1
The beginning…
“ H ello,” I called out after entering Lilac’s condo. I took note of the unassembled boxes leaning up against the wall. Lilac and Ezra had decided that they would be moving in with each other. Lilac owns this place and has plans to rent it out. I hadn’t said anything yet, but I was thinking about asking if I could be her tenant. My Center City apartment was nice, but I was ready for a change. It seemed as if everyone else’s lives were moving at a lightning speed pace, and mine was just... stagnant. A new place may help curb the ache I’ve been having lately for love and companionship.
“In here, Bloss,” Daisy yelled back. I kicked my heels off and slipped out of my blazer, hanging it with my purse onto an empty hook by the door. Today had been a long drawn out day, and I was ready to shower and climb into my bed, but instead, I was here for a family ‘meeting’ .
“Is this so important that I needed to rush here after work?” I asked, walking into the living room to find that I was the last to arrive. I plopped down next to Lily and lifted my feet into her lap.
“Girl, I know you lying,” she said, knocking them off, for me to only put them back. I smiled and wiggled my manicured toes, and this time she just laughed and let me have my way.
“So, what’s this about?” I asked again, realizing that I hadn’t been given an answer.
“Ezra wants to talk to us,” Daisy mumbled, rolling her eyes playfully. That’s when I noticed that Lennox and Brandon were sitting with Magnolia and Juniper, but Ayden and Ezra were standing.
“Uh, oh,” I whispered. “We must be in trouble.” Ayden chuckled. His hazel eyes sparkling under the manufactured lights. He was slowly coming around and showing more personality as the days passed. And Daisy was happy, so I was happy.
“Look...” Ezra started, looking around the room. “We can’t have what happened at the barbecue a couple of weeks ago ever happen again.” Ah. “There are babies on the way, weddings happening...” he paused. “Life is too precious to be fighting and shit.” Ezra was the most philosophical hood nigga I’d ever met. It was funny, but at the same time he always made sense. “Magnolia’s baby shower is this weekend, and I want to make sure that everything is on the up and up.”
Lily stiffened, and I grabbed her hand. She was having a difficult time handling the blowback of what happened at her graduation celebration with her mom and our aunt. The two had a long history, and because of that history, she decided to expose a secret our aunt had been keeping from us. It was a disaster, to say the least, but none of it was her fault. None of us blamed her, but for some reason, her mother did. I would never understand how Francesca could be so selfish, but it wasn’t for me to understand. All I can do is be there for my sister while she works through it the best she can.
“Lily, just to be clear us guys don’t blame you either,” Lennox said. Brandon, Ezra, and Ayden were all nodding. “Lori will be in town, and we want to make sure she doesn’t feel uncomfortable. But we also want to make sure that you don’t feel uncomfortable either because you are a part of this family.”
“And don’t let that day take away from your accomplishment either,” Ayden said, turning his attention to her. “We haven’t had the chance to really get to know one another, but I wanted to give you this before I sat down. This meeting is all Ezra’s doing. I’m really just here as a spectator.” He picked up a bag from off the floor that I hadn’t noticed was there until now and handed it to her. Daisy was smiling as he did. I removed my feet from Lily’s lap and leaned in to get a better look. She pulled a medium-sized box out of the bag and opened it.
“Ooh,” I cooed.
“Wow,” she whispered in awe, pulling the old school typewriter with brass keys and a digital screen from it. “This is...”
“Look,” I said, pointing to the engraved words at the top of it.
One day I’ll be a famous writer.
“I hope you like it,” Daisy said, leaning in to wipe away the tears that had begun to fall from Lily's eyes. “It was all Ayden’s idea. I’m kind of jealous; he thought of it before me.”
“My ideas are yours,” he said. I rolled my eyes and laughed. They were so cute that it made me sick. I looked around the room; all of my sisters and their men were equally as cute. I was the only one who... I shook my head and focused my attention on Lily again.
“I love it so much!” she exclaimed, hugging Daisy. “I’m inspired to write now.” Lily set the gift aside and stood. “Is it Ok if I...” Ayden nodded, and she hugged him. I looked away and wiped my eyes. Ayden really was coming around, and it was beautiful to see. Magnolia thought he wouldn’t come around. The truth is she saw herself in him, and that scared her more than anything when it came to Daisy possibly being hurt.
“There’s one more thing,” I said, after gathering myself. This hadn’t been planned, but we never got to give her our gift that day. I glanced around at my sisters, and they all nodded, understanding where I was going with my statement. Lily turned to look at me with a frown on her face.
“No more gifts.”
“Too late,” Juniper said. “This one has been in the works for a while now.” Lilac stood and grabbed an envelope from a drawer on her coffee table.
“So,” I said, taking it. “We know that you’ve been stressed about work and what to do next after graduation. We also know that it’ll take some time to really get on your feet.” She nodded.
“I don’t have my job anymore on campus, so yeah, I’m stressed.” Her work-study job wasn’t paying a lot, but she was able to keep up with her bills with that money and the extra from her scholarship. We understood the struggle.
“Well...” I handed the envelope over. “Here’s your first check, co-ownership papers, and keys to Baker’s Clothing Bar. Your first shift starts on Wednesday with yours truly, so I can show you the ropes. As you know, we each work there one day out of the week just to check on things, so you’ll be taking Magnolia’s shift once you have everything down while she’s on maternity leave.” She was pulling everything out with wide eyes.
“No way,” she whispered, staring at the check. It was a little over ten thousand dollars and that wasn’t even a quarter of what she would be making. “I can’t... I can’t... what?” Lily’s head popped up, and she looked around. “I didn’t earn this. I wasn’t there when you...”
“We’re opening a second location,” Magnolia said. “That’s how you’ll earn that sixteen percent, so what were you about to say?” We all took a little over a three percent pay cut to fit her in equally. In the end, it was worth the look on her face. After all, she was a flower sister, and we had the means to do this. If we wanted, we could all live off the money from Baker’s, but each of us had other passions we wanted to pursue. That was one of the reasons we hadn’t expanded after six years of being in business, but now is the time. Our family was expanding, and it was only right that we continued on our path to generational wealth.