Sienna stared up at the stately mansion, with its austere balustrade and towering two-story Grecian columns. A fountain, surrounded by a vivid display of tea roses, wisteria and rhododendrons, gurgled petulantly just beyond the gate. The house mocked her. Standing proudly amongst the other grand structures in the city’s Garden District, home to some of New Orleans’s wealthiest inhabitants, the mansion was an unforgiving representation of a life she thought she had left behind.
“Sienna,” her mother called from where she stood just inside the partially opened wrought-iron gate. “Are you going to stand on the sidewalk the entire afternoon, or are you coming in?”
Was standing on the sidewalk the entire afternoon an option? There wasn’t a question which Sienna would pick if given the choice. Millicent Perkins’s home stood as a stark reminder of the painful past Sienna had no desire to revisit. Just the thought of the memories being inside that house would conjure sent a cold shudder down her spine.
“Sienna!” Her mother shot her an aggravated look. “I swear, if your sister were not moving, I would have asked Tosha to join me. Lord knows she’d make a better impression.”
That’s because Tosha lived for this pretentious crap even more than her mother did. Sienna swallowed back her retort. It wasn’t worth it.
“I need to get my wrap out of the car,” she said instead. She went back over to the car and retrieved her lace wrap. How ridiculous that she had to get more dressed up for Sunday tea than she was for church this morning.
She followed her mother through the gate, the sound of it closing causing her heart to constrict. The clinking of a prison cell shutting behind her could not have elicited more distress. Sienna swallowed past the emotions clogging her throat as she made her way up the short, stone-laid walk.
“Good afternoon, ladies.” The Perkins’s housekeeper greeted them at the door. She was dressed in the black and white maid uniform of years past. “Tea is being served in the courtyard today.”
The housekeeper guided them through the richly dressed parlor. Gilded mirrors adorned the silk-covered walls. The dark-colored paisley pattern was drab enough to sour anyone’s mood. An antique Louis XIV settee, covered in similarly depressing fabric, sat under one of the mirrors.
Everything about the house exuded Old Establishment. It was a lifestyle her mother had never had, and no matter how many teas, bridge parties, or debutante balls she attended, Sylvia Culpepper would never fit in. After all these years, many of the women in her mother’s circle still looked down on her. Instead of admitting defeat, Sylvia just tried harder.
Sienna could never grasp the logic behind her mother’s fierce determination to be accepted by these women. Sylvia allowed the rules of the Camilla Social Club to dictate nearly every aspect of her life. Every time she witnessed her mother compromise her own beliefs for fear that it would be frowned upon by the Camilla’s, Sienna lost another smidgen of respect for her.
And this time, Sienna found herself caught up in the fray. Today’s tea was just the beginning of a season of stuffy, pretentious social gatherings her mother would guilt her into attending.
Sienna stifled the expletive that was on the verge of escaping her mouth. Her mother would probably fall in a dead faint if she embarrassed her by uttering a dirty word in her friends’ presence.
It was something to think about.
A respectable crowd was already gathered in the courtyard, some sitting at small round tables, while others gathered around the cherub fountain in the center.
“Sylvia, darling.”
Sienna made every effort to hide her grimace as Millicent Perkins broke away from the group at the fountain, walking toward them with arms opened. Millicent greeted her mother with two near-kisses on the cheek. She was followed by several of her mother’s friends, people Sienna had not seen in years.
Millicent turned her way. “Where have you been hiding, Sienna?”
As far as possible from people like you. “Not hiding, just extremely busy,” Sienna answered.
“Tamika will be so excited to see you. She should be here shortly. She, Ahmad, and the kids are having their pictures taken in the gardens at City Park. Today was the only day the photographer could fit them in. But,” Millicent delicately hunched her shoulders, “you have to make sacrifices if you want the best.”
Of course, nothing but the best.
Sienna wasn’t sure she could stomach an entire afternoon of her mother’s so-called friends debating whose children had the better jobs, houses, and families. That would lead to an entire night of Sylvia lamenting the fact that her daughters were lacking in every aspect of their lives.
“So, Sienna.” Millicent sidled up next to her, taking Sienna’s arm and intertwining it with hers. “Do you have any kids yet?”
Sienna noticed her mother’s face tighten as the woman asked a question she most certainly already knew the answer to.
“No, no kids.”
“Oh, you girls need to make a grandmother out of Sylvia. It isn’t fair that the rest of us have to wear that badge of age and she doesn’t.”
