Soulful Strut (10 page)

All these pressures made Monette even more
nervous about her future. Her only solace was the fact that she at
least had a guest for her Monday talk show. The subject, bad taste
in men, was one she wouldn’t have to study up on, either. Still, by
the end of the week Monette was feeling testy. Friday morning
Monette was out of bed by six o’clock like everyone else. Candi,
Tyeisha and several others ate fast so they wouldn’t miss the bus.
Yarva found time to give Monette special, unwanted attention as
they sat around the table at breakfast.

“Got another big day, I hear. Givin’ a
speech.” Yarva licked a spot of grape jelly from her thumb.

“Yeah, Monette is gonna talk to some girls at
the Second Chances Academy. That’s cool,” Tyeisha said with bright
energy. She hadn’t noticed the trace of sarcasm in Yarva’s
remark.

“Wonder if your parole officer thinks it’s
cool. She could throw a big fat monkey wrench in your plans. That
would be too bad.” Yarva smiled at Monette.

Candi squinted at Yarva. “Why should she care
where Monette does her community service?”

“Guess she figures something like picking up
trash along the highway would build more character. Monette would
look cute in one of those orange vests they make you wear, too.”
Yarva picked up her plate and stood.

“Sounds like you know a lot about picking up
trash. But then you would,” Monette replied and affected a phony
smile back at Yarva.

Yarva thumped her plate down on the table
again and stood over Monette. Candi and Tyeisha stood at the same
time, ready to intervene. Monette finished her last spoonful of
oatmeal as though she hadn’t noticed Yarva. She calmly sipped
coffee from the ceramic mug. After a few more minutes of tense
silence, Yarva backed away.

“You don’t know me like that” Yarva stabbed a
forefinger at Monette.

“Goes both ways. We’re all out here trying
not to make the same mistakes again. I’m sorry for what I said.”
Monette did not want any more battles than she already had.

“Yeah, right. Whatever.” Yarva picked up her
plate. She let out a gruff laugh as she walked out “Three friggin’
cheers for the sisterhood.”

“Okay, I tried.” Monette threw down her
fork.

Candi grabbed one arm when Monette started to
go after Yarva. “Blow it off, girl.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Monette smiled at Candi
to signal that her temper had cooled.

The women eased into small talk. Moments
later they went into the kitchen with their dirty dishes. Yarva was
there, moving slowly, as though not interested in her task. She
turned to them, still wiping her hands on a dishcloth.

“Bout damn time y’all came in here to clean
up. Tyeisha, it’s your turn, so stop tryin’ to duck kitchen duty,”
Yarva snapped at her.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m here to save you from the
dishwasher,” Tyeisha said lightly, trying to tease the older woman
out of her bad mood.

“Miss Media Star there might play mama, but I
ain’t gonna. So don’t try that cute baby sister act with me.” Yarva
glared at her.

Monette felt her temperature rising again.
“Leave the kid alone. If you spent as much time working as you do
pissin’ me off, you’d be rich.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t be havin’ half as much
fun,” Yarva said with a sneer.

“C’mon now, y’all. We don’t need all this
drama about a few pots and pans. I’m gonna take care of it. Okay?”
Tyeisha put a hand on Yarva’s arm.

Instead of being appeased, Yarva swore and
slapped Tyeisha’s arm away. She knocked Tyeisha off balance, which
made her fall into a rolling cart filled with plates, glasses and
cups.

In a burst of protective fury, Monette shoved
Yarva with enough force to knock her down. When Yarva popped up
again, Monette drew back to slap her. Candi caught her by the wrist
and jumped between the two women. Lenore stepped forward to stand
beside the women facing Yarva.

“You’ll end up back on the floor.” Monette
tried to go around them, but Tyeisha helped Candi yank her
back.

“She would love to see you back in prison. It
ain’t worth it. Look, I’m okay,” Tyeisha said quietly.

Another resident ran into the kitchen. “Trudy
heard the noise,” she blurted out.

Trudy arrived seconds later. She looked at
the broken dishes on the floor. “What’s going on in here?”

“Some water spilled out of a glass. I slipped
and bumped into the cart. Clumsy me,” Candi said quickly.

“What happened to you?” Trudy gazed at Yarva,
who still looked angry and off balance.

