Chapter 1
Six Months Later
“Girl, you want me to do what?” I asked Farrah.
She had clearly lost her mind. Did she really want me to help her chaperone a group of pre-teens? That was asking for trouble all the way around. Some of them probably had the worst attitude I could ever imagine, and she wanted me there? I didn’t know if that was something I was brave enough to do.
“I need you to help me with Fatima’s birthday sleepover. I know you heard me before I repeated myself.” She huffed. “It’s not that big of a deal. As soon as they take their asses to sleep, you can go home.”
I scoffed with a roll of my eyes. “You already know they’ll probably be going to sleep in the wee hours of the morning.”
She chuckled. “Okay, you’re right, but I need you.”
I blew air out of my mouth and flopped down on my bed.
I should’ve been getting ready for work, but Farrah had called me in distress.
We tried to help each other out as much as possible.
That was my ride or die. I’d do anything for Farrah and vice versa, but this was something I didn’t want to do.
As much as I wanted to tell her to get someone else to do it, it was best to just get it over with.
Farrah and I had been the best of friends since high school.
We were two peas in a pod, never too far away from each other.
For as long as I could remember, Farrah kept a man on her arm, even when she was pregnant with her daughter, who was conceived from a one-night stand.
When she told the man, he stopped talking to her, and she brushed it off.
She had always been a friendly person, but I hoped she found the man for her one day.
Her daughter shouldn’t see too many men run in and out of her house.
I tried telling her that wasn’t good, but she said she’d be looking for love until she found it. Hopefully, that would be soon. I wanted her to be happy.
“Ugh, you get on my nerves real bad,” I groaned.
She chuckled. “I love you too, sis. Are you going to help me out?”
“It seems like I don’t even have a choice. Yes, I’ll help you out.”
“Yes! You’re the best, girl. Just know that Fatima is going to be so happy to see you.”
I smiled as I thought of my niece. It had been a while since I had seen her too. With work, Farrah and I didn’t hang out like we used to. But when we did, we spent just about the whole day together.
“I can’t wait to see her either. But, girl, I need to finish getting ready for work. I’ll call you either on my lunch break or when I get home from work.”
“Okay, sis. I love you, and have a good day at work.”
I beamed. “Thanks! Same to you.”
Sometimes it could be a challenge to hang up with Farrah.
She was the closest thing to me since my parents died.
Farrah had been by my side when I had to bury them too.
She’d wiped the tears from my eyes and held me when I couldn’t sleep from missing them so much.
One thing she didn’t do was judge me the way Jonathan did.
My friend was there for me. She was even there for me when I moved out of the house I’d shared with Jonathan.
She’d wanted to beat his ass for the way he had done me.
I hadn’t seen or talked to Jonathan in six months, and I hoped to never lay eyes on him again.
My cat, Pinks, came to my bed and jumped up before she climbed into my lap.
“Girl, you know I have to get ready for work.” I chuckled, stroking her fur.
She only purred like I knew she would. With a shake of my head, I laid her down on the bed and got up.
While in the bathroom styling my hair, I reflected on the last six months of my life.
It felt like I was just here on Earth, going day to day without a care in the world.
Nothing really excited me the way it used to.
Then, to make matters worse, I moved out of the house I had with Jonathan.
He could keep it since it was both of ours, with our names on it.
If it had anything to do with him in it, I didn’t want it.
It was a reminder of his betrayal. It was hard to go on without him since he had been in my life for a while.
Sometimes I had nightmares about that day at Dunk’s.
I hadn’t set foot back inside that restaurant since everything had happened.
Jonathan had ruined my life, and I hated him with everything inside of me.
After I finished getting ready for work, I headed out of the house. Since I was running a little late, I wouldn’t stop by Crème Coffee Cafe to get myself a latte. I’d be paying for it later, but right now I had to hurry to work.
It took me fifteen minutes to get to work with traffic.
In the mornings and evenings, the traffic was super heavy, which was expected in Skyeville.
When I arrived at work, I sat in my car for just a few minutes, trying to get my mind right to handle these people’s animals.
I worked as a veterinarian. I enjoyed working with animals and helping them get the care they needed.
The main thing I did was give the animals their shots or medicine that they needed.
Sometimes, some of them could be difficult, while others were the greatest.
Once I got myself together, I climbed out of the car, taking my work bag with me. It was a little windy today with the sun shining brightly. If I didn’t have my lab coat on, I’d be feeling all the cold air that blew. With a quickness, I dashed across the parking lot and into the vet clinic.
The front desk receptionist, Kaye, greeted me with a smile.
