A Friend in Me

11

Kimberly stepped to the side for Monica to see her fresh new face. She wanted a soft natural look and that's what her cousin gave her. She moved in closer to the mirror to see how the foundation on her face matched well with her skin.

"Thank you so much Kim!" She blushed in the mirror.

"No problem girl." Kimberly started to put all her makeup in the cosmetics bag. She had decided to a natural look on herself as well.

"We need to get going. Before my mama and Auntie Geo started complaining for them soda water." Monica stood up from the hotel chair and grabbed her keys and handbag. Kimberly and her decided to wear matching denims and pink and white Christmas sweaters from a online boutique.

"Okay. Just gone on to the car and I'll be there in five minutes." Kimberly said. Monica left out the door.

Kimberly stayed to pick of the remaining of the high price makeup so the housekeepers wouldn't take. Her iPhone vibrated on the sink. She picked to see a Arianna was FaceTiming her.

"Merry Christmas!" Chubby face Arianna sang on the phone. Kimberly gave her a fake smile and greeted her. She did not feeling like talking to her after finding out she wasn't the wedding planner.

"I have you a big gift from Duke and I. You probably not coming over here to Katy any time soon. So I'm going to have Duke bring the gift since his people live in Spring. So just text me when you'll be at the hotel so I can get Duke to give it to you." Arianna took a bit of food.

Kimberly held the phone in her hand and leaning of the sink. "Thank you sis. I'll text you later but right now I have to go. She turned off the light to the vanity and walked over to the bed and grabbed her purse and her hotel key.

"Okay. I'll talk to you later." Ariana ended the call. Kimberly walked out the room to meet Monica in the parking lot.

———

Aunt Geo's large purple and white decorated mansion was field with her big family all over. She wanted everybody to enjoy themselves like always. She had the young children in the backyard doing Christmas arts and craft. The men watching sports and the others playing dominoes her late husband's man cave. She let the teens and adults do whatever they wanted. She had the women sitting around talking and helping set up for dinner at five o'clock.

Cherry stood on the wall next to the front door of Aunt Geo's house. She greeted everyone who walked in. She was just waiting for one particular person to walked through the door.

She had sharp steak knives swimming in her throat. She couldn't wait until she saw that person. She knew she was going to make a fool of herself the day that black baby Jesus was born. Yet she didn't care, she needed everyone to know the truth.

She was tired of a particular person treating her like a deadbeat parent to her kids. She paid good money putting them in dance, buying designer clothes all through private, paying for the college tuition, and sending them to Europe to further there dreams as doctors. Buying them graduation cars off the show room floor; she knew she was the best mother ever.

Every time she tried to rekindle with her babies. Something always break them up. She felt like it was the spirit of their father Kenny, who was angry at her for some many reasons.

"Chantelle! Come help serve!" Monica's mom Sabrina yelled out for Cherry. She took one more look at the window to make sure Kimberly was coming. She turned and walked to the kitchen.

The kitchen was filled with too many women in there. Cherry hated stepping into a kitchen with talkative women in there, and now one was doing anything.