Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109178 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 546(@200wpm)___ 437(@250wpm)___ 364(@300wpm)
“Oh, Lydia.” She took the woman into her arms once she caught her lower lip quivering and tears welling in her eyes. “Don’t cry, girl.” She smiled into her hair, stroking her. “Stop. You’re gonna make me cry, too.”
“I’mma miss you, Nadia.”
“I’m going to miss you too, baby.” She pulled away and looked into deep set, dark brown eyes.
“You’ve been so nice to me. You were the only one that talked to me when I first got here.”
“I told you they did you like that because some of these hoes saw you as competition.” She pointed in the direction of the stage. “Your face is gorgeous, your body is bangin’, you can dance your ass off, you don’t need no BBL, and you’re smart, girl. Those things together make you a threat. You betta believe it.”
Lydia had lost her mother at an early age, and had been raised by her grandmother in a house full of boys. As such, she’d experienced hardly any discipline and had to learn to fight. A budding flower in a garden of broken sprinklers. She ran the streets, looking for love in all the wrong places.
“Thank you for always keepin’ it real with me, but being nice about it, too.”
“Don’t nobody lose no sleep over someone they can beat with their eyes closed. I can keep it all the way funky without bein’ a bitch, if I choose to. At the end of the day, we all gotta answer for the shit that we do. I ain’t your mama, but I know I was supposed to step in where she couldn’t. God rest her soul. It’s time for you to leave the nest. Now you take heed regarding what I told you a long time ago, okay?”
She placed her hand on the young lady’s shoulder. Lydia nodded and wiped at her tear-streaked face.
“I will, Nadia.”
“You go on and follow your dreams. You still want to be a medical esthetician, right?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then I better see you do it. I want to be right there when you graduate. This is a steppin’ stone, Lydia. Never forever-land. There’s nothing wrong with dancing, but for women like you and me, it’s supposed to be temporary. Never make this place yo’ home. Out there ain’t good for you, ’cause it ain’t real.” She pointed towards the platform from behind the curtain. “Nothin’ we do in this place changes the world on a big-scale basis, but this place changes our world forever. Keep the mission in mind. What is it? Say it back to me. E.L.B.”
“To entertain, line our pockets, then bounce.”
“You’re damn right. You get yo’ money up and put deposits down. Watch the weed and the alcohol, and never do any hard drugs. A little wine goes a long way, don’t overdo it. I used to smoke cigarettes for a few years, then I started with the e-cigarettes, but now I do that, like, once every week or so. I’m not addicted, and that’s important. Watch your vices. It’ll do you in if you use it for a crutch. It’ll make you too comfortable and allow you to run from your feelings, rather than face them.”
“I gotta lotta bad feelings about stuff, but I’m getting better.”
Nadia leaned forward and kissed her cheek. “Honey, bad feelings never go away. They just take naps, baby. Then they wake up refreshed and stronger than ever, ready to do us in when we least expect it. Best to deal with it instead of runnin’ away. Hell, I don’t have it all figured out, but I at least have a plan, and I’m trying. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to try to do a little bit better, day by day.”
“You give the best advice.” Lydia offered a sad smile. “You’re my favorite therapist,” she joked.
“I’m not a therapist, but I know a little something-something because I’ve lived it. Now, here’s the last thing I’m going to say to you about this, girl. Give yourself a firm deadline on this here vocation. When that deadline comes up, you stick to it, no matter what, and don’t you look back. When the milk is expired, don’t keep chuggin’. You hear me, girl?”
“Yes ma’am!” The woman sniffed before thrusting herself back into her arms.
“Don’t let me find out your ass is still here, Lydia, or any club for that matter, two years from now.”
“I won’t be here. I promise.”
Nadia blinked back tears as she held her in her arms. “Now, you’ve got my number. Call me anytime.” They embraced tightly, and she patted her crown as she rested her chin atop the young woman’s head. She reluctantly broke free, and then faced the closed black velvet curtain. The odors of dense smoke and perfume surrounded her as her heart fluttered. She nodded to one of the bodyguards, letting him know she was ready.