The Reunion Show (16 page)

Talk about somebody who was happy that this was almost over with—that would be me. After Roc left the other day, I spoke to Jeff about how everything would go down. He gave me blow-by-blow details. First, he had to contact the others for the reunion show, and then he and his crew had to set up the backyard, where the show would take place. As far as the money, he was going to present me with the check for $100,000 during the reunion. Then I would be free to go.

Until then, I stayed in the house because my body was tired. That workout with Roc had done me in. I asked Jeff to bring me a cane so I could walk, and he brought me one yesterday. Meanwhile, I was pampered by a chef who Jeff brought in to cook for me and by a masseuse that hooked me up from head to toe yesterday. Jeff even had a stylist come in to tackle my hair. I loved the way she straightened it and parted it through the middle to fall on each side of my face. Now, it was time for her to show me what to wear. I wanted to look dope as ever, so I was counting on her to come through for me

The stylist, Karrine, had a gang of clothes piled on the bed. There were at least forty pairs of shoes in boxes, and the bling she showed me was off the chain. It looked very expensive; I suspected that some of the pieces cost a fortune. Jeff had gone all out for me. He also wanted to make sure I looked dynamite for the cameras. I was positive that whatever I chose to wear, I would look better than Sylvia and Chase put together.

“What about this?” Karrine said, as she held up a low-cut, dark- blue dress. “This is real sexy, isn't it?”

“It's sexy enough for me to wear when I'm layin' in my casket. I don't want to wear anything that dark. Next.”

Karrine moved several of the elegant dresses aside. I didn't know why she brought all these after-five dresses. Many of them weren't my cup of tea or coffee.

“Okay. Now, you're going to like this. The color is popping, and with your skin tone, this will look spectacular on you.”

I removed the orange dress from her hand, holding it in front of me. “I can work with this color, but I'm not tryin' to look like a fat pumpkin tonight. Don't you have somethin' for a plus-size, young diva with a great attitude? All this stuff you got here looks like it may be fittin' for an old lady. I got a long way to go before I get there, and please don't let this cane fool you.”

Karrine sighed and laid the orange dress back on the bed. “All of these dresses are elegant and classy. They're not necessarily for older women, and younger women can wear them too. Why don't you pick out your favorite one and go try it on? I'm sure the dresses will look better on you than they do on these hangers.”

I searched through more of the dresses and came across a yellow, baby-doll dress with one shoulder. It had beads across the top and tightened a bit around the waist. Before I made my way to the closet to change, Karrine found a pair of glittery, peep-toe heels to go with the dress.

“Try these on with the dress,” she said with a smile. “They go perfect with it.”

I wasn't sure why she was smiling so much, but I wanted to be sure about one thing, before we went any further. “I appreciate what you're doin' for me and everything, but you know I'm not payin' you, right? I don't have money to cover all of this.”

Karrine threw her hand back at me. “It's already been taken care of. No worries. Just go and try on the dress.”

“If I like it, do I get to keep it? Or do I have to return it tomorrow?”

“It's my understanding that you can keep everything. So choose as many of these dresses as you want, okay?”

I laid the cane on the bed and hurried into the closet. After I removed my clothes, I pulled the dress over my head. It was difficult to get it over my breasts and even harder to pull it past my stomach. I had to suck in several deep breaths before I was able to put the whole thing on to see how I looked.

Needless to say, I was hella disappointed. I looked a hot-ass mess in this dress. It lied to me while it was on that hanger looking good. Either that or I had picked up more weight than I thought I did. I had no waistline whatsoever, and the dress barely reached my knees. It was too damn short. When I turned around in the mirror, bending slightly over, I could see my peach panties. This was a no-no for me. I could see Jaylin and Prince laughing their asses off. Roc would lie and say that I looked decent, knowing damn well I didn't. Sylvia and Chase would be happy to see me in something like this. Just so they could whisper all night and talk mess behind my back.

“Let me see it,” Karrine said, knocking on the door. “How does it look?”

