Page 10 of Aquarius Awakening
Baby sis, please. You got this. I’ll be there in a bit with some goodies for the crew.
Me:
Thank you! Love you.
Imani:
Love you more.
My first order of business was clearing the clutter Leon left behind. I kept a tidy space. Clutter would only hinder my creative flow. There happened to be an empty box in the hall, so I grabbed it and then put Leon’s things in it. Once the office was clear, I grabbed a clean sketchbook and some pencils. I put on my headphones and found a soft jazz playlist then got to work.
The first sketch ended up on the floor. I reminded myself not to let my nerves get the best of me. The more time spent on sketching, the less time the seamstress would have to make the clothes. By taking on the full resort portion of the line, I gave myself a lot of responsibility. Being a leader, I preferred to take on that stress rather than burden my team.
I stared at the blank page for far too long. The urge to move the pencil jogged something in my brain. As the melodic sounds of the jazz music took over my thoughts of insecurity, I began to sketch.
In the midst of perfecting my first sketch, I saw Imani standing outside the office door.
“I figured you guys could use something sweet,” she declared.
“Thanks. I’m sure we could all use any type of distraction at this point,” I insisted.
“Let me go tell everyone I brought some goodies. I’ll be right back,” Imani stated as she made her way down the hall.
While she took some bags for the team, she left one on the desk for me. I grabbed it and realized Imani had gone to my favorite bakery. It was a cute French-style place not too far from the office. Imani popped back in just as I pulled the cake out of the bag.
“How are things with you and Mason?” Imani asked as she entered the office and closed the door.
I took a deep sigh. “Where do I begin? I moved into the rental house yesterday. He called me this morning, talking crazy to me. By the end of the unpleasant conversation, we agreed to divorce,” I explained.
“Are you okay with that? Is this what you want?” she asked, her voice laced with concern.
“You know what? Our conversation over dinner helped me come to terms with some things. Everything you said made a lot of sense, even if I didn’t want to hear it. I look in the mirror, and the woman staring back at me is a shell of myself. So, right now, am I okay? No, but I’ll be just fine,” I somberly replied.
“As long as you have faith that something better will come from this, you will be. Mason wanting a divorce and Leon quitting are both blessings in disguise. They are bothopportunities for you to start fresh and get back to your roots. Just wait and see,” she affirmed.
I didn’t want to dwell on the things that had turned my life upside down over the past twenty-four hours. As I opened the box the cake came in, I wasn’t surprised to find my favorite dessert—a slice of blueberry lemon cake with lemon icing.
“Aww, you do love me,” I joked.
“I’ve got to do something to encourage you. What have you come up with so far?” she asked.
I typically never shared my premature sketches until I had gone over them a few times. However, Imani was the only exception to that rule. My sister was one of the first people to learn about my love of drawing. She always supported me, even when my designs weren’t great. She would gently give me criticism. Imani was always careful not to bruise my Aquarian faltering ego.
I slid over the sketch for her to look over.
“I see you haven’t lost your touch. This is so cute. The girlies are going to eat this up!” she exclaimed.
“Really? You don’t think it looks like something we have done before?” I questioned.
“No, I think this is a fresh take on some of your earlier designs. With the right accessories, the girls will go crazy over this dress. It is perfect for a beachy getaway,” she insisted.
That confirmation was all the encouragement I needed to keep going. The hardest part of designing was maintaining freshness and originality. As an Aquarius, I never wanted to be dressed like another person. One of the reasons I started to design my own clothes was to ensure I always stood out. With Imani’s encouragement, I was comfortable enough to start working on my next look. Imani took a seat in one of the chairs and made herself comfortable. She was here for moral support, and I appreciated her more than she could ever know.
A couple of days later, it was time for the design team to meet. We checked in with each other but kept our work to ourselves. With everyone’s nerves at an all-time high, we met in the conference room to review everyone’s progress.
“Who wants to go first?” I asked.
Louisa stood up and presented her sketches for the remaining swimwear pieces. As I looked over her sketches, I saw she had taken my feedback to heart. The sketches she made were sexy but classy. They truly represented the Love Faith brand.
