Chapter Thirty
Southern Soul Café was not yet open, but Angel could hear the bustle of cooks and servers getting ready for the Saturday lunch crowd. Angel walked to the back, toward Eddie’s office. She was looking forward to working with Eddie on the talent show this weekend. There were flyers posted in several areas around town, and last night Angel noticed a Facebook page had been dedicated to the event. Eddie had a talented marketing crew.
Angel was walking up to the office door to knock when she heard a voice from inside the room. A very familiar female voice wailed from behind the door, “How could you do this?” Angel stepped away from the door. It was Denise in the office. “I don’t care. I can’t take it anymore. You are never going to grow up!” Was Denise talking on the phone to her father? When she didn’t hear another voice, Angel knew for sure that Denise was alone, on the phone and Kenneth was on the other end of the line.
She had wondered how long it would take Denise to find out what Angel had always complained about. Kenneth, with all his good looks and charm, was as selfish as a person could be.
Angel really wanted to see Eddie now so she could spend time with Grams this afternoon. She had no intentions of returning to this side of town until next weekend, so she knocked on the door and called out, “Hello? Eddie?”
She waited for a few seconds and then started down the hallway. The door opened behind her.
“Wait, Angel.”
Angel turned around to see Denise’s tearstained face. She told Denise, “I can come back.”
Denise shook her head and wiped her eyes with her fingers. “No, my dad told me to make sure you stayed. He had to run and pick up some supplies. Why don’t you wait in here?”
“Okay.” Angel stepped into the office.
“Have a seat. I will be out of the way in a minute.” Denise went behind the big oak desk and shuffled papers. It had been a long time since they’d been in a room together, just the two of them. Angel sat down in one of the leather chairs across from the desk. She remembered that when Southern Soul Café opened, both of them would spend a lot of time in this same office after school. Later they worked in the restaurant to make a little extra money. She and Denise took turns being servers and hostesses.
Angel cleared her throat. “Nothing much has changed in here.”
Denise replied, “Yeah, Dad isn’t much on change.”
“Change can be hard.” Then Angel added, “Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.”
Denise stopped rearranging the papers and stared at her. “Do you mean that? I always hoped you wouldn’t hate me forever.”
Angel replied, “I don’t hate you.”
“I don’t blame you if you do.”
“You were my best friend, like a sister I never had. I would have never thought you would cause me that much pain, but it’s history now. You have little Kenny, and there are no mistakes. He’s precious.”
Denise blinked. “I wasn’t expecting that from you.”
Neither was Angel. She noted the sadness in Denise’s eyes. The deep weariness in her former friend’s eyes did not conform with what Angel usually saw on the faces of the brides she filmed. “Are you happy?”
“Would you gloat if I said I wasn’t?”
“It wouldn’t do me any good to gloat, and I’m sorry to hear that.”
Denise sat down in the chair. “You know, I used to get so upset with you when you complained about how Kenneth treated you. I used to think in my head, ‘Poor Angel. She just doesn’t know how to handle the man.’”
Angel frowned. “Really? You used to agree with me that Kenneth was just putting me down for no reason.”
“I know. He was, and you probably will not believe me, but I didn’t set out to steal him.”
Angel shook her head. “We don’t need to dig up history.” She had had enough of doing all that all on her own.
“But I have wanted you to know. That day was the first time.”
“You expect me to believe that?”
“I was upset and was looking for you. I figured you were at Kenneth’s place. He was there, and he didn’t have a shirt on. I was a mess! He was so sensitive and told me it was okay.”
Angel stood. “I told you I don’t need to hear this.”
Denise slammed her hands on the desk. “Well, I need you to because I made the worst mistake ever. I got pregnant, I missed out on finishing school, and I lost my best friend all because I wanted to feel loved and secure that day.”
Angel looked away from Denise. She really hadn’t come here for this.
She didn’t have long to wait as Eddie came into the room with a box. “Hey, you are here. Thank you for coming by, Angel.” Eddie sat the box down on the floor and walked in between them. “It’s good to see you girls talking again.”
Denise responded, “We were just catching up. Don’t hold your breath on anything more, Dad.” Denise grabbed papers off the desk and stuffed them in her bag. “I need to get home. Kenneth will have to go to work soon, so I need to be there for little Kenny.” As she walked out the door, Denise turned around and said, “I hope you have asked Angel to sing for the talent show. She probably could blow the competition away.”
Angel’s ears burned, making her encounter with Denise even more awkward.
Eddie laughed and pointed his finger. “I knew you’ve been holding out on me. No way your momma could have a kid that couldn’t sing. So what do you say?”
“Conflict of interest. I’m here to help you videotape the contestants and get the entries online.”
“Well, wait a minute now. I didn’t tell you about my surprise.” Eddie sat back in his chair and leaned back.
“What surprise?” Angel asked.
“You could make your granddad and mom proud by joining Southern Soul on the stage.”
“Eddie, I don’t sing in front of people.”
“Girl, you can’t waste that talent. Besides, it will just be one number. The band will perform at the end of the talent show.”
Angel still wasn’t sure.
“Come on. It will be fun, and you will be a part of some history. Did you know Southern Soul is celebrating fifty years?”
“Fifty years? Wow. Has it been that long?”
“Oh yeah. The older members started the band in nineteen sixty-one. Now a lot of the older members are not around, but you know I’ve kept the band going with new members over the years. Got to keep the name out there. I hope you will at least think about it.”
“I can’t make promises, but yes, I will think about it.” Angel had really made her mind up. She just didn’t have the heart to tell Eddie there was no way she was singing in front of an audience.