She tapped her fingers on the table and looked as if she were in deep thought. With a half-smile, she said, "Okay Destiny, you need to get all of this off your mind for a while. Let's go dancing. Then tomorrow when we are not sipping on the devil's water, we'll have a heart to heart about if Jacob is healthy for you."

"Nah, I'll pass on dancing." I shook my head. I loved to dance, but I could not dance a lick. "What are you trying to prove by getting me on the dance floor? Don't you think my pride has been damaged enough for one day?" I laughed and she joined in with my laughter.

The hotel's deejay, who had been playing what sounded like elevator music all night, put on Beyoncé's "Single Ladies", and Tasha began gyrating and grooving in her seat. "Oh, honey, it is true you can't dance, but that's not all dancing is about. It's about allowing your body to become a piece of fluid artwork, as you lose yourself and your problems in the beat. It doesn't matter how you look doing it, as long as you feel good doing it."

"I don't know about that," I said, looking unsure as I took another swig of my drink.

"Come on, it will make you feel better," she promised. "Haven't you seen that video on YouTube of the man praise dancing on the stripper pole? This will be your praise dance of sorts," Tasha added as she flipped her long, straight hair over her slim shoulders and laughed. I finished the rest of my drink.

"You are too much! That video is blasphemy, Tasha."

"Yeah, but honey, he is having fun. And if we can't have fun in this life, what's the use in living it?" Looking at her gyrate and groove in her chair made me remember why I loved her so much. My cousin was the most carefree person one could ever meet. She had a way of making people feel like their problems could be talked, drank, danced, or bible-quoted away.

"You do know you are committable to a mental hospital, right?" I told her with a wave of my hand. As my hand waved in the air, I examined my empty ring finger with mixed emotions. I was no longer Montie's wife. The budding relationship I thought Jacob and I had was now questionable. I felt single and alone.

"Shoot, after a good dance partner puts his moves on you, you may be committable to a mental hospital, too. It may help you forget all about Jay…or what's his name?"




Most Popular