Chapter 2 #2
“It’s the perfect place for you to start your business with all those white folk with those tooty fruity dogs.
You said that you want to have a mobile business, so that means they won’t have to leave their big ole houses either,” he rationalized.
“That’s what I want you to do, Gorjess. I don’t want anyone to stop you.
I don’t care what anyone says; you do what the hell I just told you to do. Do you hear me?”
A Beautiful Day
The Present . . .
I sat at the corner table lost in my thoughts.
I missed my daddy so much. When he told me that day that God would come for him soon, I never imagined how prophetic his words would be.
He left me three days later from a massive stroke.
It completely devastated me. My sister was hurt, but I wouldn’t use the word devastated.
Our ma did the grieving widow thing well.
The church gave him an amazing farewell service that was fake as hell.
The pastor stood in the pulpit like he wasn’t fucking my daddy’s wife.
It was cool, though, because the day before my daddy died, we had the best time together.
I would cherish that time for the rest of my life.
A week and a half after his death, a lawyer called us for the reading of the will.
Ma had a smile on her face that day. My ma never worked a day in her life, so we expected everything to go to her.
She got the house, the land, the two cars, and twenty thousand dollars.
It was crazy because with everything that she received, her question was whether that was all of the money that he left her.
She was not at all happy with only twenty thousand dollars.
Daddy left Athena her condo and a car. The condo was paid off when Daddy died. He also left her ten thousand dollars. I thought she would have an attitude about it, but she was grateful. It was like our daddy’s death triggered something in her to want to be better.
When it was my turn, everyone’s jaw dropped. My daddy left me four hundred and fifty thousand dollars. The money was contingent on my move to Charlotte and the start of my business.
According to the conditions, I had three months to move.
I would receive an initial disbursement that ensured that my first year’s lease was paid in full.
I would get a stipend to make sure that I had money in my pockets and that my necessity bills were paid.
He gave me a year to start my business. If I didn’t uphold the conditions, then the money would be donated to a dog shelter.
Outraged! That was the best way to describe how my mother reacted to the news. According to her, neither I nor Athena deserved anything. I ignored her, and Athena, in her true fashion, cursed her flat out. She told Ma that I deserved everything that our dad gave me.
It didn’t take me a month to find a very nice luxury townhome community in Charlotte.
When I found out that the community offered a two-year lease, the executor of the estate agreed to pay it.
When I told the townhome that I would pay the lease out completely for the two years, there were no issues.
All I had to do was show proof of funds and a background check.
I was given ten thousand dollars to furnish my townhouse. That was way more than I needed because I thrifted and knew how to bargain shop. The most expensive thing that I bought was my bed. Everything else I got from a thrift store or TikTok.
It took me a few months to acclimate myself to Charlotte before I started to work on my business plan.
I found the cutest bookstore café walking distance from my community.
What made it amazing was that it was black owned.
Not just black owned, but woman owned. Caffeine & Bent Pages was a hidden gem.
It was also where I met my best friend, Elica Smart, the owner.
“Girl, what are you over here doing?” Elica pulled me out of my thoughts. “I just watched you sit here for like ten minutes in a damn daze. Here! I brought you a warm latte.”
I took the cup from her hand. “Thanks, bestie boo. Girl, I was missing my daddy. You know how I get close to his death anniversary.”
She came behind me, leaned down, then wrapped her arms around me. “I know, bestie boo. I love you.” She let me go, then sat in the seat across from me. “Have you talked to your mom or sister?”
I smiled at the thought of my sister. She was still in Macon, but she was doing much better for herself.
After our father died, she went back to school, and now she was a medical coder at a hospital.
I was so proud of her. She, unfortunately, severed her relationship with our mother shortly after I moved to Charlotte.
I spoke to her at least twice a month. She visited me once or twice, but she didn’t like the ‘big city’ as she called it.
“Yeah, I talked to Athena last week. She got herself a man, so you know she’s living her best life. As far as my ma, you already know how that goes. The pastor was home,” I said before I rolled my eyes.
