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Authors: Mary Monroe

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BOOK: The Company We Keep
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CHAPTER 15

“I
f you couldn’t hold on to him, I wonder just what he’s looking for in a woman.”

There were times when Nicole said something so stupid that it made Teri want to slap her. This was one of those times. But Teri was able to control herself. She gave Nicole’s words some consideration before she responded.

“Why don’t you ask him?”

“I don’t think so. I just wonder how a man like that can still be single. It’s beyond me, Teri.”

Teri removed her compact from her clutch purse, checked her makeup, then patted her hair, which she had in a French roll. “He was married not too long ago. His divorce became final the last week that I, uh, was with him.”

“Hurry up and slap me so we can get out of this car,” Nicole said.

Teri whirled around to face her. “Slap you for what?”

“For messing with you like this. You know damn well I would never go after Harrison and it was stupid of me to joke about it. I want you to know right now, if he ever comes after me, all I’ll do is send him back to you.”

“Please don’t do me any favors,” Teri said firmly, her jaw twitch
ing. “And please do me a favor and stop talking crazy. I’ve endured enough pain in the romance department.”

“I’m not talking crazy, girl. One thing for sure is I know pain. I know what it feels like to be hurt.” Nicole gritted her teeth and blinked hard. “That bitch Kim Loo was sitting on her dumpy, rice-eating yellow ass doing my nails every week and fucking my husband behind my back.”

Teri gave Nicole an affectionate hug and waited patiently in silence until she cooled down a few degrees.

They remained in Teri’s car until Harrison had gone inside the house.

“Well, the party’s inside, and if we want to enjoy it, we’d better get our black asses in there, too,” Teri said. Nicole gracefully un-buttoned the two top buttons on her jacket, making sure to expose her perky breasts. Teri sucked in a deep breath and checked her makeup again.

 

The Andrewses’ living room was jammed with people. Teri plowed through the crowd like a bulldozer with Nicole close behind, jerking her head from side to side as she stared in awe. She knew that the Andrews were well off, but not nearly as well off as the rapper. But their house had ten times more taste and class than his. African artwork, a stylish powder blue couch and matching love seat, and exotic plants dominated the living room. There was a wall-to-wall red oak bookcase filled with leather-bound books facing the couch. And Carla and Reuben had both read every single one of them. Red and white heart-shaped balloons dangled from the ceiling encircling a crystal chandelier. In the dining room, which was just as exquisitely furnished as the living room, sat on a table a huge heart-shaped white cake with a red heart in the center that contained Carla and Reuben’s names. Other than her grandparents, Teri didn’t know of any other couple—black, white, or anything else—that seemed to be as much in love as Carla and Reuben.

Carla entered the dining room, looking like the wife of an African diplomat. Her salt-and-pepper-colored braids made her look ten years younger than her forty years, a fact that she never
concealed or denied. Despite her owlish eyes, thin lips, and slightly crooked nose, she was considered attractive. Her voluminous, floor-length gown with a floral print hid a firm and youthful body that she worked hard to maintain. Her sensitivity and wisdom had earned her the respect and friendship of many people.

In spite of the fact that Carla was a prominent psychiatrist whose patient list included several of her friends and relatives, Teri considered Carla to be one of her most treasured friends. They’d known each other only for a couple of years, but in some ways, Teri felt like she’d known her a lot longer.

Carla read Teri like a book, in more ways than one. As if Carla didn’t have enough going for her, she had been born with a special gift, a sixth sense that allowed her to glimpse into the future. It was not something that too many people knew, and it was one horn she didn’t like to toot too loudly. Many years earlier, she’d learned the hard way that it was smart not to.

One dull night during her senior year at Spellman when she had nothing better to do, she’d surprised her roommate and sorority sister, Janette Spencer, by volunteering to do a psychic reading for her. Janette was skeptical and amused, but she agreed to it, anyway. She had nothing better to do that night herself. Carla told Janette that she was pregnant and that the baby’s father was going to propose to another girl. Janette’s period was already a week late at the time, but she’d been late before. And as far as her man even looking at another girl, she absolutely refused to believe that. She called Carla a damn fool and advised her to go read her Bible. The incident was forgotten until two months later when Janette suffered a miscarriage when she heard that the boy who had relieved her of her virginity was going to marry one of her rivals.

