“If you don’t do something, I will. Remember, I work in the Admissions Office.”
“And…”
“And? You don’t want to find out. Well, my lunch hour is over.”
Mimi watched as Victor walked out and closed the door behind him, got in his car, and left. She paced around her living room, trying to find a solution for the dilemma she now faced. Standing still, Mimi put her hands on her hips. “This jackass isn’t going to run me out of town. No way, Jose.”
Without another second thought, Mimi went to the kitchen and retrieved her BlackBerry and prepared a text. Afrika, Mommy needs to talk to you!
Mimi pressed the SEND button. Before she was able to lay the phone down, it rang. She didn’t recognize the number, but without realizing it, she hit the TALK button. The voice at the other end made her stop in her tracks.
8
“Mimi?” the voice asked.
“Yes, this is Mimi. Who’s this?”
“Mimi, is it really you? This is Brenda, your best friend that you did the disappearing act on, just when I needed a hand to hold. Pregnant and all, Victor and I got married. Asia got your number from your daughter; I hope you don’t mind that I called.”
“Brenda, I…I’m sorry about all those years ago. I didn’t mean to leave you by yourself. I had issues of my own that I was going through. Uhh, how are you?”
“I’m fine. Well, to be honest, I was utterly shocked to find out that you had a daughter and that you lived right here in Durham. Why didn’t you contact me? Did I do something wrong?”
“No, Brenda, you didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve only been in Durham a month. I’m married also, and my husband, Raphael, is a Colonel in the Army. He just left for Germany, and I moved to Durham to support Afrika while she’s in college.”
“You can’t imagine my surprise when she said her name. Do you remember when we were in high school in Germany and I said if I had a girl I would name her Asia and if you had a girl you would name her Afrika?”
“I remember it as if it were yesterday.”
“Mimi, my heart went through my chest when Afrika said who she was. Nineteen years have passed since I’ve seen you. I didn’t know where you were, never heard from you, and I didn’t know if you were even alive. Why did you leave so abruptly? Things worked out for me and Victor, but I didn’t have my best friend to share it with.”
“Like I said Brenda, I had a lot of issues going on that I couldn’t talk about. With all you had going on in your life, I didn’t think it was fair to burden you with my stuff.”
“But that’s what best friends are for…at least I believe that to be so. I even tried contacting your mother and father, and they never returned my calls. My mother told me that your parents moved to Missouri…something about taking care of a sick relative.”
“Yes, my grandmother, my mother’s mother, took ill, and my parents went back to St. Louis to be with her. I don’t know if you remember, but St. Louis was my mother’s home. Dad is from South Carolina.”
“Why don’t we get together for lunch? I can’t wait to see you and play catch up.”
Mimi stammered. The last thing she wanted to do was have a face to face with Brenda. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see her—she missed her something awful. But the truth about her disappearance, her leaving Durham so suddenly, was bound to come out, and she couldn’t risk it. And then there was Victor, who had already threatened her. She tried to find the words. “I’m really busy unpacking and trying to get this house together. I don’t know when I’ll be free.”
“You’ve got to take a break sometime. Mimi, I’ve missed you. What about tomorrow at twelve-thirty?”
“I’ve really got a lot to do.”
“Mimi, it’s been a long time and it may be a bit awkward, but I want to see my friend.”
Mimi hesitated. “Okay. Tomorrow at twelve-thirty. Where would you like to meet?”
“How about Brasa right off of Highway 70? It has great Brazilian food.”
“That’s fine. I’ll be there.” Mimi shut the phone and sat down in one of the chairs. What was she going to do now?
AFRIKA SWUNG HER GYM BAG ACROSS HER SHOULDERS AND HEADED to the gym locker room to get ready for cheerleading practice. She felt