Page 63 of A Lifetime in 30 Days
“Hmph,” Granny said. “She sure did.”
“Wait a minute,” Vanna said, and looked at Granny. “Whose side are you on?”
“Nobody’s, I’m playing bingo,” Granny said, and kept her gaze focused on her boards. They hadn’t even started a new round after that last winner, so Vanna wasn’t buying that act.
“For your information, there is no Aden topic,” Vanna told them. “We had fun while it lasted, and now we’re going on about our business.”
“Translation: y’all got busy for a minute, had a fight, and now you’re walking away,” Ronni said.
“Oh wow, you’re on a roll today,” Vanna quipped.
“I know,” Jamaica added with a chuckle. “And I’m kinda over here living in the moment.”
Vanna narrowed her gaze at both of them. “You’re not funny,” she told Jamaica. “And neither are you,” she said, turning her gaze to Ronni.
“I’m just saying we had fun with him at bowling and the pool party; then everything went haywire, and you’ve been tight-lipped about him ever since,” Ronni said.
“Not true,” Vanna replied. “I told you how the conversation went down and that I felt like there was just too much going on to deal with any of this now. So that’s it. Whatever it was ran its course. End of story.”
“That’s weak and you know it,” Jamaica said.
“It’s the facts,” Vanna replied. “And I don’t need any more of your comments on the subject, thank you very much.”
Now Jamaica looked concerned. “Okay, so I accept the charge of telling you he might be framing you. But I certainly didn’t say break up with him if he wasn’t.”
“Really, though?” Ronni asked Jamaica. “What did you think was gonna happen?”
“Exactly!” Vanna said. “Which is why I don’t even know why you brought it up.” She sent Ronni a pointed glare.
Both of them were getting on her nerves in this moment, and she wanted them to shut up so they could get back to having a good time.
“Hmph, hmph, hmph,” Granny mumbled.
“I just pointed out some things, that’s all. And you needed answers,” Jamaica said.
“And I got them,” she said, hating even more that they were having this conversation while four other people they didn’t know sat at the other end of their table.
Today had been going so well. And now it wasn’t.
“Look, it doesn’t matter,” she continued “I asked the questions I needed to ask. He answered them. And now, here we are.” She shrugged.
“And where is that, exactly?” Granny asked, pinning her with a wide-eyed stare.
“It’s ... it’s ... wherever we are,” she replied, feeling flustered. “And why are we even talking about this right now? They’re starting another game.”
“Ms. Vanna?” A soft voice entered their conversation, and Vanna turned to see one of the middle-school Pinks standing beside her.
“Hey, Cashae,” she said, adding a smile that she really didn’t feel at the moment. “What’s up?”
“Ms. Gloria needs you at the ticket counter,” Cashae told her.
Great. A reason for her to get up from this table and get away from all these unwanted questions and accusations.
“Oh, sure. No problem,” she said, and got up without saying another word.
As she walked away, she knew the three she’d left behind were talking about her. Nothing negative, but definitely a discussion on what may or may not be going on between her and Aden right now. A discussion that Vanna was definitely happy to not be having. She’d had it in her head too many times to count this week, and she hadn’t liked it at all.
A group of five had purchased tickets from a woman who wasn’t at the event, and they didn’t have the actual tickets with them, so the debate over whether to let them in on their word or insist they pay the at-the-door price had ensued the moment Vanna made it to the ticket booth. The suggestion for someone to call the woman who’d sold them the tickets seemed like a no-brainer, and Vanna was annoyed that none of the other grown, professional women who were on the finance committee with her had thought of it. After the call was made, the women were shown to seats in the back of thespace, which sparked another argument. But again, that resolution was obvious as well. They could either sit or leave, because who showed up to an event an hour and a half late and expected to get great seats?
