The Countdown to Thirty (4 page)

The Review Journal had a huge one page advertisement for the
upcoming job fair. It was going to be inside the Marquee Ballroom at the MGM
Grand Conference Center, just like my mother said. The ad said the job fair was
to have over 100 employers who were going to be interviewing on the spot and to
bring plenty of resumes and come dressed for success.
The
ad also had a large but partial list of employers who were going to be
participating in the fair. Some I recognized and some I didn’t but I had a good
feeling about this. This might actually be my chance to get the job I needed
right now. I pulled out my phone and completed the early registration online.
The advertisement said that by completing the early registration it would speed
up the job fair entry process so I didn’t have to wait in line. Also, for the
first 100 early registrants a prize would be awarded.

“Hey,” I thought, “what do I have to lose?”

I continued looking through the employment section of the
Classifieds and browsed over sales opportunities that guaranteed you $5000 a
week, call center jobs that paid commission only and Roulette and Craps dealers
for on call and extra board. I folded the classifieds back up feeling defeated
in the job market but hopeful that I’d find something worthwhile at the fair.

“And you know Sonya,” Saundra said from the kitchen “Once we
get this magazine up-and-running and start generating a profit you’ll always
have a job with me. I know you’ve got the brains to do the work.” she added.

“Thank you, sissy.” I said sincerely.

I walked into the kitchen to join my mother and Saundra in
making dinner; smothered turkey wings, green beans, macaroni & cheese with
a side of cornbread. And as for dessert, Saundra had already handled those
minor details with a fluffy German chocolate cake fresh from the grocery store.
While we baked and boiled, we talked about everything from infamous Hollywood stars
to how poor the educational system was out here. I felt at home.

v
 
 

Before I drug myself into the house on a full stomach I
managed to knock on Kaia’s door to get my mail. When I left for the park this
morning I noticed a white piece of paper fall from the door and saw that it was
a letter she’d left me sometime yesterday while I was held up in the house like
a hostage. She didn’t answer. Come to think of it I didn’t see her car in the
parking lot so I gave up and decided to catch her some other time.

“I’m sure it’s only bills anyway,” I said as I walked into
my living room and threw myself onto the couch.

I lay there for only a minute before turning on the TV then
turning it right back off. For fifty dollars a month and over five hundred
channels to choose from you’d think at least one thing would be on that I
wanted to watch. I reminded myself to cancel the renewal of my DirecTV
subscription when my contract was up.

I went into Tasha’s old room and stood there for a moment
wondering what to do with this second bedroom that I was paying for now. Even
without a job another roommate was out of the question.

“I guess I can use it as storage for my clothes.” I said
thinking out loud. Even though I didn’t have a lot of money, I knew how to make
it stretch which is why I have more clothes then I can handle. You’re looking
at the bargain queen. I don’t care what anybody says, if I can go into Goodwill
and spend twenty dollars for five pairs of designer jeans, you’ve got my
business for life, well at least until I’m more financially sound.

Before I knew it, I was pulling out my suitcases from
underneath my bed that I used as storage and began taking out blouses, shorts,
skirts and pants and began to arrange them in my new closet space. One great
idea led to another when I decided I wanted to add some extra shelving for my
shoes and accessories. Thanks to my mother teaching me the tricks of the trade
when it came to power tools I decided to turn my closet into a project in
between looking for jobs. But power tools weren’t the only trick she taught,
thanks to her I also knew how to sew, paint and refinish wood. My dad taught
her and in turn when we were old enough she taught us. Saundra never took to it
the way I did, but I loved to break out my sewing machine which I decided I
should setup in my new spare room now that I had the space. This is precisely
why every window in my house has a beautiful window treatment and my silvery
gray L shaped sectional has a plethora of one-of-a-kind chic throw pillows.
Because I know how to properly “ball on a budget”, and being blessed with good
taste and resourcefulness and all, instead of a humble abode my apartment looks
like something out of Luxury magazine.

