Take Her Man Read online

  “I guess you’re right, Mia.” I shrugged my shoulders. “But there’s nothing else I can do about it. The man doesn’t want me. He’s made that clear.”

  “That’s a shame.” Tamia exhaled softly. “I mean, just think about it…all the time you spent trying to take Julian from Miata, Kyle was trying to take you from Julian. Maybe he was trying the ‘Take His Girl Plan.’ You guys were pretty much searching for the same thing, but one of you was looking in the wrong direction.”

  “I never really thought about it like that,” I said, “the Take His Girl Plan.”

  “Well, I’m just saying, I always thought things would work out between you two.”

  “Me too.” I shook my head.

  “Well, all I have to say is don’t be jealous when you see me with my date tonight.” She playfully tapped me on the back.

  “Date? To the fall pageant?”

  “That’s right, trick. I have a man who loves the theater. When I told him the fabulous Troy Dancers were performing, we had to get tickets.” We both laughed.

  “Sounds like a nice guy,” I said. “Why haven’t you told me about this mystery man?”

  “Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t,” she replied, handing me another costume.

  The pageant turned out to be a huge success. The audience was packed, the girls looked amazing, and their dance routine went by without flaw. I’d be lying if I said I was at all surprised with how things ended up. The girls had worked so hard at their routine during the days leading up to the pageant. I never had an empty space in the studio, and with the help of a few chats with Nana Rue, even Shanika was able to move up to the front of the classroom.

  As the girls walked off the stage to a standing ovation, I hugged and kissed each one of them. They looked so happy; the smiles plastered on their faces reminded me of how I’d felt after my first dance recital. By the time Shanika came skipping off the stage, I was a crying mess. I was completely overjoyed for them. They’d worked hard at something and had seen the results. That’s all I wanted for them—to see what it was like to really set their minds on something and achieve their goal. As Kyle and I had discussed that day in the park, that was the best thing I could ever teach them.

  “I’m so proud of you,” I whispered in Shanika’s ear.

  After I hugged her, I turned to walk back to the studio, but I heard Ms. Bessing, the settlement’s director, call the girls back on. They ran past me, storming the stage. I was a little confused, because they’d only practiced one routine for the show. Ms. Bessing asked the audience to give the girls another round of applause for their hard work. The auditorium was filled with the sound of clapping hands and I could see cameras flashing from my place backstage.

  “You may not believe it, but these girls have little dance experience,” Ms. Bessing said. “They come here from diverse neighborhoods throughout New York so they can have the opportunity to learn how to dance. If it wasn’t for Kids in Motion, they really wouldn’t have had the opportunity to stand here in front of you today.” The audience began to clap again. “However, while the settlement would love to take all of the credit, without the help of one special lady, none of this would be possible,” Ms. Bessing went on.

  I was about to clap, but when I realized Ms. Bessing was talking about me, my body froze. Is she talking about me? I thought looking around. All the other teachers backstage were smiling at me.

  “Troy, can you come to the stage?” Ms. Bessing called.

  Completely surprised, I nervously walked onto the stage. I smiled at the girls and looked into the audience. My parents were sitting in the front row with Nana Rue and Grandma Lucy dressed in outfits that matched the girls.

  “The day this angel came to volunteer at Kids in Motion was a gift,” Ms. Bessing said. “Troy is one of our most dedicated teachers and while she’s busy enjoying her third year of law school, she doesn’t allow these girls to miss a beat. I really don’t know what we would do without her.”

  “Thank you,” I said, smiling at Ms. Bessing.

  “While I could thank Troy a million times, these little girls came up with a way to really thank their favorite teacher.”

  I turned to look at the girls to find them looking backstage. When I looked up, I saw Kyle walking onto the stage with a bouquet of magnolias. I put my hand on my chest for fear that my heart would leap right out of my body. Was I dreaming?

  Kyle walked up to me and kissed me on the cheek. I could hear the girls giggling behind us. He handed me the flowers and we embraced. The camera flashes from the audience looked like shooting stars.

