Free Street Soldiers by L. Divine Page B

looking up. Her red hair’s pulled back in a ponytail and she has on glasses—a look I’ve never seen on her before and it suits her well.
    “Always,” Chase says, rubbing his flat stomach. “But before we eat Jayd wants to run something by you if you don’t mind,” Chase says, kissing his mom on the cheek. I guess he finally realizes that she has his back like no one else in the world ever will, blood or not.
    “Oh dear, I didn’t even notice you were here,” Mrs. Carmichael says, winking at me. “Please help yourselves to dinner. I had it catered from Boston’s Market so there’s plenty to go around. And Nigel, don’t be shy. Our house is your home now, too.”
    Wow, she’s in a damn good mood. I’ll have to let Mama know that the Loving Home tincture is where it’s at.
    “Thanks, Mrs. C,” Nigel says, rubbing his hands together, ready to throw down. Nigel heads toward the kitchen with Chase right behind him.
    “So, what’s up Miss Jackson?” Mrs. Carmichael asks, giving me her undivided attention.
    “Well, the short and sweet of it is that Nigel’s mom is suing me for reimbursement of my couture gown she had custom designed for the debutante ball.”
    “This is the same ball you did not want to attend, correct?” Mrs. Carmichael asks, flipping a page in her yellow legal pad over to a clean sheet.
    “Yes, ma’am.”
    Mrs. Carmichael points to an empty seat across from hers where I sit as directed.
    She’s taking this lawyer thing seriously. Something tells me I’m in good hands with her. Mama never talked about her full association with Mrs. Carmichael outside of her trying to help her have a baby back in the day, but I bet there’s more to the story now that I know her true profession outside of being a rich housewife in PV.
    “Did you at anytime request a designer gown for said event?”
    “No, ma’am. I didn’t even want to participate, but she made me in exchange for her appearing at Nigel and Mickey’s baby shower,” I say, recalling the twisted agreement on behalf of Mickey.
    “So, basically you entered into a verbal agreement with Teresa Esop which she initiated to benefit a third party,” Mrs. Carmichael says. “Did you fulfill your end of the bargain?”
    “Yes, I did to the best of my abilities,” I say, recalling my unexpected meltdown. “I fell ill the night of the ball. The gown was ruined as a result, but I showed up.”
    Mrs. Carmichael looks into my eyes and knows there’s more to the story. I can’t divulge all of the mystical events of that night; that I was taken over by my great-grandmother’s spirit, pulled into the ocean’s current and reborn as an initiate to Oshune. No, the personal details of the night in question aren’t necessary but I’m sure she catches my drift.
    “Jayd, please tell Lynn Mae that I’m on the case. Don’t worry your pretty little head about Teresa Esop. I’ll get started on drafting a letter of rebuttal countersuing her for harassment and breach of contract,” Mrs. Carmichael says, flipping her MacBook Pro open. I wish I could afford my own computer. “Do you have the initial summons?”
    “Here it is,” I say, handing Mrs. Carmichael the legal documents. She looks all too eager to help a sistah out and I’m grateful for her sassy spunk.
    “Excellent. I’ll make a copy of these and of the letter once I’m done. Don’t lose any sleep over this, my dear.” Mrs. Carmichael pats my hand and smiles, reassuring me that it’s all going to be okay.
    “I know you have a lot on your plate,” I say, unaccustomed to being the one in need of counseling. “I appreciate you taking the time to hear me out.” I rise from my seat ready to get back to work.
    Alia should be on her way over to watch a movie. I wish I could stay and chill for the rest of the night but Mama’s requested that I spend the night at her house. We have to be up early in the morning to attend church with Daddy. She knows I’ll be late if left to my own