Page 29 of Smoke

“See, now you’re worried about too much. Shoo, shoo!”

I couldn’t even be annoyed. Renay had always been the ultimate big sister. I never had to worry about anyone fucking with me, because it was known that I was her little sister. She took me everywhere with her. When she got her first job in high school, she was always taking me out to eat or buying me something. She’d never treated me like a bother or a burden.

In my room, I stripped down and hopped in the shower. Twenty minutes later, I was out and moisturizing my skin. When I was done, I dressed in a tank top, my favorite pair of floral palazzo pants, and a pair of sandals. I styled my locs into a pineapple and added simple gold jewelry. After tossing my essentials into my crossbody, I went back out front to my sister.

“You look so cute!” she said, coming to rub my belly.

Even at almost seven months, I wasn’t huge. You really had to look at me to see I was pregnant in most of my clothes.

“Hi auntie’s baby!”

Renay kissed my belly and rested her head against it. I smiled. She did the same thing when I was pregnant with Korri. I loved how close they were, and I knew it would be the same with Juri.

“Auntie’s baby ruined my snacks last night.”

Renay shook her head. “You were probably eating some nasty shit, and she didn’t want that. Stop playing with my girl. Come on here. We have to pick my baby up. Auntie got a nice bonus at work, and I want to spend it on my favorite girls.”

“Nay, you don’t have to spend your hard earned?—”

“You trying to tell me how to spend my money?”

I raised my hands in mock surrender because I didn’t feel like going back and forth with this girl.

“Lead the way, big spender,” I said, motioning toward the door.

“I’m glad you see it my way.”

She flipped her hair in my face and walked to the front door. I shook my head. What was I going to do with her?

Monday morning rolled arounda little too quickly for me.

I’d spent the weekend with my baby, and while I loved knowing she was safe with my parents, I felt like a bad mother with a custody agreement. I knew she could come with me any time, but I just couldn’t have her in the house when I didn’t know if or when Patrick would show up or have someone show up on his behalf. Until I could ensure he would leave me alone for good, she was safer with my parents.

I pulled into the parking lot ofPure Glow Beauty Barand shut off my car. I noticed my receptionist was already here, which was weird because she never got here before me. After grabbing my things, I headed in through the back. Once I’d dropped my things off in my office, I made my rounds, opening the shades and checking each suite to ensure everything was in order.

Just as I prepared to go down to the basement where the laundry was, the door opened, and my receptionist walked out. She jumped when she saw me.

“Jesus, Romi! You scared me!”

“Sorry. What are you doing here so early?”

“Oh… I thought I’d come help out. I know you like to make sure everything is in order before we open, and that belly is getting bigger. I turned the dryer back on. A few towels were still damp.”

“Okay. Well, thank you. I still need to go down, though.”

She stepped in front of me.

“Boss lady, you really don’t need to be going up and down these stairs. You could fall. Tell me what you need, and I’ll take care of it for you.”

I sighed. I hated that everybody here treated me like I was handicapped instead of pregnant.

“Wax beads and strips, nail files, and tweezers.”

“Gotcha.”

She headed back down to the basement while I headed back to the front. I made myself busy by stocking the coffee and snack bar. By the time I was done, the rest of my employees began rolling in. There was Rhonda, my hairstylist; China, my makeup artist; Gabbi, my nail tech; and Tommie, Lacy, and Prima, my estheticians. I dabbled in everything but the hair portion of the beauty bar. I’d always loved having my hands in different things because it meant I could always hustle if need be.

Laurel finally emerged and took a spot behind her desk. She was nose deep in her phone, fingers moving a mile a minute. The phone started ringing, and she was so engrossed with whoever she was talking to that she didn’t bother to answer. I watched for a minute before walking over and snatching up the phone, causing her to jump.

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