  “Congratulations, Angel,” he whispered in my ear.

  The girls ran over and climbed all over us, showering me with kisses and “thank yous.” I couldn’t stop smiling and looking at Kyle standing in front of me.

  “What are you doing here?” I said between hugs.

  “I couldn’t miss it,” Kyle replied, wiping a tear from my eye.

  When we finally walked off the stage, I found a crowd of parents and students waiting for me in the studio. They began to clap when Kyle and I walked in.

  My parents were standing with Nana Rue and Grandma Lucy collecting costumes.

  “I’m so proud,” my mother said, hugging me. “You did a great job.”

  “We’re going to celebrate at the Water Club,” my father said, winking at Kyle. He kissed me on the cheek. “A little party for Troy.”

  “We couldn’t be more proud, right, Rue B.” Grandma Lucy said, coming in for a hug.

  “I don’t think we could.” Nana Rue smiled. She embraced me and looked into my eyes. “You’ve got it, Troy,” she said. “We’ve given you many material things throughout your life, but tonight you proved that you’ve gotten the most important thing on your own.”

  “What’s that?” I asked.

  “Compassion.” She placed her hand over my heart. “You’ve got it in here. Working with these girls, you’ve shown that you care about people more than you care for yourself, and that’s more important than any material possession. That’s love.”

  “Oh, Nana Rue,” I said, hugging her again.

  “Well, we’ve got to get going if we want to keep these reservations,” my father said. “Kyle, I trust that you’ll bring my daughter over safely.”

  “Yes.” Kyle smiled.

  “Hey, teacher,” Tamia said, turning me around, “I want you to meet my date.”

  “Not until after she meets my date, trick,” Tasha jumped in from behind me.

  “Tash!” I screamed, hugging her. While we hung out many times after the drama in L.A., she wasn’t able to get out much because of the pregnancy, so I hadn’t expected her to come to the pageant. She was only four months pregnant but her stomach was so swollen she looked like she was going on ten months. She was having what Nana Rue called a “big pregnancy.” “What do you mean, ‘date’?” I asked. “Is Lionel here, too?”

  “No, I have a different escort for this evening.” Tasha smiled, waving at someone behind me.

  “Hi, Troy,” I heard someone say. I turned to find Porsche standing next to Kyle.

  “Porsche.” I smiled. “I can’t believe you’re here.” I stepped back to make sure it was really her. I looked back at Tasha. “What happened?”

  “We made up,” Tasha said, walking over to Porsche. “After all of that stuff in Los Angeles, we decided to leave the past behind us for the baby,” she added, looking at her mother. “She comes here every weekend to help me and Lionel out and she plans on coming to stay for a while when the baby comes. So everything is great.”

  “And we have you and Tamia to thank for it,” Porsche said. “You girls risked your friendship to get my daughter back to me, and I’ll never forget it.”

  “Aww. You guys,” I cried with joy. I hugged Tasha and Porsche and rubbed Tasha’s bulging belly.

  “Okay, okay, I’m next,” Tamia broke in.

  “What is it, Tamia?” I asked, turning back around. “Who is this date you kee
p talking about?”

  Just then Alex from school came pushing through the crowd. I looked at Alex and then back at Tamia.

  “You two?” I asked, smiling. “Together?”

  “That’s right.” Tamia laughed. “The white boy’s with me.”

  “Hi, Troy,” Alex said. He kissed me on the cheek and shook Kyle’s hand.

  “But I thought you…you know?” I said, confused.

  “Well, after Professor Banks won the case and I came back from L.A., I decided to talk to Alex about my concerns,” Tamia said. “We went out for a little victory dinner and over a bottle of wine I realized how much he respected me and how ridiculous I was being. We started chatting again and…well…here we are.”

  “We’ve been dating on the ‘D.L.’ for a couple of weeks,” Alex joked.

