Flawbulous (5 page)

Mark quickly released Lawson. “No, it's fine. Lawson was feeling a little emotional.”

Reginell glared at them both. “I can tell.”

Lawson dried her eyes. “Were you and Garrett able to talk some sense into them?”

“Garrett talked to Namon. I mostly helped Shari think of some cute baby names,” revealed Reginell. “What do you think about Amari if it's a girl? Isn't that adorable? Amari and Shari.”

Lawson was stumped. “Reggie, that is not . . .” She flung her hands, frustrated. “Forget it.”

Reginell stood next to Mark. “Lawson, this baby is coming whether you like it or not. You might as well get excited about it.”

Mark draped his arm around his wife's shoulders. “Babe, I think
acceptance
is probably more realistic than excitement at this point.”

Lawson sighed. “You're right. Shari is pregnant, and there's nothing we can do about it. All we can do is help them make the best decisions going forward.”

“That's the right attitude, and cheer up!” Mark pinched her playfully. “We're about to be grandparents!”

Lawson forced herself to smile. On the surface, she conceded, but in the back of her mind, she vowed that there was no way this child would ever see the light of day.

“When it's a true sisterhood bond like this one, nothing
or nobody can tear it apart.”

 

–
Angel King

 

Lawson, Reginell, and Angel gathered at Kina's newly purchased town house a few days later to break bread and meet Kina's ghostwriter.

“That was Desdemona on the phone,” Kina informed them. “She got held up, but she's on the way. She said we can start dinner without her.”

Reginell rubbed her stomach. “Good, because I'm beyond hungry! My appetite has crossed over into famished.”

“Kina, everything looks so . . . healthy!” remarked Angel, surprised, surveying the health-conscious dinner spread following the grace. “There's not a piece of lard or fatback in sight!”

“And there won't be!” Kina assured her, setting a spinach salad on the table. “My porker days are behind me. Mostly salads and grilled fish from here on out.”

“Well, that certainly beats bottles and bibs from here on out,” Lawson deadpanned, helping herself to a serving of sautéed vegetables.

“I still can't believe Namon is going to be a daddy!” exclaimed Angel. “He's still that kid riding around with training wheels to me. It's hard to picture him with a child of his own.”

“I
can'
t picture it!” retorted Lawson. “Plus, he has no idea how they're going to take care of this child. All he does is insist that he and Shari love each other and that everything is going to somehow magically work out.”

“And it will. Lawson, I told you that you worry too much,” asserted Reginell.

“Spoken like someone who's never had children to worry about!” replied Lawson. “Until you do, you can't possibly understand what it's like to watch your child make a mess of his life and opportunities.”

“Namon having a child is not the absolute worst thing in the world, Lawson,” said Kina. “You and I both had our kids young, and we survived. Yeah, it's disappointing that it's happening this way, but think of the blessing in all this.”

“Oh, yeah?” Lawson gave her the side eye. “And what is that?”

“You'll have a new person to control,” said Reginell. “And Mark and I will have a new grandbaby to spoil rotten, at least till we have our own baby.”

“Try making it down the aisle first,” cautioned Lawson.

Reginell smiled smugly, knowing she already had.

“However, the bottles and bibs I was referring to are Simon's, not Namon's. As if there's not enough going on right now, Simone called last night with a little surprise of her own,” hedged Lawson.

Angel made a wry face. “Oh, no! She's not pregnant again, is she?”

Lawson shook her head. “No, nothing like that, at least not by my husband again! Apparently, she landed some big interior design contract for a swanky new hotel in New York.”

Angel stacked her plate with vegetables. “Is she moving and taking Simon with her?”

“The move is temporary, a few months, tops,” Lawson informed them. “She wanted to take Simon with her, but you know Garrett. He can't be away from his son that long, and he wasn't comfortable with the idea of Simon being in a strange place with new caretakers. So guess who'll be a full-time stepmom for the foreseeable future?”

Kina filled everyone's glass with tea. “I don't think it'll be that bad, Lawson.”

“No, I'm actually looking forward to it. Simon is a good baby, especially now that he's walking and is potty training. It's nice having him around now that Garrett and I are empty nesters.”

“See? You didn't think you'd be able to accept Garrett's on-a-break baby, but you did. It can be that way with your grandchild,” pointed out Angel.

