Naomi, new into adulthood is juggling college, work, and a social life she could only dream of- due to the restrictions of being a devoted Christian. Seeing all her peers live their life freely makes her second guess her lifestyle. She then decides...
It felt surreal driving around in the Jeep Amir gifted me. I mean I knew he had money but not the 'buy my girlfriend a car' type of money. It had been a couple of months since then but it still felt unreal. I pulled into the driveway of Miss Erica's beautiful home.
Today is Sasha's baby shower and gender reveal, instead of having it at an event center we chose her mother's house.
All of her family was here today, from her mother's side to her father's side. That was one thing her family was good at, coming together.
I killed the engine of the car and hopped out.
Bing!
Looking down I saw a message from Nate that read, Haven't seen or heard from you in awhile, everything good?
I hadn't been back to church since the incident with my people. I didn't need to go to church to have a relationship with Jesus, I still said my prayers and talked to him— not as much as I used to but still.
I texted back, Thanks for checking on me. So much has happened, we should meet up one of these days and talk. But how are you?
I put my phone in my back pocket and went through the side gate to join everyone in the backyard. The music was blasting, everyone was conversing and the vibes were right.
"Hey, Naomi! I haven't seen you in ages." One of our old classmates walked up to me. "Hey girl, it's nice seeing you." I greeted.
"You look so different." She looked me up and down.
I knew she was referring to the way I was dressed.
I was dressed in some light-washed jean shorts, a plain white crop, black combat boots and a red flannel wrapped around my waist.
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A couple of weeks after I was kicked out I had an epiphany. I no longer felt the need to cover up and dress in a way I thought my parents or church peers would approve of.
I felt free. I dressed how I wanted, did what I wanted and didn't think about what anyone would think of it, or me.
Every once in a while I'd run into someone who'd remind me of how I used to look but it didn't bother me. I knew it would take some time before everyone got used to the new me.
"Yeah, that tends to happen when you haven't seen a person in so long," I replied. She raised her brows, "Well it was nice talking to you." She walked away before I could respond. I shrug the interaction off.
Going over to the punch table I grabbed a cup and started to make myself a drink. "Oh, it's alcohol in that Nay." One of Sasha's uncles warned as he made a drink of his own. "I know," I said. He frowned, "Since when do you drink?" He asked.
I chuckled, "Since a few months ago." I said. He nodded, "Oh okay." He walked away.
I stood by the table observing as Sasha took a picture with her parents. I couldn't help the smile that formed on my face as I watched from a distance.