  “Oh no, what do you know about the down low, Alex?” I said, laughing. Alex put his arm around Tamia and they looked great together. My only wish was that they would stay away from the library…the days I was there, anyway.

  “Well, we have to get going,” Tamia said, winking at Tasha. “We know you have some things to clear up here.” She looked at Kyle.

  “Yeah, your parents invited us to your party,” Tasha said, laughing. “We got you something special, an official 3T celebration gift.”

  “We’ll be there,” Kyle said as they all walked out.

  “Take it slow.” Tamia looked at me. She kissed me on the cheek and walked out with Alex following right behind her.

  “So I guess everyone’s gone.” I turned to look at Kyle. The studio was empty except for one of my students, who was walking out the door with her parents.

  “Yeah, they are.”

  “I can’t believe you’re here.” I pinched my arm to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. “Why are you here, Kyle?”

  “I missed you, Troy. One day I woke up and I decided I couldn’t continue to ignore my feelings for you anymore. I had to see you.”

  “Really?”

  “Well, there was that and Tasha and Tamia saying they’d join the choir at the church if I didn’t at least give it a shot. Do you know how bad their voices are?”

  “Yeah.” I laughed. “But what about L.A.?” I asked. “Are you okay with what happened there?”

  “L.A. is L.A. It happened. I can’t change the past. But I can forgive. I can forgive you and move on.”

  “Really, Kyle? You can forgive me?” I felt so humbled by his words and the sincerity in his voice. This man standing in front of me was truly amazing.

  “That’s what I teach,” Kyle said. “It’s only fair that I practice it. I might as well start with you.”

  “I was hoping you’d say that.” I started crying again. “I really was…deep in here.” I pointed to my heart.

  Celebrate Your Sister

  It Girl No. 1, Ms. Oprah Winfrey, threw the ultimate It Girl party for her girlfriends—the Living Legends. She invited and totally spoiled all of her best gal pals who had changed the world we live in. Well, you and your gal pals may not know Oprah or be able to afford Oprah party stuff, but you can certainly celebrate your girls—and not on their birthdays or when they die. Give them their flowers now, It Girls! The truth is, if we don’t celebrate ourselves, no one will. So break out the good china and have a fabulous party. Why? Because you can.

  Party Tips

  Pick Three Diva It Girls: Pick three different ladies to be celebrated at each party. These three ladies will be the guests of honor and will be showered with flowers, expensive gifts, and words that get at who they are and why we love them so much. Speak their names into the world and let these ladies know they count. Make sure they dress up for the occasion.

  Spare No Expense: Please don’t give the guest of honor bubble bath and potpourri from the dollar store. You may have to pool your money to get your girl a fur for her special day, but do it. Your time will come, too. Don’t think cheap, think big and beautiful. She may not be able to afford a diamond ring and no one may be there to give it to her…but why should she have to wait on money and a man when she has cool friends like you?

  Make the time: If you’re a real It Girl, you’re probably saying to yourself that you have no time to plan these parties. You do! Make the time and commit to celebrating yourself. Cook good food, wear your favorite clothes, and tell the rest of the world to wait. Trust us, it will.

  Epilogue

  What’s Worth Fighting For?

  Seven years ago, I decided what kind of man I wanted to marry. It was the fifth anniversary of my parents’ second marriage to each other. My parents decided to throw a huge party at Tavern on the Green. They invited everyone they knew and requested that they all arrive dressed in white. My mother had the Tavern decorated with bouquets of assorted white flowers and candles, and she had black and white pictures of the three of us put up everywhere.

  It was a beautiful evening. The Tavern looked like heaven and my parents and all their guests looked like angels. That night, one week after my eighteenth birthday, was the happiest I’d ever seen my parents. They danced and danced, kissing each other like teenagers who’d just met. Before dinner they had a short ceremony where they renewed their vows. My father surprised my mother by restoring the original engagement ring he’d bought her when she was eighteen. A single tear fell from my mother’s eye when he slid the golden solitaire ring on her finger. Her face turned completely red, and while I’d never seen my mother look quite the same, I knew that she felt like the most beautiful woman in the world.

