Alexa had been so engrossed in her work that by the time she stopped to take a break, it was lunchtime. The office was quiet as most of the employees were out on lunch or at meetings with clients. Hunger pangs confirmed that it was time to eat. A hot pastrami and Swiss sandwich from Pizzazz’s Deli down the street sounded appetizing. She grabbed her coat and was about to transfer her calls to her voice mail when the telephone rang.
With a sigh she picked it up. “Thank you for calling Marks-St. Claire, this is Alexa.”
“Hey Alexa, this is Crystal.” Alexa recognized the familiar southern drawl right away.
“Hi, Crystal!” she said cheerfully. “How are you?”
“I’m fine, and you?”
“Good.”
“I was just calling to say that I’ll be in Denver in exactly two hours. I wanted to know if you want to get together.”
“Sure. Just give me your flight information and I’ll meet you at the airport.”
Crystal recited the information while Alexa scribbled it down on a notepad.
“I’ll just leave from here and meet you at your gate. So how long are you here for?”
“Until tomorrow morning,” Crystal replied.
“Then you have to stay with me,” Alexa insisted.
“I don’t want to intrude.”
“Girl, please. I won’t take no for an answer. I have plenty of room. Plus, it would be nice having some company.”
“Are you sure?” Crystal asked.
“Yes!” Alexa exclaimed with a smile. It would be nice to have another human voice around. The place was lonely without Darius’s presence.
“Thanks, Alexa.”
“No problem. I’ll see you at 3:30.”
Alexa smiled as she hung up the telephone. Crystal was a really nice person. She had good vibes about her the moment they met. Crystal must have felt the same or she was sure she wouldn’t be calling.
The remaining two hours went by fast. Before Alexa knew it, she was at the airport waiting for Crystal to exit the jetway. Crystal was one of the four flight attendants exiting the plane with their Pullmans in tow.
“See ya!” she called out to the others as she spotted Alexa.
“Hey, girlfriend!” Crystal cried. She looked professional in her tailored navy blue dress, the company’s uniform, and a colorful red and gold scarf tied around her neck.
The two exchanged hugs.
“My feet are killing me,” she groaned. “I had three flights already this morning. Thank goodness I have the next few days off after tomorrow morning’s flight.”
Later the two settled down before a takeout dinner of chicken Florentine, garlic toast and salad from Camille’s, one of Alexa’s favorite restaurants in her neighborhood.
“Do you like your line of work?” Alexa asked.
Crystal took a sip of water and nodded. “Yes, I love it. It will be hard getting used to not traveling so much once Reg and I get married, which is why I’m trying to visit all of the places I can. I know I am going to have to settle down once that happens because family is more important to me than my career.”
Alexa toyed with the idea of bringing up her promotion, but Crystal’s strong comment regarding family made her think twice about it. She wanted to get a feel for the situation through the eyes of someone who saw Darius on a regular basis.
“Can’t you work part-time rather than totally give up your career?” Alexa asked trying to fit her situation into the conversation.
Crystal shook her head adamantly. “I’ll just have to find a new line of work.”
“Why, if you love it so much?” She couldn’t understand why Crystal should have to sacrifice her passion in order to be with the man she loved. It sounded so one-sided, so conditional.
“Because Reg wouldn’t have it any other way. We’ve discussed what we want for our family, especially when we have children. He told me that he never wants us to spend a night away from one another unless it was absolutely necessary. He even wants us to eat dinner together every night. With my job that would be impossible. I understand where he’s coming from though. Both of my parents were home for breakfast in the morning and dinner at night.”
She sighed, thoughtfully. “And because I come from a long line of traditional, southern black women. Regardless of their education or careers they had before they met their husbands, they set it all aside to take care of home once they got married.”
“Does that bother you?” Alexa asked. She couldn’t understand that way of thinking. “I mean just giving up your career like that to be a housewife?”
Crystal nodded sadly. “Part of it does, but I know it’s something I have to do. All of the marriages in my family are successful because of the tone the women set.”
Crystal’s last words reverberated in Alexa’s head. It was hard for her to come up with such a cut-and-dried resolution for their situation. On the one hand, she loved Darius and having him back in her life. But on the other, she had put in some time with Marks-St. Claire and felt obligated to fulfill her position to the fullest.
“So, what’s with all the questions?” Crystal asked. “Are you thinking about leaving your job?”
Alexa shook her head. “Actually, it’s just the opposite.” She filled Crystal in on her promotion followed by Mrs. Holland’s glowing evaluation of her.
“You go, girl!” Crystal shouted enthusiastically. She reached up for a high-five.
“Thank you, thank you.” Alexa replied, taking a bow from side to side. “I am so excited.”
“You should be. Being the editor-in-chief of your own magazine ain’t small time. Go on, head sista in charge!” Crystal teased.
“That’s right,” Alexa echoed her comment. She couldn’t believe how at ease she felt with Crystal.
The rest of the evening was spent talking about the things to do and places to see in the Big Apple. Because of her occupation, Crystal had been to New York many times, even had friends there. She suggested that Alexa look them up the minute she got settled as they were good people. As she had imagined, Crystal was turning out to be a good friend.