Explanation of Love 02

"Aw now it is on, bitch," Delight said, whipping out a blade.

"Delight, mother fucker put that up!" Kenyata demanded.

"Fuck you; tell me what to do," Delight spat at her, giving Paula a steely eyed glare.

He was so intent on intimidating Paula that he failed to notice that she was actually smiling at him.

He swung at her with the knife, a swing she very easily blocked. She kicked him in the face, then in the crotch, spun and swept his feet out from under him again, spun and brought the heel of her sandal to rest on his throat.

"'Nuff said," Brian declared.

"Kenny, you and your boy need to just leave. Any more shit and I'll let the cops deal with it, hear?" Paula said, giving Delight a little pressure with her heel.

"I'm sorry about this girlfriend," Kenyata said. "I holler at you later, all right?"

"Uh huh," Paula said, taking her foot from Delight's throat.

"Oh, you all bad ass, huh, n*gger, huh?" Kenyata screamed at him, slapping him in the face. "Huh? You al bad ass? Then explain me this, huh?"

The front door closed; Kenyata's voice could still be heard, even though the word could not be understood.

"And now, Amber will pull a rabbit out of her ass," Darlene said, which brought a few embarrassed giggles.

Milt stood up.

"And now, I'm going to get started on our dessert; is anyone here allergic to nuts?" he asked.

"Terry is," Sonny said snidely. "At least to the male variety."

Terry looked at him, shocked.

"Oh, and I guess Cheryl and Peggy are too," Sonny went on.

"I'm not allergic," Terry assured Milt.

No one else stated that they were allergic so Milt disappeared into the kitchen.

Sonny smirked at Terry, who looked away and continued her conversation with Tita.

"And, yes, Kirsten, the recipe for this is on the web site too," Milt's voice floated in. "Really quite simple.; taught my daughters...

Paula reached under the table and stroked Terry's leg.

"Sonny, that was uncalled for," Paula quietly told him. "I think you owe Terry an apology.

Terry, Paula, and the few people that listened in could tell that Sonny's apology was insincere. Terry, however, graciously accepted the apology.

"See, you make the bowls out of cookie dough," Milt said as he carried the tray in. "Chocolate chip and pecan, then you just drop a big old scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, and the topping is nothing but a half cup of bourbon, a cup of brown sugar, stick of butter, and a cup of pecans..."

"I hate you; my diet is so gone!" Shelley exclaimed.

"Anyone see me putting a gun to your head making you eat this?" Milt smiled, putting the plate in front of her.

"And, listen, listen," Milt said, taking the small cup of sauce and drizzling it onto the ice cream.

The sizzle of the hot liquid hitting the cold ice cream and the crackle of the hardening of the sugar could be heard. Everyone, except for Kirsten and Brine quickly followed suit.

Brian sat, frozen; the sound of the sugar snapping and popping had sounded just like his crack pipe as he was smoking crack. Right now, the desire to go and use was overwhelming. Thoughts of Steps and calling his sponsor and praying had evaporated the instant Brian heard that sound.

"And then, you can just eat the bowl afterward," Milt smiled.

"You, um, you didn't want to try the sauce?" Milt asked Kirsten.

"I'm an addict," she calmly told the man. "I know, I know, most of the alcohol burns off, but I just don't need to tempt myself, you know?"

"Girl, you go," Milt encouraged. "No, no, you right, you don't need to tempt yourself."

"I'll take it," Amber quickly demanded.

"Okay, everyone," Paula said. "I think this is the perfect time to let y'all know why I invited all of y'all here, even Cheryl."

"Eat me," Cheryl yelled.

"Tom and Mandy and Miss Rosy already know; I told them a couple of weeks ago, Kirsten, I think you already know too, but last night was my last night working at the Dead End," Paula announced.

"Where you going?" Tita demanded.

"I will be supervising the construction of the St. Elizabeth Trauma Center," Paula said.

"Yeah right," Tita sneered.

"But, but, you can't leave!" Amber burst into tears.

"And after its completion, I'll be heading up the administration," Paula went on.

"Girl, you serious?" Darlene asked.

"I have a Masters in Business Administration," Paula told her. "Graduated at the top of my class."

"That's where she and I met," Sonny interjected.

"But what are we going to do?" Amber sobbed drunkenly.

"Well, girl, I cannot even believe I am saying this, but I will miss you," Darlene smiled sadly.

"Uh huh, like you'd miss menstrual cramps, huh?" Paula smiled.

"Oh, no, not THAT much," Darlene smiled.

Amber got to her feet and staggered to Paula and hugged her, crying the whole time. Paula graciously accepted the drunken hug.

