Insanity (18 page)

Bryant shrugged and said, “July twenty-first it is then. He’ll see about everything else later.” He felt as if he had been shot by a new burst of energy. He was growing up into a real man.

Queen heard his definitive response and smiled even harder.

She told herself,
It looks like it’s gonna be a good day after all.

FFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

When Bryant told his boy the shocking news, Garrett set the roof on fire.

“
What
? Are you
crazy
? I mean, Queen is sexy, man, but you had
way
more qualified and deserving girls than
her
, and you
knew
them longer. Are you sure you wanna go there with this girl? How’d you even let that happen?”

They were having drinks down at the Harbor Sports & Grill after eight o’clock, and watching basketball on TNT.

Bryant said, “I thought you liked her.”

Garrett stuttered over his glass of beer. “I was, I was
startin’
to like her. But
this
. . . come on, yo. That’s like the classic set up. You start spending extra time with a girl. She starts sleeping over. You stop wearing condoms. And
whoop
,
there it is
! She got you.”

Bryant had to laugh at it himself. It was what it was.

He said, “Well, look at
you
, man. You getting
married
in a couple of months yourself.”

“Yeah, but we
walked
through this. We didn’t
run
. But you seem like you trying to do an Allen Iverson and crossover right to the hole.”

Bryant laughed again and said, “He
is
a franchise player though.”

“Yeah, on a
losing
team.”

“That’s how they
all
start off when you get a new guy. If you’re already
winning
you don’t get a franchise player. You know that.”

Garrett said, “Look, all I know is that in
real life
, you don’t wanna draft no chick at the
bottom
. You wanna draft a girl at the
top
, because that’s where you’re trying to
go
. But when you draft girls from the
bottom
. . .” He stopped and shook his head. “Those are the kind of women who take you to the
bank
when they find out that can’t handle the lifestyle. Now you tell me I’m wrong.

“What does your investment company teach you?” he asked. “What are you learning in grad school about that? Different levels of money don’t mix well.”

Bryant had no argument for him. Even the middle-aged bartender, a robust white man with wild, uncombed hair, nodded while overhearing them.

“That sounds about right in my book,” he commented, filling another drink for a customer.

Bryant said, “Well, what about all the guys who marry their high school sweethearts and stay put for forty-something years?”

He said it loud enough for the bartender to be a part of it.

The man nodded, agreeing with him. “That’s a valid point.”

Garrett shrugged. “Yeah, but she’s not your high school sweetheart. That girl didn’t go to high school nowhere near us. And if you’re in high school together, then most likely, you’re from the same economic community.”

It was another valid comeback. The bartender waited a minute for Bryant’s response. But he was too slow with it, and there were drinks to serve at the bar. So the man moved on.

With Bryant and Garrett alone again, Bryant stated, “Sometimes, man, you just gotta step up to the plate and be a man about it. I mean, she’s a good, hard-working girl. She wants to succeed just like
we
do.”

Garrett looked into his face and said, “I hope you know what you’re doing to yourself, B. And you can talk that old-school, step-up-to-the-plate shit if you
want
, but that shit don’t
work
no more, yo. These
new
women wanna get
paid
. That’s why Gwen and I are signing a prenuptial agreement. We both understand what’s
fair
. And you already know, Gwen’s family has their
own
money. But what are
you
gettin’ involved in with
this
girl?”

It was more than just the alcohol talking. It was common sense to look before you leap. Queen Tillis was from a whole different side of the tracks than they were from, giving Bryant a lot more to think about.