Flawbulous

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Table of Contents

by

 

 

 

This book is dedicated to Deirdre Neeley and Theresa
Tarver, the messiest, craziest, most loyal, most fabulous,
and best friends I could ever ask for.

 

 

It is also dedicated to “Double A.”

 

As always, I give honor to God first and foremost. He could've given this gift to anybody, but He chose me. I'm eternally thankful and owe any success I have to Him. All I have is a notebook and a laptop. He is the one who breathes life into my thoughts and words. Without God, I'm nothing.

I would like to thank my family for always having my back. Myrtice C. Johnson, Shannon Johnson, Shelman Burton III, Myrja Fuller, James L. Johnson, Jr., and James L. Johnson, Sr., your love and support sustain me. I wouldn't be who I am if you weren't who you are. I love you all tremendously!

Thank you to my friends Deirdre, Lola, Aaliyah, Ra-shada, Dwan, Tammie, Stephanie, Melissa, Shameka, Tralia, Tanisha, and Theresa for being the definition of true friends. I can call on you anytime, tell you anything, and drag you everywhere with me, and you always come through without hesitation. You are my sisters, and I love you so much!

Thank you, Crystal, Latravius, and Traci, for your support and encouragement, and for being my writing coaches. You ladies rock!

Thank you to all my supporters. I know you're out there, and I'm so grateful that you're a part of my life. I can't name all of you or possibly thank you enough. Please know that I love you, and I'm praying for you.

Okay, enough about me! Enjoy and happy reading!

“Any couple who can go through hell and back like you
have and still come out feeling something that resembles
love deserves to be together!”

 

–
Lawson Kerry Banks

 

Lawson Kerry Banks scanned the anxious crowd gathered inside the fellowship dining hall at Mount Zion Ministries in Savannah, Georgia, on a dreary Tuesday evening in October. Whether by choice or coercion, they were all there to celebrate First Lady Sullivan Webb's thirty-fourth birthday. Forty-five minutes into the party, the guest of honor was still a no-show.

Exasperated, Lawson looked down at her watch for the third time. “Is it physically impossible for that woman to be on time for anything?”

Her close friend, Angel King, laughed and tossed back her chestnut ringlets. “Charles called Sullivan again a little while ago. She said she's on her way. Plus, it's a surprise party. Technically, Sullivan doesn't know she's late.”

“Not to mention those fifty extra pregnancy pounds she's lugging around!” added Kina Battle, joining them, trying to balance a plate of vegetables and a cup of punch. “Having a human being occupying your uterus slows down even the best of 'em. I do wish she had let one of us pick her up though.”

As she sifted through the remnants of food left on her plate, Lawson overheard someone complaining about Sullivan's tardiness. “Sully needs to forgo the grand entrance and hurry up. The natives are getting restless! You know our girl isn't exactly the church's favorite person. It was like pulling teeth to get this many to show up. I practically had to bribe half of them to come and had to guilt the rest into being here.”

Angel defended their wayward friend. “I think the congregation has started to warm up to Sully, thanks to that gut full of baby bump she's carrying and the DNA proof that Charity is the pastor's child, not Vaughn's. Those kids have been the best PR Sullivan could've asked for. Besides, her affair with Vaughn and all that drama was years ago. Nobody is holding that against her anymore. I doubt if most of the folks here even remember it.”

Lawson rolled her eyes. “Girl, please! Who do you think can forget something as messy as the first lady getting chopped down by the church's mechanic? Not church folks! We can give elephants a run for their money when it comes to remembering acts of foolishness. Don't get me started on all the fallout that came afterward.”

Kina scoffed. “Don't look at me! Charles was bound to find out about the possibility of Charity not being his daughter whether I told him or not. Anyway, she turned out to be his baby, and there's no doubt that soon-to-be born baby Christian is his child. All's well that ends well.”

Lawson plucked a carrot stick from Kina's plate. “Actually, Kina, I wasn't even thinking about you. I was talking about Charles's failed campaign for commissioner and the impact the affair had on their marriage, but thank you for reminding everybody how loudly hit dogs do holler!”

“Be careful what you say to Kina,” cautioned Angel. “You don't want to end up scandalized in your cousin's new book.”

Lawson cut her eyes toward Kina. “Yeah, I forgot. My sister had to learn the hard way how shady Kina can be for the right price.”

Kina balked. “I neglected to check my calendar this morning. Is this National Beat Up on Kina Day?”

“Oh, don't try to whip out your victim card now.” Lawson set down her plate of food. “You lost that privilege when you decided that family loyalty came second to fame and your so-called reality show.”

“A reality show that never even got picked up,” Kina reminded them. “I don't know why you all are still giving me flack about exposing Reggie. Aside from a handful of my social media followers, who even saw that video of her in all her naked glory at the strip club?”

“Um, her fiancé, for one!” answered Angel. “Your little exposé almost tore them apart.”

Kina raised her index finger. “Instead, it was the catalyst for Reggie getting off the stripper pole for good and going back to college. Now she and Mark are off on a romantic gambling weekend in Biloxi, and their relationship is stronger than ever. Honestly, Lawson, you should be thanking me for saving your sister, not raking me over the coals.”

“I'm sure that's the Hollywood spin you'll put on it in this tell-all book,” predicted Lawson.

