“'Cause I'm your mama and I know when something is bothering one of my children,” she said. “What's that girl gone and done now?”
“Nikki? You know Nikki doesn't ever do anything bad. We're cool.”
“Uh-huh,” she pursed her lips. “Is she still lazing around the house? I don't see why she can't seem to get a job. I had two children to raise, and I worked. Sure didn't sit around the house all day, sucking up all the air and not doing nothing.”
“Ma, Nikki does plenty; you know that,” he said. “She's in school and she is raising our daughter.”
“Well, I just don't think it's right that you have to go out and work 'til midnight, breaking your back while she sits at home all day,” Mable went on.
“Look, Ma, I didn't come over here to talk about my wife,” William said. “She's doing a wonderful job at being my wife and raising our daughter. And she's almost finished with grad school. She's going to graduate with a near perfect grade point average.”
“Humph,” Mable said and dropped the bell peppers into hot grease. She added tomatoes and sausage. “Well, I never had no man sitting around taking care of me. I worked, and I worked hard. Ain't never heard nobody tell of me being lazy.”
“Anyway, Ma, we're just trying to figure out the next step as far as the campaign is concerned,” he told her.
“What campaign? Your candidate is dead,” William's mother said with a wave of her hand.
“I know that, Ma. Some people think maybe I should run.”
“You?” She cocked her head to the side. “What people?”
“The Chance family, for one. Reverend Hicks, for another,” he said, shrugging.
“Reverend Hicks? The one with that big ol' church they show on TV? Really? Well, that's all right,” she said with approval. “You'd be a better candidate than any of them other folks.”
“I don't know,” he said slowly.
“The Lord works in mysterious ways,” his mother said. “This could be your blessing in disguise.”
“Yeah, maybe. It's a big step, though, running for mayor. I just don't know that I have what it takes,” William voiced his doubts.
“Well, you won't know 'less you try,” she said.
“That's what Nikki says,” he said.
“What? She think you should run?” Mable Broussard's tone changed. She didn't like knowing she was agreeing with something her daughter-in-law had suggested.
“Yes, she was the first one to encourage me to do it,” he said. “Yesterday.”
“Uhn. I should have known she was the one pushing you to this. Should have known it was her idea. I think it's crazy. You're too young and you ain't even got money for some stupid campaign.”
“But, Ma, you just saidâ”
“What I said is it's stupid. You can't win nobody's election. Stop letting that girl put that foolishness in your head.”
William took a deep breath as he weighed his options. He didn't know whether to follow his wife's adviceâor his mother's.
Chapter 28
Danielle sat on the couch in the Broussards' living room, playing Patty Cake with Psalm while Nikki took cornbread out of the oven. When Nikki returned to the living room, Danielle looked up.
“So, I found a couple of cute designs for the bridesmaids' dresses,” she said. “Pass me that magazine under my purse. I want to show them to you. And I found one for you as the matron of honor.”
Nikki bit her lip to keep from saying anything. She wasn't thrilled about her best friend's wedding but didn't want to spoil Danielle's excitement. Danielle had dropped in after work so she could show Nikki the wedding party dresses and talk about the upcoming nuptials. Nikki passed the magazine to Danielle, who instructed Psalm to go and play on the other side of the room. Danielle flipped through the magazine, removing a sticky note from the page she had marked.
“See? What do you think of these?” she shoved the book at Nikki. The floor length dresses were a beautiful mauve with spaghetti straps.
“Most folks try to make their bridesmaids wear ugly dresses,” Nikki joked.
“Oh, see I'm not even concerned about them outshining me,” Danielle said. “Their dresses are going to look good, but my dress is going to look even better. I'm going to look better than any of them. All eyes will be on me.”
“Yes, that's true. All eyes will be on you,” Nikki said dryly. “It'll be your day.”
“I can tell you're still not all that happy for me,” Danielle said. “And I just don't understand. I was happy for you when you got married.”
Nikki swallowed, not sure what to say. She conjured up the best smile she could muster. “If you're happy, I'm happy.”
“I am,” Danielle said. “And besides, at least I won't be fornicating anymore. Shouldn't that make you happy? You know how you used to always fuss at me about that.”
“Well, I don't thinkâ”
“Anyway, forget all that,” Danielle said and leaned over to hug her friend. “I'm putting a lot of energy into getting ready for this wedding. I really want this day to be special. And you're my girl. I need you in my corner.”
“I'll always be in your corner, Danny Boo.”
“You know you're my only true friend.”
“You have plenty of friends,” Nikki said. “What about the bridesmaids?”
“Those trolls?” Danielle said. “I'm letting Cecelia be in it because I was in her lame wedding. You know she's always been jealous of me, ever since college. And the other two are Troy's sisters.”
“What about your sister?”
“What about her?”
“Well, don't you think it's about time you made up with her and the rest of your family?” Nikki could see her friend's jaw tense. “I mean, ever since I've known you, you have been at odds with your family. Whatever happened, it was so long ago. Let it go, Danielle. Your family loves you. Lots of people do.”
“Girl, stop talking all crazy,” Danielle said dismissively. “I don't need them. As long as I have Troy and as long as I have my best friend, I'm cool. You're the only two people who appreciate me. Everyone else is either jealous or just hateful.”
“That's not the right attitude,” Nikki said. “God didn't make us to be all by ourselves. You should forgive your familyâfor whatever they did.”
“Girl, don't start preaching to me. I'm really not in the mood.” Danielle rolled her eyes.
“Well, I'm just saying God doesn't like that you're like this,” Nikki said.
“Please don't lecture me about God,” Danielle stressed. “I know you're a holy roller now, but give me a break. I know who you were before your little spiritual makeover.”
