Page 31
I stood to my feet and couldn’t stop the smile on my face as I stared at my finished dress hanging on the mannequin. It took everything in me to not start squealing and jumping around like a kid in a candy store.
I tried the dress on a few minutes ago and it fit perfectly.
Although my back is aching, my shoulders are sore, my fingers feel numb, I haven’t slept properly in days and I probably have more coffee and grease than food in my system, I can’t bring myself to feel anything other than excitement and relief.
Couture Week is in two days and I could finally stop worrying about whether or not I would have gone naked or in an outfit that would potentially ruin my career and everything I have worked for .
I was half asleep but I took a picture and sent it to Olivia and while I waited for her response, I cleared out my sewing supplies and the trash from my living room.
I practically lived in this room the past two days. I regret to say that I haven’t taken a shower since Saturday morning- and the only reason I did take hat shower was because I spilled coffee on myself. I also can’t remember the last time I ate something that wasn’t junk food that I ordered.
I have been on autopilot the last two days; eat, sew, sleep and repeat. My phone was on silent to avoid any kind of disturbance and I have not seen sunlight.
As soon as I was done clearing the space, I took a long needed bath and washed the grease and dirt out of my hair.
I was stretching it out when I got a notification on my phone.
I expected it to be from Olivia so I opened it up immediately but I was surprised to see a message from my mum instead.
I put down the blow dryer and opened the message only to realize my mistake.
I had accidentally sent the picture to her instead of Olivia. They were both at the top of my recent messages and I didn’t double check before hitting send.
Her response was very short and sweet.
Mum: It looks beautiful; since you’re done with it, it would be nice if you could visit us today. You don’t have to if you’re too tired but it’s been a while since I saw you in person and not through a screen.
I felt bad when I saw the last sentence and it hit me that it has been a while since the last time I saw my parents. I decided to visit them and sent a quick text to Miles telling him I had to be at my parent’s house and if he was free to come I would appreciate it .
I’m getting used to leaving the house with Miles by my side. In all honesty, I try my best to avoid leaving the house without him. There have been so many close calls that I wouldn’t have been able to get out of without him there.
As soon as Miles arrived; I let him know where we were going and gave him a brief breakdown of what to expect from my parents.
I also assured him that I was going to try to make the visit as short as possible so he could get back to his weekend.
The last thing I wanted to do was make him spend the rest of his weekend with me.
We arrived at my parent’s house shortly after eleven a.m. and my mum was out of my door before I even put my car in park. I got out from the passenger seat and she instantly wrapped her arms around my middle and pulled me into a bone crushing hug.
“So you finally remembered us,” she teased, “I didn’t even think you would open my message.”
“I always open your messages.”
“You just refuse to respond abi.” Miles stepped out of the car at that moment and she looked from him to me then dropped her voice to the whisper, “That’s your bodyguard, right?”
“His name is Miles.”
“Miles, welcome,” she turned to him and he gave her a respectful nod, “Please, come inside.”
We made our way into the living room. My dad was sitting on the couch with a mug of coffee and a newspaper on the table in front of him and the TV blasting CNN at top volume. He saw us walk in and muted the TV in an instant.
I went on my knees, “Good morning sir,” standing up proved to be a little difficult because I didn’t gauge how sore my back actually was from all the bending over that I did .
“Good morning, what happened to you?” he asked.
“I’ve been bent over a table for the past few days trying to finish up a dress for Tuesday. I just need to sleep it off.”
He gave me a look that clearly said that he didn’t believe me, but he chose to drop the subject in favor of turning to Miles who was standing a few feet behind me. I left them to exchange pleasantries and went into the kitchen to help my mum.
She was looking through the top cupboard when I walked in.
“I didn’t know if you would actually come so I didn’t cook anything.”
“It’s fine; I don’t plan on saying so long because I want Miles to be able to go back home early.”
She turned to me with raised brows, “That’s very thoughtful of you.”
She must have found what she was looking for because she muttered a small ‘yes’ under her breath. She took out a small plastic bowl followed by a couple of small saucers.
“Take the chin chin to the parlor; I will bring the chicken later.”