“Good morning, Ken. How are you this morning?” She was a very cheerful person. Hardly anything got her upset, but when she was, it was hard to get her to talk.
“Good morning, Kaye.”
After we exchanged pleasantries, I walked into the employee lounge, put my bag in my locker, and then reviewed my files to see what I had going on for the morning.
I knew I had an appointment booked for eight thirty. It was with a brown golden retriever. Every time Shadow came in, he’d whine, not wanting to get his shots. I hated it when he did that. He came here every six months, so I thought he would be used to it by now.
I walked out front and went toward the dog with his human.
“Hey! Good morning, Shadow!” I greeted the dog, going around the desk to kneel in front of him. “How are you, boy? Are you ready for your shots?”
He barked loudly and tried moving away from me. I threw my head back and laughed.
His owner, a lady named Devina, laughed too. “I guess you got your answer. He has been in a funk all morning. It’s like he knew what today was.”
I stood back up with a smile on my face. “I won’t keep y’all waiting long then. Come on, Shadow.” I kissed at the dog, knowing he wouldn’t come to me. “Aww, come on, boy. As soon as we’re done, I’ll give you the treats you like.”
That had him looking over at me as if he understood. Davina came with us into the examining room, where I’d be treating him. Once I got everything I needed, Davina and I lifted Shadow onto the table.
“You got this, boy.” I spoke calmly as I caressed him while at the same time getting my needle ready. His body began to relax, which was a good sign. I hummed to him as I stuck him, causing a low whine to escape his mouth. When I was done, I sighed with relief. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”
Davina had a smile on her face. “Thank you, Kenzlee. You always do such an amazing job with him.”
I beamed, removing the gloves from my hands. “You already know, I love Shadow like he was my own. But you know, Pinks is not letting another animal in my house.”
Since Jonathan’s dog left my house, I didn’t want any more pets around Pinks. She was back to being the only fur baby, and she was spoiled that way too. She never wanted to share me. Every time I thought of adopting another kitten, I never went through with it, knowing how my fur baby could get.
“Aww, yeah. Make sure you add more pictures to your Instagram account. We missed Pinks.”
I smiled sadly. It had been a while since I had uploaded a picture of Pinks on her account. She was Instagram famous too.
“I’ll make sure I do. Both of you take care.”
Davina waved goodbye before she and Shadow left. After they left, I typed up the report to put in his file. Hopefully, the rest of the animals would be as calm as Shadow. He was my favorite patient.
I went back out front after I was done. Kaye was on her iPad, watching a movie. The only thing I could do was shake my head at her.
I leaned over and whispered in her ear. “You’d better hope our boss, Rebecca, doesn’t walk in and see that.” She nearly jumped out of her seat. I giggled and shook my head. “Gotcha.”
“Girl, you can’t be doing that.”
I nodded. “Yes, I can. That’s payback.”
She smacked her lips with a roll of her eyes. “I didn’t do anything to you.”
“You remember that time I brought my coloring book to work? Between appointments, I’d sit and color. Remember you nearly gave me a heart attack saying the boss was here when she really wasn’t?”
Kaye muffled her giggles in her hands. “That’s so old, but whatever. Let me put my iPad up before she shows up. You know how she can get.”
I nodded in agreement. “What do you have planned for the weekend?”
She shrugged, putting her iPad away. “Nothing really. I’ll probably go to see my parents.”
“Oh, okay. I’ll be helping my best friend chaperone at her daughter’s sleepover. Pray for me.”
Kaye chuckled with a shake of her head. “Sure. But how was Shadow? Did he do okay today?”
I rolled my eyes skyward. “Not really. You know I had to talk him through the process.”
Kaye loaded her computer back up. “Yeah, that’s just like him. Poor baby. I knew he was happy to get it over with.”
I smacked my lips. “Yeah, me too.”
We shared a laugh.
Since I chilled with Kaye in between seeing the animals that had an appointment, that made my day go by faster.
Once four came, I walked out the door without looking back.
On the drive home, I stopped by a burger place to get a bacon hamburger with potato wedges.
I was very hungry since I’d barely had time for a break.
When I got home, I wouldn’t have much to do.
Before Jonathan and I broke up, we’d watch movies or spend time outside the house after work.
I was lonely, and when I was home alone, I felt it tenfold.
I never thought my life would end up like this.
It was hard to let go of the past and the grief of my parents’ deaths.
When Jonathan broke my heart, I thought I wouldn’t be able to move on.
Still, I tried daily. Mostly, I felt alone.
Maybe I needed more cats. I did want to heal from all my past trauma.
If it got any worse, I might have to go to therapy. I was very unhappy.