"Baby, open your eyes. It's beautiful here…"
Beep!
Beep!
Beep!
Today's the day! I roll over and turn off the alarm and lay for a few more moments remembering the voice of the man in my dream. I run my fingertips along my arm and feel goosebumps to go with the burning blush I feel from my dream. I get my thoughts together and finally roll out of bed and get ready for my day with the girls and Mekhi. I check the weather after brushing my teeth and washing my face and see that today is going to be another beautiful day. Since I'm getting my nails done with the girls first I put on a pair of light blue jeggings and a white tank top with a pink and white floral kimono then I finish the look with a pair of open toed sandals and pearl earrings. I go into the bathroom to brush my hair into a high sleek bun and leave a few curls loose and apply a little lip gloss as well. When I'm finished I text the girls to let them know I'm getting ready to head out to the nail salon down town. I straighten my room and grab my wristlet and phone and head down to the kitchen.
"Good morning Ma," I say to my mom kissing her on the cheek and head over to my father.
"Good morning daddy," I say kiss him on the cheek.
"Good morning Lena," they reply in unison as I grab a cup and pour myself a cup of orange juice.
"You look nice. Where are you going," daddy asks nodding his head with a look of approval.
"Out with the girls for nails and brunch, then we're going to the basketball game," I say taking a sip of my juice.
"Sounds good," daddy replies.
"And busy! Are you still meeting that guy you told us about last night," mom asks looking at me with a knowing look.
"Yeah, sometime after the game though. I actually ran into him last night when the twins and I were leaving the restaurant," I reply with a smile and another sip of juice.
"As long as you keep smiling the way you are right now, I'm alright with it," Daddy says with a smile of his own.
"Yeah, I think I like him," I say finishing my juice.
"Think? Oh baby girl, you know," Daddy says with a chuckle.
"Daddy," I say fake surprised and laugh with him.
"We'll talk later, go ahead and meet the girls! Have fun and be safe," Mom says interrupting us.
"Okay, see you guys later then," I say to my parents placing my cup in the sink and leaving out the door.
When I get to my car I check my phone and see that Nova and Rylie has both messaged that they're on the way to the salon. I start my car and find some music to play before I pull out of the driveway and head downtown. While driving I think about the day ahead of me and tell myself that everything will be fine and work out the way it's supposed to. When I get downtown there is almost no parking so I end up parking a block away from the nail salon and walking. Once I get inside the salon I see that I'm the first one there, but I don't wait long because Nova and Rylie both come in five minutes after me.
"Heeeyyyyy," I say jumping up from my chair to hug them.
"Hey girl," Rylie says hugging me back and sitting on one side of me.
"Hey mamma," Nova says hugging me and then sitting on my other side.
"Do you know what color you're getting," Rylie asks me as she's looking at the different polishes.
"I think I'm going to get white for my toes and a French manicure for my hands," I say because I didn't know which color to pick.
"I think I'm going with this blush pink," Nova says indecisively looking between two different shades of pink.
"I'm getting this sunset yellow," Rylie decides putting her other options back on the shelf.
"You three can sit in the three chairs in the middle and someone will be with each of you shortly," the receptionist says as she walks us over to the chairs she was talking about and showing us how to work the massage options.
"Thank you," we say in unison taking and adjusting the settings on our chairs.
"Sooooooo, Mekhi called me last night," I say to my girls once we're settled into our chairs.
"Whaaatttt, well what did he want," Rylie says.
"He wanted to meet up after the game," I say to them smiling.
"I see he pressed too," Nova says.
"Right," Rylie says laughing.
"He said that he wanted me too," I say looking at them.
"In what way," Rylie asks.
"He didn't say, honestly. What do you think," I ask them.
"I don't know. I don't really know him; he's always surrounded by women though," Rylie says.
"Well he went after Lena. She didn't go looking for him," Nova says.
"And I did ask him about that and he made it clear that it was me that he wanted," I say a little defensive.
"I'm sorry Lena. I don't mean to upset you, I just don't wanna see you hurt anymore," Rylie says apologetically.
"I know and I love and appreciate you for all that you do, really. I'm going to take it slow with this one. I can't remember the last time I liked someone this much and it scares me a little," I admit to my closest friends.
"You'll be fine Lena. It'll work out some way or another," Nova says reaching out to hold my hand.
"Exactly," Rylie says.
"So what did y'all do last night," I ask relaxing into the chair as the nail techs come to do our pedicures.
We talk about men, school, and family as we get our feet massaged and toes polished. I'm glad we're out together like this today; I have to remember to thank mom later for making the suggestion. We laugh and chat and let the conversation carry us all the way to our nail techs' stations. As we get settled into our stations we each chat with our nail techs. My nail tech is one of my favorites; Mimi. We used to come here every two weeks before I broke up with Jay.
"Hey, girlfriend! Long time no see," Mimi says to start the conversation.