I took the items from her hand and was walking into the living room when I heard my father speak, “Hope she isn’t giving you much trouble.”
“Hey!” I exclaimed, “I am right here and I am zero trouble, thank you very much.”
My dad turned to Miles as if to say ‘do you see what I mean’ which in turn had Miles quirk the corner of his lips upward. I scoffed at their little interaction and placed the bowl and saucers on the table just as my mum appeared from the kitchen with a small dish of fried chicken .
I could tell that Miles felt clearly out of his comfort zone as my mum gestured for him to help himself. His shoulders had gone rigid and his eyes darted from the dish to her and back. It was amusing to see someone who is usually so put together look so out of place.
“I don’t eat on the job; but thank you.” I saw mum’s face fall slightly at his words so I decided to step in.
“She’s not going to stop unless you take it,” I whispered to him, “And it’s considered bad manners in our culture to have someone around and not feed them.”
He sighed and took the saucer from her hand with a small ‘thanks’. My phone buzzed at that exact moment and I took it out and saw a text from Olivia. There was a picture attached and I opened it not expecting to see a picture of Nathan and I.
It was taken outside of Grayson’s office two days ago. Miles was supposed to be right behind Nathan in the picture and I would know because I saw it in an article but I am assuming he was cropped out by Olivia.
Olivia: I didn’t know you guys were going on special dates.
Me: I swear I hate you. And I won’t be sending you a picture of my finished dress.
Olivia: That is so unfair; I always see it first.
Me: I guess you’re going to have to wait and see it with the rest of the world.
I knew she was going to respond with a flurry of messages so I put my phone on silent and watched with a small laugh and she sent a bunch of messages ranging from pleading to demanding to threatening to see the dress.
“You look happy,” my dad said suddenly and my eyes snapped up to his. “You’ve been smiling to yourself.”
“I was just talking to Olivia.”
“It’s not that; you’re happier,” I looked at him in confusion, “You look as stressed if not more than usual but there’s something happier about you. I don’t know what it is but you’re not as sad as you were the last time you were here.”
“In my defense; the last time I was here you showed me a picture of my ex boyfriend’s new girlfriend and proceeded to tell me how you always hated him.”
“In my defense he was an idiot.”
“Touché,”
After that conversation, everyone seemed to loosen up a little. Miles and my dad focused on the news and were talking about everything and anything from the stock exchange to football. I sat with my mum and we spoke about Couture Week and the fashion show in less than two months.
She was worried that it would be too hectic for me to handle both events but I assured her that I would be fine and even promised to take a short vacation after it. She caught me up on all the family gossip that I had missed and honestly, I had a great time.
I enjoy being on my own but sometimes, I find that spending time with my parents really takes the edge off and helps me to forget about all the things that bother me.
My alarm rang effectively cutting through everyone’s conversation and letting me know it was time to leave. My mum tried to convince us to stay longer but I couldn’t. She finally relented but not before making sure that both Miles and I had plastic bowls filled with chin chin and chicken.
“Thank you for coming,” mum said as she walked me to the door, “It felt good to have you.”
“It felt good to be here.” I turned to leave when my dad called out my name.
“Emiade,” I hummed in response and he placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, “I’m proud of you.”
I fought back tears as I gave him a warm smile, “Thank you. I should go now.”
As usual, he watched through the window and waited for Miles to pull out of the street before he went in.
As Miles started the drive home, I realized I didn’t want to go home, “Do you live close by?”
“Fifteen minutes away; why?”
“You can go home,” he opened his mouth to protest but I cut him off, “I want to go somewhere alone; you’re done for the day.”
“If you’re sure-,”
“I am.”
He pulled into a parking lot and I waited until his Uber arrived before I got into the driver’s seat and drove to the café bookstore.
It was just as I remembered and while I was placing an order for hot chocolate; I recognized the woman from before who recommended The Kiss Quotient to me. She seemed to recognize me too because a huge smile took over her features .
“I see you’re back; I take it to mean that you enjoyed the book.”
“I did actually,” I admitted, “Do you have any recommendations for me?”
“Of course; come with me.”
Table of Contents
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- Page 31 (Reading here)
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