Authors: Niobia Bryant
“Where you headed this time?”
“Puerto Rico.”
Anika raised a shapely brow. “Why Puerto Rico?”
Chloe stood, carrying the pile of now folded under close to the eight-drawer marble dresser. “They wanted Caribbean footage, and shooting there will save on production costs over traveling to Jamaica or the Bahamas. The setting’s just as beautiful and doesn’t one beach really resemble the next?”
“Yeah but you just missed out on a chance to frolic with a bronzed warrior with dreadlocks and a sexy accent, mon,” she said imitating the Jamaican dialect. “I mean the best part about your world-famous career, besides the money of course, is traveling to all those different places.”
“Yeah and hardly spending enough time anywhere to truly enjoy it,” Chloe said wryly.
“Or enough time to find a man,” Anika said pointedly. “It’s been three years since you dropped you know who, you know.”
“Yes I do know.” Chloe threw a withering look at her. “And
you
know that I’m not looking for anybody. If I wanted a man I’d have one, thank you very much. Don’t hate me because I’m not in the market for heartbreak.”
“Okay, okay,” Anika conceded. This was an old argument she knew she would not win. She rolled off the bed to check her impeccable appearance.
“You are always on the go,” she said purposely changing the subject. “I get to see you a good twelve times out of the year. I don’t know where you get the energy, girl.”
“I don’t know where I
got
the energy from either.”
“Huh?” Anika turned from the mirror where she was applying one of the dozen tubes of lipstick Chloe owned. The shade was a deep mahogany.
“A few months ago I finally told Liv I was retiring. She’s not accepting any more offers for me after June of this year.”
Anika gasped in shock before regaining her cool composure. “Well, that’s good for you, girl. You
have
been complaining a lot lately. And we both know what you promised Mama Dell.”
Chloe nodded. “I know. That’s the first thing that crossed my mind. I promised her I’d quit when I stopped enjoying it.”
Anika turned back to the mirrored wall, skillfully applying the lipstick. “Lawd knows you’ve made enough money, and you will be remembered as one of the black model trailblazers in fashion. I’m proud of the dedication you’ve shown your work, even if I didn’t see the necessity of you half naked in nothing but a thong and a smile to sell perfume.”
“Ha ha ha.”
“So what are you going to do now? You’re only thirty-three for goodness sakes!” Anika snorted. “Hardly the age to
truly
retire.”
Chloe had pondered the same thing many times since her decision. Quite frankly she wasn’t sure, although she has some ideas, like dedicating more time to charities. “I do know that I want to travel and just relax and enjoy all the places I haven’t had a chance to explore because I was working. I’m also tired of New York living.”
“I hear that. That’s why I live in New Jersey. It’s not quite as bad as New York,” Anika side.
“It ain’t much better either!”
“Funny,” Anika said sarcastically as she applied blush to her high cheekbones. She jumped suddenly, startling Chloe.
“What?” Chloe asked, concerned.
“How about that land Mama Dell left you down south?”
“In Holtsville?”
“Yeah, now if that’s not a 180-degree change from the Big Apple, what is?”
She had completely forgotten about the acres of land she’d inherited. Her mother had loved the small town where she had been born and raised. She’d lived there until she had moved to New York at eighteen. Now the land that her mother had cherished was hers.
Her mind wandered to the stories her mother told her about growing up in Holtsville. The spacious, grass-filled land to run and play in; the animals her father raised; miles and miles of empty, uncongested land with tall trees and wildflowers; the still of the night; the fresh, home-grown foods and home remedies for whatever ailments they had; and the tight knit community, where no one was a stranger even though the nearest neighbor could be a quarter-mile away. Life moved at a slower, more easy-going pace.
South Carolina. Known as “down south” to anyone who lived “up north”.
Chloe could only imagine it because she couldn’t remember anything about the yearly trips she and her mother made there. She had only been an arm baby and later a toddler. The trip stopped suddenly when she her grandparents had been killed by a drunk driver in a tragic automobile accident. Her mother had been an only child of two people who also had no siblings, so there weren’t any more family members to travel to see in the small town.
If Holtsville was anything like her mother said, then it had to be pure paradise compared to the constant hustle and bustle of the city that never sleeps… New York.
“Well, sista friend,” Anika said, turning to show Chloe how the lipstick perfectly suited her coloring and the outfit. “Whatever you decide to do, I’m behind you one hundred percent.”
Chloe nodded, feeling sure of her decision.
“Okay, Chloe, let’s hit the streets. Wesley awaits!”
∞
Six Months Later
Chloe hated to admit that she was excited about the gala party being thrown in her honor. She sighed and sunk down low into the honey-and lemon-scented bubble bath. Her chin touched the water and she closed her eyes. As the steamy water gently lapped against her body, she blocked out the noise of preparation coming from the other side of the hotel suite’s bathroom door.
Woods Modeling Agency and Ashanti Cosmetics had collaborated on this mega-event have a final farewell to the beauty who had remained firm in her decision to retire, a decision that many questioned the reasons for. A suite of rooms at the Plaza Hotel were at her disposal to prepare for the evening. The outer rooms were filled racks of designer original dresses on loan from some of the hottest names in fashion, all of whom wanted her to be seen in their creation for her last formal appearance. A representative from Harry Winston Jewelers, along with four burly security guards, had a selection of diamond jewelry for her to choose to wear with whatever gown she selected, also on loan. Hair and makeup stylists were primed to accentuate her natural beauty.
All were outside the door, waiting to help her celebrate her farewell to a highly successful career. They, like many others, wondered why the beauty would retire now when she was still at the height of her profession. They also wondered what her plans for the future were, a question that Chloe had avidly dodged in the press.