  Looking at my parents—half drunk from champagne and the idea of spending the rest of their lives together—I made a vow to myself that I would find someone who loved me the same way my father loved my mother. No matter how much they fought, or how much they disagreed, he loved her for who she was—the good and the bad. And no matter what happened, as had been proven once before, he would always come back to her. That’s what I wanted.

  When I met Julian five years later, somehow I forgot about the look on my mother’s face. I was so concerned about other things—how things looked to other people and what I could gain by being on his arm—that I couldn’t even be honest with myself about how I was being treated. All that was important was the man and being with him. And for a short while in my life, I thought that was all that mattered. But then…along came fate in the form of a six-point plan and a man named Kyle.

  While the Take Her Man Plan is far behind me now, and the drama surrounding it serves to bring me and my girls lots of laughs as we play with Tasha’s new baby girl, Toni (yes, we’re the 4Ts now), looking back, I realize why I had to go through what I did with Julian. While it hurt me so bad in the beginning, in the end, every tear I cried forced me to turn the mirror I was pointing at everyone else toward myself. The breakup wasn’t about Miata, it wasn’t about my mother’s curse—hell, it wasn’t even about Julian. It was about me and the changes I needed to make inside of myself to find the love I deserved. And when I finished looking at my own reflection in the mirror, there, standing beside me, was Kyle.

  After Kyle and I discussed everything that had gone on between us, we finally decided to date each other. Nothing serious or heavy—Kyle needed his space to work through some things and I needed some time to focus on myself.

  On our fifth “real date,” I bought Kyle a bouquet of wildflowers and made him dinner at my place. Kyle looked so happy when he walked in the door. He pulled me into his arms and hugged me so tight I could hear his heart beating.

  Standing there in Kyle’s arms, I thought about the day I almost lost him. While I fought so hard to ignore it at first, Kyle reawakened in me the love I saw between my parents on that starry spring evening at Tavern on the Green seven years ago. It was the sweetest thing, the most indescribable feeling I felt so deep inside of me that I knew it was right. I could fall in his arms and know Kyle would be there to catch me, and if he ever needed it, I’d fight like hell to hold him up. What it was between us, as we stood in my living room slow dancing
to the music in our heads, was hard and strong and more real than anything I’d ever felt. Listening to Kyle breathe, I realized that I was in love with him.

  Just then, before I could open my mouth to say to the man who would later become my husband, “I love you,” for the first time, Tamia’s question came to my mind: What’s worth fighting for? The answer came to me so quickly that I began to cry.

  Like my mother’s love, my friends’ support, and my man’s forgiving heart, the best-loved things—the things that are truly worth fighting for—are not things that you have to take from other people. They are simply the things that come to you…willingly.

  So, in the end, I did have my man; it just wasn’t the one I’d set out to get. Life is funny that way. God is funny that way. As I said in the beginning, I’m a fine, successful, educated black woman. The situation God put me in made me question and respect all of those things. I just had to find my way out.

  The Guide to Riding Off into the Sunset and Living Happily Ever After Because You’re a Fine, Successful, Educated Black Woman and You Don’t Have to Put Up with Anyone’s Crap…

  Patience ‘p-sh n(t)sn 1: the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient—bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary) 2: Knowing that the best things come to those who wait (The Real It Girl Guide by the 3Ts)

  Don’t miss Grace Octavia’s

  HIS FIRST WIFE

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  Foolish

  October 26, 2007

  It was 5:35 in the morning. I was doing 107 on the highway, pushing the gas pedal down so far with my foot that my already-swollen toes were beginning to burn. It was dark, so dark that the only way I knew that I wasn’t in bed with my eyes closed was the baby inside of me kicking nervously at my belly button and the slither of light the headlights managed to cast on the road in front of me.