The Countdown to Thirty (3 page)

When he kicked me underneath the table I had to use all my
strength to keep from laughing.

“You know, your mom’s birthday. I bought her some lotion and
stuff, remember? Baby, Kaia’s a graphic designer and she’s real good with
Photoshop and that computer shit. She can hook your modeling pictures up.”
Christian turned to me smiling proudly as he smoothly changed the subject.
“She’s a part-time model.”

Desiree’s eyes lit up and the next thing you knew she was
talking non-stop about her portfolio and a few nonexistent flaws she’d like
edited. I humbly listened to her and determined they’d last one month, maybe
two.

Sonya

Last night before I curled in bed with a murder mystery
novel I’d been meaning to start for the last month, I promised myself to never
again shut myself in the house all day and sulk. I wasn’t that depressed and
naïve little girl anymore. So this morning when I woke up and the spontaneous
idea of working out popped in my head I made up my mind to go.

I’d driven to Majestic Park right after sunrise and plugged
in my earphones while I listened to 90’s R&B on Pandora to get me in the mood.
I swear music just isn’t what it used to be; real R&B and real voices! (I
just wish they would cool it on all the commercials…damn). I walked and ran a
few laps before calling it quits and taking a seat in the bleachers of the
baseball field.

Majestic Park was situated on a hill and had an awesome view
of the valley. I could see the whole city from the north to the south. The
mountains in Las Vegas were beautiful and seemed to surround the city like a
fortress. While taking in the breathtaking view I wondered how many people
there were out there like me. How many people were there who knew they were
capable of achieving more but haven’t made it to that next level yet? Ever
since I could remember I’d always envisioned myself as being a top CEO or this professional
businesswoman or something. I wanted to walk into the office with my expensive
and jaw dropping suits on and make important decisions and be in control of my
surroundings. One thing I was sure of was that life had a way of turning out
completely different from how I thought it would when I was young.

I ran my hands through my short cut black hair that I had
styled completely identical to Megan Good’s new look then rested them in the
back of my neck. I sat there in the bleachers in deep thought, mentally going
over the things I’d done wrong in past that brought me to my current situation.
It was easy for me to blame the economy or Alliance America for
keeping me
down,
but the good Bishop TD Jakes said that in order for a person to learn
from their mistakes they first needed to accept responsibility for their own
actions.

After graduating from high school top of my class, I was
accepted at the University of Nevada Reno. I was so excited for my freshman
year; that was all I talked about that summer. My mom and sister were happy for
me to even though my sister was a UNLV Alumni. I had their full support and
they even flew to Reno with me for freshman orientation and dorm check-in.
Unfortunately, I got pregnant right after receiving my first AA degree and my
then boyfriend Lamont, the love of my life, didn’t want much more to do with me
after that. He was six years my senior and had been training to get in the NFL.

We’d met at a club one night when I went to celebrate my
girlfriends 21
^st
birthday. I was barely 19 at the time but my
friend’s brother worked it out with the bouncer to get me in. Lamont spotted me
at the bar and offered to buy me a drink. He was sexy and buff and had this
masculine appeal and confidence that couldn’t be described as anything other
than
swag
. He told me how sexy and petite I was and I have to admit, I
was. I wore my hair long in those days and had added tracks to give me that
really long sleek Pocahontas look, then topped of my mini dress with matching
blue stilettos. He was only one of the mesmerized mouthwatering men who
approached me that night, but the only one who caught my attention.

The rest is history I guess. We had what I thought was a
loving relationship even though I ignored all vital warning signs of his
abusive behavior. I never told my mother or sister the details of that cryptic
relationship. After we broke up I dropped out of school, moved back to Vegas
and struggled for a long time to pick up the pieces of my life.

But now at twenty-six, stronger and much more healed, I’ve
moved on.
My motto: No men allowed
. And now that I was unemployed again
I’ve decided to look on the brighter side of things; I’ll use this precious
time to find a better paying and more respectable job. I can’t be caught dead
working another dead end job like the one I had at Alliance America.

Before going home I stopped at a nearby 7-11 to fill up on
gas before I left back out. It was Sunday which meant dinner at my mom’s house
with the family. Being that I was the only customer in the store, I walked
right up to the cash register and plopped down a bulky Sunday paper on the
counter.

