Chapter 7
Seven
“TT,” Raniya huffed, climbing onto the couch beside her head. “Are you going to be sad all day?”
The last thing Nhuri was expecting to happen was for her to be let go from her job.
She’d been completely blindsided the following week after turning down the job assignment in another state.
Ms. Thorsen seemed disappointed by her decline, but Nhuri didn’t think it was that serious for her to be fired.
Apparently, she wasn’t the only one who had declined and wasn’t the only employee who had been let go.
So, yes, she was going to be sad all day. It was going on day four of unemployment and Nhuri was sulking at Natalia’s house. She’d stayed the night and had no plans of going home anytime soon.
“Maybe,” Nhuri mumbled.
“But I don’t want you to be sad.”
Nhuri glanced at Raniya and almost felt bad for being so short with her. Raniya’s poked-out bottom lip, sincere brown eyes, and cute little face always did the trick. Nhuri knew she couldn’t be in her feelings for too long; her niece wouldn’t allow her to. Sitting up, she yawned and wiped her eyes.
“I don’t want to be sad either. You want to cheer me up?” Nhuri asked.
Enthusiastically, Raniya nodded. “Yes! Let’s go to the park and get on the swings. Ooh! And then the slide. You know it was a new one built by my school?”
Her energetic mood and suggestion made Nhuri smirk and cringe on the inside.
Her idea of getting out of her funk didn’t involve stepping foot outside, especially to the park where kids were screaming their heads off, exerting all their energy, and having fun.
Life wasn’t fun for Nhuri right now. Raniya waited for her answer with a smile, blinking her eyes, hoping she’d hurry up.
“Soooo?” Raniya sang.
Nhuri chuckled. “It’s too late to go to the park today.” Before she could pout, Nhuri added, “But we can always go tomorrow.”
Raniya’s shoulders sagged. “Okay. But what about today? You’re still going to be sad.”
“How about you go get me your favorite toys to play with? That’ll make me feel better.”
Hopping up from the couch, Raniya said, “Okay. I’ll be right back, TT. Don’t lay down again.”
She ran up to her room, and Nhuri chuckled.
That’s undoubtedly what she had in mind to do.
While she waited for her niece to return, she grabbed her phone off the coffee table.
Unlocking it, she bypassed the unread text messages and maneuvered to her emails.
A coworker, well, an ex-coworker now, said they’d email her some job openings they heard about.
Sulking in her sorrows was one thing, but Nhuri knew it couldn’t last forever, so she was trying to stay optimistic about the future.
The front door opened when Raniya returned down the stairs with a bucket full of toys. Raniya wasn’t fazed by the quizzical look her mama gave her. Natalia glanced at Nhuri and squinted, and she shrugged with a small smile.
“What’s up, Nhuri,” Malik, Natalia’s boyfriend, greeted.
“Hey.”
“You’ve been in this same spot since we left?” Natalia asked.
Before Nhuri could answer, Raniya yelled out, “Yes! She’s sad.”
“Dang. You just gon’ tell my business,” Nhuri said, laughing.
“My mommy asked. You ready to play?”
Scooting off the couch, Nhuri stretched and yawned. “In a second. Get it all set up for me.”
She headed into the kitchen, and Natalia was right behind her.
Raiding her sister’s fridge and cabinets wasn’t anything new.
It was the little sister in her. Nhuri considered it a special privilege.
While she probably needed to put some food on her stomach, eating was the furthest thing on her mind.
Grabbing a can of pineapple juice, she ventured to the cabinet where Natalia stored the alcohol.
“Um,” Natalia mumbled, watching her every move.
Nhuri looked over her shoulder. “Yes?”
“Have you eaten?”
That wasn’t the question Natalia wanted to ask, but it was one of many that made sense. Nhuri filled her glass with ice.
“I don’t really have an appetite. How was your date?”
Avoidance. It was the tactic Nhuri chose when she didn’t want to discuss something. Natalia would let her have her moment. She didn’t want to talk about her date but also didn’t want to be the big sister who nags. Nhuri was going through a rough time, so Natalia gave her some space.
“It was pretty nice, honestly. I’d never been to a candle-making class, but I enjoyed it.”
Her smile made Nhuri grin. “Let me find out Malik is a lover boy.”
The sisters snickered.
“He is.” Natalia swooned. “Like . . . I knew he was, but each date or small gesture proves it even more.”
“That’s so sweet,” Nhuri said, sipping her drink. “And you didn’t want to give him a chance.”
The pineapple and tequila settling on her tastebuds made her sigh with appreciation.
