One Way or Another (9 page)

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Authors: Rhonda Bowen

BOOK: One Way or Another
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“I've thought about that,” he said. “And I know that we'll probably spend the majority of the trip arguing with each other. But maybe that's okay.
“I'm really tough on the guys because I think they need that. But maybe every now and then I need someone to tell me when I'm being too tough on them.”
Toni grinned.
“That doesn't mean I'll always listen,” he said quickly. “I'll still make the final decision.”
Toni saluted. “Got it, captain.”
“Hey, Miss Toni. Hey, boss, you wanted to see me?”
Adam looked up in surprise at Rasheed, who was standing at the door. He looked over at Toni, who was grinning at him smugly, as she made her way to the door. He knew exactly what she was going to say.
“Told you so.”
Chapter 11
T
oni pulled her motorcycle into the last one-hour parking spot in front of Westpoint Medical Center. She barely had time to secure her helmet and grab her purse from under the seat as she hurried inside. It was 11:10 and she was already late for her appointment—one that she'd had to beg for in the first place.
“I am so sorry, Camille,” Toni said sincerely as she rushed up to the desk where Camille was standing, filling out some forms. “My boss had me in a meeting and I couldn't leave, and then I got stuck in traffic downtown.”
“You still getting everywhere late, aren't you?” Camille said.
Toni saw the hint of a smile on her face and relaxed a bit. “Well at least I'm consistent,” Toni said with a smile of her own. “I really am sorry though.”
“It's okay,” Camille said, waving Toni's apology away. “The doctor's running behind anyway. I'll let her know you're here.”
Toni smiled gratefully. “Thanks, Camille. And thanks for setting this up for me on such short notice.”
“No problem,” Camille said, smiling warmly as she retrieved the forms from the desk. “Have a seat and I'll let you know when they're ready for you.”
Toni took a seat in the half full clinic and looked around. She had never been to Westpoint before, but she had heard that it was one of the better places. Adam said it was where all the boys going on the trip had gone to get their trip medical insurance done, but because Toni had joined the group so late, she had missed the opportunity. He had recommended she talk to Camille. But given the way things had ended with Camille and Toni's friendship, Toni had been more than a little apprehensive.
They had been best friends growing up, but a lot had happened in that last year of high school that had pushed them apart. She had figured that Camille would have been hostile toward her—and she would have been within her right. But she hadn't been. Toni was still wondering why.
“Okay. She can see you now,” Camille said, sticking her head around the corner and motioning for Toni.
Toni watched Camille as she walked ahead of her. The young woman had put on some weight since high school. It looked good on her. Toni had always thought she was too thin. But her loser boyfriend Gary had always told her otherwise and that had gotten stuck in her head. As long as they had been together—and they had always been together—Camille had been on some endless trip to become a size zero. She had grown her hair out now too and it looked more natural. Toni was beginning to like this new Camille. Maybe more than the one she remembered.
Camille stopped at an open door at the end of the hall, allowing Toni to go in ahead of her. “Give me a shout when you're all done,” she said.
Toni nodded.
“You take good care of this one, Dr. Ramikie.” Camille pulled the door closed. “She's a friend of mine.”
So she still considered them friends. Toni couldn't explain it, but for some reason she was glad to hear that.
Thirty minutes later, rubbing her sore arm, Toni thanked the doctor and made her way out to the waiting area. She heard a laugh behind her and turned around to see Camille grinning.
“Don't worry, it only hurts for a little while,” she said.
Toni pouted and looked down at the three red spots where Dr. Ramikie's huge needles had massacred her. “I'm finding that hard to believe right about now,” Toni grumbled. “I thought they had orally administered booster shots nowadays.”
“Not the kind you need,” Camille said, leaning against the nurses' desk in the waiting area. “If it makes you feel any better, Adam's so jumpy it took him almost ten minutes just to get one.”
Toni smiled.
