Soulful Strut by Lynn Emery Read Free Book Online Page B

care.”
    “Same to you.”
    Monette kept walking. She mentally swept away
her initial impression of him. Jayson thought he was too good for
her. No problem. Besides, she had enough on her plate. What she
really needed to do was avoid men like they were bad news. Most of
them were worse than bad news, they were major natural disasters.
With one last wave to the receptionist on her way out, Monette went
outside into the sunshine. A block away she arrived at the bus
stop. She sat down on the stone bench and read a section of
newspaper someone had left behind. A light gray Dodge Ram pickup
truck pulled up at the stop sign. When the window slid down,
Monette prepared to put some guy in check. She was in no mood to
deal with some wannabe Casanova. Wearing a pair of sunglasses,
Jayson waved to her.
    “My Convention Street shop is only a few
minutes from New Beginnings. I’d be happy to drop you off,” Jayson
said.
    “No, thanks. My ride is here.” Monette
pointed to an approaching bus two blocks away. It belched black
smoke as it rolled along.
    Jayson glanced into his rearview mirror, then
nodded with a smile. “Okay. See you later.”
    “Yeah, right,” Monette muttered as she gave
him a chilly smile and waved good-bye.
    Monette was not interested in Mr. Nice Guy,
superfine or not. Candi was right about one thing—he wasn’t her
type. Jayson probably wanted a taste of bad girl on the sly. But
maybe she was being too cynical. She thought of that cute lopsided
smile and those dark, captivating eyes.
    The spring breeze seemed to blow the scent of
his cologne back to her. Before she could drift into a romantic
fantasy, the smell of exhaust fumes from the lumbering bus brought
Monette back to reality.
     
     

Chapter 3
     
     
    Two days later Monette sat in the backyard of
the halfway house. The women had a more relaxed schedule on
Saturdays. Half of them were gone on family visits. A few would be
entertaining company later in the afternoon. Monette tried not to
think about her lack of visitors or phone calls from family. She
had the local community college catalog open on the round patio
table. A huge umbrella with green and white stripes shaded her from
the bright, late-spring sunshine. Still, Monette wore her
sunglasses. Tyeisha and Candi perched on a square picnic table with
their legs hanging down like two little girls, except for the
cigarettes they puffed on. Monette had made them sit downwind from
her. Tyeisha ground out her cigarette after a few minutes and
joined Monette.
    “Whatcha gonna study?” Tyeisha squinted at
the pages.
    “Not sure. Since I have to write another
book, maybe some English classes.” Monette turned the pages.
    “You gotta write another book? Man, I don’t
know how you came up with all them words for the first one. But
two? I couldn’t do it” Tyeisha shook her head. “School ain’t never
been my thing anyway.”
    Monette looked up from the catalog. “You like
to write. School is nothing but reading and writing with a few
numbers thrown in. You could do it”
    “Nah, I don’t like some teacher standing over
me. Never did. Besides, I don’t write anything longer than a poem,
a short essay or maybe a short story. A book is way too long.”
Tyeisha frowned at the thought of such effort.
    “You take it one page at a time. Write down
what you know and what you feel. As for school, college is
different. You choose the subjects and set your own schedule.”
Monette could have preached the value of an education, but she was
sure Tyeisha had heard it before. She went back to looking over the
course offerings for the short summer session. “But it’s up to
you.”
    “Won’t cost me nothin’ to look at what they
offer, huh?” Tyeisha’s eyes blinked in concentration as though even
that step was a weighty decision.
    Monette suppressed a smile at the thought
that Tyeisha was now considering more education. Tyeisha reminded
Monette of herself and many of the women she’d met in prison.