Pamela Yaye - Other People's Business

“I know, but it’s been a tiring week, Yvette. When I leave here, all I want to do is go home, light some candles, put on some Al Green and take a hot chamomile bath.”

“Oh, I get it,” Shante quipped, turning her eyes from L.J. to Autumn. “Planning a little sumthin’ sumthin’ back at your place for Tyrell? Speaking of your man, where is he? I thought I saw his fine ass around here somewhere.”

“Don’t know, don’t care.”

Shante raised her surgically perfected eyebrows midway up her forehead. “Since when? Y’all looked all lovey-dovey when I ran into you guys having dinner at the Mercury a few weeks ago. This is rather sudden, isn’t it, Autumn? How are you holding up, girl?”

Autumn wanted to reach across the table and yank that ridiculously long weave out of Shante’s head. “Well,” Autumn began, her eyes dipping to Shante’s overflowing cleavage, “you should know better than anyone how quickly things can change.”

Omar rubbed his hands together. “Hot damn! This is better than ringside tickets at the MGM Grand!”

Shante stared Autumn down. Then, to the surprise of everyone at the table, she burst into loud, raucous laughter. “I gather from your testy response that it wasn’t an amicable break-up. You poor, sad soul. I’ve never been dumped, but I can image how difficult it must be. No wonder you’re a mess.”

Autumn wanted to clock Shante into next week. Delving into the details of her split from Tyrell wasn’t an option, but she wasn’t about to let this she-devil knock her down, either. For the second time that night, someone was trying to humiliate her, but this time she wasn’t having it. Girding herself for a fight, she pressed her hands down on the table and tilted her body forward. “You listen here, you—”

Yvette projected her voice above Autumn’s, “I’m going to pass on that drink, too. The kids are with their grandmother and I’m sure Elsie’s ready to throttle them. I’m going to go rescue her and take my little darlings home.” She turned to her best friend. “Ready, Autumn?”

Autumn nodded.

Omar, who was making eyes at a voluptuous redhead standing alone by the punch bowl, mumbled something about being thirsty, and scurried off.

Shante beamed. Latching on to L.J.’s arm, she snuggled even closer to him. “Our first date! How romantic.”

L.J. got to his feet before Shante could go the extra mile and hop right onto his lap. “It’s too late for you ladies to be walking the streets alone. If it’s okay with you, I’d like to escort you to your cars.”

Yvette shared a look with Autumn. They were both impressed. Yvette smiled at him. “Thanks, L.J., that’s very thoughtful of you.”

Shante dug her clawlike fingernails into his forearm. “You don’t have to walk them out. Nothing’s going to happen to them on the estate. There are people everywhere! Besides, we should get going. The Calypso is the size of an airplane bathroom, so it doesn’t take much for it to fill up.”

L.J. didn’t want to be rude, but this buxom woman with the coarse mouth and aggressive personality was too much. And the last thing he wanted was Shante tagging along when reconnecting with Autumn was the only thing on his mind. He drew out his words nice and slow. “Shante, I’ll be right back. Wait here.”

Autumn didn’t know if she could make it outside without hobbling. Her feet were sore and painfully tender. She contemplated carrying her sandals, but canned the idea without giving it proper thought. She didn’t want to give Shante any more ammunition to embarrass her. Autumn put her heels back on, swiped her purse off the table, and without so much as a goodbye to Shante, headed for the exit.

“What are you going to do to keep yourself busy while you’re in D.C., L.J.?” Yvette asked as they emerged from the tent and into the starless night. She put her jacket on over her floral dress and zipped it up. The temperature had dropped considerably since they’d arrived at the estate hours earlier. A fierce wind was swaying the tent and rustling the oak trees shielding the expansive property.

“Hang out with Peter before Melissa lays down the law,” he answered. A deep chuckle ripped from his mouth when Yvette gave him a hard shove.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Yvette’s tone was harsh, but she was smiling.

“My grandfather used to say, ‘wedlock is a padlock’ and he was wrong about most things, but he was right about how miserable marriage could be. I bet Melissa will be giving Peter a curfew before the ink has dried on their marriage license.”

Yvette’s shoulders shook as she laughed. “Come on, L.J., marriage isn’t that bad. When you find the right person, it can be the best thing in the world.”

L.J. took a peek over his shoulder. Autumn was limping a few feet behind them. She hadn’t said a word since her exchange with Shante, and he wanted to bring her into the conversation. “What do you think, Autumn?”

I think these shoes are cutting off my circulation. If I don’t get to my car soon, you guys will be picking me up off the pavement! “I’m with Yvette,” was all Autumn could manage. She wanted to say more, but talking and limping was just too difficult. She needed to preserve her energy for the rest of the walk. Her car was still several feet away.

L.J. couldn’t overlook the aggrieved expression on her face any longer. He stared down at her feet, held prisoners by the pointiest shoes he had ever seen, and said, “You look like you’re about to pass out, Autumn. If your feet are hurting, I could carry you, you know. I don’t mind.”

The sparkle in his eyes and the smile he shared with Yvette wasn’t missed on Autumn. He was teasing her. She could barely put one aching foot in front of the other, but she wasn’t about to be the brunt of anyone’s jokes. Forgetting the sting, she wiped all traces of pain from her face, and fixed her mouth in a wide smile. “I’m just fine, thank you very much. Don’t worry ’bout me, L.J. I can make it.”

Her brusque reply made L.J. wonder if he’d done something wrong. She’d been acting strange ever since her run-in with her ex-boyfriend. It was as if she had gone through a drastic personality change in the space of an hour. She wasn’t nearly as amiable as she had been when they were chatting by the pool.

He could tell by the look on her face that she had a lot on her mind. No doubt, she was thinking about her ex. L.J. and Kellianne were as close as a brother and sister could be and he’d seen this predicament play out in her life many times before. Autumn’s ex had messed up and now she was in what he liked to call the I-hate-all-men-and-I’m-better-off-without-any-of-them phase. Because she loathed the opposite sex, including nice guys like him, she would rather suffer than accept his help. But L.J. didn’t blame her. From what he’d seen, her ex was the king of all jerks.

L.J. resumed his conversation with Yvette, not giving Autumn another thought. But when he heard her stumble, his head whipped around. Her mouth was set in the most unflattering of expressions and she was breathing as though she’d just finished running up a flight of stairs. He offered his hand, but she waved it away. “Okay. Suit yourself.” Then to Yvette, “How many children do you have?”

Yvette pulled out her wallet. Like a typical mom, she proudly showed off her daughters. She pointed at each picture and shared cute anecdotes about each child. “What about you, L.J.? Any rug rats?”

“Shoot!”

Yvette and L.J. turned around just in time to see Autumn stumble again. But before they could help her, she was back on her feet and dusting off her the hem of her dress.

“You okay?” Yvette asked.

Autumn could only nod. Averting her gaze, she spotted Yvette’s rusted, sky-blue minivan parked halfway down the block. It was hard to miss. It had a plethora of child-friendly bumper stickers, yellow Baby-on-Board signs and the silhouette of a safety seat in the back. “Do you want me to give you a ride to your van, Yvette?” Autumn asked, standing up tall and squaring her shoulders.