“Girl, fuck that feeling-stupid shit. We all go through that shit,” Tasha said, pouring me another shot. “Don’t think it’s just you. That’s just how it feels. It hurts. Just let it out. And let it go.”
“Exactly,” Tamia said.
“But I just feel like maybe I missed something or should’ve seen something or done something or maybe even—” I looked up at Tamia. She was looking directly past me toward the front of the restaurant. Her eyes were as wide as they could get and she hadn’t moved her drink from her open mouth.
I tried to go on with my sad little speech.
“I thought we’d be together forever. I thought he…” I looked at Tasha sitting on the other side of Tamia and she was looking past me, too. Her eyes also were as wide as soup spoons and I could tell that she was hitting Tamia beneath the table. I decided to turn around to the door to see what they were looking at.
“No, that negro didn’t,” Tasha said.
“Don’t turn around,” I heard Tamia say in slow motion as I turned to face the door and see what Tasha was talking about.
It was Julian. My baby, my future husband, my ex-boyfriend was standing at the maître d’ stand. What the hell?
“Grab her ass,” Tamia said. Tasha swung around to my side of the table like a superhero, sandwiching me between her and Tamia.
“What are y’all doing?” I asked, trying to sound more confident than I really was. My heart was beating so fast I thought I was about to faint. “I saw Julian. It’s no big deal. I’ll go say hello. Remember, I have to show the Face of Grace.” I looked over at Tamia. She was looking toward the door. There was fear in her eyes. “Maybe he’s here with his grandmother. He usually hangs with her on Thursday night.” Even I didn’t believe what I was saying. Who takes their grandmother to Justin’s on Thursday night?
“Is it her?” Tasha said to Tamia. “Is it that bitch?”
“I can’t remember,” Tamia said.
“Remember what?” I asked. I tried to stand up to see what Tasha and Tamia were talking about, but they were both holding me down.
“You can’t see the girl behind him.” I felt like someone had just gutted me like a fish. Tamia looked intently into my eyes. “We think it’s Miata.”
I turned from Tamia and looked back toward Julian at the door. He smiled at the maître d’ and signaled for a table for two. He put his arm back (the arm that used to hold me at night; the arm that I used to love) and pulled the trick he cheated on me with a month ago from behind him. I couldn’t believe it. He was with fucking Miata, at Justin’s, the night after our breakup! The night he was supposed to be with his sweet old grandma!
I was about to go postal; rationality was leaving me; prison time was a possibility!
“I’ll kill him,” I heard myself say just before I stabbed the table with a butter knife and stood up. The people around us looked and Tamia pulled me down so Julian couldn’t see me. I pulled away from her and fought to get up from behind the table. I didn’t know what I was about to do, but I knew where I was going, and I was still holding that butter knife. Clearly, I wasn’t going to kill anyone—that’s just dum
b—but someone had to explain to me just what in the hell was going on. I’d almost escaped the table when Tasha and Tamia tackled me back to the chair.
“Don’t embarrass yourself,” Tamia said, pulling me under the table with her. “Don’t embarrass yourself over that clown. Face of Grace. Face of Grace. Have the fucking Face of Grace.”
“Fuck the Face of Grace, Tamia. My man is with another woman,” I cried.
“No, Tamia’s right,” Tasha said, easing her legs under the table with a drink in her hand. She looked almost as mad as me. “You know I’m always ready to roll crazy with you, but he isn’t worth it. And neither is that hoe standing next to him. I won’t let you go out like that.” She swallowed everything that was left in the glass. “Now we have to get out of here silently so I’ll lead the way.”
The City Girl Martini: A Must-Have for Any Breakup Party
Mama said there would be days like this. The good and the bad. You can expect them, and you must accept them. Invite the ladies to join you for a sip and see who can get to the bottom of the glass first.
Do’s:
1. Drink out of a fancy glass.
2. Flirt shamelessly as you sip.
3. Have cool company to drink with.
Don’ts:
1. Think about anything other than having a good time.
2. Have just one.