My weekends are always the same.
Friday night after work, the girls and I go out. Usually dinner or to a bar unless it's the third Friday of the month. At that point we're all tired of being semi-responsible adults and need to let loose.
Saturday is hood barbecue which is my absolute favourite because free drinks.
And I get to see everyone from the old neighbourhood, which always makes for a fun time.
Saturday night is my self-care night which was wine in the bath while watching Real Housewives last night.
Yes, I put a tv in my bathroom.
Sunday means brunch. For Ali, Sunday is her day to bond with Gaea, her nine year old, and Em has been sucked up in all things Tariq lately so it's usually just Lynn and I.
"Took you long enough. I already ordered." She exclaims as I sit down.
"I sent you a text moving brunch to twelve." A full three hours ago.
She takes out her phone and shrugs when she finds my text. This girl.
"What's done is done. I got you the fruit salad you like."
I love all my girls, I really do. But if I was forced to pick which one I was closest to... you know.
I mean, I've known Ali the longest. Her parents live right next door to my granny so we've been besties since diapers. But I lived in Sherman Oaks and attended the most exclusive schools in L.A. which is where I met Lynn.
Now, my family is comfortable, Lynn's family is wealthy! I expected her to be a stereotypical shallow mean girl, instead I found my soul sister. And the weirdest human being I have ever met.
This was the same time Ali met Em. The four of us just clicked. Turns out Em and Lynn are cousins too. We've been best friends ever since.
We were there when Ali fell pregnant at sixteen, when Em started her own bakery after finishing culinery school, when Ali came out as bi, for Lynn and I's graduation.
No, we didn't go to school together. I wish. She got her Masters in Software Engineering from MIT while I got my business degree from Brown.
Sure we made other friends during that time, but us four will always be family.
Aagh, I sound like Vin Diesel.
"And let me guess, you ordered the entire menu." Not that I am food shaming her, I have just never met anyone who eats as much as this girl in my life!
As if to prove my point, the waiter comes trying to balance her three plates of food before another comes with my food and two drinks.
"I missed you at the barbecue yesterday." I tell her after thanking the servers. While Lynn may have never lived in our neighbourhood, we have all dragged her back there enough that she is now a regular face there.
"Wasn't really feeling it." She shrugs biting down on her bacon. That does look good.
"You haven't been feeling much of anything lately, are you okay?" This is the third time she backs out of going somewhere.
"Soleil is back." Ah, that makes sense.
"What did she have you doing yesterday?"
"Dietician followed by a new personal trainer." She tries to be casual, but I know it bothers her.
Lynn's mother, Soleil, is the most vain and superficial woman I know. I hate to admit it, but the woman looks fantastic for her age. Not only is she six feet tall and still a size zero with double-Ds, she is also the definition of black don't crack. She does not look a day over thirty-five!
The problem? She keeps trying to change Lynn. It does not make a lick of sense to me, not only is Lynn one of the best people I know, she is downright gorgeous. I have seen cars pull over and grown men fighting each other for a chance with her.
However, Lynn's mom is obsessed with getting her down to a size zero.
"What did your dad say?" Lynn's dad is the best. I have no idea why he ever married her mom in the first place. Another example of men thinking with their dicks.
"He's still out of town." Of course he is. She would never be so brazen if he was around.
Where her mom is always trying to change her, Lynn's dad is her biggest supporter. Despite being one of the wealthiest black men in the the west, he showed up for every parent teacher conference, every science fair, every track meet, anything that was important to her. He fought tooth and nail for joint custody of her and her brother in the divorce and has raised them to be phenomenal people despite their mother's influence.
"You know you are a smoking piece of ass, right?" She gives me one of her famous smiles, only it doesn't quite reach her eyes. Her mother is such an idiot.
Despite having the appetite of five grown men, Lynn is in incredible shape. She is in the gym ten hours a week, hikes and runs regularly. Five different doctors have declared her to be in perfect health.
Yes, her mother took her to five different doctors hoping to scare her into losing weight. The girl just has a crazy high metabolism.
It is a good thing Soleil is not around much.
"Enough about her. How is your mom doing?" My mom was recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic.
