Soulful Strut (21 page)

Monette thought about her reaction to Jayson.
“Yeah. But maybe with the right man it’s worth it.”

Chapter 9

That evening the informal writers group met
in Monette’s bedroom. A group of five women, including Monette and
Tyeisha, got together once a week to share poetry, essays and
stories they’d written. Monette found that the sessions spurred her
to make progress on the second book she was working on. After about
an hour the women drifted off in different directions. Tyeisha
stayed behind, still wrestling with a poem about loss. Monette
balanced a legal pad on one knee, scribbling notes with urgency
before the freshness in the words slipped away. Candi’s voice from
the doorway came to her as background noise. Monette held up a hand
and kept writing. Finally she tapped the ink pen against the paper
and glanced up.

“You say something?” Monette frowned at
her.

“Nothing important, I guess,” Candi muttered.
She slammed the door.

“What’s up with that?” Tyeisha stared at the
door in surprise.

Monette put the pad on the seat of her chair
and followed Candi. “Hey, wait up.”

“I’m not waitin’ around until you have time
for me.” Candi paused only long enough to glance back once, then
kept walking.

“Damn, you sound like we’re dating or
something. Don’t get that rumor started.” Monette caught up with
her at the top of the stairs. “Okay, so now I’ve got time. Wanna
explain why you’re mad at me?”

Candi turned around. “Go back to your new
friends. I’m not up on the latest books or tryin’ to write a
pitiful ass poem.”

“I know for a fact that you could write
pitiful ass poems, too,” Monette wisecracked. She crossed her
arms.

“Take your act on the road. I hear Def Comedy
Jam needs a new comic.” Candi flipped a hand at her. “I’m
done.”

“We went through a lot of trash inside, but
nobody was able to split us. No other inmates or crazy guards.”
Monette grabbed her arm.

“You’re what’s comin’ between us now. You and
your new attitude. But I don’t have to explain a damn thing to
you.” Candi jabbed a finger into Monette’s chest.

Monette looked down at Candi’s finger and the
indentation it made in her T-shirt. “Okay. Be mad as long as you
need to be. Let me know when you wanna talk without all the
drama.”

“Please. Don’t let that community college
psych course go to your head.” Candi gave a snort

“That was a good one, girl.” Yarva leaned
against the hallway wall, watching them.

“I don’t need no help. So you can just back
off,” Candi snapped at Yarva over her shoulder.

“Whew. All I said was—” Yarva stopped when
Candi and Monette scowled at her. She held up both hands, palms
out. “Fine.”

Candi stared at Yarva until she went
downstairs, and then turned back to Monette. “Friends take time for
each other. Don’t even try telling me I’m actin’ crazy either.”

“So you’ve got amnesia all of a sudden about
that party. You remember the food, the music and the bullets
flyin’.” Monette ground her back teeth together in an effort to
hold her temper.

“Sorry I couldn’t find a tea party for you.
That way you could have talked about your book deal, the radio
show, blah-blah-blah.”

Monette gazed back at Candi for a few
minutes. Candi had a point. She had held that night against her,
maybe had even avoided her. “You’re right. I shouldn’t keep
bringing it up. But look, I can’t afford to make the wrong move.
I’ve slipped and tripped so many times in my life. I’m not trying
to blame you. Guess it’s just—I don’t know.”“Humph.” Candi wore a
hard expression. She was obviously not in a forgiving mood.

“I’m sorry for throwing the party in your
face. And for making you feel like I don’t have time for you these
days. Give me another chance. Come in and write a pitiful ass poem
with us.” Monette nodded back toward the room, where Lenore and
Tyeisha waited.

Candi ruffled her hair with one hand. She
looked away, then back at Monette. A smile pulled at her mouth even
as Candi tried to stay angry. “You’re slick. You know that?”

‘Takes one to know one.” Monette put both
hands on her hips. “Well? You still wanna whip my ass, or can we be
friends again?”

“No more poetry tonight,” Candi
challenged.

“We’re through anyway,” Lenore said as she
and Tyeisha joined them.

“Yeah.” Tyeisha looked at Candi. A silent
message seemed to pass between the two women.

“Let’s play some cards, girl,” Monette said
to break the staring match. She gave Candi a pat on the arm to
distract her. “I can still beat you at any game you choose.”

