Sharice drove down the highway with mixed emotions. She had agreed to meet with Taylour after her insistent begging. Sharice couldn't help to admit that she missed her friend but she was still hurt by her accusations. To be questioned about your loyalty when you've never been anything but loyal, and be so quick to walk away. Taylour better come correct during this meeting or it will be the last time they ever speak to one another. Sharice had so much going on in her own life and didn't need anyone taking up space who didn't genuinely want to be there. Especially if they didn't trust her. Pulling up to the garage she gave her car to the valet. Grabbing her purse she handed the attendant a tip. Fixing her clothes, she walked across the street to the site of café goers sitting at tables on the corner of the street. Walking past she saw a familiar face.
"Sheila?" She asked with surprise.
"Hey Sharice, how are you?"
"I'm great but what are you doing here?"
"Having lunch with my friend. Mimi this is Sharice, her and I go way back."
"Hello nice to meet you," she said smiling.
"Likewise." The woman retorted.
"What a beautiful baby you have." Sharice cooed over the baby who sat in a car seat placed on a chair. She had beautiful mahogany skin with soft curls brushed neatly under her yellow bow. Matching her adorable green and yellow sun dress and baby Mary Jane shoes. The little girl latched on to Sharice's finger and smiled which melted her faster than ice in the sun. "What's her name?"
"Sicily," Mimi replied warmly.
"Hi, Sicily you are so beautiful." Sicily cooed as if she understood the compliments brought forth.
"Mimi, you know Sharice knows Taylour also. They've been best friends for almost twenty years" The woman's smile dissipated.
"Do you know Taylour?" Sharice asked.
"Unfortunately," Mimi responded with disdain.
"Excuse me!?" Sharice had this look as if she were ready to set her straight.
"What she means is, unfortunately, she hasn't had the opportunity to know her the way you do. You know how small Atlanta is and hearing all the great things she's done it's almost as if she's untouchable." Sheila interjected.
"Yeah...that's what I mean." Mimi looked away.
"For your sake, I hope that's what you meant..." Mimi snapped her neck in Sharice's direction.
"Sheila when you get a chance you make sure you call me because we definitely need to talk."
"We can talk now if you'd like."
"No. I have somewhere to be and I'm sure you'd want to get back to lunch with your friend. Enjoy the rest of your meal ladies. Goodbye, Sicily." Sharice leaned in to smile at the baby when Mimi abruptly covered her with the car seat visor. Sharice stood and simply walked away thinking ...what the hell was her problem?
Taylour looked at the time and was nervous that Sharice wouldn't show up. Before she could feel the full impact of her fear, her office phone buzzed.
"Miss Davis I have Sharice here to see you." Taylour exhaled in relief.
"Thanks, Des please send her in. Thank you." Taylour nervously fidgeted as the door opened. She refrained from doing the very thing she wanted which was to run and hug her sister and cry.
"Hi, Sharice."
"Hi," she said coldly.
"Please have a seat." Sharice sat across from her. They both sat in silence for a matter of four minutes. Neither knowing what to say or where to start.
"Sharice I wanted you to come because I honestly I needed to apologize to you for what I said. I really doubted your word and I was so hurt with all that had been going on that I didn't want to understand what you were saying. I did some thinking and praying and I know you didn't tell Sheila my business. So I'm sorry." Sharice sat motionless and a bit stunned. Taylour wasn't one to easily admit when she was wrong and here she was honest yet she missed the point of it all. Did she even know why she was really apologizing? Or why Sharice was so hurt?
"Do you forgive me?" Taylour asked. Folding her arms under her breast. Sharice simply said:
"No."
"Why not? I said I was sorry and you know I meant it."
"You don't get it, do you? You think a lame I'm sorry is going to make up for what you did?"
"What did I do? I apologized for my behavior and the things I said-"
"IT'S MORE THAN THAT TAYLOUR!!! YOU HEARD ONE BAD THING ABOUT ME AND WALKED AWAY FROM ME LIKE I BETRAYED YOU IN THE WORST WAY!!!" Sharice yelled. She was becoming so choked up as she tried to push put her next words. "Taylour I've never been disloyal to you-..."
"Sharice I know-..."
"LET ME FINISH!! I'm not just mad at what you said, you walked away from me. You ended our friendship over an assumption. ALMOST 20 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP GONE BECAUSE OF AN ASSUMPTION. I've been in the trenches with you from the beginning. I've always had your back, now one thing bad means that's it? You're my family, my sister, more than my best friend. At a time when I needed you most, you weren't there and that's what hurts the most. What else can be said or done about me and you? Believe it instead of trusting who I am and what I've been to you? Taylour its time you remember whose your friend and your enemy. I'm neither. I'm not your friend and I'm not your damn enemy," she said with tears in her eyes.
"You're not my friend?" Taylour asked choked up.
"No! I'm your sister." Taylour smiled. Standing she walked around her desk and hugged Sharice so tight from her seat.
"Sharice, I'm so sorry for walking away from you. I'm sorry for questioning your loyalty when I should have just known you had my back. I love you girl I'm so sorry please forgive me. Please."
"I'll think about it, of course, a trip to the spa and gift certificate to Godiva could help me in my sorrows." Taylour laughed.
