Epilogue #3
He had mentally damaged Orisha, but I hired a therapist for her, who was helping her improve tremendously.
Some weekends I let her stay with us, too, just as a way for her to experience life outside the hood.
Also, Orisha and Rhema were becoming close, and I noticed this was helping her slowly come out of her shell.
She started looking forward to spending time with us.
Mercedes and I weren’t the closest of friends, but she appreciated how much my family and I looked out for her daughter, and we didn’t mind doing it.
“Ember?” Cassie tapped my forearm.
“Huh?”
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”
“If you’re thinking about using the restroom, too, then yes, we’re thinking about the same thing.”
“Oh yeah, my bad. Let’s go inside this fast-food spot so you can pee, then we’ll revisit this conversation.”
“Sounds like a plan,” I agreed. I couldn’t think of anything else until I emptied my bladder.
We went into the burger joint, and I handled my business.
Minutes later, we were standing in the parking lot next door, staring at the huge “For Sale” sign.
I quickly retrieved my phone from my pocket to tell Mercedes we would be a little late to get Orisha, then Cassie and I entered Hidden Treasures Thrift Shop.
We walked into a half-empty store. It seemed like the few items that were left were on sale for pennies.
I looked around, remembering my time working here and the days I dreaded coming in to work, hearing Mr. Gross fuss up and down these now dusty aisles.
Cassie was walking ahead of me, looking around too, trying not to get her clothes dirty.
Some of the light bulbs hanging from the ceiling were broken, old clothes were all over the floor, and broken glass was on the shelves. The entire place was dimly lit and looked depressing.
“Ember, this place looks like shit,” Cassie said, looking back at me and whispering. “At least we kept it up when we worked here.”
“You’re right about that,” I muttered, still surprised at the state of the shop.
As we kept walking, I spotted Mr. Gross looking like he had aged since the last time I saw him. A few strands of gray hair barely hung on his scalp. There were thick bags under his eyes, his glasses were crooked on his face, and his lips were cracked with white, slimy gunk and dried blood on them.
Mr. Gross looked up from an old radio he was messing with, and he looked like he had seen a ghost.
It took a minute for him to process who was standing in front of him. “Ember? Cassie?” he asked, like he couldn’t believe it was us.
“In the flesh,” I answered.
Mr. Gross’s eyes traveled over the diamond jewelry hanging from my ears, draped around my neck, my shiny wedding ring, and then he looked at the stylist jumpsuit Reason had a designer custom-make for me.
“I see you’re selling the place,” I mentioned, drawing his focus back to my face.
His shoulders hung low. “Something like that.”
“The for sale sign out front says it all,” Cassie interjected.
He stood and leaned against an old table. “What brings you two here?” he asked, brushing off Cassie’s comment. “I never thought I’d see y’all again. Ember, it looks like you got big money now. Did you come here to flaunt your shit in my face?”
“Not that it’s any of your business what I have, but no, I didn’t come to flaunt anything in your face. We were passing by and noticed the ‘For Sale’ sign and thought we’d come inside and pay you a lil’ visit.”
“Ain’t much to see around here anymore. I gotta sell the place to afford my medication.”
Damn, I didn’t expect to hear him say that.
An idea instantly popped up in my head. “Mr. Gross, I think I might be able to help with that.”
Cassie gave me a look as she waited to hear what I had to say.
I remembered the days Mr. Gross made my workdays difficult, and the evenings I went home in tears, feeling drained mentally and physically.
But despite my experience with him, I didn’t believe in kicking a man when he was already down.
Mr. Gross already looked like karma was doing its thing with him.
This was the same man who loved trying to get in a woman’s pants, always had a lot of foul words to say, and made his employees feel like they weren’t worth shit.
Now he looked like he wouldn’t hurt a fly.
A man who looked like he couldn’t break an egg was now eagerly waiting to hear how I could help with his situation.
“When I leave here, I’ll have my husband contact the realtor regarding the property. We’re going to purchase this building. Once everything is squared away, this place will be mine, and you’ll have more than enough money for your heart medication. Does that sound like a deal?”
Mr. Gross smiled, showing his broken dentures. “Y-yes, y-yes,” he stuttered, nodding his head up and down. “Thank you, Ember. Thank you.” He looked like he was ready to bow down to me.
Oh, my, look how the tables have turned.
Thoughts of what I would do with the property came fast. I could turn this place into a one-stop shop for women and single mothers.
They would be able to get healthy meals, and I could hire Rhema’s former after-school instructor, Mrs. Byrd, to care for the children while their mothers learned new skills and got the tools they needed to elevate their lives.
For the ones who already had the skills but didn’t have the proper resources, they would get the chance to find work opportunities.
Those who couldn’t afford their rent would get financial assistance.
I would have Cassie help me run it, and I would hire Mercedes to be the hairstylist and makeup artist who would give the women makeovers.
And with all of Reason’s connections, we would have plenty of sponsors.
This was just the beginning, and the possibilities were endless.
I couldn’t wait to run it by my man and get his approval, support, and guidance.
“Mr. Gross, we’ll be in touch.” I waved goodbye to him as he stood there quietly, staring at me in awe. “Cass, you ready?”
She nodded, and we headed toward the exit.
“Ember St. Pierre, now that’s a muthafuckin’ boss bitch move. That’s what I’m talkin’ ’bout. Yesss. I’m so proud of you.” She smiled from ear to ear with tears in her eyes as we high-fived each other on our way out the door.
“Thank you for always believing in me when I didn’t believe in myself. You always told me I would make it someday. Cass, you were right all along.” We embraced in the biggest hug.
“You did exactly what I believed you would do. I just didn’t know it would be on a level this big. But baby, the bigger, the better.” Cassie grinned as she nodded.
“The bigger, the better,” I mimicked, loving the sound of that. “Come on, friend, now let’s go get Orisha so I can get back to my husband and my kids.”
We got into the car, and it hit me. I finally had the life I once prayed for. And none of this would’ve been possible without the gender reveal.