remainder of the ride. It was obvious that Shannon was making choices that were definitely going to lead her down a tragic road but I didn’t know what to do to change that. She was right about one thing. I am not her mother. But that didn’t stop me from feeling responsible for her. I’ve always felt responsible for her, even when we were little girls. As the oldest, I tried to bear the brunt of the abuse in a feeble attempt to keep Shannon and my other sister safe. I did whatever my father wanted, whenever he wanted because I never wanted them to know the pain.
Maybe leaving home after high school was a mistake. Was Shannon’s behavior because she was abused after I left? Did I do this to her?
All of these questions and a ton more drag raced through my mind as I sat waiting for the author to come out.
“Stop sitting over there beating yourself up, Nikki,” Sabrina leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“What?”
“You are sitting there thinking about Shannon and how you are responsible for her outrageous ass behavior, aren’t you?”
“How’d you know?”
“Because your face is all scrunched up like you’re trying to pass a bowling ball. You do that when you’re worried.”
Sabrina knew me all too well. We had only been friends for a short time but Sabrina knew me better sometimes than I think I knew myself.
“Stop worrying and have a good time,” she comforted.
“Shannon will be just fine.”
I hope Sabrina is right.
Just as I flashed Sabrina a quick smile, the author came out to a thunderous applause of all of her adoring fans, including Sabrina, holding their copies of Mama and Disappearing Acts , waiting to have them signed. I had never heard of Terry McMillan but apparently, I had been living under a rock because the crowd gave her a celebrity welcome. I found myself caught up in the excitement of the crowd over what I realized was a literary phenomenon. I loved to read but the only books I read, besides those required for a class, were the cheesy Harlequin romance novels because that’s what my mother read because that was what her mother read. As I listened to Ms. McMillan talk briefly with the readers about her books and her journey as a writer, I decided that I would purchase and have her sign my own copy of Disappearing Acts. It sounded like a great book. Besides, all of these people crowded into this little bitty bookstore must be on to something.
I’ve never met an author before.
“I don’t understand how you can call yourself an educated Black woman and have never heard of Terry McMillan or Toni Morrison or Gloria Naylor,” Sabrina chastised on the drive back to campus.
“The only books in our house were the Bible and my mother’s romance novels. What you don’t seem to realize, Sabrina, is that my family didn’t get out much. Book signings were something for rich white people.”
“Forget getting out. Did y’all have a television? Did you ever go to the damn library?”
“Ha ha heifer, yes, we had a television and I went to the library. There wasn’t a huge African American section in it if there was even one at all.”
“Well, I’m glad that I found your ass before you got any more ignorant.”
“Excuse me? Did you just call me ignorant?”
Sabrina laughed heartily. Truth be told, I was glad we had found each other as well. We had a connection that I just didn’t have with my sisters. Sabrina seemed to get me from the first moment we met. Her humorous honesty was one of the things that I loved most about her.
“Girl, I can’t wait until Terry’s latest book, The Interruption of Everything ,” Sabrina said, before pulling into the KFC drive thru. “I know that it is going to be the bomb.
Chapter 10
Ahmad
I couldn’t stop thinking about Nikki even though I barely knew anything about her. There was something about the way she made me feel during our brief conversation that was exciting. She appeared to be genuinely interested in me and not that I
Maybe leaving home after high school was a mistake. Was Shannon’s behavior because she was abused after I left? Did I do this to her?
All of these questions and a ton more drag raced through my mind as I sat waiting for the author to come out.
“Stop sitting over there beating yourself up, Nikki,” Sabrina leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“What?”
“You are sitting there thinking about Shannon and how you are responsible for her outrageous ass behavior, aren’t you?”
“How’d you know?”
“Because your face is all scrunched up like you’re trying to pass a bowling ball. You do that when you’re worried.”
Sabrina knew me all too well. We had only been friends for a short time but Sabrina knew me better sometimes than I think I knew myself.
“Stop worrying and have a good time,” she comforted.
“Shannon will be just fine.”
I hope Sabrina is right.
Just as I flashed Sabrina a quick smile, the author came out to a thunderous applause of all of her adoring fans, including Sabrina, holding their copies of Mama and Disappearing Acts , waiting to have them signed. I had never heard of Terry McMillan but apparently, I had been living under a rock because the crowd gave her a celebrity welcome. I found myself caught up in the excitement of the crowd over what I realized was a literary phenomenon. I loved to read but the only books I read, besides those required for a class, were the cheesy Harlequin romance novels because that’s what my mother read because that was what her mother read. As I listened to Ms. McMillan talk briefly with the readers about her books and her journey as a writer, I decided that I would purchase and have her sign my own copy of Disappearing Acts. It sounded like a great book. Besides, all of these people crowded into this little bitty bookstore must be on to something.
I’ve never met an author before.
“I don’t understand how you can call yourself an educated Black woman and have never heard of Terry McMillan or Toni Morrison or Gloria Naylor,” Sabrina chastised on the drive back to campus.
“The only books in our house were the Bible and my mother’s romance novels. What you don’t seem to realize, Sabrina, is that my family didn’t get out much. Book signings were something for rich white people.”
“Forget getting out. Did y’all have a television? Did you ever go to the damn library?”
“Ha ha heifer, yes, we had a television and I went to the library. There wasn’t a huge African American section in it if there was even one at all.”
“Well, I’m glad that I found your ass before you got any more ignorant.”
“Excuse me? Did you just call me ignorant?”
Sabrina laughed heartily. Truth be told, I was glad we had found each other as well. We had a connection that I just didn’t have with my sisters. Sabrina seemed to get me from the first moment we met. Her humorous honesty was one of the things that I loved most about her.
“Girl, I can’t wait until Terry’s latest book, The Interruption of Everything ,” Sabrina said, before pulling into the KFC drive thru. “I know that it is going to be the bomb.
Chapter 10
Ahmad
I couldn’t stop thinking about Nikki even though I barely knew anything about her. There was something about the way she made me feel during our brief conversation that was exciting. She appeared to be genuinely interested in me and not that I
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