by Xavier Neal
Everything about Sunset Lake properties screams snob, which is usually easy to ignore, but not tonight. For some reason tonight it feels like I’m spitting on my girlfriend’s stupid fanny pack. What? No. It was just a fight….We’re still…we’re still together. Giving back the key? I mean…that was just her way of saying she needed some space. That’s all that was.
As promised the front door is unlocked for me to make a “stealthy” entrance. However, just two steps into the foyer and I cross paths with Daniella.
A vindictive smirk crosses her bright red painted lips and bile burns on its way up my throat. “My prince has arrived.”
No. No way in Hades. I’m not her Prince. I’m Syd’s….Fuck, I can’t do this. I should’ve never come here….
When I turn on my heels to hastily leave, I accidentally bump into a wall I didn’t realize I was near.
After a quick head shake to regain my composure, I stare down the wall that is not a wall at all.
What the…?
“Keys.”
I don’t hesitate to hand them over.
Brock passes them off to one of the two unfamiliar men on the other side of him. He motions his head towards the door. “Limo.”
Without saying a word, I slip around him and out the door heading for where I was instructed. The moment I’m close enough, Blade, Queen’s personal bodyguard, grants me entrance to the vehicle.
Once I’ve slid in, he shuts the door, leaving me to face what I imagine is going to be a whirlwind of wrath.
Say a peace prayer to the Gods and Goddesses for me.
Queen looks up from her tablet with a surprisingly sympathetic expression.
“Q-Q-Queen.”
She places the device down beside her and crosses her legs. “Chance, why are you here?”
This is worse than I thought. Do you hear that tone? It’s the one they use when they read Death Row victims their final passage or whatever. You know, this isn’t how I saw my entry into the next plane going.
“Chance,” the repetition of my full name only frightens me more.
“Because you told me to be,” I quickly rush to reply.
She tilts her head and asks again, “Chance, why are you here?”
Ready to state the same answer over again, I start to speak, but stop to re-assess when I notice the firm expression on her face.
“Because it’s my job.”
“Chance, why are you really here?”
The raging war of my emotions surges, and I quietly confess, “Because I was too afraid of the consequences of telling you no.”
“And?”
“Because I was too afraid of picking my relationship over this.”
“And?”
“Because I was ignoring the winds of change rather than embracing them.”
“And?”
“Because I fear not being able to provide for my girl who has no one else to help her when she needs it.”
French gives a warm, unexpected wink.
Oh shit. Is her eye broken!?
Brock enters the unmoving vehicle and has a seat at her side.
She shoots him a questioning look. “How did the hosts take it?”
“Daniella was fucking livid as expected while Drewella was fucking pleased to have two men for the price of one.”
“And the guests?”
“Also fucking happy.”
“Prince L and Prince G?”
“Prepared to please.”
“Excellent.” French diverts her gaze back to me. “Chance, you’re fired.”
“What!?!” I croak at the top of my lungs. “Just because I couldn’t perform one time?!”
Refrain from making any sexual innuendoes right now.
“No,” Queen calmly reassures. “Because you’re not happy doing this anymore.”
“I am!”
She challenges the proclamation with a lift of her eyebrows.
“I mean…I thought I was….”
“You’ve stopped doing this out of fun and began doing it out of fear.”
Holy Mother Nature….She’s right, isn’t she? I used to dance because it was fun and felt good. Now I find myself dancing more to assure Syd’s always got enough to eat and gas in her car. But is that so wrong? Is it a bad thing to be willing to trample through a little less happiness to give her what she deserves?
“Chance, when I found you, you were basically a bright eyed new born to the real world. You had spent most of your life in a somewhat sheltered community whether you choose to acknowledge that or not. I picked you up and plopped you down in some of the dirtiest parts. You’ve had to deal with responsibility. Finding brotherhood. Learning to trust total strangers. You had to decide whether to abandon your hippie ways in a lifestyle not built for them to flourish, or let them bloom in a new environment. You were basically a kid back then, but now, you're finally a man. A man with his own hopes. His own dreams. His own love outside of himself.”
Swear by The Cosmos, this is not the woman who has been my boss for the past few years….
“I bought a building in a high traffic area downtown. It’s about four blocks over from The Castle. It’s currently being renovated to become a fitness studio, though at this time the only programs it will house are dance and yoga. I want Syd and Becca to run it together.”
Newfound perplexity pops onto my face. “Wait. As in our Becca? As in the one Bev replaced?”
“Yes. Becca graduated with a double major in dance and business. One of her requirements for the final in her business class was having to come up with a mock proposal for a business and pitch it. Fortunately for her, she practice pitched on me, and I loved it. Her passion for dance in combination with my skills for business will prove to be beyond profitable. However, I want to expand the services we offer to include yoga. It’s a valuable market I will enjoy tapping. We already have a full enrollment list for both dance and yoga, so there’s one less thing they have to worry about at this time.”
“How-”
“I opened reservations when we started renovations, three weeks ago.”
“That was my birthday.”
“Correct.”