“It looked fine on the hanger, but appears ridiculous on me. I'm done with this mess. You can save these dresses for somebody else. I'll find somethin' in this closet to wear.”

She opened the door as I was trying to suck it in and pull the dress over my head. Yet again, it got stuck. This time, I started to kick up a sweat, trying to pull it off. She helped too. We struggled to pull the dress above my breasts.

“How did you get it on?” she asked. “And whatever you do, please don't tear it.”

“Bitch, this dress is suffocatin' me and hurtin' my nipples. I'm about to pass the hell out. If I have to rip it to save my life, I will.”

I pulled, she pulled, and we both pulled some more. After another minute, something had to be done.

“Would you go ask Jeff if he got some scissors? If not, you gon' have to do somethin' with that waistline. That's what's squeezin' my breasts.”

“What if you push it down, over your hips? Let's try that first.”

“Look at my ass, please. This dress ain't goin' over my hips or ass.”

I'd had enough. My hair was getting messed up, and I didn't want it to sweat out before everybody got here. I backed away from Karrine and tussled with the dress, as if I was fighting to get it off me. I heard something rip. Whatever it was freed me.

“Darn it,” Karrine said. “You ripped it.”

A frown was clearly visible on my face. “So. It shouldn't have hurt me like that.” Using the dress, I wiped sweat from my forehead and then tossed it to Karrine. “A needle and thread should take care of it. If not, I'm sure Jeff will. You can leave now. Thanks again for doin' my hair. Maybe I'll have better luck with those dresses next time.”

Karrine left the closet with an attitude. By the time I came out of the closet, she had already taken some of the dresses to her van. This whole situation was embarrassing. It stressed me out. All I could do was sit at the kitchen table and eat chocolate ice cream with a disgusted look on my face.

“Do you need me to help you?” I said to Karrine, as she continued to make several trips from the bedroom to her van.

“No, thank you.”

Her face was real twisted, but oh well. Had she brought some better choices over here, we wouldn't have had this problem. It wasn't my fault that she didn't have good taste.

By the time I finished my ice cream, Karrine was gone. I went back into the closet, choosing to wear my lime-green sweat suit and Nike tennis shoes. I felt like royalty in my outfit. This was much better than any of that bullshit Karrine brought over here.

Wasting more time, I sat on the couch and talked to Portia. We discussed what I would do with the money. I also discussed the same thing with Kenny. I figured I would kick both of them out a little something. Even though I had too many bills to pay, I would be able to help those in dire need.

Chase, however, didn't come across as if she was in dire need. We were supposed to split the money fifty-fifty, but since Jeff already told me that the check would be in my name, I wasn't so sure that I was going to up Chase's fifty percent. Maybe twenty-five percent. That was what her efforts were worth. I was the one who had to do the dirty work around here and make the call to eliminate Jaylin and Roc. It was hard as hell bringing them down. That didn't even include all the slaving in the kitchen I'd done. All Chase did was open her legs and call shots from afar. So, I wasn't feeling the whole fifty-fifty thing. Unfortunately, I hadn't gotten around to telling her why yet.

Time was flying by. I couldn't believe it was already 5:00 p.m. The reunion show wasn't going to start until six or six-thirty. I had already had dinner. The chef threw down on lobster and thin cuts of steak. He hooked up some buttered rolls and a pecan salad that made my mouth water. I had never eaten anything so tasty. Everything was seasoned to perfection. While he was in the kitchen cleaning up, I limped outside with the cane to look at the new setup of the backyard. Jeff and his crew had it laid out. There were six comfy lounging chairs with white linen padding, spaced out in a half circle. There was a slight chill in the air, so a covered fire pit sat several feet away from the chairs. Palms trees in humongous vases were propped up in several spaces, and the waterfall and rocks were used as a backdrop. A cocktail bar was to the far left and on top were numerous bottles of liquor for our drinking pleasures. It was apparent that Jeff was doing his best to create an inviting environment, especially for the cameras. Unfortunately, I suspected that many of the others wouldn't see this day as a celebration.

I went over to where Jeff and one of the cameramen were working. They were doing something with the lighting, but Jeff stopped to give me his attention.

