The crowd had made its way out of the hall and people were engaged in conversation before they would go into dinner. It was a place to get a drink and meet and greet the guest speakers, and in addition, we could get a signed copy of the Master of Power by Hayden Powers, for a small sum of fifty dollars for the privilege of having that paper weight on our desk.
Fifty dollars to me was extreme, especially since I had been trolling on EBook sites for the cheapest books I could find to satisfy my romance and erotic reading habits. Fifty dollars was like a week’s groceries since I kept my weight down by eating tuna and crackers twice a week. I found that I went from a size eight to a size six in no time. Even at a size six, my ass was a size eight, but I was starving to death on tuna, and I couldn’t keep that up for long.
But that was also to save money since Wayne walked out on me, and it would be another week before Tamika would move in with me to save on rent. She had to wait until her lease was up on her mice filled apartment in Brooklyn. She assured me that the super had taken care of that with the assistance of the Housing Court, and the health inspector’s notice she took with her to court when she was late on her rent.
Nevertheless, I wouldn’t buy his book if I was rolling in money. Well maybe to use it as last minute toilet paper or a weapon, and it wasn’t good for that.
The only thing I thought his book was good for was to knock someone in the head if they attempted to rob me. But first you had to lift that thousand page crock of shit and by that time the robber would have gotten away with my purse and whatever valuables he desired.
Finally Tamika came walking out and I rushed to her. “Where the fuck have you been. You said you were going to the rest room,” she said to me forgetting where she was.
“I did, but that’s another story. Remind me to tell you about that sometime. “You wouldn’t guess who I ran into.”
“Well don’t have me standing around, I have to pee.”
“The. Hayden. Powers,” I said pronouncing each word separately.
Tamika placed her hand to her mouth. “Shut the fuck up.” And danced around, and then she hit me on my arm. I winced from the pain.
“I’m serious. I met him.”
“What did you say to him?” She stood with baited breath waiting for me to tell her everything.
“It’s a long story and I’ll tell you later.”
“Is he as good looking close up as he appears? You know we were sitting far away and I didn’t have on my glasses,” she said.
“Better,” I said.
“Did you tell him that you would fuck him if he wanted you too, or you had a girlfriend who was willing to suck his dick without any strings attached?”
“No. Hell no.”
“Then what have you got to say to me. Nothing. I might as well go to the restroom.”
“Go to the restroom. I’m going to our table and save you a seat.” Tamika looked at me with a disappointed smirk. She rolled her eyes and strode off to the ladies restroom which was closer to the entrance than the one I had just humiliated myself in.
As I was walking to the dining room, I passed a group of men who were in a crowd snickering, and the bald headed one with the red face and large belly made a comment, and the group turned and looked at me and started laughing and whispering.
I could imagined what they were saying. I felt a little uncomfortable because my mind was telling me that they were making up stories about me being in the men’s restroom. As a black woman I imagined all kinds of things from sucking someone’s dick to having an orgy to God knows what.
As I was trying to duck the crowd of men, I spotted that handsome Powers guy coming my way. I ducked behind a mob of women, and as the waiter was handing out glasses of cheap Champaign, I called him over.
“I need a drink.”
“Can you wait until I go to the table or you can go to the bar yourself?” He pointed to a table where a bartender was pouring bottle after bottle of wine into small plastic flutes. I smiled at the waiter and walked over to the table after I saw Mr. I-Don’t-like-Men-but-I’ll-Let-You Suck-My Dick strode into the room.
Standing near the table, I drank one glass hurriedly, then another and another. I was never a drinker and I had to hold on to the table to get to the door.