Damsels in Distress (17 page)

Portia shrugged her shoulders and inserted a spoonful of potato salad in her mouth. “I have let it go, I'm fine.”

“Well, if that's the case, can you please get the bag of ice cubes out of the freezer and pour half of it in the punch bowl? After that please go and mingle with the guests.”

Portia stood and threw her empty paper plate and cup into the trash can. She grabbed the bag of ice from the freezer and walked out of the kitchen. Just as Ginger was following Portia with a second pan of meatballs and spaghetti, the telephone on the wall rang. She set the pan on the counter top and answered the telephone. “Hello?”

“You are so beautiful.”

Ginger's heart melted at the sound of his voice. She cooed, “Joseph.”

“I miss you and I can't wait to see you tonight.”

Somehow he knew the right things to say to set Ginger's inner core on fire. “Oh, honey. I miss you too.”

“How's the shower going?” he asked.

She sighed loudly into the telephone.

Joseph understood her pause. All week long Ginger had shared with him how stressed she was about planning the baby shower and she couldn't wait until it was over and done with. “A lot of fun, huh?”

“Well, Celeste arrived a few minutes ago. In spite of the fact that I have a living room full of women showering her with beautiful gifts for her baby, she seems determined to be in a foul mood. On the other hand Miss Portia is having a moment because Celeste said something to her that she shouldn't have. So, I'm playing the hostess and the referee but you know how that goes. What are you up to?”

“Just counting down the minutes 'til I can see you again.”

“Joseph, you are so good for my ego, you know that?”

“And you are so good for my life, Ginger. Do you know that?”

“See, it's when you say things like that that makes a sista wanna run down that center aisle quick, fast, and in a hurry. You better watch yourself.”

“You don't even have to run down the whole aisle. I will come meet you halfway. You better watch
yourself.
”

At that moment, Ginger had an out-of-body experience. She saw the heavens open up and God's ray of light shined down on her. “I wish I could clone you so that when one of you has to be away the other can be with me at all times.”

“You better talk to Celeste because I'm getting ready to kill her!” Portia's loud words were like a fire hose. They doused cold water on Ginger's love chat with Joseph.

Ginger glared at Portia in disbelief. “Did you hear that, Joseph?” she asked him. “The bell rang and round one has started. The referee has to step in the boxing ring.”

Joseph chuckled. “Remind them that there's no hitting below the belt.”

Ginger ended the call with Joseph. “What happened?” she asked Portia.

“I'm out there waiting on Celeste hand and foot.” Portia's neck danced as she spoke. “She's being a diva. She said she doesn't want to drink fruit punch; she wants grape Kool-Aid. She claims that she remembered requesting that we add it to the menu. She refuses to drink the punch.”

Ginger massaged her temples. A migraine headache was forming. “Jesus, just take me now, please.” She looked at Portia. “I don't have grape Kool-Aid or any other flavor Kool-Aid. Celeste will have to drink the punch like everyone else. Her only other option is bottled water.”

Portia leaned against the kitchen wall and folded her arms across her chest. “Well, you tell her then, 'cause if she snaps off at me one more time, it's gonna be on and poppin'.”

Ginger picked up the pan of spaghetti from the counter and gave it to Portia. “Just take this and set it on the dining room table. I'll deal with Celeste.”

Ginger grabbed a sixteen-ounce bottle of drinking water from the refrigerator. She walked into the living room and saw Celeste seated next to their pastor's wife, Lady Elaine Harris. The two were chatting. Ginger sat on the opposite side of Celeste and leaned into her. She shoved the water bottle in Celeste's hand and spoke in her ear. “I don't have any grape Kool-Aid. Okay? This ain't Burger King; you can't have it your way. Either you drink the punch or the water because it's all I have.” Without giving Celeste time to respond, Ginger stood and walked away.

