don’t know for sure, but I think that she was into drugs. Why else would she be so secretive about her life?
Pam walks up from her car, which she’s parked on the sidewalk. I didn’t think she was even coming, because Troy and the kids are at Kings Island and she has the whole house to herself to write.
“Hey, Yvonne,” Pam says as she hugs me tightly. On closer inspection, Pam looks worried about something. Her curly hair is in a big Afro puff, which gives her a youthful appearance. The bags around her eyes do the opposite.
“Hey, honey. Thank you so much for coming. Eva is sure going to appreciate it.”
“I’m just glad we could help her. I can’t imagine not knowing where I’m going to live. Well . . . I can, but I haven’t had to worry about that in a long time. Thank God for that.”
“Pastor Brown said that he let her in the apartment on my recommendation.”
“So is he gonna hold you responsible if anything goes wrong?”
This question never occurred to me. I guess I just assume that Eva’s going to do the right thing.
“I don’t know, Pam. I don’t think so,” I say after pondering for an extra second.
“I hope not. I mean, I don’t recall her getting saved or anything.. . .”
“You’re not serious, are you? You know we don’t just extend our charity to church members.”
“I’m just saying. You don’t even know her story, really, and you recommended her to stay at the church. What if she’s on drugs or something?”
Pam’s suspicion gives me a little confirmation on my own, but I’m not going to let her know what I’m thinking. She’s decided that Eva might be one of the devil’s children, and that’s not even like Pam.
“I don’t think that’s the case, but why would you even say that? What’s wrong with you?”
Pam reaches into her purse, pulls out an envelope, and hands it to me. Instantly, I’m taken back to a time when I opened a letter that changed my life. I found out about my husband’s affair and love child by opening an envelope.
“Go ahead,” Pam says. “Open it. I can’t carry this burden by myself, and Taylor is missing in action.”
I read the note contained inside the pretty, scented stationery, and I feel my heart drop like a stone. Troy can’t possibly be cheating! He and Pam have been through too much for him to throw their marriage away. She’s been there for him through poorer and richer and then back to almost poorer. This cannot be happening.
I say, “Maybe there is an explanation.”
“Maybe there is, and that’s why I haven’t totally flipped out yet. It sounds like he maybe turned her down, but I can’t be sure.”
“Well, he has to find another artist, right?” I ask. “I can’t see you feeling comfortable with that arrangement after this.”
“I hadn’t even gotten that far in my thought process, but now that you say it, you’re right. I can’t imagine her ever being in my home again without me trying to scratch her face off.”
“We’re not going there, Pam, because you are saved, right? You’re too big of a person to do that.”
“You know, I’m really getting tired of people thinking that I’m just so nice. Logan said the same thing.”
Pam covers her mouth like she said something she didn’t mean to say. “Logan is Troy’s business partner, right? He knows about this?”
“Yes. I happened to run into him right after I found out, and it just spilled out of my mouth.”
Pam’s demeanor is off. She can barely make eye contact, and she keeps playing with her hands. Is she leaving something out of the conversation? And if she is, what do I say about that? She doesn’t have to tell me everything. Lord knows, I don’t tell her everything.
“Are you and Logan friends?” I ask. “Do you think he’ll mention it to Troy?”
�
��I don’t think he’ll tell Troy I told him.”
“Men tend to stick together, girl, just like we do.”
I want to interrogate her further about this Logan, but Eva bounces over toward us, wearing a snug T-shirt and capri pants. Some of the brothers that I drafted to move the bigger pieces of furniture stop in their tracks when they see her. One brother drops a box on his foot and yelps.
This child’s body is darn near obscene. That tiny top clings to her breasts, which look too perfect to be real. Pair that up with her tiny waist and big round behind, and she looks more like a pinup girl than a church girl. But Eva seems oblivious to the attention.
Eva pulls Pam into a big friendly bear hug. “Hi, Sister Pam! Thank you for coming to help. I’ve got everything packed neatly, and I’ve been trying to help bring down some of the boxes, but these brothers won’t let me lift a finger.”
