The Reunion Show (19 page)

I couldn't help but to respond. “And I don't like you either. You're full of crap, Jada, and you're so wrong about me and—”

Jeff interrupted. “Please, Sylvia, remain quiet. You'll have your opportunity to respond. Allow her to finish.”

I rolled my eyes and tapped my heel on the ground. I couldn't wait to have my say. Thankfully, Jada moved on.

“Roc, I love you too, boo, and even though you mad at me, you need to cut back on the weed and get yo life in order. If you want to profess love for somebody, stand up and be the man yo lady needs you to be. Stop runnin' around teasin' folks, and makin' promises that you ain't gon' keep. Lastly, keep yo dick in yo pants. There are too many chicks who would take the risk of ridin' on it, but if you ain't on the market, man up and say that shit. Prince, I'm not gon' tell you how I feel about you because you already know. I will say one thing and that is your home trainin' ain't worth a damn. Yo Mama or Daddy done failed you. With a li'l hope and change, maybe you'll do better.”

Prince was hyped about her comments like I was. His face twisted and he held up his middle finger the whole time Jada talked to him. “I accept no advice from a fat, ghetto, low-life bitch who don't know—”

“Prince, please,” Jeff said. “We have to cut the interruptions and allow everyone to speak what is on their minds.”

“Finish, slut,” he said to Jada. “I'm listenin'.”

“Yo dookey-breath Mama, bastard,” Jada said, rolling her eyes. “But anyway, what I learned from this experience is some women need to learn how to cook, especially if they want to keep a man, and some men need to stop usin' they dicks to get what they want. Livin' in a house with five other black people is fucked up. I would never want to do this again.”

Jada looked at Jeff. He thanked her for being honest. Prince and I appeared to be the only two highly upset by Jada's comments. I guess the others knew how to control themselves. Chase was next, but instead of sitting to say what was on her mind, she stood up. She crossed her arms, starting with Jada.

“I won't respond to your statement about me being thirsty, and I reject every word you said about me; it doesn't apply. You, however, have no class whatsoever. I encourage you to return to school to further your education, because you come across as a real dumb-ass trick. Pertaining to food, girl, hook up with a dietitian and be done with it. You could stand to lose some serious weight and your goal should be looking like me. That's hard to do, but the least you can do is try.”

Prince slapped his leg and started cracking up. “You got that shit right!” he shouted.

“Sit your triflin' self down somewhere, before I knock you upside your head with this cane,” Jada said to Chase. “You the one who ain't got no class. A bitch with two dicks in her in one night ain't got no room to talk. I'm one hundred percent satisfied with the way I look, thank you very much. And when you get done talkin', any decent man would take a curvy
trick
like me any day, over a skank who can't even make a grilled cheese sandwich.”

Roc snickered, Jaylin sighed, and Prince held his hand inches away from his mouth. “Damn, for real?” he said. “Chase did it like that with two dicks? Fuck, I missed out!”

Jeff yelled for silence, but Jada seemed highly upset. “Don't get me started. I tried to be cordal, but you went off on the deep end with me. If I add Jeff to the mix, then you really gon' have to sit down and clamp yo mouth shut.”

All eyes shifted to Jeff. Hell, what about him? Did Chase have sex with him too? Oh, my. I wanted to know the scoop. Apparently, everybody else did as well. Jeff jumped up from his chair and put his hands in his pockets. “Jada, the word is cordial, not cordal. If you continue to interrupt, I'll have to ask you to leave and give someone else the money. Please remain calm, and Chase, be careful with your comments.”

Chase softened her tone, but tried to make her point. “You asked us to say what was on our minds. I was only keeping it real. I make no apologies for it, and if Jada didn't like what I had to say, I'm sorry, too bad. Moving on,” she said, turning to Jaylin with glee in her eyes. He appeared nonchalant, while looking straight ahead. “I don't have anything, not one single negative thing to say about you, and on a positive note, you are ridiculously handsome. It was a pleasure spending time with you, and I consider myself so lucky for having the opportunity to get to know you on another level. My hope is that our friendship can continue.”

