Tender forgot the rule that said, “What goes on in Miami stays in Miami.” She would later regret having said anything. Still, she didn’t talk about how she was feeling Q, not as business, but as a person. No man had shown her as much respect as he had and it was still blowing her mind.

Shortly after settling in, Kat left the house to get her truck washed. Tender made herself comfortable, slipping into her pajamas, stretching out on the couch, watching reruns of Jerry Springer. This was the funniest talk show on TV. She never could understand why people would come on the show and air their dirty laundry in front of a national audience of millions. Maybe they wanted a free trip to Chicago or they were just plain stupid. Whatever the case may have been, Tender was glued to the tube, anxiously awaiting some new juicy rumor, embarrassing gossip or startling secret they had to reveal. One thing was for sure, the show never seemed to run out of foolish guests to make her laugh.

Meanwhile, in the bedroom, Goldie busied herself writing an entry in her diary. Tender peeped in on her and Goldie didn’t even notice. Tender swore one day she’d read exactly what was so important that she had to document it every day. Goldie was her friend though, and she really couldn’t violate her like that, not under any circumstances, never in a million years. Whatever she was writing was her business. She remembered the old saying, “Curiosity killed the cat.” She didn’t want them to fall out behind her being nosy.

As Tender entertained herself by watching that nonsense television, Goldie wrote. She also pulled her Bible out of her nightstand drawer. It had been given to her at a church soup kitchen some time ago, when she lived on the street. She fell into a solemn mood as she pored over the scriptures, verse after verse, chapter after chapter. Lately she was overcome by a strong urge to reconnect with her spiritual roots, to cleanse her soul.

“Proverbs thirty-one, verse thirty-one: Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing; but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised …” Goldie rambled aloud as she quoted the verses.

“Huh?” Tender shouted back. “Goldie, you called me?”

Goldie ignored her. She was in a trancelike state. “Proverbs twenty-three, verses thirteen and fourteen: Do not withhold correction from a child. For if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. You shall beat him with a rod, and deliver his soul from hell … Proverbs twenty-two, verse six: Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”