The One at Brunch

“Simone literally made this reservation and invited us to brunch and is still late,” Charlie said with a strong eye roll. They sat near the door of their favorite brunch restaurant because Simone once dated the chef for a few weeks, and waited for Simone to arrive before they could be seated. She shrugged her shoulders at an annoyed Charlie and glanced over at her.

“Shame on you for thinking she’d be on time for her own brunch. Maya Angelou said, when Simone Monique Banks shows you who she is, believe her, or something like that,” Darcy said with a chuckle. She leaned on Charlie in an effort to get her out of her hungover funk hiding behind her sunglasses. In the same way that Darcy had a daily uniform, Charlie had an “I had too much liquor last night” uniform — her long wild curls in a velvet scrunchie, either black Nike joggers to match a pair of Jordans and a hoodie. Darcy sat beside her in an orange shirt dress and clean white Keds, and they looked like two ends of a friendship spectrum.

Charlie looked down at her vibrating phone and a smile crept on her face. The last time Darcy saw that particular smile on her best friend’s face was when she scored the pair of Jordans she was wearing on release day.

“Got some new kicks?” she asked her with a soft nudge on her arm.

“More like some new dick,” Charlie whispered.

“Are you…getting a dick pic at 11:30 in the morning? Is that what happens?” Darcy asked, part shocked and part intrigued. She’d never received a dick pic, even from Roy. Why did she need one, she knew what his penis looked like and if she were honest, penises were by far very ugly, and seeing one out of context did nothing for her. But this text could be the thing that stopped Charlie and Simone from asking anything about Quincy, or anything related. She wasn’t ready to tell them that they texted for two hours last night about episodes of The Office and Darcy hadn’t laughed as hard as she did into her glass of champagne like she did last night. If he wasn’t on call, they probably would have texted for a few more hours, and Darcy would have been looking like a more refined Charlie for brunch. She was definitely not bringing Quincy up today.

Charlie turned her phone over and sighed. “Girl, no. I don’t tolerate that shit in my phone and these niggas know it. It’s this…new guy I’ve been talking to. He’s…been a long time coming,” she said, the smile still plastered on her face.

“Well, who is he? C’mon, I need details, ma’am!” Darcy exclaimed.

“Shut up, I don’t want to hear it. I’m here, and I ran into traffic,” Simone said quickly as she pushed through the restaurant door, bringing in her sweet perfume scent and the coolness of outside.

“Perfect timing,” Charlie muttered.

“You’re not off the hook, Charlie,” Darcy said back. “Ma’am, we’re all here!” Darcy said to the hostess. With her bright blue hair, she led them to a table in the back corner, their favorite spot because they were able to sit there and laugh and scream and talk longer because no one wanted to sit that far back. They looked like three mafia ladies at their table filled with carafes of mimosas because it was simply a waste of time for the waiter to keep coming back to refill their glasses. As soon as they sat down, they placed their orders and got comfortable for a long afternoon of catching up.

“Charlie’s got a new man,” Darcy blurted out and pursed her lips at Charlie. “See? Shit is annoying, isn’t it? Let’s discuss.”

“I miss all the good stuff being late. I promise I’ma do better,” Simone muttered, and her sharp black bob shook as she got comfortable in the chair. “Yes, let’s discuss.”

“There’s nothing really to discuss,” Charlie said, rolling her eyes Darcy. “Other than the fact that he is…I think close to being the one.”

“Oh, the One? We speak that language now,” Simone said. Their carafes of mimosa and Darcy’s coffee arrived, and Charlie looked relieved for a break in the conversation.

“I fully support this. When are we meeting Mr. One?” Darcy asked.

“No time soon. Y’all love to ruin a good thing too early,” Charlie said. “And before either of you ask, I already did a background check on him, he’s clear.”

“Shit, good,” Simone said, taking a sip. “Now that Charlie has updated the class. Darcy, what’s new in your world?”

“Darcy went on a date with the doctor!” Charlie blurted out and shot her eyes over to Darcy. She was in the middle of pouring cream into her coffee and in a shock, she pour too much, almost making her coffee as light as Charlie’s skin.

“Are you serious? I did not go on a date with him!”

Simone poured more mimosa into her glass and didn’t say a word. She looked at Charlie and then back at Darcy and shook her head.

“Teagan told me you and Dr. Bae had wine and cheese at his house and you don’t have wine and cheese with people you don’t like,” Charlie said with a bit of taunt in her voice. “Yes, your sister and I talk all the time.”

“I…you’re right, we did have wine and cheese. But it just a friendly tete a tete.”

“Bitch, a what? Look, D, it’s cool if you’re feeling him! I mean, what other way would you, Darcy Poppins, meet a lovely man like him, but on the floor of your perfect event? It’s like you crafted the perfect meet-cute,” Simone said.

Charlie turned to face Darcy and smiled at her, this time her grin was laced with comfort.

“Monie is right. Don’t fight it, D. If you like the doctor, go for the doctor. So what you just broke up with what’s his name no less than a month ago? You and I both know you’ve been checked out of that relationship for a while. His leaving may have been the blessing in disguise.”

“OK, but what makes you all think Quincy is ‘the One? Because he’s a doctor? Because he saved me at a gala? Roy literally met me while I was drinking Henny…from the bottle while dancing to Gucci Mane, and I thought he was the One. He…was the One. Until he wasn’t. There’s not a Brené Brown podcast episode that can get me to be vulnerable again like that,” Darcy said, drinking her too-creamy coffee. It displeased her so much — her thoughts and the coffee — that she pushed the cup away and grabbed her mimosa glass instead.

“You ain’t have to bring the good sis Brené into this. She’s just trying to get you to brave the wilderness, girl. You need brave that wilderness with Quincy!” Simone said, letting out a chuckle. They all laughed together and as their food arrived, Simone grabbed a fry from Charlie’s plate and popped it in her mouth before Charlie could even react.

“Well, since we’re on the subject, I should tell you guys that I technically work with his ex-wife,” she said slathering butter on her biscuit. She looked up at her silent friends who had put their forks and knives down.

“Ex-wife? The nigga was…is…was…married?” Charlie asked. “I have so many follow-up questions.”

“Yeah, we obviously didn’t scroll down far enough on his Instagram because we would have seen the wedding photos,” she shrugged.

“Back up, you work with the woman?” Simone asked.

“Yeah, she’s the director of marketing at the museum, and is the lowest of keys, making my job very hard. She just doesn’t understand why the museum is paying us hundreds of thousands of dollars to do what her team can do. And I mean, she’s got a point, but I’ve got a job to do and I want her out of my way.”

“She’s out of the way of you getting good dick, so that’s the first step,” Simone said.

Darcy put her hand up to stop the conversation but instead finished her mimosa, and was happy her best friends were updated on the latest plot twist in her life.