Working Through It

by Kasha Thompson

Travis found particular interest in “church business,” which is what they called it back in the day. So, there he was, business administration manager at one of the most progressive mega churches in the Metro Atlanta area.

“Thank you” wasn’t a phrase he ever heard her say, at least not to him.

As part of the staff, he had spent plenty of time with her father. Travis attended family dinners, backyard pool parties, and birthdays. He even spent a couple of holidays at her folks’ house when he couldn’t make it home to be with his family for Thanksgiving or Christmas. So why he chose to be a first-class ass kisser was beyond

Makayla rolled her eyes. She had not come here to witness the never-ending bromance between her father and Travis.

After all these years nothing has changed. She’s still selfish and greedy.

Everything you have has been given to you. Your car, your townhouse, this job. That’s not hard work. That’s privilege.”

“You’re not going to shame me because of how I grew up. I’m not privileged; I’m fortunate.” “Yeah, fortunate enough to have grown up privileged.”

To some, Travis’s life may have seemed boring, but he preferred routine: daily devotional every morning at 5:30; hit the gym by 6:15. Every Tuesday night, he and Regina cooked dinner together and watched an old ’90s movie afterward.

She would hear about the way his eyes would come to life when Makayla entered the room. Or the way his hands instinctively found hers whenever she was near. How, mid-sentence, he would be rendered speechless, dumbfounded by the little dimple that would appear at the corner of her mouth when he made her smile. Everyone had a past; he just hoped Regina couldn’t tell how his past still affected him.

We’re like orange juice and toothpaste. We don’t see eye to eye on anything.

Makayla lived rent-free in a townhouse owned by her parents. All she was responsible for were the utilities.

“It’s important you learn to take care of yourself. I fear your momma and I did you girls a disservice by giving you the world.”

Ever since she could remember, Makayla vowed she’d never date or marry a pastor.

her mother ripping up inappropriate letters sent to her father and lighting a match to gifts his many female admirers had given him over the years.

Her breakup with Travis had left her gun shy. She’d trusted him, only to end up hurt and alone. After their breakup, she vowed to never fall, trip, or stumble into love again, and for the past five years, she’d held true to that.

Her focus was on Makayla and getting all the things she wanted, and heartbreak wasn’t one of them.

he announced his engagement two months ago, everything changed. She realized she’d been stuck in suspended animation for far too long and if she wasn’t careful, life would pass her by.

Although he’d never admit it openly, her father always steered his girls in the direction of dating with a purpose—and that purpose was financial stability.

“You’re an acquired taste. Some men’s palettes aren’t sophisticated enough to handle you.”

“Maybe. You know, guys just tend to like women who need them.”

Guys like to have a purpose. If you take that stuff away from them, then why are they there?”

“You should pretend to be afraid of bugs; you should ask them to open jars, even when you don’t need them to. Get them to get the serving bowl from the high shelf instead of pulling out the step stool. You know, a modern-day damsel in distress,”

Last night, instead of somebody’s son making her legs quiver, she was scrolling through Amazon, purchasing a mug shaped like a llama and flavored sugar for her coffee.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but you and Makayla complement one another. She’s the sword, and you’re the shield. Both serve a purpose.

“I get it, I do. I just don’t want our past to get in the way of our purpose.”

Whether she admitted it or not, she was bothered by the fact that Travis had moved on.

“That’s not what I mean, M-Kay.”

There it go

acquiescing.

bright bouquet of purple hydrangeas, pink roses, and orange lilies.

She wanted to be with someone who could sense how she felt, someone who was going to protect her and not compete with her, someone who wouldn’t lie to her or mislead her.

“Don’t ‘huh’ me. If you can huh, you can hear.”

Pick of the litter, she thought. The comparison to men as dogs was not lost on her.

If he failed, she failed with him because now her success was dependent on him.

His focused eyes and casual smile acted as an anchor helping to steady the jitters that were growing inside.

God stretches us through our circumstances. Growing pains can be uncomfortable, but if you push through it, the reward is worth it,”

Travis saw this as his chance. Maybe she was tired of this adversarial Ping-Pong match.

His gaze latched onto hers, their eyes entangled long enough to throw Travis’s heart out of cadence.

Luckily, Travis crossed the distance just in time to catch her in his arms. Makayla pressed her body against his firm chest and freely allowed her arms to wrap themselves around his neck.

Reaching, he tucked a wayward lock of hair behind her ear, accidentally brushing against her cheek. Goose bumps sprang on her arms as her skin sparked from his touch.

“Trust? I trust what I see, and what I see is you undermining me.”

Makayla is a bit much

“If you weren’t hanging with Calvin, we could have grabbed the one o’clock slot. I sure hope you don’t plan on spreading yourself this thin after we get married. It’s bad enough I have to deal with you working with your deranged ex every day,” she said as she fumbled through her purse.

Ok she trippin

The levee broke, and a warm, salty flow of tears began to cascade down her cheeks.

Glancing down at her watch, she realized she had been gone for twenty-three minutes.

acquiesced.

“Well, he cared about you too. And it hurt that you didn’t return any of his calls.” He tossed her a side eye. Makayla released a tight breath. “Because he was your friend first, and I was trying to make the split as easy as possible. I got the television, and you got Calvin.”

“Nah, I mean they get along, but it’s not the same. In her mind, she already had a daughter-in-law. I don’t know why, but for some reason, she loved you. And she has compared every other woman I’ve ever dated to you, the standard.” An amused look coasted over his eyes.

“Rare people are valuable. I can say unequivocally that I have never met a woman like you. I’d rather be an acquired taste than everybody’s cup of tea.”

Makayla was the kind of friend you would call when something funny happened so you could laugh together; the kind of best friend who would text you in the middle of the day to tell you some useless, random fact; the type of best friend who, when you had a bad day, would do her best to cheer you up, and if that didn’t work, she’d just sit next to you in silence so you didn’t have to be alone.

he was being honest, that’s what made him the angriest, losing his best friend.

run to the nail salon and squeeze in her bi-weekly manicure and pedicure