Sex and Lies

Savannah marched over and grabbed Dani by the hand. “It’s useless, sis. I could walk in front of him butt naked and he wouldn’t notice.” She pulled her toward the door. “See you later, baby. Going out with the girls.”

He mumbled something unintelligible.

Savannah picked up her mango-colored Kate Spade purse—which matched her open-toed sandals—from the table in the foyer. “By the time he realizes I’m gone, I’ll be back already,” she said with a laugh of acceptance. “Come on, let’s go.”

“I’m determined to break that hypnotic stare one of these days,” Danielle said, emphasizing the last four words.

“Good luck.” Savannah shut the door behind them.

“Love that bag, by the way,” Dani said with a hint of envy in her voice.

“Thanks. And no, you can’t borrow it.”

Dani huffed in mock offense.

They stepped out into the very warm June afternoon and down the concrete steps of Savannah and Blake’s three-story town house, located in Harlem’s historic Sugar Hill.

The house was originally owned by Savannah’s great-grandparents, who turned it over to Claudia’s mother, Sylvia, when she married and then Sylvia passed it on to Claudia on her wedding day and Claudia turned it over to Savannah as a wedding gift to her and Blake just as it had been done in the family for generations. Hopefully, one day Savannah would be able to turn the grand home over to her son or daughter. The family rumor was that Great-Granddad Jessie won the house in a high-stakes poker game from an old white land baron who figured he’d finally gotten rid of an albatross. It was no more than a rotting shell when Great-Granddad won it, but he and his four brothers worked on it for three solid years until they restored it to its former glory. It had been in the family ever since. A house that was once not worth the time it took to walk past it was now valued at more than one million dollars.

Mia waved as the duo came down the steps toward Dani’s brand-new Ford Edge.

Savannah stood for a moment in front of the spanking new SUV with a hand on her hip. She snapped her head toward Dani who had a big smug smirk on her perfectly made-up face.

“So whatcha think?”

“Girl—” Savannah walked around it slowly “—when did you get this?”

“Picked it up yesterday from the dealer. Hop in.”

“That little camera thing you do is really paying off,” Savannah teased, and got inside the plush vehicle. Dani’s job as a fashion photographer for all of the elite magazines afforded her many luxuries; invitations to all the major events and premieres inside and out of the country along with meeting folks that the average person only reads about in the tabloids. She couldn’t count the “A list” of stars and socialites who’d become friends over the years that she had in her Rolodex.

Dani laughed, buckled her seat belt and began pulling out. “Gotta do a little something to pay the bills.”

Moments later they sped off and headed for downtown Manhattan. By the time they arrived at the Seaport it was bustling with Sunday afternoon activity. The day was glorious, comfortably warm with a light breeze blowing in off the Hudson River, which thankfully didn’t smell like garbage, its usual aroma.

“Let’s get our tickets first,” Mia suggested, “then get something to eat. The first set is at five.”

Mia Turner was the organizer of the trio. As a very well-respected and highly paid event planner for major corporations, she was beyond diligent when it came to scheduling and getting people where they needed to be. It got on Savannah’s and Dani’s last nerve at times but they still relied on her to pull everything together. As typical of Mia, she had their entire day planned right down to the menu at the restaurant she’d selected for brunch.

“Mia, when in the hell do you have time to do all of this with a full-time job?” Savannah asked as Mia led the way to the ticket booth to pick up the concert tickets.

Mia looked over her narrow shoulder with a puzzled expression on her face. “Time to do what?”

Savannah and Dani stole a glance at each other, shook their heads and kept marching along.

After securing the tickets they headed over to Trio, a new Caribbean restaurant with an outdoor café that Mia had discovered and was aching to try out.

“If this place lives up to its reputation I may put it on my list of recommended locations for my clients,” Mia said as they were led to their seats beneath a wide white umbrella.

