"Girl," Mina scoffed. "I guess they're up there wrestling, but they've been getting on my damn nerves. Then SCS just called and said they're supposed to be canceling school again next week. I don't like my kids like that to be having them all in my damn face like this," she joked.
"Well, it sounds like you're the problem," I mentioned jokingly.
"I can't wait to put their ass to bed so I can sneak in a drink. I’m pouring Benadryl in their juice before bed." She spoke seriously, making Emma and me cackle.
"I didn't get you that Bartesian for nothing," I chortled.
Releasing a low groan, I bent over to place the jugs of Crystal Geyser water in the bottom of the pantry, then I trotted over to the counter and decided on a grilled chicken salad, making me regret not stopping at Chick-fil-A when I said I would on the way home. But I needed a few things from the grocery store, and I didn't want to worry myself by doing it in the morning or tomorrow after work.
"I poured myself a lemon drop last night, and his mama walked in on me, giving me a lesson about not drinking while breastfeeding, as if I don’t have four other children."
"Oh my God," Emma gasped like she was disgusted. "She's still there?"
"Where else is she gonna go?" Mina sucked her teeth. "This snow gave her another reason to stay longer than she needed to."
"Well, sheisthere to help you?" I chimed in.
"Bitch, help me with what? I can take care of my kids with my eyes closed. I don't need her acting like a third pair of hands. She ain't been doing shit but acting like a gnat," she spat irritably.
"Why are you talking about her as if she isn't there?" Emma questioned.
"She ain't nowhere 'round me, though. I'm in my closet, rearranging shit?—"
Cutting her off mid-sentence, we heard a loud crash.
"What the hell was that?"
Mina released another deep sigh on the other end of the phone, so I knew wreckage was coming. If we were on FaceTime, I could see smoke seething from her ears. Mina was backwards. She had such a high tolerance for other children but none whenit came to her own, yet she was one of the best mothers and wives I knew.
"Ugh, let me call y'all back, just to make sure y'all put some bail money to the side."
Before we had time to say our goodbyes, she ended the call, getting another giggle out of Emma and me.
"I’ma pray for her ass," Emma stated.
"You and me both. Those kids are gonna send her to the grave," I said.
"That's why her blood pressure stays high."
"She'll drink a French 75 and be okay. What are you doing? What's all that rumbling noise?" she questioned me, nosily.
"I was putting up groceries, but I'm about to make a grilled chicken salad," I told her as I put away the last bit of food.
"That sounds good. I saw a recipe on TikTok I wanted to try."
"Send it to me later, and I'll look at it."
"Have you booked the trip?" she mentioned, disregarding the topic in just a millisecond, putting sex before salad. I didn't have to probe because I knew what trip she was referring to.
"Nope," I sighed, hoping she wouldn't press the issue, but that was unlike her character. Emma always pressed the issue when it came to other people's business, not including her own.
Emma was my walking diary when I was faced with issues I couldn't force onto paper. Our friendship of twenty years had blossomed into a sisterhood, and I trusted her with deep secrets and fears. I trusted her enough to take them with her to the grave. Mina too, though she was the loudmouth friend who’d lit a match to my ass. Unlike Emma, she was the fighter.
She sucked her teeth and released a sigh of exasperation, so I knew what was next.
"I thought we talked about this, Nyne. Is it the price? I'll pay for you to go and book the trip myself."
"No," I waved her off as if she was in front of me. "It's not about the price. I just don't want to do anything crazy," I stressed to her as I leaned on the kitchen counter.
