Magnolias Bloom in May by Jeanetta Shorter

Author:Jeanetta Shorter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: African american, Women Literature, Magical Realism, Urban fiction, Contemporary literature, Supernatural fiction
Publisher: Abukenke Publishing LLC
Published: 2022-06-30T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 30

SHE HAD SEEN THE LIP color in Ma Lu’Cille’s shop six months ago. As Mitzi shopped, Lu’Cille recounted her many trips to Paris with one of her various lovers. Lu’Cille said there were always two on rotation, but the way Mitzi’s count worked, there were at least five and maybe more, depending on where Lu’Cille traveled next. This story was laced with old black and white movie drama, Lu’Cille wearing a brick-red headscarf that was tied under her chin, running into a torrential flow of rain, him catching her eye and trying to get her out of the rain, her with bashful eyes, him sweeping her up in kisses and promises of undying love by the end of the night after soul-shattering sex. And it was always just sex. And gifts. Love had nothing to do with it. So, Mitzi bought the twenty-five-dollar lipstick. Chanel Rouge Coco. The most coveted lipstick in all of Europe, according to Lu’Cille. The normal price was forty-five dollars London pounds, but Lu’Cille let her have it for almost half off. Though she had saved up a month of wages from the days she and Eddie split to sell wares, she would feel the twenty-five dollars now gone over a frivolous thing such as lipstick. There was nowhere in Santos to wear such a bold color that spread across the lips like melting rubies. Tonight, she would wear it again, for a third time. Even with the bare touch of the slanted tip on her lips, it yielded its color like a wanton lover. Mitzi placed the gold tube back in its box, marveling at how the light glistened. She dropped the tube in her small black clutch purse that rested on the side of the sink.

“Well, don’t you look pretty. Where are you going?” Charla asked, as she slid into the small bathroom, sitting on the toilet seat next to her cousin.

“Thank you, ma’am. I try.” Mitzi gave a modest smile, turning her head to make sure that her chignon was without protruding curls.

“So, where did you say you are going?” Charla prodded, pulling a stray string that hung from the back of Mitzi’s black pencil glove-hugging skirt, tooting her backside that dipped to caress her thighs down to the calves.

“I didn’t say,” Mitzi answered with a smirk, “but if you have to know, I have a little date tonight,” Mitzi winked, scanning the mirror before gathering her purse and turning off the light. Charla followed her cousin as she walked to the bedroom.

“Soooo, who is it? Do I know him?” Charla begged, hoping for a morsel of information. Mitzi kept her eyes lowered, checking the small gray overnight bag that was carefully packed in rolls and compartments, much too neat for Charla to understand or want to model. Mitzi always had that southern neatness that she could never master.

“You wouldn’t know because you don’t live here. It’s who it is. Until I am sure, I am going to keep that to myself,” Mitzi wrinkled her nose and giggled like a schoolgirl with a new doll.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.