Between Sisters (2 page)

Kelly laughed at her sister’s sentiments. “I just forwarded the email to you and Harmony. Girl, wait until you see the picture.”

“
You do know I sit in a stupid cubicle where everyone is all in my conversations, looking over my shoulder all the time, and reading my emails? Everyone keeps looking at me on the phone with you now. Is it safe for me to open, or do I need to check it from home?”

“
Charise, you don’t have the willpower to wait another four plus hours to see this email?” Kelly joked.

“
So what, you’re two years older than me and think you know me so well, huh? I might just wait now to prove a point,” Charise joked back.

“
Correction, I am not two years older. I am twenty-seven months older than you. And no, you can’t wait. All of your one-night stands are proof of that,” Kelly laughed.

“
Ouch! I can’t help that I’m a girl who knows what she wants and goes after it,” Charise said in her defense. “Why you all up in my business anyhow?”

“
Are you kidding?!” Kelly almost choked on the water she was drinking. “How about because you call me after every new dick you get and then want to share the nasty, graphic details. You need to channel some of that one-night-stand energy into your career so you can work your way up from working in a cubicle to having an office with a door.”

Charise could feel herself getting annoyed like she always did when she had to defend herself to her big sisters. She always resented being the youngest of her five sisters. To add insult to injury, her nineteen-year-old brother Angelo got on her case as well about her reckless behavior. In her mind, she felt everyone should be happy that she was twenty-four, a University of Maryland graduate, had her own apartment, and didn’t have any children compared to Sandy who had three children before turning twenty-two. Each child had a different father and none belonged to her dog-husband who constantly made passes at Charise. Actually, Charise enjoyed the passes Lewis would make and often found herself fantasizing about what he would be like in bed.

Nonetheless, Charise was not in the mood to be lectured by Kelly of all people. Kelly would be the most flirtatious of them all in the jazz club, but when a man approached her, she would whip out her long list of rules that started with the “three-month rule”.

On very rare occasions, Kelly and Charise would venture out to Zanzibar, Martini’s, or H2O nightclubs together. She couldn’t tell anyone that those guys she freaked and rubbed on in the club had to wait three months for her to give up the goodies. Kelly’s men typically vanished two weeks later, which according to Charise, was probably when she gave it up.

Charise was ready to end the call. “Kelly, I have to get going now, but count me in for Wednesday,” she said, unable to hide her annoyance.

“
Okay, heifer. I know you don’t want to hear what I have to say, but you know I love you. Anyhow, I’ll call Harmony and tell her the plan, and let Shawnee know what we’ve come up with.”

“
Your momma’s fifth daughter is a heifer,” Charise said dryly. “Love you, too, sis.”

They both laughed as they ended the call.

Prologue

2

Against her better judgment, Shawnee let her younger sister talk her into this “one-time” male stripper party. Not only did she have to get Elaine’s hot tempered behind on board, she had to think about what, if anything, she would tell Robert, her husband of four years.

Robert had always been a good husband, until more recently when he started keeping later work hours. Typically, women would say that’s the first sign of infidelity. However, with Robert being a corporate attorney, there was no telling. One thing for certain, his late hours and increasing lack of intimacy at home had Shawnee raising her eyebrows.

Shawnee had an equally demanding work schedule, which was why the couple postponed any thoughts of having children, but despite their demanding schedules, they always made time for each other and had regular dates out on the town. Additionally, Shawnee vowed to make time for her sisters’ night out once a week. However, this stripper party may have been more than she bargained for.

With no more time to think about it, Shawnee picked up her phone to call Elaine, but not before taking a relaxing hot bubble bath in her large garden tub in front of the large, unobstructed window that offered a spectacular distant view of the bright lights of the Pentagon among other landmarks.

“
Hey, big sis, what’s going on?” Elaine pleasantly answered upon seeing her sister’s number on her caller ID.

“
I just got out of my bubble bath.”

“
Must be nice. Where’s Robert?” Elaine asked

“
Working, as usual. To tell you the truth, it’s getting kind of lonely. When he is home, he’s too tired to talk or anything else. And all the little gifts and flowers I used to get seem to not be finding their way to me.”

“
Wow! I’m sorry to hear that. Hopefully things will get better, but at least we have Wednesday to look forward to.”

Shawnee cringed. “Uh…speaking of Wednesday, that’s what I’m calling about.”

“
Don’t tell me you can’t make it. You know I’m not having that,” Elaine said.

“
Actually, there’s been a change of plans, and everyone else is on board.”

Elaine felt an imaginary migraine coming on. “Change, huh? And you say ‘everyone’ already has made this decision? Was there some family meeting I missed or was deliberately not invited to?” she asked, transforming into bitch mode.

Shawnee sensed Elaine’s temper coming. “Look, Elaine, we’ve been doing the same jazz club for a little over a year now, and to be frank with you, I’m getting bored with going week after week. I would…actually, we all would like to switch things up from time to time. A jazz club is nice, but we don’t have to do the same jazz club. We could also do movies, sporting events––something other than the same thing week after week.”

“
So, Shawnee, what exactly did you have in mind? You know I like to be there to hear Russell play. I want to be supportive of my man and don’t need the headache of having to choose between my man and my sisters,” Elaine snapped.

“
You know, I really don’t need any drama about this. Girls’ night out is not just about Elaine. That’s downright selfish of you to feel all of our lives are supposed to revolve around you and Russell. You can support your man on your own time and not have us roped into it with you. As for this Wednesday, we have decided to go to a party at the Megaplex. It wouldn’t feel right without you, so hopefully, we won’t be without you.”

