“I can’t believe you read my magazine. You’re like a legend.”
“I’m an ordinary woman just like yourself.”
My cheeks hurt from smiling so hard. I almost reach out to hug her.
“That means a lot coming from you. I’ve followed your journey from stylist to journalist. I’ve always looked up to you and your career.”
Collette politely waves her hand at me. “Now you’re making me sound old, darling.”
We share a laugh, and then Collette tilts her head, finally studying me with interest.
“I must admit, I’ve admired your journey as well. You’re a force to be reckoned with. I like that you started with a digital platform, built a loyal audience, and then made the leap into print. That was brilliant groundwork.”
Fucking. Stunned.
“The fact that you know all this is blowing my mind right now,” I exclaim.
“I make it my business to keep up with all the black influencers in the world. We’re all we got at the end of the day,” she says with a smile.
I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me.TheCollette Randolph reads my magazine! I almost faint from sheer disbelief.
“You’re doing big things. Really big.”
“Thank you,” I say breathlessly. “I’m sorry. I’m seriously fan-girling right now. I still remember my firstVoguemagazine. I was in middle school, and Naomi Campbell was on the cover, and I must have stared at her pictures for hours, begging my mom for that leopard print bikini.”
“Ah, I was 33 years young when that issue came out. I’d just stepped into creative direction atVogue, terrified and exhilarated in equal measure.”
“That cover gave me such a boost of self-esteem. I immediately thought,the world is finally starting to make space for us.”
Collette lets out a soft, indulgent laugh. “Darling, Naomi had graced many covers by that time, but we still had a long road ahead of us. We had to fight, and prove, and fight again just to hold the space we’d been given.”
“I feel like we’re still fighting.”
Collette gives me a look we both understand, and then we break out laughing.
“I don’t think the fight ever ends, but the support can be unwavering if you have the right people in your corner,” she says.
I nod, reflecting on her words. “It’s not often women are sticking up for each other. It always seems like a competition out here sometimes. That’s why I value people I can trust.”
“Tell me about it. I don't hand out my trust easily either. And unfortunately, that sort of thing still happens more often than it should. But when I recognize talent, I have no problem acknowledging it. You, my dear, have talent.”
I press my palm to my chest, genuinely touched.
“You know what, I like you,” Colette says. “We should continue this conversation soon.
As if my smile couldn’t get any wider, I beam. “We should!”
“How long are you here for?” she asks, starting to walk back towards the resort. I step beside her, our footprints forming prints side by side in the sand.
“I’m here for the rest of the week. What about you? I have to say I miss reading your articles inVogue. What have you been up to since retiring?”
Collette’s eyes sparkle as if her mind is sifting through the years. “I can’t lie. I miss Vogue too. But I’ve been traveling. Mentoring here and there. And taking time to actually enjoy my life for once. Lately, it's been planning and designing for my daughter's wedding. I'm sure you've heard the speculation and assumed that's why I'm here."
The mention knocks me over the head like a cold, hard reminder I’d somehow managed to forget. How? I have no idea. But considering everything that’s happened in the past twenty-four hours, it’s easy to see how something like that could’ve slipped my mind.
Of course.
Carina Sterling is the daughter of Collette Randolph. Even after she married, she'd never changed her last name. She'd spent too many years building her own identity to give it up.