Approximately an hour later I abandoned the closet for a
pencil and drawing paper. I began sketching a few mock designs for the shelving
I was going to add. First stop tomorrow morning, Lowe’s baby.

Kaia

Women’s intuition kicked in bright and early this morning
and told me the one week vacation request I’d put in at work was going to be
denied, and I was right.

My new manager Rosie had only been with the company for
about a month and was brought in because she was supposed to be some type of
graphic design and marketing whiz. Instead she turned out to be a micromanager
who didn’t believe in the saying you have to give respect to get respect.

Before our last manager Ian transferred to our LA office for
a promotion, he brought Rosie on as his replacement. The office scoop was that
he’d been playing golf with her husband for years and that he’d given her the
job a personal favor. But if you let Ian tell the story all you’d ever hear
about is how great she is and how she could teach us all so much. So far that
hadn’t turned out to be true. She was great at sending demanding emails and
changing policies every other day, but she wasn’t really the mentor type.

Therefore, I had to put my plans of a vacation anytime soon
out of my mind and return the items I purchased during an impulse shopping
spree. I put the bags in the trunk of my Avalon and when the ignition turned on
and the car roared, I headed for the 95 freeway with an attitude.

“Nice girls always get the short end of the stick,” I said
to myself as I thought about how much I deserved that vacation and that
management position. I was angry but tried to contain my displeasure for this
situation that was out of my control.

When I made it to the Fashion Show Mall I decided against
parking in the underground parking lot and instead opted to park right outside
of Dillard’s. When I got there it was six o’clock on the dot and the sun was
still burning hot. I placed my sun visor over my windshield to avoid my car
from turning into an oven. When I stepped out of the car the wind was blowing
rapidly brushing hot air against my face and sending my black hair flying in
every direction. I grabbed the bags and fought against the aggressive wind
storm which was pushing me in the opposite direction but managed to work my way
to the store entrance anyway.

Once I got inside Dillard’s I stood at the entrance and
tried to brush my hair back into place with my hands and recover from the baby
tornado I just experienced.

“I guess I should have parked underground.” I said to myself
feeling a little embarrassed that the harsh elements outside had just kicked my
butt.

I took a moment to gather myself then walked to the first
cashier I saw.

“Hello,” I smiled. “Can I do returns here?”

“Sure, I can help you with that.” The tall blonde replied.

“Perfect.”

I placed four out of the eight bags I’d brought in with me
on the counter and watched the cashier’s eyes grow big. I emptied out
everything from ripped jeans to fashion jewelry on the cashiers counter. The
pleasant look she initially had begun to fade and she now looked tired and like
this was the last thing she wanted to do.

“Do you have your receipt?” She asked unenthusiastically
now.

“Of course I do.” I replied with a sympathetic smile and the
nicest tone I could muster. I didn’t want to be labeled as
that
customer
who wasted the cashier’s time returning all of her crap.

I reached into my purse for my wallet and pulled out the
endlessly long Dillard’s receipt and released it to the cashier, whose nametag
I now realized read Kendra. It made me laugh to myself. It was a little weird
to me to think of how many white women I’ve noticed with the name Kendra
lately. She scanned my receipt and when she was done she grunted “I’ll have to
call my manager over to approve such a large return.”

I nodded my head to Kendra and she proceeded in calling her
manager over. A few moments later a tall skinny dark skinned man sashayed over
to the register with just a little too much swerve in his walk to be straight.

“Approval for a return?” He confirmed with Kendra.

“Yes, it’s over five hundred dollars.” She replied dryly.

The manager turned to look at me and smiled.

“Hi honey, I’m James and I’m gonna help you out from here
okay?” He said professionally in a country twang and tone that said we had the
same taste in lovers.

“Thank you James.”

James turned to Kendra and said “Now you darling, go see
that the dressing room is tidy. And take that frown off your face, your
starting to scare the customers.” He commanded as he shewed her along with his
hands. “And brush your hair while you’re in there.” He made sure to call out to
her.

It took everything inside of me not to burst out laughing.
James was a character I could tell already. Kendra looked like she was more
than tired of James’ antics but did as she was ordered and headed for the
dressing rooms.

