Between Sisters Read online

  Elaine hit a nerve with Shawnee. She managed to take information Shawnee had shared and stabbed her in the heart with it.

  “Elaine, you have hit a new low. I think I’m now done with this conversation. We will be at the Megaplex Wednesday. I’ll email you the info. If we see you, we’ll see you. Goodbye!” Shawnee slammed the phone down.

  It shouldn’t have come as a big surprise, because Elaine had always been a self-centered, over-the-top bitch. Shawnee thought for certain that Elaine would someday outgrow her ugly ways, but at twenty-nine, she seemed to be getting worse.

  When their mother died of ovarian cancer two years ago, Elaine felt it wasn’t her place to help pay for the funeral expenses because their mother, whom she always feuded with, should have taken more responsible measures in preparing for her imminent death. Of course, that thought went out the window when she learned their mother left each of her seven children a $100,000 life insurance policy, as well as provisions for her burial. Since Elaine had tied all of her inheritance up in her snobby shoe boutique in Georgetown, her attitude had become worse. Truth be known, the shoes were to die for and had prices starting at three hundred dollars. Fortunately for her, business had been very good. Unfortunately for all those around her, she’d become unbearable.

  Ironically, Harmony lived up to her name and was the opposite of Elaine. Out of all the Wiggins’ girls, Harmony was the most grounded and definitely the most reliable. She was always the peacemaker and the voice of reason. Sadly enough, she devoted so much of herself to her family and work that she made no time for herself. Along with her mother, she practically raised Sandy’s children while working her way through college. Somehow, she managed to successfully achieve her doctorate in Psychology at Johns Hopkins University, while it took six years for Sandy to only get her Associate’s in Accounting. Sandy would always make the excuse that she couldn’t get any further because she had children to raise. Besides Angelo, who was nineteen years old and two years from completing his Bachelor’s in Business, Sandy was the only one who didn’t achieve her Bachelor’s.

  Now at thirty-three, with her shotgun-marriage to Lewis, Sandy’s new career would more likely be keeping up with his philandering ways. She married Lewis in record time. About two weeks after meeting, Lewis was moving in with her and her children, and about another month or two later, they were having an economy wedding at the clubhouse in the community where they lived. Sandy was afforded the ability to live in a pretty decent community from the combination of her $30,000 yearly salary as an accounting clerk and her three separate child support cases, which provided generously for her two sons and one daughter.

  Foolishly, Sandy packed her family up to move to Colorado to keep Lewis from constantly hitting on Charise and sometimes Elaine. Not just her sisters, she wanted Lewis to be far away from the mothers of Lewis’ other children. Somehow, she figured her life would be more peaceful. Although she’d only been in Denver for three months, she barely called any of her sisters, which was probably because she didn’t want to have to tell anyone the grass wasn’t greener in Denver after all.

  The relationship between the Wiggins sisters had oftentimes been a tumultuous one, which caused the women to drift apart in their adult lives. Growing up in the rougher parts of D.C. would promote family unity when it came to having to do battle with other neighborhood girls. Their mother, having been the product of a large family raised in the rough areas of Detroit, would often incite fights in the neighborhood and drag her six daughters in the midst.

  The Wiggins family lived in their own house versus living in the nearby projects, and the children were brought up to believe they were a “classy” bunch compared to those who were in the projects or on welfare. Although the household contained two working parents, most of the time making ends meet was a challenge because of the number of children and because their father often lost his jobs greatly due to his drinking. The challenge became even greater when he died fifteen years ago, leaving their mother working as a nurse to make it on her own with the remaining small children.

  Their father, being a full-blooded Native American out of North Carolina, provided the girls with hair that grew far down their backs. However, that long hair was also another source of the many fights the girls experienced growing up. So much so, Shawnee kept her hair cut short ever since leaving home twenty years ago, greatly disappointing her mother.

