Page 9 of So This Is Love

“Hey I’m about to order tacos,” I reply. Do you want something?”

“Ooooo yes,” Zara replies. “Steak tacos and a large horchata please. I’m starving.”

I add what Zara asked for to my order and schedule it for delivery.

“Did you have a late client tonight?”

Zara leaves the kitchen and heads to her room but because of the open space of the loft I can still hear her when she replies. “Yeah, one of my regulars needed a later appointment, which was fine, but I had back to back clients all day and barely had time to sit down or eat.”

Zara is a barber and hair stylist, one of the best, so her books are always filled up weeks in advance. A few minutes later Zara comes back changed out of the black cargo pants and cropped shirt she was in and into a sports bra and pajama shorts.

Zara sits down on the couch and wraps one of the blankets we leave laying on it, around herself.

“Soo since you’re home so early I guess it didn’t go well?” Zara asks.

I join Zara on the couch. “It's not even that early, it's like 8 o'clock.”

“Yeah, but if it would have gone well then drinks would have led to more and you wouldn’t be sitting there side eyeing me,” Zara replies with a laugh.

“You would be side eyeing too if you had to endure spending time with that man!”

“Girl it could not have been that bad.”

“Z, he talked for an hour about the stock market and how everyone needs a Roth IRA. Don’t get me wrong I know the importance of savings and all that, but I was not prepared to have an in depth conversation about it on a first date. Instead of ‘how was your day’ it was all ‘so what does your investment portfolio look like?’.”

Zara cringes. “I swear he seemed nice and normal when I met him.”

“Yeah well that’s going to be my first and last date with Jason,” I reply. “And I’m not going out with anyone else you set me up with either. No more coworker’s baby mama’s second cousin twice removed, or whoever the hell they are.”

My exaggeration makes Zara laugh but I am so serious. I’m so over dealing with men right now.

When our takeout comes Zara answers the door to retrieve it and we sit on the couch eating our food and rewatching one of our favorite shows until way too late at night.

***

If I never had to see snow again I’d be a happy woman. That statement is so dramatic, especially since I have lived with snowy winters my entire life and should be used to it by now. But the half a foot of snow that accumulated overnight has brought out the drama. The hassle that snow brings to life never feels worth it, even if it is beautiful to look at when it's pristine and untouched.

I would have opted for a work from home day but since I was in meetings all day yesterday I wasn’t able to finish all of the things I needed to. So here I am trudging through the cold and snow after waiting on a delayed train, until I finally reach theLovely Dayoffice.

I interned atLovely Daymy senior year of college as a part of my graduation requirements, but I fell in love with the business. So much so that after graduation when Cassandra, the owner, offered me a full time marketing position I jumped at the opportunity.

Attending the nearby university introduced me to Rosewood and once I was here I fell in love. Rosewood is a suburban city bordering Chicago and Lake Michigan. Decades ago it was in a state of desolation, lacking necessary care and funding after many people left the area for other places. Rosewood is a place built by the Black community, for the Black community. Long time residents banded together, pouring time, money and resources to help Rosewood become a thriving town again. They laid the foundation for the flourishing Black community that it is today. Even though Rosewood is not a small town, it is very close knit.

I use my keyfob to get into the building, stomping off the extra snow stuck to my snow boots as I walk in and take the elevator up to the office. The office consists of Cassandra’s personal office, a large open space where we all usually sit to work or havemeetings, a small kitchen and the warehouse where we store all of our product inventory.

I change out of my snow boots and into a pair of sneakers I brought with me in my bag and walk over to the conference table to get ready for our morning meeting. Cass is already there, as usual, typing away on her computer. I sit in my usual spot at the table and pull out my iPad and laptop.

“Good morning.”

“Hey, good morning,” Cass replies with a smile. “Stella is here and Reagan said she’s on her way and will be here in a few.”

“Okay, sounds good.”

ThoughLovely Dayhas grown, we are still very much a small operation of just four women. Cass works as CEO and handles all of the overhead. I focus on social media and marketing. Stella and Reagan are in charge of operations and handle the ins and outs of shipping and inventory. There are things that we outsource, but for the most part it's all us.

When everyone is settled, Cass starts off the morning meeting. She gives an overall debrief and then each of us have a chance to talk about what we have been working on individually.

“We have almost all of the inventory we were waiting on for the new collection,” Reagan says. “There’s just one more pallet but it's supposed to be delivered tomorrow and another that’s being delivered next week.”

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