Read My Daughter's Boyfriend for Free Online

a life. She barely graduated from college, her parents buy her everything she wants, and
I
need to get a life? Can you believe that?”
    “I hate to say it, but based on what you’ve already told me about Lani, heck yes.”
    “Then he totally confuses me. He goes from saying ‘Lani’s the head’ to ‘You’re the only woman for me’ in less than three minutes. Does the brother know what he wants, or what? Make up your mind. I can take it.”
    “I know that’s right,” Indira said, pumping her fist in a display of female power.
    “It’s either me or Lani ’cause it damn sure as hell can’t be the both of us.”
    “He may want to have his cake and eat it, too,” Indira said pretending like she was holding a fork.
    “Well, which one of us is the real cake?” I asked with a horrified look.
    “Girl, you got me,” she grunted. “So what’s next?”
    “I don’t know, Indy. I mean, I’ve had run-ins with Lani before, and Steve would always take my side. But this . . . this is something different and I don’t know . . . I don’t know if he was showing off because she was there or what. But I made sure and put some serious whip-ass on him just in case.”
    Indy looked at me strange. “Mmmm, I won’t ask,” she murmured. “Well, what’s up with Steve? Why would he string you along if he knew he wanted to be with her?”
    I stared at Indira, answerless. I couldn’t believe I was even going through this. It’s a trip to wake up in the morning and think you’ll know what’s gonna happen by the end of the day, just to find out there’s no such thing as a sure thing.
    I swallowed deeply.
    “I don’t know, Indy. I think I’m starting to learn that no man over the age of sixteen is truly single. I mean, they
say
they’re single, but . . . all men either have a bed buddy, an ex-wife, a former shack-up mate, or some drama-queen residue somewhere in their lives.”
    “I’m telling,” Indira laughed, yet her eyes twinkled with a knowing sadness.
    “What can you tell me?” I sniffed and looked at her, hoping she’d have some type of wisdom since she’d been out there, hubby-less and alone, for the past couple of years.
    “Well,” she said, her smile disappearing, “these days being single don’t mean what it used to mean back when I was in my twenties, which was a good hundred years ago.”
    I smiled and popped her on the forehead.
    She swatted me in return. “Back then it meant totally solo, no girlfriend, no lover, nothing.”
    “Right,” I told her. “Fast forward to now. Men hallucinating and talking ’bout ‘Yeah, I’m single.’ Interpretation: ‘I got somebody, I’m just not claiming her right now,’ or telling you, ‘Yeah, I’m single,’ but he’s really sleeping with two, three women who he don’t plan on marrying, so . . .”
    Indira and I gave each other a been-there-done-that nod and kinda reflected on what was instead of how we wished things could be. The weird thing about it was even though I saw how dreary the man situation looked, I knew that the desperate and egotistical parts of me would still bend in spite of circumstances. It seems when you don’t have much to start off with, you might be open to doing all kinds of things to make up for what you can’t have. Realizing that scared the hell outta me; my lack of good alternatives invited parts of me to emerge that I really wouldn’t know about otherwise.
    “Tracey, do you have any personal belongings at Steve’s?”
    “Uh, probably. He said he had a couple pair of new shoes waiting for me over there.”
    “Ha, girl, you can kiss those shoes good-bye if there really were any shoes,” she said, and waved bye-bye with her hands. “Anything of relevance?”
    “Oh, I have several photos over there that I’ve always wanted to get back. And I did loan this punk some money a couple of times, but I’m not worried about that.”
    Indira hooted, laughing with mouth wide open like it was Saturday night at the comedy