Page 31 of Serenity
Sadie’s face did indeed read as it being the worst that could happen.
“You’re so judging me.”
“Serenity, I’m not judging you,” she laughed. “I’m just fascinated by your stance and want to understand it better.”
“A husband and kids aren’t what I’m after, Sadie. Understand that.”
Again, I pushed my point, hoping my sister-in-love would grasp it. Shifting to the plants beside us, I plucked a few lavender sprigs and placed them in my purse for safekeeping. The freshly harvested herb would be used in a bath once home later that evening.
“Then, what is it that you’re after? Make it plain for me, boo. I’m a little slow to understand how one adopts such a notion.”
I sighed and sipped my lemonade, imagining how wonderful lavender would be infused into the concoction. The stress of our current conversation forced me to recalibrate visibly.
“I know I’m not dating for marriage.”
The cringe on Sadie’s face revealed her lack of understanding.
“So, you’re doing the casual thing?”
“No. I want love… but I don’t require it to look like everyone else’s around me. Why do I have to get married? Because society says I should? Sae, do you know how much I’m worth? I mean, it’s not near as much as my brothers, but for a woman my age, it’s impressive, and it brings out fuck boys hidden in designer suits.”
“Um–”
Waving her off, I continued foaming at the mouth.
“I don’t want to go through prenups, legal jazz, and all that. I just want to rest in the wisdom that a man wants me for me and not what I’ve accomplished. I know it’s unconventional. I’m rebelling against everything I was raised to accept and adopt. I want my story to be my own, not one someone else has written for me.”
“Okay.”
“And kids…” I grimaced, not giving her an opportunity to respond. Wholly, I was prepared to dole out yet another set of things I didn’t desire in relation to the topic.
“Serenity! Say less. I understand. I overstand.”
Sadie’s palms were up, surrendering and pleading for me not to knock her from her blissfully pregnant high horse.
“But do you innerstand?”
“Hotep heaux might suit you yet,” she teased, bumping my shoulder and prompting us to break into an easy laugh. “Just don’t start with that grand rising bullshit.”
“Oh, boo, if I become a hotep heaux, I’ma hit you every morning with the grand rising text.”
More laughter coated the greenscape air. Slowly, our chuckles dissipated like the dew on the juniper trees lining her garden.
“Before Leslie…” She swallowed, fighting against a ball of emotions to speak. “Before Leslie passed, it was the same kind of energy she was on. You remind me of her in that way.”
Steeped in bleak memories, she closed her eyes, shook her head, and put the difficult conversation to bed.
“How you choose to love doesn’t have to look like everyone else’s as long as it’s right for you and your person, Serenity. That’s all that matters.”
The Paramour Black Investor’s Conference never failed to draw a crowd. Suits. So many of them filled the ballroom at Gray Hotel. Vaulted ceilings and custom moldings paired well with glossy hardwood floors. Not the typical run-of-the-mill business conference, the event catered to the elites and in-the-know socialites.
Dressed in a burgundy calf-length high-waist pencil skirt and a cropped blazer, my appearance was highlighted in a sea of grays and blues. Secretively, I bought a ticket to attend the convention. Had my brothers known of my attendance, they would have deposited lump sums of money into my business account.
Leaving the nest had been more of a challenge with the trio of men than it had been with my parents. From the day I moved out at nineteen, Saint, Supreme, and Sincere couldn’t stand to see me outside of their baby sister. Ten years later, their stance hardly shifted. I had something to prove. Determination to prove it without their assistance was paramount.
Even if it meant schmoozing in a room full of overweening men.
A review of the conference’s program revealed all the registered businesses in attendance. Paramour had an excess of black companies, which contributed to the impressive blooming of black wealth in the city. An even smaller list revealed the investors registered to speak at the conference.