Cosmopolitan Girls Read online

  “Lindsay Bradley, and don’t even get it twisted!” I retorted. The ice was broken.

  “I just happened to be walking by, needed a drink, and this place caught my eye.” Charlie smirked at her hidden pun, winking and gesturing toward Stevie. I gave the I’mwith-you-girlfriend nod and took a sip of my Cosmo. Her private joke was all over my radar.

  “Well, this is the absolute worst day of my life. My man just dumped me!” My eyes got watery. Charlie passed me a napkin.

  “I feel you. My man’s in the doghouse now!”

  “But I told him I loved him and then he quit me on the street! And then had the nerve to tell me he wanted somebody else.”

  “Oh, that’s cold! Men are selfish, cheating dogs,” my new friend fervently stated.

  “That’s all right, he’ll be the one missing out. I hope he has a shitty life. Jerk!”

  “Well I say, good riddance! At least you’re not like me. I live with my man, and still have to go home to his tired ass.”

  We toasted and burst into laughter.

  “That man had me so mad . . . I was fixin’ to put my foot up his—”

  “You must be from the South?” Charlie interrupted.

  “Sort of. The Midwest. St. Louis. My accent tends to come out when I get mad.”

  “Ooh, I heard that place is country. They even still wear Jheri curls.”

  Although I hadn’t been back home in years, I felt the need to defend my turf. I looked Charlie up and down. From what I saw, she didn’t exactly scream New York City.

  “Hold up! St. Louis is a good place to grow up. Church-going people and solid family beliefs. I’ll admit some folks are stuck in a time warp, but I think that’s part of its charm. The question is, what part of Jersey do you hail from, because I know you aren’t from around here,” I said matter-of-factly.

  “First of all, I’m from the N.Y.” Charlie took a sip of her drink.

  “But are you from the N.Y.C.?” I asked, calling her out.

  “Another drink, please?” Charlie summoned Stevie.

  Aha! I could tell by how she blew me off and began fiddling with her cocktail napkin, she knew I was calling her out. She was busted. I motioned for Stevie to hold up a second.

  “Hey, if you’re from the great N.Y.C., the next round’s on me, but if not, the next two are on you.” I nailed her good. “And I’ll even be kind and throw in the surrounding boroughs.”

  Charlie threw her hands up in a surrendering gesture and confessed. “Okay, okay, Buffalo is my hometown, but it still counts as the great N.Y.” We laughed. “Big deal, you got me,” she said, downing her drink.

  “No, you got me. I feel like being a nice person today. I’ll only hold you to one round,” I said, sliding my empty glass away. I noticed what Charlie was drinking, and leaned into her. “Look, another piece of advice: Midori sours go right with the concept of the ‘Big Eighties,’ those Jheri curls you were bagging on, and hoochie mamas. So let me hip you to the new millennium, it’s called a Cosmopolitan.”

  “A what?” she asked.

  “It’s a martini,” I coolly replied, ordering a round.

  Watching Stevie closely, I was entranced. My eyes followed the silver shaker. It gleamed off the orange-red spotlight from the overhead lighting. The room seemed still, frozen. The shaker rotated rhythmically, up and down, side to side like it was hovering in midair. The pink liquid flowed effortlessly into each chilled martini glass.

  Stevie ran lemon rind around the rim of each glass and dropped it in. He sauntered over and slid our drinks across the bar without spilling a drop. Charlie was caught in a trance too. We both did a double take, looking at each other, then at Stevie, then back to each other.

  “Damn!” fell out of our mouths in a syncopated stammer.

  Charlie leaned sideways and whispered, “Is this man good looking or what?”

  “Stevie is a finger-licking-good Butter Rican Pecan,” I said, returning her sentiment.

  We gave Stevie a full-body once-over. Charlie elbowed me when Stevie caught the two of us gawking and laughing. He could see we were having too much fun at his expense.

  “Looks like my Cosmopolitans have sparked a new friendship.”

  “I think so,” I agreed.

  “Definitely!” Charlie backed my play.

  I pulled out a business card, jotting down my home and cell numbers. Charlie did the same.

