After calling her mother's house and talking to Antwan, Lela spent half the afternoon holed up in her bedroom, sipping Camelot and shedding tears. She had put up a bold front when she threw Ty out, but the thought of being alone again frightened her. Knowing she had Antwan to be strong for was the only thing that kept her from slipping deeper into her depression.
Tonya came back a few hours later to check on her friend and found her moping around the house.
"You know what?" Tonya consoled her friend. "You are smart, sexy, and best of all, you are my girl. So you know that means you have something going for yourself. Trust, I would not be hanging around you if you were busted. I always knew you could do better, Lela, and now is your chance to prove it to yourself. "
"Now you tell me I could do better," Lela said nonchalantly while pouring herself another glass of the soothing red liquid.
"Yes. Now, I'm telling you, and you know you would not have listened to me as long as you thought Tyrese could do no wrong.
Some lessons are better learned by trial and error. If you think about it, I have been on you all along about giving him money, a car, and clothes, when the damn fool didn't even have the decency to go apply for work. But, that's all water under the bridge now."
"Yeah, water under the bridge." Lela downed the rest of the drink in her glass and poured another. "I'm still going out tonight, but I don't know how much fun I'll be." She blew her nose into a tissue as she searched her mind for ways to satisfy her shattered heart. A new man? She tossed out the idea as soon as it entered her thoughts. The last thing I need is to be on the rebound at a dang-on nightclub, of all places. All that will mean is the same problem with a different person. Damn you, Ty! The ladies looked through Lela's closet, searching for something to wear. When Lela spotted the polo dress Ty had bought for her, a lone tear slipped from the corner of her puffy eyes. She remembered him bringing it home with a super-sized teddy bear for her birthday three months ago. She pushed the dress to the back of the closet and took her Baby Phat outfit, which she bought earlier that day, off its hanger and placed it on the bed.
The twenty-minute ride to The Foxy Lady from Lela's house was quiet.