Chapter 26 #2
“How small are you thinking?” I asked, nudging Anika along.
“Pretty much the people in this room and Dante’s parents.”
“The fuck?” Jemini slammed her glass into the table.
“We want something less traditional.”
My mother’s outraged gaze settled on me. “Is this your doing? Did you talk her out of the fairy-tale wedding of her dreams?
“Me? No. This is all Anika and Dante’s idea.”
Turning back to Anika, her tone was less harsh but still tense. “Baby girl, you only get married once.”
“We can only hope,” Aldridge said in between sampling the scalloped potatoes.
“I know it’s once in lifetime and that’s why we want to stay true to ourselves.”
“Where do you want to have this mini wedding?”
I braced myself for the fallout from Anika’s response.
“The Little White Wedding Chapel.”
“On the Strip?” She tossed her hands in the air as if signaling she’d heard enough.
“I’ve actually Googled the place and looked at the pictures. It’s really quite lovely.” Anika beamed proudly.
“It’s so charming,” I agreed.
Aldridge leaned in and asked. “Were we looking at the same pictures?”
“Shhh.” I pinched his side.
“Is this a joke? Are you two pranking me?”
Dante cleared his throat. “No Mom, Anika and I have made up our minds.”
“Don’t call me mom. And minds can be changed. What am I supposed to tell everyone?”
“Tell them they’re not invited,” I said.
“Shut up, Danessa. I just know you had something to do with this.”
“Jemini, I know you’re disappointed but let’s not be rude,” Aldridge said.
“Did you push these two bitches out your vagina?”
“No ma’am.”
“Then mind your business.” Clearly, she was pissed because normally she was uber nice to Aldridge.
“Let’s not act like we’re not all adults here. Jemini I’m trying to be respectful because you are the elder but not too much.” I loved how he always had my back. And did you catch the dig at her age?
“I just don’t understand you girls. We had a plan, a big traditional wedding with all the extras.” She turned to me. “And you and your silly law school dream. You failed the first time and will likely fail again. Law school is a huge waste of time.”
Because she couldn’t control Anika, she decided to take swipes at me. “I disagree.”
“Aldridge, tell her law school would drain her bank account and it’s a scam.”
“I’m with Danessa on this. She should pursue what she’s passionate about. And she’d make one hell of a lawyer.”
“Now that you two are doing whatever this is, Aldridge should be your full-time priority. Making sure he’s cared for and looked after.”
“That’s archaic thinking,” I protested.
“Women are supposed to be a helpmate to their man. That’s from the Bible.”
“I know you’re not quoting scripture. The Bible also highlights adultery as a sin, but that hasn’t seemed to stop you.”
“He was separated.”
“Which one, Mom?”
“Technically she wouldn’t be the adulterer because she was never married,” Dante said. “A convenient loophole.”
“How about we agree to disagree,” I said through gritted teeth. “Better yet. Why not stop meddling in the affairs of your adult children. If Anika wants to get married while Elvis sings Love Me Tender that’s her choice.”
“You’re my daughters, so what you do is very much my business.”
“Most parents would be thrilled to have a kid in law school.”
“I’m not most parents.”
“No shit Sherlock. You had us wearing padded bras at eleven and thong panties at thirteen.”
“That was so you wouldn’t have panty lines.”
“You were always pushing us to grow up way too soon. And don’t even get me started on that twenty-year-old you tried to make me date.”
“He was nice and willing to buy you anything and you acted like a weirdo.”
“I was fourteen, Jemini. I hadn’t even had my first kiss, and you wanted me to date a drug dealer.”
“You’ve always been such a baby. Your sister was way more mature than you.”
“And you were a pimp.”
Aldridge squeezed my knee under the table. “Whoa maybe we should pause. Have you tried the scalloped potatoes, because they are the creamiest if anyone’s interested.”
“Do you hear that?” Jemini asked.
“What?” Anika said.
“It’s the world’s smallest violin playing a pity tune just for Danessa. I was a single mother doing the best I could with two ungrateful girls to look after.”
“Was the best you could do allowing random men in and out of our apartment?” Biting my tongue was the only option.
There were so many skeleton bones I could allow to tumble at our feet.
I was convinced my mother was suffering from a mild case of amnesia because she conveniently forgot all the shady parts of the past thirty years.
My role was to support Anika, but Jemini knew exactly how to push my buttons, often making me look like the angry Black woman who couldn’t let go of the past.
“You turned out fine.” Her tone was dismissive.
“Despite you, not because of you. I’m going to law school because I don’t want to be an aging video vixen who can’t accept that the spotlight has faded along with her beauty.”
“Now you’re just lying you fucking little bitch.”
Aldridge clapped his hands. “Whoa, can we stop with the name calling?”
“Aldridge, you should run. Or at the very least pay so Danessa can get the stick removed from her ass.”
“I love dinner parties because they’re always so unpredictable,” Dante said.
“Oh, this is classic Jemini, never taking accountability, refusing to admit when she’s wrong.”
“Like mother like daughter, Baby girl. You’re an adult and still blaming me for everything that goes wrong in your life.”
“I’ve really gotten into painting,” Aldridge chimed in attempting to redirect the conversation. “Very soothing. I’m fucking heavy with watercolors right now.”
“Maybe you should teach Danessa. It might make her less uptight.”
“Uptight? You’d be uptight too if you had to share the same space with your abuser.”
“This is getting dark,” Dante whispered.
I stared at Anika who just pushed the garlic parmesan orzo across her plate. What happened to having each other’s backs?
“I really can’t stand this new generation. They read a couple of books, and they start saying shit about breaking curses and holding space for fuck knows what. When did people turn into such pussies?”
I countered, “Some would say perhaps your generation shoved too much down, never really dealing with the things that hurt you or the people who wronged you. And that crap you hid away still spilled over into your relationship with your kids.”
“Hurt people hurt people,” Dante added.
“Baby, you’re so philosophical.” Anika rubbed her nose against his.
I had to close my eyes to prevent them from rolling from my sockets. “Two things can be true, you did the best you could but your children were still affected by the choices you made.”
“I didn’t come here to be attacked.”
I surrendered my hands in the air. “No one’s attacking you.”
Aldridge scrunched his face. “Mmm.”
Leaning in I asked, “What do you mean hmm?”
“I just don’t think sniping at one another is beneficial,” he whispered.
“She’s berating me.”
“I don’t disagree but arguing with Jemini is like fucking with someone with nothing to lose.”
Dante spoke up. “Y’all should probably go to therapy. Everyone is doing it. It’s hella trendy right now. It’ll give you a chance to unpack all these emotions.”
Aldridge nodded. “Dante has a point.” We had now entered a surreal realm because Dante was making sense.
“I love therapy. Go religiously every week,” Anika said.
“Really?” I asked. Anika’s eyes met mine. Bullshit detected. She ain’t never a day in her life talked to a licensed professional about anything.
“If that would stop Danessa from blaming me for every goddamn thing, I’m down.”
“Exciting, marriage, law school, and group therapy. This year is off to a great start. Danessa and I will be there with bells on. Won’t we Nessa?” Anika asked.
“I’ll be there, but I’m not wearing any fucking bells.”