Love’s Instant Replay

Chapter 1

“Good morning! Welcome to Echoes of Kyelle,” I greet cheerily when the doorbell sounds as my eyes connect with the two women entering the bookstore.

“Good morning to you,” one of the two women reply with a wide smile.

“Please let me know if I can be of service while you’re here,” I say.

“I’m hoping you have a wide selection of black romance authors. We’ve been to the bigtime stores and have been sorely disappointed. Doing an internet search led us here, so hopefully you have just what we need.”

A grin upturns my lips because it’s a common statement I’ve heard since opening the doors of my bookstore.

“Yes, ma’am. I have no doubt that you will be pleasantly surprised with my inventory. In fact, I just added some new selections that should get you together,” I say.

“Alright. I like you already,” the second woman tells me smiling.

“Why thank you, shug. I have a feeling it’s going to be a mutual affection by the time you leave here,” I say returning her smile.

Warmth spreads across my chest as I watch the women move toward the romance selection I just added new books to roughly an hour ago.

As the owner of Echoes of Kyelle, my heart sings in delight with every customer that patronizes my store.

There aren’t many bookstores here in Ribax, so being one of the only ones in business is something amazing that I relish in with every passing day.

Born into a family of educators, I knew making my mark on society had to be something just as rewarding.

I knew early on that I didn’t want to be in the classroom teaching, but I did want to have a hand in enriching young people.

My passion is reading and community, which led me to quit my corporate job to open a bookstore.

My cozy piece of Heaven focuses on children’s literature and fostering community literacy programs. While I also have books for every age group, I crafted a special area for the children who visit my bookstore.

I love seeing little people silently reading on the bean bag chairs, lost in the words of whatever book they’re partaking in.

Something about witnessing the merriment on their faces fills me with warmth and an abundance of happiness.

Between my parents and grandma, I didn’t have to worry about the money needed to get my dream off the ground.

The three of them pooled their money and connections, gifting me with a small building near downtown Ribax.

The building was constructed to include two floors.

The main floor is for the adults, while the second floor is a child’s dream.

The design mimics a treehouse and is perfect for the little person who wants to get lost between the pages of their favorite story.

“Ms. Kyelle, there’s a phone call for you,” one of my associates says, cutting into my internal thoughts.

“Okay. Thank you. Watch the floor for me, I’m going to take it in my office.”

Looking around the bookstore, another leap of excitement fills me upon seeing a few of the patrons moving through the aisles as a kid plops down in one of the bean bag chairs on the second level. That merriment carries me to my office as I pull the door up giving myself some privacy.

“Hello. This is—”

“My grandbaby who’s the apple of my eye. How’s your day going?” The voice on the other end of the line causes my lips to upturn and joy to spread in my heart.

Lula Mae Benson is my mom’s mom and my only grandparent, so I enjoy every moment I get to either be in her presence or hear her voice.

She’s the person I’m most comfortable sharing all my secrets with.

She’s the one I told I lost my virginity and was scared to be touched again after my boyfriend tried to mold me to the mattress.

She’s the person who, no matter what I share with her, always provides the perfect nonjudgmental advice.

“It’s going well. Still early though. Is everything alright with you? It seems early to be hearing from your right now.”

“All is well because my God is sovereign and allowed me to rise again. But I need to share something with you that couldn’t wait until you got home,” Grandma says.

Swallowing the sudden lump in the back of my throat, I fight against the current forming in the bottom of my stomach. The tone of Grandma’s voice has jitters filling my extremities as my mind wanders about what she’s about to say.

“Kyelle.” The soft timbre of Grandma’s voice has me shifting in my office chair, suddenly afraid to take my next breath but also realizing that she isn’t going to wait forever.

“I-I’m ready.”

“I know that you’ve been enjoying coming and going without anyone to check in with, but like milk, you’re about to face the expiration date for that.”

My brows hike, and my forehead wrinkles from the strange analogy coming from Grandma’s lips.

“Yesterday was a pretty mundane day with nothing out of the ordinary happening. But I had the strangest dream last night. The only thing I’ll share right now is, . . . your single days are about to come to an end. What’s in front of you is so much better than what’s behind you.”

