by Zi'ere
Anna had gotten free reign of Amina’s seating chart for the entire wedding party and guests that included family and friends. Each person was strategically placed to ensure a good time at every one of the one hundred tables at Amina & Carlos’ reception. There was nothing Anna could do to stop certain members of her family from flat out refusing to attend Emani’s ceremony or the reception. Emani had business associates but she wasn’t friendly enough with any of them to take out a Saturday night to celebrate her. To discredit Emani even more, she was marrying Stephanie’s best and only friend. Which was another thing Amina thanked God for on a daily basis. She had missed the blow to the head with that bullet. Carlos and Darrell’s mother, Anna was the Queen of the Haywood throne. Stephanie was Anna’s only daughter and only baby sister to the four Haywood boys- also the equivalent of a Queen Bee.
Stephanie was the second in command Queen Bee in the family. Nothing was permitted to go forth unless both the Queen’s agreed on it. Nothing. Even though there were still a few hours to go until the actual ceremony, Stephanie and Anna had the power to call the entire wedding off. In that very moment Steph was hanging in the background watching Emani’s every move once again for the second day in a row. Amina tried her best to engage Stephanie to take some of the investigation off of her sister, but Amina wasn’t able to keep her own attention from focusing on Emani’s tantrums. They both heard every single word Emani said as she verbally disrespected the very staff she’d hired to complete the details for her preparations for the wedding.
There was nothing Amina could say that would get her big sister off bitch mode. It only took one time for Emani to snap at Amina for her to give up. Amina took a seat in the sitting room of the suite wishing for a nap. She sipped water as she watched Emani self- destruct. Friday Amina’s suite held fourteen women that were in her bridal party to line up with the fourteen men that stood behind Carlos. On Saturday, Emani’s suite only held six women that had not been paid to be there. Amina seriously doubted that Emani had wanted the look of a small intimate wedding but that is exactly what she got. The turnout was low for a six o’clock start time. The reception was over at ten thirty out of necessity because no more guests remained.
Amina wanted to talk to her sister and comfort her. She wanted to know how she felt about the way her wedding celebration had gone. But, whenever she tried to approach her, Emani moved out of her reach. Amina knew her sister well enough to know it was on purpose. Amina noticed that nothing was taken off on Darrell. Whomever the people were that had issues with his new wife had not bothered to express their complaints to him. Amina doubted there was anything he could hear from a stranger to make him see Emani for what she really was. Emani had to have some sort of spell over him. No matter how powerful her skills in love making were, they would not be enough to sustain a marriage with a Haywood man. To be a Haywood was as much about respect for the next person as it was to uphold the strong bond of family. Those components of a personality trait were important strong points that Emani had not ever been able to succeed in.
Six Months later….
7
Amina woke up out of her sleep, grasping for air. She kicked the covers off of her body. She still didn’t feel relief so she climbed out of bed to get to fresh air, she felt as if she was drowning or as if she being suffocated both at the same time. Her body was weak and her legs felt like cooked noodles. She stumbled when she attempted to stand upright. Her head was spinning and she could not gain the requirements of brain function to walk. She slid down the side of the bed and got down on the floor. Grasping for air and with sweat beads popping up on her forehead, she crawled throughout her home to get to a door where she could get fresh air in her lungs. Any door in the house would do, she just needed to get to one fast. Her breathing was labored. And even though she was on her hands and knees on the cool floor, she was still having problems breathing. In a matter of minutes she was at the door that led to the patio at the rear end of her home. She would have to stand to turn off the alarm and that made her frustrated.
Amina lay flat on the cool hard marble floors pressed against her skin. She was dressed only in a matching bra and panty set. After a few minutes she gained the strength to stand up. She punched in the numbers on the key pad and waited for the green light to flash so that she could exit her home without waking her husband. It took every ounce of strength she had in her body to walk through the double doors and take a seat in one of the lawn chairs. After a few minutes her shortness of breath subsided and she could feel her breathing return to normal. She decided to sit still for a little while longer to make sure she had her wits about her. Taking in the night air as if she was savoring a cigarette, Amina thought about her life. She was a newlywed but she knew her husband very well already. She knew that she could not keep sneaking out of bed too many more times before Carlos would come looking for her to get answers.
She decided she would make an appointment with her internal medicine doctor the next day. There was something major going on within her body. In the back of her head she kept the memories of the doctor’s telling her about her heart. She was still in denial about the validity of the diagnosis especially when what she was feeling was more of having breathing problems. But sill she didn’t want her husband to wake up and find her dead one morning because she was too busy to get herself checked out. Her symptoms had become just that bad for her to even consider the worst case scenario.
