Read PullMyHair Online

Authors: Kimberly Kaye Terry

PullMyHair (13 page)

BOOK: PullMyHair
10.34Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

“Thank you, Candy. I’m happy that I was able to come with
Karina, today. I’m looking forward to the day. It should be a lot of fun,” Liza
said and all three women began to walk down the hallway, toward the loud music
coming from behind the double doors of the gym.

“Wow. So much has changed, yet it’s all still so familiar!”
Liza said as she looked around as they walked.

“Yes, we’ve done quite a bit of renovating lately,” Candy
said as she opened the doors and silently motioned for the women to precede her
into the gym, talking loudly over the music.

Several girls waved at them and within moments, Liza
breathed a sigh of relief when the music, although still loud enough to hear in
the next county, was lowered several decibels so they were able to speak and
hear each other without shouting.

“Girls Unlimited was bequeathed a large amount of money a
few years ago by Mildred Strong in her will and it’s helped us tremendously in
the way of funding some of our programs. We were able to use some of the money
to supplement the building fund,” she said as she began to unfold the gunmetal
gray chairs and line them up in a circle. Liza and Karina quickly began to help
her as they prepared for the session.

“Isn’t Angelica related to Mildred Strong?” Karina asked
with a frown, trying to remember the connection between the young girl and the
patron.

“Yes. Mildred was her great-aunt. She raised Angelica’s Aunt
Milly…Mildred, and her father from the time they were small children. Ms.
Strong was also responsible for me being hired at the center.” Both Karina and
Liza noted the way Candy stumbled when she mentioned Angelica’s father.

Oh, yes. There was definitely something there
, Liza
thought.

“That’s one of the reasons that Angel comes here on the
weekends.”

“Why is that?”

“Her great-aunt is quite the entrepreneur in Stanton. She
was the first woman to own and operate a construction business after her
husband died and left the small company to her.”

“It’s no small company now,” Karina said.

“No. Strong Construction is one of the largest in the city…”
Candy paused, “Girls, come and give us a hand!” Candy yelled and the young
women snapped to attention and ran over to help. They put the rest of the
chairs and tables together for the session and Candy turned to the women.

“Mildred was one of the original council members who helped
start Girls Unlimited. She’d grown up in North Stanton and wanted a place for
young girls to come to stay off the streets. She’s semi-retired from the
business now, and is on the board of directors for the center and sinks a lot
of her own money into the center. She’s the main reason I was hired as the
center’s director…”

As they’d been speaking, girls began to trickle in and,
within moments, they were sitting around in chairs preparing for the session.

“Thanks for coming, girls. Today we have a visitor. Mrs.
Tolson has brought a friend of hers with her today and she’s going to sit in on
the session, if that’s okay with you all,” she asked.

Liza was nervous as she sat in the chair and felt the
piercing gaze of roughly twenty-five pairs of eyes boring a hole in her. They
boldly checked her out from head to toe in open assessment. From the top of her
carefully coiffed do, to the bottom of her new Prada mules.

She felt like crossing her arms over her chest as she used
to do as a young girl. In protection. She didn’t like feeling exposed.

“What she doing here? Doing research for some university
paper on little girls in the hood?” A young girl, who looked more like a grown
woman than anything else, laughed and asked. “Oh no, maybe she’s a reporter.
Gonna feature us in the community section in the Sunday newspaper?” she
guffawed.

At first, Liza had been tempted to jump up and either run
out of the gym, or revert to her old way of dealing with things as a young girl
who was often picked on by lashing out at the young girl out of reflex. But she
didn’t. She paused and looked at it from the girl’s perspective.

As she looked around, everyone was dressed in jeans or
sweats, including Kari and Candy, as well as the girls. She felt like an idiot
because it hadn’t even occurred to her to dress in a similar manner. Although
she wore slacks and a ribbed sweater, her clothes were more casual than what
she normally wore. They still were out of place at the center and made her
stick out as different.

“No, I’m not here to do research for school or a newspaper.
I came here because my girl Karina asked me to,” she purposely spoke in a
casual way, not talking down to the girl, instead using language she herself
used when she and Kari spoke versus when she spoke to some of her other
friends. “And…because I wanted to see what Girls Unlimited was like after being
a member myself as a young girl.” She laughed when a few of the girls looked at
her like she was the biggest liar on the planet.