"I know. I had a lot going on," I say to her.
"Oh okay. Are you going out with your boyfriend," she asks as she files and shapes my nails.
"No, not boyfriend. We're just dating for now," I tell her.
"Oh, that's good," she says focusing on my nails.
"How are your kids," I ask her. Her son Nathan is friends with the twins and have been since they were in preschool and I used to babysit her daughter, Hailey, on the weekends before I started college.
"Nathan is fine. He's doing really well in school; the twins come over to study sometimes. Hailey is doing well, she still talks about you a lot," she says polishing my nails.
"I'm glad Nathan's doing well with his and the twins' study sessions it seems to be helping them. After exams are finished I'll stop by and surprise Hailey if it's alright with you and your husband," I say remembering many weekend with Hailey polishing nails, watching movies, and having "girl talk". She is such a sweet little girl; I look forward to seeing how much she has grown in our time apart.
"Yes, that will be nice just stop by the shop and inform me of when you are coming," she says.
"I will," I reply closing my eyes for a few minutes.
"Do you want designs," Mimi ask.
"Yes, lines please on my ring fingers," I reply closing my eyes again.
When we are finished at the nail salon we sing our nail techs praises, pay our bill, and leave the salon feeling refreshed and a little more confident than when we entered. We discuss a place for brunch and decide on a place that sells chicken and waffles that's more than a few blocks away. So we get in our cars and drive the ten minutes away to the restaurant and are luckily able to find parking in the front so we don't have to do much walking. When we get inside we are greeted and seated within a few minutes. The air smells of fried chicken and sweet maple syrup and it is very intoxicating. The furniture is dark colored with light colored walls and a lot of natural lighting; it is much different from the darkness of my favorite coffee shop, but this place reflects my current mood. When the girls and I get our drinks and appetizers we loosen up and talk as the edge hunger causes eases.
"Are you ready to go to the game," Nova asks.
"I'm not even sure girl, I've tried to not think about it so I can just slide through like it's natural," I reply sipping my "mock tail" mimosa.
"I mean, I guess. I don't believe you got all cute just to show up at half time. We should just go to the whole game," Rylie says in a matter of fact way that does make sense.
"Yeah, let's do that," Nova says.
"Excuse me," the waiter says as he places our meals in front of us and clear our empty dishes. The food smells so delicious and looks just as good.
"Thank you, sir," we say as he walks away.
"We can go to the game, it'll be a new experience for me," I say after blessing my food and cutting into a piece of chicken and the thick fluffy waffle.
"Ok, then it's settled. What do you want to do afterwards? I know you're meeting up with him, but it won't be for a while," Rylie says before she places a forkful of eggs into her mouth.
"We can shop for a little while…summer vacation is coming up soon, we have to hit the beach and enjoy ourselves this year," Nova says after a forkful of country fried potatoes.
"Sounds good to me. We can think about how we will celebrate the end of our freshman year in college," I say optimistically. This time last year I was graduating high school and thought I was on top of the world. Little did I know, Jay would wreak all kinds of havoc that would leave my world upside down until this past Monday.
"This summer will be much better than last summer," Rylie says working steadily through her meal.
"Definitely! We are in better head spaces than we were a year ago and we are a little bit older, a little bit wiser…" Nova says as she takes a sip from her glass.
"And a whole lot more finer," Rylie finishes and we all laugh.
"Yesss," Nova and I say in unison while doing a little dance in our seats.
"Ayeee," Rylie says and we all start uncontrollably giggling.
After our bout of laughter we finish eating our food and have a second round of our "mock tail" mimosas. With a full stomach and the time inching closer and closer to the start of the game it is amazing that I can still feel butterflies. I hope this all work out and everything goes smoothly today, I think to myself. I know what he said last night, but things tend to be different when there are people around. I already like him, just please let this work out for me.
"Are we ready to go," Rylie asks pulling out cash to pay for her meal.
"Yeah, I guess so. I'm nice and full now," I say taking out my own money.
"So am I. Good thing we get to sit down at this basketball game 'cuz I don't see too much walking in the near future," Nova says as she puts her money on the table.
"Agreed, but this food was worth it," I say stretching.
"Definitely, we have to come here again," Rylie says scooting her chair back getting ready to stand.
We clean our table and stack all of our dishes to make the waiter's job easier as well as leaving him a generous tip. We thank the staff and praise the food with a promise to return as we head out the door. It's a warm Saturday afternoon as promised and I'm grateful because I wore sandals. We walk to our cars and decide to follow Rylie back to the school to attend this nerve wracking basketball game. When I get in my car I crack my windows and play some calming jazz music to help keep me focused and calm. I follow Rylie and Nova pulls out behind me and we drive toward the campus. The closer we get to the campus my stomach begins to knot and I speak positive words and encourage myself to enjoy the day for what it is and not what it could be.