“I had too much going on, but clearly, he wasn’t trying to hear that,” Natalia said, chuckling.
Despite her health, having a daughter, and going through a fresh breakup with Raheem, Malik let it be known that he was okay with waiting until she was ready.
He didn’t pressure her, but he didn’t fall to the background as if he were no longer interested, either.
He’d left the ball in Natalia’s court, and as hesitant as she’d been to bring him into her world, Malik had been one of the best additions.
“You already know he wasn’t,” Nhuri added, smirking. “Listen to them two.”
Malik’s animated cartoon voice had Raniya giggling her head off.
He was active in her life, and Natalia loved that for her baby.
They’d been together a little over two years, and he continued to show up for them in ways Natalia was beyond appreciative of.
Raheem did his fatherly duties, but Natalia could see the change in Raniya when he moved out.
It was subtle, and she had tons of questions, but thankfully, no love was lost.
“She’s about to wear him out,” Natalia laughed.
“Better him than me,” Nhuri said. She swirled her drink before taking another sip. “I’m glad he’s here with y’all.”
Natalia swallowed the lump in her throat. “Yeah, I am too.”
“So, are you talking to anyone?”
“Natalia,” she said, laughing.
Natalia bulged her eyes. “What? Don’t say my name like that. I’m just asking.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t really have time to be talking to anyone. Especially not now. What do I look like entertaining a man when I don’t even have a job?”
Natalia rolled her eyes. “Please, shut up. You’re acting as if you’ve been jobless for months on end. You literally just got laid off.”
“And I feel like shit,” Nhuri confessed, downing the remainder of her drink.
“Losing your job isn’t the worst thing, Nhuri. It’s not the end of the world. You have a degree and skills that will land you something.”
“And what am I supposed to do until then?”
Sighing, Natalia walked over, grabbed the glass from her hand, and placed it on the counter. “You continue to live life. That’s what the hell you do. It’s disheartening and frustrating, I get it, but beating yourself up for something that’s a small bump in the road is not happening on my watch.”
Nhuri blinked away the tears forming in her eyes. “It’s like every time I get ahead, something sets me back.”
“That’s life. It has no clear direction of where it’ll take you or what will happen, but you can try steering it in your favor. Take a few weeks to yourself and figure out some things. Remind yourself who you are. Don’t let temporary circumstances become a permanent lifestyle, okay?”
Nhuri nodded. “Okay,” she agreed. “Thank you. I swear you’re the most positive person I know.”
Natalia kissed her cheek. “I have no choice but to be. Now, please, eat something. I’d like to enjoy the rest of my evening with y’all, and I don’t need you in here throwing up.”
Nhuri turned the faucet on and washed her glass. “There won’t be none of that. Let’s go see what cartoon character we get assigned to.”
Natalia smiled. “Oh, goodness.”
No matter what she was going through, Nhuri knew she could count on her sister to get her back into a positive mind-set.
Even if only for the moment. She was going to take her advice and hope for the best. Until then, living life was first on the agenda.
After all, you only got one, and Nhuri wouldn’t let it go to waste.
Nhuri wasn’t sure if it was the peach mimosas, the bass-heavy R&B flowing through the speakers, or the fact that she’d gotten out of the house, but for the first time in two weeks, she didn’t feel like her head was underwater. Drowning in misery had only lasted for so long, thanks to her girls.
There was nothing like a group of solid friends.
And a brunch date filled with laughter until their stomachs hurt.
Nhuri’s days had turned around drastically, and she was so grateful for the much-needed distraction.
When she moved back home, she and her friends picked up right where they left off.
They hadn’t stopped being friends, but the distance made them miss being in Nhuri’s presence and vice versa.
“Girl, you look lighter already,” Kendra teased, stuffing a piece of her syrup-drenched waffle into her mouth.
Nhuri smirked and sipped from her flute. She had a slight buzz already.
“Because she is,” Jazmyn said, lifting her glass. “No more stressing about these jobs who expect you to break your back for them.”
Their other friend, Marie, nodded. “Mmhm. And no more early-morning conference calls that could’ve been handled through an email.”
“Exactly,” Nhuri agreed, tapping her flute against Marie’s. “Honestly, now that I’m out of my funk, getting fired was probably the best thing to happen to me.”
She had some days to think about her situation and realized how tired and stressed out she’d been. Not having to wake up early, talk to rude customers, have restless nights, and have practically no time for herself was something Nhuri wouldn’t miss. She’d gotten out of her woe-is-me mind-set.
“You think so?” Kendra asked.