“How many times did you see him?”
“Just once.”
“Maybe they didn’t talk but decided to do other things that were much more pleasurable than talking,” Tonya teased with a dimpled grin. “Look what happened to Jasmine when Cameron asked her out for what should’ve been one date.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have told you about that,” Jasmine mumbled under her breath.
Nydia pointed at Jasmine. “See how it feels when someone snitches on you.”
Hannah threw up a hand. “Stop it! We’re all grown-ass women who shouldn’t be ashamed to talk about what we do with our men.”
“Like St. John going commando and you giving him a lap dance in the backyard?” Tonya said, deadpan.
“Damn!”
“Coño!”
Jasmine and Nydia had spoken at the same time. “You didn’t tell us that,” Jasmine said accusingly.
A flash of humor crossed Hannah’s face. “That’s because what goes on in the family stays in the family.”
“And what are we, Hannah? Chopped liver? Just because you and Tonya are married to cousins, does that make me and Nydia outsiders?”
A noticeable blush appeared on Hannah’s cheeks with Jasmine’s sharp retort. “I’m sorry I made you feel like an outsider. I never thought I’d say it, but you, Nydia, and Tonya are the sisters I wish I’d had. You women have always had my back and for that I’ll be eternally grateful, and that means I trust y’all with my life.”
Nydia felt tears prick the back of her eyelids with Hannah’s passionate entreaty. Even though she did not have a sister, she felt as close to the three women as if they were related by blood. “Dial it down, Hannah, or you’ll have all of us crying and soupin’ snot.”
Hannah touched a napkin to the corners of her green eyes. “I know I can get a little emotional at times but—” She didn’t get to finish her statement because the other three women at the table tossed cocktail napkins in her direction. Throwing back her head, she laughed until tears rolled down her cheeks.
Nydia pressed her palms together. “I’m not going to promise anything definitive at this time, but I’ll let you know once I get back to New York and tie up a few loose ends when I’m going to join you all as an innkeeper.” She knew her pronouncement had shocked those sitting at the table when they stared at her. “Isn’t that what you wanted to hear?”
They recovered enough to flash wide grins. It had taken months of uncertainty, but now that Nydia had committed to becoming an innkeeper she felt as if a weight had been lifted off her. Not only had she missed her friends but she also had come to love New Orleans enough to make it her home. She’d talked about leaving her family when they were only a phone call away. And with FaceTime, she could see them anytime she wished.
“Why are y’all sitting there like bumps on a log?” She raised her wineglass. “It’s time we toast my new beginning.”
Tonya winked at Nydia. “Now you sound like a real Southerner when you say ‘y’all’ for ‘you all.’ ”
“Does this mean I can call y’all heifers instead ofputas?”
Jasmine landed a soft punch on her shoulder. “You’re incorrigible.”
“And you love me for it, don’t you?”
Jasmine rested her head against Nydia’s. “You bet I do. I wouldn’t have you any other way.” She reached for her clutch on the table beside her plate and opened it. “I wanted to wait until tonight to give you guys something to show my appreciation for supporting me when I needed it most. Hannah, I thank you for helping me get what I deserved during my divorce. Tonya, I can’t thank you and the Toussaints enough for the incredible dishes you created for my wedding. And Nydia,chica, I’ll always love you for encouraging me to go out with Cameron, because I had no idea I could be this happy.”
She handed each of them a velvet drawstring bag. “I know y’all sawGirls Trip,where four best friends come to New Orleans wearing necklaces with ‘FP’ for ‘Flossy Posse.’ We’re not the Flossy Posse but from now on we’ll be known as ‘The Innkeepers.’”
Nydia opened the bag, and a pendant suspended from a white gold chain shimmered on her palm. The letters TI were at least an inch-long drop and covered with a shimmering display of blue-white diamonds. Her gasp echoed Tonya’s and Hannah’s. Jasmine had given her a diamond bangle as a gift for being her maid of honor and now the pendant.
“You didn’t have to do this,mija,” she said.
“Yes, I did,chica. We all have hit bumps in the road we call life and have overcome. That’s not to say that there won’t be other bumps, and if there are, then I want y’all to be there for me. We may all come from different mamas, but if I had to choose my sisters, then it would be the women seated at this table.” Pushing back her chair, Jasmine stood up, gathered her clutch, and walked out of the room, leaving them staring at her back.
“Let her go,” Nydia said, when Hannah stood up to follow Jasmine. “She gets even more upset when people see her cry.”
“It has to be hormones,” Tonya stated.
Hannah retook her chair. “I just don’t want Cameron to believe that we’ve upset his wife. The man is like a rabid pit bull when it comes to Jasmine. Say one wrong thing about her, he’s coming for your throat.”