“You’re dreamin’ must be. If I remember
right, you owe me about ten thousand dollars from the last game we
had on the cell block.” Candi turned to Monette with a grin. “I’ll
set up the card table in the visiting room. Might as well make it
eleven thousand.”

“I’m gonna get my money back. Believe that.
Just give me a few minutes,” Monette called after her. Candi waved
a hand to signal she’d heard her.

Lenore waited until Candi reached the bottom
of the steps before speaking. She looked at Monette. “You two work
it out?”

“Sure. It’s cool.” Monette smiled at the two
young women. Still, she saw them exchange a glance. “Really. It’s
fine.”

“Uh-huh.” Tyeisha lifted a shoulder, and then
went back to her room.

“Just be careful. Sometimes friendships from
inside don’t survive out in the world. You and Candi are going down
different paths.” Lenore’s soft voice took nothing from the
intensity of her words. Her long black hair swayed as she shook her
head. “Candi and Yarva, they both boil with anger deep down. That’s
what they have in common. I know the signs.”

“Candi? The only thing boiling inside that
woman is acid indigestion from eating too much fried food. Listen,
I’ve known her for years. She’s gonna be alright.”

“I hope so. Yarva has a lot of influence over
her.” Lenore followed Monette’s gaze.

Something in Lenore’s tone struck a nerve.
Monette had wondered about the closeness between the two women.
Yarva had a gloomy cynicism that never seemed to go away. Every
once in a while Candi would sink into depression, but she would
eventually joke herself out of it. Monette knew all too well from
prison that some friendships could be toxic.

“Candi is a smart lady. She’ll be just fine
like I said.” Monette gave Lenore a smile of reassurance. “I’ll be
fine, too.”

Lenore smiled back at her. “Okay. Are we
still meeting Sunday evening as usual?”

“Of course we will. I’ve got a few pages I
finished to share with the group. See ya later.”

Monette went downstairs. When she entered the
smaller living room, Candi was already seated at the dark green
card table holding a deck of cards. She was laughing at something
another resident had said.

“Hey, come on in and prepare to lose,” Candi
said, waving Monette over to the table.

Candi shuffled the cards like a casino
dealer. No trace of anger came through in her tone or expression.
Monette might have thought she’d imagined their angry exchange only
a few moments before. More than anything she wanted the tension
behind them.

“You okay?” Monette picked up the hand Candi
had dealt her.

“Sure. Hey, now that you’re a rich celebrity,
let’s up the stakes. What do you say?” Candi wore her poker face
when she glanced up from her cards.

“Don’t come crying to me when you lose,”
Monette replied with a grin.

She dug a handful of coins from her pants
pocket and threw them on the table. Candi let out a whoop as she
pulled out her lucky coin purse. She slapped it down with a smirk
at Monette. For the next hour they played with the same enthusiasm
they’d had in prison. Monette told herself that she had nothing to
worry about where Candi was concerned.

***

Friday morning, Lucy sat across from Monette
in the day room at New Beginnings. As she talked, Monette nodded,
but her thoughts skipped between Lucy’s news and her own past. Winn
Barron had blown into Monette’s life like a bad wind bringing rain.
Of course she hadn’t had sense to see it at the time. But then
Monette hadn’t had much sense about anything in those days. Back in
the day, Winn had stood tall in her eyes. He’d been handsome before
too much of everything had taken its toll on his looks. He’d been
drawn to Monette. She’d worn a clingy red dress her first day on
the job working at the courthouse, which had been ironic, since
she’d kept breaking rules.

She had finally noticed him noticing her
after about two weeks working as a file clerk and all-around
gopher. They’d been discreet, naturally. Their attraction had
crossed a lot of boundaries, which had made their affair even more
exciting. After a year Monette had realized his attention hadn’t
been affection. He’d wanted to own her. In fact, Winn had believed
he did own Monette. She’d dumped him, all hard and cold, to let him
know slavery had ended long ago. Then Winn had set out to show her
he was boss. He’d won. At first. Monette still had the scars from
that particular battle. That had been fifteen years and what seemed
like a couple of lifetimes ago.

