Page 4 of Aquarius Awakening (BLP Signs of Love #20)
Sister Time
A knock on my office door came as I wrapped up my last call for the day. I was in the midst of confirming my schedule to ensure all tasks were completed. It felt as if I hadn’t looked up from the computer all day. Without looking up, I said, “Come in.”
“I’m used to you burying yourself in your work, but this seems a bit much. You can’t even look up from your computer to greet your big sister,” my older sister, Imani, playfully stated.
A smile crept onto my face that matched hers. I quickly got up from my desk to embrace her.
“God, I’m so glad you’re here,” I voiced as she hugged her tightly.
She rocked me back and forth and gently rubbed my back. Calm swept over me. A calm that I couldn’t recall having in a long time. After a few minutes, we finally separated.
“I hadn’t heard from you after your appointment the other day, so I figured you needed a visit. How did things go?” Imani sincerely asked.
I didn’t have the heart to utter the words, so I simply shook my head.
“Aww, sis, I’m so sorry. How about we head out to dinner to talk about it? I don’t want you to do your typical Aquarius behavior and drown yourself in your work. At a time like this, you need to let out your feelings,” she advised.
My eyes lowered to avoid eye contact because she was right.
The packed schedule wouldn’t be enough to get me over this ache in my heart.
If there was anyone in this world who understood me, it was my sister.
She was absolutely correct in assuming I would be busy with work.
It had been my thing since we were kids.
When things troubled me, I would find something to occupy my mind.
“Don’t come in here acting like you know me. Let’s get out of here before Milani finds me something else to do,” I jokingly said as I locked my computer and grabbed my purse.
Imani intertwined her arm with mine. I looked at her because we had discussed this before. No matter how many times I told her not to baby me, she never listened.
“Girl, how many times do I have to tell you that I’m the older sister and you can’t tell me what to do? If I want to lock arms while we walk, we will lock arms,” Imani reminded me as she pulled me closer.
We walked out of my office. As we passed Milani’s office, I noticed it was empty.
I sent Milani a text to let her know I had left for the day.
The call I wrapped up before Imani walked into my office was my last, so I hoped Milani didn’t have anything else that needed my attention today.
Either way, I knew she would text me if she needed me.
As we continued to the elevator bank, several members of my team stopped to speak with Imani.
She was a regular around the office, and everyone loved her.
“Come on, superstar,” I joked as I pressed the button for the elevator.
“Don’t be a hater now,” Imani responded as she playfully nudged my arm.
We exited the elevator and walked through the lobby. It was a humid spring night, so the stench of the city hit me like a ton of bricks. As a native New Yorker, the smell of the city was something I was used to.
“Where are we headed?” I asked Imani.
“Hmm… What are you in the mood for? Do you want to head over to Paul’s place? I’m sure he can find a table for us,” she suggested.
Paul was an old classmate of ours from high school.
He owned a popular restaurant not too far from my office that was all the rave.
We loved to support his restaurant, Pia, which was a Dominican restaurant.
He always gave us all the food and drinks we could withstand on the house.
I nodded in agreement because Pia would be a good place for conversation.
After the walk down the long city blocks, we approached Pia. Imani led the way as we reached the hostess stand. The hostess on duty today was one of our favorites.
“It’s my favorite sister duo. Hey, ladies,” the hostess, Ginny, greeted us.
“You are as fabulous as always,” I complimented her.
“No need to flatter me, you know I have the perfect table for you guys. I’ll take the compliment, though,” she warmly replied.
Imani and I followed closely while Ginny led the way. Paul kept a slew of tables in the back of the restaurant for his special clients. Ginny pulled out our chairs and placed the menus on the table.
“Enjoy, ladies. I’ll let Paul know you’re here,” she informed us as she walked away.
Once we were comfortably seated, Imani cut right to the chase.
“Why haven’t you answered my calls? I understand you received some tough news, but we don’t avoid each other,” she expressed.
“You’re right. I apologize, but it was hard. This time was the hardest because I wanted to pause our treatment. Well, I thought it was a pause until Mason harshly let me know he didn’t want to try anymore. I’m sorry, but I didn’t have the strength to put my feelings into words,” I sadly admitted.
“Wow, so he just wants to give up? Did he say he wanted to try other options, or was that just it?”
“Mason told me yesterday morning that there was no other option and no more trying before he went to work. He then proceeded to ignore me when I tried to call him. He didn’t come home last night.
It was a battle getting out of my head to make it to work today.
Part of me wants to continue the process without Mason,” I murmured.
Imani took a deep breath and then a sip of water.
My sister always took a deep breath before saying something that could potentially hurt my feelings.
I knew her the same way she knew me. Imani and I were only two years apart, so we were very close.
It was just the two of us. After our mother passed on, we were all we had.
“Do it! Go have your baby. Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. I’ve told you before, I hate the way Mason speaks to you.
I hate to see you all meek and a shell of yourself in his presence.
The last time we were all together, he raised his voice, and you jumped.
You may need to consider that it’s time to move on from Mason. ”
“Move on from Mason?” I asked.
“Yes, from our conversations, your marriage lost its spark a long time ago. Do you wake up in the morning with the same feelings you had for Mason when you first met? Has your relationship evolved into one you enjoy being in? His behavior over the past few years has made me uncomfortable, to say the least, so I can’t imagine how the hell you’ve been dealing with it,” she fumed.
Before I could muster a response, the server came over to take our orders.
I allowed Imani to order for us. The more this conversation progressed, the more my appetite seemed to dissipate.
After the server read the order back to Imani, she told us she would return shortly with our drinks.
Once she was gone, I went back to our conversation.
“So, I leave Mason and do what?” I asked.
“The sky is the limit. You find the love of your life and have the family you always dreamed of. Or you go have your baby on your own. Continue to grow Love Faith. Most importantly, I want to see you happy. I want to see you be loved the way you deserve. Your partner should be uplifting you, especially during times of struggle. I want you to always remember that you deserve the love you give to everyone around you. If the person you are with isn’t reciprocating that, then it’s time to move on,” she declared.
I felt my eyes water at her words. Now, it was my turn to take a deep breath.
Imani had said a mouthful but didn’t miss a beat.
My marriage to Mason had lost its spark.
The spark fizzled, and I didn’t think it was coming back.
Not being pregnant gave me the opportunity to pursue treatment on my own.
It gave me the chance to have a clean break from Mason if I chose to do so.
I couldn’t lie and say the thought of leaving him never crossed my mind.
Imani was right. I loved him so hard, yet Mason left me feeling as if I were alone.
There were too many questionable nights of him coming home late or not at all.
Some of his business trips always seemed to be around the time of my treatments.
It was hard enough being infertile. What made it worse was him constantly making excuses for not attending an appointment with me.
Each night, I injected myself. I think I was finally tired of living under the guise that my marriage was salvageable.
Imani said out loud what I had been thinking. My marriage seemed to be over.