“Don't you dare!” Camille warned when she caught the glint in Toni's eyes.
“What?” Toni protested in mock innocence.
“You know what,” Camille said knowingly. “I can already see you plotting how you are going to tease the poor man about it.”
Toni shook her head. “I can't believe you would think that of me, Camille,” she said in mock indignation. She clutched her chest dramatically. “Is that the kind of person you think I am?”
Camille rolled her eyes. “Please. Go try that on someone who hasn't known you half your life.”
“Okay, you got me,” Toni said, grinning mischievously. “I promise I won't tell him I heard it from you. But that's the best I can do. This one is too good to sit on.”
Camille shook her head and laughed.
“What you doing now?” Toni asked after a moment. “I got an hour. You want to get some lunch?”
“Sorry, I gotta be across town at my hairdresser to get my ends clipped.” Camille glanced at her watch. “Shoot,” she said, stomping her foot. “I'm already late. And with the midday traffic, I'll never make it over in time on MARTA.”
Toni shrugged. “I'll take you,” she said. “It's probably my fault you're late anyway.”
Camille looked up at her hopefully. “Can you? You would save my life. If I miss this appointment, I won't be able to see Tracey again for like a month.”
“It's no problem,” Toni said, shouldering her handbag. “Grab your things and let's go.”
“Okay, where's your car?” Camille asked, slipping on her sunglasses as they stepped through the glass doors of the hospital and into the bright midday sunshine.
“I don't own one,” Toni said, walking toward her motorcycle.
Camille's mouth fell open as she watched Toni remove her helmet. “No way,” she said, shaking her head and taking a step backward. “I am not getting on that thing.”
Toni grinned. “Come on, Camille. It's just a motorcycle, and I've been riding for almost six years. I promise I'm a good driver.”
“Toni,” Camille moaned.
“You'll love it, I promise.” Toni said, handing Camille her helmet. “You'll probably want to get one of your own too.”
Camille sighed but put on the helmet anyway, and got on behind Toni. “I doubt it.”
Toni turned the key and pushed on the kick-start with her foot. The motorcycle roared to life and Camille screamed.
Toni laughed. “Hold on, girl!”
She took all the back roads she knew and broke a few speed limits but it still took them fifteen minutes to get to the Divine Hair Salon. And when Camille walked out of the salon after only five minutes with a dejected look on her face, Toni knew that the effort hadn't been enough.
“What happened?” Toni asked, still straddling the motorcycle.
“She thought I wasn't coming,” Camille groaned. “She gave my appointment to a walk-in.”
“Well, can't you come back tomorrow? Or later this week?”
Camille shook her head. “Tracey is booked up solid on weekends and after work. And my schedule is so tight I can't take time to come in the day.” She bit her lip as she held up her hair ends for inspection. “Maybe I can clip them myself in the mirror.”
Toni's eyes widened and she pulled out her cell phone. “Let's not get carried away,” she said. “Remember when you tried to cut my hair in high school and how it turned out? There's a reason you didn't go into cosmetology.”
“Well, what else am I supposed to—”
Toni held up her hand to stop her. “Hey, girl,” she said into the phone. “I got a hair emergency. Can you squeeze me in now?”
Toni rolled her eyes as Camille watched her, puzzled.
“You can eat your lunch anytime, and they rerun
Days of Our Lives
on the soap channel,” Toni said. “I'm coming over. We'll be there in ten minutes.
“Okay, get on,” Toni said, clicking her phone shut and starting up the engine.
“Where are we going?” Camille asked as she slid on behind Toni.
Toni smiled. “To someone who can work hair miracles.”
Only ten minutes later Toni was pulling up in front of Banyan Tree Salon.
“What is this place?” Camille asked, getting off and removing her sunglasses.
“You remember Afrika Keswick from high school?” Toni asked as they walked toward the front doors.
“That girl with the dreads and the funky jewelery collection?” Camille asked.