“You used to come to the club?” another girl piped in to
ask.

“Sure did, didn’t we Karina?” Liza asked and Karina
laughingly agreed.

“Yep…and you wouldn’t know it to look at Miss Bourgie…” she
laughingly called her friend stuck up, “but back in the day?” Karina looked
around as though to make sure no one was listening. “Mrs. Colburn used to be
hell on wheels. Anybody step to her wrong and she made mincemeat out of them,”
Karina laughingly called her friend out.

“Karina! Don’t say that. That’s not even true!”

“Oh please, Liza. Let’s be real. I mean you’ve got it
together now, but I remember once, when we were in second grade and I made you
mad and you stuffed me in the trash bin outside, in fact…”

The girls all laughed and eased their chairs closer to hear
the gossip as Liza groaned but felt a curious lightness as Karina told the
girls a few of her antics growing up.

“But, but girls…look at Mrs. Colburn today. She went on to
school, went to college and made something out of her life.” Candy Cane too had
been wrapped up in the tales Karina told and laughed right along with the girls
at the stories.

“Yes, I did. And it wasn’t easy. But, I was determined to
make a success of my life,” Liza sobered up and said.

The rest of the session was easy and laid back. The girls
asked both Liza and her questions about everything from college and what to do
after high school, to what to do when a boy asked for sex. At times Liza didn’t
know if she gave the right answer. The textbook answer. But she did give the
answers from the heart. From experience.

As she looked around at the animated, laughing faces of the
young girls, Liza saw a piece of her past in each one of them. The hope,
anticipation, as well as the fears and uncertainties were all right there,
unadorned, on their young faces.

She felt a stronger connection with them than she did with
either her country club friends or the women she volunteered with for the
various charity boards she belonged to.

“This has been a great session, girls! But as much as I
would love for us to continue…” Candy paused and laughed at the collective
groans of protest from the girls as well as from Karina and Liza. She held up a
hand and continued. “Ladies, ladies, ladies! I
hate
to wrap it up, but
we have to get the gym ready for the dance tonight. Maybe if you’re all nice
and beg really nicely…Mrs. Tolson will bring Mrs. Colburn back again for a
visit next week,” she said with a sly grin aimed at Liza.

“Please, Mrs. Colburn? Please come back next week with Mrs.
Tolson next week! This was off the damn chain…um, I mean this was cool,” Sam,
the young girl who’d first asked her what she wanted from them, quickly
corrected herself.

Liza hated to see the session come to a close and was
surprised at how much she’d enjoyed just being around the young girls and
talking about everything but the kitchen sink, as Karina’s Big Momma would say.

She hadn’t been prepared to enjoy it quite as much as she
did and was just as surprised as Karina obviously was when she agreed. “I think
I’d like that, Samantha. As long as Mrs. Tolson doesn’t mind sharing you
wonderful girls with me?” she held her laughter in check at Karina’s surprise
and hasty, happy agreement to drag her down with her every Saturday that she
could.

The director, Karina and Liza all said goodbye to the girls
as they slowly trickled out of the small gymnasium. Liza was thrown off guard
when after the last girl left, Candy Cane turned to them and gave them both a
quick hug.

“Ladies, thank you so much! That had to have been one of the
best gab sessions we’ve had in a while…wasn’t it, Karina?” she asked a beaming
Karina.

“Yes, it definitely was! I don’t get to do that enough. I
love it and the girls are so awesome. Liza, they love you. I’m so glad that you
came with me.”

“I’m glad I came too. It turned out a lot differently than I
thought,” Liza admitted.

“Liza I was serious about you coming back anytime that you
want. If you’re interested in making a more long-standing commitment, we could
use you.” The director’s voice was sincere as she extended the offer. “I’d love
to keep talking with you both, but I have to go help the staff out in the gym.
Until next time ladies, I’ll see you!” Her small impromptu hug surprised Liza,
but she returned the affection.

When the small woman hustled away, Liza turned to Karina and
laughed out loud at her expression.