“Ugh,” Jada said, frowning. “I want to throw up. Stop ridin' so doggone much.”

“Please,” I added. “Move on.”

Chase's words were sickening. The last thing she needed to do was act as if Jaylin was all that. Obviously, she was trying to hook up with him again. He had the audacity to thank her for the “kind” words.

“Before I continue,” Chase said. “I'm going to need both of you bitches to stop hating. She looked from Jada to me, but neither of us said a word.

“Proceed,” Jeff said. “Without any more interruptions.”

Chase gawked at me with deviousness in her eyes. “I ditto what Jada said about you, Sylvia, but I'm going to add much more to it. You are a phony woman who will get no high praises from me. You don't come across as being a loyal person, and I'm sure you'll find yourself all alone one day, without any friends. There is not one single thing that I like about you, and when it comes to men, my hope is that you learned a little something from me. Your approach is tired and played out. I don't blame Jaylin for dissing you, and that's what you get for presenting him with a weak game.”

“I learned… Not. One. Thing,” I said. “And I don't take advice from whores who open their legs and mouths to numerous men who use them.”

All Chase did was chuckle. I swallowed hard. My feelings were bruised. It was difficult to hear one person say something negative about me, but when two people said the same thing, it stung. Jada or Chase didn't know much about me, but the loyal thing got to me because of what I had done to someone I considered a best friend. I pretended not to trip and listened to Chase express herself to Roc. He sat with his elbows resting on his knees, staring like he wanted to kill her.

“The truth is, I don't have a beef with you, so please calm down and stop looking at me like that. Don't be upset with me because you made the wrong choices. What woman wouldn't pursue you, Roc; after all, you are a very attractive man. Out of all of us, you should've learned the most. You can't play around with love, and you need to be careful about who you slide your thing into. I'll leave it there after I remind you of the dire consequences of trying to have your cake and eat it too. Prince, you got a bad wrap up in here. I like you, a lot, but stop trying to be so hard. Never resort to putting your hands on a woman. Learn to walk away from fools who push you into confrontations and then cry out as victims. I'm sure you know what I mean.”

Prince nodded, evidently feeling what Chase had said.

“Is she referrin' to me as the foolish victim?” Jada said, but was ignored. “Okay, I'mma show that ass who the fool is. Watch.”

“What I've learned from this experience is some women will always be the catty, backstabbing, jealous, and hating bitches who they are. Sexy men can always get it, and I will never do this again, unless Jaylin is in the same house with me.”

Chase glanced at Jaylin, but he didn't respond. He looked to be in deep thought. That round left Jada sitting in her chair fuming and me wanting to walk the hell out. I was two-for-two in the negative.

“Jaylin,” Jeff said. “We're ready whenever you are.”

“I don't think it's appropriate to sit here and tell people things they already know about themselves. It really ain't my place to judge or bring a bunch of bullshit to their attention. But I have no problem playing by the rules, and just so everybody here knows, any and all negative or positive comments addressed to me will go in one ear and out the other. I'm well aware of my issues, but I'm one hundred percent happy with who I am. I suspect that no one here can advise me on how to increase my net worth, so feel free to skip over me, unless, of course, you have proven credentials that can qualify you as being my financial advisor. With that, Jada knows she's out there and her vocabulary is fucked up. Chase is sexy as fuck, but use the pussy for other things, other than playing on brotha's minds.” Jaylin finally looked up and turned in her direction. “For the record, revenge always backfires. You know what I'm talking about, so think before you act, all right?”

Chase had nothing to say, causing Jaylin to turn his head to me. “Sylvia, you know how I feel, because I already told you. The best thing you can do is direct your anger toward the man who really hurt you. That man is not me, so stop living that lie. Roc, reconsider the marriage thing. You're young, and a man in his twenties needs not to commit unless his mind is mature enough to do so. When you're ready, you'll know it. Prince, I feel for you, but parental direction or not, know better and do better. This experience has shown me that there are way more fucked up people in this world than me. Money remains the root of all evil, and it will remain limited to those who stab others in their backs to get it. Be careful who you step on in the process, because you never know when your greed may come back to bite and take a chunk out of yo ass. If given the opportunity, I would definitely do this again. It has benefited me in every single way possible.”