My mouth opens and closes as my heart rate increases from the deadpan yet confident declaration within Grandma’s statement.

“What—um—can you elaborate a little more?”

I’ve been single for a few years, and although it gets lonely sometimes, I was resolving myself to believing my single status would last a while since I don’t have any prospects.

“All you need to know is that what’s coming will pale in comparison to anyone you’ve experienced before. For that reason, you need to pray now because I understand how the women in our family can be with foreign concepts. Have an open mind, open heart, and everything will be just fine.”

All I can do is sit stock still while my mind processes the words coming from one of my most trusted people. Grandma has never steered me wrong or given me bad advice, but this information is causing me to be slightly unsettled.

“I-I-um . . . How can I open myself up to love right now? I’m scared to try again and have the man not value the things that I value. What if he doesn’t appreciate what I’m building with my business? What if—”

“Baby, what if God knows the desires of your heart and has cleared the way for you to obtain all of it? What if you’re spending too much time with the what ifs? What if you simply need to believe and trust that He knows your ending just as much as He knew your beginning?”

Grandma’s words shut me up as my chest expands with the possibility of maybe just maybe finding a love like the one I saw growing up. I want love and the fullness of it, but I’ve been spending years crafting my business and put even the thought of it on hold.

“Maybe you’re right. Wow. I wonder—”

“The possibilities are endless with my God. I only wish He would have shown me the fella so I could tell you more. But because He knows I can only keep some things a secret, I wasn’t privy to those details.”

Giggles escape my mouth because Grandma isn’t kidding about her inability to keep full secrets. As a kid, Mom and Dad never gave her details about birthdays or anything big for me because she always told me.

“Alright, my sweet girl. I’ll let you get back to work. Enjoy the rest of your day. I love you.”

“Love you more, Grandma.”

“Impossible.” With that, the call ended, and as I set the phone on the base, my mind starts running a hundred miles a minute.

Oh my God! After being single for all these years I really have to pray for someone new.

I wonder what he’ll be like. I wonder if he’ll appreciate me for the businesswoman that I am.

I do want to one day get married and I would love to have someone who believes in my dream of expanding my store.

I want kids. Will he want kids? Will he be a man who believes in God?

“Come on, Kyelle. One phone call with your grandmother and you’re spiraling down the rabbit hole with fifty-eleven questions. You haven’t even met the man yet.” Shaking my head, I try to gather myself enough to temporarily put the conversation behind me.

Yet, there’s something nagging at me that won’t let up and that’s my desire to find something that I’ve been missing for far too many years to count .

. . love. Endless, lifechanging, soul-stirring, unapologetic .

. . love. The one thing I have desired for years and haven’t been able to obtain or secure.

I’m a businesswoman with goals of expansion for my bookstore and dreams of reaching people beyond the Ribax city limits.

But I’m also a woman who wants a man to wake up to every morning.

One who will push me when my sales are down, when the foot traffic is slow, and when the urge to throw in the towel consumes me.

“Yeah, I think it’s time to remove the what ifs and see how God handles this next set up in my life.”

I have spent an undetermined amount of years dealing with men who didn’t want to be tied down or wanted to tie me up, or didn’t know which way was up to think about getting back into dating.

My bookstore has been my life and my purpose, but it would be nice to know what it’s like to get to know someone worth dating.

Yet, in the background of my mind, even while working to grow and advance my business has been the yearning for someone made just for me.

The yearning to find a man whose love mimics the love my father has given to my mother that has been lying idle in me for forever.

The adoration my grandmother often tells me my grandfather had given to her during their marriage.

But also someone who—

“Loves me without cheating. Cherishes me without belittling me. Desires me without fetish. God, I want a man who won’t make me run for the hills or the highway to get away from him. Other than that, I’m ready for whoever he is that You have in store for me, God. I trust You.”

Nodding, I stand and walk to my semi-closed door ready to return to my work day as my thoughts continue to ebb and flow with the possibilities of going from single to taken.