Girlfriends

The three novellas in this collection by African-American women explore Terry McMillan territory, each examining the problems of friendship, dating and parenthood in the lives of professional black women. In Bunkley's ""At the End of the Day,"" 37-year-old Micere's new soul food restaurant is on the brink of success, as is her new relationship with Billy Dee Williams look-alike Conrad. Unfortunately, she must contend with the threats of her rich, arrogant ex-husband, who wants to take away both their daughter and Micere's business. Careening from a clich d romance involving a helicopter ride with champagne and purple prose (""she was ready to give all of her love to Conrad, releasing the pent-up passion that dwelled in her heart"") to a stale courtroom drama, this novella's scope is too wide to be successful in a short format. Also flawed is Rutland's ""Choices,"" in which main characters Millie and Becky, who spent their childhoods together in the projects, now inhabit a more affluent world and have conflicting perspectives on their poverty-stricken pasts. Millie, an upper-middle-class lawyer, has become obsessively status oriented and hounds the more earthy Becky to embrace her social ambitions. Though the novella tackles the compelling topic of upward mobility in the African-American community, Rutland flatly symbolizes Becky's class struggle as a choice between a boorish, smug, rich man and a charming, loving plumber. ""The Heart of the Matter"" by Kitt best exemplifies the collection's feel-good message of sisterhood, with a warm realism lacking in the other two stories. Katherine, a widow raising an 11-year-old son, finally reenters the dating scene at the same time that her girlhood best friend moves back to town, withdrawn and depressed after a bout with cancer. Both tender plots in this tale develop without the melodrama or forced tone of the other two novellas. (July)