“Oh, girl you should've seen me a month ago. My sister damn near put a gun to my head to go get my hair done.”
Irish rolled her eyes, instantly making Cali laugh.
“Rozalin said call her. She miss you, sis.”
“Girl, fuck her. She chose her side now stay over there. I’ll never let her ass touch my head again… I won’t lie these young girls can’t slay hair like Rozalin.” Irish poked her lip out.
“They really can’t. Pixie cut be lasting for two days and shit. I’ma stick beside her.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not going back.” Irish smiled at her. “How are you?”
Cali pushed out a weighty breath. “I’m not good but… I’m trying to pull myself together. I had that Zoom interview and it went well. They requested another interview.”
Irish’s face fell in disappointment. “Please don't tell me you're thinking about moving. What am I going to do without you?”
“I didn’t get the job yet,” she countered, knowing that her background in software engineering gave her a huge advantage.
“But you will, Cali. When it comes to your field, your ass slays.”
She shrugged. “I wish I had that power in other areas of my life.”
A faint smile covered Irish’s lips. It was a smile that was lathered in pity. One that had plagued her ever since her marriage ended.
“I wanna take you somewhere. Let’s walk this way.”
The two women walked out of the parking lot and headed down the street.
“I’m sorry for not being there for you, Cali. I know it’s been hard letting go of what you and Rio had.”
She shrugged, looking down at her feet as they walked. “It’s cool, Irish. I know you were going through your shit with Jovanis. By the way, have you spoken to him?”
She shook her head. “No, but I will.”
The two didn’t say anything else. They walked until Irish stopped at a booth.
“What’s this?”
“This is the Stoplight Booth. You can go inside and talk to a therapist. I think you should try it.”
Cali’s upper lip curled as her gaze skated between the booth and Irish. “Try what?”
“Talking to someone.” She chuckled.
“Who is the someone?”
“It’s a therapist, Cali. I’ve done it before.”
Her eyes widened at her revelation. “You’ve spoken to someone in this booth?”
“Yes, and she was very helpful.” Irish grabbed her hands. “Listen, you need to talk to someone about your feelings. You also need help on how to get out of this depression. I don't want it to develop into something else more serious. Just try it out for me, please.”
“Irish, I don't know.” Cali rubbed her forehead. “I don't know this person or is it people?”
“It’s only one person and her name is Carrie. She’s really good and gentle. Do this one thing and if you don't like it, you’ll never have to do it again.”
Cali eyed the booth for a while contemplating Irish’s offer. What good would this do if it couldn’t bring Rio back to her? She was tired of talking and fatigued with thinking. Cali just wanted an escape, and she knew this wasn’t the way to do it.
“Calia,” Irish used her real name. “I think this’ll be good. Now I’m going to go get us some iced lattes from the coffee shop. I’ll be back to get you in a few.”
