Free When Love Comes Around (Love Conquers All) by Victoria Wells Page A

misunderstanding and frustration, Ava was the first to comment.
    “A date?”
    “Uh-uh. Well, not really a date,” she mumbled, checking under her fingernails for dirt that didn’t exist.
    “Baby sis, is it a date or not?”
    Running her fingers through her freshly trimmed hair, she let out a sigh. “We’re getting together to talk about this whole sham of a marriage.”
    “Do you think he wants to get it annulled?” Summer questioned as she got up going to the sink filling the teakettle with water. This was going to be a long night. Cups of nice steaming tea were in order.
    “Hey, I thought you didn’t want tea, Miss Thing.”
    Though Starr had been talking to Summer, it was Karen who teased, “It’s Mrs. Thing to you. Stop stalling and answer the question, Mrs. Dawson.”
    Turning to Ava with a pitiful look, she pleaded, “Don’t let these heifers gang up on me.”
    Ava laughed. “You might as well include me in the number. I’m heifer number three. Now answer the question.”
    She, too, wondered if that’s what Kevin had in mind, an annulment. Why else was he blowing up her phone every day, leaving messages saying they needed to talk? Not realizing how sad she sounded, she truthfully admitted, “I think that’s what he wants to talk about. I just don’t see him as the marrying type anyway.”
    Trying to invite some optimism into the atmosphere, Ava suggested, “Maybe that’s not it at all. You never know, he just might surprise you.”
    “Then what else could it be? Y’all know I love Kevin. He’s Nick’s best friend and godfather to my children. But him, married…I have to agree with you Starr, I don’t think so.” Sucking her teeth, she went further to say, “Shoot, we all know that man changes women quicker than he changes his drawers.”
    Karen felt bad for her sister. She didn’t miss how she cringed from Summer’s blunt, yet truthful assessment of Kevin. But she had never lied to her, and she wasn’t about to now, even if it meant hurting her feelings. “I don’t know him that well, but from what you guys say about him it doesn’t seem like he’s ready to settle down. Men like him rarely, if ever, settle down with one woman.”
    With regret, even Ava had to cosign on what the others were saying. Everything that was said was the cold truth.
    Kevin had had a long chain of women he dealt with over the years throughout the tri-state area. Listening to her sister and best friends comment on his womanizing ways, Starr felt like an idiot. She’d become another link in his chain. Another woman he would carelessly discard.
    “Starr? Starr?” Karen gently called.
    “Huh?”
    “You okay, baby sis?”
    “I’m all right. I was just thinking about something.”
    “About?” Ava asked as she got up taking mugs from the cabinet filling them with water from the whistling teakettle.
    Joining Ava at the counter, dropping an herbal tea bag in each mug, Starr cried, “Look at my life! It’s a mess! On top of already having drama, I had to go add drama on top of drama by getting pissy drunk and marrying the Mack Daddy of Mack Daddies ! And to make matters worse, I wake up booty butt naked not knowing if I’d slept with Mr. Mack Daddy ! How freakin’ pathetic!”
    The sympathizing young women tried to contain the giggles that were hopelessly escalating into robust laughter. After dropping the tea bags in the mugs, Starr in her normal dramatic flair imitated a pimp stroll with a bounce each time she spat out Mack Daddy . Explosions of laughter filled the confines of the small kitchen as the posse watched her perform.
    Fuming she didn’t understand what was so funny. Here she was pouring her heart out and they were laughing at her!
    “What the heck is so funny?”
    “You! That’s who! Mack Daddy of all Mack Daddies! That is so played out!”
    “Oh shut up, Karen! You get on my nerves!”
    “And what’s up with that little pimp bounce you got going on?” Ava ribbed, holding her stomach