Read Online Keep It Movin' by L. Divine - Free Book Online Page B

Greenleaf Boulevard.” My cousin’s eyes light up at the mention of the shop.
    â€œYou mean the shop with the big, pink neon sign and tall Christmas tree in the window? I’ve always wanted to see inside of that place.” Her mother’s jaw tightens and she takes the last word on the subject.
    â€œWe’re not interested in changing stylists but thank you,” Sandra says. I forgot how uptight she can be and I doubt it’s just because she’s a Jehovah’s Witness. She’s always quick to remind us every year at Christmas that she’s only here because my uncle insists that she come. And like a good wife should, in her opinion, she obeys her husband.
    â€œI got you,” I say, taking my phone out of my purse and scrolling through my contacts to locate Rah’s number. Too bad my daddy’s my ride, because it’s already time for me to go. Maybe I can catch the bus to Rah’s grandparents’ house and he can give me a ride back to Inglewood when he goes home. I’m sure there’s drama where he is too, but at least it’s not mine and I can play with his little girl.
    â€œJayd, have you seen your stepmother yet? She’s in the kitchen,” my daddy says, finally walking in from outside and pointing to where all the good food is. I guess I can wait until after I eat and catch up with my stepmom before skipping out.
    I pass up my hating auntie and walk through the dining room where more of my cousins and folks are involved in a game of dominoes. I nod what’s up to everyone and they return the gesture without much interest. I continue toward the kitchen where my dad walks in ahead of me to give his wife a kiss on the neck and a smack on the ass. What is it with dudes and grabbing women’s behinds? She has more than enough booty for his small hands, but really. That looked like it hurt.
    â€œHey, girl,” my stepmother Faye says, turning around from her station at the sink full of dishes and giving me a big hug. She always smells like honeysuckle and food: two of my favorite scents. “Don’t you look cute,” she says, touching my afro puff and looking me up and down. She always has nice things to say to me. My daddy rolls his eyes at her compliment and walks out of the kitchen toward the back of the house where my uncles and the rest of the crowd are hanging out.
    â€œWell, thank you. So do you,” I say, returning the love. How my dad always gets good women on his side baffles me. He is charming and a hardworking brother, both positive attributes. Maybe it’s just me he has a problem with.
    â€œSo, how’s school? Still straight As, I assume.” I gave them both hell when I lived here briefly, but I was always a good student academically. It was the social aspect of school I had a problem with.
    â€œSchool’s good and yes, my grades are cool. We have finals coming up after the break, so I’ll let you know how many As I get then.”
    â€œOh, I know you’ll do fine, Jayd. You’ve always earned good grades.” That means a lot coming from her. Faye went back to school recently to get a bachelor’s degree and is already well on her way to earning her master’s. She’s the only sistah I know who’s doing it big like that and she inspires the hell out of me. And she’s almost as good in the kitchen as Mama is, which is no easy crown to wear.
    â€œIf I get a four-point-zero grade-point average this semester, you think you can convince my daddy to give me his car?”
    Faye looks at me, confused, as she continues washing the dishes. “Your daddy didn’t show you your Christmas gift yet?” she asks.
    â€œWhat gift?” I ask, peeking in the pots on the stove. There’s so much food in this kitchen I can’t even see the countertops. Faye can throw down. When I lived here I gained about twenty pounds. Most of the weight came from being depressed, but