Chapter 15

"God girl, ain't got to get all dressed up," Louis said as Terry entered, wearing her business suit.

"Came straight from work," Terry smiled, looking around the small classroom.

There were eight other students, three males and five females. She thought one of the males was male; it was hard to tell.

"Sup, what's up, what is UP?" an African-American male came up to Terry, swaggering.

"Hey," she politely said and walked over to where three of the girls were congregated.

"Uh huh, uh huh," the African-American male said. "Yeah, it's all like that, huh?"

"Well, now, it is exactly one o'clock," Louis said, clapping his hands to get everyone's attention. "So, let's take a seat. First things first; we're going to go around the room and introduce ourselves and tell everyone why we're here."

Terry gritted her teeth as the brash young man took the seat right next to her.

They did go around the room and introduce themselves. The young African-American, David Gillespie, lea close to Terry as he introduced himself, making sure that the others in the room saw that he was staking his claim as he introduced himself.

"So, um, you stay here in Elgee?" David asked after Terry had introduced herself.

"No, my girlfriend and I have a condo in Bender," Terry said and turned to listen to the person she to her right introduce themselves.

After the person finished, Terry still wasn't sure if it was a man or a woman; the name 'Pat' didn't help at all either.

Terry cursed herself for never developing good note taking habits in school; Louis was an excellent instructor and had a passion for both teaching and for the subject. But Terry just wasn't sure what to write down and was grateful Paula had insisted that she also tape their classes.

"Maybe she can tell me what to do," Terry thought to herself.

"Want to go out?" David wrote on his notebook and slid it closer to Terry so that Terry could read it.

"No," Terry wrote on the top of her notebook, thought about it and added 'Thank YOU' afterward and underlined the 'No Thank You.'

She hoped that David would get the idea; she wasn't ashamed of loving Paula, of being in a relationship with the beautiful woman, but didn't want to have to disclose it either. It really was no one's business whom she was dating.

The class was given two breaks; Terry availed herself of the bathroom on both breaks. Both times, David hovered around, but Terry managed to avoid any lengthy conversations with him.

"Thank you all and see you tomorrow," Louis cheerfully called out as the students exited the classroom.

"So, uh, you want to go grab a bite?" David leaned very close to Terry, pinning her against the doorjamb.

"No, thank you; please step back," Terry said. "You are entirely too close and you are making me very uncomfortable."

"Aw, hey now, just, you know, trying to..." David crooned, moving his face even closer to hers.

"I said, step back," Terry said loudly.

"Aw, hey now, ain't got to get all loud and shit," David said, stepping back.

"God, what part of 'no' do you not understand?" Terry said, close to tears.

"Mr. Gillespie, come see a minute," Louis called out.

Terry took a moment to compose herself; she did not like confrontations. Standing up to David had taken a lot of effort.

Marlene and Charlene, twin sisters, came over and chatted with Terry.

"I, we got your back," Marlene Falgout declared, showing Terry the pepper spray bottle she had pulled out of her purse.

"Yeah," Charlene Falgout, her twin sister declared.

"I mean, I don't know if you into that," Marlene whispered to Terry.

"Nothing wrong with it if you are," Charlene hastened to interject.

"But he's all over you like that and it didn't look like you were liking it all that much," Marlene continued.

"No, I mean, I've dated black men before, but it's just not my thing," Terry smiled, still slightly shaken.

Terry smiled, feeling better now that she had not one, but two friends.

The twins were both brunette, both slim with almost no breasts or backside, dressed identical in simple blouse and jeans and filthy no longer white tennis shoes. They were both Terry's height, or would be, if Terry wasn't wearing her usual four inch heels.

Both were attractive in an almost boyish way, having the boyish figures they had and the very short brunette bobs.

They walked down the hallway to the front door, still chattering.

"I've never," Charlene admitted.

"Yeah you did; what about Abner?" Marlene corrected.

"That doesn't count!" Charlene yelled.

"Did to him," Marlene teased.

"Oh wow, that your car?" Marlene asked as Terry unlocked the Escalade.

"Yeah," Terry shrugged.

"That's ours," Charlene said, pointing to a nondescript Nissan.

"See y'all tomorrow," Terry smiled and waved.

She frowned as David came out of the building and glared at her.

Louis had told David Gillespie , in no uncertain terms that if Terry lodged a complaint, C.C.T.C. would ask that he, David Gillespie, leave their facilities and not return.

"Hey, hey, just you know," David had defended.

"Uh huh, and hey, hey, she didn't want you to just you know; it was plainly obvious to everyone that she didn't want you to just you know and wanted you to stop just you know," Louis responded.