Lately her heart would begin to race for no reason at all and it didn’t matter if she was sitting still or on the treadmill. She was having pains and tightness in her chest, she was constantly dizzy, and no matter how much sleep she got- it was never enough. She spent another thirty minutes on the patio before she felt well enough to go back to bed. Amina went back inside and armed the security system again. She then slid back into bed beside her handsome husband. It was now three am and he would be up soon. Although her skin was cool from being outside, she still nestled close to Carlos. She pulled his arm around her chest so that the palm of his hand would rest on her right breast. He had a slight boner as he welcomed the feel of her body against his. It was moments like those that she knew she would never be able to live without him. Feeling her husband’s heart beat against her back, feeling the fine hairs from his goatee on her shoulder were feelings she would treasure for the rest of her life.
Amina and Carlos fit together. Whatever she had to do to keep herself healthy and allow her to be the best wife possible, she would walk to the ends of the earth to make it happen. End of discussion. They had only been married for a few months but they were both ready to start their family. There was no set number on how many kids they would have, but she needed to be healthy enough to grant her husband’s wish regardless. And at that time, she did not feel lady luck would be on her side.
8
Amina knew that Carlos had awakened at five am on the dot. His routine was to go over some last minute business details from the day before and return usual daily emails while he cooked his wife a gourmet meal disguised as breakfast. Everything was homemade and was as organic as possible. While he decided which of his restaurants he would make a surprise visit to that day, he would take the time to wrap Amina’s plate with saran wrap. He would then sit it neatly on the cutting board on display. Amina knew he would be smiling for ear to ear thinking that one day he would wake up and fix breakfast for Amina and their children. She knew those days could not come fast enough for Carlos. She was unsure what was wrong to make her feel so bad but sickness or not she was going to give her husband the babies he wanted. Even if it meant she could possibly lose her life in the process of giving birth.
Amina was dog tired but she had to make a go at her own job just like the rest of the world. She considered herself to be just like every other red blooded person in the world working to pay the bills. Her alarm clock went off at seven am and five minutes later, her housekeeper Bella knocked on the door. Amina told her she would be ready to eat in fifteen minutes. She
made her way to the bathroom and freshened up a little bit. She could feel her heart going pitter- patter in her chest as she stood at the sink brushing her teeth.
Bella hustled back from the kitchen and had placed the big plate of food on a serving tray along with a small bowl of fruit, a glass of a daily cleansing mixture that Carlos had blended for her, and also the glass of freshly squeezed orange juice, another gift from her husband. Amina shuddered at the sight of the green liquid blended for her. It wasn’t as dark as a leafy green but more of a mint green like celery. She had no idea what the liquid totally consisted of even though he had been juicing for her the entire time of their relationship before marriage. She had seen him down his glassfuls in a matter of minutes. She still had not found the nerve to tell Carlos that she did not have a desire to ever drink her food. From day one she tried to push the mixture off on Bella so that Carlos’ efforts weren’t totally in vain. But even Bella refused to drink it. That brought the two of them to tears of laughter and an instant immediate bond.
Amina sat on the chaise and devoured the plate of homemade French toast with syrup, turkey sausage, and cheese grits; chasing it all down with the orange juice. All the while Bella was bringing the Haywood master bedroom back to order. Amina ate a few pieces of fruit and asked Bella to empty the leftover pieces into a plastic cup. She then sat the tray on the seat. She stood looking at the frothy grassy green mixture staring at her from the tray. Her skin began to crawl in fear. She decided that she would at least try to sip on it while she got dressed. Maybe this day would be the first time she would be able to get half at least half of it down.
It was now seven thirty am and she only had an hour to get dressed for work. After a quick shower Amina stood in her closet that was the size of a normal person’s bedroom, turning around in circles trying to figure out what to wear. She was one half of the Barton Modeling Agency corporation brand. Her choices in wardrobe had to be on point at all times when she was in the public. She smiled to herself when she thought of her best friends, Laini & Zoey Jefferies. Her best friends headed up their own corporation called Purple Label.
“When in doubt, pull some Purple Label out!”
Amina shouted to herself and clapped her hands. In that instance an outfit had been put together in her mind. She went for the black and white section of her closet. It only took her a minute to find the white dress that had blocks sewn into it with black thread. The dress was capped sleeved and would show off her almost nonexistent hips. She decided to be Purple Label down and chose a pair of black pointed toe pumps, the soles of the shoes were completely black with a purple strip of material that stretched down from the start of the heel. She also grabbed her white with black detailing Hermes Birkin bag. On the island in the middle of the closet space, she found a black Gucci watch to match. Her hair was cut short in a spike do and there was nothing she could do to tame the masterpiece her hair stylist put on it once a week. All she had to do was keep it tied up six nights and her stylist, CeCe handled the rest.
At eight thirty sharp, Amina picked up the glass of leafy greens along with her bag and made her way to the kitchen. Bella turned knowingly to take the almost still full glass from Amina. In return she handed her the two cups that were sitting on the countertop. Her housekeep Bella prepped her fruit for travel and had made her a cup of tea. She then walked out of her front door to the black on black Cadillac Escalade waiting in front of her home with her bag on her forearm holding her fruit cup. Her driver Louie had been with her for years and she loved him like family. He was also Bella’s husband so in reality they really were a big family working together. Other members of their family worked for other family members of the Haywood family. Loyalty was import for the family and their work staff had been loyal for years. Bella followed Amina out the door holding her cup of tea and a cup of coffee for her husband. After quick salutations, Louie held her hand to help her into the truck. Once she was strapped in her seatbelt, he handed her the cup of tea and her leftover fruit mix. He flirted with his wife for a second and then set the truck in motion to make their way to the Jefferies & Barton building in downtown Chandler, Arizona.
