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Her eyes narrowed. “Judge-free zone?”
Mya gasped. “Of course. Don’t insult us.”
Nisha eyed Mya warily. Lisa and I exchanged a knowing glance. We knew who Nisha was referring to.
It was confirmed when she twisted her neck, looking Mya dead in the face. “You remember that when I’m done. Anyway… If I could go back in time—especially since undergrad—I would have given this young professor a chance.”
This time Mya gulped in a heap of air. “A professor? Who?” Her head swung my way, long weave flying in the air. “Did you know?”
Ignoring her, my attention went to Nisha, who rolled her eyes. “Dre. He was a sociology professor.”
“And you fucked him?” Mya asked.
Nisha’s eyes rose from the glass to the flames against the wall. “No, but…” Then she shook her head. “Doesn’t matter. My point is he wanted to explore dating.”
“How?” Lisa asked. “Isn’t that against school policy?”
“He was leaving for a position atWilliam Paterson. It started back in our junior year. I took his class. He knew he was leaving at the end of the school year. He was starting a doctoral program the same fall he was starting atWilly P.”
“His doctorate?” Mya repeated, clearly shocked. “How old was he?”
Nisha shrugged. Again, glancing down at her glass. This was really emotional for her. “Not even ten years older than me. He was young. Did an accelerated program for his master’s degree when he was getting his bachelor’s.”
“Was he a perv?” Mya’s eyes lobbed, telling of her racing mind. “Do I remember a young professor trying to holler at students when we were there?”
“No,” I answered. “I don’t recall that.”
Professor Dre wasn’t a perv. That was the first thing we assumed when he would stare at Nisha all the time before approaching her mid-fall semester. He was chill. WeGoogle’d him for like a week.
Mya, finally reading the room, shrank. Then she shrugged, falling back into the sofa. “I’m just saying…”
“So, you’re saying you missed out on your one opportunity at happily-ever-after?” Lisa asked, concluding.
“No.” Nisha answered. “I don’t know. I’m almost thirty, and still single. All I do know is it’s scary out here for people like me who want something real, equitable, and monogamous.”
“I thought love would be easier for you at this age, versus marrying right out of college,” Mya noted. “You don’t have that buildup of resentment collected from shared experiences over the years. Love is easy when you’re not fighting against bad memories created from the marriage. Love is the best when unalloyed.” Her words spilled dreamily.
“But marriage is defined by those spoiled moments when you remain resilient.” The girls’ heads snapped my way.Yeah. I shocked myself, but I believed that. So, I nodded. “Love is fun. Marriage is work.”
For a spell, all you could hear were the relaxation-inducing musical notes playing from hidden speakers and occasional crackles from the fireplace. I took the time to type theSamsaraaddress into my phone in theMapsapp, wanting to see how long the ride would be and if there was traffic. I was ready to go, but didn’t want to be the first to announce it.
“Do you have any regrets since graduating college?” Mya asked Lisa. “Would you have made different choices?”
I glanced up to find Lisa’s attention take to the ceiling. She nodded after a beat. “I would have traveled before falling in love. I was too quick to look for that happily ever after.” Lisa inhaled deeply, expression turning felicitous. “I was so young and had no damn clue of who the hell I was.”
“Right,” Nisha nodded. “Same. That’s what scared me about the young professor. I ain’t even ‘know’ Quenisha at the time. How could I take on a ‘for real’ grown ass man? Dude was in the real world already.”
“And about that,” Lisa interjected. “The world is so much bigger than New Jersey, Delaware, and even Pennsylvania. I found this collection of children’s books by a Black author. She writes about different countries and their cultures. Just basic stuff about it, but they have these cute illustrations.Some—” Her budding excitement hit an extreme halt. “Sometimes, I fantasize I’m there based on the images.” Her eyes closed. “I wish I’d traveled before settling down.”
“Then you wouldn’t have Aaron,” Mya reminded her of the obvious.
Lisa didn’t respond.
“Awww. C’mon now! We were in a great sharing space,” Nisha playfully chided Mya. “You mean to tell me if you could go back to those days and retract some of your decisions, you wouldn’t? You think all the calls you’ve made were correct?” Her tone was kind, inviting.
Mya’s mouth twisted as she appeared to think. She shook her head. “Not really. My kids are great. Collectively, their gene pool is amazing. I wouldn’t change that.” Her head swung to her lap.
“But there’d be no D.J., Miley, and Andrea if there was no Derrick,” Lisa threw the obvious right back to Mya.