David stormed out of the building, just in time to see Terry get into an automobile that he'd never be able to afford.

Terry's cell phone buzzed and she tapped the blue tooth connection.

"Hey Beautiful," Paula's voice came through.

"Hi," Terry said.

"You out of class yet?" Paula asked.

"Just got out," Terry agreed.

"So?" Paula cajoled. "How'd it go? Do you like it?"

"Went all right," Terry agreed. "Think I need your help, though."

"Okay, meet me at Manny's; think you can be there in about thirty minutes?" Paula asked.

"Yeah; I'm on Nineteen right now," Terry agreed.

Terry pulled up into the parking lot of the Mexican restaurant and parked next to Paula's new Ford F150 pick up truck. Paula had decided, since she would be on a construction site most of the time, she needed a truck.

"Hey," Paula did not hesitate to kiss Terry, directly on her lips, in front of the other patrons.

"Hey," Terry agreed and also greeted Sonny.

Sonny, as usual, gave Terry the briefest of nods.

While Terry looked over the menu, even though she knew she would be getting the two enchilada plate, both chicken, Paula looked over Terry's notes and listened briefly to the tape recording of the lecture.

"Oh, okay, I see what he's saying," Paula said and very quickly scribbled out the notes. "See, what he's saying is..."

"So I had it right?" Terry asked, elated.

"Oh, my! That is a beautiful suit!" Louis greeted Terry as she strode into his classroom the next day.

"Thank you; Abdul's," Terry said.

"Girl! I can't even afford the socks they got up there!" Louis protested.

"Solution," Terry smiled and took a seat next to Marlene and Charlene. "Don't buy their socks."

"Uh huh, oh, I see how it is with you," Louis smiled.

"Really? You got that at Abdul's?" Marlene asked, admiring the soft blue jacket and skirt.

"Uh huh," Terry agreed and opened her notebook.

"We went there once; Momma heard they was having this sale," Charlene said. "We walked in, Momma looked at one pair of jeans, saw that they were one hundred and forty bucks..."

"And that was the sales price," Marlene added.

"And we walked right back out of there," Charlene finished their tale.

"My boss has an account there," Terry admitted as she took out her Cartier pen.

David again sat next to Terry but Marlene, Charlene and Terry continued to chat among themselves.

Terry found, with her renewed self-confidence about her note taking, even as fast as Louis spoke, she was enjoying her time in the class. David was the only blight on an otherwise perfect day.

"So, um, how about..." David asked her during the first break.

"No, thank you, David," Terry said, facing him.

She did not return his smile.

"I don't want to be rude but I have no interest in you or anyone; I am already seeing someone," Terry said.

"That someone buys you that bad ass Escalade?" David asked, losing his smile. "Yeah, that's right; I know what kind of ride that is."

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I am dating the person that bought me the Escalade," Terry admitted.

David grumbled under his breath and turned his back to Terry.

"Really?" Charlene asked Terry. "Your boyfriend bought you that car?"

"He have a brother?" Marlene teased.

"Two!" Charlene shot in. "Don't forget about me!"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, she does have two brothers, probably about your age," Terry admitted.

"You're a..." Marlene asked, mouth open in shock.

"Not that there's anything wrong with..." Charlene stammered.

"I mean, no offense, but you don't look..." Marlene stammered.

"It's kind of complicated," Terry admitted.

"I mean, Pat? Now Pat looks..." Charlene stammered.

"Look, I like me the cock too much to be gay," Terry spoke in a low voice to the twins. "But there's just something about Paula that makes me love her."

By the end of the week, Terry found out that the twins lived in an apartment in Kimble and worked at a convenience store in Kimble.

"But we're trying to get on at Dollar Cinema?" Marlene said. "In Bender?"

"That way we could work nights and still go here; our manager's being such a douche about us screwing up his schedule," Charlene grumbled.

"You won't get on," Terry said.

"Why not?" Marlene challenged.

"They're tearing it down," Terry disclosed.

"So, doing anything tonight?" Marlene asked after they'd recovered from their disappointment.

"We're going to the Dead End; Paula says she's going into wings withdrawal," Terry said.

"Dead End? That biker bar?" Charlene asked.

"No, no, it's not a biker bar; well, it used to be, but they cleaned it up a lot," Terry assured them.

"Why don't y'all meet us there?" Terry asked.

"What time?" Marlene asked.

"Find out," Terry said, quickly digging her cell phone out of her purse.

"Is that one of them Galaxy phones?" Charlene asked.

