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Authors: Grace Octavia
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on the other side of the wall beside her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Kyle answered quickly, walking into the room and getting the dog before disappearing into the kitchen.
“Good, they’ll be gone for a while,” Lucy said. “There’s no way Ms. Pearl will drink a teaspoon of water in this…this”—she looked around at what Troy had thought was a nicely decorated room like it was a jail cell before finishing—“this place.”
“I’m sorry I forgot about brunch,” Troy went on. “I really wanted to go, but I had a bad day and just lost track of time, I guess.”
“What happened?” Lucy got up from the Queen Anne and went to sit beside her granddaughter on the couch. The air in the room was interrupted by Chanel No. 5 as she moved.
“Nothing…everything.” Troy tried to relax. Lucy’s haughty disposition really wasn’t as scary to Troy as it was to everyone else. For a long time in Troy’s life, this woman, with all of her flaws, had been her best friend, her only confidante, who took care of her as any crazy and loving grandmother would. “I don’t know, Lucy.”
“I had Paul drive by that church, saw those women there,” Lucy said. Her voice was plump with controversy. A retired socialite who now witnessed a new kind of drama as she sat on philanthropic boards of anything popular in the city, Lucy knew how to seek and savor a matter in need of attention. “That…that Myrtle Glover character…she was looking quite sour.”
“Oh, don’t mind Sister Glover. She just has her way. She always has.” Troy remembered the near lap dance Myrtle had given Kyle when she got the Holy Ghost the first time Troy visited the church.
“A way? ” Lucy repeated. “Isn’t that the one who put on like a madwoman before you and Kyle got married? The one who broke the vase during your wedding ceremony and wore red nail polish?” Here, shining like a star, was one of Lucy’s best qualities—no matter how small, she never forgot the dirty details.
“Now, that was a mistake. She apologized. And, yes, she did have a thing for Kyle before I came into his life, but who wouldn’t? My husband is perfect.”
“Ma cherie.” Lucy stroked Troy’s hair like she was a hopeless puppy. “No woman in the history of womankind has ever only had a thing for a man in the past. Either she has a thing for him or not. Women don’t get over good men. Too few of them to go around. I tried to tell your mother about that before she left your father…again,” she added, referring to Troy’s parents, who were in the middle of their second bitter divorce. Troy hadn’t seen either of them much since she’d gotten married. When they were together, they were alive and unhappy; when they were apart, they were near dead, but fair.
“Sister Glover let go of the idea of getting with Kyle, Lucy,” Troy said confidently. “She’s a good Christian woman. She even taught me how to be a better Christian woman…a better Christian wife.” After Troy and Kyle had gotten engaged and Troy officially joined First Baptist, Myrtle volunteered to be her spiritual advisor and mentor in the church. Nervous about being attacked by other women for snagging the pastor, Troy thought it was the sweetest suggestion. While she’d been raised in the church, she wasn’t exactly of any church. For her, church was more of a social occasion where she got to meet the right people and sit in the right pews. It was more of a lesson in power and privilege than piety and prayer. Myrtle had changed all of that for her. Showed her the right way to Jesus. And Troy was grateful.
As if she was reading her dippy granddaughter’s thoughts, Lucy puckered her brow and plucked Troy upside her forehead.
“Ouch, Lucy!”
“How is someone who isn’t a wife going to teach you to be a better wife?” Lucy asked. “Seems she has enough on her plate, trying to find what you have…unless she still wants what you have.”
“Oh, Lucy.” Troy laughed like she hadn’t
“Yes, ma’am,” Kyle answered quickly, walking into the room and getting the dog before disappearing into the kitchen.
“Good, they’ll be gone for a while,” Lucy said. “There’s no way Ms. Pearl will drink a teaspoon of water in this…this”—she looked around at what Troy had thought was a nicely decorated room like it was a jail cell before finishing—“this place.”
“I’m sorry I forgot about brunch,” Troy went on. “I really wanted to go, but I had a bad day and just lost track of time, I guess.”
“What happened?” Lucy got up from the Queen Anne and went to sit beside her granddaughter on the couch. The air in the room was interrupted by Chanel No. 5 as she moved.
“Nothing…everything.” Troy tried to relax. Lucy’s haughty disposition really wasn’t as scary to Troy as it was to everyone else. For a long time in Troy’s life, this woman, with all of her flaws, had been her best friend, her only confidante, who took care of her as any crazy and loving grandmother would. “I don’t know, Lucy.”
“I had Paul drive by that church, saw those women there,” Lucy said. Her voice was plump with controversy. A retired socialite who now witnessed a new kind of drama as she sat on philanthropic boards of anything popular in the city, Lucy knew how to seek and savor a matter in need of attention. “That…that Myrtle Glover character…she was looking quite sour.”
“Oh, don’t mind Sister Glover. She just has her way. She always has.” Troy remembered the near lap dance Myrtle had given Kyle when she got the Holy Ghost the first time Troy visited the church.
“A way? ” Lucy repeated. “Isn’t that the one who put on like a madwoman before you and Kyle got married? The one who broke the vase during your wedding ceremony and wore red nail polish?” Here, shining like a star, was one of Lucy’s best qualities—no matter how small, she never forgot the dirty details.
“Now, that was a mistake. She apologized. And, yes, she did have a thing for Kyle before I came into his life, but who wouldn’t? My husband is perfect.”
“Ma cherie.” Lucy stroked Troy’s hair like she was a hopeless puppy. “No woman in the history of womankind has ever only had a thing for a man in the past. Either she has a thing for him or not. Women don’t get over good men. Too few of them to go around. I tried to tell your mother about that before she left your father…again,” she added, referring to Troy’s parents, who were in the middle of their second bitter divorce. Troy hadn’t seen either of them much since she’d gotten married. When they were together, they were alive and unhappy; when they were apart, they were near dead, but fair.
“Sister Glover let go of the idea of getting with Kyle, Lucy,” Troy said confidently. “She’s a good Christian woman. She even taught me how to be a better Christian woman…a better Christian wife.” After Troy and Kyle had gotten engaged and Troy officially joined First Baptist, Myrtle volunteered to be her spiritual advisor and mentor in the church. Nervous about being attacked by other women for snagging the pastor, Troy thought it was the sweetest suggestion. While she’d been raised in the church, she wasn’t exactly of any church. For her, church was more of a social occasion where she got to meet the right people and sit in the right pews. It was more of a lesson in power and privilege than piety and prayer. Myrtle had changed all of that for her. Showed her the right way to Jesus. And Troy was grateful.
As if she was reading her dippy granddaughter’s thoughts, Lucy puckered her brow and plucked Troy upside her forehead.
“Ouch, Lucy!”
“How is someone who isn’t a wife going to teach you to be a better wife?” Lucy asked. “Seems she has enough on her plate, trying to find what you have…unless she still wants what you have.”
“Oh, Lucy.” Troy laughed like she hadn’t
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