“Now you miss pretty, what happened to you? Why are you
returning all these fine clothes?” He asked as if he knew me for years,
catching me off guard.

“Oh…well something came up. I won’t be needing them at this
time.” I said hoping he didn’t question me further. I really didn’t want to think
about being cheated out of a promotion and my vacation.

“Honey I am the clothes whisperer,” he said with one hand on
his narrow hip and the other pressed against his heart, “and these clothes tell
me it’s something deeper.”

“Damn he was good.” I thought.

“Well let’s just say you don’t always get what you want…even
when you deserve it. Nevertheless, I’m sucking it up and I’ll try again next
time.”

“Well remember honey, you also have to be willing to fight
for it to, if it’s worth it. Is it worth it?” He asked.

I paused for a moment, “Yes, I believe it is.”

“Well Amen and a hallelujah for a woman who knows what she
wants.” James said lifting his hand to give me a high five, “Believe me, I run
into people all the time who don’t know if they’re coming or going, like my
last boyfriend.” He said doing the most dramatic roll of the eyes that I’ve
ever seen.

“He was all hat and no Cadillac, you know what I’m saying?
At forty-five he was talking about moving to Hawaii and becoming a professional
surfer. Guuuurl! If I didn’t kick him up out my bed and out my house faster
than a New York minute!”

I laughed until my stomach clenched and water fell from my
eyes. It took me several minutes to compose myself but once I finally did I
made sure to high five Mr. Flaming Gay. He entered in a few numbers to the POS
system and had my refund ready to go in no time.

“Now you take care, miss?” He lingered on the miss waiting
for me to give him my name.

“Hammond, Kaia Hammond.” I replied.

“You take care Ms. Kaia Hammond. I hope everything works out
for you.” He said warmly.

I picked up the other bags and began to walk away, “You take
care to David, be good!”

“The queen is always good honey!” He called out with a smile
on his face.

As I walked through Dillard’s I couldn’t help but to picture
a forty-five year old homosexual surfer going through a mid-life crisis and
explaining it to his flamboyant lover, it was hilarious.

Next I headed inside the mall and hit BCBG where I returned
a few tops, Forever 21 then finally Victoria’s Secret. Being that Las Vegas is
a small city compared to say LA, running into people you know isn’t that
uncommon. But never in a million years did I think I would run into
Desiree…a.k.a. Christian’s girl…Ms. Vickie’s secrets herself while making my
rounds. Maybe ‘
run into’
Desiree isn’t completely accurate. It was more
like she saw me, sought me out then made her move while the opportunity
presented itself.

“D-Desiree right?” I said searching for her nametag across
her impressive cleavage.

“Yes that’s right Kai Kai,” She said sarcastically sprinkled
with a hint of attitude, “You tell that Christian that he can forget about ever
calling me again.”

“Uh oh, what did he do this time?” I thought.

She had me cornered in the thong section where I was
rummaging through a bin of rainbow colored lace panties currently on sale at
$28.50 for a set of four.

Not wanting to cause a scene even though I thought she
should be more concerned than me since this was
her
place of employment
I replied, “I’m sorry Desiree I don’t know what happened between you two but I
really am sorry. If you want to talk about it maybe we can –“

She rudely cut me off and spoke with venom in her voice, “Oh
please, I saw the way you two were looking at each other that night at the
Pub.”

Was she on something?

“Save that baby sister routine I’m not buying it. Do you
know what he did? Do you know what he did Little Kaaaaia?” She said putting
extra emphasis on my name making it sound like a eight syllable word instead of
two. With her head snapping from side to side she looked like a mad woman in a
black Victoria’s Secret blazer.

By now other shoppers were looking at us and whispering. One
actually had the nerve to whip out his IPhone and start recording! I officially
believe the convenience of technology has done more harm than good.

“He called out your name in bed last night!”

“What!” I proclaimed.

“Yea that’s right! Ohhh…yes…Kaia!”