“Do you need something, Jada?” he asked. “How's the back doing?”

“It's doin' okay. The cane is really helpin,' and thanks for bringin' it. I saw the bar over there and I wanted to be sure it was okay for me to get a drink.”

“Sure. Help yourself. We should be done in about thirty more minutes. So far, what do you think?”

“It was already nice back here, but y'all done hooked it up even better. The palm trees done gave it a Hawaiian feel. I love it.”

Jeff smiled and got back to work. I went over to the bar to get a drink. There was a tiny part of me that was kind of nervous because, even though I wanted to win, I didn't feel overly excited about the way things had went down with Jaylin and Roc. Even the incident with Prince was on my mind. Lord knows I didn't want to see him again. Then there was Sylvia. I had dissed her too. I was sure she'd have some words for me as well.

All of that was on my mind, in addition to the money. I had a hard time believing that I was about to get my hands on that kind of money. It had been a long time since I'd had access to a hundred g's. The last time I came close to money like that was when I was with Kiley. The drug money he had went a long, long way.

I poured Hennessy in a glass and hit it up with some ice. Right before I got ready to toss it back, the cell phone in my pocket rang. I looked at the phone and saw Chase's number on the screen.

I put the phone up to my ear. “Hello.”

“Hey, what's up, chicka?”

“Nothin'. Just chillin' outside, watchin' Jeff and them set this whole thing up.”

“How's it looking?”

“It's off the chain. I be glad when y'all get here 'cause my nerves are startin' to rattle.”

“I know. I'm kind of nervous too, but think about where we'll be, once all of this is over. I'm going to take a vacation. I can already see the blue water and white, sandy beaches.”

“I thought about taking a vacation too. I kind of want to do the Vegas thing with some of my friends, but not right away, though. I got some bills that I need to take care of before I do anything.”

“I have a few that I need to knock out too, but not that many. I intend to spend my fifty thousand wisely. The money is what has me nervous, but I see a bright light at the end of the tunnel.”

Her light was going to be a little dim once she found out I was only upping twenty-five thousand. Now wasn't the time to tell her. I probably wouldn't say anything until the check was in my hands.

“I'mma spend my portion wisely too, but hurry up and get here. I'm gettin' bored. Maybe my jitters will stop when you come.”

“Okay, I'm coming. Let's just keep it cool tonight and try our best not to get into any confrontations. Smile away the anger and let no one get underneath your skin. As the winner, you know everyone is going to try to push your buttons. Don't let them, and please tell no one that we're splitting the money.”

I looked up and had to take a double look when I saw Sylvia walk out the sliding glass doors. She was definitely trying to impress someone tonight. All I could do was roll my eyes at how cute she looked, especially with a gift in her hand. She placed it on a table that had a label marked “Gifts for Jada.” I didn't make anything of it, because Jeff had already told me that he encouraged the others to bring gifts.

“Guess who just got here,” I whispered to Chase.

“Who?”

“Sylvia.”

“Really? Wha…what is she wearing?”

Sylvia stopped to spark up a conversation with Jeff, so I had a chance to thoroughly examine her attire.

“She got on a metallic-like dress that's cut above her knees. It got thin straps on it and it looks like she got on some of those glittery, red-bottom shoes. Her hair pent up, but bangs are swerved across her forehead. She got on gold hoop earrings and a bunch of gold and silver bangles are on her wrist. She look like she done lost a little weight 'cause the bitch's body is bad. Other than that, she carryin' an assistant Coach purse—the one she got don't look real. You gon' have to bring your A game, if you want to compete with this heifer.”

“Oh, you can bet I will. Let me get off this phone. I need to start getting ready. I'm surprised she's there so early.”

“Me too, but she is.”

Chase said goodbye and I put the cell phone in my pocket. I kind of stretched the truth about how spectacular Sylvia looked to make Chase jealous. Sylvia did look nice, though, but on a scale from one to ten, I'd give her a seven. Her stomach was a little pudgy. It could've been better secured if she had worn a girdle. I was just saying.