Ex-girl to the Next Girl by Daaimah S. Poole Read Free Book Online

shopping.” My Aunt Connie came down the steps, waving her hands in front of her, whispering, “No, don’t tell her.” It was too late. I had already said something.
    â€œOoh, ask my mom can y’all come and get me,” Toya said.
    â€œOkay, hold on—I’ll ask her.” I gave my aunt the telephone. She took the telephone and handed it right back to me. I took the phone back and said, “Toya, she said she don’t have time to come and get you.”
    â€œAll right, then. My mom be tripping—she can come and get me. It’s cool, though. Bye.” I placed the cordless phone on the charger.
    Without any guilt, my aunt said, “Come on. You ready?” while she put her coat on and we walked out of the door. “Make sure you call when you get to the movies and when y’all make it back to Angelique’s house,” she told Ariel.
    â€œYes, Mom. See you, Nadine.”
    â€œBye. Have fun,” I said as we walked out the front door.
    Aunt Connie checked the door to make sure it was locked. “We taking your car or mine? We can take mine. That way, I can leave all my bags in the car.”
    We got in her 1999 Buick LeSabre. She took her coat off and adjusted her chair and said, “Nadine, remind me to buy some minutes for my phone,” she said as she plugged her phone in the charger.
    â€œYou need to get a plan and stop wasting your money. I don’t know why you got that stupid prepaid phone.”
    â€œI like my phone. I don’t have to worry about having a thousand-dollar cell phone bill or getting cut off. I buy the minutes when I need them. My friend at work got Sprint and her phone gets cut off every other day,” Aunt Connie said as she put on her seat belt and lifted the sun visor.
    â€œBut that doesn’t make sense—you have to keep running to the store, getting cards.”
    â€œIt makes sense to me,” my aunt said as she handed me two hundred dollars.
    â€œThank you,” I said.
    â€œYou’re welcome.”
    â€œBuy yourself something nice, and buy that boyfriend of yours something.”
    â€œI thought I told you—I broke up with Erick.”
    â€œNo, not Erick. I liked him—he was so nice.”
    â€œI just didn’t know if he was the right one for me.” I sighed.
    â€œGirl, that man has a good job and no kids. You shouldn’t have never let him go. Some woman going to find him, dust him off, and marry him before the summer.”
    â€œI don’t care—she can have him.” Changing the subject, I said, “Why didn’t you want Toya to come with us?”
    â€œBecause she is going to spend all my money. Why, was she upset? She wanted to go. I guess I should go get her, huh? It is her daughter’s birthday.” She questioned me and answered her own question in the same breath. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Toya’s number back.
    â€œToya, I’ll come and get you. You better be ready, ’cause I’m not waiting for you. Who is going to watch the kids? Okay, I’ll be there.”
    â€œWho’s watching the kids?” I asked as we rode down the street..
    â€œNate.”
    â€œReally?” I said as I laughed.
    â€œYou know it is not funny. One day, Tony, the next day, Nate,” she said as she took a deep breath. “She has to get herself together.”
    My cousin was a pimp. She has dealt with the same two guys for the last three years. The guys have fought and threatened each other, and she refuses to leave either one alone. She has a baby by both of them. It is hard when one of your male relatives stops dating a woman and she gets all attached to the family, but imagine two men fighting over who can come to the family reunion or cookout. Both trying to play the position of Toya’s man. It is so funny.
    She met Tony at her first and last semester of college, and Nate is the childhood sweetheart. When she met