Doll Collector

"Come on, come on, come on; pick up. Come on Nina, I know you're sitting there staring at my name popping up on your phone screen. Damn it Nina, you're such a bi" "Hello Lexi", Nina answered laughing, "Are you talking to your cellphone again?" Lexi sighs, "you are such a bitch! I only called your phone four times!" "Moi?" said Nina. "Why cousin, I'm offended." Lexi was squeezing her phone imagining it as Nina's neck. She took three deep breaths and said "Nina?" "Yes, Lexi", answered Nina. "Screw you with your good bullshitting ass and open the door!" Nina gasped and sarcastically said, "why Lexi, such harsh words for your favorite cousin". "Well", answered Lexi, "favorite cousin, can we stop beating around the bush? Are you gonna loan me twenty racks? I mean what's twenty racks compared to how much you have? If I suddenly ran into two hundred fifty thousand dollars, I wouldn't think twice about giving you twenty thousand if you asked for it. I mean isn't family suppose to help each other out if they're able? You know I've run into some bad luck here lately, and you can help turn my luck around. You've always been lucky since we were kids. I always envied that about you. It seems like I can never catch a break, but you, you always have something good happen to you." As Lexi rambled on, Nina walked to the front door and thought about Lexi saying that she had always been lucky since they were kids, and that something good always happens to her. Nina definitely wouldn't describe the events in her life as lucky or good. Hapless, grievous, downright miserable are the words she'd use to describe her life. Well, that is until recently. Nina opened the front door looking zoned out. "Earth to Nina", Lexi yelled. "And are you ever going to tell me where the money came from? Momma thinks it's from a life insurance policy your mom left you." Nina rolled her eyes to the top of her head, and sighed, "Come on into the living room cuz. I was just about to watch Love It or List It." Lexi tilted her head and asked Nina why did she roll her eyes at her. Nina rolled her eyes again while she paused the television. "I wish you, and your mother would give it up. Y'all have been interrogating me for three months about the origins of that money. You can tell my nosey ass Aunt that it's none of her bloodclot business where it came from, but rest assured her trifling ass sister didn't leave it to me. That woman never gave me anything except for heartache!" Lexi stared at her cousin in disbelief thinking how ungrateful and disrespectful she is. Her Aunt, Nina's mom bust her behind to take care of her. Nina had a great childhood. Her aunt provided a beautiful home, top notch education, designer clothes, jewelry, oh and let's not forget that insane doll collection she started for her when she turned five. And now that she's dead, she has the audacity to call her trifling and speak ill of her. Her mother may not have left her the $250,000.00 that she just came into, but Lexi knew for a fact that Nina was left a 1.5 million dollar life insurance policy, and not to mention the house she grew up in is fully paid for. How many 25 year olds can say they live in a house that is fully paid off. Before she knew it, Lexi shouted "damn!" aloud. "What?", Nina asked. Lexi responded by shaking her head. "What? Why are you shaking your head?", asked Nina. Lexi started to tell Nina why, but then she thought better of it. She doesn't want to piss Nina off and risk her not giving her the money; plus she doesn't feel like fighting with her either. So she told her, "it's nothing; really". Nina narrowed her eyes, and said, "Listen Lexi, I'm going to give you the money. Whatever is on your mind, spit it out. It doesn't matter what you say, I'll still give you the money. And don't tell me nothing; we've never sugar coated shit before, so let's not start now. Plus, you know it's hereditary; we don't have poker faces, so cut it out, and say what's on your mind". Lexi threw her arms around Nina's neck and screamed, "really cuz? Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Nina pried Lexi's arms from around her neck, and asked, "well, are you going to say what's on your mind or not?"