“
Did I hear you say a party at the Megaplex? Why would I want to go hang out at some ghetto party at the Megaplex?” Elaine raised her voice. “Shawnee, I can’t believe your married behind would even consider something like that. Worse than that, don’t you think you’re a little too old to be trying to party with a bunch of hoochies? Are you really that lonely?”

Elaine hit a nerve with Shawnee. She managed to take information Shawnee had shared and stabbed her in the heart with it.

“
Elaine, you have hit a new low. I think I’m now done with this conversation. We will be at the Megaplex Wednesday. I’ll email you the info. If we see you, we’ll see you. Goodbye!” Shawnee slammed the phone down.

It shouldn’t have come as a big surprise, because Elaine had always been a self-centered, over-the-top bitch. Shawnee thought for certain that Elaine would someday outgrow her ugly ways, but at twenty-nine, she seemed to be getting worse.

When their mother died of ovarian cancer two years ago, Elaine felt it wasn’t her place to help pay for the funeral expenses because their mother, whom she always feuded with, should have taken more responsible measures in preparing for her imminent death. Of course, that thought went out the window when she learned their mother left each of her seven children a $100,000 life insurance policy, as well as provisions for her burial. Since Elaine had tied all of her inheritance up in her snobby shoe
boutique
in Georgetown, her attitude had become worse. Truth be known, the shoes were to die for and had prices starting at three hundred dollars. Fortunately for her, business had been very good. Unfortunately for all those around her, she’d become unbearable.

Ironically, Harmony lived up to her name and was the opposite of Elaine. Out of all the Wiggins’ girls, Harmony was the most grounded and definitely the most reliable. She was always the peacemaker and the voice of reason. Sadly enough, she devoted so much of herself to her family and work that she made no time for herself. Along with her mother, she practically raised Sandy’s children while working her way through college. Somehow, she managed to successfully achieve her doctorate in Psychology at Johns Hopkins University, while it took six years for Sandy to only get her Associate’s in Accounting. Sandy would always make the excuse that she couldn’t get any further because she had children to raise. Besides Angelo, who was nineteen years old and two years from completing his Bachelor’s in Business, Sandy was the only one who didn’t achieve her Bachelor’s.

Now at thirty-three, with her shotgun-marriage to Lewis, Sandy’s new career would more likely be keeping up with his philandering ways. She married Lewis in record time. About two weeks after meeting, Lewis was moving in with her and her children, and about another month or two later, they were having an economy wedding at the clubhouse in the community where they lived. Sandy was afforded the ability to live in a pretty decent community from the combination of her $30,000 yearly salary as an accounting clerk and her three separate child support cases, which provided generously for her two sons and one daughter.

Foolishly, Sandy packed her family up to move to Colorado to keep Lewis from constantly hitting on Charise and sometimes Elaine. Not just her sisters, she wanted Lewis to be far away from the mothers of Lewis’ other children. Somehow, she figured her life would be more peaceful. Although she’d only been in Denver for three months, she barely called any of her sisters, which was probably because she didn’t want to have to tell anyone the grass wasn’t greener in Denver after all.

The relationship between the Wiggins sisters had oftentimes been a tumultuous one, which caused the women to drift apart in their adult lives. Growing up in the rougher parts of D.C. would promote family unity when it came to having to do battle with other neighborhood girls. Their mother, having been the product of a large family raised in the rough areas of Detroit, would often incite fights in the neighborhood and drag her six daughters in the midst.

The Wiggins family lived in their own house versus living in the nearby projects, and the children were brought up to believe they were a “classy” bunch compared to those who were in the projects or on welfare. Although the household contained two working parents, most of the time making ends meet was a challenge because of the number of children and because their father often lost his jobs greatly due to his drinking. The challenge became even greater when he died fifteen years ago, leaving their mother working as a nurse to make it on her own with the remaining small children.

Their father, being a full-blooded Native American out of North Carolina, provided the girls with hair that grew far down their backs. However, that long hair was also another source of the many fights the girls experienced growing up. So much so, Shawnee kept her hair cut short ever since leaving home twenty years ago, greatly disappointing her mother.

A significant age difference also created a wedge between the sisters. That along with strong personalities, independent lifestyles, and the parents choosing favorites that bred hatred. Upon the death of Wilhelmina, thirteen years after the death of her husband, the sisters agreed to meet once a week in an effort to restore their bond, which barely existed growing up. Each Wednesday for the past two years, they had been getting together for their girls’ night out. It started with the women gathering at either Harmony or Shawnee’s house, but eventually changed into going out on the town for dinner and live music, ultimately getting stuck on the one jazz club.

Prologue

3

The music was pumping with a nice R&B mixture at the Megaplex. The place was a converted warehouse. At only 6:30 p.m., there had to be at least three hundred women there. As the sisters looked around for a table, they spotted Elaine and her childhood friend, Renee, across the large club.

“
Shawnee, I thought you said Elaine probably wouldn’t show tonight?” Kelly asked, while laughing. “It looks like she beat us here.”

“
Well, she talked so much trash about how this place was ghetto, how there were nothing but hoochies, and me being too old. Of course, that left me to believe she wasn’t going to show. Also, since no one heard from her since that conversation, I assumed she gave us her ass to kiss,” Shawnee replied.

With hand on hip, Charise asked, “Can someone explain to me why she brought Renee along? I can’t stand that bitch. Our girls’ night out is for the Wiggins sisters only.”

Shawnee answered, “I’m with you on that, lil’ sis. Out of all the people she could have found, she would pick the one even Harmony doesn’t like.”

“
I’m like shocked here,” Harmony responded, while shaking her head. “I think Renee is the only person on earth whose attitude is worse than Elaine’s. Every time she opens her mouth with that ‘Well, Harmony, you’re supposed to be so smart’ nonsense, I want to punch her in it. The self-righteous bitch!”