“It's not a tell-all book about my friends. It's about my journey from being an abused widow to a weight-loss starlet to, apparently, a condemned woman.” Kina sighed. “Unfortunately, no matter how I spin it, my editor still won't like it. She hates me. The only thing she hates more than me is anything I submit to her in writing. I'm absolutely dreading my upcoming meeting with her.”

Angel patted Kina on the back. “Kina, I'm sure she doesn't hate you. She probably jus—”

“
Hates me!
” blurted out Kina. “She's rejected every single thing I've written, and she's made it very clear that the only reason she's even giving me this book deal is because she wants to capitalize on whatever fleeting fame I have left from being the winning contestant on
Lose Big.
”

“Well, you did get a pretty nice book advance, Kina,” noted Angel. “It's no surprise that your publishing company is expecting a return on their investment.”

Kina grimaced. “Twenty thousand dollars is nice, but it's not like I can retire on that. Anyhow, I'm a secretary, not a writer!”

“Perhaps you should've revealed that to your publisher before cashing that big check,” deduced Lawson.

Angel tried to reassure Kina. “You'll be fine. Just do what we always do. Put it in God's hands and let the pieces fall into place.”

Lawson checked the time again. “Somebody needs to put Sullivan's sense of punctuality in God's hands too. We've been waiting over an hour now.”

“Yeah, this is a little beyond fashionably late,” conceded Angel. “I can't stay much longer. Duke is leaving for LA in a couple of days, and I want to spend as much time with him as I can.”

“He left you for eight years while he was immersed in marital bliss with his late wife, Theresa. Does it really matter if y'all miss a few more minutes?” joked Kina.

Angel frowned. “Very funny. All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord, including husbands who cheat and abandon their starter wives for a few years. Obviously, all that time apart showed Duke and me that we want to be separated as little as possible.”

Kina smirked. “Tell that to his
replacement
wife—God rest her soul!”

Lawson tried to muffle her laughter. “Don't listen to her, Angel. You and Duke have survived affairs, dead wives, addictions, and bratty step-kids. Any couple who can go through hell and back like you have and still come out feeling something that resembles love deserves to be together. You're soul mates. It's just took you a while to figure that out.”

“Thank you, Lawson. You and Garrett have been through the fire too,” said Angel. “I don't smell any smoke on you, either.”

“Oh, it's there. It's just covered with a lot of perfume,” replied Lawson. “But we're definitely in a much better place than we were a year ago. My husband's mistress-slash-baby mama still works my nerves, but Simon has become an important member of our family, especially now that Namon is in school in Atlanta.”

“I still can't believe he's in college! It seems like only yesterday that you were waddling around campus, trying to hide Mark's illegitimate seed growing inside your belly,” said Kina. “Now he's all grown up.”

Lawson nodded. “Thank God everything turned out as well as it has. Five years ago, when Mark reentered my life and discovered that Namon was our love child, I never would've predicted that Mark and I would end up as great friends, or that Namon and Mark would grow as close as they have. Now Namon is at Georgia State on a full academic scholarship, Mark and I have found a way to co-parent, he and Garrett are somewhat getting along, and Reggie is great at playing the roles of both aunt and stepmother-to-be to Namon. It's one big happily dysfunctional family!”

“Just wait until Reggie and Mark start procreating, and Namon has a bunch of ‘brother cousins' running around,” interjected Angel.

“Admittedly, it's a little unconventional,” granted Lawson.

“Unconventional? Try incestuous! I could never get involved with someone my relatives had been with.” Kina sneered. “It seems so . . . icky.”

Angel gave Kina the side eye. “You didn't think it was so icky when you had the hots for Sullivan's husband.”

Kina's olive skin reddened from embarrassment. “Sullivan's a friend, not a relative. You all know I was confused at the time. I wasn't thinking straight.”

“You certainly weren't thinking
straight
when you dove into the lady pond with Joan, but I digress,” Lawson added snidely.

Kina groaned. “Can we change the subject?”

“Gladly.” Lawson checked her watch again. “My goodness, where is that girl? This is late, even by Sullivan's ‘anything under an hour isn't late' standard.”

“I'm getting kind of worried now,” admitted Angel. She turned her back to make a phone call.

“Yeah, people are starting to leave,” said Kina. They looked up in time to see Charles and his assistants bolt toward the door. “I wonder what that's about.”

“I don't know, but I'm not getting a good feeling about this.” Lawson dug her phone out of her purse. “I'm gonna try to call Sully again.”

“Don't bother.” Angel hung up her phone. “I just tried. It's going straight to voice mail.”

“That's not good. Sullivan always has her phone on.” Lawson put her phone away. “You two stay here. I'm going to look for the pastor and find out what happened.”

Kina and Angel stayed behind while Lawson darted off to find Charles.

Kina rubbed her arms, finding herself here chilly and nervous. “You don't think something's seriously wrong with Sullivan, do you?”

Angel let out a deep breath. “I don't know. I'd feel much better if we prayed about it, though.”

As Angel and Kina joined hands to pray, Lawson returned, frantic. “We've got to leave right now!” announced Lawson, grabbing her purse and jacket. “Sullivan was in an accident.”

Angel gasped. “Is she okay?”

“The car flipped over, and she was thrown through the windshield.” Lawson looked her friends in the eyes. “It doesn't look good.”