been only three years old when she left. He only vaguely remembered her or his slightly older sister. He didn’t miss what he never recalled having—or so he had convinced himself.
He and his father lived off of his dad’s social security benefits for a while. Then eventually, after years of fighting in court, a jury finally awarded his father a huge settlement from the job in which he’d been injured. With that money, his father moved them from their house into a nice little, affordable condo. Nurses and home health aides came in weekly to assist them, but Blake had learned to care for his father and insisted on doing the bulk of the care.
By the time Blake was eighteen, he’d been awarded a partial scholarship to Bowling Green College. His father paid all of his remaining expenses, including room and board. Despite the many challenges Blake’s father had suffered in his life, he saw to it that he and his son had the best they could possibly have. They never lived above their means, but always had enough and then some. Blake was truly inspired by his father, who died shortly after Blake graduated college. Blake vowed that he’d walk in his father’s footsteps and persevere in life. His dedication and perseverance were just some of the things Paige admired about Blake.
The couch was one of the few things he’d allowed her to keep, vowing their new life together called for new things, including furniture. After a week of going back and forth, the couch stayed. Blake had only given in because it had been a gift to Paige from her parents.
Paige hugged one of the throw pillows on the couch. “I kissed Norman,” she confessed again to Tamarra. She sat giggling and looking all starry-eyed like she didn’t have the sense that the good Lord had given her. “Well, actually he kissed me. Come to think of it, we kinda sorta kissed each other. On second thought—”
“Blah, blah, blah,” Tamarra interrupted. “All I want to know is, was there a kiss?”
Paige paused and then screeched, “Yes.” She buried her face in the pillow in giddy embarrassment. “But it was an accident. All he really meant to do was kiss me on the cheek, but then I turned to say something to him and our lips just met.”
Tamarra sat back and relaxed. “Oh, thank God.” She let out a deep breath. “I thought you were talking about a real kiss. Girl, you had my heart racing.” She playfully swatted Paige’s hand, but then got serious, sitting up straight. “But do you mind me asking why you seem to be all in La-La Land about this?”
“I’m not really in La-La Land,” Paige said. “I just thought it was cute. I mean, it was like a scene out of a movie. I mean, who would have thought it? Me, attracting a white boy?”
“What are you talking about? You said you’ve dated a couple of Caucasian men before.”
“I know, but it’s different with Norman. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never once showed the slightest interest in me. Besides that, he usually goes for the small, model type girls.” Paige chuckled and observed her body. “And trust me, I’m nobody’s model.”
Tamarra sat staring at Paige for a moment.
“What?” Paige asked when Tamarra didn’t speak, but only stared at her.
Tamarra was wondering if Paige was for real, if she’d been for real all this time about who she was—about being happy with her size. Was she always making it a point to mention her weight, make light of it or express how confident she was in the skin she was in because she really meant it? Was she doing it because she wanted to believe it herself? Tamarra had always been led to believe that Paige was cool with being a member of the “Big Girls’ Club.” Everyone around her had. She never gave them a reason to believe otherwise. But now, at this very moment, Tamarra thought she was starting to see a crack in Paige’s exterior, allowing her real feelings to seep through. She wanted to speak on it, but the Holy Spirit had seasoned her lips, silencing her.
“I can tell you’re thinking something,” Paige told Tamarra. “Come on. What gives?”
Tamarra thought about going against that voice inside of her. “Oh, nothing,” she replied, opting for obedience.
“Like I was saying, because you know me, I’m not only a member of the ‘Big Girls’ Club,’ I’m the president, honey.” Paige stood up and did a peacock walk. “And proud of it.”
“Are you really?” Those words slipped out of both Tamarra’s thoughts and mouth.
Paige stopped in her tracks. “And what do you mean by that?”
“Nothing,” Tamarra perked up with a jolly tone. “I just meant are you really serious about…you know…this whole Norman thing.” What a nice save.
“Oh, girl, I’m just messing with you.” Paige swooshed her hand and flopped back down on the couch, grabbing the throw pillow she’d been toying with. “I just thought it was…cute, that’s all. But anyway—” Before Paige could finish her sentence, her cell phone rang. She retrieved it and looked down at the caller ID. “Hmm, speak of the devil.” She smiled before answering it.
“And the devil appears,” Tamarra whispered under her breath, knowing that something serious was brewing. But who was she kidding? She had her own fires to put out, and with the inferno she envisioned about to consume Paige’s life, she didn’t know if there was enough water to go around.
Chapter Nine
“Mother, I don’t know what kind of game you and Raymond are playing, but I promise you, you won’t win,” Tamarra spat through the phone. She sat on her bed, pointing with each word she said as if her mother could see her.
Her mother had barely gotten out the word “hello” when she’d answered the phone before Tamarra dug into her tough. For the past two days, Tamarra had been trying to get a hold of her mother, ever since the book club event she and Unique had catered. Her phone calls to her mother had gone unanswered, and her voice messages had gone unreturned. It didn’t feel good being on the other end of the stick, being the one getting ignored. Now that she had finally gotten her mother on the line by blocking her phone number, she could no longer contain her composure.
“Hello to you too, daughter,” Mrs. Evans replied. She silently snapped her finger, upset that she’d gotten caught off guard by her daughter’s call. She’d been deliberately avoiding Tamarra the last couple of days in an attempt to get her words in order. “What’s got you so uptight?” As if she didn’t already know.
“Please don’t act like you didn’t foresee this call coming, Mother,” Tamarra seethed. “I just can’t believe it. You’ve done it again. How many times do I have to tell you that I don’t want any parts of that man?”
“She’s your blood, for crying out loud,” Mrs. Evans countered, making it clear to Tamarra that her mother knew the exact reason behind her phone call.
“Humph, so I see you know exactly what I’m talking about.” Tamarra shook her head. “And see, initially, I had the nerve to give you the benefit of the doubt. That’s why I didn’t even mention her to you last month when I talked to you. And here you’ve known all along.”
“Yes, I have known, but believe me when I say that I had nothing, absolutely nothing to do with it. It was her very own decision to come there. I neither encouraged her nor discouraged her. She just felt that it was time.”
“Why is it that I make one little baby step and forgive you, and now you