“I bet they won’t,” Pam says with a little giggle.
If I knew Eva better, I might suggest that she put on a more modest top. Not that what she’s wearing is immodest. It’s just that her body doesn’t really lend itself to modesty. Some of these brothers have wives, who would choke me right now if they knew what I’d signed their husbands up for.
“Well, relax and let them be men,” I say. “You’ll need your energy for unpacking, anyway.”
“Oh, I know. I’m not looking forward to that. It’s going to be such a headache. Yvonne, will you stay with me and help?”
“I sure will! I don’t have anything to do this evening, so I can help you.”
“You know, Eva, I’ve run a couple of job training and placement programs at the church. How can I help you get into a career? What did you do before you lost your job?” Pam asks.
“Odds and ends stuff, really. Honestly, I went from one boyfriend to the next. They took care of me.”
This isn’t really hard to believe. A girl who looks like Eva does could absolutely find a man to take care of her. Several men.
“So you’ve never had any type of hourly or salaried job?”
“I have, but they weren’t steady.”
“So what do you want to do now?” Pam asks. “You’ve got to have income.”
“Well, I can braid hair and do sew-in weaves. Maybe I could do that until I get back on my feet,” Eva says.
Just like somebody gave her a cue, Taylor and her friend Shaquan walk across the street. Taylor loves weaves, so she could be one of Eva’s first customers.
Eva runs up to Taylor and hugs her. “Hi, Sister Taylor. Thank you for your help! And you, too, Sister Shaquan.”
Shaquan looks Eva up and down before she hugs her, like she’s trying to solve a puzzle or something. I’m more mesmerized by Shaquan’s outfit than anything. Who shows up in a designer dress for big girls and eight-inch heels to help someone move? And who wears a royal blue hair weave, ever?
“Girl, I love a good moving party,” Shaquan says. “They usually have some of my favorite things.”
“And what would those be?” Pam asks.
“Muscle-bound men, sweaty men, and handymen. Okay!”
Taylor says, “Shaquan!”
“I was just playing,” Shaquan says. She glances at Eva for a second, and she opens her mouth to say something, I guess, but then she closes it again.
“Since the men won’t let us help them, is there anything else we can do upstairs? Can we clean anything?” Pam asks.
“Yvonne and I already cleaned everything from top to bottom,” Eva says. “It’s a small apartment, so there’s not much to clean.”
“Well, do y’all mind if I go?” Pam asks. “I can be working on my book while I have some peace and quiet. Taylor, call me later. For real this time. No texts.”
“Oh no, you didn’t just try to put me on blast!” Taylor says.
Shaquan bursts into laughter. “Yes, she did. And she is telling the truth with how you’re always texting people when we’re trying to have a conversation.”
“Well, try having a deadbeat, no-child-support-paying baby father show up uninvited in your son’s life, and then tell me how many phone conversations you’re going to have. Luke has got me pretty occupied right now.”
I shake my head in anger. I can’t believe Luke is trying to disrupt their lives! Hasn’t he already done enough damage? Why can’t he just go into a dark corner somewhere and disappear?
“Taylor, how do you want us to pray about that?” I ask. “As a matter of fact, we need to fast and pray. There is too much coming against our group right now.”
Taylor smiles and gives me a hug. “Yvonne, you know how to pray better than I do. I don’t even know what to say to God about Luke. Every time I fix my mouth to say something, it sounds like I’m being unforgiving. And you know what? I don’t forgive Luke.”
Eva says, “Don’t hold on to that. You’ll be the only one hurt. Trust me, I know.”
Taylor lifts her eyebrows at Eva. Maybe Taylor got so caught up in her drama that she forgot Eva was standing right there, but it’s almost like Eva intruded on a very private moment.
“My bad,” Eva says, as if she could sense her comment wasn’t welcome. “I’ve just had some really bad things happen to me in my life, so I understand not forgiving people.”
“It’s cool,” Taylor says. “Looks like you’re just right for the Sister to Sister group. We’re a wounded bunch.”
“Aren’t we all in some way?” Eva asks.
