Excerpt
Playing With The Hand I Was Dealt
Nikki Jenkins
“Ma’am
the gentleman at the bar would like to buy you a drink.”
The bartender placed the drink in the center of the table, not directly in
front of any of the women and then left. His laxness in identifying whom the
drink was intended placed speculation in the minds of all four of the women.
Each was flattered and naturally assumed that the gentleman in the black and
blue Fubu jersey, ball cap and diamond stud earring was interested in her,
despite the visible age difference.
“’Scuse me ladies, let me go teach this young boy a thang or two.”
Leslie proceeded to push herself away from the table.
“Whoa, Nelly! What makes you think that drink is intended for you? You
are not the only attractive female at this table!” Kya didn’t
hold her tongue and the accent was thick. Her head bobbed and her finger waved.
It was quite evident that she was upset. Upset that Leslie assumed that she
was the targeted female and didn’t even consider anyone else to be the
chosen one.
“Oh and you think it’s for you. What are you so worried about?
You got a man, save some for someone else.”
“See Leslie, you are so worried about a man that you would sacrifice
yourself and run your happy ass on over to the bar lookin’ like a desperate
ass woman.”
Natalie and Amanda acted as if they weren’t even in the same room. They
continued to look around the table in search of any leftover food, anything
that would occupy their minds so that they wouldn’t have to comment
on what was being said.
“Natalie, aren’t you going to say somethin’, anythin’?
You don’t have my back? Do you think I’m actin’ desperate?”
Despite her attempts to hold her own, she let her feelings slip through this
time.
It was obvious that Leslie’s feelings were a little injured. She questioned
herself and then questioned the other two women at the table, “So I
guess you two think he wants you too?”
“Look,” Natalie started in her defense, ”I don’t care
who he wants, why don’t someone go over there and ask him? Why do any
of us care, what, he’s all of twenty. The only thing he could do for
me is wash and wax my car.” Natalie exaggerated his age, he was most
definitely older than that, but she was hoping that the point she was making
was that he wasn’t right for any of them.
The girls giggled, all but Leslie. “See, you guys don’t have to
care. You’ve got who you want. So, I’m at an age where selectivity
is out the window. When was the last time you, you or you where out there
tryin’ to find a man!” She pointed in the face of each woman.
It was quite evident that her drinks had caught up with her.
“Oh Leslie, stop actin’ like you are this old crinkled up woman
who has to take any man she can find. You are attractive and if you would
stop givin’ it away…”
The look on Leslie’s face transformed from hurt to amazement, “What?”
She turned her whole body to face Amanda. “What the hell did you just
say to me? You sit around and take the abuse of a man that looks like the
bottom of my shoe and you want to give me advice about relationships. Earl
sleeps with all kinds of women, in your bed even and you know it and you stay
with him.” Every word out of Leslie’s mouth cut through Amanda
like a knife. “And you know what, why should Earl leave your ass. He’s
got everything he could want. Yeah, you are pretty, but hell, a pretty face
comes a dime a dozen, but your ass takes care of his kids, cleans his house,
cooks his food and sucks his dick whenever he wants it. Girl, but I understand
why you stay.” She turned back to face the rest of the table and grabbed
for the pack of cigarettes in front of her, lit one, crossed her legs and
continued, “he’s a pretty good fuck!” She blew the smoke
in the air and stared at Amanda waiting for her response.
Amanda was caught off guard and her face reflected it. Leslie spewed at Amanda
all the hate and animosity she held in during Marcus’ time at the table.
Amanda didn’t deserve it, she was just an innocent bystander. But there
it was. All over her face, in her lap and hanging in the air. Leslie’s
venomous attack. All the times she had been confronted by women from Earl’s
past and present, Amanda never had the feeling she was experiencing at this
time. Her stomach was packed tight with the dinner she just enjoyed however
the disdain thrown at her from Leslie acted like bile making it’s way
from her stomach through her intestines, up her esophagus and it just sat
there, burning her throat and causing her eyes to water. What should she say,
what could she say. Everything Leslie threw at her was correct. Her husband
was infamous for his wandering eye and promiscuous ways. But she rationalized
that what hurt her the most was the fact that someone she knew, someone she
actually broke bread with, today and many times in her past had the audacity
to sleep with, no actually fuck her husband. She expected it from women who
didn’t know her personally, but not from someone she actually knew.
But what should she expect from Leslie West. She may be attractive, she may
be intelligent, but she is still a whorish woman and it was obvious that she
had no heart.
“You know what Leslie, it’s too bad that you feel that you have
to reduce yourself to fucking another woman’s husband. It’s too
bad you don’t have enough class and self respect to know that any prideful
woman would know that that type of behavior is an insult to Black women everywhere.”
Her voice was calm and clear and her words were slow and direct.
“Honey please, if your man was satisfied with you and what’s happenin’
at home, he wouldn’t look elsewhere. Amanda, you are weak. Face it.
What is he goin’ to have to do to you before you grow a little backbone
and let him go? Shit at this time there is nothin’ he could do, he’s
already done it all and your ass keeps him around.”
“Look, don’t you question me, question yourself. You open your
legs for any man with a little cash and a nice pair of shoes…”
Leslie glared at Natalie who was looking down at the floor. “…and
you wonder why you can’t hold onto a man for longer than, what six months,
don’t think I’m the problem, it’s you. Yeah, I may be a
little naïve, because I love my husband. Yeah my marriage may not be
perfect, but I am married. When you get one of these…” she flashed
her five carat platinum princess cut wedding ring and band in Leslie’s
face, “you give me advice on my marriage. But until then fuck off!”
The patrons in the restaurant where past annoyed at this point by the confrontation.
“You know Leslie you shouldn’t be so flattered by Earl’s
choosing you to fuck. Earl has gone after any and every kind of woman. You
are just one of many, just something to do for that evening. You could have
been his first choice or his last…” Amanda drank the last drop
of her drink, “…you know I stay with him because I truly love
him, you fucked him because he promised you something. That may make me naïve
or even a little stupid, but what that makes you is a whore!”