The Decks and the Road
Renegotiating Kaylin
Chapter 3- Wrapped in Gold
Kaylin- It’s the afternoon after. I’ve been up since… Well, I’ve been up. I’m standing in front of the mirror. I’m holding the newest addition to my key
ring, and trying to decide what it really means. I’ve never attempted to lose weight. In fact, my weight has never come up; not in
any conversation, at any time, with any of the people I know. Perhaps in their eyes I’m bigger than my
weight. Perhaps I outshine it. But every now and then, I wonder if it’s the thing
that makes me non-threatening? It’s not
so much that I want to be a threat. It’s
just that non-threatened look on her face when I asked to have a word with him
that concerns me. It’s like the thought
that he could have eyes for me hadn’t, not even for a second, grew to the size
of a mustard seed. Anyway, I’ standing
here, certain that I’m not returning to school, and with a new gym membership
that I didn’t bother to put to use today.
First of all, is the question of what to wear. It may sound like an odd question; a question
that can be answered by just looking around, but I didn’t see anyone around who
looked like me. I didn’t see any large,
full-figured… no big-boned, I mean overweight people on my tour of the
place. I think I’ll just approach it
like I do going to the beach. I’ll just
wear the biggest shirt I can find.
Something that doesn’t cling to any of my tires, and hides the things I
know are underneath this façade. The
things that I’d showed him, and he’d loved, but had forgotten.
When I’d
found a quiet corner where we could speak, I was already way pass the Kaylin I
knew. I hadn’t gone to the restroom, or
tried to put myself back together; in the way that I came, but I’d headed
straight to where they were standing. Once
I’d stopped and turned to face him, I could see some remorse but it was vague
and I didn’t know if it was about her or me.
“Did I
forget to mention that it’s my birthday?”
“I’m
sorry. It’s complicated.”
“No it’s
simple. You could have not showed up.” I whispered and barked at the same time, and
there were more tears.
“Is that
really your preference?”
“What good
are you to me anyway with her hanging on to you?”
“What
happened between me and you was an accident.”
He also whispered and checked both of his blind spots before speaking.
“Then why
are you here? You can get dinner and a
good drink anywhere.”
“I didn’t
think you’d forgive me.”
“But this is
unforgivable. “ Those were the words
that were most in integrity with my principles, and then I saw his hand reach
into his jacket pocket and returned with his gift wrapped in gold.
“Should I
hide it?” I was sarcastic. It was no surprise.
“No. I would like to see your expression.” He replied with no visible expression of his
own. Those were the last words he spoke
to me before he returned to her. After I’d
opened the box that was shallow in depth and square in shape, and after a
different kind of tear had fallen into the box, I heard his steps as they
loudly and then quietly sounded off. I
stood for many moments more in the corner of my life where he’d again marked
his territory. When I rejoined the
party, I’d certainly made my pit stop to the ladies room, and had gotten
someone to place the bracelet on my wrist.
He was gone by then. They both
were, but I remembered her over and over.
Chapter 4- Indoor-Outdoor
Monica Shepherd- I remember her. I remember her shock, or maybe it was
horror. I remember the tip she left, and
I still remember the message I gave her.
It’s been quite some time, and I know that she didn’t mistakenly find
her way back to me. She’s much stronger
now. I can feel it. But something’s sapping her strength. It’s in her eyes. She’s just looking around. She hasn’t made her way over to me as
yet. Maybe she’s contemplating. Maybe the cross around her neck has something
to do with it. I can tell that she’s
into the paintings, but I know that’s not why she came. As a matter of fact, I know that she wrote
about it. Perhaps it’s why she wears the
large shades she’s holding in her hand.
I know it certainly changed my life, and I went from a small table on
the outside of the gallery, to a room on the inside. It was the owner’s idea. After the changing tide and a new kind of
customer began sitting in the chair across from me, she thought it best that I
be located on the inside. This gives
them time to check out the art, and most of them buy. Not to mention, most of the sales come from
the Monica Shepherd Collection, but that’s a secret. It’s been a secret, and it will remain a
secret. I don’t know… I just like it
better when people think I’m nothing but a cheap palm reader. Funny, no one ever notices that I don’t read
palms. Most people don’t pay close
enough attention to anything. After she
circles the room twice, I start to make my way back to my room where, there’s a
sign above the door post that simply says readings. I sit for about three or four minutes before
she wanders in. The room is designed like
an outdoor oasis. There are many plants,
there’s a water feature, and countless books that I collect and loan out for
free. I ditched the table, and now my guest
and I sit on two large cushions on the floor, where we face each other. Instinctively, she closes her eyes, and
without any direction, she places her right palm in my lap. Whatever the contemplation, it’s over now,
and she appears to be ready for whatever life has to offer. I don’t want to scare her, and since reading
her book, I’m left picking and choosing what all to tell her.
“There’s
someone you’ve grown fond of… you’re going to lose him. And there’s someone that you’ve lost, try to
make peace with it. Start dating;
something’s waiting for you.” I sat
looking on her. She’d hung her head
after my first sentence, and now her hands were covering her face which she
kept between her legs. I quietly took to
my feet and returned to the gallery.
Within fifteen minutes, she exited with her large shades on her face and
a napkin from the box I’d placed beside her in her hand. When I returned, there was a fifty dollar
bill on my cushion, and I could feel remnants of her still there. Mostly, I could feel her disappointment, but
it would soon leave, and then I could feel the deep breath she’d taken before
she left.
Renegotiating Kaylin, a novel
Copyright
2019 by Natisha Renee Williams and Grace Call Communications, LLC
All Rights Reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any
form.
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