Chapter 8
Carmen stared at Nic as she brushed her hair. Nic turned around and looked at her. “Why the hell are you staring at me?”
“'Cause you are too gotdamn fine.” Carmen laughed.
“Whatever, girl. Every day I realize more and more it's something seriously wrong with you.” Nic smiled.
“Whatever, you like it.”
“Love it.” Nic smiled as she walked to the door. “Let me go get one of those newspapers before they run out.” She walked out and gently shut the door behind her.
Carmen sat on her bed. She smiled to herself thinking about how lucky she was. Nic was one of the most desired women in the Memphis life and she was with her.
Nic's cell phone began to go off. Carmen pushed a button to try to stop the ringing, but ended up opening the text message. It was from Larissa.
I got what you want. See you lata.
Carmen felt her heart breaking. Her hands began to tremble.
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“I got one of the last ones. I hope the coupon is still in here,” Nic said while flipping through the pages.
“Who the fuck is Larissa, and what the fuck does she have for you?” Carmen yelled.
Nic looked confused. “What?”
Carmen threw the phone on the bed. “Larissa has what you want. Who the hell is she?”
Nic picked up her cell phone. “Carmen, are you fuckin' serious?”
“Answer my question!” Carmen snapped.
“You know wha ... I'm not. I'm gon' let you answer your own damn question. Read the other texts. Read the messages I sent.” Nic threw the phone back on the bed.
Carmen grabbed the phone and began going through the messages that Nic sent to Larissa.
Please tell me you have notes on Othello. This Shakespeare class is going to kill me.
Carmen read the next text from Larissa.
Lol how bad do you want it? Bad enough to take my online math quiz?
Nic responded.
Hell yeah I got you on that. Just tell me you got the notes and it's on.
The last text was the original one that Carmen read. She looked up at Nic.
“Yeah, pick ya face up off the ground,” Nic said.
“I'm sorry.”
“Whatever, Carmen.” Nic sat on the bed.
“Nic, I'm sorry. I don't know what is wrong with me.”
“You keep trying to put me like that muthafucka you were with before. I am not going to cheat on you. How many times do I have to say that?”
“That's the same thing Tameka said.” Carmen instantly wished she didn't say Tameka's name.
Nic's face began to turn red. “You know what, Carmen, I am not going to spend the rest of our relationship trying to prove to you I'm not like that bitch. If you don't learn how to trust me some more, we are headed for the end.”
“Don't say that, Nic,” Carmen cried.
“No, Carmen, it's the truth. I am not that bitch, and I'm not gon' let you take out the shit that she did to you on me. You don't see me going through your phone questioning you and shit about muthafuckas. And you did cheat on me. Remember that shit, Carmen?” Nic yelled.
Carmen couldn't say anything. She cheated on Nic with her ex, Tameka, the year before, and Nic took her back.
Carmen tried to wrap her arms around Nic, but Nic pulled her off. Carmen's face broke. “Nic, I'm sorry. It's hard for me, but I'm trying,” she sobbed.
“Well, try harder. Take some time to think about what I said. I gotta go get the notes from Larissa.” Nic walked out the door, leaving Carmen standing alone.
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Lena couldn't concentrate on the wedding business in front of her. Her mind drifted off as her wedding planners went over the details of her grand affair. She no longer cared about how many thousands of orchids were being flown in. She could care less about the Tiffany china being ordered, or mood lighting being designed for her special day. All she could concentrate on was Denise.
“Miss Lena.” Drako, flamboyant wedding coordinator extraordinaire, snapped his fingers, hoping to bring Lena back to reality.
“Oh, yes, that's fine,” Lena mumbled, unaware of anything that was going on.
“Miss Lena, I know you have a lot on your mind, but I really need you to work with me a little bit here. We want everything to be fabulous, darling,” he said.
“I'm sorry, Drako. I'm just very tired. Now, what were we going over?”
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Lena left the office exhausted from all of the wedding details. She couldn't wait to get the day over and done with. Her phone rang; it was her mother. She didn't answer.
A few moments later the phone rang again. She knew her mother wouldn't stop calling until she answered.
“Yes, mother.”
Karen sat back in the spa chair while a woman attended to her feet. “Darling, I have been calling you like crazy. Why didn't you speaker phone me on the meeting?”
“Because you weren't needed for it. I think I can plan my own wedding.”
“Lena, what is with that tone? Are you on your period?”
“Mother!” Lena exclaimed as she got in her car.
“Well, what is going on? Do you need me to come down there early?” Karen she took a bite of a small cucumber sandwich.
“No! I mean, no, Mom, everything is going just fine. I have my final fitting in a few days, and Drako has everything else ready.”
“What about PR, sweetie? I got
InStyle
to cover the wedding.”
“What about TV One?” Lena said.
“What about them? Fine, Lena, I will get them as well if it makes you happy.” Karen sighed. She didn't understand her daughter's fascination with the black television station. “But
InStyle
should have the exclusive.”
“Whatever, Mom, I just really don't feel like talking about this right now. I have a lot to do, so we will finish this later.”
“OKâ”
Before Karen could finish, Lena hung up the phone.
Lena made an illegal turn and headed to the campus.
