The Savvy Sistahs (31 page)

Ten months later

T
he savvy sistahs walked into the plush restaurant and a number of heads turned and looked their way. Individually as well as collectively, they received admiring glances and lingering gazes. Other women silently complimented the way they were dressed—glamorous, elegant, and stunning. They were gorgeous, sophisticated, high-class sistahs. Savvy sistahs. Women who knew what they wanted, women who were accomplished in everything they did.

Women who were cherished by the men who loved them.

Brandy Bennett smiled upon seeing the attention they were getting. She glanced at Carla and Amber. Their friendship had begun two years ago on this very night, and they were here to celebrate as well as to reflect. With the power of prayer, the grace of God, and a firm belief that they were truly worthy of love from good men, they had stepped out on faith.

And their faith had seen them through the worst times.

Their men would be joining them later since the women had asked for an hour alone to chat and catch up on things. There had been so many changes in their lives and they no longer lived in the same town. Brandy had turned the running of the St. Laurent over to Kathie when she had returned from abroad, and had opened a bed and breakfast in Atlanta where she currently lived with Grey. They had married on Valentine’s Day, when her parents had decided not to mess up a good thing by getting married. Go figure.

Carla was the jet-setter, traveling with her husband and son, but she still considered Orlando her primary home. Taking a cue from her husband and his business success, she found herself delegating a lot of her duties at Osborne Computer Network. She enjoyed spending time at home taking care of Craig and Jesse and only went into the office a couple of days a week.

Amber still had her bookstore and had opened two others. Cord was keeping her accounting books straight, and he still provided her with plenty of tax tips…among other things. Their first child was due in six months.

After being shown to their seats, a waiter came and took their drink orders. “Milk,” all three of them said smiling. Brandy had just found out she was pregnant that day and Carla was due to have her baby around the same time as Amber.

When the waiter returned with three glasses of milk, the women joined hands at the table, bowed their heads, and prayed, thanking God for bringing them to this point in their lives and for giving them the strength to endure all things. They also sent special thanks out to God for their men.

Then they made a toast. “To us, the savvy sistahs, and to our undying friendship and continued success in all our endeavors,” Brandy said. “And most important, to the men who love us.”

Smiles curved their lips as they drank their milk. They had always been there for one another and they always would be. Their minds reflected on the principle they had shared in the car on the way to the restaurant that was found in I John 3:1.
Let us not love merely in theory or in speech but in deed and in truth—in practice and in sincerity.

And with their husbands, the men they loved, the extraordinary males that God had sent into their lives, they were always putting their love into practice.