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"Son of a bitch! You fucking kiss ass little dick fucking loser!" Anitta yells, looking at Bishop. "I've had it with you! First you begged me to be your fake fiancée. But now you're trying to get close to Aunt Delta? No fucking way!"
As we all sit watching, she rips off Velcro straps around her waist and flings her pregnancy belly to the ground. Then she yanks her ring off.
"Baby..." Bishop starts.
"Baby nothing. It's done. We're finished." She shows everyone the ring, which she drops to the ground and stomps on repeatedly. I gape until I hear the telltale pop crackle of something shattering beneath her foot. "It's a fake ass diamond, by the way. Fake like this fake ass belly you made me wear!"
"Anitta!" Bishop bellows. "What the fuck?"
I’m left gaping at Anitta. What the fuck, indeed! Bishop turns an angry shade of purple.
Anitta points her finger in his face. "I'm leaving. You had better do the same unless you want my uncles to whoop your sorry ass."
I can't help the tiny laugh that leaves my mouth as Anitta storms off, Bishop following right behind her.
"The trash took itself out," Glory announces, dusting off her hands. "I can’t believe my little niece would even give that man the time of day.”
An older woman drifts over, waving a paper fan in front of her face as she sneers. “I agree. But thank the Good Lord, she’s free of him now. I still hold her partially accountable, but Bishop is the one who looks like a jackass right now. That man is insufferable."
"That's right," Flo agrees, nodding. “You tell ‘em, Donna.”
I look at Pearl, who seems shocked. Squeezing her waist, I prompt her. "You okay?"
Pearl swallows. I see a sheen of tears in her eyes.
She's about to have a legit breakdown. I give her a gentle shake to get her attention. I slide her off of my lap and look around at the women in Pearl's immediate family. "I have to borrow Pearl to... uh... help look for my contact lens. It's loose in my eye."
The lie sounds phony, but her Aunt Glory smiles at me. "Go ahead," she says, waving a hand to shoo us away.
I lead Pearl to the entrance and we get about fifteen steps beyond it when she hunches over and covers her face. "Oh god."
I wrap my arms around her and pull her into a more densely wooded area.
"Are you upset about Bishop?" I ask, confused.
She shakes her head, wiping at her eyes. "No. We’re doing the same thing Bishop and Anitta were doing, River. I don’t want to be anything like them.”
My head rocks back. "That's what you're worried about?"
"Yes!" she cries. "My family is going to be so disappointed, River. They'll know that I tried to deceive them."
"That's not true," I say as gently as possible. Cupping her cheek, I force her to look at me. "They never have to know."
A cold laugh bursts from her lips. "You're an optimist."
"Funny, no one has ever accused me of that. I would say I'm a realist."
She stomps her foot and looks at me with dread in her eyes. "We're fooling ourselves if we think that this... this moment in time... can last. We are nothing but a flash in the pan."
She's right, of course. But I want so badly to soothe her aching heart. I shush her and pull her against my chest.
“Does this feel flimsy to you?” I ask as I hold her close.
“No…” She sniffles. “But it does feel like a heartache waiting to happen.”
I let her words hang there in the air. A part of me want to refute her statement, to shut her down.
Another part of me thinks that maybe I should just tell her that I have feelings for her. Just come clean with the fact that I think we should be together in a much more permanent way.
