Page 51 of Flawless
It’s replaced by joy and harmony, and for a moment, I feel complete.
This woman completes me.
13 – DANICA
This month has been full of unexpected happiness. Zenon and I have been mapping out plans for him to start his own league. I offered to invest some money, but he was adamantly against that.
He insisted that he had enough funds to get started, and anything else that he needed, his friend, Mattia, would invest. Zenon is old-fashioned in some ways; like not being willing to accept money from a woman.
I’ve told him that if he should change his mind, the offer is still on the table. Although the people he’d met previously are long gone, we’ve still had lots of fun. We’ve played Frisbee during the day, built sandcastles, watched movies together, built a bookshelf, and created a YouTube channel where he’s started recording videos of him teaching the basics of soccer and offering tips.
Some of the kids here at the beach have seen us out recording and ran up to us, expressing their interest in learning. I see the light come alive in Zenon’s eyes whenever he works with them, and I know that he will be phenomenal with whatever he does.
My phone rings, and I glance at it sitting on the stand underneath the TV. Zenon went into Charleston to pick up a few items for dinner tonight that he couldn’t get here on the island.
Wondering if it’s him, I push up off the couch and walk across the room. Seeing Jade’s name, I frown. Other than the one time that she checked in on me after I posted about my hiatus on social media, I haven’t heard much from her.
I know that she’s been busy with her clients, and since I’ve been behaving, she hasn’t had her hands full with me.
“Hey, girl,” I greet.
“Hi, honey,” she says breathlessly. “How are you?”
“I’m good, but you don’t sound too good. You sound a bit...cautious is the word I think I want to use?” I say after a brief pause.
She laughs nervously and says, “Listen. I’m about to share something with you, but I need you to be strong.”
“Be strong? You sound as if you’re about to tell me that my parents died or something.”
“Sorry, nothing like that. It’s just...well, I guess...” she sighs.
This isn’t like Jade at all. She’s a straight shooter and never stalls about anything, so I know that this can’t be good. Either that, or she’s worried about how what she’s about to say will affect my sobriety.
“Jade!” I say impatiently. “Just say the shit,” I command.
“I heard back from the network today. They’ve decided that they’re going to play repeats for the remainder of the season, but they’re going in a different direction for next season.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? A different direction?”
“They’ve opted not to renew your contract, Dani.”
“After all the shit I’ve been through?”
“Listen, I told you that it was an option but not a fact. Besides, you needed to do that for yourself and not just to hold onto your show.”
“What are they doing?” I ask, pissed.
“They’re going with a new show hosted by Sabrina Sims.”
“That bitch!” I grunt.
She’s hosted a few episodes of my show in my absence in the past and during my most recent time off from the show. Sabrina always claimed she wasn’t interested in her own show, but she popped up at the studio more often than I cared for her to.
“Listen, you can be as angry with her as much as you want to be, but if it wasn’t Sabrina, it would have been someone else. Either way, she didn’t steal the show from you, Dani. You did this to yourself.”
“Maybe if I call Marie or Don...”
“There’s no reason to do that, Dani. I’ll save you the trouble and let you know that they won’t accept your calls. They’re adamant that they want to cut their losses with you, their words, not mine. I assured them that not only had you finished rehab, but that you also took a hiatus from the spotlight altogether to get your life in order.”