  A significant age difference also created a wedge between the sisters. That along with strong personalities, independent lifestyles, and the parents choosing favorites that bred hatred. Upon the death of Wilhelmina, thirteen years after the death of her husband, the sisters agreed to meet once a week in an effort to restore their bond, which barely existed growing up. Each Wednesday for the past two years, they had been getting together for their girls’ night out. It started with the women gathering at either Harmony or Shawnee’s house, but eventually changed into going out on the town for dinner and live music, ultimately getting stuck on the one jazz club.

  Prologue

  3

  The music was pumping with a nice R&B mixture at the Megaplex. The place was a converted warehouse. At only 6:30 p.m., there had to be at least three hundred women there. As the sisters looked around for a table, they spotted Elaine and her childhood friend, Renee, across the large club.

  “Shawnee, I thought you said Elaine probably wouldn’t show tonight?” Kelly asked, while laughing. “It looks like she beat us here.”

  “Well, she talked so much trash about how this place was ghetto, how there were nothing but hoochies, and me being too old. Of course, that left me to believe she wasn’t going to show. Also, since no one heard from her since that conversation, I assumed she gave us her ass to kiss,” Shawnee replied.

  With hand on hip, Charise asked, “Can someone explain to me why she brought Renee along? I can’t stand that bitch. Our girls’ night out is for the Wiggins sisters only.”

  Shawnee answered, “I’m with you on that, lil’ sis. Out of all the people she could have found, she would pick the one even Harmony doesn’t like.”

  “I’m like shocked here,” Harmony responded, while shaking her head. “I think Renee is the only person on earth whose attitude is worse than Elaine’s. Every time she opens her mouth with that ‘Well, Harmony, you’re supposed to be so smart’ nonsense, I want to punch her in it. The self-righteous bitch!”

  The ladies all laughed at Harmony’s sharp words and her imitation of Renee.

  “Well, the way I see it, they came on their own. Neither of them told us they’d be here. So, I say let’s just find our own separate table and not intrude upon them,” Charise suggested. “She probably brought that bitch to spite us anyhow.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?” Harmony agreed. “Sounds like a plan, Charise. I came to cut loose and have a good time. She’s not going to spoil our night.”

  “Now you know that’s not right,” Kelly responded.

  “Well, you go sit with them,” Shawnee spat back to Kelly.

  “I don’t think so!” Kelly answered, and they all laughed. “And whatever you do, Harmony, don’t start dancing.”

  “Girly, what are you talking about? I’ve been watching some of those videos and practicing for tonight. Shoot, I can do the Stanky Leg, the Jerk, the Dougie, even the Tootsie Roll,” Harmony said, while slightly demonstrating.

  “AW HELL NO! Harmony, if you don’t cut that shit out, I’m gonna send your ass over there with your sister and her friend,” Shawnee said as they continued to laugh. “How embarrassing.”

  Charise added, “And she’s extra tall and stands out like a sore thumb.”

  “Everyone is tall to you Charise. Me and Harmony are only 5’10” compared to your short 5’3” behind,” Shawnee joked.

  “It’s still embarrassing…both of you.”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I got plenty of rhythm in these hips.” Shawnee started swaying seductively to the beat.

  “Eew! Stop
! You remind me of Momma trying to be hip and dance,” Charise laughed.

  “Then you need to take lessons, kid,” Harmony answered.

  “Trust me, no one needs to give Charise lessons on being nasty. She can probably teach all of us a thing or two from the shit she tells me,” Kelly shared.

  The ladies made their way through the crowd in search of a table far away and out of sight from their sister and her incorrigible friend. Once seated, they quickly ordered Apple Martinis while they were still 2-for-1 priced. They ordered fourteen in all, although it was only four of them.

  Three drinks later, the music stopped, lights lowered, a spotlight shined on the stage, and out came the evening’s announcer. The announcer turned out to be a comedian. He had plenty of jokes, but it was a sore sight to look at him. Before announcing the first dancer, he had the nerve to joke about some of the women in the audience being fat, ugly, and probably having the biggest pocketbooks stuffed with the most dollar bills. Although what he said was funny as hell to the women, his short, roly-poly, ugly behind had no room to talk. Maybe coming from his mouth is what made the joke so funny. It could have been the 2-for-1 Apple Martinis. Nonetheless, it seemed like every woman in the place quickly sobered up when the first dancer, Meatloaf, stepped on the stage.

