Shades of Sepia

XXX

Onika Tanya Maraj
April 7th
Houston, Texas

"You before me, I would have never guessed that."

"Thank you Darius," I held his forearm and actually allowed him to help me inside the car. Since the fiasco at Numbers, our connection was a little shaky. More like Beyoncé told him that he wasn't allowed to speak to me unless absolutely necessary and me being so angry that I'd resorted to irritated glances. But Beyoncé had proposed, and that changed everything.

We seemed to be thick as thieves nowadays, him replacing my name for Mrs. and my angry silent treatment turning into bubbly conversation. He saw me as a permanent part of Beyoncé's life. He was my best friend if there was no Sierra, and the fact that he kind of worked for me.

I rolled down the window at his request and he pointed to my oval diamond, "Beautiful choice today ma'am."

"Thank you Darius."

I rolled the window back up and Sierra scooted her pregnant ass next to me. She was grinning wide like she was the one that'd gotten proposed to.

She picked up my hand, staring at the ring. She looked like me while I was being proposed to.

"Five rings is crazy. I mean you could wear a ring a day."

"That's what Beyoncé said too."

"Oh my God, we could have a double wedding."

"I do not want to have a double wedding, and neither do you. That's just your pregnancy brain talking," I rubbed her belly, and the realization that I was about to be an aunt or godmommy or something was finally hitting me. Sierra was pregnant.

"You know pregnancy brain is real? I didn't think it was. I thought it was some cheap excuse that pregnant women used so that they can be mean and nobody will question them, but it's real. It makes you all foggy and sometimes you do get mean, even when you think you're saying it real nice."

I narrowed my eyes at her.

"What?"

"You've never said that."

"You weren't pregnant then."

"Bitch I'm not pregnant now."

She stifled a laugh, "Okay."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Sierra, what?"

"I didn't tell you, but your girlfriend told mine that when you finally took her back you'd be with child, just like me. The two of them never stop, arguing and competing, they literally never stop."

"She told you what?"

"She didn't tell me anything, Solange did. And I did not tell you."

"Well I am not pregnant so-"

"Give it a little more time before you start throwing up all over the place."

Before I even got the chance to think or complain or call Beyoncé, the wheels stopped rolling and the limousine door opened. Darius stood at my door while Julius stood at Sierra's, holding our hands and shutting our doors as we stood at the end of Solange's driveway.

"Are they in there Julius?"

"Yes ma'am."

"All of them?"

"Yes ma'am, the latter party arrived just before the two of you."

"Amazing," I let Darius' hand go and made my way up the driveway.