Everyone responds to this with a nod. It seems that now, finally, Eva is starting to win my friends over. Pam still isn’t convinced, but Eva’s more Taylor’s speed, anyway. They share a lot in common. They’ve got that vixen, man-stealer look that makes it hard for them to connect with other women.
Something sings in Shaquan’s purse. The noise and the commotion of her digging in her bag break the silence that has fallen over the group. She takes out her phone and furiously starts texting.
“Taylor, I need you to drop me off somewhere real quick,” she says.
Taylor shakes her head. “This is why I didn’t want you to ride with me! You always need someone to drop you off. From here on out we are driving separately.”
“Um, why would we do that? I’m not using up my gas trying to fool with these church outings. It’s Friday, and I just got paid, so stop acting like you don’t know.”
Everyone chuckles.
“Come on, then. It doesn’t look like there’s much to do, anyway,” Taylor says. “I can drop Shaquan off and come back.”
“You go take care of Joshua,” I say. “If Luke’s been anywhere near him, you might need to lay hands on him and exorcise the devil out of him.”
“I know that’s right,” Taylor says.
“Before y’all leave, let’s make a point to pray for each other tonight, okay? I was serious about that,” I say.
Pam asks, “Are you going through something, too, Yvonne? What do you want us to pray about?”
“Well, I’m spending all day tomorrow with Kingston. We’re going to Put-in-Bay. I don’t know what kind of prayer I need, but this is a huge step for me.”
Taylor gives Pam a knowing glance, then bursts into laughter. “Let’s all bow our heads right now and pray for Yvonne. Lord knows it’s been a real long time, and we bind all lust and ho spirits in the name of Jesus.”
Now everyone is laughing, including me. That is not the prayer I need, I don’t think.
Eva says between her laughs, “Yvonne doesn’t strike me as having a ho spirit!”
“Okay,” Shaquan says. “This is the purest Polly Purebred I’ve ever met, and I mean that as a compliment, Yvonne.”
“Deep down, somewhere in that holy package is a freak waiting to be released!” Taylor is doubled over now and holding on to her belly as she laughs.
“Oh, shut up, Taylor!” I say. “Seriously, just pray that if Kingston is the right man for me, I don’t push him away with this Luke baggage.”
Pam says, “You got it, honey. For what it’s worth, I think tha
t Kingston could definitely be the man for you. You suffered too long with Luke not to have someone wonderful.”
“He’s got the right name,” Eva says. “A king for a queen.”
Now that was touching. “Thank you, honey. I hope he’s royalty, because my daddy is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. . . .”
“Can we go before she starts shouting?” Shaquan asks.
“Yes! Bye, y’all!” Taylor says.
Taylor and Shaquan wave as they go back to Taylor’s car. Pam gives me and Eva a hug.
“Call me later if you think about it, Yvonne,” Pam says.
“Okay.”
Pam starts to walk away, and then she turns around and comes back. She pulls out a scrap of paper and a pen and scribbles something down on it.
“Here, Eva. You can call me if you need anything and you can’t get ahold of Yvonne. Let’s get to know one another better.”
“Okay!” Eva beams with excitement.
When Pam and Taylor have both pulled off, Eva turns to me and smiles with tears in her eyes. “Do you think they really like me?” she asks.
“Of course they do! What’s not to like?”
Eva bites her lip and looks at the ground. “I’ve never had girlfriends before.”
“Well, now you do! But not just girlfriends. Sisters in Christ.”
I hug Eva to let her know that I’m serious, and I feel her body tremble. When we separate, she has fresh tears on her face.
“Stop all that crying, girl! You do more crying than laughing. We have to change that.”
CHAPTER 20
YVONNE
The brothers at our church are better than any moving service! They’ve got all of Eva’s furniture set up and boxes placed in the designated rooms. Not that she has a lot of possessions, but they did a great job, nonetheless. I promise each of them a personalized bowl of my famous banana pudding and send them on their way so that we can get Eva unpacked.
Eva looks around the living room and scrunches her nose. “This is the worst part of moving. The unpacking.”
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