oasis.
Chapter 5
âThe last thing I need for God to send me right now is another man to break my heart.â
â Angel King
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Angelâs dates usually ended with a polite kiss at the door and a promise to call the next day. It was a promise that neither party would fulfill for weeks at a time, if at all. This is why she didnât know why her girlfriends would expect anything different after her date with Don, a man sheâd met at church and again for coffee after Reginellâs party.
âWhatâs wrong with him?â quizzed Lawson, forcing her size nine foot into a size eight ankle-strapped python pump while they were out shopping the next day. âHe looked like a nice guy.â
Reginell watched as Lawson waged a losing battle with the shoe. âYou thinking that shoe looked like it might actually fit you is proof that looks can be deceiving.â
âHeâs nice,â conceded Angel. âHeâs also very, um, husky .â
âDo you think heâs too big?â asked Kina, feeling insecure due to her own weight.
âDonât act like yâall didnât notice,â voiced Reginell. âHe could barely fit through the aisle to go talk to her.â
Sullivan eyed a pair of jeweled sandals. âA man should only be that big in two places. The bank account is one, and Iâll leave the other to your imagination.â
Angel grinned. âSomething tells me that youâre not talking about his heart.â
âHardly!â spat Sullivan. âBelieve me when I tell you that Mr. Big Stuff is fat in all the wrong places. Dump him, girl. There are other fish in the sea. Notice I said fish, not whales!â
Lawson pried her foot out of the shoe. âYeah, heâs a little heavy set, but itâs endearing on him, kind of like a chocolate teddy bear.â
âNow, Lawson, there ainât nothing teddy about that bear, and you know it!â jibed Angel. Then she felt remorseful. âAm I being totally shallow?â
âYes,â retorted Sullivan. âDonât say that like itâs a bad thing. Can you imagine all that weight rolling over you in bed, Angel? Youâre a scrawny little thing. You could easily get lost in one of his crevices and never be heard from again.â
Lawson rubbed her feet. âArenât we a little too old and too evolved to break up with or reject someone because of their weight?â
âNo!â exclaimed Reginell.
Lawson sighed. âSo, little things like kindness and spirituality donât matter, huh?â
Sullivan shook her head. âNot when the man theyâre attached to is weighing in at three hundred pounds.â
âAngel, are you seriously going to listen to a woman who once dumped a man because he wore winter white in June?â raised Kina.
âA man who doesnât take care of his health is a turn-off,â admitted Angel. âIf he wonât take care of himself, what makes you think heâll take care of me?â
âWeâre women of the millennium. We donât need a man to take care of us,â boasted Lawson. âWe can take care of ourselves.â
Sullivan whipped out Charlesâs debit card. âHmph! Speak for yourself.â
Angel shook her head in pity as Sullivan walked to the counter to pay for her shoes. âTo be honest, I just donât think Iâm ready for anything serious yet. Between work, you guys, and church, I donât have time to be obsessing over some man whoâs probably just going to lie and cheat his way through the relationship anyway. Iâd do better to keep praying and waiting for God to send me my prince. Plus, Don has a son, and where thereâs a baby, thereâs a babyâs mama.â
âAnd where thereâs a babyâs mama, thereâs bound to be drama,â finished Reginell.
Angel nodded her head. âPrecisely.â
âWhat about that broker, Bryce