Suzetta Perkins - Déjà Vu

The moment passed and she was on her feet again. She walked back into the kitchen, hit the answering machine that sat on the counter and listened to Angelica’s voice one last time. Hey Margo, this is Angelica. Ari and I are doing great. We’re getting married-sometime next June. I haven’t been this happy in years. I sure hope you and Jefferson can come. It’ll be in New York. Call me sometime when you get a moment. I know you’re busy. Talk to you later.

The message over, Margo pressed the delete button. Opening a small portfolio, she pulled out a group of papers and fumbled through them.

“Boarding passes for London, Paris, and Germany; passport; and, ahh, separation papers.” She looked at the document long and hard and then rubbed her slightly protruding stomach with her hand.

“Jefferson,” Margo said out loud to no one, “you were right about divorcing all the negative people and things from your life. It frees your mind and helps you to see things much clearer. Thanks for that tidbit of good information. No more Angelica, no more Malik, no more Jefferson.” She put the papers away.

Prying herself away from her thoughts, she clutched the side of the counter as a wave of nausea hit her again. She rushed to the bathroom, leaned over the toilet and regurgitated. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before turning on the cold water and splashing it onto her face. Turning the water off, she sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. “I had no desire to be a mother again at forty-eight years old, but I’ll be a good mother.”

Margo moved quickly to the family room and picked up her luggage so she could put it in the car. She took another glance around the house as far as her eyes could see. The house was empty now-empty of hope, false dreams, and empty promises.

There was no way she was going through another bad storm with a husband she had vowed to spend the rest of her days with because it would probably kill her, even though she was still very much in love with him.

Suzetta Perkins is the author of Ex-Terminator: Life After Marriage, A Love So Deep , and her riveting debut novel, Behind the Veil . She is also a contributing author of My Soul to His Spirit , an anthology that was featured in the June 2005 issue of Ebony magazine. Suzetta is the co-founder and president of the Sistahs Book Club in Fayetteville, North Carolina and is Secretary of the University at Fayetteville State University, her alma mater. Visit www.suzettaperkins.com and www.myspace.com/authorsue or email to nubianqe2@aol.com

· What was Angelica convicted of that sent her to prison? Did prison reform and prepare her for reentry into society?

· Did Angelica make an assertive effort to reconcile her relationship with Margo Myles? Why or why not?

· Someone was missing from Jefferson’s homecoming. Who was it and why were they not there?

· Explain the relationship between Margo and Malik.

· What took Angelica to New York?

· If you live long enough, you will ultimately experience life’s bumps and bruises. Sometimes life has a way of repeating itself because we allow ourselves to fall into traps through our inability to control our destiny. Angelica once again falls prey and becomes a victim of her own stupidity-she never seems to learn, but when she finds herself in trouble, she relies on her knowledge of the past. What past profession did she fall back on when she felt she had no other recourse?

· Do you condemn Angelica or applaud her for her actions?

· How does Angelica’s past catch up with her?

· Who is Donna Barnes Reardon, and how significant was she in the turn of events in Angelica’s life?

· Jefferson and Margo’s relationship was strained. Although she welcomed her husband back into her life after a five-year prison stint, other obstacles kept them from re-consummating their marriage. What were the obstacles?

· What event drew Angelica back to Fayetteville?

· What does Margo observe that pushes her over the edge? What does she do in light of that knowledge?

· Angelica is on the run for her life, and so is Jefferson. Will they be able to stop running?

· Do you believe Angelica has found true love?

· What unsuspecting event turns up to haunt Jefferson’s past, just as he and Margo have reconciled their differences?

· What is Margo’s secret?