“That girl is hell, literally. She never cared what she said, and y’all mama hates that. She can’t go around telling your mama secrets all willy nilly.”
His words shocked the hell out of me. What the fuck did he mean? “Daddy, I know you’re not sitting here telling me that Ma is messing with Pastor Terry. I just know that’s not what you’re telling me. My ma is perfect.”
“No one is perfect except Jesus. We all fall short of his glory.” He shrugged. “Some just happen to fall on a dick. I’ve fallen in pussy a time or two myself.’
I coughed on the water that I just drank.What the entire hell is happening right now?“Daddy, what the hell? Why are you telling me this?”
He put his cards face down on the table. “I’m telling you because God is gonna come take me soon. I don’t want you out here thinking that me and ya mama are out here perfect. We’ve made many, many mistakes. One thing that will never be a mistake was you, baby girl. I love you so much.”
His words pulled at my heart. I didn’t like it. “Daddy, don’t say that. You’re gonna be here for a long time to cheat me in tonk. I never thought that you and Ma were perfect. Well, more her than you. I don’t care what you do; you’re always going to be perfect in my eyes.”
He smiled. “You and Athena are perfect in my eyes. Never forget that, Gorjess. Your name is a perfect depiction of your spirit and outward beauty.”
He reached his hand out and clutched mine. “Baby girl, I want you to live your life. Since you were sixteen you have talked about having your own dog grooming business. I want that for you, and I’m telling you that you’re going to have it.”
“Daddy, it was just something that sounded good. I have a good job at the groomer that I work for now. Maybe one day I can take it over,” I told him.
He shook his head. “I want you to listen to me and not say anything, okay. Soon, you’re going to get a blessing that will give you everything that you need to start your own doggrooming business. I don’t want you taking over anything. I want you to have your own. Now when this blessing comes, get the hell out of Macon and carry your ass to Charlotte, North Carolina. That is the perfect place for a gorgeous girl like you.
“It’s the perfect place for you to start your business with all those white folk with those tooty fruity dogs. You said that you want to have a mobile business, so that means they won’t have to leave their big ole houses either,” he rationalized. “That’s what I want you to do, Gorjess. I don’t want anyone to stop you. I don’t care what anyone says; you do what the hell I just told you to do. Do you hear me?”
A Beautiful Day
The Present . . .
I sat at the corner table lost in my thoughts. I missed my daddy so much. When he told me that day that God would come for him soon, I never imagined how prophetic his words would be. He left me three days later from a massive stroke. It completely devastated me. My sister was hurt, but I wouldn’t use the word devastated.
Our ma did the grieving widow thing well. The church gave him an amazing farewell service that was fake as hell. The pastor stood in the pulpit like he wasn’t fucking my daddy’s wife. It was cool, though, because the day before my daddy died, we had the best time together. I would cherish that time for the rest of my life.
A week and a half after his death, a lawyer called us for the reading of the will. Ma had a smile on her face that day. Myma never worked a day in her life, so we expected everything to go to her. She got the house, the land, the two cars, and twenty thousand dollars. It was crazy because with everything that she received, her question was whether that was all of the money that he left her. She was not at all happy with only twenty thousand dollars.
Daddy left Athena her condo and a car. The condo was paid off when Daddy died. He also left her ten thousand dollars. I thought she would have an attitude about it, but she was grateful. It was like our daddy’s death triggered something in her to want to be better.
When it was my turn, everyone’s jaw dropped. My daddy left me four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The money was contingent on my move to Charlotte and the start of my business.
According to the conditions, I had three months to move. I would receive an initial disbursement that ensured that my first year’s lease was paid in full. I would get a stipend to make sure that I had money in my pockets and that my necessity bills were paid. He gave me a year to start my business. If I didn’t uphold the conditions, then the money would be donated to a dog shelter.
Outraged! That was the best way to describe how my mother reacted to the news. According to her, neither I nor Athena deserved anything. I ignored her, and Athena, in her true fashion, cursed her flat out. She told Ma that I deserved everything that our dad gave me.
It didn’t take me a month to find a very nice luxury townhome community in Charlotte. When I found out that the community offered a two-year lease, the executor of the estate agreed to pay it. When I told the townhome that I would pay the lease out completely for the two years, there were no issues. All I had to do was show proof of funds and a background check.
I was given ten thousand dollars to furnish my townhouse. That was way more than I needed because I thrifted and knew how to bargain shop. The most expensive thing that I bought was my bed. Everything else I got from a thrift store or TikTok.
It took me a few months to acclimate myself to Charlotte before I started to work on my business plan. I found the cutest bookstore café walking distance from my community. What made it amazing was that it was black owned. Not just black owned, but woman owned.Caffeine & Bent Pageswas a hidden gem. It was also where I met my best friend, Elica Smart, the owner.
“Girl, what are you over here doing?” Elica pulled me out of my thoughts. “I just watched you sit here for like ten minutes in a damn daze. Here! I brought you a warm latte.”
I took the cup from her hand. “Thanks, bestie boo. Girl, I was missing my daddy. You know how I get close to his death anniversary.”
She came behind me, leaned down, then wrapped her arms around me. “I know, bestie boo. I love you.” She let me go, then sat in the seat across from me. “Have you talked to your mom or sister?”
I smiled at the thought of my sister. She was still in Macon, but she was doing much better for herself. After our father died, she went back to school, and now she was a medical coder at a hospital. I was so proud of her. She, unfortunately, severed her relationship with our mother shortly after I moved to Charlotte. I spoke to her at least twice a month. She visited me once or twice, but she didn’t like the ‘big city’ as she called it.
“Yeah, I talked to Athena last week. She got herself a man, so you know she’s living her best life. As far as my ma, you already know how that goes. The pastor was home,” I said before I rolled my eyes.
Elica shook her head. “She was fake nice because her husband was home. Your mama is flawed as hell.”
Yep, my mother married Pastor Terry, the man that she fucked while she was married to my father. She waited an acceptable amount of time in her mind to grieve before they came out publicly with their relationship. An acceptable amount of time was only six months. Ma went from being a deacon’s wife to a first lady. Her dream came true.
