One More Smile

1.

New York, New York
Sunday, Aug. 25

"Please, Ms. London! I just need a little more time!"

Lauren slid the thick Chanel frames down the bridge of her nose before completely removing them to look at the young beauty in front of her. Like always, it pained her to deliver the news of eviction to her tenants. Most of them were young, low-income individuals who were victims of the horrible American class system. Lauren always tried her hardest to help as much as she could, but she had been raised as a businesswoman, and in the business industry, she couldn't afford to help everyone without harming herself in the process.

"Miss Knowles, I gave you more time. You're three months behind on rent, and there's nothing else I can do," Lauren stressed, giving the girl a sympathetic look.

The girl that she knew as Miss Knowles had been a repeat offender of not paying her rent on time. Lauren didn't put the girl at fault — Miss Knowles was a teenager who was raising her four-year-old daughter alone, so Lauren understood that her struggles were beyond her control — but she'd given her extension after extension, and it was clear that Miss Knowles would not be able to pay what was owed.

It wasn't that she was a bad tenant, either. She kept her apartment clean despite having an energetic child, and although she wasn't consistent with her rent, when she was able to pay, she always paid the full amount. Miss Knowles was a great tenant, but the property had been passed down to Lauren by her father, and she'd be in for it once he found out she'd been giving extensions and losing out on money.

"Please, I just need a few more weeks," Miss Knowles begged.

Lauren sighed, watching the tears pool along the brim of the girl's hazel eyes. She looked past the teen and put her attention on the small child that sat in the middle of the living room floor, coloring away in a coloring book. The little girl was a carbon copy of her mother. Miss Knowles was tall and full-figured with a pretty face and curly blonde hair. Her daughter had taken her height and hazel eyes and sported the same thick, curly hair in a dark brown color. Lauren peeled her eyes away from the child and took a short look around the apartment from what she could see from the front door. There was a small couch and a coffee table, a pink child's table set, and toys scattered about. There wasn't much furniture or even a television, and the reality of Miss Knowles' struggles really set in for Lauren.

"Look, I can give you fifteen days, okay?" She finally said, causing Miss Knowles to nod as her tears fell. "I have a friend who's real big in the field of philanthropy. I'll have her reach out to you, and hopefully we can explore your options moving forward."

"Okay, thanks. Thank you so much, Ms. London," Miss Knowles sniffled as she wiped her tears, still feeling defeated.

Lauren simply nodded and stood up straight.

"No problem. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"You too."

With that, Lauren turned sharply on her heels and sauntered away, feeling the guilt settling into her gut. She never found joy in delivering bad news. Her tenants were all people who had nowhere to go if they were evicted. Though it was a painful realization that she had never and would never experience firsthand, she lifted her chin to remind herself of her father's constant advice — everyone else's struggles were not her problem.

*

"BB, I'm hungry!" Celestine announced once her mother shut the door.

Beyoncé took a moment to regroup before turning around to face her child. All of the stress and worry that had been wearing on her heart disappeared momentarily the second her eyes landed on her daughter. Beyoncé had been on her own since she was sixteen, and Celestine had become her escape from the draining reality of her day-to-day life.