brought back to a cold reality.
Oh, that. No weave. That was the hardest thing of all. What was I going to do without her? Who was I without her? One thingâs for sure. Never say never.
I got off the plane in a dreamlike state, praying that at any moment that I would wake up and find myself back in my small, but lovely, apartment in New York. I walked past everyone and waited patiently for my luggage, a nondescript black bag that wasnât anything like the Louis Vuitton luggage that I sold a week prior. I was surprised to see my half-sister waving and carrying on at the entrance.
I groaned. I hoped to postpone our reunion, but now here she wasâher hand waving, her long, wavy brown hair dancing around her head, her light skin sparkling in the sunlight.
âWelcome home!â She hugged me, engulfing me in Chanel No. 5. âIâm so glad to see you! Itâs been over a year, oh my goodness, you look great!â
Great? I looked a lot of things, but great w asnât one of them. She gathered my luggage and stowed it in her black Escalade while I hoisted myself in the passenger seat, but not without admiring the dark leather interior, high-gloss wood grain details, and chrome accents.
âItâs good to see you, too, Renee,â I said as I buckled my seat belt. She heaved herself in the driverâs seat and looked at me.
âI mean it, Mariah, I really am glad to see you.â She smiled at me and put her hair behind her ear, revealing four-carat diamond stud earrings that sparkled and glinted so much, I literally needed sunglasses.
âAre you hungry? We could stop and get some breakfast before heading to the house?â
âNo thanks, I ate a little on the plane.â
âThatâs not real food. Letâs go by Salâs and treat ourselves to a real breakfast.â
Salâs was the diner in a part of town we rarely frequented, yet it somehow became the after-school hang-out. Their prices were small, portions were big, and ambiance was low but the food was good and the closest thing to homemade. We drove there with her talking about all the things she had been up to, me politely nodding at the appropriate pauses. She noticed that I was quiet for most of the ride and would only answer questions when asked. I wasnât in the mood for conversation and tried to emit enough negative energy so she would get the point and stop talking. It worked. The rest of the trip she was silent.
We pulled up in front of Salâs, and I wasnât surprised that it hadnât changed much in the twelve years Iâd been gone. The white paint on the wood frame building was peeling and chipped and the steps up to the front door groaned with our weight. A black sign with stick-on black letters told us to seat ourselves and we sat in our usual booth near the rear of the restaurant. We grabbed our menus from the table; mine was splattered with ketchup or hot sauce, and I grabbed a napkin from the stainless steel dispenser and cleaned the plastic menu.
âIâm having French toast. What are you having?â
âProbably just an egg white omelet.â
âThatâs it?â
âNot all of us are blessed with the skinny gene, Renee. Some of us have to work to stay thin.â
âYou look great; you donât need to lose any weight. In fact, you look a little thin.â
âGood. Bony is the look Iâm going for.â
Our waitress approached with two glasses of water, and we placed our order.
âSo, Mama said you lost your job. Iâm sorry about that.â
I shrugged. âTechnically I didnât lose my job. The magazine folded. So me being unemployed has nothing to do with my job performance.â
âOkay, thatâs good, I guess? Well, you donât have to rush to find anything. I mean, you can take your time to find a job. Maybe you could find something you really enjoy.â
âI enjoyed my old job,