Ruby
settled into a seat at her favorite Cleavertown club – Indulgence. Peggy Lee and Nancy were with her. They were at their
favorite northern booth with their three favorite drinks in front of
them.
Ruby
and Peggy Lee bought their own long island iced teas. Nancy, the cheapskate of
the bunch, got one of her male admirers to buy her a rum & coke. All he got
in return was Nancy’s cell phone number. Then he was discreetly shooed away for
the evening so that she could keep her options open. Wide open.
“Ooo…that
cute new dentist just walked in the joint,” Peggy Lee said from her place
beside Ruby on the left side of the booth. “They say his name is Dr. Sweetwater.”
Ruby
followed her gaze to the right. This wasn’t her first time hearing about Dr.
Gavin Sweetwater due to the local gossip mill. Yet it was her first time seeing
him on account of the fact that she didn’t have any cavities or other dental
concerns and thus had no legitimate reason to visit his office.
Looking
at Dr. Sweetwater now, Ruby almost wished she did have a cavity. The handsome
Native-American man was quite a sight to see with his brown sugar complexion,
muscular body, neck-length black silky hair, slightly cleft chin, and strong
masculine features. From the gossip mill, Ruby already knew that he was thirty
years old, single, and with no children. Those vitals screamed eligible
bachelor around these parts.
“I
think his name should be Dr. Sweetcheeks on account of that cute tush he got,”
Peggy Lee continued, revealing what part of the man’s body she liked the
most.
Ruby
laughed. “He does look kinda tasty.” She licked her full lips, not behaving so
demure now as her wild side emerged among kindred spirits. Her current outfit
was nowhere near demure either. The orange crisscross halter top, matching mini-skirt, and
sexy orange and white boots screamed, ‘Wild
child in full effect!’ Those gray sweat pants and shirt she’d worn at home to
hide her voluptuous curves had been quickly discarded at Peggy Lee’s house.
On the
other side of the booth, Nancy rolled her eyes. She didn’t bother to look in
Dr. Sweetwater’s direction. “I think he should be called Dr. Stiffwater instead. At my last
appointment, I did everything I could to get a rise out of him. Wore my
tightest jeans and my lowest cut blouse. Nothing came of that visit except some
really nice bleached teeth. I could have been a man sitting in that chair for
all he cared.”
Ruby
chuckled and turned back around. “Maybe that’s what the good doctor prefers – a
man,” she said, reminding them that some homosexual men looked very masculine
in appearance. Her best guy friend Dior had been muscle packed and yet he’d
been completely sold out to the gay lifestyle. “Darn shame if he does though.”
She turned back in Dr. Sweetwater’s direction. “A girl could have lots of fun
with a fine brown frame like that.” She licked her lips again.
Peggy
Lee’s eyes widened. “You think he’s gay?”
she whispered as she turned to face them again. Her long dark hair swung upon
her shoulders when she snapped her head around.
“Could
be.” Ruby faced forward again. “How many straight men we know willingly turn
down blondes?” As a person who’d had a gay man as a close friend, she knew some
of the signs to look for. As the only redhead in the bunch, she’d seen plenty
of men prefer Nancy over her and Peggy Lee simply because Nancy was blonde. As
someone with two blonde older sisters, Ruby was used to that kind of thing by
now. Over time she learned to appreciate her red-headedness and ignore those
that didn’t.
“Maybe
he’s one of the few men that don’t prefer blondes. Maybe he likes redheads or
even brunettes,” Peggy Lee suggested with hopeful eyes.
Ruby
smiled at her friend’s unwillingness to let go of her crush on Dr. Sweetwater.
She understood that reluctance, though she didn’t embrace it. They were all
fast approaching thirty. Peggy Lee wanted to be married and with at least one
child by the time she reached the big 3-0. Nancy wanted to be married yesterday
to keep from turning out like her mother, who was still the mistress of a
married man in town after twenty years.
To
the other extreme, Ruby didn’t want a husband at all. Not if it meant trying to
fit into yet another pre-conceived role. She was filling enough of those
already. She just wanted to be free, free to be herself, free to go anywhere
and do anything she pleased…when she
pleased.