“Look, I did do some crazy things back in the day, but that doesn't meanâ”
“What it means is that I don't want to hear about God from somebody who has sinned as much as you have!” Danielle snapped.
Nikki bit her lip and swallowed hard.
She's right. Who am I to tell her what God wants? I am just fooling myself
.
“When you can live without sinning, then you come talk to me,” Danielle said. “Until then, shut up.”
“Well, I just hope you forgive your family,” Nikki said. “That's all I'm saying.”
“I don't want to talk about all those haters. So many people are just jealous of me. It's ridiculous. I can't help it if I'm beautiful and smart and have money.”
“Danielle.” Nikki sighed. She hated it when Danielle talked like this. Even after all this time, sometimes Nikki felt as if she did not understand her friend. “I don't know why you always say things like that. Nobody is jealous of you or hates you. Plenty of people adore you.”
“See, you're just so sweet,” Danielle said with a smile. Her earlier derision of her friend was gone. It was as if the exchange had never happened. “You think the best of everybody. That's why I love you. But see, I know people better than you do. And I know I have to keep my guard up. Besides, I don't need a lot of friends. That's why I have you.”
Just then, they heard a light knock on the door. Danielle looked up. “You're expecting company?”
Nikki scrambled to her feet. “Oh, yeah. I have a friend who said she'd stop by.”
“A friend?” Danielle cut her eyes toward the door, but Nikki was already scrambling across the room.
She opened the door to Keedra. “Hi, girl!” Nikki said, and embraced the woman.
Keedra stepped into the living room, holding her son's hand. “Hi, thanks for inviting me over.”
“No problem,” Nikki said. “I was so glad you called to say hi. We have plenty of space, so it's always nice to have a friend over. Dinner will be ready in just a sec.”
Danielle looked the woman up and down. “I see you made it to K-Mart's end-of-season sale,” Danielle said to Keedra sardonically.
“Huh?” Keedra frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She doesn't mean anything,” Nikki said quickly. She shot Danielle a sharp look.
Danielle wanted to retort, but didn't.
Nikki smiled at Keedra. “Keedra, this is my best friend, Danielle. Danielle, this is my friend, Keedra, and her little boy, Josiah.”
Keedra extended her hand. Danielle pretended not to see and turned back to flipping pages in her magazine.
Keedra hesitated, then said, “Nice to meet you.”
“Yeah. You too.” Danielle didn't bother to look up.
Nikki jumped into the conversation. “Would you like something to drink, Keedra?”
“Sure. What do you have?”
“Sweet tea.”
“Oh, that's great. It's so hard to find good sweet tea! And this is the South. I just don't understand.”
Nikki laughed. “I know what you mean. It surprises me that more places don't have sweet tea around here. Going out to eat is tough. Nobody seems to serve it. That's probably why I stock up on it at home! I love Red Diamond tea. I buy it by the jug!”
“Oh, you have Red Diamond? I love that stuff, girl!” Keedra grinned.
Keedra glanced at Danielle, trying to invite her into the conversation. “So, do you like sweet tea, too, Danielle?”
Danielle pretended she hadn't heard the question. She continued flipping through her magazine.
“Danielle, Keedra was asking you a question,” Nikki prodded as she stepped into the kitchen.
Danielle glanced up, an innocent expression on her face. “Oh, I'm sorry. What was that?”
“Oh, I was just asking if you like sweet tea, too,” Keedra repeated. “I love me some good sweet tea.”
“Oh, no, I don't drink sweet tea,” Danielle breezed. “It has too much sugar. I try to watch what I put into my mouth.” She looked Keedra up and down. “But I can see not all of us do.”
“She's just joking,” Nikki said quickly, returning to the living room with a plastic jug of tea in one hand and a glass in the other. “Danielle drinks sweet tea.” Nikki poured Keedra's tea into a glass and handed it to her.
Danielle frowned. “You didn't ask me if I wanted something.”
Nikki laughed. “Girl, you're not company. This is like your second home. You can get your own.”
Danielle rolled her eyes, but stood. Then she sashayed to the kitchen and grabbed a cup then retrieved the jug of tea from Nikki and poured some for herself. She turned back to Keedra. “Yeah, she's right. This is like my second home. I even have my own special cup, see.” She held out the white, plastic cup she had gotten from one of the city's many Mardi Gras parades. “Nobody drinks out of this but me. Neat, huh?”
“Yeah, that's nice.” Keedra smiled.
Nikki quickly fixed plates of cornbread and jambalaya and they all sat at the dining room table and ate, Danielle next to Nikki. Keedra sat across the table. The children fussed about sitting at the table, so Nikki let them sit on a blanket on the floor near the adults.
“Did you see the new photography at that black bookstore on Linwood?” Keedra asked.
They had discovered during their first phone conversation that they shared a love of photography. Keedra was a recent graduate with a photography degree and worked for a local newspaper.
Nikki's eyes lit up. “Girl, I did! I went by there the other day when I stopped by the campaign office. It's amazing. The lighting. The colors.”
“I know,” Keedra said. “If I had half that talent! Did you see the expressions on those faces? The photos made me want to cry, I could just feel what those people were going through.”
“Me too,” Nikki said. “Especially the one of the mother holding the baby sitting on the front row at the funeral.”
Danielle listened to the conversation as she quietly drank her tea, then stood, brushing nonexistent wrinkles from her chocolate skirt. “Well, I'm going to head on out. Seems that you two friends have lots to talk about without poor little old me hanging around spoiling the party.”
Nikki looked up, startled. “You haven't even had dessert. I made your favorite, bananas Foster.”
“I'm not hungry,” Danielle said, gathering her keys. “On second thought, just stick me some in a bowl and I'll be going. Seems like three's a crowd.”