“Hi, can I please have thirty on pump five.”

“Good mornin’ beautiful, where you headed to this early in
the morning?” The tow-up looking cashier asked. He looked like he was somewhere
in his late thirties, he had dry cracked lips and nappy corn rolls. I stood
there for a moment mesmerized and wondered
how did one get naps on their
corn rolls?

I smiled and at the same time while trying to avoid too much
eye contact simply responded, “On my way home. Nowhere special.”

“What you mean nowhere special? If I had a lady like you…boy
I tell you.” He said shaking his head wishing he had a chance.

I smiled again but this time as an ‘Okay, move it along’
type of thing. He took three times the amount of time it takes to ring up one
item and bag it because he was busy trying to
mack.

“Okay Ms. Sexy queen that’ll come to thirty-two fifty and
your phone number on the dotted line.” He said as he slid a piece of paper and
pen my way after letting out a laugh that sounded like sandpaper.

I bugged my eyes and dropped my mouth wide open in pure
shock. Did he really think he was about to get my phone number? The only thing
I wanted to give him right about now was a jar of Carmex.

“Oh okay, you stuck up huh?” He grumbled in anger.

After regaining my senses and sliding my debit card I
responded, “No not at all, you have a good day,” I paused to look at his name
tag, “Jamar.”

As I walked back to my car I made a note to self to never
come to this convenience store again, at least not for a while anyway. I didn’t
want any more run-ins with
Jam
ar. It’s not that I was stuck up or
thought I was better than anybody but I already had my share of crappy guys and
I was over it. It seems to me like Jamar should be doing what I’m doing and
that’s taking a long break from dating and focusing his attention on himself… preferably
those lips and quick.

I made it to my mom’s house about 11:30 and I parked my
Mitsubishi in her driveway. Her house was a cute beige colored one story in the
Cypress Springs new home subdivision. She bought this smaller house after she
retired last year from the school district. Saundra’s black Audi was parked in
the driveway to so I knew she was already here with the kids. I enjoyed hanging
out with my family when we had the chance. I grabbed my Sunday paper that I
hadn’t had a chance to crack open yet and stepped out of the car. I rang the
doorbell and from inside of the house I could hear my niece and nephew running
to the door and calling my name.

“Auntie Sonya’s here, Auntie Sonya’s here!” They shouted.

My mother Carol answered the door with her red apron tied
around her waist and before she had a chance to say hello Imani and Xavier
rushed past her and into my arms.

“Auntie Sonya we’ve been waiting for you all day!” Imani
cried as she wrapped her long brown arms around my waist.

“Yea we’ve been waiting for you all day auntie! What took
you so long?” Xavier asked as he clung tightly around my thighs.

I threw my head back and laughed then ran my hands over
their heads and gave them both kisses on the cheeks.

“I’m sorry babies I didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” I
replied softly.

“It’s okay Auntie” Imani said forgivingly.

“Yea, it’s okay auntie,” copied Xavier.

Xavier was four and had a problem with copying his big
sister Imani’s every word. She was seven and he looked up to her because she
was a big kid. He was a very handsome caramel little boy and all I could think
of when I looked at him was that I hoped he wouldn’t grow up to be a womanizer
or a looser like a lot of these men. Imani on the other hand was a beautiful
brown little girl with jet black wavy hair that she preferred to wear in
pigtails. She was highly intelligent for her age and sweet as pie. They both
were and they meant the world to me.

“Get back you two. Let Auntie Sonya in the door.” My mother
commanded.

Once they released me I gave my mother a hug and kiss on the
cheek. My mother wore her hair in a short cut also and actually decided to go
that route about a year after I cut mine. She said the maintenance was so much
easier and she liked the way it added youth to her appearance. Even the pretty
silver tint in her hair enhanced her looks instead of taking away from them.
Most people say I look just like her, just a darker skinned version which I
inherited from my father. As for my sister, she was the exact opposite. She
favors my father but got her complexion from my mom. Go figure.