Right
now, Ruby wanted to find out what Dr. Sweetwater’s preferences were, sexual or
otherwise. “Well, girls, there’s only one way to find out what the man likes.”
She stood to her feet.
“Where
are you going?” Nancy asked, lighting up yet another cigarette. Her chain
smoking was the main reason her teeth had to endure constant bleaching.
“I’m
going to ask the man to dance, rub up against him a little, and see if I can
get some type of rise out of him. If he likes women, I’ll know.” Ruby grinned
mischievously. “If he asks me for my phone number later, then we’ll all know
that he’s just not into blondes. But first let me take this to the head.” She picked up her glass and slowly downed her
drink to give her that extra boost of courage that she needed. Experience
taught her that drinking alcohol too fast could cloud her thinking just as
fast.
“Hot
dog!” Peggy Lee chuckled. “I love how spontaneous you are, girl. I wish I’d
thought of that.”
“You
need a bigger brain to think of things like that, honey,” Nancy replied
sarcastically. Inhaling, she pulled the nicotine deep into her lungs before
slowly blowing it out again.
“Oh,
hush up, Nancy. Just ‘cause you got better grades than me in high school, don’t
mean you smarter than me. Specially since some of them classes you passed had a
lot to do with how short your mini-skirts were,” Peggy Lee reminded her. “I’ll
have you know that I scored the highest on my beauty school exams. Besides,
Ruby graduated from a four-year college and everything and she still ended up
working as a mechanic in her father’s shop.”
True…unfortunately,
Ruby thought, fighting not to choke on resentment as she continued to empty her
tall glass.
“Ruby
had no choice but to come back to work for her father,” Nancy replied. “Her
mama and sisters don’t know anything about cars or tires. And those
brothers-in-law of hers don’t have the book smarts to handle the business side
of things. They would’ve let the place go under after Papa Hudson got sick if
it hadn’t been for Ruby stepping in.”
Also true,
Ruby thought.
“You, on the other hand, ain’t qualified
to do nothing but fix hair,” Nancy
continued in that same snappy tone.
Not true! Peggy Lee is just smart in a different way,
Ruby thought, finishing what was left of her drink.
Peggy
Lee sucked her teeth and folded her arms across her small bosom, which was much
perkier after Ruby gifted her a large box of wonder bras for her last birthday.
“I’m gonna remember that when you
need your hair done again. And for your information, all that hair fixing I do
bring in more bucks than that secretarial job you got down at that lawyer’s
office.”
“I’m
sorry, Peggy Lee. I didn’t mean no harm,” Nancy said, quickly trying to make
amends. They’d been friends since grade school, much longer than they’d been
friends with Ruby. Nancy clearly didn’t want to mess that up. She definitely
didn’t want to mess up her long-standing free
hair appointment.
“Didn’t
sound like it to me. But I forgive you anyway ‘cause I know you’re just mad
about getting rejected by Dr. Sweetwater,” Peggy Lee replied. “You’ve been
in a bad mood ever since he walked in the door.”
Ruby
watched Nancy open her mouth and close it right back without making a sound as
their brunette friend revealed where her true intelligence was. For all those
C’s and D’s Peggy Lee got in high school, when it came to evaluating people’s
feelings, she qualified for straight A’s.
“What’s
the matter, secretary? Cat got your tongue?” Peggy Lee teased with a forgiving
smile.
Nancy
smiled, despite herself. “I told you I’m a par-a-le-gal,” she replied, putting
a fancy name on the job her mother helped her to get with a long-term
lover.
Peggy
Lee rolled her eyes. “What-ev-ver.”
“Y’all
pretty heifers done fighting?” Ruby chuckled, sitting her empty glass down on
the table.
“Yep,”
they said in unison with wide grins.
“Good.
Now hush up and watch me get Dr. Sweetwater to buy me another drink,” Ruby
said, waving goodbye to them before heading across the room.
© 2014 by Mi’Chelle Dodson/Suprina
Frazier
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