People say Passion was fast from the womb. That when she heard men talking, she’d make a motion in her mother’s belly that felt like a tickle. When she heard women, her mother got gas. Even before Passion was born she decided that men were to be loved; women, tolerated.
She had one real girlfriend growing up, Robin Cook. They got along like two peas in a pod from the moment they met at Martin Luther King’s Elementary School in Atlanta, GA. For one, they were big tom boys, bigger than most kids their age. For another, they both hated their female classmates and constantly baked up evil schemes to right some imagined wrong done to them. Whether it was putting cayenne pepper in a girl’s food, glue on their seat, or beating somebody up at recess, they were always getting into trouble, and usually together. But Passion and her family moved from Georgia to California when she was fifteen years old. She hadn’t seen Robin since.
Passion sat in her living room, flipping through an Essence magazine and watching the MLM channel, a new, progressive, Black-owned network that was finally giving BET some competition. A minister, Derrick Montgomery, was speaking at a convention hosted by a group called Total Truth. Passion decided he looked as good on TV as he did in person. That man is fine forever, she thought, as she turned up the volume.
Passion wasn’t a member of the Montgomery’s church, Kingdom Citizen’s Christian Center, but the church she belonged to, Logos Word Non-Denominational, fellowshipped with KCCC often. Passion loved Pastor Montgomery’s fiery style, not to mention the way his body blessed a designer suit. She could always expect a good word plus some men worth watching when she visited Kingdom Citizen’s, and was one of many who’d visualized Pastor Montgomery sans suit or wife. Either him or Darius Crenshaw, KCCC’s hot minister of music whose latest hit, Possible, had spent months at the top of both gospel and secular charts. Pastor Montgomery was fine, but Darius could sing, play several instruments and looked like “thank you Jesus.” Add the fact that he was single, and as far as she knew available, and he was the obvious choice.
For all her salacious wonderings, Passion couldn’t see herself actually sleeping with Pastor Derrick, or anybody else’s husband for that matter. She admired Pastor Montgomery’s wife, Vivian, who was good friends with her first lady, Carla Lee. Even after news broke that Pastor Montgomery had an older son from a previous relationship, a son he supposedly knew nothing about until two years ago, his and Vivian’s marriage remained strong. Word had it that the boy was even living with them now, and playing basketball at UCLA. No, Passion would never act out inappropriately with Pastor Derrick, well, other than the lusting in her heart for which she was already guilty. She’d probably not send love notes or nude pics to Darius Crenshaw either. But he was definitely daydream material.
An hour after the television program went off, Passion pulled into her favorite strip mall. She stepped inside the store. As she’d expected for the middle of the day, it was quiet. Lin, the Korean owner, was behind the counter, helping his one, lone customer.
“Hey, Lin,” Passion said cheerfully.
“Hey, Passion,” Lin said. “What you buy today? I got tennis bracelet you like, just came yesterday.”
“How much you want for it?” Passion asked. “I might be interested if you give me a good deal.”
“I give you very good deal,” Lin said. He unlocked the showcase and pulled out a bracelet set with tiny diamonds, effectively shown off in a black, faux-velvet case.
“This is nice,” Passion said. She put it on her arm, turned it this way and that.
The other shopper, a woman, looked at the bracelet as well.
“It’s pretty, huh?” Passion said to her, being friendly. “You think it’s worth two hundred dollars?” That’s the deal Lin said he’d give to Passion, because “she good customer”.
The woman didn’t answer, just stared. Passion looked up, and stared back. The face was familiar. Then it dawned on her.
“Robin? Robin Cook? Girl, is that you?”
Robin was shocked, her response, subdued. “Passion Perkins?”
Both women were incredulous. It had been twenty years.
“What on earth are you doing in L.A.?” Passion exclaimed, stepping forward to grab her former best friend in a bear hug. As she did so, she felt something cold, hard, pressing against her stomach. She pulled back, looked down. “And why are you buying a gun?”
Robin looked at Passion, then down at the gun, almost as if she didn’t know how it had gotten in her hand.
“I, well, uh girl, it’s good to see you!” Robin placed the gun on the counter and hugged Passion with fervor. This had been her best friend back in the day. She was genuinely glad to see her again, but still couldn’t have a sistah all up in her business.
Passion didn’t miss the fact that her question had been diverted. But this was Robin, her homegirl from the ATL!
“Oh my God, Robin, I swear I thought about you just today. Listen, we’ve got to grab something to eat and catch up; you got time?”
“Of course.” Time is all Robin had had for the past eighteen months.
Both the gun and the tennis bracelet stayed at Gold’s Pawn Shop as Passion and Robin headed for the Chinese food restaurant three doors down. They quickly ordered, paid for their food, and sat down.
“Passion Perkins, or is it something else now?”
“No, it’s Perkins again. I’ve been divorced almost five years, got a little girl. What about you; are you married, divorced, kids? Are you living here or just visiting? Girl, I still can’t believe I’m looking at you!”
“Me neither,” Robin said, taking a large bite of her egg roll. “Um, this food is good.”
“Good and greasy,” Passion countered around a forkful of chicken fried rice. “Just the way I like it.”
Passion and Robin were silent a moment, devouring their tasty dishes, and then Passion probed again. “So, Robin, tell me wuzzup?”
Robin smiled as Passion mimicked the voice of their teens. She felt she could maybe share a few things with an old friend.
“Well for starters, I’m divorced, no kids.” Robin filled Passion in on her ten years in Tampa, Florida after leaving Atlanta, her turbulent marriage and its equally turbulent end, the split-second decision to stay in Los Angeles after visiting almost two years ago, and her current employment.
“You’ve been here two years?”
“Off and on.” Robin didn’t want to tell Passion or anyone else where she’d actually resided during most of her LA stay, in prison for identity theft and credit card fraud. “I took some time off to, uh, visit family…came back a couple months ago.”
“Wow girl, you must be rolling to be able to take off work like that.” Even as Passion said this, her thoughts returned to the gun left lying on the pawn shop counter.
“Hardly,” Robin replied. “But sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.”
Like shoot somebody? “So, where are you staying?” Passion asked.
“Downtown,” was Robin’s short reply.
Passion studied the face of her former running buddy. Twenty years was a long time; maybe she shouldn’t expect the two girls-turned-women to be as close as they once were. Still, Passion didn’t understand the guardedness she sensed in Robin’s demeanor; eking out conversation as if words cost money.
After an awkward silence, Passion reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. “I stay over in Leimert Park. Let’s hang out one day soon. What’s your number?”
They exchanged phone numbers and then Passion rose to leave. “You coming?” she asked Robin.
“Uh, in a minute girl,” Robin said, looking up at the menu, prominently displayed along the restaurant’s back wall. “I think I’m going to get me something to go.”
Passion leaned over and hugged Robin. “Well, it was good seeing you Robin. Take care, and let’s talk soon, okay?”
“Okay.”
Robin waited until Passion walked out the door, and then placed a take out order. There was just one other purchase she needed to make before leaving the area.
Passion wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t leave the strip mall when she got in her car. Instead, she sat watching the door to the Chinese restaurant. A couple minutes later, Robin came out of the restaurant, looked around briefly, and headed back to the pawn shop. She looked around again before going inside.
Passion waited until she saw Lin unlock the gun case and hand something to Robin. “I knew she was going back to buy that gun,” Passion said to herself as she started the car and left the parking lot. “What is going on with you Robin Cook? What is really going on?”
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