Alex jotted down a few notes and then asked, “Where do you see yourself at in five years?”
Living in a fancy New York penthouse, signed with a top modeling agency, and traveling all over the world, was what really came to mind. She hoped her modeling career would finally take off when she moved back to New York. Technically, Natalie was considered “old” in the modeling world, despite the fact that she was only thirty. But she believed that her portfolio was strong enough to compensate for her age. Even if she couldn’t have longevity in modeling, it would at least open the door to other possibilities like acting. For the time being, however, Natalie knew she had to tailor her ambitions and answer Alex’s question accordingly. “I see myself gaining more experience in the financial field over the next five years, thus being better equipped to serve others, and being an asset to the company I’m with.”
Over the next twenty minutes or so Natalie tried her best to give satisfactory answers to each question thrown her way.
“That’s all I have,” Alex announced after she had finished her interrogation. “It was a pleasure interviewing you today. There are a few other candidates I’m considering as well. I’ll contact you by Thursday if I decide in your favor.”
“Okay...” Natalie tried to sound hopeful, but Alex’s words weren’t too assuring.
* * *
By Friday afternoon Natalie was back at square one looking through job listings on Monster.com. When she told her grandmother that she hadn’t received a call yesterday, Big Mama had gotten all spiritual on her again, reminding her that “God was in control.” Whatever!
“Hello?” she answered the phone reluctantly, assuming it was Big Mama calling back to give another sermon.
“Hi, is this Natalie?” a woman asked.
“Yes...”
“This is Alex Jennings from Dennison Financial Solutions.”
She perked up. “Hi, how are you?”
“Good. I apologize for not calling you by yesterday as I’d promised. It took a little longer for me to come to a decision than I thought it would.”
Natalie wondered if her apparel had had anything to do with the delay.
“However, if you’re still interested in working for us, I’d like to offer you the position.”
“Yes!” Natalie exclaimed.
“Good...I know it’s late notice, but will it be a problem for you to start on Monday?”
“No, not at all.”
“Great!” Alex said and quickly went over the things Natalie would need that day. “It’s important that you bring proper identification to ensure your paperwork is processed in a timely manner, and that you get your first paycheck on time.”
“I will.”
“Do you have any questions before Monday?”
“No.”
“Okay. I’ll see you then at seven-thirty. Have a great weekend.”
“Thanks, you, too.” Natalie was excited. Was this the favor Big Mama had prayed for the morning of the interview? Natalie quickly dialed her grandmother’s number.
“Guess what...I got the job!” She laughed as shouts of “Hallelujah” and “Praise God” darted from Big Mama’s lips.
Chapter 6
ESP
Natalie made it to work with just minutes to spare because of excessive traffic due to a highway shut-down. Luckily, the day didn’t drag on thanks to a meeting with Alex and the mountain of files she had yet to familiarize herself with. Her coworkers seemed like okay people. Everyone pretty much kept to themselves. Everyone except Aneetra Bennett.
“Hey, girl, I was looking for you around lunchtime.”
Natalie cringed when she heard the voice of Aneetra behind her. She turned to face her. “Why were you looking for me?” she asked, already knowing the answer to her own question.
“To invite you out to lunch.”
How many times would Natalie have to say no before this woman stopped asking! Aneetra was the only one relentless in her pursuit to get to know Natalie on a more personal level, as if she wore a sign that read, Hi, I’m Natalie and I Would Like You to Be My Friend. Besides that, Aneetra’s constant tune-humming and happy-go-lucky-I-never-seem-to-have-a-bad-day attitude could be aggravating at times. Maybe she felt that they had to have some type of relationship since they were the only two Black female employees on the second floor. They seemed to be around the same age, give or take a few years. What would it take for Aneetra to realize that the whole sistah-let’s-stick-together routine was not going over well? “I wouldn’t have been able to go anyhow,” she answered. “I packed my lunch today.” That was a lie.
Aneetra pushed some folders aside and sat her approximately size-fourteen figure on the corner of Natalie’s desk.
Natalie wanted to tell Aneetra to respect her personal space, but she’d only been with Dennison a few weeks. Until she was past her ninety-day probationary period and her employment was etched in stone, she wouldn’t risk making any enemies. Plus, Aneetra’s warm smile made it hard to be rude.
“Well, maybe we can go another time.”
Maybe not...
“Are you all right?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine.” Natalie told yet another lie. Truthfully, she was battling depression. Today’s date was May tenth, her thirty-first birthday. This was the first year that she hadn’t been awakened in the wee hours of the morning by her mother singing a severely off-key rendition of “Happy Birthday.” Not the most pleasant sound, to say the least, but it was one of those small gestures that Natalie now realized she had taken for granted. Tears burned her cheeks this morning as her heart begged to hear the sound of her mother’s voice one more time. Instead, silence had consumed the air.
“You seem a little different today. Girl, I know it may seem like I talk a lot...”