By the time graduation rolled around, Carla had been called a witch doctor so many times she lost count. She’d laughed it off for the most part, but it had hurt her feelings to be made fun of. She didn’t even tell Reuben about her special ability until they’d been securely married for three years. She had never done a reading for him, and he’d made it clear early in their relationship that he didn’t want her to. And it was not because he was a skep
tic. He had been raised in New Orleans by a mother whose so-called healing hands had cured more afflictions than he could count. Anything that had to do with the paranormal, even slightly, frightened him so he left it alone. But he knew that Carla was not a dingbat. She took her gift very seriously. He didn’t even know which of her friends and patients she read for, and he didn’t want to know.

He knew that she wouldn’t risk her credibility and reputation by broadcasting her business. She had too much to lose. And as a corporate attorney, he did, too.

“There are twice as many people here as we’d originally planned to invite. The list kept getting longer and longer,” Carla said, addressing one of the caterers who looked worried. “And if that wasn’t bad enough, my husband invited some that he forgot to tell me about.”

“Not to worry. We’ll manage,” the caterer assured her.

Carla noticed Teri standing a few feet away sipping champagne. She rushed up to her, gave her a mighty embrace, and rubbed the side of Teri’s cheek with hers. “Reuben must have invited everybody in Southern California,” she mentioned. She turned to Nicole. “You must be Nicole. I’ve heard a lot about you.” She gave Nicole a quick hug.

“Believe only the good stuff,” Nicole quipped. She snatched a flute of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter and took a long swallow.

As much as Nicole respected Teri, she wasn’t sure how to take the fact that Teri was seeing Carla on a professional basis and, well, she didn’t know how to categorize that psychic thing. Seeing a shrink was one thing—a lot of people on Teri’s level were in some kind of therapy. But this psychic thing in the year 2008? Nicole wondered what some of the uptight people she and Teri worked with would think if they knew she was being “advised” by a psychic shrink. She almost laughed out loud when she recalled how the media had exposed the phony television psychic Miss Cleo a few years ago. And before that, there was that story about Nancy Reagan getting caught up in some psychic astrology mess. The late-night talk show hosts had a field day with that.

Well, if anybody found out about Teri and Carla, it wouldn’t be
from Nicole. As a matter of fact, if Teri said the woman was good at what she did, that had to count for something. Nicole considered all the facts. Teri Stewart was not a gullible woman or a fool. If she endorsed something, it had to be worthwhile. Now that Teri had let her in on one of her “secrets” she would milk it for all it was worth. Why the hell not? She had nothing to lose but maybe something to gain.

“It was all good,” Carla assured Nicole, giving her hand an affectionate pat. “But I already knew that.” Carla added a wink to her declaration. She noticed Nicole and Teri exchanging glances. There was a dark cloud of confusion on Nicole’s face. “It’s all right. I know that you know what I do,” Carla said in a low voice.

“Uh, yes, I do. And Teri tells me that you’re pretty accurate,” Nicole replied, almost in a whisper.

Carla nodded and beamed proudly. “Did you sign up for a reading?”

“I’d love to sign up,” Nicole squealed.

“I’m glad to hear that, Nicole. I can already tell that you will be a good subject.” Carla paused and looked around. “We can set up a time for later tonight.”

Carla’s husband, Reuben, feeling and looking his forty-two years, entered the room. From the dazed look on his reddish brown face, he was feeling no pain. There was a shot glass filled with Jack Daniels in his hand. He still had most of his hair, even though half of it was gray. And he was proud of the fact that it was naturally soft and curly. He liked to part it on the side and plaster it down with expensive pomade. But every time he had more than a couple of drinks, the alcohol had an odd effect on his hair. The strands of his curls separated and stood up and out, as if he had sprouted a head full of wire. With him was Mia Miller, the dream girl of almost every man at the party. But she was about as unnecessary, unwanted, and inconvenient as she could be as far as the women were concerned. She was the kind of woman no woman in her right mind would invite to her party. Especially a woman Carla’s age. Had Mia not piggybacked her way into the party with another guest, she would not have been present. Carla would have made sure of that.