“Even more so because your husband didn't have to bang another woman to get that baby!” added Reginell.

Lawson pricked Reginell with an icy gaze. “Thanks for bringing that up, Reggie.”

Angel giggled. “That kind of shade throwing is usually reserved for Sullivan.”

“It would be nice to have Sully around to get her take on all this,” said Lawson wistfully. “She doesn't dish out the soundest advice, but it's always amusing. Lord knows I could use her sense of humor right now. I'd give about anything to see her strutting in thirty minutes late.”

“Sullivan is going to pull through this,” upheld Angel. “And she'll be as crazy and as feisty and as fashionably late as ever!”

Lawson nodded. “From your lips to God's ear.”

“Was there any change when you visited her at the hospital yesterday?” asked Kina.

Lawson shook her head. “She's still just lying there.”

“I talk to her. I keep telling her how much we love her and how much Charles and the children need her. A lot of patients who were comatose say they could hear. Hearing is actually the last sense to go when a person is dying.” Angel caught herself. “Not that I'm suggesting she's dying. I'm positive she's going to come back to us . . . she has to.”

Reginell sighed. “I know I'm not Sully's biggest fan, but I wouldn't wish what she's going through on anyone. Mark and I have earnestly been praying for her full recovery. Her baby's too.”

“Thanks, Reggie. That's sweet. You and Sully fight like rival gangs, but I know deep down—like, two thousand leagues under the sea deep—the two of you really love each other.” Lawson patted her sister's hand. “If I live to see the day that the two of you stop cutting each other down, I'll know that miracles can truly happen every day.”

Angel laughed. “That would be almost as big a miracle as the one-hundred-eighty-degree turn Vera has made. Can you believe Sullivan's mother has been acting so—dare I say it?—civilized and concerned?”

Lawson nodded. “Despite their combative history, I think Vera loves Sullivan. As much as she has the capacity to love, anyway.”

“I don't know if you can call allowing men to molest your daughter love, but she's been here helping Charles with Charity. Charles won't allow Vera to take Charity home, of course, but she's still been here with her granddaughter every day,” noted Angel.

“I'm glad Vera is making herself useful,” said Kina.

Reginell switched gears. “Kina, what's up with this writer you wanted us to meet today?”

Angel looked around the room. “And where is she? What kind of guest of honor is late for her own celebration?”

“You mean the author my editor has saddled me with!” Kina snarled. “But I have to admit, she's not as bad as I thought she'd be. She has been open to my suggestions about the book and has been good about running her ideas by me before typing anything up. She hangs around but doesn't crowd me. She's definitely a breath of fresh air compared to my editor, I'll tell you that!”

Angel swallowed her food. “Sounds like a winner. I can't wait to meet her.”

“Assuming she ever gets here . . .” muttered Reginell.

There was a knock at Kina's door.

“That must be Des.” Kina stood up to let her in. “She's as sweet as pie. You all are gonna love her!”

Kina exited and then shortly thereafter returned to the dining room with her ghostwriter in tow. “Everybody, I want you all to meet Desdemona Price, also known as one of the best in the publishing biz!”

Desdemona waved. “Hello. I've heard so much about all of you that I feel like we already know each other.”

Angel thought for a moment. “Desdemona . . . that's an interesting name. That's the wife's name in
Othello,
right?”

“Yeah, my mom has a thing for Shakespearean tragedies. I guess that's why I'm attracted to the darkside of things.”

“You're in the right profession.” Lawson pulled out the chair next to hers. “Please have a seat. Welcome.”

“Thank you.” Desdemona sat down. “You must be . . .”

Lawson extended her hand. “Lawson Kerry Banks. Kina's favorite cousin.”

“Favorite after me, that is!” interjected Reginell.

“You must be Reginell, Lawson's sister,” said Desdemona.

Reginell nodded. “I'm the fun sister. She's . . .
not.
”

Desdemona giggled. “I think it's best I stay out of that.”

Angel, who was sitting across from Desdemona, extended her hand. “Hi. I'm Angel King.”

Desdemona warmly received her hand. “The nurse, right?”

Angel nodded. “Yes, and Kina's old boss.”