Gee, I hadn’t noticed...
“...but I’m a good listener, too. If you ever need to talk, I’m only a few cubicles away.”
“Thanks, but I’m fine,” she reiterated, feeling self-conscious. Had her distress shown on her face? She’d always thought she was good at hiding her emotions, yet Aneetra sensed something wrong. Did the woman have ESP? Natalie definitely wanted to keep her distance. The last thing she needed was someone knowing more about her than she was willing to share.
“So, what do you think?”
“Huh?” Natalie had obviously missed something.
“I asked if you thought the O&M projection for the McMillan account seemed reasonable.”
“Oh...well, considering that his company hasn’t turned a profit in two years, I’d say it’s a bit underestimated. I’d increase it by about five percent.”
“That’s what I thought, too, but Ron suggested I leave it be. I just wanted a second opinion. Well, I’m gonna go back to my desk and get some work done.” Aneetra got up and put the papers she’d pushed aside back where Natalie had originally had them. “I know you said you were tired, but I really do sense that something else is going on with you. I won’t press you to talk about it, though. But if you ever change your mind and feel like talking, just let me know. In the meantime, I’ll be praying for you, okay?”
Natalie rolled her eyes after Aneetra left. That was another thing that drove her crazy—Aneetra was some kind of prayer fanatic. It was different when Big Mama offered to pray for and with her. Old folks did things like that. And, anyhow, Natalie’s grandfather had been a preacher, so naturally her grandmother was accustomed to praying. Offers from Aneetra seemed awkward. In some ways she reminded Natalie of Kevin’s wife, Wendy, but deeper.
Wendy had always pretty much been a Goody Two-shoes, going to church and never doing or saying anything out of the way. But when things started going bad between Wendy and Kevin, Natalie had witnessed her former friend stray further and further from her Christian upbringing. Aneetra,
on the other hand, seemed to be much more grounded. Though she didn’t walk around wearing an I’m-a-Christian badge, Aneetra’s consistent behavior made her religious beliefs obvious. Natalie just wished that girlfriend would learn to leave her alone. If she wanted Aneetra’s prayers, she knew how to ask for them.
* * *
When Natalie got home from work there was a message waiting from her grandmother. It felt good knowing that her birthday hadn’t completely been forgotten. Big Mama stated that she would’ve called her at work or on her cell phone, but she had misplaced those numbers.
“Hey, it’s Natalie,” she said into her grandmother’s answering machine. “I know you said you probably wouldn’t be home this afternoon in your message, but I still wanted to call and thank you for the birthday wish.” She quickly gave her both alternate numbers again. “If you can, give me a call later. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Listening to Big Mama’s message was definitely a picker-upper, so Natalie saved it just in case she needed a lift later. She wondered if she would hear from Sylvia at all today. It would be nice, considering they hadn’t spoken in almost a month. The other day Big Mama had said something about Sylvia dating some guy and mentioned how happy she and Sylvia’s sister, Crystal, were to learn that Sylvia was finally trusting men again after going through such a horrific divorce. Natalie didn’t know the particulars that had led to the divorce, since Sylvia’s marriage had fallen apart when she was living in New York. She didn’t even know much about Sylvia’s ex-husband. Though she and her mother had lived with them for a few months upon moving to Ohio, getting to know an adult man was not one of Natalie’s priorities then. From what she remembered, he seemed to be a pretty nice guy. In any event, if there was indeed a new beau in Sylvia’s life after years of being alone, that would certainly explain why Natalie hadn’t heard from her—she was probably making up for lost time.
Chapter 7
Morality Card
“Are you from Columbus?” Aneetra asked while chomping on a pack of candy one Friday as she and Natalie sat together in the break room.
“No, I’m originally from Mississippi.”
“Really? I’m a country girl myself. I grew up in Louisiana. Most of my family still lives there. How’d you end up in Columbus?”
Natalie took a sip of her bottled water. Whenever anyone asked that question, it always made her feel uncomfortable. There was the truth, then there was the story that she told everyone. “My mom was looking for better job opportunities. Her best friend lived up here, so we moved here when I was thirteen. I’ve been here ever since—except for the years I lived in New York.”
“Did you go to college in New York?”
“No, I went to Ohio State. I was pursuing a modeling career in New York.”
“How neat! I can picture you being a model. You’re very pretty.”
“Thanks.” Natalie was a bit surprised. Because the modeling industry was so competitive, she wasn’t used to getting comments like that from other females, especially Black ones. Natalie felt that most African-American women didn’t truly consider her to be one of them because she was half white. She assumed that many Black women were afraid to give her any props because they were dealing with their own insecurities. But Aneetra was different. Although she wasn’t drop-dead gorgeous, she exhibited such confidence that Natalie almost found it intimidating.
“How’d you end up back in Columbus?”
“My mother was sick. I came to look after her last year.”
“Is she doing better now?”
