When I get up to the front door, before I get a chance to even knock, Viola opens it, and I have to rub my eyes, ’cause I know I’m seeing thangs. This look like the woman I was married to ten or fifteen years ago. This can’t be the fifty-five-year-old Viola. Not looking like this.

“You can’t speak?” Now I know it’s the Viola I left five months ago, but she still look good enough to kiss right now. If only she could change the tone of her voice so she don’t sound so evil.

“How you doing, Vy? You sho’ looking good, girl. Don’t tell me you done went and had some of that plastic surgery?”

“Hell no, I ain’t had no damn plastic surgery. What about you, Cecil? You looking like you done had some liposuction. Where’s your stomach?”

I look down. Some of it is gone. I suck it in a little more and stand up extra tall. “I been exercising.”

“What took you so long to start?”

“Look, Viola. You got company?”

“No I don’t.”

“Well, last time I was here you said that car belonged to a male friend. Did he give it to you?”

She break out into a big smile, and hot damn if her teeth ain’t pretty and white. What she been doing over here? “Viola?”

“What?”

“What happened to your other teeth?”

“Paris got me some new ones.”

“Them don’t even look like dentures.”

“That’s ’cause they ain’t cheap like the other ones was.”

“You look like you done lost quite a bit a weight, too.”

“I have. And still losing. I got ten or fifteen more to go.”

“Me, too,” I say. “Is your friend in there?”

“No. And that’s my car, Cecil. Paris bought it for me.”

“So do this mean you ain’t got no friend?”

“Did I say that?”

“No you didn’t.”

“Then don’t let it concern you.”

“I just came over to get my stuff.”

“It’s out there.”

“You gon’ need any help moving?”

“I don’t know yet. A lot of this junk ain’t going to my new place.”

“What you mean by junk?”

“That bedroom set, for starters.”

“Ain’t nothing wrong with that bedroom set, Viola.”

“Then you can have it.”

“No, I can’t sleep on that.”

“Then shut up, Cecil.”

“You looking good, Vy. Healthy. I’m glad.”

“Thank you, Cecil. Now. I wish I could stand here and talk to you, but our granddaughter got a track meet and I been watching all that O. J. Simpson mess on TV and I’m almost late.”

“He kilt them people as sure as I’m standing here. Shanice still here?”

“You don’t know that, Cecil. She ain’t going back home till next month.”

“We’ll soon see, won’t we? How the kids doing these days?”

“Damnit, Cecil. I just told you I gotta go. I’d be standing out here all night if I was to tell you what they all doing, but let me say this. Janelle done finally put George out, and he might be going to jail.”