"Uh huh," Terry agreed and quickly shot Paula a text message.

"Okay, class, break's over," Louis called out.

"Seven thirty," Terry said when Paula's response popped up.

Terry found a sullen, irritated Paula when she got home and could do nothing to cheer her up. If Terry had thought ahead to get the twins' cell phone numbers, she would have called them to cancel their plans.

"I'm sorry," Paula mumbled as Terry drove them in Paula's BMW.

It seemed to Paula that there were more and more delays; they'd even had to postpone the ground breaking ceremony by three weeks. Each moment that construction was not progressing was eating away at Paula's finances. She was far from broke; construction would have to be delayed by two years before she would have to declare bankruptcy, and that was only if all of her other properties also failed, but Paula did not like losing money.

"Please, please, put on a happy face, for me," Terry begged. "Marlene and Charlene are friends of mine and I really want you to like them."

She stopped at the red light and leaned over the console.

"And I really want them to like you," she said playfully. "And they're not going to like you a whole lot if you're all grumpy with them."

"And to top it all off, my fucking period's..." Paula said.

"Yeah? Think I'm sitting with a tampon up my kitty cat just for the hell of it?" Terry asked.

"Yeah, but your periods are itty bitty baby periods," Paula teased."

Oh, kiss my ass," Terry laughed.

"And that's why I love you so much; why are you parking back here? I don't work at this shit hole any more," Paula said.

"And I love you so much too," Terry said and gave Paula a quick kiss.

"That's your car?" Marlene asked as she and Charlene got out of their car.

"It's her car," Terry pointed to Paula. "But she's in such a bad mood right now I said I'd drive to keep the homicide level down."

"Bite me; you're in a bad mood too," Paula laughed.

"Hi, I'm Paula Lambert, I'm..." Paula said, offering a hand to Charlene, the twin that was standing the closest to her.

"My lover and best friend," Terry finished.

"I was going to say I'm her boss; guess she forgot about that little part," Paula smiled.

"Hi, I'm Charlene, the prettier one," Charlene smugly said.

"And I'm Marlene, the smarter one," Marlene offered.

"Oh, whatever," Charlene laughed.

"So why you in a bad mood?" Marlene asked, linking arms wither sister. "It's Friday night! Time to get happy!"

"Just day to day stress," Paula said, linking arms with Terry. "But you're right; it's Friday night, time to get happy."

"Ooh, I've never been in..." Marlene said as Terry yanked open the heavy door and the smell of food, cigarette smoke, and stale beer wafted out.

"You are twenty one, right?" Paula asked.

"Twenty ," Charlene admitted. "That going to be a problem?"

"Keep your mouth shut," Paula advised. "They ask, you're twenty one. They ask for I.D. then admit you're only twenty, but if they don't ask, you don't tell."

"And stick to soda water," Terry said as they approached an empty table near the stage where Tita was now down to pasties and thong, waiting to finish out 'Swallow Baby' by Ruby.

"But I like them Tequila Sunrises," Marlene whined.

"But you're not old enough to drink," Terry hissed.

"Paula!" Rosy called out from behind the bar.

"Hi Miss Rosy!" Paula called out and changed direction, walking over to the bar.

"God, your friend is gorgeous!" Marlene whispered to Terry.

"Inside and out," Terry agreed.

"Let me guess," Rosy smiled as Paula leaned over the bar to give her former employer a friendly kiss. "Wings, extra crispy?"

"Yeah, but I don't know what my friends are having yet," Paula laughed.

"Hey!" Shelley called out as she entered the bar.

"Hey!" Paula agreed and gave Shelley a friendly kiss.

"Y'all come here a lot?" Charlene asked as Tita came out to greet Paula with a hug and kiss.

"Paula used to work here," Terry admitted.

"Are they ALL gay?" Marlene whispered, looking around nervously.

"No!" Terry laughed. "Tita, that's the Latin one has like three or four boyfriends every time I see her, and Shelley's living with her boyfriend; he's this old guy, works at Duhon Timmons; some kind of accountant or something."

"Hey!" Amber drunkenly slurred, giving Terry an unexpected hug and sloppy kiss. "What are you doing here?"

"We're going into wings withdrawal," Paula said, giving Amber a one armed hug as she put three laminated menus onto the table.

Paula tolerated Amber's drunken monologue while Terry decided to just have wings and Marlene and Charlene dared each other to either try the volcano or the heart attack burger.

"E; I'd eat the volcano burger long before I'd eat that heart attack," Paula said as she sat down.

"Three patties, three slices of American, twelve strips of bacon and two fried eggs, sunny side up," Terry read aloud.