Decades

Stassi Elaine Somers. January 25, 1944- October 3, 1983

“ANASTASIA ELAINE! WE DO NOT HAVE ALL DAY!”

As usual, her mother’s voice struck the fear of God in her and Valeria again, laughed at her baby sister. “I’m comin’ momma!” “Better go down there and get your man!” She tossed her sister a towel. “Blot your face and put on some of my red lipstick-” Stassi stamped her foot on the ground. “Val, I ain’t got time for your games-” “No, no I’m serious! Gotta look presentable! He could be one good looking man.” Stassi rushed to get ready as she heard her sister’s words and smoothed out her yellow dress. “Am I decent enough?” “Almost there. Now unbutton the first two buttons of your dress-” “But my chest will show!” Valeria gave her sister a dramatic roll of her brown cow-like eyes. “Anastasia you sure do act like you don’t want a man. You know how to be cute now go downstairs before I do it and you get in trouble.”

Knowing that if she delayed her entrance any further she’d face her mother’s wrath, Stassi ran downstairs as gracefully as she could, keeping her eyes down the whole time. Once she made her entrance she heard her mother say something along the likes of “About damn time.” Ignoring her, Stassi began looking at the guestbook, trying to keep her eye contact as delayed as possible and quicken the process. “Now we don’t have central air-” Stassi started, as she reached his name. “-So if dying from heatstroke ain’t your thing then The Bordelon’s just a few miles from down here will do just fine-” Reluctantly, her eyes met his warm brown ones and immediately she felt like she could have melted right then and there. When she fully took him in she suddenly felt like her simple words seemed unworthy to his ears. She now feared that anything she said would sound stupid. 

“Well I’ve heard about tall, dark, and handsome but I ain’t never known him to exist.” Valeria whispered in her ear with a giggle before glancing up at him. “Well hi there.” She gave him one of her charming and infamous Valeria smiles, her dimples on full display. “If you don’t mind I’m gonna get you checked all in and have my sister Anastasia show you to your room. I’ll just have you sign here and pay now.”

Once everything was settled, Stassi grabbed his bags like it was previously agreed and took him on up upstairs. “Never mind what I said. We got portable fans, cold water, and ice if you need to cool off. There’s a fan already in your room but I can fetch you some ice water.” She grinned bashfully. “So, how long are you stayin?”

She shakes her head solemnly. “I knew. I had a feeling and I knew. But no I didn’t want to think that of my husband. Oh i really didn’t want to think badly of you. I thought I found the one. You were my everything- you are my everything. You saved me. How could I even dare to think that-“ She laughs bitterly. “You need to control your bitch. She’s out here telling everyone how much of a good man you are. She’s going to slip up one day and ruin you.” She laughs a little louder now. “And boy don’t I hope to see how mighty you fall.” Stassi walks to the opposite end of the room, taking a glance out the window. “Diana on the other hand, is like a hooker. She’s a little more discreet. How much did you pay them to keep quiet, hm? This is my legacy we’re talking about here too. I don’t want this getting out. I don’t want to look like the good little stupid and clueless wife who chose to stay.” Stassi laughs again. “See? Thats what really hurts. You didn’t pay them. You didn’t treat them like whores, you treated them like me your wife. You gave them everything you gave to me and now that one of them is pregnant, you want to tell me? How long were you going to keep this a secret?"

Christmas this year definitely was going to be different. Instead of using their vacation days on the holiday, her family decided to save them for Hana’s birthday since making the trip all the way from Egypt and the UAE would be a hassle. Despite her sadness, Stassi didn’t mind spending Christmas with her new family. In fact, she figured she and Charlton could make up their own Christmas traditions this year for Hana and any other future children they might have. Just as if he was right on time, she heard the garage door open and Stassi broke out into a wide smile. “That must be Daddy!” She cooed as Hana clapped. “Come on baby girl, let’s go say hi.”

 “I know that look.” A voice behind her said knowingly. “Relax. Its amazing.”

“I am relaxed, Jean.” 

“You’re tensing.” Jean smirked and tapped the divot between her brows. “What do you need? A pep talk? My champagne?”

Stassi chuckled. “I’d like both.” She reached out and grabbed the flute before taking a less-than dainty sip. “Thank you. Now, where’s my pep talk?”

“Well.” Jean gently turned her around so she was squarely facing her painting. “You worked on this project for months. You wouldn’t go out because you wanted to make things absolutely perfect. Stass, you put your heart and soul into this painting! Its brilliant and the story behind it is inspiring. People are bound to love it. Besides, I know its your favorite piece.”

She finished the last of the champagne and handed the empty glass off to Jean. “That’s true. I’m just nervous about what other people will think. This painting is really personal to me and I’d hate to hear people criticize it.”

