A Friend in Me

19

Mariah and Arianna sat at Arianna's back patio waiting for wedding planner to arrive to go over a few things for December.

Since her mom was watching DJ for the weekend, Arianna message the wedding planner to add her own style and remove less from the ceremony. She honestly wanted a simple wedding. Her mother, Vera was proving that she was living in her daughter's shadow. Arianna was realizing how much her mother was controlling her life.

Having to spending hundreds on invitations and inviting people she hasn't seen since child— Arianna planned on walk isle without her mother's guests there.

"Did you see Kimberly's Instagram?" Mariah swiped up through Kimberly's Instagram page. She had been stalking the girl for years and she was surprised what she saw months ago.

"No, what happened?" Arianna sat her iPad on the table. She unlike her best friend hadn't thought about Kimberly lately. She felt kind of bad inside, blaming Kimberly of sleeping with her fiancé when she had no evidence.

Days before Duke's departure, she asked him did he and Kimberly do anything on Christmas night. He gave her the best answer: "No we both talked in the parking lot about a few things. She's your only friend I never got a chance to have a convo with."

She believed with his alibi claiming he ended his night at his cousin's house where he crashed for the night.

"I told you she was hiding something! Look!" She leaned over tapping the post she saw this morning. Turning her brightness up and turned her phone around for Arianna to see.

Arianna looked at the picture of Kimberly smiling with a little girl next to her. She looked nothing like Kimberly. She happened to be dark skin with kinkier hair than Kimberly.

She read the caption: my little sunshine.

"I did the math and she got pregnant in junior year."

Arianna was surprised. She never saw Kimberly's belly high school and she could count on one hand how many times she saw here through in junior year and senior year.Even several months of talking to Kimberly she never brought up about anything about pregnancy or a child.

"She looks so familiar, I feel like I seen her around before." Arianna let out. She seen the same exact face on somebody but she couldn't put a finger on it.

"I know, she reminds me so much of Duke's daughter." Mariah responded.

"She does!" Arianna smiled at the thought Duke's eldest child. His daughter looked more liked Duke's mom Jamie than both parents. She had honey molasses skin with sista locs just like her mother and tall and skinny like Duke was in his teenage years.

"Have Duke talked to Alandrea about DC?"

Arianna rolled her eyes and said yes.

"We've told her last year and we asked could we take in their daughter until she like eleven. She said she would think about. It's been six months."

"Damn. I guess the answer is no."

"Right, I think I'm going to call her and ask her to come over for dinner before Duke comes back in a few days.

"Without Duke?" Mariah raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah. I feel like we have been getting along just fine. We haven't fought in a while. It would be nice for two young women to sit down without a mediator and have a good conversation." Arianna responded. She grabbed her iPad and began editing her list for the wedding.