“She tripped and almost knocked me over,”
Candi said with a grin. She brushed dust from Yarva’s shirt with
one hand as she spoke. “You alright, girl?”

“Yeah, fine.” Yarva shot a heated look at
Monette, and then looked away.

“Sweep up those shards so no one gets cut.
And I don’t think it will take six women to do that. Better hurry
so you don’t miss the bus.” Trudy gave them all one last dubious
look, as though searching for the real story.

The women teased Candi about being so clumsy
to make the story more believable. Others filed out as though
nothing significant had happened. Tyeisha grabbed a broom. Monette
opened the dishwasher and started loading it. Yarva stared at her
but said nothing. Trudy glanced from her to Monette.

“We’ll clean up,” Tyeisha assured Trudy. “I
don’t have to be at work until three o’clock.” She focused on her
task without glancing left or right.

“The day counselor will be in at eight
o’clock. Maybe she’ll help prevent any more ‘accidents.’ ” Trudy
gave them all a look that was meant as a warning, then left.

Yarva waited until Trudy’s footsteps faded. A
thump signaled that her office door had closed. Only then did Yarva
face Monette. “Put your hands on me again and you’ll be sorry.”

“I don’t run scared. The next time you won’t
get up so easily.” Monette started toward her, but Candi stopped
her.

“Like the man said, let’s all just get
along.” Candi glanced at Yarva.

“You comin’ to catch the bus, or you have to
change her diapers, too?” Yarva held out both her arms as she
stared at Candi. “We’re both gonna be late if we miss the eight-
fifteen.”

Candi looked at Monette. “Gotta go to work.
Talk to you later.”

“Okay,” Monette said after a few moments.

“You all up in her face. What’s that about?”
Candi asked Yarva as they left. Yarva’s mumbled reply was
inaudible, but the surly tone said more than enough.

“Damn, that was close.” Tyeisha added
detergent to the dishwasher, and then turned the dial.

Monette took a deep breath and leaned against
the sink. She watched Tyeisha put away leftovers. “Luckily my anger
management lessons clicked.”

“Was that before or after you knocked the
hell out of her?” Tyeisha’s mouth twitched until she started
giggling uncontrollably.

“Okay, so I’m a work in progress. Quit
laughing.” Monette bumped her hip against Tyeisha playfully. They
laughed together for a few minutes. Monette wiped the tile counters
and swept the floor while Tyeisha washed large pots by hand. After
ten minutes Monette managed to shake off some of her foul
attitude.

“I better get ready to leave. My parole
officer is going to meet us at Second Chances,” Monette said as she
dried her hands on a paper towel.

“You’ve got more nerve than me, girl. I
freeze up talkin’ in front of people. And with your parole officer
starin’ at ya.” Tyeisha gave a melodramatic shiver of fear.

“A lot of college professors and lawyers will
be there, too,” Monette replied. She grinned when Tyeisha groaned
in horror.

“Lord, I’d rather pick up trash along
highways than face that. Trudy has a good heart, but she don’t miss
much. Speakin’ of which, be careful. Trudy can be your best friend
or your worst nightmare.” Tyeisha nodded for emphasis.

“So don’t let Yarva hassle me into messing
up, right?” Monette wiped her hands on a paper towel and faced
her.

“Exactly. I think Yarva has issues cause you
got a lot goin’ for you. She just lost another job.”

“Let me guess, they fired her butt because of
that big mouth and even bigger chip on her shoulder. Right?”
Monette said.

“Something like that,” Tyeisha said with a
faint grin. “Plus Candi’s been braggin’ about you for weeks.”

“I take it Yarva was sort of the queen bee
around here?”

Tyeisha nodded again. “She’s been around,
lived in different places and got lots of stories. She always gives
out advice. Yarva has had a real rough life, too.”

Monette understood the message. For Tyeisha
to say Yarva had it rough meant something. All of the women had
gone through bad times. Yarva must have been through a truly
harrowing life, even by their standards. Monette made a mental note
to ask Candi for details.

“For the sake of keeping peace I’ll try to
work it out with her,” Monette said with a smile.

“Humph, that shove you gave her might have
been Yarva’s wake-up call. You know how that is.” Tyeisha put away
the last of the cups and glasses.

‘True. Maybe I’ll let her get me back. That
way she’ll save face and we can bury this feud.” Monette tossed the
balled-up paper towel in the kitchen trash can.