When I entered the house it felt much cooler and refreshing
from the scorching sun outside. The house was filled with the accomplishments
of Saundra and I’s, including my Homecoming Queen sash she had proudly
displayed along with Saundra’s wedding photos. Then of course there were
several family photos placed around the house that were taken with my dad
before he died in a car accident when I was nine. I use to hate thinking about
it. We use to beg her to take them down but after years of refusing and dealing
with the pain, we got use to them again.

The kids ran out to the backyard to finish playing whatever
game they’d been playing before I got there while I walked into the kitchen to
greet Saundra.

“Hey Saundra girl!” I said in an upbeat tone happy to see
her back from vacation.

“Hey sis glad you made it over” She said with a smile.

She was sitting at the table and playing a game of
solitaire. I sat down next to her and then mom joined us. I briefly
contemplated telling them I’d been laid off but then decided against it. I
didn’t want to worry my mom and didn’t want to remind them of how much of a
disappointment I was. I knew they didn’t feel that way, I guess it was just my
own guilt, my own anger for falling in love.

“So Saundra how’s the magazine going?”

“Oh my God Sonya it’s so much work but I love it. Right now
we’re working on getting advertisers and deciding on our cover story for the
launch.

“Well what do you have in mind?” my mother asked.

“I don’t know mom, I have a phone conference with the girls
tomorrow and we’ll decide what to narrow it down to.

Saundra and a few of her soror’s came up with the noteworthy
idea to start an online magazine geared for African American’s raising
children. They were all mothers now and thought their few years of experience
qualified them as experts. But in Saundra’s defense she is an excellent mom and
is blessed enough to have a hard working husband who makes enough money to take
care of their family. After years of being stay-at-home moms, she and her
fellow
sorority housewives
came up with the idea for the magazine.

“And how’s work going Sonya, that boss of yours still giving
you a hard time?” My mother asked.’

The boss she was referring to was my ex supervisor Kerry.
She was forty-five but looked more like fifty-five due to her pale chalky face,
premature wrinkles and a curly mullet she couldn’t let go of. She had
absolutely no style even if she tried and was most famously known for her
harassing miserable bitch attitude and her recent drama filled break-up with
her prison pen pal…yea you heard me right.

God I’m so glad I don’t have to clock-in tomorrow.

“No not anymore,” I said. “I got laid off.” I blurted
without thinking. I hated when I did that shit.

“What! What happened? Oh Sonya I’m sorry to hear that.” Mom
sympathized with a worried look on her face.

“Well look at it this way sis, you can finally move-on from
that demeaning job and put your degree to use. What kind of a man can you meet
if you only work in a call center making what? How much were you making?” She
prudishly inquired while shuffling her cards.

“Thirteen dollars and fifteen cents,” I answered in a tone
of annoyance.

“Just wait, hold on Saundra damn. Baby how do you feel? Do
you need some money to get you through until you find another job? I know it’s
rough out there baby.”

“Thank you mom but I’m okay right now. I’ll let you know if
I need anything.”

“Well David has a friend who’s successful and single Sonya,”
Saundra sang at me, “You really should let me set you up.”

“And to you Ms. Know-It-All,” I said interrupting her rant,
“I’m perfectly aware that that job wasn’t my dream job. For your information
I’m planning to do some serious job hunting and I’m not accepting anything that
won’t get me ahead, at least not right away anyway. And as for men, I’m off
limits to them indefinitely. Anyone remember Lamont? Do I need to revisit that
nightmare again?” I asked looking Saundra square in the eye.

“Sorry, sorry, sorry I know. I just want to be an auntie one
day and see you do your thang. I’m sorry.” She said with a puppy dog frown.

“Yeah, yeah.” I replied chucking a card at her and making
her laugh in the process.

“Well baby you know I saw on the news this morning that the
MGM Grand is hosting a job fair next month, you should go.” My mother
suggested.

“I bought the Sunday paper this morning to look at the
Classifieds. Maybe they posted something in there about it.” I replied while
searching for C7, the classifieds section.

I began flipping through the pages of the thick Sunday paper
as my mom and Saundra got up and began to prepare dinner. I loved my family but
Saundra could be a pain in the ass when she wanted to. I knew she was only
looking out for my best interest and because she knew how to apologize, we
always stayed close.