Toni nodded. “Yeah, her. This is her salon.”
Camille raised an eyebrow.
Toni laughed. “Don't worry,” she said, pushing open the door. “She does my hair every other week. She's really good.”
Toni loved going to Banyan Tree. It felt more like an urban oasis than a hair shop. The front area served as a lounge for waiting guests, and was painted in earth tones and decorated with lounges woven from bamboo, large palms in clay pots, and other foliage in woven planters. The exposed wooden roof, and wooden louvered doors and windows, added to the natural atmosphere of the place and always made Toni feel relaxed and at ease.
As Toni caught Camille admiring the terra-cotta tiles, she knew her friend was on the way to being won over as well.
“Hey, Roxanne,” Toni said, calling to the girl who was making some blended concoction in the small juice bar to the side of the lounge area. The young woman waved. Roxanne did gorgeous braids, but she also made amazing smoothies for the guests when she wasn't working.
“Hey, you said ten minutes!” Afrika called out from the back of the salon. “How'd you get here so fast?”
Toni waved at two other girls working in the salon as she and Camille made their way to the back. Afrika was curled up in her salon chair, sipping a large colorful drink, her eyes fixed on the huge television screen on the rear wall.
“It's been ten minutes,” Toni said, laughing as she fell onto the couch at the back near Afrika's station.
Afrika sighed and reluctantly spun her chair away from the television. “Okay, so where is this emergency?”
Toni nodded toward Camille. “Afrika, Camille; Camille, Afrika,” Toni said, making quick introductions. “Camille went to high school with us.”
“Yeah, I remember you,” Afrika said, snapping her fingers as a light seemed to go on in her head. “You were the skinny girl dating that guy on the basketball team. What was his name ... ?”
“Gary?” Camille supplied.
“No, no,” Afrika said, shaking her head. “What was his name ... Pee-wee!”
Toni burst into laughter.
“What!” Camille looked shocked. “That wasn't his name.”
“It was for us,” Afrika said with a dry chuckle. “He tried to step to one of my girls, but she cussed him out good. He got so mad, he started yelling at her. And the madder he got, the more his voice came out in this high-pitched nasally tone. So we started callin' him Pee-wee.” Afrika laughed out loud, slapping her thigh. “It was hilarious.”
Toni tried to cover her mouth, but it was impossible to hide her laughter. Especially because she remembered exactly how Gary's voice used to go up when he got mad—and he really did sound like Pee-wee.
Toni felt bad for Camille though, even though she and Gary had been done a long time ago. But even Camille couldn't keep the smile off her face, and when Afrika began imitating Gary's angry voice to perfection, none of them could stop laughing.
“I'm sorry,” Afrika said when she recovered. “I hope you aren't still with that loser.”
Camille shook her head. “No. That was over a long time ago.”
“Good,” Afrika said, getting up and patting the chair for Camille to sit. “ 'Cause I might have to run you out of my shop if you were.”
“Please don't,” Camille said, sitting down in front of the mirror with a sigh. “I don't think my hair can go another day like this.”
Afrika wrinkled her nose as she pulled Camille's hair out of the black hair band that was holding it together. “You ain't lying, girl. When was the last time you had a hair treatment?”
Camille bit her lip. “I don't remember?”
“Mercy,” Afrika said, shaking her head. “Your hair ends are split halfway up the shaft. You would be better off cutting a couple inches good so it can grow back healthy.”
A petrified look formed on Camille's face.
“I won't do it if you don't want me to,” Afrika said. “But you have good hair, and it's a shame to see it looking a trashy mess.”
Camille glanced at Toni, with a look that Toni read perfectly. A feeling of déjà vu washed over her as she thought back to the many times growing up when Camille had looked at her in that same way when she had a decision to make. They had always trusted each other's opinions completely—sometimes to each other's detriment. But Toni felt warm inside to think that even after so many years, it still mattered to Camille what Toni thought.

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