“Monette. Hey, listen, it’s not all that bad.
Barron can’t afford to mix it up too much. He’s lucky all he lost
was his not-so-spotless rep and his job as attorney general.” Lucy
gave a snort of contempt.

Monette blinked back to the present. The
sunshine slanting through a part of the window curtains did nothing
to warm her. She rubbed her arms, and then crossed them. “I know
him, Lucy. Winn is just letting me know he’s not done with me
yet.”

“Like I said, Barron is using his influence
behind the scenes to undermine your credibility. He’s written a
letter to the Parole Board chairperson and started a whisper
campaign.” Lucy stood up and paced, as though she were in a
courtroom.

“Can they reverse their decision and send me
back to prison?” Monette tensed. She’d never heard of it being done
before. Still, with Winn playing his hand, anything seemed
possible.

“Under extraordinary circumstances, but it’s
extremely rare,” Lucy rushed to add.

“Only if they find that I lied about anything
in my application, like the circumstances surrounding my
conviction.” Monette looked at her.

“Which you didn’t do,” Lucy said firmly.

“Winn is telling them I did. Right? That I
knew about the drugs and set up Earl to be killed.” Monette
realized her fingernails were digging into the flesh just above her
elbows. She opened her hands, then flexed her fingers. Her arms
felt stiff as she moved them to her sides.

“Yes. Barron is disputing the facts on your
application for a pardon, too,” Lucy said, letting go of the rest
of her bad news. “Can you think of anything, any ammunition he
might use against us?”

“You mean me.” Monette stood and went to the
window. “You better believe Winn knows a certain group of inmates
would love to have me back on the block.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Lucy’s sleek almond
eyes reflected her skepticism.

“You don’t know him like I do. Look, I messed
up his old family name and took a lot from him. Power and
influence, that’s what he cares about. Now he’s going to show me he
still has both.” Monette let out a raw laugh that scratched her
throat “I was stupid to think he was in Palm Beach hiding from the
world, from me. Not Winn.”

“Jim thinks we should press ahead. We had
enough evidence to win your parole, so we can use the same
arguments. Barron isn’t invincible, Monette. We’ve proven it before
and we can do it again.” Lucy walked over to her and put a hand on
Monette’s shoulder.

“Business as usual.” Monette inhaled and let
out air slowly, as though preparing for another fight.

“Don’t forget, Barron doesn’t have the same
cards in his hand as before. You went up against him once and won.
No one believed rich, privileged District Attorney Winn Barron
would risk everything by having an affair with you,” Lucy said.
“You convinced them that he had.”

Monette nodded without answering. Sure, she’d
used her street wits against the old money clout and come out on
top once. But she’d put her children through a lot to do it. At
first Monette had enjoyed the attention and causing a scandal.
She’d savored watching Winn fall. Yet she’d lost something as well.
Writing the book and then answering all of the questions about her
life had forced Monette to face the truth. About herself, her
choices and her life. The picture wasn’t pretty.

“Yeah, but I’m ready to just move on. Tell
Jim I’m going to avoid open warfare with the bastard. Not this
time.” Monette turned to Lucy. “Get in touch with Winn. Tell him
we’ll go quietly if he will. I won’t mention him on my show or my
next book. I won’t mention him at the pardon hearing. Negotiate a
truce for me.”

“If Barron will listen. I’m not sure what Jim
will say, but you’re the client.” Lucy nodded.

“Barron will take Jim’s phone call, trust me.
I’ll spend time talking about every mistake I’ve made. That should
make Winn happy. He can tell his classy friends that I was a lying
skank just like he said.” Monette calculated his reaction and
decided to put her plan in action soon.

“What will that do to you?” Lucy asked.

“Sugar, my life is literally an open book.
Winn can’t hurt me with talk.” Monette smiled with confidence to
cover her fear. Because that was a lie. Winn could definitely touch
Monette, but not without risk to himself. She just had to count on
him remembering that fact, and hope he wasn’t too drunk and
vengeful to care anymore.

Chapter 10

The Saturday afternoon sunshine faded behind
clouds by one o’clock. A steady drizzle of rain came down. Each
time the phone rang, Monette expected it to be Jayson calling to
cancel. He showed up at the front door at a quarter to four. Lenore
let him in and called to Monette. The other women did a bit of
not-so-subtle flirting with him, but Jayson took it in stride.