laughed.
“I’m sure enough sorry, lady, but I need to get off this phone. We got heads lined up neck to neck for the next two hours. You want me to have Pee Wee call you back, Sister Holmes?”
“No. You don’t have to tell him I called. I’ll call again tomorrow.”
“Yes ma’am.”
I hung up and sat there, trying to digest what I had just heard, and I couldn’t do it on my own. I immediately dialed Rhoda’s number. This was one time that I couldn’t wait for her to call me. I was glad when she picked up the phone on the first ring.
“Girl, you are not going to believe what I just found out!” I didn’t give her a chance to respond to my outburst. “Pee Wee is having an affair!” I yelled.
C H A P T E R 1 0
“Excuse me, sir?”
My breath caught in my throat. I had to cough a few times before I could find my voice again. “I said . . . Uh, is this Rhoda I’m speaking with?” I was already angry, so it didn’t really bother me that much when I realized it was Rhoda’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Jade, who had answered the phone. This girl hated my guts because I was one of the few people who saw through her. I was able to do that because the girl was soulless.
It was so hard to believe that this was the same girl that I used to hug and kiss and treat like a princess, up until last year. That was when she tried to drive me crazy and take my husband. She was such a bad seed that it would be a big surprise to me if her children didn’t come into the world with hooves, fangs, and scales.
Jade took her good ole time responding, which was just another way she liked to annoy me when she answered my calls to Rhoda’s house. She never wanted me to forget how much of a peon she considered me to be. “No, this is not Rhoda you’re speaking with,”
she replied in a voice that was so nasty, I could almost smell it. “Is that you, Reverend Upshaw? Are you all right? You sound like you’ve got a frog in your throat. . . .”
This girl didn’t know when to quit. I sounded nothing like Rev-GOD AIN’ T BLIND
49
erend Upshaw, or any other man. The sad thing about people like Jade was that they were too stupid to see how stupid they really were.
I cleared my throat. “No, this is not Reverend Upshaw. This is Annette.” I was proud to identify myself in this case. One thing I wanted Jade to know was that I was not going to run for cover from her ever again. I avoided her as much as I could, but when I couldn’t, I dealt with her head-on.
“Oh. I should have known this was you ! You always did call this house at a bad time!” she roared.
“Yes, it’s me, Jade. Now if your mother is there, would you please put her on the phone?”
Instead of a response, there was complete silence, then a dial tone. I spat out a few choice words and dialed Rhoda’s number again.
“Hello,” Jade said.
“May . . . I . . . speak . . . to . . . Rhoda?” I asked through clenched teeth. I didn’t even try to hide the anger in my voice, even though I knew that it didn’t faze her.
Jade did not respond. About ten seconds later, I heard muffled voices in the background on Rhoda’s end. I was just about to hang up when Rhoda came on the line.
“Annette, I’m sorry. That heifer is so fuckin’ rude and crude, it’s a shame. I will deal with her later.”
“That’s all right. This sounds like a bad time. But can you call me back at my office when you get a chance? I’d like to talk to you before I go home today, if possible.”
“We can talk now.”
“No, that’s all right. Later would be fine. It sounds like you’ve got enough to deal with right now.”
“This is my house, and I am the one in control,” Rhoda assured me. “But since you mentioned it, this is a bad time. Bully just walked in the door and can’t keep his hands off me. I’m havin’ a hard time holdin’ him off until we can get out of the house and into a hotel room. As if that isn’t bad enough, that nosy-ass, bigmouthed
“I’m sure enough sorry, lady, but I need to get off this phone. We got heads lined up neck to neck for the next two hours. You want me to have Pee Wee call you back, Sister Holmes?”
“No. You don’t have to tell him I called. I’ll call again tomorrow.”
“Yes ma’am.”
I hung up and sat there, trying to digest what I had just heard, and I couldn’t do it on my own. I immediately dialed Rhoda’s number. This was one time that I couldn’t wait for her to call me. I was glad when she picked up the phone on the first ring.
“Girl, you are not going to believe what I just found out!” I didn’t give her a chance to respond to my outburst. “Pee Wee is having an affair!” I yelled.
C H A P T E R 1 0
“Excuse me, sir?”
My breath caught in my throat. I had to cough a few times before I could find my voice again. “I said . . . Uh, is this Rhoda I’m speaking with?” I was already angry, so it didn’t really bother me that much when I realized it was Rhoda’s nineteen-year-old daughter, Jade, who had answered the phone. This girl hated my guts because I was one of the few people who saw through her. I was able to do that because the girl was soulless.
It was so hard to believe that this was the same girl that I used to hug and kiss and treat like a princess, up until last year. That was when she tried to drive me crazy and take my husband. She was such a bad seed that it would be a big surprise to me if her children didn’t come into the world with hooves, fangs, and scales.
Jade took her good ole time responding, which was just another way she liked to annoy me when she answered my calls to Rhoda’s house. She never wanted me to forget how much of a peon she considered me to be. “No, this is not Rhoda you’re speaking with,”
she replied in a voice that was so nasty, I could almost smell it. “Is that you, Reverend Upshaw? Are you all right? You sound like you’ve got a frog in your throat. . . .”
This girl didn’t know when to quit. I sounded nothing like Rev-GOD AIN’ T BLIND
49
erend Upshaw, or any other man. The sad thing about people like Jade was that they were too stupid to see how stupid they really were.
I cleared my throat. “No, this is not Reverend Upshaw. This is Annette.” I was proud to identify myself in this case. One thing I wanted Jade to know was that I was not going to run for cover from her ever again. I avoided her as much as I could, but when I couldn’t, I dealt with her head-on.
“Oh. I should have known this was you ! You always did call this house at a bad time!” she roared.
“Yes, it’s me, Jade. Now if your mother is there, would you please put her on the phone?”
Instead of a response, there was complete silence, then a dial tone. I spat out a few choice words and dialed Rhoda’s number again.
“Hello,” Jade said.
“May . . . I . . . speak . . . to . . . Rhoda?” I asked through clenched teeth. I didn’t even try to hide the anger in my voice, even though I knew that it didn’t faze her.
Jade did not respond. About ten seconds later, I heard muffled voices in the background on Rhoda’s end. I was just about to hang up when Rhoda came on the line.
“Annette, I’m sorry. That heifer is so fuckin’ rude and crude, it’s a shame. I will deal with her later.”
“That’s all right. This sounds like a bad time. But can you call me back at my office when you get a chance? I’d like to talk to you before I go home today, if possible.”
“We can talk now.”
“No, that’s all right. Later would be fine. It sounds like you’ve got enough to deal with right now.”
“This is my house, and I am the one in control,” Rhoda assured me. “But since you mentioned it, this is a bad time. Bully just walked in the door and can’t keep his hands off me. I’m havin’ a hard time holdin’ him off until we can get out of the house and into a hotel room. As if that isn’t bad enough, that nosy-ass, bigmouthed
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