Jean brought his arm around her shoulder and gave her a side hug. “Well, that’s the beauty of showing your art to the world.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek. “What’s that artsy shit you say? Vulnerability is our greatest strength or something like that?”

“Yeah, something like that.” Stassi chuckled softly. “What are we doing after this? Still going to the discothèque?”

“Yeah, definitely. I think we should get you someone to bring home. You know, an orgasm to celebrate all your artistic ability. Let’s check out some future prospects shall we?” Jean glanced over at the people in the gallery. “Let’s see,let’s see- oh!” He pointed to a woman in white bell-bottomed jeans. “She looks promising. She’s got a nice ass but I’m pretty sure she’s taken.”

Stassi rolled her eyes and elbowed him. “That’s Margot.”

Jean gave her a grin. “I know. It would be a disservice to my lady if I didn’t scout her out first.” He continued to look around. “There’s Jacqui but you’re already used to the taste of her stale pussy-”

Stassi gave him a look “Jean.”

“Right, you like her, sorry.” He sighed and continued to look around. “Not a hottie in sight, what a damn shame. I see some guys that are pretty cute but they’re not cute enough- ooh hold up. Hot chocolate, three o’clock.”

Stassi turned in the direction Jean was facing and rolled her eyes once more. “Not my type.”

“Not your type? Stassi Elaine Brynne I know your type when it comes to men.” He began to make a list with his fingers. “Tall? Check. Dark? Check. Handsome? Double check.” Jean pretended to swoon. “Mon dieu! Look at those sideburns!”

“Yes, I like tall men. Everyone likes tall men. The guy doesn’t have to be dark-”

“Uh, last time I checked I have never seen you with a white guy.”

“Whatever.” Stassi hummed. “I guess he is kind of cute.”

“You should talk to him.”

“Cute in a puppy kind of way. He’s not my type and not worth wasting my breath.”

Jean let out a long whistle. “You are cold hearted Stassi Brynne. Cold hearted. Listen, if you don’t talk to him. I will.”

Stassi’s eyes widened. “Jean!” She whispered loudly but it was too late, her friend had hurried on over to Mr. Talk Dark and Handsome. Sighing, she tore her eyes away from the pair and grabbed another champagne flute from a nearby waiter before taking a large nervous gulp.

“Stassi! Stassi!” There were knocks on the bathroom door. “C’mon i have to pee!”

“In a minute!” Her voice rang out from the closed bathroom.

“You said that five minutes ago!” Her brother whined. “I’m gonna tell mom and I mean it this time!” 

The bathroom door opened and twelve year old Stassi stood with her hands on her hips. “I said in a minute Easton!” She pushed past him. “Don’t ever try and boss me around again.”

Easton sucked his teeth. “You out here tryin’ to look good for the boys. Out here bein’ fast-”

“I’m not looking good for anyone but myself. You know Daddy’s gonna get mad at me if he hears you sayin’ stuff like that. Hush.” Stassi walked past him and peeked into her and her sister’s room. “Hey, I’m gonna go skate around the block. You comin?”

Portland raised a brow and gave her younger sister a small smile. “Nah, I think I’ll pass. I can watch you skate around from the curb though.”

Stassi perked up at the thought of that. “Well come on! I wanna skate now!”

Portland sighed and got up. “Alright alright, I’m coming. Don’t skate too far now, you know we can’t have you getting in any trouble.”

“I know the rules. Stay on the block, don’t go to another neighborhood blah blah blah.” 

Stassi rushed in front of her sister as she babbled on about nothing. Still speaking she slipped on her roller skates and skated out of the house. It sucked being the new kid in the neighborhood. Either very little people talked to her simply for the fact that she was new, or too many people wanted to get to know her and it would be exhausting. So far she had only met a few kids. Dennis from across the street (he was too geeky for her), Michael her next door neighbor, and Julia the girl whose Daddy worked with her Daddy. Stassi often wondered how her siblings and mother were fairing. Her older sister already seemed like she was getting on nicely, and Easton already had his baseball friends. Since Stassi refused to play any sports she didn’t make many friends in their full month of living here. Back home in Egypt she had tons of friends, and people didn’t treat her and her family badly (from what she could see).

Here in America things were different. The music, the smell, the tastes. Stassi felt herself gagging at most of the food here. Absolutely nothing tasted the same, and if anything she felt as though the food here was a little bit off. The only thing she could stomach were eggs and rice it seemed. Dinners usually consisted of her pushing the food around her plate. She had lost some weight since the move which made her parents worried but she could care less. As long as she could eat some of the foods she wanted to, she was fine.

The culture was another thing. Not just American culture, but black culture. Stassi didn’t fit in with either. She had grown up on Sam Cooke and Nat King Cole sure, but she also had a lot of other influences. She was deeply immersed in Egyptian culture and with her slight accent it showed that she wasn’t exactly from the states which other kids labled as weird.