Page 39 of The Dating Prohibition
“You can’t possibly know that.”
“Oh, trust me, I do,” she chuckled. “I actually was calling to check on you though.”
“Me?” Kendra asked. She wondered which family members had been having discussions about her outside of the family group chat.Probably Mom.But if she was the culprit, the conversation could be about anything ranging from her lack of relationship, her foolish leapinto the food industry, her nomadic lifestyle, or her decision to return home.
“Yes, I understand that things don’t seem to be going your way with your business plan.” Auntie Mack made the statement, butshe waited as if she’d asked a question.
“Oh.” Kendra’s shoulders slumped as she cradled her mug in her hands and leaned her elbows against the kitchen counter. “Yeah,it could be going better. I can’t seem to find the support that I need. I just don’t think...”
“You don’t think what? Because I want you to be careful what you speak out into existence. Remember, what you put out intothe universe is what’s going to come back to you. So if you don’t believe in yourself, who else is going to believe in you?”her sage aunt questioned.
“You’re right. I’ve just been struggling, and honestly, I don’t know what to do. The bank rejected my business loan app. Youknow that I asked Auntie Al and Uncle Ronnie and they didn’t feel like the plan was developed enough, but they didn’t evengive me a chance to show them the stuff I’d put together.
“There’s no source for the rest of the money right now. And I...” She tried to be mindful of her words. “I hope therewill be, but um, if I have to do it on my own, I don’t think I can afford it. At least not in the way I’d envisioned it.”
“Hmm. Have you thought about looking into places outside of DC?” Auntie Mack asked.
Kendra scrunched up her face. “It’s crossed my mind. I definitely don’t want to go into Virginia. I really wanted to be centralso that, you know, the entire DMV could feel like it was accessible.”
“But you are aware that accessibility in the city is going to be at a premium, honey. I’m just saying that there could besome options outside of the city that you haven’t seen because you’ve already limited your scope. And you want this too muchto give up before you’ve looked under every stone.” Auntie Mack’s soothing tone held no traces of criticism, only reason.
The labor and time that exploring every option would take felt daunting, and the anxiety of what-ifs intensified in her mind.Kendra shook her head, trying to clear the crescendo of questions. “I know you’re right. That was just the dream, you know?”
“Was? Past tense makes it sound like you’ve already surrendered. So tell me, in what ways can we make the dream happen? Evenif it’s not in the ideal location. Have you thought about coming down to Charleston?” Auntie Mack asked.
“Charleston? I was hoping to be here in DC so that my business would be near Logan’s and we could kind of cross-pollinatein terms of patrons and different business opportunities.”
“Well, that would be the ideal,” her aunt agreed. “But, property’s a lot easier to come by in Charleston than it is in DC.”
“That’s true. And I’d be near you.”
Mack chuckled. “Exactly.”
“Are you scheming to get me to move closer to you?”
“Well, it’s not as selfish as it sounds. Maybe I just know some things you don’t.”
“Come on, I know that’s true for sure,” Kendra replied, grinning. “But, I don’t know. I feel like I’m not ready to give up on DC just yet.”
“That makes total sense. And, you know, I don’t have the same kind of finances that your Auntie Al does, but if it’s withinmy power, I will support you. I’m happy to help. You’re like my own daughter, Keke.”
“Well, you do have a daughter,” Kendra reminded her aunt, laughing.
“Yes, I have a daughter, but you and Lani might as well be sisters. There is no reason for me not to support you in the sameway that I would her. And so, if you can deal with something that’s maybe not quite as grand but makes the dream come to fruition,I might be able to help.”
“Thank you, Auntie Mack. I really appreciate that and I’ll keep you posted. I’m not quite ready to say anything in particularbecause I need to know what’s going on but I’ve got some other avenues I might try to check out.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah, Logan sent me a couple of listings the other day for properties on a short sale right now. Some may go up for auction,and the pricing would be substantially lower. It’s risky though, because the purchase would be as-is and I’d be assuming therisk of any issues the property might have.
“One of them looks really promising though, and it’s within my budget. But, I might come to you later, um, just for some capital.Maybe I can consider you a silent investor as I’m kind of getting myself off the ground, since I didn’t anticipate buyingproperty solely with my own funds.” Kendra bit her lip.
“Of course, I would be open to that. Well, please keep me posted.”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay, Auntie, thank you somuch! By the way, everything else is okay though? Health is good?”
“Of course, my love. I didn’t get to see you again before I had to head back home, but I am doing well. I just miss you. Figuredthat I should give you a call since you were on my heart.”