Brock grumbles, “And while you think French is the biggest fucking bitch in the world for not getting you a gift-”
“Words I never said-”
“-she did.”
More confusion cakes my face. “What?”
“She’s having the space beside it be fitted to become a personal bakery that’s attached to the fitness studio.”
Wha….Am I hallucinating? Has the hemp oil I like to put on my face gone bad?!
Queen’s hand lands on Brock’s lap in a loving manner. “You are to sell your fresh baked bars and fresh, made to order, protein shakes to the clients of the studio. I also landed you a contract with Push It To The Maxx to start selling your fresh made nutrition bars in their gym as well. It’s only for a year, so it’s up to you to be worthy of renewal. You’ll also need a bit of hiring help. Sebastian volunteered, though he did want me to inform you, he will be using more than just his intuition or whispered sweet nothings from a higher power.”
Sebastian keeps everything running smoothly at The Castle. His life is devoted to keeping ours running smoothly almost like Alfred to Batman. He’s also not bald, he’s ginger. However, he’s just as cheeky and good natured. The fact he stepped up to help lets me know he really believes I can do this. Fuck, the fact Queen is willing to hand me the opportunity I’ve been dreaming about for years with so much confidence tells me exactly what she really thinks about me. She wasn’t trying to punish me. She was trying to grant me my freedom rather than have to force me into it. Her boost of confidence when I first started changed my life, and here it is again, about to change it once more.
I shake my head in disbelief. “I….I can’t believe this is happening….”
“Believe it, Princess. While you all sat around for years believing my girl is the fucking Evil Witch of the castle she’s actually
the Fairy fucking Godmother. She just doesn’t let you assholes see it.”
My objection is just above a whisper, “Goddess.”
“What?”
“French is not a Godmother or a Queen. She’s an absolute fucking Goddess.”
She offers me a sweet smile.
“Are you fucking hitting on my fiancée?”
French rolls her eyes. “You are ridiculous sometimes.”
Brock grunts his disagreement with her statement.
“Hand Chance the contract, please.”
He grabs the tablet as well as a folder I didn’t notice earlier.
“There are no penalties. There are no exit fees. There is no money withheld. All the paperwork simply states is that you keep my secrets about The Castle and its clients. It is an additional non-disclosure agreement. While I understand and respect the need to share information with your significant other or spouse, I do ask you use discretion. There is an additional clause towards the end that clarifies examples of knowledge permitted to discuss.”
I skip to the end to read the paragraph.
No! There’s no way in Hades I’m worried about her screwing me over. She’s given no reason for me to believe she would. You know, the whole time I’ve known her I’ve feared the energy radiating off of her, though it’s just a powerful force determined to push my life towards becoming better. Fear blinded me to seeing how truly protective and giving she’s always been, the same way it blinded me to understanding Syd’s needs for her soul more than her financial ones. I guess, I’ve been holding onto the value of physical riches a little more than I originally let on….
After scribbling my signature on the tablet, I repeat it on the paper file.
“We will have a formal copy sent to your apartment.” She makes a swipe finger motion on the tablet, turns, and extends it back to me. “This is your contract to open the fitness foods business.”
With a wide grin, I read, “Chance’s Charming Treats”
“You can change the name later if you hate it but-”
“I love it,” I quickly swear. “It’s perfect.”
“Told ya,” Brock arrogantly chuckles.
“Contract states the business is mine for the time being, but you are to run it. It also outlines the model in which I would like it structured, the potential reach, estimated growth, and the fact that once we are in the black and you are ready to run it completely on your own, we can discuss a change in ownership.”
More disbelief slips onto my face.
“Do. Not. Sign. It. Yet.” She takes the copy out of my possession. “Take home your paper copy and fully read it, Chance. Ask questions. Make negotiations. Stop being afraid of whom you may piss off in the pursuit of your own happiness.”
Her words resonate deeper than expected.
French sweetly continues, “Anger like sadness-”
“And jealousy,” Brock adds.
“–are healthy emotions to work through. Not ignore. Part of having faith in something greater than yourself is trusting it to steer you through the bullshit that tries to weigh you down.”
“Trusting that it’ll pick you up and take you somewhere so much fucking better.”
The two of them shamelessly exchange a warm look.
They’re right. And every fiber of my being wants what they’re sharing right now back in my life. It’s only been two days since I’ve seen and heard from Syd, and it has felt like an eternity. Maybe we needed the fight for me to accept the inevitable knock of change. Maybe we needed the fight so I could be forced to reprioritize for the first time in my life. Maybe we needed the fight so I could face my fears and fix what it is that’s broken.
All of a sudden, Brock shoves another folder at me. “Take it.”
Once it’s in my possession, French explains, “Your contract is in there, but I still need to speak with Syd. You have until Sunday evening to make that happen.”
“And if I can’t?” I nervously question.
She smugly smirks. “You will.”
“But-”
“You. Will.” Brock echoes.
“We’re available to meet with the two of you outside of The Castle’s active hours. Call Brock. He’ll arrange everything.”
I quickly nod.
