nudity; nor did she devote any attention to romantic love, empirical evidence
havingprovenitwasadrainofenergythatwoulddistractfromherprofessional
goals. But the fact that Dani and the orisha didn’t see eye to eye on that
particular topic wasn’t hugely important. The golden statue was an heirloom
passedonfromDani’sdear,departedNana—thesamewomanwho’doncetold
her,“There’spowerinknowledgepassedbetweengenerations,whetherit’sby
thosebooksofyoursorbyanelder’smouth.”
Danikaagreed.Plus,followinginherNana’switchyfootstepswasfunand
came quite naturally. Must be something about the elaborate nighttime rituals
andthehistoryofdoggedwomanistdefiance.
“Come on, then,” Sorcha nudged, apparently done listing Dani’s character
flaws. And so, at a table shared by two different idols, in a room where
candlelight and the full moon’s glow twined lazily together, Danika took her
friend’shandsandclosedthecircle.
“Youfirst,”Sorchawhispered.
“Oh,darling,areyoucertain?”
“Don’tstart.Iknowyou’regaggingtoinvokesomethingorother.”
Well,yes.InthemonthsinceDani’slastsituationshiphadended,hervagina
haddevelopedcobwebs(thevaginawas,unfortunately,pronetodramatics),and
thisinvocationwouldhopefullyendthatawfulstateofaffairs.
Shetookabreathandbegan.“Hello,Oshun.Hopethetwinsarewell.This
month,IhaveanintentionIthinkyou’llsupport:Irequireanotherfuckbuddy.”
Sorcha’seyespoppedopen.“Hangon.Isthisagoodidea?”
“Shutup,”Danisaidsternly.“I’mbusy.”
Sorcha,beingSorcha,plowedonregardless.“Ithoughtyouwerestillupset
aboutJo?”
Daniproducedawitheringglare.“IwasneverupsetaboutJo.Gettingupset
isthesortofpointless,time-consumingemotionIworkveryhardtoavoid.”
“Really.”Theworddrippedskepticismlikethecandlesaroundthemdripped
wax.“BecauseIcould’veswornthatwhenshedumpedyou—”
“Shedidn’tdumpme.Weweren’ttogether,afactthatshewantedtochange,
whileIdidnot.”
“When she dumped you,” Sorcha continued, because Sorcha was a twat,
“youboughtaboxofcakemixandaddedaneggandatethewholethingrawin