* * *

Before Celeste had arrived Portia had given each of the women small baby blue plastic safety pins to be pinned on their blouses. Portia explained the first game to them all. Throughout the duration of the shower, if someone said the word “baby,” her safety pin would be confiscated by the woman who heard her say the word. The lady who collected the most safety pins, at the end of the shower, would win a prize. It was one hour into the shower and Portia noticed many safety pins missing from blouses.

Portia was rearranging gifts on the gift table when the doorbell rang. She opened the door and was all set to greet the guest until she saw who stood before her.

Latricia Hall gasped. “Oh, my God. Portia Dunn, is that you?” She stepped into the foyer and enveloped Portia. “It's been like what, fifteen years?”

Portia's bladder leaked urine. She became chilled to the bone. She didn't know if it was the cold January wind that blew inside or the mere fact that she had just come face to face with her married lover's wife.

Latricia released Portia and looked at her. “Girl, you still look the same,” she said with a smile.

Portia's heart raced. Her teeth chattered. “How are you doing, Latricia?”

“I am great. It is so good to see you, girl.”

Portia couldn't look Latricia in her eyes. She looked beyond her, out the front door for something, anything to focus on. “Yeah, it's been awhile. Come on in.”

Latricia gave Portia the gift she'd brought. “This is for Celeste and the baby.”

Portia took the gift-wrapped box from her. “Thank you. Give me your coat.”

Latricia took off her coat and gave it to Portia then looked at her from head to toe. Portia wore skinny-leg blue jeans and a T-shirt that matched Ginger's.

“Awe, that's so cute,” Latricia said about Portia's shirt. Latricia admired her black thigh-high boots that laced up the front. She had no clue that Portia's entire outfit, including the lingerie she wore beneath, had been funded from her own bank account. “You look fabulous, Portia. Still a fashionista with that Coke-bottle shape. You had all the boys in high school chasing after you. Remember that?”

Portia shrugged her shoulders. “That was a long time ago.”

Latricia looked at Portia's ring finger. “You're not married?”

Portia wished she could have been anywhere else but where she was right then. The position she was in took being uncomfortable to another level. “Not yet.”

Latricia's eyebrows rose. “Really? Portia, I remember, during our senior year of high school, that you had the entire football team fighting over which one would be your husband after graduation.”

Portia chuckled but only to humor Latricia. She didn't have time for small talk. She wasn't interested in walking down memory lane with Latricia. She wanted answers to questions like why Latricia was there, and why she wasn't informed that Latricia had been invited.

She hung Latricia's coat in the closet in the foyer then set the gift she had brought on the table next to the front door. Portia pointed toward the living room where Celeste and her other guests were mingling. “Celeste is over by the fireplace.”

Portia guided Latricia directly to Celeste and stood in front of her. “Look who's here, Celeste.”

Celeste's eyes grew wide when she saw Latricia. She paused a few moments before she stood from her chair and hugged her. “Hi, Latricia. I'm glad you could make it.”

Latricia returned Celeste's hug. “I was so excited when I got your invitation in the mail. I thought you may have forgotten about me from when I saw you at the bank a few months ago.”

Portia frowned and glared at Celeste.
A few months ago?
If looks could kill, Celeste would have been six feet under right then. She wondered why Celeste never mentioned that she had run into Latricia. Portia hastily walked away from them and went to search for Ginger. She found her in her bedroom slipping into a more comfortable pair of shoes.

Portia walked in and slammed the door shut.

The loud noise startled Ginger. “What's wrong with you?”

Portia folded her arms across her chest. “You will never guess, in a million years, who is out there talking to Celeste.”

Ginger saw her folded arms rise and fall with every breath she took. “Considering the fact that I don't have a million years, why don't you just tell me and save us both a lot of time.”

“Come here,” Portia demanded. She opened Ginger's bedroom door a bit and pointed Latricia out. “You see that woman talking to Celeste? Do you know who that is?”

Ginger squinted her eyes and looked at the woman. She couldn't place her face. “Uh-uh. Who is she?”

“That's Latricia Jenkins from high school,” Portia said. “Her last name is Hall now.”

