Page 38 of Beck & Coll
Two WeeksLater
Back in Chicago
I walked around the space with my realtor, DeeAnna.
“As you can see,” she said, “it’s set up for you to have five styling stations. You have five stylists, right?”
“Had.” I corrected her. It had been almost six months sincePosh Momentswent up in flames. All of my stylists had moved on. I didn’t blame them. They’d offered to wait for me. I told them not to.
“There are five washing stations. The owner recently had both the electrical and the plumbing updated. She had big plans for this place.” DeeAnna looked wistful. “She really hates thatshe has to sell it, but she’s in a bind, which is why I can get you such a good price on it.”
“Why is she selling it?”
“Oh, her fiancé was offered a great job opportunity in Colorado. He’s going to be the CEO of the public transportation company in Denver or Colorado Heights or something out there. I can’t remember. But the pay is crazy. It’s like a quarter of a million a year or something. There was no way he could turn it down. That’s where they’re gonna make their life, so she needs to get rid of this place. She already found a new space in Colorado.” She paused. “It’s bittersweet. She hates to leave this place, but she has one hell of an adventure waiting for her in Colorado, right?”
“Right,” I agreed, even though my head was spinning. The owner of the salon had just dumped probably thousands into it to get the electrical and plumbing up to par. And now, she was leaving it to follow her man? Talk about a story hitting close to home. “Well, I guess if I planned to marry dude, I would move too.”
“Me too. For sure. I mean, I do pretty well, but if babe was bringing in a quarter of a million a year by himself… I would chuck those deuces in a heartbeat. I’ve lived in Chicago my entire life, but I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live somewhere else, to have the adventure of learning a whole new place with its own culture and vibes.”
“I think it would be scary.”
“But exciting too. Right?”
I couldn’t answer her. Being in Jackson Falls had been exciting, and it hadn’t been scary at all. But maybe because I knew it was only temporary.
“I would keep my house here, though,” she continued, oblivious to my distraction. “I mean, if I didn’t like the new city, I would just come home. That’s one thing about doing real estate.I can do it anywhere. I’d just have to get licensed.” Her eyes lit up. “Ooh! Then I’d be dual licensed. I could sell property in two states. It’s like you, Collins. You can do hair anywhere, right? You would just have to get licensed in that state.”
DeeAnna took me to see three more options before I tapped out on her. I drove straight to my mother’s house because she had called a Kingsley meeting and wanted us to have dinner while we talked.
I was the last one to arrive, which wasn’t surprising because Perkins lived with her, and Bailey and her husband lived a few blocks away. Church lived with four roommates, worked part-time, and often struggled financially. It wasn’t unusual for her to show up at our mother’s house from time to time.
I piled my plate with spaghetti, salad, and a garlic bread stick then took a seat at the table between Church and Perkins’s oldest daughter, Harlowe.
“Let’s bless the food,” my mother said. “Xander.” She deferred to Bailey’s husband because he was the only man in the family.
“Bow your heads,” Xander told us.
He was so rude. He couldn’t even say please.
“Lord, thank you for this food. Bless it for the nourishment of our bodies, and bless the hands that prepared it. Amen.”
“Amen.” We all echoed.
“So, what’s up, Mommy?” Church asked, before taking a long sip from her drink.
“I’ve never lied to you girls, and I’m not gonna start. I’m also not gonna beat around the bush or take commentary from any ofyou on how I choose to live my life. Everybody in this circle is an adult. When you girls were little, I lived for you. As I said, you’re grown. Now, I can live for me.
“I turned in my letter of resignation at work today. I’ve done my time and can begin to pull down my pension if I choose to do so. I don’t think I will, but I will no longer be an employee of Chicago Transit Works. I will give two weeks, and after that, I will start preparing to relocate to Jackson Falls, Oregon.”
Mouths dropped around the table, and gasps rang out into the atmosphere. I sat silently.
Our mom continued, “Anybody who wants to can come with me.” She cut her eyes at Bailey. “Except you, Bailey. You’re a wife. You have to discuss those kinds of decisions with your husband. He’s your closest family now. But if any of the rest of you want to come with me, you’re welcome. You have three weeks to wrap up your business here in Chicago. I suggest you start as soon as possible.”
“You’re moving to Oregon to be with that ni?—”
Alisha’s eyes burned with the heat of annoyance. “I’mma caution you to be easy, Perkins. I am your mother and your financier. Temper your words and your attitude before you speak to me, little girl.”
Perkins took a deep breath. “We live with you, Ma. Where are me and my kids supposed to go if you relocate to Oregon?”