Silence soaked the backyard. Jaylin's words didn't hurt me as much as Jada's and Chase's did, but Chase was the one, out of all of us, who seemed taken aback. It was my turn. I had hoped to keep my cool, but as soon as I opened my mouth, my words turned harsh.

“Jada, you need to be in a mental institution, instead of Hell House. You're an embarrassment to African American women, and my wish is for you to return to school and study English.”

“And my wish is for you to purchase a high-priced girdle that can suck in your sloppy stomach that is makin' yo dress look awful. How's that for bein' an embarrassment to black women? You do none of us any justice by walkin' around here with a potbelly in a mini-dress. What exactly was you thinkin', you messy hooka? I'm confused.”

“That you are. Very confused, so be sure to handle that.”

I figured Jada wouldn't like what I had to say. If that was all she could use to attack me, I happily ignored her.

“Chase, you're trash. You appear to be one of those women who make a living chasing dick to fill a void that no dick will repair. I feel sorry for you the most because you're used up and don't even know it. No man will ever take you seriously until you wise up and face your demons. There appears to be a lot of them. Tackle whatever it is that makes you resort to being such a slut and good luck on your transition to becoming a better woman.”

Jada busted out laughing. “Hell, naw. She done went the fuck off! Call it as you see it, ho, I'm listenin'.”

Chase jerked her head to the side and cut her eyes at Jada. She then stood and pointed her finger at me. “If I didn't call you any names, then I want the same respect in return. How dare you call me a slut when you opened your legs, invited Jaylin into his friend's pussy the first night you were here, and then cried about it when you got dissed? I—”

I turned to Jeff, asking that he speak up to silence her as he had done everyone else. “Let Sylvia finish, Chase,” he said. “She deserves a turn too.”

“Thank you,” I said, watching as Chase sat back down and clamped her mouth shut. Her brows were raised and she was mad as hell. Great.

My moment of truth was now here. I sucked in a deep breath and then released it. “Jaylin, the real reason I'm here is because of you. I'm not going to stroke your ego, as some of us have clearly already done, but here are the facts. All you do is trample on the hearts of women. You don't give a damn about nobody but yourself. You use your good looks, charm, and money to entice women, and when they begin to express their love for you, you take advantage of that love or treat love as if it's a crime. You may very well be satisfied and happy with who you are; good for you. I, however, see you as a slick, dog-ass, trifling, motherfucking Negro who will eventually get what is coming to you. When that day comes, I hope that whoever the lucky woman is, I hope that she rips your heart from your chest and stomps on it. My wish is that she delivers enough pain to you, in return for all of the pain I'm sure you have dished out for many years. From the outside, you may be one of the most gorgeous men I have ever laid my eyes on, no doubt. But your insides are rotten and uglier than that bitch sitting next to you. That would be Chase.”

Chase shot up from her chair and clapped her hands. All Jaylin did was nod and rub the hairs on his chin.

“Finally,” Chase said still clapping. “The fake ho is gone and the real foul-mouth tramp has shown up. I knew you could do it, Sylvia. Thank you for throwing away the mask so we could all get a glimpse of the real you.”

“You're welcome. Now, sit your trashy tail down so I can finish.”

Jada couldn't control herself. She was laughing and clapping so loudly that her claps were echoing. “Preach! I swear y'all hoes are messy,” she shouted. “But I want exactly what you're havin', Sylvia. Is it by chance a V-8 or some Vitamin Water?”

“Please stop all that yelling in my ear,” Chase shouted to Jada. “It's not that serious.”

“If you don't like it, move. And it is that serious, because Miss Fakety-Fake done awakened from the dead and called out some people on their shit.”

Jeff had to remind us again to stay quiet and remain respectful. I was able to continue after Chase and Jada got finished exchanging a few more unkind words. Jaylin had also expressed that he was happy I had gotten that off my chest.