Sedalia and Charlotte meet during a Moral Monday rally. Pizza and the pursuit of social justice bring the North Carolina former debutante and repeat criminal trespasser together. Their love grows to be a comfort in the midst of crazy, everyday life.
But when Charlotte is arrested the night before their wedding, can Sedalia manage to get her to the altar on time? Is Sedalia ready to sacrifice her special day for the struggle? Their different approaches to balancing their work and personal lives create an issue in their marriage before they even manage to tie the knot.
More From Love Wins
Sedalia admits she passed judgment about Charlotte when they first met. The two meet during a Moral Monday march in 2013. The purpose of the events was for protestors to enter state legislature buildings to be peacefully arrested. Protests were held weekly to express opposition to the state legislatures' policies involving voting rights, cuts to social programs, and public education. She had attended three prior events and been arrested once. This type she planned to attend just to support others who had not had the experience of being handcuffed, at least not in the name of social justice. She knew from experience that all kinds of folks were attracted to standing up for what was right.
Charlotte showed up with her pizza truck offering slices of pizzas for sixty-one cents to symbolize the amount a black woman working full-time earns for every dollar earned by a white man. The first time Sedalia read the sign announcing the price and the rationale behind it, she murmured to herself, What the hell is that about? The second time she walked by and noticed the line, she thought, Probably some huckster hoping to make some money off of hungry people trying to do the right thing. The third time she walked by, her stomach compelled her to put aside her misgiving. The entire time she was in line she questioned the motivation behind the pricing model but all the huffing she planned to expel evaporated once she came face to face with that engaging smile and twinkling eyes. She was so immediately attracted she didn't bother to asking for her change back. Sedalia actually ended up purchasing several slices. The pizza tasted delicious and Sedalia had to admit it was a creative pricing strategy. Most people didn't bother with getting change back.
The two had crossed paths that night at the Wake County Detention Center where the protestors had been taken after being arrested. She was waiting for a friend who she had bailed out when Charlotte and her eyes meet across the crowded room but no words were spoken. Sedalia remembers thinking how cute that tall red-hair woman was but the thought soon passed out of her mind. She preferred women who were thicker than a chocolate milkshake and while this one had a little heft to her she didn't seem to be her kind of flavor.
A friend told Sedalia the food truck owner's name that night. She discovered Charlotte donated the proceeds from the day's sales to help post the bail for some of the protestors and had a reputation for donating food and proceeds from her restaurants to various causes. The friend also shared Charlotte enjoyed tasting all the flavors of the rainbow when it came to the women she dated. Sedalia, newly freed from a relationship that lasted two years too long, dismissed that fact as not really relevant to her daily existence.
That is until she found herself in a pizza restaurant near the campus of St. Augustine University a month later to pick up a sponsorship check for the pride event she was helping to organize. Years later the memory of how Charlotte's face lit up when she recognized Sedalia triggered a smile even after their most heated disagreement.
Charlotte's commitment to social justice along with her expressive jade color eyes, bountiful lips, and a full nose punctuated with a small piercing captivated Sedalia. A friendship evolved in a relationship. The two telephoned banked, attended protests, sponsored fundraisers and grew in their commitment to social justice and to each other. Sedalia gave thanks often when she offered up prayers at night she had found someone to share her interest in superhero movies as well as leading the fight to preserve reproductive justice.
