Tea Leafing: A Novel by Weezie Macdonald Read Free Book Online Page B

dosh. The house does NOT get a cut.” Birdie spat. She turned
and resolutely marched off towards the dressing room giving her left ankle an
odd little shake every few steps to test the security of her ankle-safe.
    Sam and Grace thumbed
the stack of bills, pulling back the crisp twenties that bookended it,
revealing the remaining bills to be hundreds, not twenties.
    “What in the hell did
we just take this money for?” Grace whispered.
    “Silence.”

 
 
 
    CHAPTER 8
    Judging by the small cluster
of cars parked on the street, Sam guessed she was the last to arrive. Tanya’s
lavender, shingled cottage sat in the east Atlanta neighborhood known as
Kirkwood. Pushing the white picket gate open, she admired the pruned landscape
Tanya had created. Low-voltage landscape lighting washed the small yard in a soft
glow, hinting at the splendidly planned array that daylight would set fire with
color. Walking up the path of pavers that Birdie and Tanya had laid down the
previous spring, Sam noticed the porch light was off. Enough light filtered
through the drapes of the house that she still felt the air of warmth and
welcome.
    Pushing the heavy, red
front door open, she stepped into the pineapple scented living room. Tanya’s
Chihuahua, Edna, waddle-hopped over to Sam and began the welcome dance at her feet.
Edna, like Tanya, was always dressed to the nines. Tonight she wore a pink
terrycloth bathrobe and teeny tiny bunny slippers, clearly ready for a late
night girl pow-wow. Sam lifted Edna to her chest, nuzzling her face in the
dog’s perfumed hair. Birdie and Mary Jane each rose slightly from their sprawled positions on the couch, “Hey Sam.”
    Tanya sat on the floor
in front of her makeshift fireplace, a carved antique mantle she’d purchased at
Keller’s Flea Market and refinished. White pillar candles blazed, taking the
place of logs. Sam saw a nail polish wand in her right hand, poised over her
foot.
    “Hey Suga’. You’re
looking better than the last time I saw ya’! Come give Mama a hug.”
    Sam grinned and made
her rounds, kissing each on both cheeks, as Europeans often do. This would have
seemed a ridiculously pretentious act to the conservative Scandinavians that
dictated social norms in her home state. But in the south she had learned that
hugs and kisses weren’t reserved for lovers and family.
    “Gimme a minute while I
finish my top coat.” Tanya drawled, gesturing to her petal pink toenails.
    “Did I miss anything?”
Sam said throwing her bag stuffed with smoky, sweat-saturated costumes next to
the door and settled into an armchair with Edna.
    “Nope.” Mary Jane said,
“We were waiting for you.”
      “Where’s Grace? I thought I saw her car
outside.” Sam tilted her head to see if Grace was in the galley kitchen that
connected to the front room.
      “She had an errand to run. She’ll stop
by later. That’s my neighbor’s car.” Tanya said, replacing the brush in the
bottle of clear polish and giving it a quick twist to tighten the cap.
    “So, enough chat! Fill
us in ’bout the geezah and his twit!” Birdie referred to Mary Jane’s night in
the skybox with Fedya and Nikki.
    Mary Jane rolled her
torso toward the lace-draped coffee table, pulling her box of cigarettes near
with her fingertips. Sam saw a tired, troubled look on her face and figured the
need to smoke meant there was a story to tell. Mary Jane popped the white stick
between her lips and touched flame to its tip. Her thoughts collected as she
pulled smoke into her lungs.
    Resting her head back
onto the arm of the chair, she let the wisps dance between her nose and mouth.
    “Just weird.” Mary Jane
said. “I can’t figure out the deal with Nikki. What a cunt.”
      “Fedya obviously isn’t having any of her
shit,” Sam said.
    Tanya fanned her feet
with a copy of Vogue, and rested her eyes on Edna, “Lots a powerful men like
the feeling of keeping their girlies in check. I’m not sayin this is Fedya’s
thing,