"She's fine. On a bit of a health kick which is driving dad crazy." Of course he tries to be supportive, but the man loves his soul food.
I'm pretty sure mom's cooking is half of why he married her.
"Which reminds me, you are invited to dinner tonight." Another weekend tradition. My mother wants to see all of her children at least once a week and cooks us a feast.
"I can't say no to your mom's food." She really can't.
"I know, I think my mom loves you more than she does me."
Growing up, I really struggled with my weight. I was always on some diet or the other and barely touched my mom's food whereas Lynn would demolish it. Mom was always very concerned about me.
It wasn't until my final year in college that Lynn taught me how to get in shape without making myself miserable. My mom has been Lynn's biggest fan since then.
"I could use some positivity." I hate that Rachel has my girl feeling so down.
"Speaking of positivity..." I begin searching through my handbag for the gift I got her.
I am usually somewhat organised, but this particular handbag is always a mess. We all have that handbag that no matter how hard you try, always manages to look like a garbage bin threw up in there.
"Is that the card from Friday?" She reaches across the table and picks out the card Janelle Montgomery gave me.
How does she always do that? The girl notices the tiniest things.
"Have you called her yet?" She asks examining the card.
"I don't even know what I'd say." I admit. I did think about the offer, but I'm still undecided.
"You set up a meeting date, establish rules and expectations, ask for a recent STD panel and book a time."
"So you think I should do it?" I'm a little surprised at that.
"I think you wouldn't be carrying her card around, in a different purse, if you weren't going to do it." Dammit she is right.
I really want to do this. Not that I want to. I'm more curious than anything. But extremely curious. The kind that kills felines.
"But I said I was going to settle down. Start looking for the real thing." I remind her. It is why I haven't been hooking up anymore. I want something like what my mom and dad have. What Em and Tariq have. That was the plan.
"Don't think about it like that. Think of it as you crossing off one last thing off your nasty bucket list and closing the door on the 'ho' chapter of your life. Do you really want the stink-dick to be your bon voyage to your wild days?"
No. No, I do not. When she puts it like that...
"But, the plan-"
"Correct me if I am wrong, but your original plan was to let loose and go wild this year. The year's not up yet." She interjects.
"My plan is to find the right guy, fall in love, and get married by the time I'm thirty so I have my first kid before I'm thirty-five." I remind her.
That is the real plan. That is my big picture. As much fun as being wild has been, I cannot lose sight of the big picture.
"And we agreed that until you meet said guy, you would allow yourself to have fun so you don't have any regrets. It's not like one night will disrupt your whole life plan."
I chew my lip as I think about it. She is right. As much as I do want to find Mr. Right, I do not yet have a clear plan laid out on how to find him. And I've never been with a man and woman at the same time before. That must be something - the hard planes of a man and soft curves of a woman both pressed against me...
I take out my phone and dial.
"Janelle Montgomery's office, who may I say is calling?" A perky professional voice asks.
"Tell her her kindred spirit."
"I knew you would call." Her voice rings after a few clicks.
"Is that why you are working on a Sunday?"
She laughs.
"Darling, I'm sunbathing by the pool. My PA is the one working." And that folks is why it sucks to be a personal assistant to the uber rich.
"I am intrigued by your proposal. I think we should meet to hash out the terms." Might as well go straight to the point.
"Excellent. Saturday is my man's birthday, I was thinking of surprising him. Does that work for you?"
"This Saturday?" Sooner than I expected.
"Yes." She does not sound nervous at all.
Do I have any plans? Yes. Saturday night is self care night. Although, I suppose this could technically count as self care.
"Saturday night works for me."
"Great. When can we meet?" We discuss it for a bit before deciding on Tuesday at lunch.
Shit. This is actually happening.
Lynn laughs loudly, "Only you could make planning a threesome sound like a business transaction." She says biting down on a cannoli.
"I'm nervous." I admit to her.
"Good nerves or bad nerves?"
"I think good." I'm actually excited.
----------------------------------------------
Are you a Lynn, Em, Ali or Ree?
I am Lynn. Lynn is me. Except for the exercising. I would get lost trying to find a gym.
Thoughts on the chapter?