“Yeah, and they said they’d pay for my relocation fees as long as I do so in the next ninety days.”
“As much as I don’t want you to be going all the way across the country, I do think this new job will be good to put some distance between you and that ball player that had your face all over the blogs. Who knows, maybe you’ll meet my future son-in-law in New York.”
My forehead creased. “Why are we even discussing Hendrix right now? This is about me. Besides, he’s all the way in Kansas City and I’m here in Cali. I think we have enough distance between us as is.”
“A little more wouldn’t help,” she suggested.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“I’m just saying, never put all your eggs in one basket, and when I say basket, I’m talking about Hendrix, so there’s no confusion. I mean, his mother is a prime example.”
“His mother? Why are you talking about his mom?”
“It’s the truth! She stuck by his drug dealing daddy all those years, and where did it get her? She’s lucky her offspring can dribble a ball or else she would’ve been pushing cans on the side of the freeway years ago, mark my word.” She snorted.
My mother was the type to think she was better than most of the people around her because she could putdoctorbefore her name, and she’d never operated on anything or anyone in her life. Little did she know, I welcomed the distance the job would put between me and herthe most. Her years of judgment and constant criticism were part of the reason I was so emotionally fucked-up in the first place.
My face scrunched up in disgust. “That’s a horrible thing to say, Mom.”
“Be that as it may, it’s the God-honest truth.Youare your priority, Cass. No man should come before that.”
I glanced down at my watch. “You know what, Mom. I’ve got a meeting to get to, so I’ve gotta go.”
“Wait, there’s still something I need to tell you.”
“Can we talk about it some other time, Mom? I really do have to go,” I repeated.
She drove out a harsh sigh. “Yeah, sure. I’ll talk to you about it some other time.”
“Okay, thanks. Bye!” I barked before snappishly ending the call.
The weekend rolled around, and somehow, I’d still managed to be in a good mood. I’d even started looking at available rentals in the big city in my down time. The more I toyed with the idea of accepting the job and all that came with it, the more I saw myself spreading my wings in NYC. To ensure the day was all about making sure my best friend had everything she needed, I put my thoughts to the side and focused only on celebrating the new life that was created in nothing but authentic Black love.
I pulled up to Lauryn’s house bright and early, happy to see that the weather was cooperating for her Pretty in Pink baby shower brunch. And trust, she’d gone all out for the special occasion as only she would. Various vendors had come in and transformed her backyard into a lavish pink oasis. From the phenomenal balloon décor to the flower wall filled with various shades of pink roses, and the beautiful pink cabana, everyone invited was sure to have a great time. Both Lauryn and Donovan had successful careers and could afford to blow a bag on their baby girl, and I wasn’t mad at it.
“Oh my God, this is so beautiful!” I cheered as I pulled Lauryn into a warm hug. “How are you feeling? Are you excited?”
Lauryn beamed as she grinned from ear to ear. Between the glow pregnancy had blessed her with and the utter happiness in her voice, I’d never seen her look more beautiful.
“I’m so in love with how everything turned out. Like, we’re going to have a blast. The food truck should be here soon.”
“What’s on the menu again?” I asked.
“There will be chicken and waffles, French toast, shrimp and grits, uh—fried mac and cheese bites, and?—”
“Damn, girl. It’s cool. I get it, we gon’ be eatin’ good. And trust, I will be stuffing my plate with all the comfort food I can get my hands on. So, what do you need me to do? I’m here to work!”
“Brielle just got here like two seconds before you did, and Shauna is on her way, so you can go in the kitchen and help her with whatever,” she instructed.
“I’m on it!”
I spent the rest of the morning tying pink bows around the mini rosé champagne bottles as to-go gifts for her guests. Once everything was perfect, the four of us did our makeup and got dressed.
“Okay, ladies. I must say, the coordination between the outfits is fire, okay!” I bellowed as I swooped my hair and edges up into a top knot bun and poked my oversized gold hoop earrings into my ears.
The four of us were all dressed in different shades of pink. Brielle wore a fuchsia pink off-the-shoulder top and matching wide leg pants set that complemented the fresh, honey blonde box braids she rocked. Shauna had on a blush lantern-sleeved dress that accentuated her mocha-colored curves in all the right places and stopped right past her knees. Adorning my body was a Christian Dior off-the-shoulder puff sleeve jumpsuit in the shade of baby pink, and the mommy-to-be rounded out our quartet with a hot pink pants suit with matching heels.
“Hell yeah! We look too good not to take a million pictures today,” Shauna agreed.
