A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Authors: Tia Williams
- Language: English
- Genre: Black & African American Historical Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 4.9 MB
- Price: Free
BOTANY FLOWERS LATELY
June 11–21, 2023
Twenty-eight-year-old Ricki Wilde possessed many talents. She could
spot the chicest fashions in the jankiest thrift stores. She refurbished
furniture beautifully. She collected interesting words (like “interrobang”:
the combination of an exclamation point and a question mark, used to
express dismay). Plus, she cooked exquisite cannabis candy and, within
three notes, could pinpoint the exact year of any pop, R&B, or hip-hop song
in history.
But Ricki was terrible at one very important thing. Being a Wilde.
As the youngest member of an illustrious family dynasty—the Wildes of
Wilde Funeral Homes Inc., the national chain founded in 1932—Ricki
knew that her family thought she was an Unserious Person. Her only
resemblance to the Wildes was her face, which was a carbon copy of those
of her socialite sisters, Rashida, Regina, and Rae. (Each born a year apart,
they were frequently referred to as Rashidaginarae.) But where her sisters
were long-stemmed roses, Ricki, younger than Rae by fifteen years, was a
dandelion. A bloom that looked like a flower but was really a weed: born to
erupt into fluff, floating wherever the wind blew.
Tonight was the Wildes’ Sunday dinner. But it wasn’t just dinner. It was
her family’s weekly business meeting. No husbands, kids, or tardiness
permitted. Ricki parallel parked hastily at the foot of the driveway and flew
up the steps to the front door of her parents’ Buckhead, Atlanta, estate.
Hastily, she checked the time on her phone. She was four minutes early—a
first! Usually, Ricki sprinted in as the first course was served, sputtering
apologies. Her lateness was sometimes excused (I-75 traffic), but usually
not (a risky one-night stand holding her hostage in a trailer). Either way, it
was never forgotten.
Tonight, Ricki had to be on her best behavior. For once, she had
important news to share. Life-changing, game-changing news.
Quickly, she checked her reflection in the glass inset in the door. She
needed to feel powerful, true to herself, which translated into a ’70s halter
dress, ’60s gold platforms, and ’80s dolphin hoops, all thrifted from her
favorite consignment shops. She fluffed her shoulder-length twist-out and
smiled.
Perfect, she thought with ballsy defiance. You are a strong, confident
woman with a brilliant business plan and a bright future ahead. You are
you, and you are enough.
Upon further reflection, she removed her septum piercing.
And then, calling upon the posture she’d learned at Beauregard School
of Etiquette (integrated by her mom, class of ’68), Ricki straightened her
shoulders and swept into the house.
The rest of the Wildes were already seated in the grand dining room,
cocktailing and chatting.
“… but, Regina, no one gets caught for tax evasion anymore,” her
mother, Carole, was saying as Ricki rushed in. Ricki’s father, Richard,
paused mid–sip of wine to sigh at his youngest child. Her sisters’ Botoxed
brows, none of which had moved a millimeter in a decade, struggled to
frown in disapproval.
For More Read Download This Book
EPUB