“Now, get out of my limo.” French playfully smiles. “I have a castle to run.”
“We have a castle to run,” Brock corrects on a grumble proceeded with a short kiss on her lips.
Still in shock, I climb out of the vehicle and prepare to call myself an Uber for a ride home. As soon as the limo pulls off, another one pulls up, ready to escort me to my apartment.
Of course. Why didn’t I trust that they wouldn’t leave me stranded? Why didn’t I trust my intuition and quit when French brought this up two days ago? My hesitation cost me my heart, and now I’m begging to the God of Mercy to show me some. To help me find the right words and that Syd finds forgiveness. I’m done on this path. I’m ready to travel the one we’re meant to be on together.
16
Syd
My face falls into the palm of my open hand as I watch a bright blue bird happily land on a limb of Rae’s favorite tree.
You know it’s because of me she started putting up little bird feeders in it? Well, I guess not me, so much as Birdie. Birdie instilled a love of winged creatures in me that I’ve been trying to spread ever since.
“Did you name it yet?” Rae quips, sitting down in the patio chair across from me.
I roll my face around to give her a sarcastic look. “I don’t name all the birds I come across.”
“Just like, half?”
The teasing threatens to make me smile.
She’s been incredible the past few days. When I showed up on her doorstep Wednesday night with a tsunami of tears she pulled me in, tried to feed me low fat ice cream, which is gross, and comfort me with all the words no one ever wants to hear after they lose someone they love in either way. She worked from home Thursday and Friday and tried to get me to leave her couch where I’ve been nesting in my misery. I keep praying to the Gods and Goddesses and Angels for strength, but each passing minute I only seem to fall further into the abyss.
“I have to meet with a client in about an hour, but what do you wanna do tonight? Go out? Get some fried ice cream? Do a little retail therapy? My treat.”
I sniffle and shake my head. “I um…I should probably go back to my apartment. Check on Birdie’s apartment. Make sure Buddy hasn’t just thrown all her stuff in the garbage.”
Rae frowns. “That sounds…depressing, Syd. Maybe you should take a couple more days to be in better spirits before you go rummaging through a dead woman’s shit?”
My free hand toys with the handle to the mug I am trying to drink tea from. “I don’t know. Maybe going through her stuff will give me some closure? Give me the opportunity to say goodbye.”
Not sure if there’ll be a funeral or what exactly will happen to her now that she’s passed away. She didn’t have any family, and we never discussed what her wishes would be.
“There’s gotta be a less morbid way to do that,” Rae swiftly declares. “Oh! What if you go to that park she liked? Feed the birds popcorn and say goodbye that way?”
“Yeah….” The idea actually causes me to sit up a bit higher. “That’s a good idea.”
“Okay, you feed the birds while I pick out types of birds to feed to the guests, and then we’ll meet back for late lunch? Sushi?”
Sadness swirls around the back of my throat with a vengeance.
Last time I had sushi my sisters rubbed it in my face what my boyfriend did for a living before they went to great lengths to remind me in a way they matter to him more than I do, because they’re clients. Because they can afford to keep his attention. Because money talks louder than love….
“Tacos?” Rae continues to list food in hopes of preventing me from sulking further. “Nachos? Fried clam strips? Definitely fried ice cream because it’s your favorite.”
/> I give a small shrug and turn my attention back to the bird.
A soft sigh leaves her. “Things will get better, Syd. Trust me. You put too much good into this world to not be given any back.”
Rather than argue, I simply continue to stare on at the joyful behaviors of the bright blue creature.
Did you know in ancient cultures the Bluebird’s song was said to scare away the cold depths of winter? You think there’s any chance it could sing a little louder and banish the coldness that’s currently covering my entire life?
After a much needed shower and borrowing a pair of workout clothes from Rae, she drops me off with a bag full of fresh popped popcorn, money for an Uber back to my apartment, and the promise of more girl time when she’s finished working.
Despite the fact the sun is shining bright my mood remains dreary. I slump down onto the bench and do my best to muster up a smile for the birds in search of a treat. In search a little extra something to make their day.
I toss a few pieces and watch them hustle over to claim them.
Did I ever tell you why this is the neighborhood Birdie would come to? Her and James used to live in this neighborhood. They used to take walks to this park. Talk about the family they wanted to have someday. It was almost like their own little piece of heaven on earth that they shared….That she shared with me. That I shared with….
Chance’s face flutters into my mind, and I have to shut my eyes tight in an attempt to block it out.
“Is that still just for them?” His voice invades my ears.
My eyes pop open and soar over to where he is sitting beside me.
His smile is sweet. Soft. Inviting.
Torn between longing to be closer and needing him to be gone, I ignore my whimpering animal spirit and divert my attention to back to the birds. “How’d you know where to find me?”
“Had a little help.”
“From?”
“A new angel.”
The term has tears rushing to the corners of my eyes.
“I saw your car and went up to your apartment, figuring you were home. When you didn’t answer, I assumed you were still pissed, but as I was leaving I noticed the door missing from Birdie’s place.”