Devonne Brown

Mary rolled the joint with a dollar bill and impressed the four others in the room as usual. Every Tuesday for the last two years the “Women of Presence” as they had labeled themselves, met in Lynn’s basement room and got high after work. Mary passed the joint to Sallie, who lit it herself. “I love you, Mary, but I don’t trust anybody with fire that close to my face.” She took her two hits and passed the joint to Joyce who did the same and passed it to Lynn. 

Dire Straits played throughout the room while Mary rolled another joint with her magic dollar bill. No one could figure out how she did it, though she gave everyone patient lessons, the closest anyone got to making a passable marijuana cigarette with the dollar bill method was Annie, but hers was way too loose and unsmokable. She gave up after the third try and never fooled with it again. 

The second joint floated around the room. “Do you believe the shit we have to put up with at work? That new guy, Robert Somebody, thinks I’m there to make his coffee and copies. Gene forgot to tell him I’m his boss and he’s my secretary. The dumbass.” You should have seen his face turn red when I told him who I was. “I didn’t see him the rest of the day.”

“That’s the guy that was running around my office flirting with Annie and Joyce today,” said Mary. “I gave him a stack of policy to proofread and a tiny cubicle to do it in.” I thought he was going to implode. He has a nice ass. I’ll send him back to you tomorrow. Put on JT will you?” Her eyes, as well as everybody else’s, were red slits.

“God this feels good. You have a good source, Mary, I don’t know what I’d do without Tuesdays,” said Annie. The others agreed in mellow tones and sang with Carolina on their minds.