111. A Mature Conversation 💅

I yawned before deciding to go back inside. When I got to my room, I had two missed calls from Monica and one from my parents.

Monica sent me a text that she and her fiancé were going out to celebrate. I told her to be safe and have fun. Seeing the time, I knew my parents were already asleep in bed. I left them a voice message.

"Hey mama... Hey daddy... Sorry, I missed your call. Happy New Year to y'all, too. I know you probably already knew about Monica getting engaged, but I didn't. I'm a little salty about that, because I can keep a secret," I lightly laughed. "Anyway, I miss y'all so much. I can't wait to see you, and I love you. Bye." I put my phone down before going to the bathroom.

After taking a shower and putting on my pajamas, I got in the bed and picked up my phone. Time to pick up where I left off on reading the Bible - Matthew chapter 2. Without realizing it, I fell asleep.

"Wake up! Jamie, you're late!" Colby stood over me as I slowly opened my eyes.

"What time is it?" I asked him.

Colby pulled the covers off of me. "Everyone is waiting on you to get on stage."

I sat up to see that I was completely dressed from head-to-toe.

"What are you waiting on? You gotta go!"

I got up and ran out the bedroom onto a stage that was brightly lit. I could hear a crowd, but I couldn't see any people.

I turned around to see Ricky smiling at me. He suddenly approached me as if he were gliding and pushed me off the stage. I screamed as I fell backwards. All I could see was the darkness. I closed my eyes so that I wouldn't have to witness my ending.

"Jamie!"

I opened my eyes. It was bright, but it didn't blind me. It was a comforting light.

"What are you looking at?"

"The sky," I replied before looking in front of myself to see that A.B. was holding me. "When did you get here?" I asked him.

"I told you I was faster than time," he joked.

I smiled at him as he spun me around.

I heard the sound of a heavy bell. It woke me up from - I don't know whether to call it a nightmare, a fantasy or both. I reached for my phone to turn off my alarm. It was 7:30 a.m. How did I forget to turn it off before going to bed? Now, I won't be able to go back to sleep. I sighed as I randomly thought about Monica. She must be so happy, right now. I chuckled at how she reacted to Zeke proposing to her. That girl never fails to be entertaining.

"Cousin!" Monica busted open my bedroom door.

I quickly put the covers over my head. This had to be a nightmare. There's no way she knew I was thinking about her. Father, please send Zeke to the rescue.

"Jamie, get up! We gotta hang out before your boo-thang gets here."

I rolled my eyes before taking the covers off my head. "I don't have a boo-thang unlike you."

Monica smiled as she looked at her engagement ring. "I should've known he was up to something."

I sat up in bed. "What are we doing today, bride-to-be?"

Monica snapped her fingers as she danced to the song playing in her head.

"Thank you for hanging out with me." Monica sat next to me as we got our mani and pedi.

I admitted, "If I don't hang out with you now, I might not get a chance to later."

Monica fussed, "Jamie, don't say that. We are family."

"I'm not saying we won't ever hang out, but you are getting married. When people get married, they change," I told her.

"My marriage won't change our sisterhood. Besides, we'll both be living in L.A."

I was silent as the nail technician painted my nails.

Monica asked, "Why you get quiet?"

I replied, "The last time we were apart was when I went to college."

Monica looked around. "That was years ago."

I added, "Monica, I'm going back to East Grove to live."

She inquired, "You don't think A.B. would want to stay in L.A.?"

"It's not about him..." My mind went to a place I didn't want to go. I mumbled, "I just don't want to stay here."

"Huh?" Monica leaned towards me.

"You know I don't want to call L.A. my home."

"But what about me? What about the Rivers and Deonte? And his sister that I'm gonna hire to cook for me?"

I smirked, "Moni, you and I are not alike. I don't even know how we're so close."

"Because opposites attract," she winked at me.

I shook my head, "You're a risktaker, an extrovert, a business woman, and ambidextrous."

"Jamie, be serious," she whined, "You make it sound like I'm an alien or something."

I chuckled, "Actually, I'm the alien. I'm cautious to the point of being naïve sometimes. I'm a little reserved. I like working and helping others. I like to have a plan, have things mapped out. I flourish in the background. You know? I'm a behind-the-scenes queen."