That was another thing about Mia—even when she wasn’t working, she was working. She found some kind of way to tie her job in to darn near everything she did. As a result, the three of them often ate for free, got free spa days, discounts on designer clothes, product samples and they were even able to finagle a trip to the island of St. Kitts as part of Mia’s “focus group” for a new resort on the island. All the little perks made Mia’s drill-sergeant demeanor all the more bearable. Besides, she really was a sweetheart.

“Oh, and lunch is on me,” Mia announced once they were settled in their seats. “But everyone needs to order something different. I want to get a good cross-sampling of the menu, as well as the service.” She snapped her menu open then put on her glasses. Truth be told, Mia was blind as a bat but hated to admit it. She spent a great majority of her time squinting, which gave her a rather sour expression to those who didn’t know her. Yet her vanity wouldn’t allow her to mar her near-perfect face with glasses 24/7. And she was terrified of “sticking anything in my eyes,” so contacts were out of the question.

“So what have you ladies been up to?” Dani asked as she perused the menu.

“Up to my eyeballs with work,” Savannah said. “But that’s not unusual.”

“Richard still working you to death?”

“He damn sure tries.” She laughed lightly. “But it’s cool. I like my job.”

Mia lowered her menu and quickly tucked away her glasses before blearily focusing on Savannah. “You are entirely too talented to be someone’s assistant for the rest of your life, and too damned smart. You need to take your butt back to school and finish your law degree. Then you could run the show, open your own office and work other people to death.”

“She’s right, Savannah,” Dani chimed in. “I decided a long time ago that I was not cut out to be someone’s underling. That’s why I have to do my own thing. When I don’t feel like working, I don’t work.”

This was a conversation they had at least once every three months. When she looked at her friends’ busy, exciting and carefree lives she often questioned whether or not she’d made all the right choices; from settling down and getting married to settling for a job she could do with her eyes closed. Each time she asked the question the answer was still the same— yes. Besides, she had what neither of them had—a loving husband and a secret life. Inwardly she smiled.

“Enough about me,” Savannah said before they got on a roll that would last through brunch. “What have you two been up to?”

Dani and Mia alternated with stories about their latest clients while Savannah tried to concentrate on the nonstop chatter, saying all the appropriate “Mmm, hmms” at all the right places and laughing on cue. But her mind was elsewhere. She had what the girls would call a DDD— a damned difficult dilemma. Under normal circumstances she would happily spill her tale all over the white linen tablecloth and listen with amazement as Dani and Mia put their personal spin on what she needed to do. More often than not they were on point. This time as much as she needed their savvy wisdom, she couldn’t risk it.

As Mia predicted, the food was incredible. The service was top-notch and Mia had penciled Trio in as a restaurant to recommend. Of course, before they could leave, Mia gained introductions to the owner and manager.

“You did good,” Savannah said to Mia as they made their way to the boat.

Mia grinned, flashing a dimple beneath her right eye. “Gotta keep my contacts fresh. My clients only expect the best.” Mia linked her arm through Savannah’s. “How’s the ‘family planning’ going?” she asked in a soft voice.

Savannah’s expression mirrored her internal disappointment. “So far, no good,” she said. “But we’ll keep trying.”

“It will happen when the time is right.”

Savannah tilted her head and rested it momentarily on Mia’s shoulder. “I hope so. That’s the only thing missing in our marriage.”

“What’s the only thing missing in your marriage?” Dani cut in with her supersonic hearing.

“A baby,” Savannah said.

“It ain’t all it’s cracked up to be. Just think, if you had a baby, you’d be home changing Pampers instead of hanging with your girls.”

“That much is true,” Mia conceded. “And what about furthering your career? A baby would definitely put a damper on that.”

Savannah drew in a long breath. “I could always go back to school. It would just take longer.”

“Hmm,” the duo hummed in unison.

“Listen, sis, if it’s for you and Blake it will happen and as much as I detest stinky diapers I’d be in your corner, girl. You know that,” Dani said.

“Me, too,” Mia said, giving Savannah a squeeze.