Chapter 37

Ding dong, ding dong . . . the doorbell at the Meadows home was ringing.  Juanita eventually opened the door only to see Tabitha and Shawanda standing there.

“Oh Tabitha, where’s your key?”  she asked.

“I’m sorry, I must have left it in my room,” she responded.

Shawanda, who was now dressed as her usual self, with jeans, tennis shoes, and a tank top, spoke up. 

“I’m sorry about the commotion the other night.”

“No problem,” Juanita replied.  “Come on in, let’s talk.”

Tabitha went up to her room to study while Juanita and Shawanda moved to the kitchen, where Shawanda was offered a Pepsi, which she readily accepted.

“Do you like this Jesse character?” Juanita began.

“Hey, don’t be too hard on him,” Shawanda answered.  “I know he’s a little rough around the edges when it comes to white folks, but he’s basically OK.  Besides, good single black men are hard to find.”

“Have you ever considered a man who was not black?” Juanita questioned further.

“What? Me and a white dude?  Ha ha ha,” she chuckled.  “No, I’m not prejudiced or nothing, but I don’t know how me and some white cat could make it."

Juanita was puzzled.  The other night, Shawanda had appeared so elegant, well spoken, and ladylike.  Now she had reverted into slang and double negatives.

“Who are you?” Juanita asked.

“Excuse me?!” Shawanda replied.

“The other day, you acted like a different person.  And today, you’re, well, you again.”

“Ha ha ha ha” Shawanda laughed, as Juanita sat with a puzzled look on her face.

“Don’t you know, Mrs. M., that when you are black in America, you have to be doubly cultured?  I mean, that is, if you want to be successful.”

“Why?  What do you mean?”, Juanita queried further.

“I mean,” Shawanda began her answer, “you have to be able to walk, talk, sit, and be like white people when necessary.  And then we have to able to relate to blacks and black culture when we’re with our own.”

“That’s a shame,”  Juanita said, “why can’t we all just be one, and be color blind?”

“Hey, lady,” Shawanda said defensively, “I don’t make the rules.  I’ve just learned to live by them.”

“The Bible says, ‘By this shall all men know you are my disciples, that you have love for one another,” Juanita said as she attempted to get the final word in on the subject.

“Hey Mrs. M.,” Shawanda started, “you’re preaching to the choir.  ‘Some of my best friends are white people,’” she teased, even though Juanita didn’t quite realize the underlying message.

“Some of my best friends are black” was one of the things blacks often heard from whites.  It had become a statement that blacks resented hearing, and they almost never believed the speaker. Some blacks, like Shawanda, had taken to reversing the statement in mockery of it, but all those subtleties went right over Juanita’s head.

Meanwhile, Charles was questioning George about Shawanda. 

“Are you being moved by your head, your heart, or your loins?” Charles asked.

“What?!” George reacted, surprised at the directness of the question.

“Is it God?  Is it the idea of having a second wife?  Or is it a curiosity about how she would be in bed?” Charles challenged further.

“Well . . . uh . . . she is good looking, all right, but I . . . uh . . . don’t think it’s just a physical attraction . . .” George began before being interrupted.

“Then why not Judy?” Charles asked.

“Judy?” George repeated.  “Why uh  . . . uh . . . she’s five years older than I am.”

“Does that make a difference?” Charles asked.

“Well . . . uh . . . I mean . . .” George stuttered.

“Who needs a husband more right now?” Charles asked.

“Well, uh, I can see that Judy needs a father for her boys, but Shawanda needs someone to protect her from wolves like this Jesse character” he replied defensively.

Charles decided to lighten the atmosphere and said with a chuckle, “Who knows, maybe God will have you marry them both.”

“There’s a thought,” George replied in a like light hearted manner.  “I guess I’ve got a lot of praying to do” he said.

“Yes, I think you do,” Charles agreed.

Trying to convince Judy she could be his second wife would be difficult in and of itself, George thought, but what would be the repercussions of trying to take Shawanda away from Jesse?

He wouldn’t have long to wait to find out.