Elica shook her head. “She was fake nice because her husband was home. Your mama is flawed as hell.”
Yep, my mother married Pastor Terry, the man that she fucked while she was married to my father.
She waited an acceptable amount of time in her mind to grieve before they came out publicly with their relationship.
An acceptable amount of time was only six months.
Ma went from being a deacon’s wife to a first lady. Her dream came true.
“Look, I’m just happy that I don’t have to deal with her ass. Moving to Charlotte was the best life decision that my father ever forced me to make. Oh, and finding this shop to work on my business plan was the best thing too,” I said with a smile.
Elica tapped her middle and thumb finger together. “You damn right it was. God saw fit to bring two of the baddest thick, smart business chicks together. Girl, we’re gonna have a full house tonight for our Read & Speak event this month. You’re still coming, right?”
Once a month, she held the event that started at six o’clock.
People came and read the book of the month in silence.
At nine, the author of that book came up to answer questions.
The people loved it, and Caffeine & Bent Pages made so much money on food and drink sales.
A year and a half ago, she got her liquor license.
“You already know I’m going to be here. I intentionally didn’t read the last four chapters to have something to read. You better have my beanbag cubby reserved, Elica.” I pointed my finger at her.
Her café was two stories, and she had private cubbies that you could reserve for a nominal fee during these events. Some were one-person cubbies, and others were for more than one person. I loved to read in the private cubby.
She slapped my finger down. “Shut up. Your normal cubby is reserved.”
“Oh, I have a new fur client tomorrow. He is the cutest boxer named Frack. I can’t wait to meet him.” Excitement filled my chest. I loved my fur babies.
Elica laughed. “I swear, you be like fuck the owner. It’s all about the fur babies.”
“Because it is, duh. I didn’t start Gorjess Pups for the owners. I started it to keep my fur babies happy. The owners just happen to be an extension of the fur babies,” I said with raised shoulders.
Elica told me that she wouldn’t play with me.
I was happy that she wouldn’t because I wasn’t playing.
In life, I'd had many disappointments, but my fur babies never disappointed me.
When I left Macon, I made sure I brought my babies Tookie and Cookie with me.
When it came to dogs, I was a Labrador fan.
Tookie was a handsome, black male lab. Cookie was a beautiful, chocolate female lab.
The first year of Gorjess Pups was touch and go.
In my second year, one of the Cougar wives came into Elica’s place, and she referred my business for her Yorkie.
She had me come the very next day. I did such an amazing job that she referred me to all her friends.
Before I knew it, I had a booked calendar.
Since then, God had truly blessed my business.
Last year, I was able to buy a brand-new trailer with the works.
“Well, make sure you share your location with me. You know I don’t give a damn about them fur babies or them people. I’ll shoot all of them behind you,” Elica said.
I smiled. I knew she would because I would do the same for her. God shined a bright light on me the day we met.
Gorjess Pups . . .
I had everything ready to go! I took a step back to gaze at my grooming trailer with admiration.
It was so beautiful. The guy that I hired to wrap it did an amazing job.
My trailer was pulled by an F-150 V8 that had an identical wrap to my trailer.
The best thing about my truck and trailer was that they were both paid off.
Two years ago, the executor of my estate suggested that I invest some of my money so that my money could make money. I did just that, and it proved to be an amazing idea. It allowed me to pay off my main big ticket items for my business to lower my overhead.
I wiped my uniform down with my hands. I wore a simple logo T-shirt and khaki pants with slip resistant wet shoes. My hair was always up in a ponytail when I worked, and I wore an apron over my uniform. I glanced down at my watch. Let me get there.
My client Frack lived in Ballantyne, a neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, with his owner Jessop Wilson.
Based on the address and my internet search, Frack lived a great life.
At least he’d better. From where I lived in the Myers Park area to his house, it took about forty minutes.
When I had an appointment, Tookie and Cookie went to daycare. Dog socialization was important.
The ride to Frack was smooth with no traffic.
I was so pleased to see that he had a roundabout driveway.
That meant that I didn’t have to park on the curb or be in the way on his driveway.