“What the heck are you grinning about?” she asked as they
turned and walked down the short hallway toward the entry.

“What? Can’t a woman smile without being accused of
something? I’m naturally a happy person, I like to smile…what’s the big deal?”
she laughed.

“I’ll say it for you then. It was great. I can’t believe how
much I enjoyed that,” she said slowly, thinking.

“Li, you sound funny. What’s going on?” Karina asked, after
waving goodbye to a few girls as the exited the building.

“Nothing. Not really. I don’t know. It’s hard to explain,”
she said and shook her head. “I think I blew a few things up in my mind. Made
them bigger than they really were. Now I need to do some reevaluating,” she
told her with a small half grin.

“Honey, it’ll all come together in your mind. Seems like
you’ve come to some acceptance about all of it. Maybe put a few ghost to rest?”

“Yep. A few,” she agreed and hugged Karina when she saw
Cooper pull up into the parking lot. “Hey, here’s your ride, we’ll talk later.
And Karina?” she said as Karina pulled away and waved at her husband.

“Yes?” She turned back around to face her.

“Thanks. It means a lot that you and my interfering husband
care so much about me that you lied, manipulated and did everything under the
sun to get me here.” She laughed when Liza started protesting. “Girl, I’m
kidding. Well, not about the lying and manipulating…but it’s all good! Thanks,
sweetie.”

“Speaking of lying and manipulating people, here’s my twin
now,” Karina said and Liza was surprised to see Greg get out of Cooper’s SUV
and walk towards her.

“I have to go, Li…I’ll call you later!” Karina said and
quickly scooted away smiling nervously at Greg as she passed him.

Liza waved a distracted hand goodbye to her friend and
waited for Greg to saunter his way over to her. When he stood less than a foot
away he smiled at her, that sexy, let me-do-you-baby smile of his and she
reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him.

His surprise at her actions only lasted one hot second
before he’d tugged her close and took over the kiss, slanting her head for the
best angle for full access to her lips. He plunged his tongue deep inside the
cavern of hers and looked for and found her tongue, sweeping it with his own,
as he pulled on her lips.

Just as he was pulling her closer into his embrace, he heard
feminine giggles and catcalls, and slowly pulled away from Liza. When he looked
down at her she was completely flushed and it took her longer to realize they
had an audience.

A very rapt audience of several teenaged girls.

“Come on, let’s go to your car,” he said with a laugh and
Liza gave a feeble smile and allowed Greg to lead her to her Mercedes.

After he’d opened the door for her and run around the front
to enter his side and settled in, he turned to her and took both of her hands
in his.

“Well…how was it?” he asked without preamble.

“It was…nice,” was all that she said. Let him squirm.

“Liza, come on. I know you’re probably a bit ticked off at
me. I probably should have made the suggestion up front and not gone behind
your back…”

“You
probably
should have?” she interrupted. She
rolled her eyes in automatic response and suddenly felt like Angelica, the
little girl with the big attitude that she’d met earlier.

Greg ran a hand through his hair and pulled at the collar of
his shirt as though it was suddenly too tight. “Don’t bust my balls on this,
Li. I’m sorry, baby. I should have. I definitely should have made the
suggestion up front. And I apologize…forgive me?”

“Of course I do. I know where your heart was. Where both of
your hearts were, yours and Karina,” she said and was silent for a long time.

 

He knew his wife. She wasn’t stupid. From the time he saw
her, he knew the jig was up, as his grandfather used to say. She knew he had
something to do with her visit to Girls Unlimited. Now as she silently sat,
looking down at her clasped fingers, he waited for her to speak, in no rush to
hurry her words.

“Let’s go for a drive.”

“Go for a drive, where?”

“I think it’s time that I got rid of all of the ghosts,” she
said. “I’ll give you the directions. We won’t be gone long,” she told him and
he started the engine and reversed out of the lot, his gaze turning to his wife
as she gave him an address and directions.

BOOK: PullMyHair
10.34Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

Other books

Tomb With a View by Daniels, Casey
The Runaway Settlers by Locke, Elsie
Snagging the Billionaire by Parker, Sharon
Accabadora by Michela Murgia