“Actually, she passed away in February. She had breast cancer,” she answered, feeling that the conversation was getting way too personal.
“I’m sorry to hear that. My mother is very sick now.” Aneetra’s eyes dropped and she looked sad. “She’s been having a lot of complications because of her diabetes.”
“Is she still in Louisiana?”
“Uh-huh. She stays with my oldest sister. I’m the youngest of eight children. Do you have any siblings?”
“Nope...”
“How was it being the only child?”
Natalie shrugged. “It was okay. I guess I never really gave it much thought. It would be nice to have a brother or sister right now, though, who could help me find a Realtor. I’m trying to sell my mother’s house.”
“Girl, I can help you out.” Aneetra reached in her purse and got out a business card. “This is a really good friend of mine named Lynn. She’s a Realtor. Her office isn’t too far from here. Sometimes we meet each other for lunch. She’s really good.”
Natalie took the card and put it in her purse. Although she wasn’t eager to involve Aneetra or her friends in her personal life, Natalie was glad for the referral. It saved her from trying to find one herself.
“Lynn is a really sweet person,” Aneetra stated. “You’ll like her.”
“Yeah, well, I just hope it doesn’t take forever to sell the house,” Natalie thought out loud. The house was the biggest obstacle standing in her way of getting to New York. Luckily for her, her mother had entrusted the house to her in a deed, so it didn’t have to go through probate.
“It’ll all be in God’s timing. Sometimes He moves fast, sometimes He moves slow. It depends on what He has planned. However, I do know for a fact that Lynn will work very hard to sell your house, so you don’t have to worry about her level of commitment. She’s great!”
“I’m sure she is. Thanks for helping me out. I’m going to give her a call as soon as I get back to my desk.”
“Hey, before I forget—do you have plans for Memorial Day?”
“Not really. I’ll probably go up to Easton or somewhere else shopping.”
“Would you like to come over to my house? My husband’s family is coming down from Cleveland and we’re having a big cookout. You’re more than welcome to join us.”
No, thank you! “I don’t—”
“Oh c’mon. It’ll be fun. It’ll make up for all those lunch invitations you’ve declined,” Aneetra teased.
Natalie couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thanks, but I don’t want to intrude on your family time.”
“Girl, please, you won’t be intruding at all. The more the merrier.” She reached back down into her purse, pulling out another business card then writing on the back. “This is my address and phone number. I live about ten minutes from here. If you change your mind, give me a call. I’d love to have you over.”
Natalie slipped the card in her own purse along with Lynn’s card just to be polite. She’d throw it away later.
“Something tells me you’re not gonna call,” Aneetra said, giving Natalie a sly grin.
There goes that sixth sense thing again.
* * *
The sun shone so brightly on Monday—Memorial Day—that Natalie was eager to get out and enjoy the nice weather. She was determined to do something fun and relaxing today since she had spent the entire weekend getting things together around the house, preparing for her meeting with Aneetra’s Realtor friend later in the week. Her heart twinged when she looked out the window and saw several of her neighbors gearing up for their Memorial Day celebrations. If her mother were alive, she too, would’ve been outside setting up for today. At least she’s no longer suffering physically... That fact did provide some comfort.
Natalie briefly entertained the idea of taking Aneetra up on her invitation, but quickly changed her mind. She didn’t want Aneetra to assume they were more than just coworkers because they hung out together outside of work. Natalie definitely had trust issues, which stemmed from her childhood, and living in New York for a number of years, competing with other women for limited modeling positions, did not help at all. She had quickly learned that in the world of modeling it was every woman for herself. Though nothing about Aneetra seemed sadistic or petty like most of the m
odels Natalie dealt with, she was still content with the status quo of their affiliation. Natalie got dressed in a pair of olive-green capri pants, pulled on a matching tank top and slipped on her black, low-heel, sandal-like pumps and, instead of to Aneetra’s house, she headed to Easton Town Center.
The large shopping complex was packed. Instead of trying to find parking in the store’s lot or on the street, she parked on the second level of the west garage. Today was the first time Natalie had gone shopping in months. She’d used her initial paychecks from Dennison to catch up on all the bills that had fallen behind. Now that everything was caught up, Natalie wanted to treat herself to a shopping spree. She promised herself that she wouldn’t spend too much money, though, so as not to deviate from her overall plan of saving up and moving back to New York.
Natalie felt as though things were finally coming together. Slowly but surely, she was picking up the pieces and moving on with life after her mother’s death. As she strolled toward Nordstrom, her ponytail bounced gently from side to side. Last spring she hadn’t even been able to get her hair into a ponytail; by mid-February, when Kevin had left her at the restaurant, it had grown out to her shoulders, and now it extended several inches beyond. Natalie looked down at her cell phone when it rang. Just as she’d expected, it was her grandmother. “Hey, Big Mama,” she cheered.
Secrets of a Sinner Page 4
