Time Will Reveal

01 Tabitha

Did I update for the first time in like forever, yes -- I did. I miss this story and am trying to remain more consistent in my writing again.

Hope y'all enjoy

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4 weeks before the wedding

     Tabitha has always been a jack of all trades, having a good hand at many things. The girl enjoyed learning, always wanting to discover new things in a world where many people were okay with remaining the same.

     Many people seemed to admire her for that, mostly Madeline and Ms. Robyn, who encouraged her that it was always good to be skillful. Many others though, like her traditional Baptist mother and her slew of aunties, thought Tabitha was too all over the place, her head too much in the clouds. Too much like a dandelion seed floating in the wild summer wind.

     But Tabitha didn't mind much being a dandelion.

     Even as crafty and skillful as she was; there were only two things in this world that Tabitha loved absolutely. One of them was singing, but; like the other thing she loved most in her life, she had to let it go.

     All of this clouded her mind like the grey overcast that blanketed the summer sky. It was the following day and Tabitha sat in her back sunroom hemming a skirt for one of her mother's church members, the cool summer breeze from the screen door combing through her curly hair. An uneasiness had been resting in her since yesterday after Robert canceled their lunch date yet again. She hadn't bothered to give him a call when she arrived home last night, or stop by his office this morning. She'd even gone as far as removing her phone from off its hook to avoid the man's calls.

     She knew she was acting childish, but she felt at her wit's end. Despite her being fed up with his actions, the girl's mind buzzed like a honeybee full of guilt.

     Tabitha knew couldn't fully blame her fiance for her clouded, confused mind. The girl couldn't stop herself from wandering to Madeline's news, feeling agitation and guilt for her foolish mind to even dare be the slight bit curious about him. She hated that just the mention of his name made her feel super topsy-turvy.

     The girl tried to shake this turmoil that overwhelmed her, her fingers dancing with the needle and thread as the hum of the sewing machine hung in the air, causing a brief distraction to the whirlwind of her mind.

     A slamming door disrupted this rhythm, startling the girl as she heard her name called by an unmistakable voice. Standing up, she walked to her living room to the call, her kid brother and mother bickering back and forth as if they hadn't walked into her home.

     "Tabby, tell Mama to let me get a jheri curl," Noah declared in a way only a teenage boy can.

     "I am not letting you get no greasy chemical in ya head ruining all my sheets and good towels," Tabitha's mother shot back to the boy, "Trying to look like that Jackson boy. It's bad enough you're scuffing my floors trying to dance like him, and that King guy."

     Tabitha's brother, Noah – a fourteen-year-old fireball and her whole heart, rolled his eyes, "That's Prince, Mama."

     The boy turned to his sister before engulfing her in a hug. Tabitha squeezed back, a warmth filling her up she hadn't felt all day. It had been only a few weeks since she saw him last, being so busy with wedding planning. In those short weeks, it seemed like her brother had grown like a weed.

     He stood taller than her now, a lanky and sprouted six feet, his hair cut short and picked out in a small afro. He and Tabitha shared the same pecan-colored skin tone, large doe eyes and dark, coily hair.