Mia was the daughter of a Vietnamese mother and a black fa
ther. She had just turned twenty-six. She did some modeling on the side, had no trouble latching on to a sugar daddy when she needed one, and had already appeared in half a dozen music videos. Carla trusted her husband, but she was not naive enough to think that he would never cheat on her. Especially the way the young bitches threw their asses at men these days.

CHAPTER 16

“H
ow are you, Mia?” Carla asked, attempting to rub Mia’s cheek with hers. Mia’s reaction stunned Carla to say the least. Not only did she abruptly turn her cheek, but she moved back a few steps and glared at Carla as if she had tried to bite her.

“I’m fine,” Mia replied, with her face and lips so stiff it looked as if her mouth didn’t even move.

Teri and Nicole were even more stunned by Mia’s blatant display of arrogance than Carla. But Carla handled the slight with dignity and class. “You’re looking so lovely today, Mia. Welcome to our home. I hope you will enjoy yourself. And don’t let this man of mine talk your ear off,” Carla said with a laugh. Just to show that she was three times the woman Mia was, she gave Mia a friendly pat on the shoulder.

Mia flinched, but that didn’t faze Carla, either. She continued to be graceful and dignified. “Reuben, honey, where are your manners? Get Mia a glass of champagne. This party was your idea, babe.” Carla deliberately refused to look at Mia again. Teri and Nicole were so disgusted with Mia’s behavior they discreetly nudged each other with their elbows and gave each other horrified looks. You didn’t have to be a mind reader to know what they were thinking. Teri wanted Carla to take the bitch aside and order her to leave. Had this been Teri’s house, that’s exactly what
she would have done. Nicole would have done the same thing, but she would have kicked Mia’s ass first.

“I’d like some Evian, if you have it. I don’t drink or smoke anymore. I gave it up years ago,” Mia announced. “Nothing ages a woman quicker than alcohol and cigarettes,” she added with a smug look on her face. She looked at the flute of champagne in Teri’s hand and then at Nicole’s.

“You stopped drinking and smoking? I never would have guessed that,” Nicole quipped. Teri nudged Nicole’s side again with her elbow. Carla snickered. “Looks like you stopped in the nick of
time
…” Carla covered her mouth with her hand, but Teri could still hear her snickering under her breath. Teri wanted to do the same thing, but she could see from the look on Mia’s face that Nicole had made her point.

Mia gave Nicole a blank look and shook her head as if she were shaking rocks out of it. “What did you say?” she asked, glaring at Nicole even though she’d clearly heard Nicole’s remarks.

“Nothing,” Nicole mumbled. Now the smug look was on Nicole’s face.

“Where is that photographer? Where in the world is that Eric Graves? I’m paying him by the hour,” Reuben said to no one in particular, looking around the room with his neck swiveling like a barber’s chair. His words were forced, but it was the only way he could think to change the subject at such short notice. He wanted to diffuse the situation going on with the women. He recognized a bitch’s brew when he saw one. And a smackdown between two of his guests was the last thing he wanted to deal with on his wedding anniversary. He knew that he would never hear the end of it. Carla would make his life a living hell. “I want a shot of me, Harrison, and Dwight Davis for my office.”

“Dwight is here, too?” Teri asked, obviously annoyed. It was one thing to know that Harrison was on the premises,
with his fine self
; she could deal with him. But Dwight’s name was at the top of her shit list. She beckoned a waiter and had him refill her glass.

“Oh yes, Dwight is here. Lakers all-star forward.” Reuben smiled. “And it wasn’t easy to get him to come out here. A brother like him gets more invites than he can handle. Living over there in
Brentwood, everybody in his neighborhood wants him on their guest list.”