  “Hey, St. Louis, I really had a nice time. I only have one good friend, Kyle, and he’s a guy. But you’re cool. For a country girl.” We laughed again.

  “Same here, Buffalo girl.”

  Charlie suggested we meet every Friday after work, which would allow us time to nurse our hangovers on Saturday.

  “To living!” She raised her glass.

  “To talking to strangers!” I added.

  We toasted.

  Chapter 20

  Cosmos and Conversations

  I was glad Lindsay didn’t flake out. When she called to confirm the time for our first official “Girls’ Night Out,” I was shocked. Meeting and exchanging numbers was the “industry thing” to do, but following up was rare. I opened the door to the Shark Bar and Lindsay was busy typing away on her two-way. She looked stressed.

  “Hey, girlfriend!” I greeted. Lindsay’s phone was ringing off the hook. I looked at her oddly. “Aren’t you going to answer that?”

  “Nope, I know who it is.”

  “You got it like that to be dissing a brotha’s calls?” I asked.

  “Please, I wish. It’s my boss, and I’m just not in the mood to talk.”

  “Then I suggest turning it off. It’s Friday and you look like you deserve a breather.”

  The phone rang again. I observed Lindsay’s jumpy body language.

  “Hello?” Lindsay paused, stiffening her back. “Yes, Robert.” Lindsay stood up abruptly. “Robert you’re cutting in and out. I’m sorry, my battery is low.” She twisted her mouth and pivoted around listening intently. “Sure, no problem, I’ll see you early Monday morning.”

  I examined her as she hung up the phone. “What was that all about? You look so uptight.”

  “Mind yours. That only took a minute. Besides, I’m doing as you suggested.” She held up the phone. “See, the phone is off!”

  “Oh, I see, all right. You’re one of those workaholic women,” I said. Sometimes I think all our electronics are merely fancy balls and chains.

  “Please! I am not a workaholic!”

  “I know one when I see one. Work-a-ho-lic!” I said teasingly.

  “What you really ought to be calling me is an al-co-ho-lic. ’Cause that’s what I’m about to be!” Lindsay joked, anxious to change the subject.

  “Well all right! Stevie, let’s get this woman a drink!” I said, winking at him.

  I was starting to glow from the Cosmo. I had the official “I’m tipsy” glint in my eyes. “So, Miss St. Louis, what made you leave the comforts of your background to join the pack of wolves in N.Y.C.?”

  “The harsh realities of not having a chance at a big television career in my hometown. I was way too ambitious for poor pay and limited exposure,” Lindsay answered.

  “I’m impressed.” I really was.

  Lindsay raised her drink and winked. “I see myself as a combination of Faye Dunaway’s character in Network and Oprah Winfrey. I worship that woman.” Lindsay’s lazy tongue was evidence I wasn’t the only one feeling my drink.

  “You better work it out, baby FayeFrey!” I raised my glass to her. “Sounds like somebody’s sticking to their plans,” I said, wishing I could say the same thing about myself.

  “We’ll see, but what about you, Miss Charlie Thornton?”

  Now I had to figure out how to make my nothing sound like something, so I gave it my best shot. “I’m a copywriter for Imagination City, but I’m working on a movie script about the trials and tribulations of four best friends. It’s been a struggle because I’m only able to write in the evenings and on weekends.” I trie
d to sound legit.

  “Oh, my mother is a writer and she made lots of sacrifices too. But I’m proud to say that after all these years, she is the editor of Black Writer’s Journal. Her very own poetry quarterly.”

  “Wait, I’ve heard of that!”

  “Really? Honey, my mother is a character. If it took her until she was a hundred, she was going to see her dream come true.” Lindsay took another intoxicating sip of her cocktail. “So what’s the rest of your story, Charlie?”

  I looked at her strangely. “How much time you got?”

  “Plenty,” Lindsay said.

  “Well, I’ll try to make a long story short. I wanted to be a filmmaker. But living in Buffalo there was no way I was going to see that dream come true. Not in a small city like that,” I said, happy to see that my cocktail glass was somehow magically refilled. “My passion for writing got the best of me. It was time to make a change, get some courage and step out on faith.” I took a tiny sip to refresh.

