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ASHA
I woke up this morning feeling blissful until I remembered what day it was. Halloween. My baby had been dead six years. Saundra phoned as if on cue.
“Are you all right?”
“Fine.”
“I’ll be there in about an hour. Think of something fun to do.”
She hung up before I could say “don’t bother” like I did every year.
Aaargh! Am I going to be depressed every fucking Halloween for the rest of my goddamned stupid-ass miserable life?
Think of something fun to do.
Yes. It was Saturday so I didn’t have to go to work and Saundra had no classes, but SHIT there would be kids in costumes running up and down every street. Little human beings laughing gaily while dressed up as SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, and the Power Puff Girls.
It would be unbearable!
The only reasonable thing to do was spend the day indoors. Shopping. I was an authorized user of Nick’s MasterCard. We would hire a limousine and I would lie down in the backseat as it cruised through the streets so I couldn’t see the kids in their finery. When the limo stopped in front of a fashionable clothing boutique or shoe store, Saundra could open the door, make sure that there were no tots in sight and we’d run in.
Much to my surprise, Saundra agreed to the plan.
Chloe. I chose a white, waist-length military jacket with navy stripes, oversized buttons and exposed stitching. Saundra just watched.
Hermes. A sepia patch-pocket skirt. Sandra nearly fainted at the five hundred dollar price tag.
Burberry. A silver trench coat. Saundra closed her eyes when I tried to show her the tag.
Saundra wouldn’t get anything and that was getting to be a drag so I told her to go home. Refusing to let me mope around the apartment, she agreed to buy some things but only if I used my own credit card and only if it was a regular department store.
She ended up with a new backpack for her school books, a burgundy striped tie for Yero and a royal blue sweatshirt for Phil.
Whatever.
Back at the apartment, she fell asleep. I drank a pint of rum and joined her.
Chapter 19
SAUNDRA
Yero and I were going to look at tuxedos. I had decided on lilac and silver as my wedding colors and he was unhappy at the thought of wearing a lilac cummerbund around his waist. So, we would have to meet somewhere in the middle—find some sort of compromise. I’ve always heard that wedding preparations can tear a couple apart and I refuse to lose my life partner over something as silly as a piece of fabric.
I had met Yero Brown at a sweet sixteen party for Pastor Hoffman’s granddaughter, Sharon. Pastor Hoffman had raised Sharon since she was eight years old when both her parents died in a plane crash. They lived across the street and Sharon was the first neighborhood girl to offer me some help in adjusting to my new school.
Yero was the cutest guy at the party and I wondered why I hadn’t seen him in the halls at school.
Evelyn hadn’t come into my life yet so I was still pretty wild. At parties, I used to get a guy’s attention by walking straight up to him, grabbing his arm and dragging him onto the dance floor. There, he’d be blown away by my impressive dance moves. Yero was not impressed.
He allowed me to lead him onto the floor, moved to the beat while I shimmied and twirled, then took me back to Sharon without asking for my phone number.
I was leaning against a wall fuming about this to Sharon when Yero sauntered up to us.
“How you doin’, Sharon?”
“Fine, Yero. Are you here to babysit Khari?”
Yero?