  As the clothes peeled away, it became more obvious where his name Meatloaf came from. While every woman in Megaplex stood screaming to the top of their lungs, the Wiggins sisters stood in utter shock. Not that they had lived a sheltered life, but nothing had prepared them for a Meatloaf. It just didn’t seem humanly possible to have such a construction.

  “Oh my Lord!” Shawnee exclaimed. “How on earth could that be?” Then she let out a loud yell. “WHOOO! Over here, baby!” she said, holding a ten-dollar bill in the air.

  “My sister has been turned out,” Kelly laughed. “Would you look at that body? I am perspiring. I can’t believe this.”

  Just then, Meatloaf gyrated his way over to collect Shawnee’s money. He then took her hand and ran it over the front of his body, including his package of meatloaf. When Shawnee’s hand actually made contact with his package, she acted virgin-like, pretending to almost faint. By this time, the Wiggins sisters joined in with the fondling while adding their own dollars to his g-string.

  When the ladies regained their composure, Charise said, “I think the strip shows usually save their best for last.”

  Harmony answered, “I can’t imagine anything topping this one.”

  Then the roly-poly announcer returned to the stage making a few jokes that probably no one was coherent enough to comprehend. All around the club, women were fanning themselves. It seemed as though the air conditioning went out. Now that Meatloaf had disappeared behind the curtain, the women were trying to recompose in hopes of feeling some air again. However, that air would be short lived when King Cobra appeared on stage. It didn’t help matters that he entered by gyrating on the floor like a snake. After King Cobra came Foot Long and then Black Panther. After him came Rod-Knee, who bragged a member that wasn’t too far off from his knees, which hardly reached down to the thick of his thigh.

  Now, there was Meatloaf, King Cobra, Foot Long, Black Panther and Rod-Knee, each with rippling muscles and bodies to kill for. How could they possibly top what had already come?

  First, the comedian had to come out to say his few insulting jokes, while giving the women an opportunity to recompose themselves. Then the comedian walked off the stage, saying it was not big enough to be on when the next guy came out. From behind the curtain, he also told the audience that he didn’t want to be on stage when the next guy came and set it on fire. All lights went off, the club grew quiet, and sounds of the jungle started to play through the speakers.

  “Ladies, let’s give it up literally…” the comedian announced, pausing to laugh at his own joke, “for Mandingo.”

  A thunderous applause erupted, while still in the dark and not yet seeing Mandingo. Finally, a purple spotlight appeared upon what looked like a giant who was synchronizing with the onset of the music. Some women actually fainted at the sight of Mandingo, who stood 6’8”. When the other lights came up, those who managed to find breath were able to scream. Others stood in shock and watched Mandingo go to work.

  Upon the sight of Mandingo, Shawnee had to take a seat. As if on instinct, Mandingo made his way to Shawnee and started working her over. He began licking her breast with her clothes on. She didn’t have an ounce of strength to put up a resistance as he buried his face underneath her skirt. The Wiggins sisters could only helplessly look on in shock, along with every other woman in the club, which totaled about six hundred by then. Shawnee never believed some strange man, who was not her husband, would publicly give her pleasure for the entire world to see. Hell, her husband would never be so uninhibited. Even more gracious of Mandingo, he left her with an orgasm that she’d reflect on for many days to come.

  As Mandingo worked his way through the crowd, and Shawnee tried to collect herself, she heard an annoyingly familiar voice say, “Aren’t you supposed to be married? Does that not count for anything anymore?”

  Completely disturbed, she turned to see Renee standing disgruntled with her hands on her hips. While all the women in Megaplex were focused on Mandingo, Renee decided to focus on how to make yet another Wiggins sister miserable.

  “You should be glad I left my camera phone on the table with Elaine. Otherwise, I’d send you an email of your own despicable behavior,” Renee bitterly added.