Desdemona was impressed. “And the two of you are still friends? You must've been a great boss!”

“She was the best!” replied Kina and sat down next to Desdemona. “All these ladies are awesome.”

“I can tell,” said Desdemona. “I'm looking forward to spending time with all of you. I don't know if Kina mentioned this or not, but I will need to set up some interviews with everyone.”

“For what?” asked Reginell, immediately wary.

Desdemona explained. “All of you play such significant roles in Kina's life. In order to get a complete sense of who she is, I think it's important to talk to all of you since you're the ones who know her best.”

“Yep, we know where all the secrets and bodies are buried,” teased Lawson.

Kina passed Desdemona the platter of grilled chicken breasts. “Go on. Help yourself.”

“It looks delicious, and this is such a beautiful table and place setting,” remarked Desdemona, admiring Kina's Wedgwood dinnerware. “In fact, I love the way your whole home is decorated, Kina.”

“Thanks, but I can't really take all the credit. The china was a splurge after I won
Lose Big,
but the furniture was all of them.” Kina gestured with her hand toward her friends. “Mostly Sullivan.”

“We all pitched in and got Kina new furniture for her birthday after her husband passed,” reported Angel.

“I bought the punch bowl,” crowed Reginell.

“We didn't have much money between the three of us, so Sullivan bought the bulk of it,” confessed Lawson. “Or at least her husband's account did.”

“That was sweet,” replied Desdemona. “Kina told me that she was in a bad car accident a few days ago. How is she?”

Angel smiled. “According to the Word and our faith, she's healed.”

“Just from talking to Kina and from the vibe I get from all of you, I can tell that religion is very important to you all,” remarked Desdemona.

Lawson shook her head. “Not religion. I don't think any of us subscribe to the notion of legalism and fixed religion in the traditional sense, but we all have a strong relationship with God. That's the root of everything we are and everything we do.”

The concept fascinated Desdemona. “Wow. So I guess that's the secret to how you manage to do what's a struggle for so many people.”

“God and these girls,” said Kina. “They've been my rock. I don't know what I'd do without them.”

“That goes for all of us,” affirmed Angel. “Through all the drama and madness, they've been there.”

Kina went on. “Yeah, some of us go back almost to the womb together! Lawson and I are cousins, we were born two weeks apart, we lived in the same neighborhood, and we went to the same school. You name it, we did it together!”

“Sullivan moved to the neighborhood when we were in elementary school, and the three of us were inseparable and have been ever since,” added Lawson.

“Well, the
two
of you, anyway,” Kina said, correcting her. “Sully and I are still working past our issues, but things have gotten much better.”

“What issues?” asked Desdemona.

The ladies all exchanged glances.

Kina patted Desdemona on the hand. “We'll discuss it off-line.”

Desdemona faced the group. “Kina has been filling me in about all of you. Obviously, I know that Kina is an aspiring author and television personality. Lawson is a high school social studies teacher, I think . . .”

Lawson nodded. “Working toward administrator.”

Desdemona pointed at Angel. “Angel, you're a nurse, and Sullivan is a stay-at-home mom. I'm not really sure what you do, Reginell.”

“I'm a retired stripper,” answered Reginell.

Desdemona blinked back. “Oh . . . you really
are
the fun sister, huh?”

“Honey, I'm many things!” boasted Reginell. “These days, though, I dance exclusively for my man when I'm not in school.”

“Incidentally, her
man
is also my son's father,” expounded Lawson. “It's a long story.”

“And no doubt an interesting one. I can't wait to hear all about it.” Desdemona looked around at all the women seated around the table. “It's so refreshing to see women, especially sistas, supporting each other. Reality TV and movies will have you thinking it's impossible, but you're the exception. You ladies have it all.”

Lawson became sullen. “That's debatable. Right now, we don't have the one thing we all want most, and that's our sister Sullivan.”

“I have to agree with that, and I don't even like her!” Reginell conceded, then winced in pain.

“What's wrong?” asked Angel.

“Nothing . . . I got a cramp in my lower back. I've been getting them lately.”

“You haven't told me anything about that!” admonished Lawson. “How long has this been going on?”

“Lawson, I don't tell you lots of things, but it's no big deal. Besides, I promised Mark that I'd have it checked out, and I will.”