Chapter 12
The perks of living alone? Getting to wear, or not wear, whatever you wanted around the house. Friday night, as per usual, I was barefoot and in just a tank top. My breasts were covered in goose bumps, evidence of an effective AC.
I was tempted to turn down the air, but it was a cozy kind of cold. Just ripe for bundling up under a throw on the couch.
The idea sounded perfect, until the echo of keys alerted me of someone right outside my front door. Being that my front door opened right into my TV room, there was no missing the distinct noises I was hearing.
Shit.
Exposed, all I could do was cross my arms.
“Don’t use the key,” a woman’s voice spoke up from the other side of the door.
“Well, it is my house, Brandy,” he shot back.
All at once, I managed to calm down just a little, albeit I went from alarmed to annoyed.
It was my parents, dropping by unannounced without so much as a call—okay, not that I was actively taking or entertaining their calls.
Still, in just my thin tank top and panties, I wasn’t in the proper setting to be face to face with my parents of all people.
“Wait!” I shouted out. In a rush, I went over to my closet and grabbed the first article of clothing I could find. A trench coat. Dramatic, but it would have to do.
After buttoning up and hastily fastening the belt around my waist, I unlocked my door, undid the chain lock, and gripped the knob. In a single moment, I closed my eyes, crossed my fingers, and wished for the best.
I opened the door to find my mother’s soft, gentle face hopeful to see me. And my father’s stern, stone-cold face staring at me. By my father’s expression, I knew this wouldn’t be a pleasant visit.
I still put my best foot forward. “You should’ve called so I could be dressed properly.”
Embarrassed, my mother was quick to issue an apology. “Oh, Stassie. I’m sorry, we were just in the neighborhood.”
Doubt that.
My father sized me up. “Are you alone? Is that…Cordell here?”
My parents, namely my father, had never approved of Corey after those few times they crossed paths. In their slight defense, any man who makes your daughter cry on numerous occasions deserves to stay on your shit list.
“No,” I breathed out. “Just me and Scorsese.”
“The cat,” my father repeated, searching the room for my boy. Scorsese was hiding under his moon chair to the right of my coffee table. His curious eyes were locked on my parents.
I didn’t know what I would do if my father sought him out and Scor bit or scratched at him. Points for potentially defending his mom?
“You had to get a cat, didn’t you?” My father snarled at the sight of Scorsese.
“Hush, David,” my mother insisted, shooting me a frown.
“Well, I suppose it could be worse,” my father said in the end.
There was only so many jabs I would take.
“So, is this random visit for you to come here to insult me and my cat, or was there a more pressing matter at hand?” I prompted as I threaded my fingers together.
“Like I said, we were in the neighborhood.” My mother swooped in, pacifying the building tension between me and my father. She placed her hand on my back and steered me toward the couch. “We haven’t heard from you and were worried. At least with Alannah she’s got school keeping her be.”
“It’s summer,” I let out. I didn’t want to throw Alannah under the bus, but it wasn’t like she was taking summer classes. If she got a pass for ghosting our parents, where was mine?
“She’s probably still keeping up with her courses. That’s always been Ali’s thing, she has to know everything.” My father stood by the door, not budging.
Last I remembered, Alannah was head over heels for her boyfriend, Oisin. I wouldn’t out her to our parents, but I was willing to bet he was the reason she was hardly keeping up with them.
My father was right, though; ever since we were kids, Alannah was the smart one. The curious one. The one destined to save the world with her accumulated knowledge.
I forced my eyes to dart to the ceiling, telling myself to stop comparing. Telling myself to not feel inadequate. We were different, and that was okay. We all had our own paces and places in life. Alannah’s was medicine. And mine was clothing. Ali would save the world, and I would style it.
“We did manage to get ahold of her,” my father went on. “She should be coming down sometime next month. I was thinking she could stay here.”
While I was their renter, this was my home. “Here? Why not a hotel?” I turned and looked at him.
My mother’s hands patted my thigh, gaining my attention. “A hotel when you’ve got all this room? We would say home with us, but we figured maybe she’d need her privacy, and it’d be good for you girls to catch up.”
If Alannah was coming to visit, I had a feeling she would keep to her word and bring Oisin. And if she did, they’d probably shack up in a hotel. A quick browse through her Instagram page and there wasn’t a hint of a relationship taking place. Smart.
The worst part of me looked forward to the day Alannah did come and drop the bomb on our parents that she had a heart that bled and beat for love as well.
