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I twisted some lemon into a glass of chilled Evian water.
She looked at the glass and then back at me. “Thanks for the lemon. I’m feeling a little risqué tonight.”
Oh, so she had wanted a glass of rum. I thought she was just thirsty.
It went without saying that she was going to order alcohol in the restaurant. Why did she have to drink so much?
I forgot her warning and flopped down on her Ethan Allen you-shouldn’t-flop-down-on-it leather couch. I picked up a crystal carving of the Eiffel Tower. “Asha, I’ve been meaning to ask, where did you get this? It’s gorgeous.”
“Oh, Brent gave me that. He’s an executive at Tiffany’s. They have a lot of those kinds of crystal carvings. By the way, he plans to take me with him to Paris after the holidays.”
“He works for Tiffany’s!” I didn’t even know they let black folks up in the ranks there.”
“They take good care of him. He has no limit on his corporate expense account.”
“He sounds perfect for you, why don’t you marry him?”
“For the same reason you refuse to have a nice juicy steak. The very idea just makes me sick.”
I sucked my teeth. “So when are you going to Gay Paree?”
“As soon as he gets back from Aspen with his wife.”
Aw, man! “His wife?”
“Wait till you see these emerald earrings he bought me.”
“You’re awful.”
“Yeah, I know. I’ll be right back.” she grinned.
She couldn’t wait to show them off. They were the most exquisite emeralds I had ever seen—oval shaped, nicely cut with diamond studded frames.
She dropped them into my outstretched hand. “Look. Aren’t they beautiful?”
I peered into my hand and then gave the pair back to her along with the truth. “No, Asha, they’re not. You slept w
ith a married man to get them.”
“No I didn’t, he gave them to me as a present. Besides, I’m not the one who promised to love and cherish that woman, he did. If he doesn’t respect his vows, why should I?”
My stomach clenched in disapproval but I was staying in her house so I decided to change the subject. “Where are we having dinner tonight?” I asked.
“Jade Crown.”
I smiled because Jade Crown wasn’t too fancy schmancy. They served the best Chinese food in the city for a very reasonable price.
After our surprisingly traffic-less cab ride to Sixty-Third Street and Columbus Avenue we arrived in front of Jade Crown in exactly fifteen minutes. To our relief, as soon as the heavy glass doors of the restaurant closed behind us the noise from the street vanished, leaving us with just the peaceful tinkling of traditional Chinese music. We were greeted cordially by a tiny woman with an extraordinarily flat butt and escorted to a small red booth by the window.
The restaurant was dimly lit, warm, and crowded. There were oil paintings of magnificent pagodas and giddy laughter from a couple sitting out of eye shot. It was hard not to think about Yero. I pushed him way back into a dim corner of my mind.
As I sipped my tea, I noticed twinkles of mirth in Asha’s light brown eyes. “What’s on your mind?”
“I’m thinking about my trip to Paris.”
“Why?”
“I’m thinking about what a diva I’ll be when I get there.” She grinned.