In some neighborhoods, people got annoyed when I parked on the curb.
They fussed, but days later, I received requests for appointments.
Before I went to the front door to introduce myself to the owner, I went into my trailer to turn on the air conditioning to a comfortable temperature and grabbed my tablet.
It was no fun to work in a trailer that was overheated.
I took the short steps to the front door, then rang the camera doorbell.
It didn’t take long for the door to open.
When it did, I was met by an excited, beautiful boxer.
I bent down with a wide smile. “You must be Frack. Hi, handsome. It is so nice to formally meet you.” I made the sign for him to sit a few times, then asked him if he could sit.
When he did, I took his paw and shook it.
“Wow, you really love dogs?” a voice said above me. When I took the time to look up, he wore a wide smile. “I’m Jessop.”
I stood up, reached in my pocket to pull out hand sanitizer, then put some in my hands. You would be surprised how many of my clients’ owners didn’t deal directly with their dogs. It was sickening. I stuck my hand out to him after I finished. “Hi, Jessop, how are you? I’m Gorjess.”
He shook my hand. “I’m good. How about you come in so we can get started.”
“That would be nice.” I looked down. “Come on, Frack.”
I followed Jessop and Frack followed me. My daddy told me when I was younger that I was like a dog whisperer. I had not met a dog yet that didn’t like me. When we got to what I assumed was the living room, there were two more men there. “Oh, hello, I’m Gorjess.”
The extremely attractive one mumbled “yes you are.” He stood, walked toward me, then extended his hand.
“What’s up? I’m Solomon, but everyone calls me Sol. This is my cousin, Issac.”
His cousin was next to shake my hand. They both were attractive.
I could tell that they had something other than black in their blood, but I wasn’t sure of exactly what.
I didn’t want to assume. If I had to guess, it would be Polynesian.
Gorjess, focus. You are not here for this. “It is nice to meet you both.”
I pivoted on my heel to face Jessop. “Where would you like to sit to go over the final contract? I know you requested certain services, but it’s standard practice that I do a consultation with the babies to make sure they are getting exactly what they need.”
“Oh, cool. We can do that right here in the living room. Is that cool?” Jessop asked.
I let him know that it was cool. As I went through the process of examining Frack, I talked it through with him the entire way. I also talked to Frack to make sure he was comfortable. “When you walk him, do you do it on the concrete or the grass?”
Jessop thought about it for a second. “On the sidewalk mostly. He uses the bathroom in the grass, but we’re on the sidewalk mostly.”
I nodded. “That makes sense.” I lifted his paws so that Jessop could see the bottom of them. “Do you see the bottom of them, how they are cracked? That comes from walking on the concrete. It can be painful for the babies. I suggest walking him on the grass or getting him some booties.
“Also, today I’m going to take care of them. I use shea butter to treat them after I make sure that they are cleaned properly. I will leave some with you. You’re going to need to apply it at least twice a day, especially before bed. Will you be able to do that?” I asked.
Jessop nodded. “Yeah, I think I can do that. Damn, my dude needs booties and shit. I hope you got some boy booties.”
I chuckled. “Yes, I have some booties that are just for my boy babies. Now, I’m also going to give you a cone. When you put it on his feet, either keep him occupied for ten to fifteen minutes or put the cone on so that he doesn’t lick it off. I make my butter myself.”
When it was all said and done with, baby Frack needed a bath and tidy, brush-out/de-shedding session, nail trim, ear cleaning, teeth brushing, de-shedding treatment, paw balm, and nose butter.
His total came to three hundred and thirty dollars, which Jessop didn’t blink at the price.
Mobile grooming detail pricing wasn’t for the weak.
After we agreed upon the contract, he signed it and paid his 40 percent deposit. He gave me Frack’s leash. “Are you ready to go get handsome for your daddy, sir? Let’s go!”
As I walked out, I felt eyes on me. When I turned around, Sol’s eyes were glued to my ass. It wasn’t a surprise. It came with the territory of a woman with a nice, fat ass.