“All in due time,” her mother said. Then, quickly changing the subject, she said, “So, Millicent, did you have the chance to visit Tosha’s store while you were in Atlanta a few months ago? You know she’s moving back there. She and her business partner are opening a second location.”
Of course her mother would stir the conversation to the only daughter she deemed a success. Sienna tried not to grit her teeth. Why did her mother even bother to bring her here if she wasn’t good enough to flaunt in front of her friends? Tosha should be the one going through this hell.
Then again, it wouldn’t be such hell for Tosha. Her older sister fit right into New Orleans’ African American high society sect. But being in this element again dredged up memories Sienna had tried to bury since the night of her debutante ball.
God, she did not want to think about that night. But how could she not when she was being bombarded with so many triggers?
Some sixth sense had warned her not to go to Karena Johnson’s after party the night they had made their debut into society. She had ignored her intuition, and instead Sienna had lied to her mother, telling her she was going to spend the night at Ivana’s dorm at Xavier University. She’d taken the city bus at night, something her parents never allowed.
Going to Karena’s party had not been the worst; it was drinking the punch she’d known was spiked that had been Sienna’s downfall. The alcohol had loosened her inhibitions and muddied her brain. She would have never gone out in the alley next to Karena’s apartment building with Curtis Henderson if she had been in her right frame of mind.
Just the thought of his name sent a violent chill racing across her skin. She had not allowed that name to surface in her mind in years. But that’s what being back in this world did to her. It made her remember everything from this part of her past. Especially the dark parts.
“Sienna!” Her mother’s near shout pulled Sienna back to the present.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?” she asked her mother, whose neck had puffed to an unnatural size above the clenching collar of her silk blouse.
“Millicent was asking about your job. She said her niece is thinking about going into pharmaceutical sales, and I told her you do something along those lines.”
“I’m in marketing,” Sienna answered.
“Well, it’s selling in a way, isn’t it?”
“Mother, they are two totally different things.”
“That’s all right, Sylvia,” Millicent said, turning to another guest.
“Sienna, could you at least try not to embarrass me?” her mother hissed.
“How am I supposed to speak about pharmaceutical sales? I haven’t even tried to advertise drugs, let alone sell them.”
Her mother just rolled her eyes and turned to the crowd that was gathering at the fountain. A few minutes later, tea was announced. Everyone took seats at various places around the courtyard. Sienna found an unoccupied bench close to a set of French doors. The maid who had let them in passed around puffed pastries and crustless, triangle-shaped sandwiches. Sienna heaped as much as possible on the small saucer. She was starving.
She passed on the tea, accepting a glass of lemonade instead.
“Sienna.” Her head began to throb at her mother’s call. Sienna rose, folding a napkin over her half-eaten food and placing the plate on the bench.
“Yes, Mother?” Sienna asked as she came upon her mother’s table.
“Come over here and say hello to Mrs. Henderson. You remember Edwina, don’t you? Her daughter, Tricia, made her debut the same year you did.”
And her son Curtis had nearly raped her.
Sienna’s breath caught in her throat as images of that night came raging to the forefront of her mind. The rough brick grating against her back, the smell of alcohol on his breath, the thick humidity nearly choking her, along with the fear. So much fear.
She tried to catch her breath, but couldn’t. She felt faint; the walls started to close in.
“I—I need to go,” she said.
Sienna turned in a semi-circle, searching for the door that would lead her out of this cauldron of memories she had never intended to remember again. Ignoring her mother’s voice, Sienna grabbed her purse from where she’d laid it next to the bench and took off through the French doors.
***
“What about a Hawaiian theme?” Monica asked.
Toby looked over at his future sister-in-law. She took a loud bite out of her apple as she lounged in the overstuffed armchair in Eli’s spacious den. Eli sat on the floor next to her, his eyes rolling back in his head in pleasure as Monica massaged his scalp with her free hand.
“You’re not getting my ass in a grass skirt,” Eli drawled.
Walking past him on the way to the sofa, Alex knocked his brother on the side of the head. “Don’t use that kind of language. Jasmine’s in the kitchen.”
“In that case, we’d better stop talking about this all together,” Eli said. “If Jazzy overhears us, Mama’s surprise party won’t be a surprise much longer.”
“You’re right about that,” Alex admitted with a grin. “My little crumb snatcher is not good at keeping secrets.”
“Which is how Mama found out about your speeding ticket the other day.” Eli laughed. “I heard she chewed you out.”
Alex did an exaggerated shiver. “I’m a grown man. How that woman still manages to scare me, I’ll never know.”
“She scares all of you.” Monica laughed. “I think it’s cute.”
