Queens Court

Chapter 9

"Oh, is that how you two gon' play me?" Gabrielle shouted out when she saw Anthony and Keira heading out of the lobby arm in arm.

"We're just headed to lunch," Anthony said to her.

"Well, shit, I'm hungry too." Gabrielle rubbed her stomach.

"You're next clients, Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins, should be here any minute."

"Guess that means we'll have to bring you something back," Keira teased.

"Oh, girl, you know you wrong for that," Gabrielle whined as if her best friend was stealing the guy she'd had her eyes on. That wasn't too far from the truth. Gabrielle had been trying to get with Anthony. Then again, what man hadn't Gabrielle been known to try to get with? "You ain't been broken up with Alonzo but three weeks," Gabrielle shouted out to her best friend, "and now you trying to steal my man." Gabrielle gave Anthony a supposedly seductive look that left him totally uninspired.

There was a sudden awkward silence that filled the space. Anthony looked at Keira, surprised; Keira looked at Gabrielle, pissed, and Gabrielle looked at Keira with regret. Gabrielle could tell by the way Keira was staring at her that Anthony hadn't been privy to the secret she'd just spilled.

Gabrielle looked down at her watch. "Oooh, look at that. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins will be here any minute. I better go look over their case file before they arrive." She turned and hurried into her office, not even waiting for Anthony or Keira to respond. She could feel her best friend's eyes burning through her. She knew she'd hear all about it later.

Gabrielle went into her office and sat down. Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins's case file was the last thing on her mind. Checking her Facebook newsfeed was the first. She'd managed to upload her status, like a few sexy pictures of some of her male Facebook friends, and comment on a couple of things in the newsfeed before her clients came in and she started their session.

As usual, Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins hadn't been in there ten minutes before they started going in on each other. Gabrielle sat at her desk, looking distraught as they bickered back and forth. She let them go at it for a while as she posted a picture on Instagram and responded to a direct message. Finally, their fussing was starting to escalate.

"I can't stand you!" Mr. Jenkins shouted at his wife.

"I can't stand your ass either," Mrs. Jenkins returned with a head wobble.

"I'm just waiting for the day that they legalize martial abuse, because I'ma smack a shade of black off of your ass," he threatened.

"Well, do it, and that will be the day that your ass will die."

Although Gabrielle could have gone all day listening to these two fuss like Bennie Wilson and Vera from Harlem Night, she knew she had to calm them down before their yelling carried out into the waiting room. The last thing she needed was for Keira to come back from lunch and hear that kind of racket.

"Why are you two still married?" she interrupted them.

Mr. Jenkins paused, turning his attention from fussing at his wife to his therapist. "Excuse me?" he said with a little attitude.

"I said why are you two still together? Why don't you just get a divorce so you can stop getting on each other's nerves and you can stop getting on mine?"

Mrs. Jenkins jumped up out of her seat. "Wait a minute! Nobody talks to my husband like that."

Mr. Jenkins stood next to her. "That's right. You tell her, baby." He looped his arm through his wife's. That was the most intimacy Gabrielle had ever witnessed between them.

Gabrielle allowed her eyes to travel from one to the other. "Something is definitely wrong with the both of you. And look at that." Gabrielle tapped her watch. "Your time is up, so this session is over."