  Having heard Renee’s last comment and full of Apple Martinis, Harmony said, “You know, Renee, I really don’t like your bitter behind, and that’s not an easy task. Why Elaine insists on bringing you around all of us, who do not like you, is a mystery to us.”

  “Harmony, I can’t believe you’re saying these things to me,” Renee retorted as if she were genuinely shocked and had no knowledge that the Wiggins sisters despised her.

  Harmony cut her off, slurring, “Well, believe it!”

  “But it sounds as though you’re condoning this type of behavior from a married woman, and I would think with all of your education, you should know better.” Renee tried to defend her by asking, “Are you inebriated, Harmony?”

  Charise, who was also full of drinks, mistakenly picked up on what Renee had said to Harmony. “Ain’t nobody deviated, bitch! Always trying to use big words and don’t even know what they mean. When ya ugly ass gonna realize you will never be a Wiggins sister no matter how hard you try? Since you were a kid, you been trying to be a Wiggins, calling our mother ‘Momma Wiggins.’ You need to get the hell away from our family, because this night is about us, the Wiggins sisters,” she said, pointing to herself and her sisters who were watching. “And last I checked, you weren’t one of us. That’s why yo’ momma ran off and left your ugly ass for the garbage man. She didn’t want you either.”

  The sisters cackled at Charise’s words.

  Renee gasped. “Well! I don’t need to take this abuse from you all.” Then she disappeared into the crowd as Mandingo disappeared behind the curtains.

  “Dang, she made me miss the rest of Mandingo’s act. I should go belt her in the mouth for that, plus for once again telling me how educated I am supposed to be,” Harmony angrily stated.

  Kelly came over to the girls screaming and all hyped up. She had followed Mandingo around the club, feeling him up every chance she could get. “Whew! Woo Hoo!” she shouted before noticing the looks of anger on her sisters’ faces. “Okay, what did I miss?”

  “Renee,” Shawnee answered.

  “Enough said. I ran into uptight Elaine on the other side, getting her freak on with Mandingo. He practically had her bare boob in his mouth, and she didn’t give a damn that I was watching. I also think he had his hand under her skirt, by the look on her face,” Kelly shared.

  “So while Renee was over here trying to be Miss Righteous, she missed her friend being publicly freaked?” Harmony asked before erupting into laughter.

 
Shawnee felt a twinge of jealousy by Kelly’s words. After all, Mandingo had just finished making her feel good. She tried to laugh to keep her feelings hidden.

  Just then, Elaine made her way over, smiling and saying, “Sisters, what’s up? I saved a table for us on the other side when I arrived. I can’t believe you all were here this entire time. Let me go get Renee so we can come over here.”

  “I’m sorry, sister, but we will not be tolerating Renee tonight,” Shawnee answered stoically.

  Elaine looked confused. “I don’t understand. Renee has been my friend forever. What’s the problem?”

  Shawnee answered, “Elaine, Renee is your friend, and every time she comes around she manages to insult each and every one of us. We don’t want the nonsense tonight, especially on our night. If you can ditch the witch, then we’d love for you to join us. If not, then keep that walking disaster on the other side of the club with her ashy, crater face.”

  “Wow! I’m shocked. First, I have to choose between my sisters and my man. When I choose my sisters, now they are making me choose between my friend and them. I gotta draw the line on that one. I’ll see you guys later,” Elaine said before walking away.

  “Okay, that went well,” Harmony said.

  “Elaine is always going to be Elaine,” Kelly responded. “Maybe the more she cuts herself off, the clearer she will be able to see the world for what it truly is.”

  “You might have a point there, sis. Elaine has always had us to have her back or be her sounding board,” Harmony replied.

  Charise added, “Whipping board is more like it.”

  The girls shared a laugh.

  “Now, can we get back to enjoying our evening?” Charise asked the others.

  “Sounds good to me,” Shawnee chimed in, holding her glass up for a toast.

  The ladies all joined their glasses together.