Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Cranberry Crisis
Zuri Harris tapped the speaker button on her phone, set it on the edge of her bed in her room at Hotel Andreas, and sank down beside it on the white cotton duvet.
“Mom?” she called. It was six days before Christmas, and right now, Simone Harris was braving the Connecticut winter weather to tackle the holiday shopping.
She wiggled her feet into her brand new, red Louboutins and listened to the commotion of the supermarket––the only sound coming through the speaker. “Mom? Are you there?”
It was her own fault, Zuri thought, fastening her earrings, and spritzing her warm vanilla eau du parfum on her wrists and neck.
Every Christmas Eve, she made a different pie for her family, and before leaving her parent’s house yesterday, she’d forgotten to give her mom the ingredient list for this year’s cranberry cheesecake crumb pie.
She’d been in the middle of getting ready, when her mom had called from the crowded supermarket, asking for the recipe.
“Mom?” Zuri called again, checking her reflection in the mirror.
Her makeup was flawless—burgundy lipstick emphasizing her full, wide mouth, champagne eyeshadow making her expressive dark brown eyes pop beneath perfectly arched brows, and a hint of blush accentuating her high cheekbones.
Feeling beautiful and ready for whatever the night had in store, she picked up her lipstick, powder compact, breath mints, and room key from the bureau, and arranged them all inside her beaded gold purse.
“Hello! Mom!”
“What, Zuri?” her mother snapped.
“I was just asking if you have everything you need. Can I go now? I need to meet––”
“Darnell! Kim! Hi! How are you two settling into the house? You know, I’ve been meaning to call you about…”
Zuri groaned as her mother’s attention was taken by a newlywed couple who’d bought one of the most difficult-to-sell listings her mom had had in years: a Tudor-style-one-bedroom in dire need of a complete overhaul, set on twenty acres of expertly designed private parkland.
The catch was that no one with the pockets to match the property’s price tag wanted a fixer-upper listed with Connecticut’s protected historical buildings registry.
But Simone––founder of her own multi-million-dollar real estate agency and the number one realtor in the state—had found a young, tech-money couple with dreams of opening a community farm and natural crafts “shoppe”.
It had been a match made in heaven, and her mom had closed the deal with one hand tied behind her back.
As she listened to Darnell and Kim’s plans to convert half of their manicured parkland into farmland, Zuri grabbed her watch and her favorite gold bangle bracelet from the nightstand, and carried them over to the full-length mirror next to the step-in closet.
She pushed up the sleeves of her cashmere camel sweater, slid on her accessories, and gave her appearance one last check.
Her tailored, wide-leg camel slacks hung perfectly, and her over-sized sweater gave her the sophisticated, elegant look she often favored.
Her cocoa brown skin was radiant against the warm tones, and her fresh, long braids drew attention to the graceful length of her neck.
“Zuri? Honey are you still there?”
Zuri collected her purse and her phone from the bed and headed toward the door. “Yes, Mom, I’m here.”
“I’m so sorry about that, honey. Yes, I think so. I may have to go to A1-Market for the pecans, but I think I can find everything else here.”
“Okay, but don’t worry about the pecans if you can’t find them.” She paused at the door. “I think I saw a pack of walnuts in the pantry before I left.”
“I’ll get the pecans, Zuri. You’ll have everything you need for your pie. Now you go have fun with the girls. Give them my best. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mama. I’ll see you in a few days.” Zuri ended the call, hurried out the door and down the hallway.
She pushed the call button for the elevators, dropped her phone into her purse, and pulled out her lipstick.
Turning to the mirror on the opposite wall, she touched up her lips, and admired herself, feeling alluring and sexy––something she hadn’t felt in years.
Probably not since before she met Bryan, her ex-fiancé, she thought putting her lipstick away.
The thought of him crept in uninvited. It had been a somewhat immature college relationship, and the engagement had been premature—painfully so in hindsight.
They’d met during their sophomore year of college and had only been together for a year and a half before Bryan Payton Jr. got down on one knee, and proposed in front of his entire extended family during his grandmother’s seventy-fifth birthday celebration.
Zuri had been thoroughly unnerved by the melodramatic gesture, complete with a twelve-by-twelve-foot wall of roses, a fog machine, and a two-carat Harry Winston diamond engagement ring.