Lexi let out a deep breath, "Okay, you want to know? I think you're a disrespectful, ungrateful brat that didn't deserve the type of mother you had." Nina started laughing. "What the hell is so funny about what I said?"Nina chuckled a little more and looked Lexi straight in the eyes, "I'm laughing little cousin because you really have no clue, and you definitely don't want to know the truth". Lexi rolled her eyes, "the truth about what Nina? I'm not playing these games with you. Your mother gave you whatever you wanted; no matter how much it cost. How many 15 year olds do you know that had a full length mink? Oh, and don't get me started on that doll collection! If you sold two of those dolls each year, you'd never have to work a day in your life. Well, come to think of it, you've never worked a day in your life. While my Aunt busted her ass to make sure you had EVERYTHING Nina! I just don't, and I guess I never will understand why you gave your mother such hell, and now even in death you have animosity towards her." Nina was chewing on the side of her thumb. A bad habbit she developed around age 6. She'd chew if she was anxious, angry or afraid. Lexi noticed her chewing on the side of her thumb, "see, this is why I didn't want to tell you what I was thinking because now you're mad, and I didn't want to nor did I intend on making you mad." Nina took a break from her thumb, "I'm not angry Lex. Why do you think that?" Lexi gave Nina a bitch please look, "your either mad or hungry cause the way your chewing on your thumb, you're not going to have any skin left on the side of your thumb!" Narrowing her eyes to slits, Nina glared at Lexi who seemed to be holding her breath. Just when it seemed the tension couldn't get any thicker, Lexi squeaked, "yikes" and the two burst into laughter. Still laughing Nina started towards the stairs, "hey crazy, are you in a rush, or can you chill with me for a while?" Lexi wiping tears from the corners of her eyes told Nina she could chill. "Well cool then. I'm going to upstairs to my room real quick. Why don't you go in the kitchen whip up some snacks? When I come back down, I'll give you your money and give you answers to your questions. Cool?" Lexi who was already in the kitchen yelled, "cool".

As Nina reached her bedroom, she heard the blender going in the kitchen which meant Lexi was making her infamous tequilla infused smoothies. She thought good; she's gonna need it. Nina walked into her bathroom closet, reached into a pair of Manolo's for her works. Still in the bathroom closet, she sat down on the bamboo wood floor to do her ritual. A warm feeling engulfed her entire body, and she felt like she was floating. As she sat on the floor, she could see her jacuzzi sized tub from the closet. One glance of that tub anchored her and took her back down memory lane. She thought about the first time her mother walked into her room with one of those porcelain dolls. She was five years old. She was getting ready to take a bubble bath in her jacuzzi tub when her mother told her that tonight she would not be able to play while taking her bath. That she was going to wash her quickly, and then help her dress. Nina thought that strange because after her bath, she would either put on a nightgown or pajamas which she could put on herself. When her mother finished bathing her, she quickly dried her off and put her navy blue dress on her. It looked like a sailor's uniform except it was a dress. Her mother then took her hair out of the bun she always wore when taking a bath and fixed it in two ponytails with red ribbons. She then showed her the doll and asked if she liked it. Her mother knew she loved dolls, and Nina grabbed the doll from her mother, hugged it, and told her mother that the doll was beautiful. Nina's mother then told her that the man that had given her the doll was downstairs and that if she wanted to keep the doll she would have to thank him. Nina thought that that should be easy enough, and now understood why she put on a dress instead of her pajamas. Her mother was having company, so she had to go downstairs and thank the man who bought the doll for her. As she started towards her bedroom door, her mother grabbed her by the arm and asked her where did she think she was going. Nina told her downstairs to the livingroom to thank the man who gave her the doll. Her mother told her to sit down on her bed. She told her that the man was coming to her room so she could thank him. Just as her mother finished telling her that there was a knock at the door. Her mother told him to come in. She introduced Nina to the man and walked out of her room. Before she closed the door, she told Nina to make sure she thanked him for the doll, and not to be rude. For the next ten years, Nina was thanking random men for dolls. It was how this beautiful house was paid for, how she got that top notch education, full length mink, and everything else that everyone thought her mother busted her ass working to care for Nina.