Page 250 of The Wright Man

"That's a whole CorePower Warrior Flow two-point-oh situation right there," Kia gasped, fanning herself, "Couldn't be me. Not with these knees."

Bella slid back down, flipped gracefully to her feet, and smirked like she'd won a bet. "Wellness, bitches."

Alicia, not to be outdone, shouted "Tag me in!" and tried to spin with the same confidence.

She got half a rotation in before she slipped, landed ass-first on the velvet carpet, and shouted, "Where is OSHA when you need 'em?! I want hazard pay and a charcuterie board."

We were dying.

Then Ms. Reesie, who'd been quiet most of the night sipping her cocktail, calmly stood up and eased onto the pole like she was about to bless us.

She didn't climb. She didn't flip.

She did a full-ass split.

A split.

The scream that left Tina's body could've summoned spirits.

"YASSSSSS MISS REESIE!!"

Ms. Reesie winked, sipped her drink from the floor, and said, "Don't get it twisted. I was hell on heels before arthritis. I got my first husband in '88 doing this exact move."

We couldn't even form words. Just noise. High-pitched, joyous, feral noise.

Later, after too many cocktails and clouds of mint hookah smoke, I stood on the booth seat to make a toast, tipsy and entirely too emotional.

"Okay, okay, shut up for a sec," I said, waving my half-empty glass. "Y'all know I'm not usually the 'let's talk about our feelings' bitch, but..."

They all raised their eyebrows. Waiting. Bracing.

"I'm so grateful. For all of you. For this whole—this whole season of life. For the growth, the grief, the glow-ups, the chaos. For choosing myself. For finally walking away. And, once this fuck ass divorce is over with, for finally getting to fuck my new man—with his fine, respectful, honorable-ass self."

That one got a standing ovation. And maybe a few lewd hand gestures from Tina.

We made our way to the dance floor, where the DJ was playing a twerk remix of Beyoncé's "Virgo's Groove," and Bella and Tina pulled me into a tight, swaying hug.

"We're so happy for you," Bella whispered.

"You finally got your joy back, hoe," Tina added, kissing my cheek. "You glowed up and you finally got a man that loves you cuh-rect-lee." She punctuated each syllable with a snap. "You winning."

I smiled, full and warm. Until, of course, Tina ruined it.

"Don't get soft on us, though," she added. "we still gotta jump Gavin's ass for the one time. For the cheating and the ten years of whack dick."

"Girl," I muttered, laughing despite myself.

A man in a matching linen set stepped up beside me. "Hey, beautiful, what's your name?"

Before I could speak, Bella leaned forward, clutching her purse like a weapon. "Back the fuck up."

Tina smirked and shooed him away. "She has a man with back muscles and guns. Move."

The man blinked twice and evaporated into the crowd.

Later, curled up in the back of the van and half-asleep with my shoes dangling from one finger, I pulled out my phone and texted Maleek.

Me: i wanna sit on ur faccee rn. Nd these heells hurt lik a mf