answer.
“He likes to handle shit. He seems to be the one in charge.”
“That’s just how he is. He tries to handle my shit too. If Jack loses control of a situation and the people around him lose control of theirs, then he loses his mind.” I’ve never been able to put that into words until this very moment.
Jacques nods as he says, “I see. He’s one of those kind of cats.”
“Like you, Jacques,” Josephine chimes in.
Jacques scowls as if he’s bothered by the comparison.
“Jack’s a good guy.” I feel like I have to defend him, because hell, he is a good guy. “He’ll never hurt Daisy. He worships the ground she walks on, and that’s no exaggeration.”
“She’s not the one I’m worried about.”
“You’re worried about Jack?”
“If he keeps smothering her, she’ll run,” he says without blinking an eye. I kind of believe him, and then I don’t. It’s not as if he knows Daisy as well as he does Angelina. When I thought I was in love with her, I viewed their relationship from every angle, looking for an irreparable rip. There isn’t one. Yes, Jack is overly attentive and it can be annoying as hell, but their chemistry is too strong for it to bother Daisy.
It seems that’s all Jacques has to say on the subject. He asks Josephine if she plans to attend the party.
“The next party I’m going to is my funeral, and I’ll be dead and in the coffin.”
“Don’t say shit like that, Jo,” Jacques snarls.
Angelina appears right in the nick of time. She’s wearing a light cotton sundress that gently clings to her body. I get a flashback of that look on her face when she climaxed. My tongue is remembering the taste and feel of her nipples, which are pressing against the fabric.
She smiles at me, and I grin back. “Good morning, sleepy head,” she says, repeating exactly what her mother said. She even sang it out in the same tone.
“Good morning.” I can’t stop grinning. She’s radiant.
Angelina sits beside me and takes a biscuit out of the basket. “You should see all the fuss going on over at Karina’s.”
“Y’all have fun,” Josephine says.
Angelina stops in the middle of spreading grape jelly on her biscuit. “You’re not coming, Mama? She thinks you’re coming.”
Josephine touches the scarf on her head. “Everybody’s going to be having a good time. There’s no need to have me around. I can’t do nothing but be in the way.”
“That’s not true. Karina is going to make it extra comfortable for you. Lynette and Louis are already over there. All your friends are going to be there. They want to see you. These are relationships you made over the years. You’ve been hiding from them for four years. Don’t you think it’s time for you to come out of hiding so they can see you, give you hugs? You owe them.”
I’m impressed by Angelina’s hard sell.
“Is the party for me?” Josephine asks snappishly.
Angelina and Jacques give each other looks. “Yeah… It’s supposed to be a surprise, but it’s for you,” Angelina says.
Josephine twists her mouth into a frown and shakes her head. “Do you see me? I already look like a corpse, and smell like one too. I’m dying, and you can’t keep walking around here acting like it ain’t happening. My album. You play that during my funeral march.”
“Mama, stop talking about funerals. And nobody’s going to care about how you look,” Angelina says. “These are your people. They love you.”
“I am sick!” Josephine bangs on the handrails of her wheelchair. “Nobody wants to see Madame Beauchamp that way.”
“But remember those parties? The fun we had? Our friends? That was our life. You think cancer will keep Karina from throwing those parties? Do you think it will keep Lynette and Louis from driving up so they can have a good time? Are you really that vain?”
“Angelina!” Jacques says. “Don’t lose respect.”
I feel the urge to say something. “I think
“He likes to handle shit. He seems to be the one in charge.”
“That’s just how he is. He tries to handle my shit too. If Jack loses control of a situation and the people around him lose control of theirs, then he loses his mind.” I’ve never been able to put that into words until this very moment.
Jacques nods as he says, “I see. He’s one of those kind of cats.”
“Like you, Jacques,” Josephine chimes in.
Jacques scowls as if he’s bothered by the comparison.
“Jack’s a good guy.” I feel like I have to defend him, because hell, he is a good guy. “He’ll never hurt Daisy. He worships the ground she walks on, and that’s no exaggeration.”
“She’s not the one I’m worried about.”
“You’re worried about Jack?”
“If he keeps smothering her, she’ll run,” he says without blinking an eye. I kind of believe him, and then I don’t. It’s not as if he knows Daisy as well as he does Angelina. When I thought I was in love with her, I viewed their relationship from every angle, looking for an irreparable rip. There isn’t one. Yes, Jack is overly attentive and it can be annoying as hell, but their chemistry is too strong for it to bother Daisy.
It seems that’s all Jacques has to say on the subject. He asks Josephine if she plans to attend the party.
“The next party I’m going to is my funeral, and I’ll be dead and in the coffin.”
“Don’t say shit like that, Jo,” Jacques snarls.
Angelina appears right in the nick of time. She’s wearing a light cotton sundress that gently clings to her body. I get a flashback of that look on her face when she climaxed. My tongue is remembering the taste and feel of her nipples, which are pressing against the fabric.
She smiles at me, and I grin back. “Good morning, sleepy head,” she says, repeating exactly what her mother said. She even sang it out in the same tone.
“Good morning.” I can’t stop grinning. She’s radiant.
Angelina sits beside me and takes a biscuit out of the basket. “You should see all the fuss going on over at Karina’s.”
“Y’all have fun,” Josephine says.
Angelina stops in the middle of spreading grape jelly on her biscuit. “You’re not coming, Mama? She thinks you’re coming.”
Josephine touches the scarf on her head. “Everybody’s going to be having a good time. There’s no need to have me around. I can’t do nothing but be in the way.”
“That’s not true. Karina is going to make it extra comfortable for you. Lynette and Louis are already over there. All your friends are going to be there. They want to see you. These are relationships you made over the years. You’ve been hiding from them for four years. Don’t you think it’s time for you to come out of hiding so they can see you, give you hugs? You owe them.”
I’m impressed by Angelina’s hard sell.
“Is the party for me?” Josephine asks snappishly.
Angelina and Jacques give each other looks. “Yeah… It’s supposed to be a surprise, but it’s for you,” Angelina says.
Josephine twists her mouth into a frown and shakes her head. “Do you see me? I already look like a corpse, and smell like one too. I’m dying, and you can’t keep walking around here acting like it ain’t happening. My album. You play that during my funeral march.”
“Mama, stop talking about funerals. And nobody’s going to care about how you look,” Angelina says. “These are your people. They love you.”
“I am sick!” Josephine bangs on the handrails of her wheelchair. “Nobody wants to see Madame Beauchamp that way.”
“But remember those parties? The fun we had? Our friends? That was our life. You think cancer will keep Karina from throwing those parties? Do you think it will keep Lynette and Louis from driving up so they can have a good time? Are you really that vain?”
“Angelina!” Jacques says. “Don’t lose respect.”
I feel the urge to say something. “I think
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