Ginger gasped. “That's David's wife? I couldn't put a face with the name when Celeste told me Latricia came into the bank to cash . . .” Ginger stopped talking because she realized that neither she nor Celeste had mentioned to Portia that Latricia had been invited to the baby shower.

Portia caught Ginger's hesitation. “Well, don't stop talking now. Spill it, Ginger.”

Ginger was not going to endure the wrath of Portia alone. She opened the bedroom door wider and called for Celeste to come into her bedroom. Celeste pointed Latricia toward the buffet table in the dining room then excused herself. She walked into Ginger's bedroom and closed the door behind her. Celeste saw the disturbed look on Portia's face and knew immediately that she was heated. And Celeste knew exactly why. Latricia Hall. She asked the question she already knew the answer to. “What's going on?”

Portia fired off, “What the heck is David's wife doing here and why didn't either one of you backstabbing skanks inform me that she had been invited?”

Ginger sat down on her bed and allowed Celeste the floor. “It's on you, Celeste. I didn't invite Latricia.”

Portia looked at Celeste with raised eyebrows. Her neck rotated. “Well?”

Celeste knew the moment would come when she would have to explain to Portia why her lover's wife was on her baby shower guest list. “Latricia came into the bank a few months ago to cash a check and—”

Portia interrupted Celeste. “Yeah, I heard her say that.”

Celeste continued. “We got to talking and catching up on old times. I figured out she was married to David when I saw their names and address on the check. We talked about my pregnancy and before Latricia walked away from my window she asked me to send her an invitation to my baby shower.” Celeste shrugged her shoulders. “What was I supposed to do?”

Portia's eyebrows rose.
Did she really just ask me that stupid question?
“What were you supposed to do?” She answered Celeste's question with a question. Portia looked at Ginger. She needed clarity. “Did she just ask me what she was supposed to do?”

Ginger nodded her head. “That was her question.”

“How about tell me?” Portia stated to Celeste. “I addressed and mailed out thirty-five invitations. You failed to tell me that an additional invitation was secretly sent to the wife of one of my men.”

“Wowwwwww,” Ginger said.

Celeste repeated Portia's words out loud. “The wife of one of my men.” She couldn't believe Portia's gall. “How do you say that with such ease?”

“It's like she was telling you what time of day it was,” Ginger commented.

Celeste chuckled. “I mean seriously. We need to get somebody who speaks Hennessy in here.” Celeste looked at Portia. “Are you drunk?”

Portia didn't answer.

Celeste leaned against the chest of drawers and looked at Ginger sitting on the bed. “Do you want to tell her how stupid she sounds or should I?”

“It's your world, Celeste. I'm just living in it.”

Celeste looked at Portia. “You know, Portia, it's a shame to have all of that beauty and no brains. You've said some stupid things in your day but I've got to give you your props today, girlfriend. What you just said was the most stupidest of the stupids. If I had on a top hat, I'd tip it to you because you have outdone yourself.”

“Touché,” Ginger commented.

Portia looked at them both. “Oh, I see. Y'all in this together, huh?”

“In what?” Celeste asked.

“We've always had each other's backs, Celeste. You call what you did having my back?”

“I do have your back, Portia. But I'm not gonna condone your wrongdoing. Yeah, I could've told you that I sent Latricia an invitation but thought better of it. Truth be told, I didn't think she was gonna show up but now that she's here, oh well.”

Portia frowned at Celeste's words. “Oh well? That's all you gotta say to me? Oh well?”

Ginger spoke up. “Portia, the three of us have done some crazy things in our lifetimes but we're grown now. We're not kids anymore. You know the scripture that reads, ‘When I was a child I spoke as a child and played as a child but when I became a man, I put away childish things'? That scripture is not only referring to men but women also. We all did our dirt back in the day but it's time out for playing church. Latricia is in what I'm sure she believes is holy matrimony with a man you're sleeping with and you need to stop it.”

Portia unfolded her arms and pointed her finger at Ginger. “You're preaching to me? Since you've stopped shacking up and playing house, you figure you can preach to me now?”