She began moaning without shame and doing an imitation of
what I assumed had to be Christian in the moment. Could she be any more
melodramatic here? Not to mention ghetto, this was crazy!

Before I threw up in my mouth I dropped the colorful thongs
back in the bin and abruptly exited Victoria’s Secret completely humiliated. As
I briskly made my way out of the mall my forehead began to warm with hot sweat.
She couldn’t be telling the truth could she? No, definitely not. She’s crazy.
Christian calling out
my
name in bed, that’s impossible.

While walking through the parking lot my gag reflexes
continually proved that they worked every time I replayed Desiree’s award
winning reenactment of Christian in the moment. Maybe he meant to say Karina or
Kim, one of his exes from the past. Just in case I decided it would be way less
awkward if I didn’t call Christian and relay her message. Looking at the date
on my phone I determined there would be no prize to give myself this time. They
only lasted two weeks. Damn.

v
 
 

By the time I eased my Avalon through the gates of Chateau
Oasis, the orange desert sun had finally begun to set and the wind was calming
down to a relaxing warm breeze. The weather was beautiful I had to admit and
after the eventful day I had between the queens and the crazies I made up my
mind to relax in the complex Jacuzzi. I thought about calling Malcolm but
decided against it. I knew he didn’t like last minute plans and because he had
his kids this weekend I knew it would be an automatic no.

Less than ten minutes later I was standing on the porch with
my towel and flip flops on and locking up my apartment. As I anxiously walked through
the illuminated courtyard I questioned myself if I’d heard Desiree correctly.
Shaking the scary thought from my mind I entered the pool area to discover I
wasn’t the only one taking advantage of the nice weather.

There was a young Hispanic couple about my age wrapped in
each other’s arms at the shallow end of the pool, an elderly white man laid out
on one of the poolside chairs then a couple of rambunctious teenagers dunking
each other in the deep end.

I sat my belongings down at a nearby table before tying my
hair into a high ponytail. When I removed my oversized t-shirt revealing my
one-piece swimsuit that I’d bought especially for my trip to Miami, one of the
few things I decided not to return, I noticed the old white man look over and
give me a sly wink.

“Yuck,” I thought before hurrying and stepping into the
Jacuzzi. If he was trying to get his kicks from me he was going to be highly
disappointed.

I moved around until I found the perfect spot where multiple
jets hit me with hot bubbly water. I closed my eyes, threw my head back and
relaxed.

“My house definitely has to have one of these,” I thought
before picturing Joanna’s reaction once I added a Jacuzzi to my wish list.

“Forget it, she’ll blow a gasket.” I thought.

The water was so hot and massaging that it seemed to drown
out the immature conversation I could now hear coming from the teenagers about
some high school party where everyone was drunk and high. My mama would have
killed me if I was ever that stupid.

Moments later I opened my eyes when I heard a set of flip
flops and giggles approaching than a woman’s voice call out, “Kaia! Is that
you?”

I lifted my head then focused my eyes to see Sonya and
another woman approaching the Jacuzzi wearing cover-ups over their exposed
bathing suits with two bottles and wine glasses in hand.

“Well hello, hello,” I said greeting them as they placed
their bags and wine glasses down at the table.

“I guess I wasn’t the only one who decided to take a dip
tonight.” I said, “The weather’s nice isn’t it?”

“Yes girl it is! When the sun goes down I come out.” Sonya
replied while she uncorked the bottle of wine and began pouring into her and
her friend’s glass, “Any other time is just too hot.”

“That’s because the freaks come out at night, the freaks
come out at night.” Her friend serenaded us with a rendition of Whodini’s
classic hit from the 80’s.

Sonya cracked up, “Shut up Nina! Kaia this is Nina, Nina
this is Kaia my next door neighbor, the one with the cute patio set.”

“Hi Kaia nice to meet you,” Nina said wasting no time in
gulping down her drink then pouring another one.

“It’s nice to meet you to.”

“Would you like some wine? I brought an extra glass.” Sonya
offered while taking a healthy sip from hers.