“What do you mean by that?”
“Celeste is in denial, but she knows… she knows I don’t have long. My heart is getting weaker by the day and it’s only a matter of time. Honestly, I’m only fighting to keep her in good spirits. We’ve been through a lot, but we’re all each other has. I know she’ll come out on top in every situation, but I don’t know how things will go for her when my time comes. All I ask is that you let her go before you hurt her. I can tell she feels the same way you feel about her. Chemistry is something that can be felt by everyone. The way you two look at each other is like two teenagers in love. As long as you’re there for my baby, you’re good with me,” Cora expressed.
Although Celeste had informed me on the state of her mother’s health, I couldn’t help but agree with Cora. I didn’t necessarily think she was in denial, but what person wanted to think about losing their only parent? It was a reality Celeste knew was coming, but couldn’t quite process. People thought if they saw death coming, it lessened the hurt. That simply wasn’t true. No matter how prepared a person thought they were, the loss still hit hard. I hoped and prayed Cora was just talking, but deep down I had a feeling she wasn’t.
CHAPTER 16
Celeste
“Thank you for your time today. I’ll be reaching out when I have more answers about a start date. The projected date is the first Monday of the new year, but if anything changes, you’ll be the first to know.”
Currently, I was wrapping up my final interview for the second location of Luxe Addiction. I was rolling the dice blindly since I had no idea what would even become of this location. Allen had been blowing my phone up for the past few days and it was only a matter of time before he caused a scene. It was okay for him to do what he wanted, but he still wanted control over me. If he came in here and shut down shop, I’d close the store without hesitation and focus on e-commerce until the new location was running. Today was moving day for my mother and I no longer cared what plugs he pulled.
Allen could do whatever he wanted to me, but I wasn’t going for any stupid shit behind my mother and her health. Shane also lightened my load mentally. He was a good listener and always seemed to have a solution for my problems. He was truly mister make it happen and I appreciated him. The night he’d taken me on our date I was nervous his ex would become a problem. Sofar, Shane hadn’t mentioned a thing about her. His phone hadn’t gone off more than normal and his routine hadn’t switched. Those were all signs that something was going on, but there was nothing.
“Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you and being part of this new journey. I’ve been looking out for opportunities to work here, so I’m glad it’s finally happening,” Jessica said as she gathered her things.
From our brief interview, Jessica seemed to be a nice woman. The outfit she wore let me know she had a sense of style and that was important in our line of work. Whenever I interviewed, I didn’t expect people to come in slacks and button downs. I wanted them to give me a preview of how they’d show up to work daily.
“I’m glad to hear that. It feels good to know people are taking interest in a company created by little ol’ me,” I responded.
When I returned from walking Jessica out, Jade stood at my desk with a box in hand.
“What’s this?”
“These are the samples for the next drop. These new Golden Eagles are going to sell out as soon as they go live. The boots too,” she said in excitement.
Jade started pulling the items out of the box and laying them across my desk. While we went through everything, we tossed out ideas about how the next photoshoot should go. There were so many thoughts going through my head and I was finally getting back to my creative space. With so much going on lately, I’d been having more creative blocks. Tonight, once I got my mother settled, I’d make a mood board for inspiration. We were heading into the fall and my plan was to have the new launch drop at the end of August. Once we were finished going through the samples, I checked on Erick before Jade and I left.
When I pulled up to the nursing facility, I spotted Shane’s truck parked a few spaces over. Naturally, a smile spread across my lips as I put my car in park.
“Girl, you love that man,” Jade stated, catching me off guard.
“Huh?”
“You love that man,” she repeated. “Every time he comes around or calls, you smile from the east coast to the west coast. I’m happy for you though. You’ve been through a lot. A man who loves you back is the very least you deserve. I know you’re nervous about what Allen will do with the store, but I have a feeling he’ll eventually let you have it. There’s nothing he can do with it if he takes it from you. He can try to sell it, but we both know he doesn’t truly need the money. He's being the fuck nigga he is, but once he sees he can’t hold that over your head, he’ll stop trying. It doesn’t take a scientist to see the relationship is over, but I think a small part of him wants to hold on to you.
“I’ve never been in a situation where I genuinely loved two people at the same time, but we’re seeing where he’d rather be in real time. I’m not saying any of this to make you feel bad, but I want you to realize you have no reason to not love Shane out loud. Love him just as loud as Allen is loving Serenity. Fuck the media at the end of the day. Everyone knows that man is a cheater and Serenity won’t be the last woman we see him in pictures with.”
Jade didn’t know how badly I needed to hear those words. My relationship with Shane was never a secret, but I kept our relationship private so I wouldn’t have to deal with the media. Allen was the one in the wrong, yet I knew that narrative would change and bite me in the ass if I were to be seen online with Shane. It was funny how society worked and people tended to give men more grace than women.
Once we got out of my car, Jade and I waited as Shane and Tripp approached. This was my first time meeting Trippin person, but I knew a lot about him. If he was anything like Shane, I was sure he’d be cool in my book. My man came straight for me and wrapped me in a hug before kissing my forehead.
“What’s up, beautiful? It felt weird not sleeping next to your ass last night. I didn’t sleep good at all,” he admitted.
“I know. You video called me at two in the morning, remember?”
“Shit, I’d just left the studio at two. I got home and couldn’t sleep for shit. I smoked two blunts and still couldn’t get comfortable.”
“You have a key to my place. Why didn’t you just come over like any other time?”
“I called myself trying to give you space. Trust me, I won’t be doing that shit again. But Celeste, this is my homie, Tripp. Tripp, this my lady and her friend Jade,” he introduced.
After everyone had spoken, I thanked Tripp for coming. Although I was confident in taking my mother home with me, the reality of the situation didn’t sink in until we got to her room that was now all packed up. A part of me felt like a failure. My mother had grown to love this place and had gotten used to the staff. Now, she’d be dealing with different people and creating a new daily routine. The main thing I took away from this was to never trust my mother’s health in someone else’s hands.
“Well, look who decided to show their face,” my mother teased as Jade walked toward her.
The banter between them was comical and happened every time they saw one another. While Shane introduced my mother to Tripp, I went to find the nurse to get the rest of the records I’d requested. The new health team I hired for my mother had everything they needed, but there were a few things I wanted for myself.
