“A sexy, big man from Texas called asking if you were missing apurse.”
Mandisa took a minute to process her friend’s words. Either the poorly ventilated storage space filled with beauty products was getting to her, or Kandi just said she spoke to Slade. “Really?”
“Yes, apparently you left my new number in your bag. He called it hoping to contactyou.”
Mandisa smiled at the thought of Slade seeking her out. She could feel the excitement bubbling under her skin in anticipation of talking to him again. The idea of Slade calling her “darlin’” like she’d imagined he would placed her in a haze that nearly made her forget she was on thephone.
“Mandisa, are you still there?” Kandi’s voice shook her out of her daydream and forced her to focus on the conversation. “He asked me for your number, and I told himno.”
“Kandi, you didwhat?”
“I told him no. Look, if he really is into you, no harm in making him work for it. I took his number down. He’s expecting you to call him and confirm your dinner tonight at the Oceanview byJFK.”
Mandisa pressed stiff fingers against her temple as she dragged in a heavy breath. “So let me get this straight. You wouldn’t give him my number, but you made a date for me with him at a hotel restaurant? What if he’s some sort of serial killer? You basically just agreed to deliver me tohim.”
Mandisa could hear Kandi sucking her teeth through the phone line. “Girl, stop it. The way you were almost sitting in that man’s lap last night, it’s pretty obvious he ain’t all that strange to you. The only thing that man plans on hurting is your self-imposedcelibacy.”
Kandi was probably right, but that wasn’t the issue. “Kandi.”
“Mandisa, you need to have some fun. What happened to my girl who partied all the time? The woman that did her damn thing in a lab by day and killed the club scene at night? What happened to the woman who would’ve met a sexy man like this Slade character and took what she wanted immediately, instead of letting fate get the chance to screw her over? All you do is work and crunch numbers, Mandisa. You don’t even spend that much time in your labanymore.”
Mandisa pushed a long, loud breath through her mouth. Everything Kandi stated was true. These were the facts of the situation. That was the woman Mandisa used to be. But then that evil bitch cancer came and stole her mother fromher.
“Kandi, you know my mama dreamedof—”
“Yeah, I know exactly what Ms. Sadie’s dream was.” Kandi’s interruption jarred Mandisa, forcing her to pay close attention to her friend’s words. “Ms. Sadie’s dream was to expand and get her Sweet Sadie’s products on the shelves of major retailers. She wanted to do all the work this required. The stores, the products were her life. When did this become your dream, though? Because as far back as I can remember, all you ever cared about was using science to create cool things like sparkly royal-blue eyeshadow.”
Mandisa kneaded the back of her neck with stiff fingers. Those were loaded questions Mandisa didn’t really want to ponder. Would it be a betrayal to her mother’s memory, her legacy, to speak thetruth?
“Running the stores, growing the stores, was never a dream of mine. But Mama didn’t live to see this dream. I’m the only one left to make it happen forher.”
“Mandisa.” Kandi’s voice oozed sympathy tinged with pity. It was a putrid combination of emotion Mandisa hated being on the receiving end of. From the moment her mother’s doctor diagnosed Sadie with end-stage ovarian cancer to the day of her mother’s burial, sympathy and pity mocked her, always telling her she was about to lose something. Back then it was her mother—now it was her friend’srespect.
“No, Kandi. Running and owning Sweet Sadie’s was never my dream. If I could give it to someone else and walk away, I would in a heartbeat. But there’s no one else that’s going to love it and tend to it the way my mother would have, so I have to do it. No one else will ever understand why we do what we do, why these products we sell are so significant to ourcommunities.”
“Just don’t work yourself to death trying to succeed. Go have some fun with that sexycowboy.”
Mandisa’s laughter pinged off the walls of the small supply closet she was standing in. “I don’t think being from Texas qualifies him as being a cowboy. You’re stereotyping,Kandi.”
“Girl, whatever. That man looks like he was born calving, and rodeoing, and doing whatever else they do on ranches and farms in the Wild West. You’d just better take advantage of him and let him do the same toyou.”
They laughed for a few minutes more until Mandisa heard the chimes above the front door signal someone’s entrance into thestore.
“Gotta go, Kandi. Someone just came into the store. Since it seems I’ve got dinner plans to make, I’d better close up a little early and go make myselfpresentable.”
“All right, I’m going. Just make sure you spend the night with that man. If you do, I suppose you’ll be limber enough to come in and wow these big spenders looking to invest in Sweet Sadie’stomorrow.”
“Girl, bye.” Mandisa offered, running a quick hand over her hair and face. She wasn’t runway ready. A fitted V-necked T-shirt, black jeans, and a pair of sneakers made up her uniform. A quick glance in a small wall mirror showed her light makeup was still in place since her last refresh. She was presentable, but the next time she saw Slade, she wanted to be more than just presentable. She needed to beflawless.
