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Because it was the polite thing to do, Josie shook my hand. But I could almost feel the skepticism in her energy, especially once she said, “You looksofamiliar to me.”
“This is the woman who runs Kicks by Bri,” Darnell commented, the nod I gave to back him up only making his wife shake her head as she said, “Nah, that’s not it. I’ve seen you before. Somewhere else.”
Obviously, I knew she was right about that. But considering the conversation we’d had that day -the lie I’d told that day- I wasn’t about to say shit. At least, not until little DJ chimed in, “At the shoe store, Mommy. Remember?”
I could already see the memory beginning to come back to her as I rushed out, “So… I’m gonna go. But it was really nice meeting you all. Enjoy the game. Go Skyhawks!” And it wasn’t until I caught up with Nala that I felt any sort of relief.
But of course, after witnessing the interaction, it was all she wanted to talk about, a slick smirk on her lips when sang, “Giiiirl. I know that ain’t the nigga from the bar over there looking like a family man.”
“That’d be him,” I confirmed. “He’s a whole husband now.”
“You lyin’,” she groaned, waiting for me to give a nod to confirm the information for a second time before she asked, “And the lady who’s muggin’ the hell outta you right now is his wife?”
Peeking back over my shoulder to see that Josiedefinitelywasn’t staring at me with any sort of friendliness in her eyes, I decided it was time for us to make a move, skipping over giving Nala an answer to her question in favor of telling her, “Let’s go find our seats.” And once we were settled in, that entire interaction thankfully became a thing of the past as we watched both teams warmup while sharing the snacks that it hadn’t taken long for Nala to realize she’d overdone it with.
She was stuffed, and somehow I was too as I grabbed my phone to pass some more time since the game still hadn’t started. And while it was only out of habit that I’d decided to check my email first, I wished I hadn’t once I saw what was sitting at the very top of my inbox.
It was a follow-up from the same person who’d first reached out to me about the Nike position, the fact that they were contacting me on a Sunday making it clear that they weren’t at all playing about their interest in having me on their team. But as I found myself skimming the details of the previous email, I only felt more confused about it all, grateful for Nala’s interruption when she asked, “What’s that you’re reading?”
“Just an email from someone following up about this potential job opportunity I don’t know what to do about.”
“Job opportunity?” Nala repeated with a confused frown. “But you already got a job.”
“I know. But this is like something I’vealwayswanted to do.”
I was getting ready to give a full explanation for what it was until Nala responded, “You better than me. Cause if I was living in the mansion you do, with the man you do, getting slutted out on the regular like I know you do, I wouldn’t be working another day of my life.”
“Okay, City Girl Nala,” I groaned teasingly, giggling a bit as she muttered, “I’m just sayin’.” And even though she’d made a very valid point, I was glad when she decided to focus on my actual dilemma once she said, “But anyway, back to this job thing. Does it pay more than what you’re already making on your own?”
“I’m not sure,” I answered. “The email just says they wanna meet to discuss me potentially joining their footwear design team.”
“So take the meeting,” Nala suggested casually. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen?”
Truth be told, there wasn’t a lot that could go wrong with me hearing what they had to say. But there was an outcome that I was most afraid of which was what I shared with Nala when I responded, “They present me an offer I can’t refuse, and I have to make the tough decision to leave everyone I care about here in Houston; you included.”
I expected that part to give her some pause. But instead, she only shrugged when she responded, “I’ll come visit you.”
“Nala!”
“What? I will. Especially since I’ve never been to that part of the country,” she argued. “But I also know this isn’t really about me, so… what does Lance think?”
With a sigh, I answered, “He told me to take the meeting too. But I also don’t think he fully processed all the potential outcomes. Like, I’m not convinced he thinks I’d actually leave.”
“Well until you hear what they have to say, I don’t think you’re really convinced either, sis,” Nala responded just as the lighting in the stadium went down in preparation for the introductions of the teams. And while Nala was all in as she hopped onto her feet and started cheering along with the other fans, I sat there playing her words back in my head, eventually pulling up the latest email on my phone so that I could finally set up a meeting.