“It’s embarrassing is what it is,” Eli said.
“Let’s put the party talk on the side for now,” Monica suggested. “I want to hear from Mr. Silent over there.” She looked to Toby. “What’s up with you tonight, Toby? You’ve hardly said anything, and I counted at least three times you could have teased your older brothers.”
“Nothing.” Toby shrugged. “Just thinking.”
“Ah, that’s it, his brain is tired. We all know how taxing thinking is on you.”
Toby pitched a throw pillow at Eli’s head.
“What’s happening with the show?” Monica asked. “Have you signed on the dotted line yet?”
“Last night,” he answered with a nod.
Toby stretched his arms across the top of the sofa and lulled his head from side to side, working out the kinks in his neck. He had been on edge these past few days, but now that his plans were beginning to take shape, he was starting to think about just how much doing this show could mean to his career. Even though he still missed it like crazy, this was his chance to prove he was good for something other than dribbling a basketball.
“So, what now?” Alex asked. “Do we have to start opening doors for you and rolling out the red carpet?”
“Bull sh—” Eli stopped at the look Alex sent him. “Bull crap,” he amended. “Don’t think anybody is going to kiss your butt just because you’ll be on TV.”
“Who said anything about kissing my butt? And Aria’s the one who’s going to be in front of the camera, not me.”
“As long as you don’t expect special treatment,” Eli said.
“Toby, don’t pay any mind to your brothers,” Monica said. Rising from the armchair, she came over to sit next to him on the sofa. “Now, tell me about the show.”
“I pretty much gave you all the gist of it the other day, but Kellerman laid out more details in our meeting yesterday. He actually liked the fact that Aria is focused more on her music than on her sex appeal. He said she could fill the Miss Goody Two-Shoes role. All these reality shows have the same theme, whether it’s centered on music, or modeling, or any of the other fifty thousand things they make into a TV show these days. There’s a Bad Boy, a Geek, a Loner, a Loud Mouth, a Whiny Brat, a Sex Kitten, and a Sweet, Innocent One—Aria. Kellerman also likes that she fits the young, urban female spot they’d been hoping to fill.”
“This is perfect,” Monica beamed, nearly as excited as Aria was when Toby had talked to her earlier today. “Aria doesn’t have to compromise her morals, and she still gets mega exposure.”
“That’s my main goal. I’m using this show as a vehicle to what I really want to achieve here, long-term success for my client. I want to focus on broadening her fan base, which is why she’s going to sing at my friend Jonathan’s new club, The Hard Court. That’ll reach the 28 - 45 demographic.”
“Listen to you,” Eli said. “Talking like you have a clue about this stuff.”
Toby flipped his brother the finger. “You don’t have to worry about Jazzy hearing that,” he said to Alex.
“Would you let him finish,” Monica chastised Eli. “Continue, Toby.”
“The next step is to meet with the woman from the marketing firm.”
“Marketing firm?” Eli asked.
“Now that I’ve signed on, I want to make sure I do it right. This show is too important to mess up by spreading myself too thin, and after meeting with Kellerman Sunday morning I decided to hire a marketing firm to help with PR. I need to concentrate on getting the music right; I can’t be distracted by the promo.
“Is hiring an outside firm allowed in the rules?”
Toby nodded.
“Does the show pay for it?” Alex asked.
“No, but I’ve got a little saved.” Way more than his brothers knew about. “It’s worth the expense. We need to cover a broad area, and sticking flyers on car windshields is not going to cut it.”
“Did you talk to Sienna?” Alex asked. Toby shook his head. “But that’s her field. Sienna should have been the first person you talked to.”
“I need a professional to handle this, Alex.”
“The girl has a friggin’ Master’s degree. That’s more than you have.”
His brother was of the “help out a friend, even at your own expense” school of thinking. Promoting Aria as a cast member of this show was too important to put in Sienna’s hands just to throw a little business her way. He needed proven skill for this, which is why he’d parted with a hefty chunk from his savings account for this marketing firm. It would be worth it when there was an Aria Jordan song downloaded onto every MP3 player in America.
Toby pushed himself up from the sofa. “I need to get going. Let me know what theme you guys pick for Mama’s party.”
“Grandma’s having a party?” a squeaky voice asked from behind him. Toby’s eyes slid shut as Jasmine walked into the center of the living room.
“Oh, great,” Eli muttered.
“Sorry,” Toby mouthed. “I’ll see you guys later.”
“What about grandma’s party?” he heard his niece ask as he headed for the door.