CHAPTER 40

She’s surrounded.

They look just like her; in fact, they are her.

They haven’t moved, haven’t lain a hand on her.

No beatings at all.

The little Yolandas just stare at her like she’s an alien. She tries to talk to them, but they don’t listen.

One of the Yolandas pulls out a switchblade and passes it to her.

“It’s your turn,” she says.

Yolanda picks up the blade and begins slicing her face until blood runs down her hands and the blade is red from her blood.

The little Yolandas cheer for joy as they surround her and each of them hugs her.

* * *

Yolanda woke up and instinctively reached for the phone to call Natalie.

“Hello?”

“Nat? It’s me. I had another dream again…”

“Who is this?”

“It’s me. Yolanda. Look, I know we haven’t talked in a while, but I needed…”

“I don’t care what you needed, Yolanda,” Natalie said harshly. “We haven’t talked in over a month, and when you do call, you wanna talk about those stupid dreams? Get over yourself,” Natalie said, slamming the phone down.

Now totally awake, Natalie crawled out of bed and went to the bathroom. She threw cold water on her face and began brushing her teeth.

She is so selfish! Did she even notice that I quit my job? Does she even care?

Now that she didn’t have a job she had no distractions and was proud she was excelling at school. Her instructor loved her so much that he had already offered her a job at his French restaurant, Le Cardemine, an upscale bistro in downtown Houston. She would be starting at the bottom, but it was a start, and right now she had to take everything offered to her. She was greedy for knowledge and was learning fast, surprising even herself. She was up to the challenge of this new turn in her life. It is time for me to be selfish, time for me to shine.

* * *

“Okay, everyone listen up,” Dee Dee started. “Wake Up Houston is doing a makeover show next month and wants Behave Hair Salon to do all the makeovers.”

“Wow,” Yolanda said.

Wake Up Houston was the number one morning TV show in Houston. With her vivacious personality and sophisticated sense of style, Claire Winnfield had attracted millions of viewers to the show. Throughout the city, the hit show was a favorite water-cooler topic of conversation. Yolanda watched the show regularly, taping every segment. She couldn’t wait to tell her mother the news. She knew what a big deal it was to be featured on it.

“Now we are all going to have to work together as a team. I don’t want any mistakes,” Dee Dee said, glancing at Theresa, who quickly looked away.

Good! Yolanda was not mean-spirited; nonetheless, she enjoyed watching Theresa squirm.

“Theresa, you’re creative director and that means you’re in charge, but I don’t fully trust that you can execute a project of this magnitude. So, Maxwell,” Dee Dee continued, “I want you to work with Theresa.”

Yolanda watched as Theresa gave Maxwell a playful wink.

“Dee Dee, are you sure about that?” Yolanda asked.

Dee Dee turned and looked at Yolanda.

“Are you questioning my authority, Yolanda?”

“No, it’s just…”

“Perhaps you have a better idea considering your meager experience as an assistant manager. Maybe your knowledge is greater than my twenty-five years of owning a salon?”

Theresa snickered.

“I apologize, Dee Dee, I wasn’t thinking.” Yolanda looked down at her notepad, embarrassed. She tuned out the rest of the meeting, wishing she were invisible and could crawl out of the room unseen.

Twenty minutes later, after assigning various responsibilities for the TV show project, Dee Dee stood up and graciously dismissed them, wishing everyone a fruitful Saturday.

As Yolanda prepared to leave, Theresa confronted her, putting her hand on her shoulder.

“Hello, Theresa.”

“That comment you made last week…”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t appreciate it. Don’t ever front me like that again in front of Dee Dee,” Theresa said, looking directly into Yolanda’s eyes.

“What?”

“You heard me,” Theresa said.

They stared at each other for a long moment.

Yolanda was the first to look away.

“I thought so,” Theresa said, walking away.

* * *

“It’s getting late,” Maxwell said. “Let’s finish this up so we can go home.”

“Sure. You want me to take you to dinner? My treat.”

“Cute. Real cute.”

“Come off it, Max,” Theresa said, using the nickname she had given him when they dated. “I’ve seen the way you’ve been looking at me.”

“What way?”

“You still love me.”

“Don’t kid yourself.”

Theresa walked over to Maxwell and stood on her tip-toes, whispering in Maxwell’s ear, “After all these years, we still love each other.”

“After all these years, you haven’t changed one bit,” Maxwell said. “Everything about you is a lie. Drop this whole act and stop pretending to be something you’re not. I need more than what you can offer. Can’t you see that?”

Theresa’s smile faded. She stepped back and started gathering her papers.

“I think we’re done here,” she said.

“We will always be done, Theresa. Understood?”

Theresa retorted, “I don’t think so, sweetheart. We’ve only just begun. You need to learn to relax.”

“And you need to learn there’s more to life than lies and deception.”

“I do know that. I also know that I still have feelings for you, Max. I’ve thought about you every day since we broke up. You knew when I took this job…”

“You should have asked me first.”

“Cut the crap, Max! If I had asked you, would you have said yes?”

Maxwell shook his head no.

“I came here for two reasons, Max. One, because I’m good at what I do.”

“And two?”

“I want you back.”

Uncomfortable silence filled the room.

“I don’t want you back,” Maxwell said flatly.

“You know, you never gave us a chance, Maxwell. You fought your feelings then, and you’re fighting them now. Why?”

“I’m not fighting any feelings for you, Theresa. There are no feelings for you.”

She looked at him.

“You’re lying.”

He turned his back to her, not wanting her to see the turmoil in his face. What kind of stunt is she trying to pull?

“Is there someone else?”

“No,” he said turning around and facing her.

“Then why, Maxwell? Why won’t you give me another chance? There is still love between us; I feel it and I know you feel it, too.”

“I don’t know Theresa. But what I do know is that I just can’t trust you..”

“I still love you, Maxwell. Tell me you love me, too,” Theresa pleaded, her eyes searching his face.

He looked down at her, his eyes dark.

“I’ll admit I still care for you, Theresa, but you have to know it’s not love. Not anymore. It’s over,” he said, with a finality to his voice.

Theresa shrugged nonchalantly, but her heart was breaking. Carol had always told her she lied so well she could have become an actress, so she smiled brightly and picked up the rest of her papers.

“You’re playing hard to get. You better be glad I like a challenge,” she said, walking out of Maxwell’s office.