“I’m so happy to see you.” Lola breathed out as I approached.
“Everything okay?” I asked, laughing a little. She seemed anxious.
“Oh yeah. First days are just really overwhelming. Some of the women get feisty about where to sleep, shower—all that.” She took a sweep of the cafeteria with her bold, hazel eyes before focusing on me and asking, “So, how are you liking camp so far?”
“Oh—it’s amazing. I love it.” I bit into my bread roll. I had to give it to her. The food looked and smelled good. It wasn’t basic camp food. We had gourmet meals. Tonight’s dinner was almond-crusted salmon or buttered cod, with roasted vegetables and yellow rice.
“I can see why so many people fight for a spot to attend,” I said after chewing a bit. “Helping with the onesies was fun, and I could tell the ladies enjoyed it a lot.”
“Oh, yeah. Onesie decorating is a good one. Tomorrow you’ll be helping with the second round of belly painting, right?”
“I am. I’m looking forward to it.” I took a bite of salmon. “Do you plan on doing any of the activities?”
“Well, I’ve been helping here and there, but I’ve mostly been floating around to make sure everything is running smoothly.” She shrugged. “I’ve found that when I stay out of the way, though, the moms are more excited. Vonyetta mentioned something about staying out of the way last year, so I decided I’d take a few steps back. Truth be told, I wasn’t going to stay here this year.”
“What do you mean, you weren’t going to stay here? Why wouldn’t you, when you organized all this?”
“Well, Vonyetta told me she overheard some ladies last year saying they felt like they were being watched too closely by me—like they were nervous because I was around.”
“Like you intimidate them?”
“Something like that.” She picked up her water to sip it as she looked around the cafeteria. I bet she wished it was something stronger. Maybe that was why she was on edge—she had no alcohol in her.
“Well, I wouldn’t be too upset about that.” I needed to make her feel better, butter her up. That was what a good, trustworthy friend would do. “A lot of people know your status. They know you’re one of the most well-paid women in Florida. Maybe they feel like they have to be perfect around you and that makes them nervous—sends their hormones on a rampage.”
“You think so?” she asked, swinging her gaze to me. “Do you think I’m intimidating, Ivy?”
I put on a sheepish smile. In all honesty, hell no I didn’t find her intimidating. If anything, her presence probably annoyed the hell out of people, the way she walked around like gravity defied her and politely gave orders. The way she pretended she didn’t love to be in charge, and that she didn’t take any of her success for granted. Such bullshit. All of it.
“Well,” I started, “when I first met you, I was a little nervous—but only because I’d heard so much about you and couldn’t believe I was actually meeting you for the first time.”
“Really?” Her mouth did a thing. Not a smile, but not a frown either. She was clearly flattered. “See, I wish I could understand that. I don’t want the women to look at me as an idol or anything. I want them to think of me as a friend—someone who doesn’t mind taking care of another sister.” First of all, I never said I looked at her as an idol. See how she loved to put ideas into her own head?
“I say take it with a grain of salt. You’re practically a goddess among mortals here. You can’t be too hard on yourself, but I really do admire your humbleness.” After saying that, I wished the fish in my mouth would get lodged in my throat, or at least that there were bones in them to choke me.
“Well, thank you, Ivy. You’re so sweet.” She rubbed my shoulder. She always did that, like I was her little pet.
Something dropped down on the table and we both looked up to find Keke standing on the other side of the table with her tray of food. “I swear, I thought I’d never make it to dinner!” Keke griped. “Ugh. What are you two over here talking about?” She plopped down in the chair and picked up her bottle of water to crack it open and sit.
“Keke, why weren’t you on time for dinner?” Lola asked, completely ignoring her last question.
“Girl, I had to help one of the pregnant ladies because she accidentally peed on herself! I swear, Lola, some of them pretend they are so handicapped. I mean, when I was pregnant, I still knew how to walk and make it to the bathroom. Yeah, I had a few mishaps when Bailey hit the third trimester and was all on my bladder, but I wasn’t full-blown peeing on myself.”