Flawfully Wedded Wives by Shana Burton Page B

you mean.”
    â€œEither tell me who this is or I’m hanging up.”
    â€œIt’s Sullivan, the daughter of Vera Jackson and Samuel Sullivan.”
    At that, the phone went silent.
    â€œHello? Did you hear me?” asked Sullivan.
    â€œI’m afraid you have me confused with someone else. I don’t have a daughter. I don’t know who this is, but don’t call here, trying to stir up trouble. Better yet, don’t call here again.”
    Samuel Sullivan hung up the phone without saying another word.

Chapter 7
    â€œOur sex life is like our marriage—could be better, could be worse.”
    â€” Lawson Kerry Banks
    Â 
    Armed with an extra hundred dollars in tips from her waitressing job and a nearly maxed-out credit card, Reginell scoured the mall for evening gowns, dragging her sister along in the process.
    â€œOMG, how cute is this?” Reginell said, gushing, as she held up a designer cocktail dress. “It would be perfect for the retirement banquet. This dress was made for me!”
    Lawson checked out the price tag. “No, this dress was made for someone who can afford to drop seven hundred dollars in one pop. You’re not one of those people.”
    Reginell sulked and hung the dress back up. “I used to be. I could’ve made the money for this dress, plus a pair of shoes to match, in one night at Paramours.”
    â€œYeah, but in the end, it would’ve cost you a lot more than the price of a dress and a pair of shoes.”
    â€œI know,” Reginell replied wistfully. “I do miss it sometimes, though.”
    â€œWhat part do you miss, honey?” Lawson sifted through the evening gowns, looking for something her sister could realistically afford. “Having a bunch of strange men groping all over you, making you do things that would shame the devil, for a few lousy bucks? Do you miss having to get high or drunk to make it through your shift? Do you miss not having any self-respect?”
    Reginell sucked her teeth. “It wasn’t like that every night, Lawson. Sometimes it was a lot of fun.”
    â€œYou didn’t appear to be having much fun when you had to get that restraining order on your strip club stalker or when that crazy chick jumped on you for going into the champagne room with her boyfriend,” recalled Lawson.
    â€œIt’s not like waiting tables is that much better.”
    â€œAt least it’s honest work that you can be proud of. It’s better to work for a living than to have to twerk for a living, Reggie.”
    â€œAll right, all right . . . point taken.” Reginell sighed. “I’m just saying money was the last thing I had to worry about then. It’s the only thing I worry about now. This minimal wage BS ain’t cuttin’ it!”
    â€œIf you want to make some more money, do what the rest of us do—go back to school and finish earning your degree. Then you can stop waiting tables and make the kind of money you want—with your clothes on, I might add.”
    â€œYeah, in the meantime I’ve got to keep bumming rides with you, because I can’t afford to get my car fixed.”
    â€œI don’t mind. Besides, why don’t you ask Mark? I’m sure he wouldn’t mind helping you out. He is your fiancé.”
    Reginell lifted a strapless gown. “He offered, but I turned him down.”
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI don’t want him to feel like he’s marrying a freeloader. He already had to bail me out with the rent last month.” She returned the gown, knowing without looking at the price that she probably couldn’t afford it.
    â€œHoney, Mark loves you. He wants to be there for you.”
    Reginell shook her head. “I’m going to figure out a way to handle it without asking Mark.” She hesitated before speaking again. “I may ask Ray, though.”
    Lawson frowned. “Ray? Why would you ask that manager-slash-pimp