Megan broke the tension by laughing. “If y’all use words like that, there isn’t a soul in this town who’s going to be able to understand that book!”
Murphy’s mouth curved into an amused grin and James suddenly felt petty. After all, he hadn’t even read the novel yet. Perhaps he and his friends had been portrayed as wise and generous servants of their community, though in truth, he doubted Murphy’s book would appeal to Hollywood unless it was riddled with colorful content. He knew that part of his anger stemmed from the fear that he might be humiliated in print by someone he had trusted with his most intimate thoughts.
“Have a Merry Christmas, Murphy,” he said with as much sincerity as he could muster and left the bakery. As the door closed, he thought he heard her whisper, “It won’t be merry without you.”
Murphy then turned to Megan Flowers and declared, “I’m going to take every single one of your donuts. A girl’s gotta have something sweet in her life, and if it isn’t going to be a man, then it may as well be a donut.”
“Amen, sister,” Megan agreed as she began to fill Murphy’s order.
FIVE
“I love this. Our havin’ breakfast for supper!” Lindy exclaimed as she settled on the floor in front of Bennett’s leather couch and kicked off her fleece-lined boots. She wiggled her toes, which were encased in black socks stitched with poinsettias, and issued a contented sigh. “I feel like I’m gettin’ ready for a sleepover party.”
Bennett gestured at his red cotton sweatpants. “I feel like I’m nearly wearin’ pajamas. You can go on home and change into a flannel nightgown if you want.”
Lindy pretended to be insulted. “Now why are you assumin’ that I wear some kind of grandma gown? I happen to sleep in pink satin pajamas from Victoria’s Secret, thank you very much.”
“I bet those look lovely with your skin tone and black hair,” Gillian complimented her friend. “No satin for me, of course. I wear an organic cotton/bamboo blend nightgown. It’s a planet-friendly fabric. As you might expect, there are no dyes, so the gown’s natural beige. Still, I feel much closer to Mother Earth during sleep.” She took a spoonful of apples from a Pyrex baking dish. “Are these baked, Lucy?”
Following Lindy’s example, Lucy had removed her boots and was warming her feet in front of the fire, her dinner plate balanced on her lap. “No, they’re raw Gala apples, but I soaked them overnight in a marinade of orange juice and cinnamon. I figured they’d offset the salty taste of Bennett’s breakfast casserole.”
“And my cucumber and red onion vinegar salad,” James added. “I’m relieved to discover that it’s actually possible to have a healthy meal that doesn’t taste like cardboard. I’ve got a full plate here containing less than five hundred calories. Amazing.” He took a bite of Bennett’s casserole. “Hmm,” he said, toasting his friend with his empty fork. “Well done.”
“Thank you, my man. And now, before we watch Dr. Ruth and the Diva of Dough go at it, let’s get the Jeopardy! board game fired up. I’ve only got a few weeks before the real show tapes, folks, and I wanna be one of the few African American men to win a big ole pile of money from those rich TV folks.”
Bennett placed the game board on the floor and the supper club members gathered around it, enjoying the crackling fire, the delicious food, and one another’s company. As usual, Bennett answered question after question correctly.
“I think this one might actually stump you.” Lucy held up a card with a triumphant flourish. “Here it is: after June, this month is the most popular for wedding ceremonies.”
“Pffah! Easy!” Bennett snorted. “What is August. And Las Vegas is the top destination for weddings, followed by Hawaii and then the Bahamas. The average honeymoon lasts for one week. Wanna hear some more?”
“Have you memorized all these questions?” Lucy accused playfully.
“Not yet,” Bennett replied. “But I got all the answers from the DVD version in the ole noggin, as well as a bunch from the Trivial Pursuit games. Personally, I think they exaggerated the title of that Genius edition.” He looked at James. “I could tell you a whole mess of weddin’ statistics in case you wanna pass them on to your daddy.”
“Sure. Maybe it’ll make him feel better to know that weddings make all women go completely crazy,” James answered, and he received scowls from the three females in the room.
“The average wedding ring costs around two grand,” Bennett said hurriedly to deflect attention from James’s comment. “Most couples invite about one hundred and seventy-five people to their wedding.”
“I don’t even know that many people, and half my family is Catholic!” Lindy joked.
“Well, we’ve all messed up the averages for the ages of your run-of-the-mill bride and groom. According to the facts, I should’ve been married at least twice by now,” Lucy remarked sourly.
“Statistics can be misleading. I believe that it’s never too late to find your soul mate. The yin to your yang . Our kindred spirit, finally guided home,” Gillian gushed. “Look at Jackson and Milla.” She reached over the game board and gave Bennett’s hand a warm squeeze. “Perhaps you and Jade are meant to entwine your lives together like two vines of climbing roses stretching toward the sun.” Reaching her arms into the air above her head, Gillian exhaled loudly as Bennett cocked his head to one side in bewilderment.
“Speakin’ of roses.” He cleared his throat and continued to watch Gillian out of the corner of his eye. “I can tell you the names of a dozen climbing roses from Baltimore Belle to Dublin Bay to Silver Moon, but if I don’t get a handle on more pop-culture facts, I’ll be toast. Without a doubt, it’s my Achilles’ heel.” His expression turned grim. “How am I supposed to know the name of Paris Hilton’s dog for cryin’ out loud? I think it’s already pretty damned impressive that I know she lugs around a Chihuahua like it was a handbag.”
“She’s got two, actually,” Lindy answered hastily. “The first one, Tinkerbell, got too large to be a fashion accessory. I believe Paris’s latest Chihuahua is named Bambi.”
“How do you know this stuff, woman?” Bennett looked impressed. “Are you some kind of Entertainment Tonight junkie? ’Cause I do not have time for that.”
“No, Mr. Mailman. I read People . If you wanna be up on all that’s goin’ on in the world of celebrity gossip, pick one up at the gym and start studyin’ up. You need to know who’s goin’ out with who, who’s pregnant, who’s lost twenty pounds on the leek soup diet, who’s won an Oscar, an Emmy, a Grammy.”
“You could come to the library if you need a copy,” James suggested. “Though you can’t get near it when Mrs. Turner and her Mom’s Morning Out girlfriends are in the building. And come to think of it, once school lets out, the junior high and high school girls hog all those kinds of magazines.” He frowned. “If only my patrons got that excited about literature.” He picked up a question card and turned to Gillian. “This environmental group was founded in Vancouver in 1971 and was originally known as the Don’t Make a Wave Committee.”
“That’s an easy one.” Gillian fluffed her cloud of red and blonde-streaked hair. “What is Greenpeace.”
Bennett clapped her on the shoulder. “Well done, woman.”
As they played on, James told his friends about his visit to Dr. Ruth. “She is the epitome of kindness. Even though it’s a hassle keeping this food log, I already feel more optimistic about getting fit since I saw her on Monday.” He pointed at the television. “I just hope she got a word in edgewise on Good Morning Virginia since she had to share the spotlight with Paulette.”