Teri rolled her eyes and looked around the room, glad she didn’t see Dwight. A passing male guest stopped and leered at Mia. It took him a few moments to notice Teri, Nicole, and Carla. Then he leered at them, too. “Why are all you foxy ladies hanging out in the dining room when all the eligible brothers are in the living room?” The women heard him but they all ignored him.

“Is Dwight here alone?” Carla asked her husband.

“He came with me,” Mia volunteered before Reuben could even open his mouth. There was a satisfied look on her face.

“I figured that,” Teri said, making sure Mia heard her.

“It was nice chatting with you ladies,” Mia said, finally smiling. But a blind man could see how insincere her words were. Carla excused herself and led her husband away. Mia whirled around and pranced out of the room, strutting like a gay rooster.

“I hope I don’t have to take off my earrings up in here tonight,” Nicole said, watching Mia until she was out of sight.

“I hope you don’t, either. I thought we left all that shit behind us in grade school. I haven’t been involved in any violence since sixth grade.”

“Well I have, and I can thank that
thang
I married.” Even though there was no telling where Greg was tonight, Nicole still felt his presence. The last time he had come to pick up Chris, three hours late, he had lunged at her and grabbed her by the throat when she demanded her back child support payments. And she’d bounced her Crock-Pot off his head, leaving a knot the size of a lemon. “You used to be the one that handled more business than Mike Tyson. I’m surprised you didn’t snatch that bitch bald,” Nicole said.

“And don’t you forget that every time you got caught up in a smack-down, you got your ass kicked. I’d hate to see that happen in here. Don’t embarrass yourself or me. You should know by now that the world is full of skanks like Mia,” Teri said.

“I bet I could whup that bitch with one hand tied behind my back,” Nicole declared.

“Well, I don’t want to find out. Now, you behave yourself. She is a guest here just like we are. Let’s at least respect that, and the
fact that this is Carla’s house,” Teri insisted. “I wonder what she did to Dwight for him to bring her here. He usually attends these kinds of things alone.”

“Dwight’s taste must all be in his mouth.” Nicole huffed. “Mia’s bubble butt must have more fingerprints on file than the FBI. He seems like the kind of brother who could do a whole lot better than a Mia.”

“He used to. He used to make me so weak in the knees it makes me sick to think about it now,” Teri confessed, her face burning with shame.

“Uh-huh. I can understand why. He’s working the hell out of that bad-boy image. He’s got that ‘come and get it’ scowl on his face, and the promise of a mean hump from the looks of that swagger in his hips. And hands that look as if they want to do the James Brown up and down your body. What more could a woman ask for? If you don’t mind me saying so, Dwight is a few degrees hotter than Harrison.”

“I wouldn’t say that.” Teri chuckled, shaking her head. “Harrison is on a Sidney Poitier level. Dwight is crawling around down there with the Snoop Dogs of the world.” Teri guffawed at her own comment.

“The next time I see Snoop, I’ll tell him what you said,” Nicole jokingly threatened. Then she got serious. “I know that Dwight is here with Miss Saigon, but Harrison showed up here alone.”

“So? What’s your point?”

“I’ve seen him looking at you. And…I’ve seen you looking at him. This is a replay of Rahim’s New Year’s Eve party. Are you going to behave yourself up in here?”

“Now, you know you don’t have to worry about me. Why do you ask?” Teri looked at the floor to keep Nicole from seeing the smile on her lips and the mischievous look in her eyes.

Nicole screwed up her mouth and gave Teri an exasperated roll of her eyes. She threw in a neck roll for good measure that was so profound it looked, and it was, painful. “I’m asking because I need to know if I have to find myself another way to get home after this is over,” Nicole replied, rubbing the side of her throbbing neck.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Teri wanted to know, staring at Nicole with her mouth hanging open.

“I don’t remember the last time you admitted that a man made you weak in the knees. As a matter of fact, I’ve never heard you say something like that in all the years I’ve known you. And it has been a while for you. You must be climbing your bedroom walls by now.”

“I’m just fine, thank you. And what I just said was, he
used
to make me weak in the knees,” Teri stated.

BOOK: The Company We Keep
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