“You’re gonna let her hit you?” Tyeisha’s
eyes went wide.

“I’m forgiving, but I ain’t stupid,” Monette
wisecracked.

Trudy strode in briskly, looking at her watch
as she came in. “I have one more phone call to make, and then we’ll
leave at about nine-thirty, Monette. Be ready.”

“Yes, ma’am. I’ll be spit polished and ready
at zero nine hundred hours, ma’am.” Monette saluted.

“Witty, quick with a comeback, and
resourceful. Use those traits to do some good,” Trudy tossed back.
She squinted at Monette, and then left again.

“See ya later.” Tyeisha waved good-bye to
Monette.

“Yeah.”

Monette dressed in a conservative pantsuit
that didn’t fit too close. She pulled her hair back into a prim bun
at her neck. When she looked at herself in the mirror, Monette
smiled. Between the pearl button earrings and high collar of her
blouse, Monette could be on her way to teach Bible lessons. Her
choice was confirmed when Trudy gave a curt nod of approval. Trudy
led the way to the station wagon. They drove for five minutes
before Trudy spoke. She blended the Chevy Caprice into morning
traffic on Interstate 110.

“I listened to your show. Interesting
callers. They mostly wanted to talk about you.” Trudy sped up to
match the flow.

“I kinda expected that, with the book and
television interview.” Monette looked down at rooftops as they sped
along on the raised roadway.

“Naturally. So where do you go from here? New
Beginnings, I mean.”

“I want the same things other people want, a
home and family around me. Nothing unusual.” Monette glanced at
Trudy to get a clue, but her masked expression didn’t give one.

“Family,” Trudy repeated. “You can have your
children visit you anytime.”

“They have their own lives. Maybe in time
we’ll have some kind of a relationship." Monette realized that she
hadn’t made much of an effort to call, not even Karl. The truth was
she feared being rejected.

“I hope so. Talking about your past might
embarrass them.”

Monette let out a strained laugh at the
notion. “Nothing they hear will surprise them. Karl and Talia could
probably tell some stories I don’t remember.”

Trudy looked at her briefly, then ahead at
the road again. “I see.”

At one time Monette would have been angry at
the implied judgment in Trudy’s tone. Not now. The only thing left
from her previous life was the pain of losing her children. To
avoid feeling more stinging regret, Monette pushed away the
self-punishing thoughts. She changed the subject before Trudy
decided to probe more old wounds.“Enough about me. Did you always
want to be a social worker?” Monette asked.

“No. I have a business degree and I’ve taken
extra courses on running nonprofit organizations.” Trudy got into
the exit lane for College Drive.

“Interesting. You run the place like a
business. I can see that,” Monette said. Trudy was crisp and
efficient, like a boss making sure production stayed on
schedule.

“We don’t crank out machine parts or widgets,
but we still have to operate efficiently. Otherwise we wouldn’t
stay in our budget or keep our doors open. But I enjoy helping
others, giving back, so to speak.” Trudy maneuvered the station
wagon with skill as she stayed within the speed limit

“Your social responsibility, you mean.”
Monette knew the type. Trudy had probably never known poverty. Most
likely she had come from an upper-middle-class background.

“Definitely. My father and mother were
committed volunteers in several causes. I got the gene,” Trudy said
with a smile. “Guess you can call us a family of bleeding heart
liberals. Except for my oldest brother. He’s somewhere right of Pat
Buchanan.”

“Mama and Daddy must have been scandalized,”
Monette said.

“You wouldn’t believe the ‘eventful’ dinner
discussions we’ve had over the years,” Trudy joked. She took a
right turn down a wide boulevard. “Speaking of strained family
relationships, we could have a session with you and your relatives.
More than one, in fact.”

‘Thanks, but I don’t think that’s necessary,”
Monette said, then pressed her lips together.

“I know you’re under a unique kind of stress.
Unlike the other women at New Beginnings, your life is very public.
You’re in a kind of fishbowl, especially with the radio show. Are
you sure that’s a good idea?” Trudy turned onto a parking lot next
to a new-looking building. She nosed the long station wagon into a
spot, and then turned to study Monette.

“You mean if I take a fall I’ll have a big
audience.” Monette gazed ahead through the car windshield.