Page 118 of Search My Soul
We’ve talked about my history with Soul, but I made it very clear that I wasn’t a cheater, and if at any point I felt like I could no longer be in this relationship, I would let him go. He seemed to be okay with my answer, and I could only pray that he meant it. To keep down confusion, I kept my contact with Soul to a minimum. We would check on each other every now and then, but that was the extent of our communication.
“Oh, thank God we’re finally here. I can’t take any more of your twenty-one questions.” I hopped out of the car and headed right toward the venue. Everyone else was already inside, so it was time for me to make my grand entrance.
“Girl, I need the name of your party planner because she did the damn thing. I never thought it was possible to have this much fun at a tea party. I’m drunk as hell and these finger sandwiches are addicting. I need a whole tray to myself.” Peaches raved, stuffing another sandwich in her mouth.
“I’ll send you her information. I definitely plan on using her again because she brought my vision to life. The caterer was someone she recommended to me as well. I guess they all collaborate and put each other on to new clients. I’m happy you’re enjoying yourself, Cousin.”
“Yes, girl. Everything was beautiful and you look like a bad bitch per usual.” Passion boasted.
“Thank you, baby. I love your dresses too. I already know you got them custom made because the details are too extravagant to be store bought.” My cousins were the people I called when I needed to know if an outfit was cute or not. They had the style and the looks to be high fashion models, and I would never stop telling them that.
“Oh, you’re always trying to gas us up. I actually got another opportunity to be in another music video, and I told him that I wouldn’t do it unless I could bring my twin. They were too excited to find out there were two of us.” Peaches snickered.
“I can’t wait to see it. I already know y’all are gonna steal the show.”
We all continued to talk until it was time to open my gifts. My folks really showed out for me this year, and I couldn’t have been more grateful. I had no idea where I was going to store allof it, and it had me thinking about getting a new place. With Riya being with me most of the time and West spending the weekends with us, it was time for me to get a bigger place. I made a mental note to start house hunting next week.
“Hey, sissy. I know we have already spoken earlier, but I wanted to tell you how much I love you and how proud I am of you. Romi is excited about taking dance classes at your studio. She’s been bragging to all of her friends for weeks.”
When I first met Soul’s sisters, I wasn’t sure if they would accept me. Sometimes family wasn’t the most welcoming, and I worried that they wouldn’t like me. Never in a million years did I think that we would grow to be so close. Patience and Lovely had been godsent to me during my period of grief. They constantly checked on me and made sure that I was taking care of myself.
There were times when I would shut everyone out, but they never let it stop them. If I went too long without answering my phone, they would pop up at my place with food and wine. They gave me the space to grieve without judgment or unsolicited opinions. I thought they would leave me in the dust after Soul and I broke up, but they have been by my side like true sisters.
“I appreciate you for signing her up. I still can’t believe this is happening, but I’m excited to get started. I’ve already filled two classes and two different age groups. We are gonna have so much fun.” All of my family and friends had been so supportive with the opening of my dance studio. They had all been posting about my grand opening for months, and now I was getting daily inquiries from parents wanting to enroll their child in my dance classes. I even had to hire some extra help, and it just made me so proud. I never imagined that I would be doing something like this. This was a dream I never thought would come to fruition.
“Of course. I know you’re going to take care of her and she’s gonna talk your ear off in the process.”
“I don’t mind it one bit. You know that’s my girl.” Romi and I were best friends according to her, and I made sure to bring her to the nail shop with me every two weeks for a girls’ day. My homegirl Deshala was a magician when it came to brows, waxes, and facials and she recently started offering facials for kids as well. I made sure Romi and I were booked for the next two months because her calendar filled up fast. You could never put an age on self-care, and my Romi girl didn’t play about looking her best. Of course, the day would always end with us getting her ice cream with extra sprinkles because the princess couldn’t have ice cream without her sprinkles.
She called me on FaceTime at least twice a week to tell me about the latest updates in second grade and I was all ears. Romi brought a smile to my face every time we were together, and I was so blessed to have her in my life.
“You already opened all of our gifts, but there’s one more gift that you haven’t opened yet.” My eyes squinted as I observed Lovely’s demeanor. There was a sneaky grin on her face that made me nervous.
“Oh, where is it?” I knew for a fact that I had opened all of the gifts on both tables and the majority of them had been loaded into Normandee’s truck afterwards. Neither of them had any gift bags in their hands, which further confused me.
“The gift was too big for us to bring inside so you’re gonna have to come outside to open it.” I felt like Lovely was talking in riddles. Patience wasn’t helping the situation because all she kept doing was giggling.
“Why do I get the feeling that the two of you are up to no good?”
Lovely gasped, while clutching her invisible pearls. “Me? Up to no good? I can’t believe you would say that.”
“Now I know for a fact that you are bullshitting. What is going on, and why are y’all being so sneaky?”
“Why don’t you come outside and we can show you?” Patience held her hand out for me, and I grabbed it reluctantly. I knew they weren’t going to harm me in any way, but the butterflies in my stomach were going into overdrive. All of my girls followed behind us and everyone had their phones out recording. I thought maybe it was some kind of surprise from Darion, but then that didn’t make sense as to why Lovely and Patience were acting so weird.
“I need you to close your eyes and trust us, okay?” Puma whispered from behind me.
“I don’t trust any of you right now. Why are you keeping secrets from me?” I pouted, but she waved me off.
“This is one secret I think you’ll be happy about. Now come on. We don’t have all day.” I closed my eyes as Puma held my left hand. A cool breeze hit me the moment I stepped outside, and I grew more and more nervous. The heels I wore were tall, and I was afraid to trip in my dress. However, my girls assured me that I had nothing to worry about.
I could hear the commotion and chattering as we made it down the steps of the building. The sound of cars passing by caught my attention and I wondered how far we were going to go.
“Are you ready?” Patience asked, but I was certain that she wasn’t talking to me.
“Okay, Nee-nee boo. You can open your eyes now.”
I almost stopped breathing when I laid eyes on my dream car with a giant bow on it. The clean, white body sparkled under the sun, but it was the pink interior that stole the show.
