Part 1
They pulled up to the curb and her eyes widened at all the bright lights. It was 8 o’clock in the evening yet with all the red-carpet lights, it looked like 2 o’clock in the afternoon. The valet opened her door and his mouth dropped in a slight “o” when she stepped out the car.
“Crap, I’m underdressed,” she mumbled to herself.
She was invited to the event at the last minute and didn’t have anything in her closet to wear for such a swanky occasion. She spent hours meandering in and out of dress boutiques hoping to find the right look. Her go-to was something fitted and black but the black options were either too small, too conservative or too cheap looking. It was awards season, so LA was all abuzz. This also meant that cocktail attire and party dress inventory seemed to be at an all-time low.
She settled on a gold, satin slip dress that resembled a nightgown but glistened on her dark chocolate complexion. It was on trend and better yet, on budget. She felt sexy and feminine and Barry seemed to approve. It was actually his first choice. Since she was attending the event on his arm, she let him have some say-so.
As they walked up to the carpet, his publicist immediately grabbed his arm and put him in line to get on the carpet. He mouthed, “sorry,” and winked. She knew she wouldn’t join him on the carpet and let out a sigh of relief when he was pulled away. She was already sucked into a pair of Spanx and didn’t need the added pressure of sucking in even more while trying to smile.
When Barry had asked her to accompany him at the premiere, she almost said no. Her history with Barry was a bit complicated.
They met six years ago at a coffee shop in Sherman Oaks. She was on her way to school and he was working there part-time. As was the only brown person within a ten-mile radius, his friendly face made it easy to order her non-fat vanilla almond milk latte with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey.
“This isn’t Starbucks,” he had murmured under his breath after taking her order.
“I know it’s not. I’m paying $6 for what would normally cost me $4.65. But if you would rather me take my business elsewhere, I can certainly review that with Miguel. I’m sure he’ll be happy to know,” she leaned forward, squinting to see what was written on his name badge, “Barry gave his customers grief over a simple drink order.”
Miguel was the cafe’s owner and her best friend. His mom had been her nanny, so the two of them practically grew up as brother and sister. She always stopped at his cafe on her way to school. When teaching seven and eight-year-olds, she needed a healthy dose of caffeine to get her through the day.
“Oh, that was a joke,” Barry replied.
“It wasn’t funny.” She walked to the end of the counter and waited for her drink.
A few minutes later, Barry presented her with a drink and said, “I made it myself. No foam and lots of love. I really was joking earlier.” He smiled and she swore the entire room lit up.
“Made with love, huh? How do I know you didn’t spit in it or stir it with your finger?” She was half-kidding, half-serious.
“Isn’t that what ‘made with love’ means?” Barry winked and sat the drink down on the counter. She noticed her name was spelled correctly on the side of the cup, but she didn’t recall him asking for it.
She picked up the cup and sniffed the drink, “I didn’t give you my name.”
“You didn’t have to. You come in almost every day and my nephew loves your class, Miss Keiyana.”
She looked at him then glanced over her shoulder to see if Miguel was around.
“Dexter is my nephew and has done nothing but talk about how wonderful his new teacher is. I dropped him off for school a couple weeks ago and noticed you. ‘There’s Complicated-Order-Girl, I said to myself’.”
She found herself smiling. “Are you a stalker as well as a horrible barista?” She took a sip of her drink. Dang. He got the cinnamon and honey ratio just right.
“I’m a Slasher,” he replied. A slasher in LA meant that he did a little of everything. He was probably a writer-slash-producer-slash-actor-slash-stylist-slash- whatever else paid the bills.
Keiyana nodded and smiled before asking, “what’s your favorite project?”
His eyebrows shot up making his curly mass of hair seem like it sat a bit higher. “I don’t think anybody has ever asked me that. They assume I’m a starving artist and keep it moving.”
Keiyana stayed silent, waiting for him to answer.
“I just finished a movie script. I think this is the one. My agent loved it and hopefully, a production company does too.”
“Congratulations!” She sipped her drink and had a bit of cream in the corner of her mouth.
“You’ve got something,” he motioned with his thumb to the corner of his mouth.
“Oh!” She stuck her tongue in the corner of her mouth and grabbed a napkin.
“You got it.” He chuckled a bit.
“What?”
“Most people around here don’t just stick their tongue out and lick their lips the way you did.”
“Well, I am a second-grade teacher, I guess it comes with the territory,” she wiped her mouth using the napkin, “but don’t let this drink fool you. I’m as country as they come. At least the kind of country from the Midwest.” She shrugged her shoulders and took another sip of her drink, careful to wipe her mouth immediately afterward.
A gentleman standing at the register cleared his throat.
“Duty calls.” Barry rolled his eyes and went to help the gentleman.
Keiyana made a point to put on a little make-up and ensure her hair was extra cute before visiting the café for the next four days, partly due to a mild addiction to caffeine and partly to see Barry’s smile. Those four days were the start of a four-year relationship. Four years of long walks on a beach, deep conversations about life, Barry receiving rejection after rejection on his scripts and Keiyana getting promoted and becoming a principal.
After school started in the fall, Barry hit an all-time low and so did their relationship. Keiyana tried to be supportive and encouraging but their constant arguing and fighting was taking its toll on both of them. She wanted him to try working a traditional job to occupy his mind and keep a consistent income stream coming in, but he thought that was her way of saying that she didn’t believe in his talent. They tried to take breaks but those only ended with confused thoughts and hurt feelings.
She found out they were officially over when she saw him out with another woman. He leaned in and kissed the woman softly and Keiyana felt her heart tear open. That’s when she realized that she still hoped they would make it but had ultimately been fighting for something that didn’t exist anymore. She didn’t have it in her to confront him. Plus, what difference would it make? Technically, they were no longer together. She figured he would move on eventually but not so soon. She felt betrayed but wasn’t sure it was by him or her own common sense.
To save any pride she had left, Keiyana avoided all his texts and calls and eventually they stopped coming. Through mutual friends, she would hear bits and pieces about his life and whomever he dated. She always tried to act as if it was no big deal but deep down, it all felt unsettling.
A part of her felt that maybe she drove him away. Another part questioned if he ever really loved her or was she just a convenient distraction. Her friends teased her because she always fell for the Dreamers. She saw potential but somehow, once the potential was materialized, the relationship fizzled. Maybe she liked being a fixer or a helper? She was the common denominator, perhaps she was the issue. She was so used to dealing with kids each day, maybe she didn’t really know how to maintain an adult relationship.
No one serious had come along since Barry. She dated here and there but never found someone who created a spark. Instead of focusing on relationships, she focused on creating an empire. Work flourished, so she began to spend her summers traveling the world. She started blogging about her experiences and found a few travel companies that were willing to sponsor her trips. Every school break, she was jetting off to new destinations.
Early one morning, she walked into Miguel’s café before heading to school for new teacher orientation. She had just returned from Brazil.
She greeted Miguel with a loud, “Hola!” He returned her greeting with an odd look and nodded to the right of her. She turned around and there sat Barry with a big grin on his face.
Stay tuned for Part 2!
