Down And Out In Flamingo Beach
"So what do you think about Quen getting married?" the woman asked, her eyes never leaving Joya's face.
Her ex-husband's wedding was not something Joya Hamill wished to discuss with a stranger. But the question had come out of left field, catching her totally off guard.
The woman had come up to her and her grandmother unexpectedly as they'd emerged from Flamingo Beach Baptist Church. The congregation of mostly African-Americans dressed in their Sunday finery stood catching up on town gossip. Joya had been gazing at the women in their elegant widebrimmed hats, stylish suits and hose, even though the temperature was well in the eighties, when the woman had swooped down.
Gathering out front was an after-service routine. Many came to church to see, be seen and catch up on Flamingo Beach's gossip. Later that afternoon these same people would be eating their lavish Sunday dinner while discussing the outfits and speculating on who was doing who. Everyone was fair game, and if you weren't up to snuff, guaranteed you would be trashed. As a result, the one Blackowned beauty shop in town did a thriving business on Saturday afternoo ... read full excerpt from Down and Out in Flamingo Beach ebook