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“Lena, what are you doing here?” Carmen questioned as she held the door open for Lena to walk in. Carmen lay back on her bed.
“Carmen, I really need to talk to you about something. Carmen, are you OK?” Lena said, noticing Carmen's blood-shot eyes.
“I'm going to lose Nicole,” she explained.
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After psychology, Carmen had headed to University Café to get a coffee and relax before her next class. She noticed three girls sitting at a table near her looking in her direction. She soon realized they were girls from the gay club, but she didn't know their names. She pulled out a book to read while drinking her coffee. The girls began to talk loudly enough for her to hear.
“So that girl is fine as hell. I am going to try my hardest to get her before the end of the year,” one of the girls said. She fingered the long, wavy extensions in her hair.
Carmen had to admit, she was pretty.
“What makes you think she would ever leave her girl for you?” another one said. She wasn't nearly as attractive as the first girl. Her hair was short with blonde streaks and looked like it hadn't been styled in weeks.
“âCause her girl don't have shit on me. Besides, you should see how we flirt with each other in class. She is goin'.”
“Do ya thing, Sheka,” the shortest of the three added. “She is fine.”
“Shit fine,” Sheka said. “I haven't seen anyone nearly that fine. And for her to be with her girl, that girl don't have shit on any of us. Hell, she don't have shit on anyone I have seen. She used to be fat as hell. You can tell.”
Carmen felt her body become tense. She had a feeling they were talking about her. She continued to listen as the girls stood up.
“All I'm saying is that it wouldn't take much for another girl to get her, especially not me. She need to be on the arm of someone as fine as her,” Sheka said as they gathered their things.
“Well, I guess we will see,” the short-haired girl said.
“We will. Trust, by the end of this semester, that fine-ass Cali Nic will be mine.” Sheka looked at Carmen.
Carmen's body began to tremble.
The three girls laughed as they walked away.
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Lena put her arm around Carmen. “Girl, why didn't you say something to her?”
Carmen wiped the falling tears from her eyes. “What could I say? Honestly she is right. Nic is too fine. I am nowhere near as fine as her.”
“Shit, Carmen!” Lena stood up. “Why do you do this to yourself? Girl, look at Brandon. He's fine and a fuckin' athlete, but I don't let what bitches say bother me.”
“Lena, 'cause look at you. I have yet to see a girl on this campus, hell, or around Memphis, that looks as good as you.”
“Damn! Have you been to Miami? How about New York or L.A.? Carmen, even Atlanta. There are women ten times better looking than me, and they try to get him just like everyone else. But I am not going to let any of them make me think bad about myself or question what I have with my man. Brandon is mine. He loves me, and Nic loves you.”
“That's easy for you to say. You're pretty.”
“Carmen, you are too! Shit, I wouldn't hang with you if you were busted. Trust.”
“I don't know what I would do if Nic left me.” Carmen sat up in her bed. “I don't know what is wrong with me. What if she does me like Tameka?”
“See. That's your problem right there. You hold the shit that Tameka did against Nic. That's not fair, Carmen. That's not fair to Nic. You need to let all that shit go, sweetie.”
“It's easier said than done.”
“No, Carmen, it isn't. Let it go. You have a woman who loves you, and you are going to fuck it up if you don't let it go,” Lena said sternly.
Carmen knew Lena was right. She knew how frustrated Nic got when she accused her of doing things. “I am going to work on it.”
“You do that,” Lena said. “And I came over here to talk to you about something.”
“Girl, I'm sorry. What was wrong?”
Lena looked at herself in the mirror. She saw Carmen's maid of honor dress hanging in a bag on the door. “Um, girl, just wedding shit is bothering me. I just wanted to know if you all were still going with me to the final tasting for the food and the dress fitting.”
“Of course, we are.” Carmen looked at Lena. “Lena, are you sure that's the only reason you came here?”
“Girl, yeah, I'm sure. Just wanted to vent about the wedding planning, that's all. Do you want to go see a movie or something?”
“Actually, I was going to go to a poetry reading. Go with me?”
Lena consented as Carmen grabbed her bag, and they headed out the door.
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Lena looked around the unfamiliar area. She parked in a small lot next to a little building. “Where the hell are we?”
“It's called Rhyme and Reason. It's a little artist spot. Come on, you'll like it.”
They walked in the small building. It reminded Lena of the poetry spot in
Love Jones.
There were pictures of various revolutionaries and artists on the walls. A large red, black, and green mural of Africa with a black fist in front of it was painted on one wall. The other wall had the Jamaican colors with pictures of Bob Marley. The smell of incense filled the air.
A tall guy with long locks and a picture of Africa on his shirt was on stage doing a revolutionary piece.
Carmen tapped a girl with long locks on the shoulder.
She turned around and smiled. “You came,” Neo said as she hugged Carmen.
“Yeah, I told you I would. This is my friend Lena.”
Lena and Neo shook hands. Lena noticed the expression in Neo's eyes as she looked at Carmen.
“Great. Let me get you all to a table and get you something to drink.”
They listened to various poets doing pieces on everything from politics to love. Three poets did a piece about Hurricane Katrina that almost made Lena cry. They finished by talking about the experience of going to New Orleans to help the rebuilding effort.