Stories of Destiny

Birthday licks pt.2

On July 23, 1979, Tenitra Michelle Williams was born. Beyoncé had always believed that was the day God sent an angel down to earth, but now it felt like the day that angel would be sent back.

Michelle was the love of Beyoncé's life, but sometimes she could be her greatest enemy, and today was one of those days. Still, Beyoncé couldn't fully blame Michelle for her anger; she should have realized it was going to be some shit days before Michelle's birthday arrived.  Just a few days before Michelle's birthday, Beyoncé noticed an unusual change in her partner. Michelle had gone from sweet morning texts to texts describing what she wanted done to her in the bedroom. She had been getting bolder, sending multiple risky photos with no explanation and then ignoring the flood of calls that followed. At first, Beyoncé didn't get too upset; in fact, she enjoyed those messages more than she cared to admit. It wasn't until the messages stopped that she began to grow a bit aggravated.

At first, Beyoncé thought Michelle was just busy; she was on Broadway doing eight shows a week after all. But as the days dragged on, her calls and texts continued to go unanswered. Eventually, she had begun to run out of excuses for Michelle, and it didn't help that the woman wasn't bothering to provide any. When Michelle did respond, her replies were short, and the conversations were rushed, as though she couldn't wait to hang up. Confused and increasingly agitated, Beyoncé held back from pressing for answers, telling herself Michelle would eventually open up. Yet as the days passed on, Beyoncé realized how much of a fool she was to believe that.

The last real conversation they'd had was on the day of Michelle's photoshoot. Beyoncé had spent the entire day anticipating the photos Michelle promised to send. She had plans that relied on those images. Michelle knew that, which is why she promised to send them in the first place. But yet, call after call went unanswered and her texts had gone ignored, until finally, Michelle picked up and tossed her a half-hearted explanation paired with a full-blown lie. She ended the call saying she'd send the pictures but the notification never came. Instead, Beyoncé saw the photos when her phone buzzed with a notification that Michelle had posted on Instagram.

Beyoncé opened the post with a mix of confusion and anticipation, only for her blood to boil once she saw what the post was. On her screen were the pictures Michelle had promised to send days ago; they had been posted without her even getting a first look. Despite her anger, Beyoncé was blown away by Michelle's beauty. She was so breathtaking it almost made Beyoncé forget her anger. The keyword in that word in that sentence was almost.

As if the post wasn't enough, the comments under the post was the final nail in the coffin. Comment after comment flooded the post, thousands of compliments pouring in. Some were respectful, others repeated the words Beyoncé herself had whispered to Michelle in private. Then came the comments that made her blood boil:

"Oh, I know Beyoncé is happy as hell right now."
"Beyoncé is probably blowing Michelle's phone up as we speak, you know she loves her some Michelle."
"I bet Beyoncé already got all these pictures saved."
"Beyoncé somewhere showing all 32 right now."

Beyoncé wanted to laugh because every word was true. Had she not been thrown off by Michelle's betrayal, that is exactly what she would have been doing. Her phone creaked under the pressure of her grip as she glared at the screen. That's when Blue walked in, her phone open to the same post.

"Mama, look at the pictures Auntie Chelle posted. She looks so good!"

Beyoncé forced a smile, her voice calm though her insides churned. "She does look great, doesn't she?"

Blue nodded, her smile wide. "Yeah! Did you wish her a happy birthday yet?"

Beyoncé hummed and nodded. She had and was probably the first of many to do so. She'd sent Michelle a long, heartfelt voice message filled with loving words that now felt pointless. She wouldn't take them back, but she wouldn't have been so sweet if she had know she was being played.