  “I worked two jobs for a whole year, saved my money, and took the next flight here. I was in a New York state of mind,” I said dramatically. “My mantra became, ‘If I can make it in the Big Apple, I’m the bomb!’ ” I said, raising my glass once again.

  “I heard that. So do you go home often?” Lindsay asked.

  “I go back once or twice a year, and for the holidays. Mostly because my granny makes me feel guilty if I don’t. That’s my girl! Talk about inspiration. She’s mine. That woman moved her entire family from the South to Buffalo to pursue her dream of becoming an entrepreneur,” I said, putting my glass down. “Granny opened a boutique, record store, and a restaurant. Betty’s Texas Red Hots, best known for her famous Betty burgers and old-fashioned milkshakes. Chile, I could kill for one right now!” I said, savoring a time long ago.

  “Charlie, sounds like you have all of her ambitious attributes. Look at you, you did the same thing. Left your hometown to go after your dream. I may not know you that well, but from one sista to another, I’m proud of you.”

  “Thanks, Lindsay. You’re all right with me. It feels good to have a black woman being supportive.”

  Part 2

  Chapter 21

  Girlfriends

  When Charlie returned from the ladies’ room, I had moved from the now crowded bar area to a small corner table. I know she was wondering what the hell was going on. When she left I was fine, now I looked a hot mess. My nose was red and my eyes were swollen.

  “Girl, you all right? I wasn’t gone that long!” Charlie said.

  I didn’t let her get in her seat good before I hit her with it. “I told you my man broke up with me. But the truth is he did it because he found out I slept with my ex!” My eyes filled up with tears and I fell into Charlie’s arms. Poor thing, I could tell she was at a loss, and trying her best to console me. “I’m sorry, you don’t even know me that well and I’m hitting you with all my problems,” I sniffled.

  “No, it’s cool. It’s just this female bonding thing is very new to me. But it’s okay, and your situation isn’t so bad,” she said, patting my hand lightly.

  “You don’t have to downplay it. I know it’s bad,” I said, blowing my nose.

  “But you feel crappy enough. I don’t need to make matters worse. Listen, if you really love him, don’t give up. There’s got to be a way to work things out. Men do stuff like this all the time.”

  I wiped my face and took a deep breath. “There’s more.”

  “I’m listening, but first let’s get some more drinks. If you got a skeleton in your closet, best thing to do is clean it out!” Charlie shifted forward, encouraging me.

  After two more Cosmos, I had laid it all out.

  “This is like a soap opera! Don’t you know, girl, there ain’t nothing worse than a man who’s got his ego on his ass, and the woman he wants dumps him? Sooner or later you were gonna have to deal with this Randy character anyway,” Charlie said, pained by my dilemma.

  “Yeah, but see, men stick together. It doesn’t matter that in the end Troy is the man I love and want to be with.” I was getting weaker by the moment. “I just want my relationship back with Troy,” I said, burying my face in my hands.

  “You may have been wrong, but Troy and Randy did you in.” Charlie was charged up. “Chile, sounds like Troy is on a power trip. He had you on a string like a puppet and you didn’t even know it! You can’t build on a weak foundation,” she said, pounding her fist on the table. “He never had any faith in you from the beginning!”

  “I feel so bad, Charlie,” I said pitifully.

  “Don’t you sit up here and feel guilty. I smell a rat. Randy played both of y’all.” Charlie was fuming. I took a hearty gulp of my Cosmo and swallowed hard. “Honey, if this ain’t a bunch of bull, I don’t know what is. All Troy did was turn things around on you, so that he could get out of this guilt-free.”

  I took a napkin and wiped my face, giving Stevie the nod for another round.

  Stevie returned with drinks in hand. “Ladies, this is round three. It’s on me, and I made them a little weaker. I don’t want you two beautiful women getting to a point where you can’t handle yourselves.”

  “More men need to be like you,” I said.

  Stevie blushed, shaking his head as he walked away.

  “I’m not going out like this, Charlie. I’m about to be on a serious mission,” I said, licking the alcohol residue from my lips.

