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went into the ladies’ room and cried. Not tears of joy, but tears of disappointment and sadness. Robbie was as sweet, obedient, dependable, and loyal as a puppy. I believed him when he told me that I was the only woman he’d ever slept with. But all of his good qualities were not enough for me. As a matter of fact, Robbie was too good for his own good. For one thing, he was way too passive. Not just with me, but in everything he did. He didn’t argue with people who tried to cheat him at the gas station. He didn’t defend himself, or me, when two thugs overpowered us one night outside of a movie theater and ran off with my purse and his wallet. I was the aggressor in my relationship with Robbie, and even though it was not that obvious, I was on the passive side myself.
    â€œRobbie ain’t perfect, but he’s perfect for you. I know his mama, and I know she raised him right,” Mama told me. I knew my mother like I knew the back of my hand. What she really meant was that Robbie was probably the best I could do. My aunts and a lot of other people in my family never let me forget that all of my female cousins and a few nieces, with the exception of my severely retarded cousin, Eileen, had all found husbands by the time they were twenty-one.
    Inez had already been married once before. Right after she’d graduated from Butler High, she moved to Europe with Jeremy Knight, a White boy that she’d been in a relationship with for a couple of years. When she returned to Ohio three years later, she had a new husband, a Black soldier named Paul Dunn, whom she’d latched onto in Germany. She also had two beautiful daughters, one by each of the men she’d married. The older girl, Ingrid, resembled her father: platinum blond hair, very light skin, and blue eyes. The younger girl, Malena, had inherited the looks of her darkly handsome father: dark brown hair, eyes, and skin. Both children were extremely exotic.
    Despite her loosey-goosey lifestyle, Inez doted on her children, and she always put them first. She didn’t even let her boyfriends spend the night when her kids were with her, which was only 50 percent of the time. Inez’s divorced mother and her father and his young wife adored the children, too. Several times a week, the girls spent a few days with either their grandmother or their grandfather. I was proud of the way that Inez was raising her kids. I was proud of Inez, period. I loved calling her my best friend. However, she did a lot of shit that was strange, even for her. Like throwing an engagement party to celebrate her upcoming nuptials to one man while she was still married to another!

CHAPTER 8
    I nez divorced Paul and married Vincent Tunney. She kept her maiden name each time she got married, claiming that it helped her maintain her independence.
    â€œWhen are you and Robbie going to tie the knot?” Inez asked me when she and Vince returned from a romp in Vegas, where they’d celebrated their third anniversary.
    â€œNext year, I guess,” I said, with a heavy sigh.
    â€œYou guess? Well, you don’t have to jump up and down about it. Don’t you love him?”
    â€œI guess.” I shrugged.
    Inez’s mouth dropped open. “Look, I didn’t want to say anything, because it wasn’t my business. But I hope you don’t do something you’ll regret. If you don’t want to marry this man, don’t do it.”
    â€œI can always get a divorce. I’m sure you can walk me through that,” I said, with a touch of sarcasm. “I just don’t know if I am ready to give up my freedom for Robbie Dunbar. What if I meet somebody I like better after I marry Robbie?”
    â€œListen, don’t you make any plans for this Friday night. I’m taking you to this club off of Superior in Cleveland. It only takes about fifteen minutes to get there from here. It’s where I met Vince. If there is somebody else out there for