9
Just like clockwork, at nine am Amina made it to the biggest office building in downtown Chandler, Arizona. On the entire fifth floor she shared office space with her twin sister Emani Barton- Haywood and her best friends: Laini and Zoey Jefferies. Between the other set of twins Laini and Zoey- they designed everything a woman needs to be a woman. From clothing, outerwear, unmentionables, shoes, bags, scarves, etc. The brown beautiful besties were talented. Amina was so proud of them and loved them like they all shared the same DNA. The only sour spot to the sweetness of the three women was Amina’s twin sister Emani. If Emani was telling this story she would have you thinking she was the ‘be and end to it all’ in the building. The reality was, it made no sense to argue with a crazy person because they do not realize when they have lost the argument. No one wasted the time arguing with her sister on who controlled who in their business.
The day to day offices and work spaces for the thousands of employees of Purple Label and the modeling agency were all on different floors of the large building. The four twins took up one entire fifth floor for their personal offices. Each twin had her own corner office with an adjoining full bathrooms, and also expansive office space for each of their administrative assistants. Amina’s assistant was known simply as Ms. Gert. She was an older woman and she deserved all the respect she got from each person she came in contact with. Emani’s assistant was Felicia. Felicia had set a record and had held on to her position a lot longer than some of Emani’s other assistants. Felicia was a God send and she knew how to do her job well. More importantly she did not deserve to be treated the way Emani regularly did her. But, Felicia needed her job and all of the perks that came along with it. Despite what Emani put her through, there was always redemption for her in some way or another.
Amina had taken Felicia under her wing without Emani’s knowledge, just because she saw the potential and dedication in Felicia. Amina saw so much of herself in the twenty five year old executive assistant. Felicia didn’t have children or a steady relationship. Emani kept her too busy to have a life outside of the Agency. It was Felicia’s loyalty that impressed Amina. As far as she was concerned Felicia didn’t have to worry about job security. Even if Emani fired her, Amina would only rehire her to fill another position with grandfathered pay. Felicia didn’t know the full story but she didn’t have a worry in the world regarding job security regardless of what Emani said.
Of the twenty floors the buildings held, everything included in the production and manufacturing the Agency and Purple Label business wise was completed in that building. Clothing and shoes came off the assembly line in the work shop in the basement. Everything from model showings, modeling competitions, professional graphics designers/photographers, the corporation’s lawyers, accountants, and human resource directors were all housed in the Jefferies & Barton building. Models were hired and fired in that building. Some of them signed hundred thousand dollar contracts in that building. The models could get full hair and make transformations that could all be done in the building. In a sense it was one stop shopping for any woman, but especially a black woman. On the first floor, Laini had the nerve to have a full department store that only sold Purple Label products. There was also a food court that held a buffet style eating cafeteria for the staff and general public. The business was everything to Chandler. Laini was a creative director who was born to do her job- end of discussion.
Amina chuckled to herself. In no way shape or form could their work spaces be considered standard professional offices. Yes, they all had a desks, computers, filing cabinets, and phones but that is where the normalcy stopped. These women had high end furniture from sofa’s, high back double armed chairs, chaises, expensive art work, personal bathrooms that included shower stalls and garden tubs, mini fridges, mini bars and enough space in them to do cartwheels. Amina and
her friends were blessed beyond measure. She was thankful for God’s favor. Thinking about favor, her mind landed on the incident she had the night before.
When the elevator door opened, Mrs. Gert, Amina’s assistant was standing off to the side waiting for her arrival.
“Morning sunshine!” That was the way Mrs. Gert had greeted her for almost twenty years now.
“Morning Nana” Amina replied.
Emani absolutely hated the unprofessional lines Mrs. Gert and Amina crossed with each other but Amina could care less. Gert took Amina’s bag and her now empty fruit cup and handed her a new cup of fresh hot tea. Amina spoke to the other assistants at their desks as she made her way to her own corner office with Mrs. Gert on her heels. While Amina settled into her chair behind her desk, Mrs. Gert busied herself with putting Amina’s things away. Soon she was seated across from Amina with her pad and pen ready to get her directions for the day.
10
“How was your night last night Mrs. Gert?” Amina tried to keep the air light.
“Sunshine I know you don’t want to hear about the comings and goings of an old lady, but if you do that means something is wrong with you. What is it Amina, tell me right now? I don’t have all day now, so don’t beat around the bush.” That was Amina’s Nana all day every day.
“Ouch, must you read me my rights so early in the morning?” Amina faked her feelings being hurt.