  “What’s your mission, Miss Lindsay?” Charlie asked curiously.

  “I’m not sure. I do know this, I’ve gotta get this monkey off my back and stop being jerked around by men!” I said, fueled by the mixture of the Cosmopolitans and my anger.

  “Now, that’s what I’m talking about.”

  “I want to make Troy feel just as bad as I do right now.” I looked over at Charlie and I could tell something evil was lurking in both our heads. I know it was in mine.

  “So you’re talking about revenge?” Charlie grimaced.

  “That’s right. Payback is a mother!” I said. “The first thing I need is a plan, and I’m sure you can help me come up with a darn good one. We’re two smart, attractive women.” I pulled out a pen and started scribbling on a napkin. I held it up. “Check it out! Our very own Code of Arms for bringing down the enemy! Listen, number one, hit him where it hurts!” I said excitedly.

  “I got one! Number two, celebrate your newfound single status by looking sexy as hell so you can meet a new man!” Charlie interjected.

  “Good one! Then, number three, create a fabulously scandalous rumor and make the ex jealous!” I felt revived, as I feverishly kept writing.

  “And lastly, number four, keep it moving, don’t look back, and don’t let old memories trap you in the sack!” Charlie added, as I eagerly finished jotting down the Code of Arms and held up the napkin.

  We were amped.

  “To the Cosmo Code of Arms saving all womankind!” I said, putting my fist out.

  “Our future depends on you, girl!” Charlie cheered with drunken enthusiasm, returning the gesture, giving me a rowdy pound.

  Chapter 22

  More Cosmos and Conversations

  To women breaking the rules!” I raised my glass in a firery toast. Clink! I tapped Charlie’s glass a bit too hard. I appreciated my new friend Charlie helping me get over my heartache.

  “So, St. Louis, do you ever miss it?” Charlie said, slurring a bit.

  “Miss what?” I replied, lighting the table candle. To no avail, I was zoning in to flickers of Troy.

  “Home. Do you go back much?”

  “Not as much as I’d like to. Work keeps me too busy. I miss my mother’s entertaining, though. She’s always having these soirees at the house with all her famous writer friends.”

  “Really!” Charlie was intrigued.

  “Honey, I know you’re not going to believe it, but James Baldwin, Margaret Walker, and Gwendolyn Brooks all made our house a pit stop. Good food and spiritual nourishment. Everybody knew Mama c
ould put her foot in some Creole gumbo.”

  “Forget the food. I would’ve killed for all that history,” Charlie said.

  “Yeah, but you haven’t tasted her gumbo! Since I’ve been living here the Zagat guide has become my second mother.”

  We ordered another round of Cosmopolitans. It was Charlie’s turn to toast.

  “To living!”

  I remembered she had said that when we first met. I needed to get to the bottom of what Miss Charlie meant. From the looks of her hand, she was living to me. Certainly living the “Lindsay American Dream” with a 2.5 carat ring sitting on her finger. I was dying to know . . .

  “So Charlie, what’s up with that big fat rock on your finger?” And a rock it was. Clear, flawless, pristine.

  “Oh, this?” she said, cracking a smile and holding up her hand. “Just a little engagement bling bling.”

  “How’d you do it? It seems like half the men are in jail and the other half are gay. I can’t figure it out. Men say they want a woman who has it going on. So you get it going on, and they go for the chicks with no aspirations.”

  “You know what your problem is, Lindsay? You spend too much time worrying about a man. You know how I got mine? By not worrying about one.”

  “So it’s that simple?” I couldn’t imagine.

  “Men always want what they can’t have. And with my fiancé Michael, I wasn’t pressed. But I will admit, sometimes I envy single women. I miss the sport of hunting men.” Charlie winked.

  “The hunt gets boring. At least you have a man sleeping in your bed every night.”

  “Yeah, you do have a point, because my man does know how to put it on me.” Charlie fanned herself slowly while sipping her Cosmo.

  “It’s all that, huh?”

  “All that and then some!” Charlie dramatically swatted me on my shoulder.

  “Girl, does he have any brothers?” I laughed.

  “Girl, please, I didn’t say he was perfect.”