The previous episode of Drake and Nona
Calgon tried to take Nona away from her dilemma, but the phone rang bringing her peaceful moment to an end. She hoped it wasn’t Drake with another round of begging, but it was obnoxious Toni instead. Toni was the friend that really was not a friend. Her face was likely to be posted on America’s Most Likely to Stab a Friend in the Back because she had so much experience at it. Since she had exhausted all of her past girl buddies, she had started forcing herself on Nona.
Oddly enough, Nona appreciated Toni’s company and her incredible worldly stories that contrasted her own Pollyanna lifestyle. Their foreign exchange gave the other a sense of balance. Nona only wished Toni was in town to take her picture instead of parading around in St. Barts the entire weekend with a married man. Toni had confessed, after one too many glasses of wine that the man was “unhappily” married to some holy roller who was too busy with the church to take care of her husband. She also admitted that she did not love him, but he liked to spend money on her and she had no qualms accepting his gifts.
Nona vehemently opposed the affair and was quick to chastise Toni or switch the subject whenever it came to discussions about the lying, cheating, dog Toni affectionately called “Hammer.” Still, she was glad to hear from Toni because she needed her advice about the picture situation.
“Hello,” Nona yawned. Her feet pressed against the shower tiles.
“Hey girl. Did I wake you up?” Toni inquired.
“No, I was taking my weekly bubble bath, that’s all.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to disturb your moment, but I had to tell you before I called anyone else.”
“Okay, you have my attention,” Nona was now sitting up in the tub.
“He did it. Hammer proposed!”
“What?”
Nona wanted to ask “How can a married man propose to another woman?” Instead she replied, “But I thought you guys weren’t serious.”
“Well, that’s what I thought until he pulled out this 3-carat pear shaped diamond set in platinum!”
“I don’t know what to say…uhmm…congratulations.”
“I’m shocked too. Don’t worry we will talk about it later. Hammer had to speak to the hotel manager about something; but he’s headed back now. I think he has another surprise!”
“Okay, I’ll let you go, but be careful.”
“Oh, don’t worry, girl. I have got this all under control.”
Toni hung up, and Nona sat there with her mouth wide open. The bubbles were nearly gone now, her feet were all wrinkled, and her crazy friend had just accepted a marriage proposal from an already wedded man named Hammer. In fact, all of her friends were either married or in seemingly happy relationships. But she never thought that Toni, the serial dater, would settle down before she did.
Nona jumped out of the tub, wrapped her towel around her body and headed back into the bedroom. This time she rummaged through her lingerie drawer until she found an old, but barely worn baby doll dress with matching undies. She slipped on her two-piece tighty-nighty, turned on her favorite Maxwell CD, and began to pose in the mirror, once again. When she thought she had created her strongest looks she held her camera phone in her right hand, and snapped picture after picture after picture.
In the meantime, Nona’s mother had been ringing the door bell downstairs for a few minutes. When nobody answered she tried turning the door knob, which was uncommonly unlocked. Concerned that something may have happened to her daughter; Mrs. Parks entered the dark home and began to look around downstairs. Picking up a knife from the kitchen, she headed up the staircase. All she could hear was music blaring from the master bedroom and Nona’s off pitch singing in the background.
“This is the highest cost/Take you and make you off/Love you and leave you lost/Will you forgive me?”
Mrs. Parks walked to the end of the hall, pushed opened the double doors with her body, and found her daughter turned photographer bent over in a downward facing dog pose, wearing red patent leather stilettos.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment