Page 5 of Aquarius Awakening
“Where are we headed?” I asked Imani.
“Hmm… What are you in the mood for? Do you want to head over to Paul’s place? I’m sure he can find a table for us,” she suggested.
Paul was an old classmate of ours from high school. He owned a popular restaurant not too far from my office that was all the rave. We loved to support his restaurant, Pia, which was a Dominican restaurant. He always gave us all the food and drinks we could withstand on the house. I nodded in agreement because Pia would be a good place for conversation.
After the walk down the long city blocks, we approached Pia. Imani led the way as we reached the hostess stand. The hostess on duty today was one of our favorites.
“It’s my favorite sister duo. Hey, ladies,” the hostess, Ginny, greeted us.
“You are as fabulous as always,” I complimented her.
“No need to flatter me, you know I have the perfect table for you guys. I’ll take the compliment, though,” she warmly replied.
Imani and I followed closely while Ginny led the way. Paul kept a slew of tables in the back of the restaurant for his special clients. Ginny pulled out our chairs and placed the menus on the table.
“Enjoy, ladies. I’ll let Paul know you’re here,” she informed us as she walked away.
Once we were comfortably seated, Imani cut right to the chase.
“Why haven’t you answered my calls? I understand you received some tough news, but we don’t avoid each other,” she expressed.
“You’re right. I apologize, but it was hard. This time was the hardest because I wanted to pause our treatment. Well, I thought it was a pause until Mason harshly let me know he didn’t want to try anymore. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have the strength to put my feelings into words,” I sadly admitted.
“Wow, so he just wants to give up? Did he say he wanted to try other options, or was that just it?”
“Mason told me yesterday morning that there was no other option and no more trying before he went to work. He then proceeded to ignore me when I tried to call him. He didn’t come home last night. It was a battle getting out of my head to make it to work today. Part of me wants to continue the process without Mason,” I murmured.
Imani took a deep breath and then a sip of water. My sister always took a deep breath before saying something that could potentially hurt my feelings. I knew her the same way she knew me. Imani and I were only two years apart, so we were very close. It was just the two of us. After our mother passed on, we were all we had.
“Do it! Go have your baby. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. I’ve told you before, I hate the way Mason speaks to you. I hate to see you all meek and a shell of yourself in hispresence. The last time we were all together, he raised his voice, and you jumped. You may need to consider that it’s time to move on from Mason.”
“Move on from Mason?” I asked.
“Yes, from our conversations, your marriage lost its spark a long time ago. Do you wake up in the morning with the same feelings you had for Mason when you first met? Has your relationship evolved into one you enjoy being in? His behavior over the past few years has made me uncomfortable, to say the least, so I can’t imagine how the hell you’ve been dealing with it,” she fumed.
Before I could muster a response, the server came over to take our orders. I allowed Imani to order for us. The more this conversation progressed, the more my appetite seemed to dissipate. After the server read the order back to Imani, she told us she would return shortly with our drinks. Once she was gone, I went back to our conversation.
“So, I leave Mason and do what?” I asked.
“The sky is the limit. You find the love of your life and have the family you always dreamed of. Or you go have your baby on your own. Continue to grow Love Faith. Most importantly, I want to see you happy. I want to see you be loved the way you deserve. Your partner should be uplifting you, especially during times of struggle. I want you to always remember that you deserve the love you give to everyone around you. If the person you are with isn’t reciprocating that, then it’s time to move on,” she declared.
I felt my eyes water at her words. Now, it was my turn to take a deep breath. Imani had said a mouthful but didn’t miss a beat. My marriage to Mason had lost its spark. The spark fizzled, and I didn’t think it was coming back. Not being pregnant gave me the opportunity to pursue treatment on my own. It gave me the chance to have a clean break from Mason if I chose to do so. Icouldn’t lie and say the thought of leaving him never crossed my mind.
Imani was right. I loved him so hard, yet Mason left me feeling as if I were alone. There were too many questionable nights of him coming home late or not at all. Some of his business trips always seemed to be around the time of my treatments. It was hard enough being infertile. What made it worse was him constantly making excuses for not attending an appointment with me. Each night, I injected myself. I think I was finally tired of living under the guise that my marriage was salvageable. Imani said out loud what I had been thinking. My marriage seemed to be over.
Time to Move On
I tossedand turned all night in my California king bed. The bright sun fought through the windows as I opened my eyes. As I felt around on the other side of the bed, it felt cold. I looked and confirmed what I thought. Mason’s side of the bed was still made. Another night of Mason not coming home. My conversation with Imani over dinner replayed in my head.
This wasn’t the way I wanted to start my morning, but here I was. I grabbed my phone off the nightstand. Then I checked for any messages or calls from Mason. A wave of annoyance ran through my body when I saw there were no new notifications.
Mason had officially pulled a disappearing act. This wasn’t the first time he hadn’t come home. However, not coming home for two consecutive nights was new. The disrespect was loud at this point.
I got out of bed and walked over to my vanity. Just as I had done a few days ago, I took in my reflection. Once again, the mirror showed me everything I didn’t want to see. The reflection that stared back at me made me sad. There were bags under my eyes. I just looked miserable. Right then and there, I made the decision that today would be my last day looking this way.
I never wanted to be the woman who allowed a man to break her spirit. The many arguments between Mason and me had broken me. I tried so hard to save face all this time, and for what? No matter what I did or how I tried to be good to Mason, I ended up alone. It was time for me to move on. There was more to life than sitting around miserably waiting for Mason to come home. He obviously forgot his address, so I would do the same. Whenever Mason decided to return, I wouldn’t be here.
With this newfound revelation, I needed somewhere to stay. My upcoming fashion show meant I couldn’t be too far from my office. Mason and I had a weekend house in Long Island, but that was an hour away. I also didn’t want to be anywhere he would assume I would go. As the fashion show was being held in Dumbo, I rented a place in Brooklyn. The only problem was that my reservation for the home was for next week. I grabbed my phone to reach out to Milani.