Downstairs the ballroom was surely bustling with activity as last-minute preparations were made. This would be her last big who hooray, and Chloe would admit, only to herself, that she was a little melancholy. But she was also sure that retiring was what she wanted. Her plans for the future were already in motion and she was anxious to start the new chapter in her life.
Chloe stepped out of the elevated tub, engulfing her glistening wet body in a plush embroidered bath towel. She descended the steps leading from the platform and crossed the carpeted floor, flinging open both the double doors. The activity in the outer room halted as all eyes turned toward her. With a warm smile characteristic of her fun-loving personality, she said, “Make me beautiful.”
“God beat us to it,” someone yelled out and they all agreed.
Chloe blushed like a schoolgirl. “Y’all full of it.”
∞
“Chloe, you chose
my
dress. How wise of you!”
She turned to find Jeffrey appraising her with a critical eye. She smiled and struck a dramatic pose. “How do I look, Jeffie?”
He was amazed, as he was each time he saw her, that she was so beautiful and graceful. She truly would be a loss to the fashion industry. “You look fabulous as always, Chloe.”
Jeffrey had designed the dress with her in mind and it suited the mocha-skinned beauty perfectly. The cut of the slip dress was simple with slender spaghetti straps and a straight, square neckline. The fall colors were not true to the current hot summer weather, but the rich gold, rust and deep browns perfectly offset her chocolate skin and the rich auburn color of her shoulder-length tresses. She brought the sequined creation to life and he was truly honored that she chose to wear it.
As she turned once again for his approval, he decided he would give her the dress, which could retail for six thousand dollars. No other woman could do it justice.
They posed for several publicity shots before Jeffrey moved on, eventually disappearing from Chloe’s sight into the crowd with a dramatic twirl. She promised herself to keep in contact with him, because she would miss him too much to do otherwise.
Chloe was exhausted. The dancing all night with barely any reprieve, posing for pictures, and talking to all the celebrities on hand to wish her well was catching up with her. Of course there were the hordes of celebrity reporters hounding her. They all asked much of the same questions she had heard over the past six months since her imminent retire was announced.
She begged off another dance with a well-known action adventure star and moved through the crowd toward the table of honor at the front of the room. With a smile she waved to Anika, elegant in a red halter dress, dancing with Wesley Snipes with an I-told-you-so expression on her face.
Chloe didn’t have to look in a mirror to know that her face was flushed and damp with perspiration. She was contemplating going to the bathroom to touch up her makeup when the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood on end alerting her that someone was behind her. Turning in her seat, Chloe found her ex-boyfriend, Calvin Ingram, still tall and handsome, so able to arouse her, and still able to hurt her. She hated the sudden ache in her belly because it meant that even after three years he still could get to her.
Damn
!
“Can I finally get you to myself?”
Chloe rolled her eyes heavenward. His words was silky smooth and able to lull away the defenses she put up… if she let him. “Hello Calvin. . . .good to see you.”
What a lie. He was the last man she wanted to see. Memories of his betrayal was still fresh in her mind and heart. She had loved this handsome man standing before her and the world she had shared with him crumbled the day she came home early from a photo shoot and found him in bed with another woman. Love had quickly turned to hate and then to pity, because he had no concept of fidelity.
A vision of the day flashed in front of her. Long, slender light-skinned legs wrapped around his waist. His strong, hard buttocks being grasped tightly by her hands as he wildly stroked inside the woman beneath him.
Pain shot through her and tears filled her eyes.
Damn… it still hurts!
Chloe forced a tight smile into her face. “How’s Yvette?”
She received little pleasure from the uncomfortable look that showed on his face as she mentioned the name of the woman she caught him with.
Why can’t he leave me alone
?
His eyes dropped as he sat down in the chair next to her. The familiar scent of his spicy cologne wafted past her nostrils and for a second she let herself get lost in the “good times” they once shared.
Five years ago during an
Ebony
cover photo shoot, Chloe had spotted a man from across the room. The attraction was instantaneous and she couldn’t keep her eyes off of him. He was, to her, the perfect male specimen: tall, bronze, with bright eyes and even brighter smile, straight teeth and dark chocolate skin that gleamed.
He was introduced to her as Calvin Ingram, the freelance writer who would be conducting the interview. As she shook his hand, her eyes has summed up the slender, athletic build and his towering height of six feet and five inches. She was truly interested in the man.
The interview led to a year of exclusive dating and then a nearly two-year-long courtship that ended abruptly on January the fifteenth.
Damn, three years later and I
can still remember the date
, she thought as she fidgeted nervously under his intense gaze.
“Chloe, you’re still as beautiful as ever. I’ve missed you, Cat.”
She winced as he reverted to his pet name for her, referring to her oddly shaped eyes. “Look Calvin. What do you want from me? We’ve exchanged polite pleasantries; why don’t we continue on our separate paths.”
He reached for her hand resting lightly on the table, but she snatched it away. “Look Cat —”
“Chloe,” she stated firmly. “My name is not Cat.”
“All right . . . Chloe. I haven’t seen or spoken to you since that night. You’ve done so well at avoiding all my advances until finally I stopped trying. You never gave me the chance to explain —”
“Explain what, Calvin?” she hissed. Her eyes glistened with anger as she stared him down, her usually beautiful mouth now a thin line. “Explain why you were banging the hell out of Yvette in the bed we shared together? Explain why I heard the man I thought loved me, telling another woman ‘I love you’ and ‘You’re the best piece of —’”