Zuri went straight to the stylist Victoria and hugged her like they were old friends. Then she pulled a chair directly in front of me, turned it around backward, and sat down with her arms folded on the back. She wanted to intimidate me too damn bad, but I wasn’t having that. And now her ass was stalking me too.
We looked at each other for a moment before she spoke.
"Hello, Tattiana," she said, her voice smooth but carrying weight. "I must say, you have a natural beauty about yourself that I couldn't deny if I wanted to. Without makeup or your hair done yet, the glow is undeniable."
She paused, studying my face.
"And maybe that's what makes me so uncomfortable," she finished.
I kept my eyes on her reflection in the mirror.
"Uncomfortable or are you jealous?" I asked.
She leaned her head to the side slightly, like she was considering the question.
"See, that's what I need you to understand about me," she said. "I've never been jealous of nothing or no one. Anything in this life that I want, I've always been able to have. With you, I just worry. I know my son better than anyone. I know his triggers, and his biggest one is a liar. Keeping secrets is the same as telling lies. But at the same token, I can see him getting so caught up in your beauty that he may forget his own principles."
I bit my inner jaw and looked directly at her.
"Zuri, you keep coming at me like I asked for any of this," I said, keeping my voice steady. "I didn't ask to be a part of your family, and you know that. You all made the decision and for the life of me, I can't understand what is your problem with me. At some point, you have to get over yourself. You needed me, I was just fine where I was but I see you like to forget that part."
She looked at me long and hard. Her eyes moved across my face like she was reading something written there that only she could see.
"I know girls like you, Tatti," she said quietly. "And I just want to make sure that all my blood, sweat and tears won't crumble because my husband made the wrong decision when choosing our son's wife."
I didn't ask what she meant by that. I just took a breath and kept going.
"Listen, Mrs. Carter," I said, turning in the chair slightly so I could face her more directly. "With all respect. I didn't ask for any of this but since I've been getting to know Kaseem, he's shown me what I want in a man and for me, he's trying. I can'task for more than that. As a woman who knows my worth and my value, I'm gonna be an asset to my husband, and not a liability. Whatever your fear is when it comes to me, you need to let that go. I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize my husband, his family or the family we build. All my intentions are pure and we need to remember, I’m not the one benefiting anything from this arrangement. I agreed because I want to be with Kaseem. It’s really that simple.”
I paused, making sure she was listening.
"Our vows will be before God, not his family," I continued. "So the only people I care about honoring is my husband and God. I want to like you, I really do, but the threats and invasive behavior is too much. You may be the woman of your house, but I'm the woman of mine and just as you aren't the one to mess with, you don't want to make an enemy out of me either. Respectfully." I said firm, letting her know that I wasn’t some little ass girl that she could keep playing these games with.
We held each other's eyes. The tension in the room was so thick I could feel it. The stylist had stopped working and was pretending to focus on the extensions. Victoria had disappeared to give us space.
Zuri's face shifted. For a second, I thought she was about to come off that chair and come at me. Her jaw clenched. Her eyes narrowed.
Then a small smile spread across her face.
Not a mean smile. A real and genuine one.
She stood up from the chair and reached into her designer bag. She pulled out a small velvet box and opened it, revealing a pearl Chanel hair clip.
"Something old," she said, and there was something different in her voice now. Softer. More real. She went from being a bitch, to giving me gifts and I was going to accept them graciously. I felt that now, we somewhat had a understanding.
Then she pulled out another Chanel box - a larger one and passed it to me to open. Inside was a beautiful Chanel pearl necklace that caught the light and threw it back in a hundred different directions. This necklace has been my dream piece for years but I never had an occasion to need a three-thousand dollar pearl necklace.
"Something new," she said, when I laid myeyes on it.
She reached into her bag again and pulled out a tube of YSL lipstick - that signature red that every woman knew about.
"Something borrowed," she said, handing it to me. "But I need that back tomorrow. That's my color."
I almost laughed at that.
Then she leaned back and smiled at me.
"Something blue," she said. "I had personally dropped off some blue lace panties for you to wear tonight. They are in your bedroom on the bed with everything else you’ll need."
