(listed in order of appearance)
*A narrator. More info can be found on Noni, Caroline and Geneva here.
Noni Aminah Jones*- Noni worked as a television reporter before publishing her first novel moving back to the Northeast to write full time. She lives in Morningside Heights with her significant other, Carter, who often refers to her by her middle name, Aminah. She’s originally from North Jersey where she grew up in a Muslim family.
Carter- Noni’s significant other. He’s a divorced jazz pianist and producer. He’s fifteen years older that Noni and he also has a young daughter. His ex-wife and daughter live in Philadelphia. He is first mentioned in “A Woman Possessed” and the story his initial connection with Noni is in “All of Nothing”.
Caroline*- Caroline is a twenty-something marketing exec for a major cosmetics firm. She lives in Hamilton Heights.
Lance- Caroline’s sexy, Trinidadian lover for the year she studied at Oxford during undergrad. The financial publication he writes for transfers him from the London bureau to New York, where he is reunited with Caroline, years after their tryst. He is about ten years her senior, never been married, and he has an adolescent son that moves in with him. He is first mentioned in “I’m In Control” and we meet him in “The Reunion”.
Geneva*- Narrator. Geneva oversees an African-American theater and lives in a Harlem apartment with a room-mate who has two dogs.
Paul- An eccentric PhD candidate at Columbia University and Geneva’s first love. They were friends in undergrad and began dating after wards. Their relationship is rocky to say the least. He is first mentioned in “Negro You Had to Study” and we meet him in “Who’s That On the Phone?”.
Artist Friend- A White artist and wild child that Caroline dates without attachments at the open of the story. They break up in “Stood Up”
Damon- One of Noni’s best friends from undergrad. He oversees a Brooklyn Charter school. We meet Damon in “Babies, Engagements and Sleeping Arrangements”
Derrick- Noni’s attractive male friend from undergrad. He lives in Chelsea with his partner Deon.
Tamika- Carter’s friend of several years. She is a trial attorney based in Newark, NJ and the comments she makes in “Meet the Homegirl” suggest that her feelings for Carter are deeper than platonic.
Aaliyah- A friend from undergrad that Noni looked up to. She’s a DC attorney and we learn that she’s engaged to an entrepreneur in “Babies, Engagements and Sleeping Arrangements”
Ahmad- the med student that Noni dated for a short while at Yale. He was her ideal man, but he broke her heart. He’s mentioned briefly in “Kissing Kismet”
Scorpio- a former lover that Noni refers to briefly in “Kissing Kismet” only by astrological sign.
Aunt Natalie aka Aunt Nat- a successful cosmetic surgeon based in North Jersey and the best friend of Noni’s mother. She is married into an elite Black family and voices strong opinions about Noni’s life choices. We meet her in “the Vineyard”.
Langston Davis III- the son of a successful business exec and the CEO of a NYC based hedge fund. He’s handsome, successful and from an elite Black family. Noni reveals that she used to have feelings for him and he hints at an attraction to her when they run into each other in “The Vineyard”.
Mr. Smart Ass- Caroline’s co-worker who takes credit for her work during an important board meeting in Paris. First mentioned in “Paris, Part Deux”
Mr. Flamboyant- Noni’s fabulous interior decorator who wants to transform her into the “Emelda Marcos of Morningside Heights”. We meet him in “Sex Without Strings, Love Without Rings”
Dr. Feel Good- The attractive doctor Geneva meets in the ER, in “Flat On My Ass” whose TLC makes her wonder if she’s died and gone to heaven.
