AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Persia glances at the clock. “Oh, please, now you’re sounding exactly like her. Let’s face it. You’re her favorite. Always have been, always will be.”
“I am not,” Paris says indignantly. “She loves all three of us equally.”
Persia pushes out a sarcastic laugh. “Please, you don’t even believe that.”
Paris sighs. “Okay, so she shows it differently. But she’s never done anything extra for me. We’ve all always gotten the same things.”
Persia rolls her eyes again. “It’s not about material things. It’s about the attention and praises she always gave you growing up.” Paris disagrees. And I’m not sure if she’s in denial, or extremely blind to the truth. But the truth is our mother has always favored her over Persia and me. And that’s mostly due to her mild temperament. Persia has always been less tolerated because…well, she’s always been the most difficult. She and Mom have always butted heads. But, of course, I don’t say anything. I sit back and let the two of them duke this one out. Paris remains adamant that she has never been favored. “Whatever, girlfriend, I’m outta here. I have a plane to catch.”
Finally I decide to comment. “Well, regardless of whether you were favored or not, after that stunt Mom pulled at the diner, I don’t know why you’d want to put yourself through it. Besides, you said she started getting on your nerves when you spent the day with her up at the outlets.”
“Well, true. But this time, I’ve made it very clear what I expect from her. And, like I said, she’s really been trying.”
Persia grunts. “Mmmph, well, let her know she has two other daughters she should be trying with. But, let me ask you this, since you seem to be all up on her bandwagon these days. What did she actually apologize for? Does she admit to any of the nasty shit she’s said to us? Has she apologized for taking out her anger toward all of the women who she believes, in her twisted mind, wronged her by fucking Dad on us?”
Paris blinks. “Well, no; not really. But she did say she’d try to watch what she says.”
I clap my hands together. “Bravo, bravo…once again she takes no responsibility for her actions. You already know, no matter how hard she thinks she’s trying, she’s going to say something to get under your skin. It’s what she does. She can’t help herself.”
Persia rolls her eyes. “Oh, puhhhleeze. That woman can help herself if she wanted to.”
“I’m not gonna let her get under my skin. Not this time.”
“You need to cut your losses, honey. And feed her with a longhandled spoon, like I do.”
“I’m not gonna stop trying,” Paris says, eyeing Persia as she pours pomegranate juice into her travel mug. “She’s still our mother.”
Persia huffs. “Don’t remind me.”
“Whatever,” Paris says dismissively. “So which one of you heifers is gonna cover the boutique for me?”
“I can’t,” I tell her. “I have appointments back to back up until eight o’clock tomorrow tonight.”
Paris looks over at Persia. “What about you?”
She huffs. “Well, I guess it’ll have to be me,” she says over her shoulder as she’s walking out of the kitchen. “I don’t know why you don’t hire someone part-time. It’s not like you can’t afford it.”
Paris follows behind her. I overhear her saying, “Now why should I waste money on hiring someone I might not be able to trust when I have two beautiful sisters who I trust with my life?”
“Oh, please. You’re such a kiss-ass.”
I hear Paris laugh. “Love you, too, sweetie. Go seal that deal, then bring ya ass back here safe and sound.” A few minutes later she shuffles back into the kitchen. “I really hope she lands that contract.”
“Me too,” I say, getting up to put my dishes in the dishwasher. “She’s been working her ass off. She’s good at what she does and no one deserves it more than she does. Knowing her, she will not board that plane back here until she has it in the bag.” She agrees. I glance up at the wall clock over the sink. It’s almost seven in the morning. “So what time are you going in today?” She runs her hands through her hair. Tells me she’ll probably leave around a quarter to nine. “Uhhh, then you might wanna get a move on it, Sweetie. You know it takes you almost two hours to get dressed.”
She waves me on. “Yeah, yeah, yeah; don’t remind me. I swear. Today I would love to lie around and do absolutely nothing. Ummm…so what are you doing today?”
I laugh. “Not working the store so you can lay around today, boo. That’s for sure.”
She sucks her teeth. “You’re such a bitch.”
“Yep. But you know I always have your back when I’m not swamped. But, in the meantime, I agree with Persia. You need to put an ad in the paper for a part-time assistant.”
The house phone rings. “I’ll think about it,” she says, walking over and picking it up from off the counter. She looks at the caller ID. “Speaking of the devil; it’s Mom. I’m gonna put her on speakerphone.” Great, I think, rolling my eyes up in my head. “Hello, Mom.”
“Who’s this, Porsha?”
“No, it’s Paris.”
