69. Going Back to Cali 🪙

From the time we left New York to the time we landed in Cali, not only had Monica and my photo in front of Lucio's Restaurant went viral, but the photos taken with celebrities inside the restaurant went viral including my performance on GMA. My fans did it again. I know! I said my fans. They made my new song "Easy" an instant hit.

Before I could get to my bedroom at the Rivers' Residence, Colby had updated my schedule. I have a meeting in an hour with my team, a meeting after that with Ricky Santana, a magazine interview tomorrow, and I was shooting a music videos for my songs "Home" and "Easy" at the end of the coming week. Am I really ready for two years of this?

I opened my bedroom door and sitting on my bed was a large envelope. I'm getting fan-mail, too? Do fans still send mail?

I released my luggage and picked up the mail. It didn't have a sender's address. I opened the thick bubble-wrapped envelope and sliding out was a 8.5x11 inch spiral book.

"Oh, my goodness!"

It was A.B.'s poetry book from his childhood. I kicked off my shoes, hopped in bed, and began to read it.

Juvenile Poems by Jace Bravos

CONTENTS: 1. Too Young to Know / 2. Rappers / 3. J.A.C.E. / 4. I'm Not A Little Kid / 5. My Girlfriend / 6. I Love You, Mom / 7. Bedtime Prayers

I think an entire hour went by, because I definitely took my time reading those poems. My favorite was titled, My Girlfriend.

Summertime is over / School is back in session

That's where I met her / Ms. Cope was teaching a lesson

All eyes were on her / I had to be the first

Introduce myself to her / Hypnotize her with my words

Excuse me, baby / I think you a cutie

You should be my lady / Tonight, let's see a movie

Just say yes, and I'll be your man

I know me and you together could rule the world

But the bell rung and ruined my plans

I tried to chase after her, but then my future girl

was talking to my homie by the lockers

He smiled at me 'cause he was getting her number

I was too late, too slow, too hesitant

Baby girl, you could've been my girlfriend

It definitely didn't the end the way I expected it to, but I think that's why I enjoyed it. I finally closed the book and grabbed my phone to call A.B. He answered on the first ring.

I smiled as I rolled onto my back in bed. "I'm back in California and was pleasantly surprised to see that I had mail from nonother than my number one fan."

He chuckled, "Really? What was it?"

I pretended not to know. "Umm... Sounds like he was handsome and a little romantic, because it was packaged so carefully. The only thing it was missing was a bow."

"He should've did a little bit more, huh?"

I nodded my head. "Just a little bit more." I used my pointer finger and thumb to display a little bit more.

We both laughed.

"But in all seriousness, I was really surprised, A.B. Thank you for sending me a piece of your childhood."

"You're welcome. How was New York?" He asked me.

I took a deep breath. "Incredible!"

"I watched your performance. You looked like you've been performing since you were a kid. I like your new song, too. I've been playing it nonstop."

He's going to make me go into cardiac arrest with all these compliments. "Thank you for supporting me, A.B."

"Always. How's your twin, I mean cousin doing?" He asked.

I playfully rolled my eyes. "Oh, my gosh! I have to get her to go back home immediately. Why did she have to wear the same colors as me?"

A.B. said, "I had to zoom in that photo to make sure it wasn't photoshopped. You and Monica look like sisters, but in that photo with the same hair and sunglasses, y'all look like twins."

"We do not look that much alike," I argued as I sat up in bed.

"When I first met Monica and she walked in the store, I thought it was you. From a distance, y'all could be mistaken for one another. Up-close with her personality and your voice, there's no mistaking who's who," he explained.

I guess I never thought about it. Then, I looked around my room. Monica hasn't been in here since we walked through the front door. She must be in the kitchen bothering Bridgette. "Anyway, how are you? How's the store? How's Mr. Dave?"

"I have a lot of good news to tell you. My Uncle has been able to feel a little tingling on his paralyzed side. The physical therapy has been helping him improve. His doctor estimates that by the end of the month, he'll be more mobile."

"Wow! A.B., that's great news!"

"It is," he continued, "And the store is picking up. We just hired one part-time and two full-time employees."

"Good! I'm so happy to hear this good news."

A.B. added, "Me, too, but I'm not going to stop praying, because it could all change. You know?"

"I hear ya. And what about you? Are you healthy? Or do I need to make a visit?" I half-joked.

"I'm good and healthy. And I miss you, Jamie."

I straightened my posture. "You said what?"

"I'm good and healthy. What about you, Jamie?"

I placed my hand over my heart. What is wrong with my ears? For those short seconds, I imagined our entire lives together.

"Jamie?" A.B. called my name.

"Yes. Yeah, I'm here."

"How are you... truthfully?"

I thought before giving a fake answer, "I'm just excited about my career and everything. I can't wait for my album, the tour, and everything. Everything is good."

"That's good. Are you going to be busy tonight?" He asked me.

"Yes. I have two meetings and they both don't have an end time, but I can text you if I get back home at a decent hour."

"Please do. Just text me tonight either way. Okay?"

I said, "Okay."

"Bye, Jamie."

"Bye, A.B."

We hung up. Before I could get too sad, I decided to join Monica in the kitchen. The only problem was on my way to the kitchen, I spotted her luggage by Zeke's bedroom door. Pause. Rewind. Push play. Didn't Zeke say he had a virtual meeting to go to when we got back to the house?

