Page 62 of The Marriage Rebound

I tapped the screen on my phone to check the time. Tanisha was running a little behind, which was unusual for her.

“Let me text her.” No sooner than I picked up my cell, I saw Nish weaving her way toward us.

“Sorry, sorry. Was on the phone with Momma and she just kept talking even though she said she wasn’t g’on hold me at least three different times.”

“How’s she doin’?”

“Don’t know how to be old. Her ass is headed to Atlantic City with her friends.” She rolled her eyes in a dramatic fashion as she sat. “Y’all order already?”

Tanisha’s mom wasn’t that old considering she’d had Nish at nineteen. They were more like friends than mother and daughter. I remember thinking it weird the first time she’d come to the club, because my mother would never, but she was a cool lady, tipped well. I was a little envious of their relationship.

“Just drinks,” I answered as the waitress returned with Denise’s mimosa.

“Ooh, what’s that?”

“A pomegranate mimosa,” Denise answered.

Tanisha looked at the waitress. “I’ll take one of those.”

The young waitress nodded. “Do y’all need a few more minutes before ordering?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” I said.

She bowed out and headed off to fulfill Tanisha’s drink order. They each started looking over the menu. I already knew what I wanted, so I sipped on my drink while they made their selections.

“Is wifey back?” Denise asked from behind the plastic sheet.

“Yeah, she got back a couple days ago.”

“Oh really. Y’all good?”

I shrugged and took another sip of my drink. After my last conversation with my friends, I didn’t want this brunch to be just about me and Courtney and our relationship issues. But they had brought it up, so was it really me that was the problem this time around?

“Somethin’ like that. We talked and . . . we talked.”

Denise put down her menu, her face contorting into a frown. She crossed her arms on the table. “What the hell does that mean? ‘Something like that’? Either you good or you ain’t.”

I let out a heavy sigh. “Just what I said. She came home, we talked, and we’re figurin’ things out.” I paused for a moment to decide if I wanted to share more . . . but they’d asked. “She thinks we were impulsive when we got together. Got married too fast, and we need to learn to get to know each other, or somethin’ along those lines. But we’ve been together. We’re married, we already know each other.” I finished off my drink just as the waitress returned.

We placed our food orders and I requested another drink. Once the waitress walked off, Tanisha did a little dance in her seat after tasting her own mimosa, then pinned me with a serious stare.

“I mean, she’s not wrong though, Sasha. You left on a Tuesday and came back married on Thursday out the damn blue.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yes, I’m aware that our courtship was quick, but sometimes when you’re in love, when the time is right, the time is right.”

Except for Courtney, the time had been right because I happened to be in the right place at the right time. Even though she’d said that wasn’t the case, I still couldn’t shake the feeling that it could have been ol’ anybody. Though I’d never stopped to question why I’d been so quick to say yes.

Both of my friends gave me a skeptical look.

“Like I said, we’re workin’ through it.”

“Did you apologize?” Nish asked.

“For?”

Both of them gave me a “bitch, be real” look.

“Yes, okay. Yes, I told her I was a real bitch for not congratulatin’ her. Happy? Now, movin’ on. I heard what y’all said last time. I don’t want y’all thinkin’ we’re only gonna talk about me and Courtney or whatever. So, what’s goin’ on with y’all? How’s work?”