But I would let her tell them that. “Well, it’s no problem if Ali wants to bunk with me when she comes down. This is a lot of house for just me and Scorsese.”
“Excellent.” My mother clapped her hands together and peered over at my father. “I can’t wait till Alannah gets here. We gotta go out for a girls’ day, her, me, you, and Paisley.”
A pained smile crossed my lips. “Sounds great.”
“Well.” My mother looked around, spotting Scorsese keeping his distance under his chair, my TV on the Prime explore page, and my stature in a trench coat. “We’ll be getting out of your hair since you’re not appropriately dressed.”
She stood and I stood with her. It was only polite.
My mother pulled me in for a hug before placing a kiss on my cheek. “Now stop acting like your phone doesn’t work, or you forgot our address. I’m sick of you dipping and dodging, miss thang.”
“Sorry,” I said as I walked her back over to the door. “I’ve just been busy with the shop.”
“And how is that going?” my father wanted to know.
“Great. They just ran an article on us in the local paper. Traffic’s been nonstop ever since.” I felt like a little girl reporting to her father for approval just then.
My father hummed and bobbed his head. “Good to hear.”
“Oh, that’s good!” my mother gushed. “I’ll have to stop by one of these days. Do you sell clothing for my age group?”
“We cater to everybody, Mom. It’s not just hoochie mama chic,” I joked.
She smirked and tossed me a side-eye, catching on to my jest. I could tell she was trying because she missed me.
And because I was a softie, I gave my father a hug and stood back, eyeing them both with hope and angst. “Okay, we’ll speak soon. I love you.”
They stepped outside and I shut the door. Before I could collapse into myself, I crossed back over to my couch, threw off my coat, and found Ordinary People to rent. I was in the mood for a tragedy.
Saturday morning Shéc opened with a blur of women coming into the shop. Bodies were everywhere, from women dragging in their boyfriends, friends shopping together, to moms with their kids in tow. It was the weekend and everyone was out shopping for just the right thing.
“If this keeps up, I’m going to be crawling home,” I warned.
Paisley gave me a playful nudge, but then her features morphed into concern. “What’s wrong?”
It was the third time she’d asked. “Nothing, I was just up too late.”
She wasn’t buying it. “Did Corey contact you?”
“No, and be quiet before you speak him into existence.”
“And if he did pop up? What would you do?” Paisley challenged.
Old me, weak me, would cave as soon as he gave me the puppy dogs eyes and the single utterance of I’m sorry. Now, he could go fuck himself. “I’d walk away. Really, Paisley, I’m fine.”
A young girl came to check out a cute glittered pair of combat boots.
The Georgian summer didn’t call for such footwear, but by the red streak in the girl’s hair, plaid mini skirt, and rock band on her T-shirt, I had a feeling this girl didn’t do things by the book.
“Ooh la la.” Paisley purred suddenly as she held up a glossy colorful flyer someone left on our counter. “The Belmont Fair is coming back. We gotta go!”
Every summer Belmont held a carnival, or fair, and Paisley and I closed the shop down for the day to gorge ourselves on bad food and ride rides we were too old for.
Outside of handing out our own flyers for Shéc, we often supported other businesses and bought items from all the local booths that grabbed our attention.
The Belmont Fair was just what I needed to lift my spirits.
“You know we are,” I told her.
I took the flyer and scanned the dates to mentally pencil in when to shut the shop down so we could spend money carelessly downtown.
It was at the end of the month, giving me plenty of time to prepare and save up extra cash.
Nudging from my left caused me to turn and find Paisley giving me a mean mug.
“What?” I asked.
She arched a brow and nodded toward the sales floor.
I looked over and immediately understood what Paisley was upset about.
Ezekiel had just walked into Shéc, and he wasn’t alone. With him was a young, gorgeous woman, who wasn’t standing too far from his side. They were casually looking around, seeing what Shéc had to offer, and for some reason, I didn’t like the scene before me at all.
Did he say he had a sister?
I ran every conversation we had through my mind just then and came up short.
The woman was tall, like a model, with impeccable dark brown skin like Ezekiel’s, but she didn’t look like him in any way. Her strong cheekbones, full lips, and big eyes had me almost certain she was a model.
Just as I caught myself feeling some type of way, I snapped out of it. I had no right to be mad or annoyed. This was what we’d agreed on. Ezekiel could see and be with whoever he pleased, because we weren’t together, and we never would be exclusively.
“She’s cute,” Paisley whispered to me.
“Stunning,” I echoed.