My cousin interrupted me, "Hush, because now you're about to get popped. You're describing the old Jamie. When are you going to appreciate and acknowledge the new Jamie? Before, you never really left East Grove or traveled outside of our state. Now, you're a traveler. Your first flight was to Los Angeles to become a singer. You've only ever lived with your parents before you stayed by yourself. You moved into a mansion with complete strangers. In the past, you worked in retail, doing inventory. Now, you're front and center, on big stages in front of thousands of people. You've been on TV, radio, music videos, done interviews, and magazines. You've written songs that people are singing and dancing to all over the world. So don't short yourself, because you most definitely are another me."

She almost had me as I listened to her talk.

"Maybe, it's who you were always meant to be! Accept it, learn to like it and fall in love with it, because you're not in Kansas anymore, Dorothy." She wiggled her toes in the tub of scented, warm water. "It makes me sad that you hate what's changed your life for the better."

I spoke up. "I don't hate anyone or anything for the way my life has changed."

We made eye contact.

Monica said to me, "Where there's fortune and fame, there is pressure and pain. You've seen my YouTube channel. I react to all kinds of videos across various topics. We both, scratch that, anyone of age with an open mind knows that Hollywood isn't paradise. That's why I stay humble. No one person is better than the next, and no amount of money can influence me to do anything crazy."

"Like marry into a rich family?" I teased her.

Monica narrowed her eyes at me. "You know that's not why I chose to be with Zeke."

I nodded my head. "I know your love for each other is genuine."

"Sure is." Monica fanned her freshly done manicured nails.

I smiled as my eyes found the TV posted on the wall in front of us. Although the volume was low, the subtitles were present. The banner read Breaking News. My eyes scanned the words across the screen.

Mother of T'keyna Brown, RiSe Records Intern, wants answers. Mrs. Brown believes her daughter's death is linked to the #truthconspiracy which claims in the past five years several deaths of those in the music industry were no accidents. Mrs. Brown has threatened Ricky Santana, the President and co-founder of RiSe Records, with an alleged murder case. Many users across social media are trying their own hand at solving Brown's mysterious death. They're calling it "What Happened to T'keyna Brown?"

I looked over at my cousin. "Do you remember when I told you about the dreams I've had in the Rivers' house?"

Monica thought to herself before shaking her head. "No."

I sighed, "The dreams aren't frequent, but they always deal with me being in the spotlight and out of nowhere Ricky shows up. Then, I end up getting hurt. Last night, I had another dream that I had to perform and Ricky pushed me off the stage..." I remembered how it ended and decided not to share the part about A.B. catching me.

"What else happened?" Monica asked me.

"Umm... I fell into a bunch of darkness. It was black. That was all I could see."

Monica asked, "Were you watching anything or listening to anything before you fell asleep?"

I thought back to my actions. "I was reading the Bible."

"And?"

I recalled what I read. "It was about the wise men following the star that would lead them to Jesus in Bethlehem."

"The birth of Jesus Christ?" Monica asked me.

I nodded my head. "And there was this evil king who tried to get the three wise men to tell him where Jesus would be so he could 'worship' him. The wise men didn't fall for it, because God warned them in a dream..." I glanced at my cousin.

"What?" She asked me.

"Can God warn us in our dreams?" I asked more to myself than to Monica.

She shrugged before replying, "I would think so. He did create us."

"Monica, that evil king wanted to use the wise men so he could kill Jesus who was only a baby. But Joseph was warned in his dream to leave that place. Then that evil king had all the little baby boys killed."

"Like in The Prince of Egypt?"

"That was in Moses' time, but yeah," I answered.

Monica sighed, "I gotta read the Bible one day. I heard it's full of all kind of stuff. So, do you think God is warning you in your dreams?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know, but it feels like it; especially, after all that's happened. I was thinking I needed to move out the Rivers' house, but I think my dreams are warnings to leave L.A."

Monica covered her ears. "This is the part where I cover my ears so I can't hear you talking, because I'm gonna act childish until you say something that I want to hear. La-la-la-la-laaaa!"

"Look! You messed up your nail polish." I pointed at one of her nails.

Monica quickly took her hands away from her ears and looked at them.

I laughed as I lightly hit her arm. "That was too easy."

Once the nail tech was done with my nails, I picked up the remote to the chair to start a massage. Then, I got a text from Deonte.

Deonte: What's up beautiful! Chanel won't stop tellin me to ask you to come over. She wants to tell you something and I'm not allowed to hear it.

Me: LOL Can me and my cousin come over in about 30 minutes?

Deonte: That works. See you soon.

Me: Okay. See y'all soon

I didn't want to have a serious conversation with Monica to bring down her mood, but I was hoping she'd be more understanding on why I wanted to go back to East Grove. I guess only time will tell... just like with my dreams.