"Consider it done," she said wiping her face and going back to sit in her chair.
"So what sealed the deal for you?"
"What do mean?"
"What happened that told you I was telling the truth?"
"Oh. I started thinking about college. I remembered when I told you about Orlando making a pass at me and you never told anyone. Even when we fell out, you still kept that to yourself. I started thinking about who you are and have always been. I also figured out why Sheila hates me so much. "
"I was going to ask you." Taylour came around her desk to sit on its edge.
"Sharice I told you about Orlando but I never told you the full story. Matter of fact no one knows the full story, not even Sean."
"What's the full story?"
"Orlando purposed to me."
"WHATTTTT!?!" Taylour faintly smiled at Sharice's reaction even though she didn't expect anything less.
"He proposed to me in college. See when he and I met it was through Sean. I thought nothing of him other than him being his frat brother. Orlando and I ended up taking the same class and began studying together. It was innocent, at least for me it was. He and I were friends before he even met Sheila. Then he got feelings for me, like deep feelings. So one day he and I met up by the bleachers on the football field. Girl next thing I know, he's pouring out his heart and pulling out his grandmother's ruby ring. He even told me the story about the missing diamond. How she had received the ring from her fiancé with a huge diamond and then towards the end of the great depression, he was told he needed one more year of school to become a doctor. He didn't have the money for his tuition and was about to give up on all he had worked for up to that point. So Orlando's grandmother had the diamond removed and unbeknownst to her fiancé paid his tuition for the year. She walked around without anything but her ring with nothing in it. Her fiancé was so touched by her sacrifice that, on his graduation day, he surprised her with her ring and the biggest ruby he could afford. Which wasn't that big but he said he gave it to her because she reminded him of a proverbs woman."
"A what?"
"The book of proverbs in the bible; A Virtuous Woman." Sharice's grew wide when she realized the link.
"So you mean to tell me-..."Taylour cut her off before she could finish her question.
"Well, she was so honored to be seen as a woman gifted by God that she told Orlando before she died that only when he finds himself a virtuous woman he should give her that ring and love her the way God intended for a woman to be loved by her husband. Hmph, I remember him promising to love me that way for the rest of my life. He said he would love me the way God loved the church even if it meant his life."
"What did you do?"
"Isn't it obvious what I did?"
"I mean what'd you said to him."
"I told him that I was flattered, even touched, but I loved Sean and I couldn't walk away from the man I loved. See, Sean has no idea the things I've given up for him."
"Do you regret it?"
"Nope. Not one bit because even through all the hell that Sean and I go through, I know deep down he was the man I was always supposed to be with. Granted recently I wondered if we were meant to stay together, but I know for a fact I was meant to marry him."
"But I don't get it, what does all of that have to do with Sheila. Wasn't this before her?"
"No, actually we became friends before her but he proposed while they were together. When I turned him down, a month later, she was wearing the ring and they were engaged. I never told a soul that happened. It doesn't stop there, though. Their engagement party, I was going to the bathroom and he cornered me in the closet. He begged me to run away with him. To just say the word and he would leave everything for me. It was almost as if he were pleading for me to stop him from marrying her. We argued, and I didn't remember this until recently but there was a silhouette by the door. I could see flowers on their clothes because the door was cracked. Then thinking about you I realized that it was Sheila. She probably heard everything and then not long after that she came and told me about Sean being with that girl Denise. I went and raised all types of hell."
"I remember that. Girl you went all the way off."
"Yeah I did. Only to run into Denise in the courtyard and find out she had been gone for a week with her family on vacation. I never trusted Sheila after that."
"Wow, Taylour it all makes so much sense. But you and Orlando never did anything, right?"
"No! I swear we never did anything. It's time for her to get over it now."
"I agree, in the end she ended up with him. Matter of fact just saw her."
"Where?"
"On the corner at the café."
"What was she doing on my block?"
"That's what I'm saying. Wait, your block? You run these streets now?"
"You forgot how I roll? Haha" They laughed.
"She was with some woman named Mimi who had the cutest baby but for some reason when you came up, her demeanor changed. Like she couldn't stand you."
"Why did my name come up anyway?"
"Sheila told her you and I were friends and she made a face and a slick comment."
"What did she look like?"
"She was really pretty except her jacked-up attitude. Brown skin, hair past her shoulders, slim."
"Hold up a sec." Taylour stood from the desk and went back to her chair. She began typing on her computer and pulled up Facebook. Getting a clear image, she turned her monitor around.
"Is this her?"
"Yeah, that's her."
"Sharice, you saw this woman with Sheila down the block from my office?"
"Yeah. Who is she?"
"Sharice that's..."
"Michelle I can't believe you girl."
"What?"
"You can't get all snippy with Ms. Girl about her friend. In her eyes, that skank Taylour can do no wrong."
"I don't give a damn!!! Am I supposed to be scared?"
"No, I'm just saying you were about to start a war."
"Well, you down for the battle?"
"Always down for a battle when it's brought to our feet. You know I never back down."Sheila declared.
"Man forget both of them. Between her and her dumbass husband, they both will have their day. Can't keep thinking that they can play with people and they're untouchable. I already told him every dog has its day."
"Girl start the countdown because I'm excited for that bitch to get what's coming to her."
"Chile Let the countdown begin.