Read Online High Heels in New York by A.V. Scott - Free Book Online Page B

Angie. Not even a lousy text message. So she did what any good friend would do, she called Angie and left a voicemail telling her that she was really sorry and that her life was crap without her. Then she added some up to date information about the most recent events and hoped the severity of her crappy life would persuade Angie to feel sorry enough for her to return her call.
    Afterwards, after much consideration, Melissa called her sister with the hope that she could get her out of having to be her mothers’ maid of honor.
    “Are you dying?” Her sister Kathy asked on the other line without hesitation.
    “What?”
    “Well, Hell hasn’t frozen over so the only other reason you would be calling is because you were dying,” Kathy said so matter-of-fact.
    “Nice to talk to you too. So, how are you?” Melissa mustered in the cheeriest possible voice.
    “Fine. Same old thing. Nothing new,” Kathy said. They hadn’t spoken or seen in each other in over six months. Her sister lived an hour away, across the Brooklyn bridge, in a three bedroom subsidized apartment. It wasn’t that Melissa didn’t know where she lived, or that Kathy lived too far away, Melissa just didn’t want to explain to her sister why she wasn’t married yet and why she hadn’t popped out five kids by now. That’s what was expected of her. To everyone in the family, women were only good for breeding and taking care of the men and the house. It was a primitive way to think but in a Latin household, that’s how girls were raised.
    And that’s why Melissa left and hadn’t been back.
    Closing her eyes, Melissa pictured her sister the way she looked the last time she had seen her; long black hair, thick boned with a darker complexion than her and pregnant with her third child. They were never close. Maybe it was because they had nothing in common growing up. Their age difference played a big part in how distant they felt from each other. Kathy was five years older, so when Melissa was obsessed with dolls, Kathy was obsessed with boys; and while Melissa was graduating High school, Kathy was pregnant with her second child. It was also obvious early on that they also didn’t have the same goals in life. Melissa wanted to become a big time shoe designer, live in Manhattan and never struggle financially like her family. While her sister, was happy just being a housewife. So, no matter how hard Melissa tried, their relationship was always a struggle.
    “How are the kids?” Melissa asked, sitting down on her bed and listening to the sound of the Salsa music that played in the background. A loud bang echoed in the background and then some rustling before she heard a child cry.              
    “The babies are fine. Though not much babies anymore. Frankie, leave your sister alone!” Kathy’s voice trailed off. “I swear these kids are going to make me crazy!”
    Sounds like your there already, Melissa wanted to say but instead she just sighed and changed the topic. “So, I’m sure you heard about Ma.”
    “Oh, no. I knew it!” Kathy screamed. “You don’t call me in like forever. I don’t even get so much as a postcard and now you want me to take over your maid of honor role. Nope. I ‘ aint doing it.”
    “ Aww , come on Kathy, I’m too bu sy, ” Melissa pleaded.
    “With what? That wedding of yours?” She laughed. “Oh wait, it ‘ aint happening.”
    Melissa jumped off the bed. “How the hell did you find out?”
    “Some things never change. You need to watch the news Melissa. Not everything in life is about fashion and money. Especially since your personal life seems to be plast ered all over the damn place,” s he said wryly.
    “Grabbing the remote control, Melissa turned on the television to the local news channel. A picture of Jonathan and her, taken back when they were together and happy are staring back at her. “Oh, No.”
    “Is it true? Did he really steal all that money from all those people?” Kathy