the car, me and Ophelia
blessed God in advance for the organization and for stepping in to make the
best of a bad situation. We just didn’t believe He would save Henrietta’s life
to put her out on the streets.
No sooner than
we finished praying, Ophelia started in on me about Frank. “He sure sweet on
you.”
“Same thing
Libby said.”
“Libby’s right,”
she echoed. “And I can tell you took a likin’ to him, too.”
Shoot, I
might as well stop foolin’ myself .
“He’s okay.”
She smirked.
“Mmm hmmm. Okay , huh?”
“Please,
Ophelia, don’t you start in on me, too. Libby been pesterin’ me enough about
him.”
“Well, you know
you like him. One thing about getting’ older, you done got so used to sayin’
what you think, makes it harder to keep your feelin’s off your face.”
I squirmed for a
bit in my seatbelt. “So what if I do like Frank.”
“And it’s
obvious he likes you. What you waitin’ on?”
My mouth formed
a big letter O, and I nearly sprained my neck from turning it in her direction
so quickly. “What y’all expect me to do? Jump on him? We’ve only been out
together twice, goodness gracious!”
“I ain’t said
you got to hop on the man, but you might as well be honest about it. You ain’t
got time to be playin’ hard-to-get. Keep on seeing him. Hold hands, cuddle up,
fall in love again. Be open to where God is taking you two. I know if God send
a man into my life, I’ll take him. Snatch him right up.” She clenched her right
fist in the air as though trying to catch something.
I shifted my
weight in the passenger’s seat and looked all upside Ophelia’s head. “You must
done forgot what it was like to have a man. Always got to put somebody else’s
needs before your own, take into consideration what they like and don’t like.
And if you get married, listenin’ to them complain and fuss, and take over the
TV remote control, got the air conditioner set all wrong. Chile, I don’t miss
those things.”
“Oh, B. Was
Albert really that bad?”
I laughed, “Yes,
he was. And if I remember correctly, so was your Walter! Every bit and then
some.”
“Yeah, you
right,” she couldn’t help but agree in her own fit of laughter. She took a
cleansing breath, “But I tell you what, me and Walter had some good times, too.
Some real good times. So did you and Albert.”
A smiled touched
my face. “Yes, we did.”
“All I’m saying
is, if the Lord wants to give you some more good times and a few bad ones with
Dr. Wilson, that’s mighty fine,” she resolved. “Mighty fine.”
Chapter 20
Whatever the
Lord was doing between Derrick and Twyla, He sure was taking His sweet, perfect
time. They had three more arguments by phone, to my knowledge. I overheard
Derrick talking to his attorney on the phone, telling him he hadn’t even
managed to convince Twyla to come to the courthouse, let alone sit on his side
of the courtroom and then take the stand.
I suppose in his
frustration and growing restlessness, Derrick found the need to keep himself
busy—within the confines of my property, of course. He pruned my trees
with the neighbor’s saw. Cleared out the leaves from the gutter. Whatever loose
board or slow drain he found, he’d rush to the home improvement store so he
could get the supplies and be back a my house before sundown so he could fix
it.
I was not
complaining. He didn’t have long until he had to appear in court. If this was his
last contribution to society for a while, I would gladly serve as the
beneficiary.
With my
permission, Frank picked me up from my house for our Friday dance night. Again,
we sprightly endured the test of the tempo. This time, I wore sequin slippers
with a fancy puffed out skirt that swayed when I shimmied. I must say, Frank
adored me with his eyes all evening long. And I let myself be adored. My cheeks
hurt from smiling so much. If Frank had somebody else he’d brought to the dance
before, he sure wasn’t
blessed God in advance for the organization and for stepping in to make the
best of a bad situation. We just didn’t believe He would save Henrietta’s life
to put her out on the streets.
No sooner than
we finished praying, Ophelia started in on me about Frank. “He sure sweet on
you.”
“Same thing
Libby said.”
“Libby’s right,”
she echoed. “And I can tell you took a likin’ to him, too.”
Shoot, I
might as well stop foolin’ myself .
“He’s okay.”
She smirked.
“Mmm hmmm. Okay , huh?”
“Please,
Ophelia, don’t you start in on me, too. Libby been pesterin’ me enough about
him.”
“Well, you know
you like him. One thing about getting’ older, you done got so used to sayin’
what you think, makes it harder to keep your feelin’s off your face.”
I squirmed for a
bit in my seatbelt. “So what if I do like Frank.”
“And it’s
obvious he likes you. What you waitin’ on?”
My mouth formed
a big letter O, and I nearly sprained my neck from turning it in her direction
so quickly. “What y’all expect me to do? Jump on him? We’ve only been out
together twice, goodness gracious!”
“I ain’t said
you got to hop on the man, but you might as well be honest about it. You ain’t
got time to be playin’ hard-to-get. Keep on seeing him. Hold hands, cuddle up,
fall in love again. Be open to where God is taking you two. I know if God send
a man into my life, I’ll take him. Snatch him right up.” She clenched her right
fist in the air as though trying to catch something.
I shifted my
weight in the passenger’s seat and looked all upside Ophelia’s head. “You must
done forgot what it was like to have a man. Always got to put somebody else’s
needs before your own, take into consideration what they like and don’t like.
And if you get married, listenin’ to them complain and fuss, and take over the
TV remote control, got the air conditioner set all wrong. Chile, I don’t miss
those things.”
“Oh, B. Was
Albert really that bad?”
I laughed, “Yes,
he was. And if I remember correctly, so was your Walter! Every bit and then
some.”
“Yeah, you
right,” she couldn’t help but agree in her own fit of laughter. She took a
cleansing breath, “But I tell you what, me and Walter had some good times, too.
Some real good times. So did you and Albert.”
A smiled touched
my face. “Yes, we did.”
“All I’m saying
is, if the Lord wants to give you some more good times and a few bad ones with
Dr. Wilson, that’s mighty fine,” she resolved. “Mighty fine.”
Chapter 20
Whatever the
Lord was doing between Derrick and Twyla, He sure was taking His sweet, perfect
time. They had three more arguments by phone, to my knowledge. I overheard
Derrick talking to his attorney on the phone, telling him he hadn’t even
managed to convince Twyla to come to the courthouse, let alone sit on his side
of the courtroom and then take the stand.
I suppose in his
frustration and growing restlessness, Derrick found the need to keep himself
busy—within the confines of my property, of course. He pruned my trees
with the neighbor’s saw. Cleared out the leaves from the gutter. Whatever loose
board or slow drain he found, he’d rush to the home improvement store so he
could get the supplies and be back a my house before sundown so he could fix
it.
I was not
complaining. He didn’t have long until he had to appear in court. If this was his
last contribution to society for a while, I would gladly serve as the
beneficiary.
With my
permission, Frank picked me up from my house for our Friday dance night. Again,
we sprightly endured the test of the tempo. This time, I wore sequin slippers
with a fancy puffed out skirt that swayed when I shimmied. I must say, Frank
adored me with his eyes all evening long. And I let myself be adored. My cheeks
hurt from smiling so much. If Frank had somebody else he’d brought to the dance
before, he sure wasn’t
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