Fonnie Flagrant
by
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The next afternoon, Basil stepped into Lake Street Barbershop. It was packed with men awaiting a vacant chair.
“How’s it going?” Basil finally said to everyone since all activity seemed to have stopped on his behalf. Basil stood by the glass front door awkwardly looking for a free seat in the waiting area.
“Hey, man,” a young barber said to Basil. He was handsome and mahogany. “Can I help you with something?”
“Yeah.” Basil pointed to his own head. “Can someone trim me up?”
The young man looked around. “Uh, yeah-yeah. I’m the third chair over there. Go on and have a seat.”
After Basil sat in the chair, the shop returned to life. “My name is Jamal. I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“I’m Basil Jenkins. I just moved here so I’m checking out some places.”
“Yeah?” Jamal asked, cutting Basil’s hair. “Where did you move?”
“Over there on Pine.”
“Pine Street?” Jamal asked. “Have you met anyone yet?”
“As a matter of fact I did. Lily Blue.”
“Yeah,” Jamal said nodding. “I know Lily. She’s one of the nicest people I know. She’s going out with some fool, though. I can’t stand him.”
“Oh, man,” Basil said. “There was this fine girl with Lily. She lives right across the street from me. Mean as hell! Her name is Fonnie Bishop.”
“You met Fonnie?” Jamal asked laughing hysterically. “You need to stay away from her. She’s going to tear you to pieces.”
“Naw,” Basil said, shaking his head. “I think I can handle her.”
“Aight, man,” Jamal said. “You’re going to learn.”
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About the Book
Fonnie Bishop is an ornery girl and she doesn’t care who knows it. With the exception of her lone, gentle friend, Lily Blue, Fonnie lives her life alone and she likes it that way, thank you very much. To Fonnie’s annoyance, she gets a new green-eyed neighbor in the house across the street. Her plan is to ignore her new neighbor’s existence, but Lily’s not going to let that happen. They meet Basil Jenkins, a guy whose ethnicity turns out not to be all that straightforward and a bit of an issue if you ask Fonnie. During the escalating tension between Basil and Fonnie, their gay neighbor, Dante, and mentally unstable neighbor, Crazy Joe, both offer their uninvited advice about how to assuage their smoldering situation. Their advice is not helpful.
Derrick Simmons is Lily’s jobless boyfriend who thrives off of degrading her. He also has a low tolerance for Basil and “his kind”. Jamal Banks, Lily’s close acquaintance, has always been unimpressed with the coupling of Lily and Derrick. The love Jamal has for Lily is unspoken, but stronger than anything Derrick could ever be capable of feeling. Derrick vows to make sure that Lily will die before she ever leaves him for any man, especially Jamal.
Granny Marmalade, Basil’s very plump and very brown grandmother, comes to town for Christmas. She easily pries away Fonnie’s tough and hateful outer layer to expose her tender heart. Now it’s up to Basil to cultivate Fonnie’s love. He prays he’ll be strong enough to do it.
About the Author
R. Caresse Hightower earned her B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She’s been writing since she was nine years old and loves picking at the scab of culture versus ethnicity. She also likes anything that has to do with Martha Stewart and watching really, really bad movies. Fonnie Flagrant is her first published novel and she hopes you enjoy it.