A Sister's Power. Cydney Rax

It feels like a bad dream. And every night when I go to bed, I wish I can wake up and none of this be true.”

      “Oh, B. I’m so sorry. I’m an asshole.”

      “You can be, but I understand. You don’t mean any harm, Lita.”

      “Girl, you know I don’t. I-I’ve always had a mouth on me. You know that.”

      “Hold up, Sis, because I want to share something else with you. You’re not the only one who has strong opinions.”

      “Okay. Who else out here acts like me?”

      “Nobody!” Burgundy had to laugh. “But anyway, you know how I attend Solomon’s Temple? I’ve taught classes there for many years. Some of the members look up to me. But not long ago, when the rumors spread and the word got out about Nate being accused of sexual assault, some people looked at me as if I had Hep C. They whispered behind my back. Some didn’t even want me working in the bookstore anymore. They acted like I was responsible for Nate’s actions.”

      “Well, if they did that, then they’re simple ass church folk.”

      “I wouldn’t say all that, Lita. It’s just that, and here is the tough part. I got mad at them for getting mad at me. And I know that in the beginning I defended my husband because I couldn’t imagine him sexually assaulting anybody. And so I believed him.”

      “Humph, and that was crazy.”

      “Lita, I was just trying to be the best wife and mother that I could possibly be. But the people kept gossiping. Things got worse. And a couple of members confronted me in the church hallway. It got ugly.”

      “Who did it? Who was it?”

      “It doesn’t matter, Lita. But back then, I hated how they made me feel that what Nate did was all my fault. Like I should have known better and I should have controlled him.”

      “People are stupid.”

      “These people’s stupid, hateful ways got under my skin. And one night, I pretty much attacked Nate.”

      “What?” Alita laughed. “You did? How? How’d you do it?”

      “I rushed at him when he was in the kitchen and I beat him across his chest. I balled up my fist and punched him in his forehead as hard as I could.”

      “Wow. What else? Did you kick him in his nuts?”

      “No, Lita. I wanted to though. But the things I did do made me look nothing like a woman who goes to church every other Sunday.”

      “You were mad, B. Your own husband did shady shit behind your back. He was acting like a perv and you got sick of it. God can’t blame you for that.”

      “I wasn’t worried about God being mad at me. I was worried about why I kept defending someone who shouldn’t have been defended. I thought I was going crazy.”

      “B, you weren’t crazy. You were facing a tough reality.”

      “There you go, Lita. I had to stop burying family secrets under a rug. And I finally got to the point, thank God, where I couldn’t make any more excuses for Nate. And so yeah. I cursed him out and hit him across his face; they were hard punches, Sis. I only got in four or five hits before he stopped me. You know Nate is strong and his arms are muscular.”

      “I hope he didn’t hit you back.”

      “No. He knew better.” Burgundy’s eyes moistened and it felt quite liberating to be upfront with her sister . . . to admit the truth and not sugarcoat her seemingly perfect life anymore.

      “Anyway, our fight ended. I calmed down. He could have had me arrested for assault and battery but he didn’t. We ignored each other for a couple of days. And then we talked. We made up. This happened right before I went out of town to that restaurant convention in Seattle. I don’t think I told you but back when our legal problems intensified, I begged my husband to get a room at a motel so he could be there instead of at the house. At first, he fought me on it but then he agreed it was the best decision. He moved out,” Burgundy sighed. “Things got better. I felt more peaceful. But sometimes I let Nate come home so he could see the girls and help me with certain tasks around the house. I was mad at him but I still let him be Mr. Taylor, be a good daddy to his girls and still act like a husband to his angry, disgusted wife.”

      “Ha. You’re a better woman than I am. I don’t know if I should admire you or call you the words I usually call you. But I don’t want to insult you in Target so I will leave that one alone,”

      “Thanks, Lita. You’re so kind,” she said jokingly. “I’m saying all this to say that all of us are just flawed human beings. I’ve done a few things I’m not proud of. And my kids might be guilty of the same. Stop being so hard on them, please. Because nothing’s normal right now. And there’s no telling when they will get back to normal. And that’s just Act I of my story right now, Ms. Alita Washington.”

      “Reeves, baby girl. I’m always a Reeves.”

      Burgundy allowed herself to show a genuine smile. “Geez, Ms. Reeves, I’ve talked so much that my daughter has probably placed fifteen bras in the shopping cart by now.”

      “She’s so grown you’d better hope she’s not trying to find bras that will fit her own chest.”

      “Ha. That would be funny. Thank God she doesn’t have to wear a training bra yet. But Natalia has definitely acted more grownish. I think she feels like she needs to mother . . . her mother.” Burgundy gave a wry smile. “It’s shocking, but at the same time Natalia’s behavior is admirable. I like that she’s concerned. It proves that my daughter isn’t as narcissistic as I feared.”

      “Mmm hmmm,” Alita murmured. She heard what Burgundy told her but she only believed half of it. She truly adored both of her nieces but didn’t have patience when kids acted like ‘entitled people-in-training.’

      “Anyway,” Burgundy said. “Change of subject. What are you doing in Super Target? Aren’t you more of a Walmart type of chick?”

      “Ha-ha, I know right. I don’t know, girl. I needed something that my neighborhood store didn’t have, and since I was in your area, I decided to take a chance and come here. And look who I run into.”

      “You were in my neighborhood? Really?”

      Alita had briefly moved in with Shade but recently he helped her get her own place on the southwest side of town. An affordable efficiency that was good enough for the moment; and he also financially helped her with a few of her utility bills.

      “Alita, you don’t stay anywhere near here. And if I didn’t know any better, I’d swear you were going out of your way to check up on me.”

      “Yeah, and so what? I can’t check on my sister?”

      “Of course, you can. To know that you care, that Natalia cares, that anybody out here cares about me, well, I’m all for it. I need it.”

      Right then Natalia cautiously approached her mother, breaking apart the nearness that Burgundy and Alita shared as they quietly talked in the lingerie aisle.

      “Mommy, I’m sorry to interrupt. But I found six different bras you can try on. Two black, two white, a lavender one, and a red sports bra. They didn’t have blue.”

      “Why thank you so much for finding these for me,” Burgundy said. She winked at Alita. “You’re such a big girl. Your daddy would be so proud of you.”

      Natalia acted like she didn’t hear her mother’s reference to Nate. She stared at the panties that her mother had found earlier which were now sitting in her shopping cart.

      Natalia frowned as she delicately picked up one pair of ‘barely there’ bikinis.

      “Mommy, I don’t like these at all. You’d better put this back. I’ll do it for you.” Natalia grimaced and proceeded to slide the sexy underwear back onto