“I will. But I’d like to start with you.”

Suddenly, she sighed as if she’d been entertained, but was tired of the show now. “Look, I’m not gonna get into this with you. I’m not gonna confirm or deny. Just go home and have this conversation with J.”

My eyes narrowed. J. She’d just confirmed.

So what was I supposed to do now? On television, on one of those reality shows, if this had happened, this chick would’ve been snatched out of her home by her hair, then beaten down in the middle of the street, left there to be rolled over by a taxi.

But I wasn’t a reality star so I just stared at her, wondering if I should persist. And she stared at me, showing that her plan was to resist. There was no need for this to continue.

Just as I turned away, though, Katrina said, “But I will tell you this; I’m not the one you need to be concerned about.”

“Excuse me?” I said.

She sighed, rolled her eyes, then bit her bottom lip as if she was trying to make a decision. “You know what? It seems like the gig is up anyway, since he won’t even call me back.” She crossed her arms in defiance. “No need for me to protect him when he’s treating me like some kind of booty call. He thinks he can just call me, get hooked up, then ignore me for weeks until he needs to get hooked up again. So yeah, I’ll tell you.” With a nod, she said, “J and I are messing around. I just saw him the other night when he got home from Atlanta. He came here to me instead of going home to you.” She smirked.

I wondered what it was — was it me being the daughter of a pastor, or me growing up in Jack and Jill, or the poise I’d learned as a debutante...or was it my training as a First Lady? I didn’t know what it was from my past that gave me the fortitude to stand there without bursting into tears like a toddler or stabbing her in her neck like a serial killer.

Whatever it was that kept me strong, allowed me to absorb her words, even though they felt like bullets breaking deep into my chest.

“But like I said,” she continued, “I am not your problem. ‘Cause J ain’t serious about me. He left here Friday morning and I haven’t heard from him since. But I know why. Because of that skank. She’s the one you need to be checking for.”

“Who?”