Page 10 of Until the Ink Dries

Duke was still the same handsome guy he was back in the day, but he’d gotten better with time. I followed behind Shirah as she drug me through the crowd to where Duke stood, talking to the DJ. When he saw her, he smiled. When he saw me, his smile widened.

“Willow Dawson!” he yelled , pulling me in for a hug. “How the hell are you, woman?”

I giggled. “I’m fine, Duke. It’s good to see you.”

“Good to see you, too. Damn, you look good. Shirah told me you come home to visit from time to time, but I never see your ass.”

“You’re seeing me now, aren’t you?”

“Still got that smart ass mouth, huh?”

“Some things never change. This place is nice. I love to see you doing good.”

“Thank ya’. Thank ya’. What the hell blew you in?”

Of course, I didn’t want to tell him about Ellis, so I left that part out.

“I came to see my parents and for the class reunion.”

“Y’all going to that shit?”

“You’re not?” Shirah asked.

“I wasn’t planning on it. The last thing I need is to be reminded of the person I was back then.”

“You mean a blazing whore?”

He laughed at Shirah’s comment. “Touché. Touché. A man can change. Now, am I looking to get married and settle down right now? Hell no. But I’m chill.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, we’ll see how chill you are when you’re in a room with all of your old flings and they want to see if things are still the same. You have to come to the reunion, Duke.”

He kissed his teeth. “I’ll think about it. I have to get back to work, but y’all find a spot. Drinks on me tonight.”

Shirah scoffed. “As much as I come here, you’ve never offered me a free drink.”

“You would take full advantage of it. Willow won’t.”

He left us with a smile as he disappeared into the sea of people.

“Ugh, I can’t stand his fine ass,” Shirah mumbled. “Come on, girl. Let’s find a spot.”

We were able to find a table in a prime location, close to the bar, but also close to the exit. A server came over to get our drink orders, and Shirah also ordered a round of wings and fries to soak up some of the liquor we’d already consumed. As we sat waiting, we surveyed the space, taking in the vibe.

I recognized many faces of old classmates that I knew had moved out of town. I guess everyone had the same idea of coming back early for this reunion. More than a few people came up to our table to speak and it felt just like high school again.

I was somewhat popular back then. I never got in any trouble and I considered myself a floater. I didn’t have a specific crowd because I could make a friend out of anybody. If someone looked through my high school yearbook, they would see me with the band geeks, the popular girls, the jocks, or math club.

I was voted “Most Likely to Brighten Your Day” in our senior superlatives. That made me feel good; I prided myself on being a good person. Sometimes, that backfired on me, like with Ellis and his mom. My parents raised me to be respectful and I’d been more than respectful to that woman, even when she didn’t deserve it.

I kept thinking about what life as his wife would be like with her as my mother in-law. I could only imagine that I would be miserable and she would be insufferable. She already criticized me about everything, especially my career choice.

She called me lazy and said I didn’t have a real company because other people did the work for me. She loved to pretend like every contract I had with suppliers wasn’t one I had to work for. I’d built trust and business relationships with so many people who allowed me to offer their products on my website. Ship Happens brought in thousands of new customers to over a hundred retailers every month. My company was voted the number one drop shipping company four years in a row.

So, fuck what she was saying. No, I didn’t have a PHD like her or her husband. I wasn’t an investment banker like her son, but I did extremely well for myself, and I didn’t need Ellis or his raggedy ass dollar to live a comfortable lifestyle like she implied.

“Hey, hey!” Shirah said, snapping her fingers in my face. “Out of your head. We’re having fun tonight. No more thinking about that man or his mammy.”

I giggled. “I hear you.”

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