Chapter
3
Aunt Margaret hangs up
the receiver of the intercom and smiles at me eagerly. “Those are the girls
from the Thetas. They can’t wait to meet you.”
As Aunt Margaret rushes
into the foyer to meet our guests, I get an uneasy feeling in the pit of my
stomach. “I don’t know about this Daddy–”
“They just want to talk
to you Pumpkin. Hear them out.” Daddy reassures.
I’ll hear them out. But
I don’t think I’m going to like what they’re going to say.
Aunt Margaret strolls in
followed by a pair of poised, polished young women. The curly haired café au
lait colored Theta Sisters saunter into the room dressed in double–breasted
pastel colored Chanel suits, pearl necklaces, Gucci purses, Church hats, and
high heels with a confident stride. Meghan wasn’t kidding when she said these
ladies are put together. I look down at my T–shirt, jeans, and sneakers and
feel underdressed in my own house.
“Colleen, I’d like you
to meet Marcia Duvalier and Abigail Montgomery. They pledged The Thetas last
year.”
“Nice to meet you.” I
greet as I shake their hands.
“We’re very pleased to
meet you Colleen.” Abigail replies. “We really appreciate you taking the time
with us to tell you about The Theta Sisterhood.”
I’ve always been told to
speak articulately, but Abigail here speaks so well every word sounds exactly
like it reads right out of a dictionary. It’s like she doesn’t have her own
voice.
“I really appreciate you
taking the time to come out to see me. So why would I want to join your
sorority?”
Abagail’s eyes meet mine
again and she smiles before she speaks. “The Thetas are an exclusive sisterhood
dedicated to preparing young Black women like you and myself with the
interpersonal skills we’ll need to compete with in our social circle. Our
organization’s program is specifically tailored towards giving members of the
families in our circles the social education they’ll need to maintain their
family’s businesses and preserve their family’s wealth.”
So in other words A
MochaTan Malibu Barbie social club. I’m still planning on sleeping in this
summer. “Well, I’ve been getting a social education since I was six. What other
benefits would your organization have to offer me?”
Abigail isn’t fazed by
my indifference to her pitch. She smiles again before giving me her rehearsed
response. “While you may have some training in etiquette and protocol, The
Theta Sisterhood offers you an opportunity to be part of a network of Black
women all over the United States who will support you in your academic and
professional endeavors.”
“How many women are
actually in your network?”
“The Theta Sisterhood
boasts over two thousand members nationwide.”
“So you’re one of the
elite eight?” Daddy asks.
“Unfortunately, The
Thetas aren’t part of the National Pan Hellenic Council.” Marcia replies.
“We’re an exclusive organization that prefers to operate outside of the
African–American fraternal system.”
“And why don’t you
operate within the African–American fraternal system? I ask.”
“We feel by operating
outside of the National Pan Hellenic Council we can provide a better experience
for our members.” Marcia answers. “Our sisterhood is a lot closer than most of
the chapters in the elite eight.”
“So you tend to retain
more members.” Daddy inquires.
“Yes. While many of the
members of the elite eight have left their sororities over the years all of our
members like your late mother and your aunt Margaret have maintained lifetime
relationships with The Thetas throughout its nearly sixty year history.”
“The support your Aunt
has given me over the past few months mentoring me has helped me tremendously
in planning my future.” Abigail persuades.
Aunt Margaret smiles as
she takes her cue to come in on their sales pitch. “And I’d like to offer you
that same support when I sponsor you for initiation into The Thetas this
summer.”
“Hold on. This summer?–”
“With the semester being
over I think this would be a wonderful opportunity for you to network, build up
your interpersonal skills and add some extracurricular activities to your
academic experience.” Aunt Margaret chimes.
“I just came in the door
from finishing sophomore year at NYU–”
“And the best time for
you to pledge us is during undergraduate.” Marcia says. “It’ll help you
smoothly transition into our network of contacts after graduation.”
“I’m just not eager to
head back out to a sorority house on campus–”
The girls laugh. “The
Theta House isn’t on a college campus Colleen.” Abigail replies. As I stated
before, this is an exclusive organization. We’re not affiliated with any
university.”
That doesn’t help with
the sale. “So what’s with this sponsoring? Is there a sign–up sheet somewhere?”
Abigail and Marcia
giggle at me. The way they snicker at me makes me feel like I’m being laughed
at, not laughed with. “Sign up sheet?” Abigail giggles. “The Thetas don’t do
signup sheets Colleen. All Theta Pledges have to be sponsored by family
members.”
“With your aunt and your
late mother both being exemplary members in good standing, you more than meet
the qualifications for admission into The Thetas.”
“If your mother were
still alive, she’d definitely want you to be a part of The Thetas.” Aunt
Margaret says.
“Knowing Millie, she’d
probably be sponsoring you herself.” Daddy chimes in.
Thanks for putting me on
the spot Daddy. Nothing like playing the Mom card to guilt me into doing
anything. And me being a good daughter, I’m going to honor the woman who
brought me into this world in spite of my misgivings and reservations.
“I guess I’m pledging
this summer.”I sigh.
“Great.” Marcia says as
she and Abigail jump off the sofa. “We’ll be looking forward to seeing you at
the Theta House this summer.”
I paste on a smile as I
escort our guests out to the foyer and press the button for the private
elevator. “I’m sure it’ll be fun.”
“Oh it definitely will.”
Marcia says.
You are so going to
enjoy the Theta House.” Abigail replies. “The foliage around the House is so
beautiful this time of year. You’ve really got to see it.”
“Maybe I’ll take my car
up.” I reply. “Are there directions in the invitation?”
Marcia and Abigail get
on the elevator. “No, we’ll call in a few days to let you know when we’ll pick
you up and take you to the house.”
“Besides we want to give
you some time to get yourself ready. You really need to clean up those tatty
nails.”
Not even out of the
penthouse and the cat claws come out. Yeah, I’m gonna have some fun this summer.
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