She wondered if he’d considered her personality at all––her love of quiet, intimate moments, her tendency to shy away from the spotlight––while planning the grand proposal.
Yet, she had cried, and gushed, and said ‘Yes’, nonetheless.
On paper, Bryan was everything she thought she wanted: good-looking, intelligent, ambitious, and from an affluent Black family––financially secure and groomed to take over his parents’ one-hundred-fifty-year-old insurance company.
At twenty-four years old, Zuri had always imagined herself in her mother’s shoes, and on the arm of a successful man like her father, Neil––President of the Monarch Trust and Holdings Bank.
However, when she’d said yes to Bryan, Zuri hadn’t considered that beyond privilege and success, her parents were also bound together by a love that could weather any storm.
She and Bryan had decided to wait until after graduation to plan their wedding, but that day had come and gone, and Zuri hadn’t been able to bring herself to set a date.
She’d cringed every time someone pressed her on the issue, or asked about her dress, colors, theme, or bridesmaids.
Anything wedding-related made her want to run for the hills.
By the end of that summer, Zuri had realized that “looks good on paper” wasn’t going to be good enough for her, and that she wanted the kind of love that had kept her parents happily married for thirty-four years.
Once she learned that excitement, passion, and spark were the key ingredients missing from her relationship with Bryan, she was finally able to admit the truth to herself: she didn’t love him and she didn’t want to marry him. She just wanted to break free of the box she’d put herself into.
An elevator finally arrived, and chaos poured out: two parents with four young kids clamoring for their attention.
One was crying and wanted to be picked up; another was whining that he was “still hungrrryyyyyy”; the third, focused on a handheld wooden puzzle, was oblivious to the fact that she had turned in the wrong direction off the elevator until a tug on the leash attached to her red backpack caught her attention; and the youngest, in his mother’s arms, was grasping at her shirt with his little hands, demanding to be let into the milk bar.
Zuri quickly used her hand to keep the doors from closing as the father, the last one to step off, peeked around the pile of wrapped gift boxes he carried to make sure he wasn’t stepping on anyone or anything, while the mother flashed her a bright smile and a breathy, “Kids.” Subtext: Would you like one?
Zuri chuckled at the sweet scene and stepped into the elevator.
She hit the button for the lobby and leaned against the handrail, and reflected on how much she had grown in the two and a half years since she’d ended her engagement––how she’d thrown out her immature, superficial notions about love and marriage.
But, it wasn’t until two months ago at a Halloween party in Bushwick, surrounded by friends and playful lovers in their clever couples-costumes, that Zuri realized she was still embodying the stripped-down, meek version of herself she’d created to fit into Bryan’s old-money world––the one she thought she’d wanted to be part of.
By the time she’d walked the four blocks from the party to her apartment that night, Zuri had started a new group chat, and within minutes was deep in conversation with her three best girlfriends––Soleil Stancliffe, Avery Collins, and Thao Nguy?n.
It didn’t take her long to convince them to join her on a trip to “get back out there.” Thao, perpetually single, and an accountant for her family’s many businesses, and Avery, a trust-fund darling with a doting, but busy boyfriend, were always up for an impromptu getaway.
And as her business manager, Zuri already knew that Soleil, a vlogger, stylist, and entrepreneur, had cleared her schedule from December fifteenth through the New Year for some much-needed rest and relaxation.
The elevator doors opened, and Zuri was greeted by the muffled chatter of guests in the busy lobby.
As she weaved around the twenty-foot tree and scooted past a bellhop juggling two full trolleys, she patted herself on the back for picking Granite Falls for their getaway.
They had arrived yesterday morning to a fresh layer of white, fluffy snow, and checked into two beautifully appointed junior suites.
While the other girls had never been to the charming mountain town before, it was Zuri’s second visit.
She’d spent Fourth of July weekend at a rental house on Crystal Lake with her family earlier this year, and had instantly fallen in love with the town.
It had everything she could want in a vacation spot: natural beauty, a small-town atmosphere, world-class dining and shopping, skiing, and the renowned Hotel Andreas.
So, when she’d gotten the idea for a holiday getaway, she knew exactly where she wanted to go.
It was perfect, she thought, slipping beneath a stone archway that led from the lobby to a softly lit corridor, the scent of pine following her, and the music coming from L’Antra growing steadily louder.