Michael and Me

C ON F RO N TA T IO N

"Hey, Sheila, can I talk to you?" I twist the gold-crusted doorknob shut.

My cousin, 28 years old, sits on the bed petting her poodle.

"What's going on? How's your mom doing?" Sheila checks Raspberry's snout.

"She's good. I came here to talk about you."

She smiles. "Oh, you poor thing. I know we haven't talked in so long, but I'm glad you know you're welcome here anytime."

"Um, how's Aunty Marcia doing? Have you spoken to her?"

"Nope. She refuses to talk to me."

I walk around the room. There's a $5,000 Dior dress flung on the closet door. Her bureau is laden with makeups and lipsticks. I see... a pack of condoms trashed in the wastebasket.

I turn around quickly. "Does anyone come to visit you?"

"Why, you must think I'm lonely!" Sheila exclaims, laughing. "No, don't worry, Nicole, I have plenty of friends. We are all... um, partying and enjoying life."

"I see. Any interest in guys these days?"

Sheila throws her head back in delight. "Yes, actually. I'm meeting a lot of guys. It's good to go out of my comfort zone."

I perch on the white loveseat. "It is. That's how I met Michael."

We both laugh.

"Is that so?" Sheila draws herself up. "Well, you should have brought him over. Are you sure you don't want a cup of tea?"

I shake my head. "No, sorry. I can't stand tea, except Ketepa Pride. It's a brand of tea from Kenya."

"Mm, I know. You always had the expensive taste. Well, anyways, back to your previous question: yes, I am dating a lot of guys now."

"Any older guys?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Jennifer. She needs to go out more."

"Oh, yeah. Stick to the 20-year olds for her. Never go above 28."

I nod my head, pretending to be grateful for the information. This just shows how out of touch Sheila is with this family: Jennifer has a boyfriend—they've been dating for three years already.

"Oh, see this album? I have all these pictures of us and the rest of the family."

I hop onto the bed and browse through it with her. There's a picture of Jennifer shouting by the pool.