I arched my brow as I used my phone to call Monica. Seconds later, I heard her phone ringing. The ring sound came from Zeke's room. I quickly hid behind the nearest corner as I waited for her to answer her phone.

"Hello?"

I whispered, "Monica?"

"Jamie? Why you whispering?"

I giggled, "Girl, where you at? Bridgette about to close the kitchen so she can cook, but she about to throw away these snacks."

"Snacks? Hold up! Here I come!" Monica ended the call.

I counted to 8 seconds on one hand when Zeke's bedroom door opened. Monica cautiously walked out and ran down the hall. I ran to catch Zeke's door before it closed. I slipped in, allowing the door to close behind me.

Everything appeared to be neat including his bed. Then, I heard music playing. His studio! I tiptoed in the closet and opened the door that led up the stairs to his studio. I purposefully stomped up each step so that he could hear me.

"Girl, I told you I have a fridge in the room." Zeke sat in front of his keyboard, texting on his phone.

I obnoxiously laughed, "Oh, I don't believe this! Well, I do, but I've never been this right, like ever! Then y'all have the nerve to go behind my back with this."

Zeke looked up from his phone.

I pointed at him. "When did y'all start talking? It was at the hotel, right?"

Zeke stood up. "Jamie, where's Monica?"

I quickly looked behind myself before looking at him. "Where's Monica? No, no. Where's Zeke? You and I just broke up, and you're already talking to my cousin?" I rolled my eyes as I leaned against the mixing console.

Zeke walked over to me and touched some buttons. The music stopped. Then, his phone rung. He answered it. "I don't know, but my door will be unlocked when you come back. Alright." He hung up his phone.

Not five seconds later, my phone vibrated. "Hello, Miss Missy?"

Monica asked me, "Girl, Bridgette was not in the kitchen. Food is already cooked, too. Are you back in the room?"

"Yes, I am. See you when you get in here." I hung up my phone.

Zeke walked down the stairs, and I followed him. Inside his room, I sat on the sofa, facing the door.

Zeke told me, "I have a meeting in 10 minutes."

"Shh!" I snapped my fingers in his direction.

His bedroom door opened. "What is this on my shirt?" Monica rubbed her shirt as she walked inside. "E, I 'm going to my cousin's room, but I'll be..." She lifted her head and froze when she saw me.

I pointed at her. "You ol' raggedy, ol' baldheaded, ol' big mouth, snag-a-tooth heifer!" I smiled at her. "You just got caught red-handed, Moni."

Monica looked at Zeke.

He said, "She snuck in after you left."

Monica fell onto the sofa. "Jamie, listen. We're not dating. We're just friends."

I could just laugh at how serious Monica talked. I threw my hands in the air. "Cousin, relax. I don't care if y'all talk, date or get married. Zeke and I had a fake relationship, and now I'm really glad that it ended. I had a feeling he liked you and you liked him. I'm just a little salty that y'all, I mean you didn't tell me."

"Because there's nothing to tell right now," Monica informed me.

"Then, why you over here sneaking in his room?"

Monica exhaled, "Jamie, I wasn't. You were walking so fast ahead of us... E and I were having a really good conversation, and he invited me to his room. He has a meeting to go to soon anyway, so I wasn't gonna be in here long."

I shrugged as I stood up. "I was upstairs for an hour which means you were down here for an hour."

Zeke said, "Jamie, it's 11:45 a.m. We got to the house at 11:10 a.m."

"That still gives y'all plenty of time to do whatever y'all were doing in here." I walked to the door. "But I have to leave. I have two meetings to go to. Don't wait up for me, Moni." I left Zeke's room.

Monica followed me out. "Jamie, stop!"

I folded my arms as I continued to walk. "Monica, I have to get ready to go."

"We've been close all our lives. Even though you say you don't care, I know that do. In New York, at the hotel, that was the first time I really talked to E. We found out that we have a lot in common. We had a really good conversation. Then, he asked for my number and we started texting. I do like E, but he's a celebrity. I told him I want to be friends for now, mostly because of the relationship you and him had."

"It was FAKE!" I reminded her as we got to my room. I opened the door and walked in.

Monica closed the door. "Jamie, the romantic relationship was the only thing fake about you and E. Y'all have a bond. Whether you admit it or not, E was your celebrity crush."

"One of many," I added as I put on my shoes.

Monica continued, "I'm not in a rush to date right now. I didn't come to Cali to get in a relationship, no matter what I said when I was joking. I'm here as family, as your support system, and you are priority to me."

I took a deep breath before looking at my cousin. "You know I'm not mad at you. I was really only joking and having fun. You can talk to whoever you want just not A.B."

Monica lightly laughed, "You originally tried to get me to talk to him, but I'm not his type. I would annoy A.B. like a little sister."

"True." I grabbed my purse and sunglasses. "How does my wig look?"

"Straight," Monica told me. "Thank you for understanding, cousin."

I admitted, "The only thing I don't understand is you calling him E. Yuck! Call him Zeke like everybody else."

"It's my nickname for him, and he likes it." Monica followed me out of the room.

I began to walk like a diva. "What-ever! Just text me when you decide to move your luggage back to my room or keep it downstairs in Zeke's room. Toodles!"

"Bye, Wig!" Monica shouted at me before laughing.

I waved at her before making my way downstairs to the front door. What a discovery!