“Uh hey, how have you been?”

“Oh I’ve been alright, how are the kids? I know they are big now. The last time I saw them I had to look up at Ronnie and James wasn’t too far behind him in the height department. That boy is gonna be a tall one!”

“They are good.”

There was a long pause as Bertina didn’t know what to say next. She looked around the room waiting for whatever was to come next. She wanted to know so badly to whom she was talking to but she was too scared to ask

“You there?” the woman asked as if she thought she had been hung up on.

“Yes I’m here.”

“Well like I said, it’s been awhile since I heard from you. I know that the last time I spoke to your brother Rick things weren’t exactly on good terms between us to say the least. But since you called I assume bygones are considered bygones between us since you are his closest sister. It’s so good to hear from you.” Almost squealing the last part.

“You too. But I am not sure what you are talking about.”

“well you know what I mean. Well don’t you? I thought everyone in the family knew by now and everyone in the tri county radius for that matter. Girl you know what I’m talking about. I thought the drama would never die down. I got so tired of hearing about it! Every time I went out there was someone just waiting to bring it up.” She blew her breath hard into the phone with a long exhale of exasperation.

“Honestly I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Bertina, girl really it’s okay you don’t have to keep pretending just to save my feelings. I am truly over it now. The things that go on with Rick and Jasha are none of my business and I have moved on, seriously I have.”

Just then, Bertina had a flashback of all the gossip and the drama from 2 years ago when Angell had caught her boyfriend of 10 years, Bertina’s baby brother, Rick enthralled in an explicit scene with the woman’s 18 year old cross dressing son. It was the biggest scandal in their town since everyone’s favorite mailman, Barney, was found to be stealing people’s large and pricey items in the mail getting away with 100,000.00 worth of merchandise and cash. She didn’t think there would ever be anything to top that but this situation monumentally surmounted that drama by epic proportions. From time to time, people still bring up the sordid details to her at the most unexpected times and inappropriate places like in the church bathroom while she’s washing her hands or at the register in the local supermarket. Any tom, dick, or fool would bring it up for spite or for sport, she couldn’t ever really tell, but it was truly an embarrassment and an annoyance.

What in the world had possessed her to call Angell after all this time she was unsure excluding the fact that Angell’s number was 1 digit off from Bertina’s boss’s cell number.

Damn!!

How was she going to get off of the phone with this woman! She was not in the mood to go back down memory lane tonight, besides Angell was known for being long winded. Just as that thought had been processed in her mind, Angell was half way through the expulsion of her inner most feelings about the affair and Tina knew she was caught!

This could go on for hours is all she could think. Damn!!

I have got to do better with dialing these numbers. Why hadn’t I programmed Adwalla’s number into my phone in the first place is what she asked herself in the most scolding tone she could muster.

If she brings up the matching red drawls, that’ll be it! She’ll be getting nothing but dial tone!!