Cherish [GirlxGirl]

Chapter 1

I was standing in front of the full length mirror in my bedroom, admiring all 5' 7" of my dark brown frame. I admired my long thick legs, round full breasts and big dark brown eyes. I admired my slender neck, round face and high cheek bones. I even admired the curve of my lips and natural pout. I admired every bit of me; not because of conceitedness. It was the final part of my monthly ritual. For the past two years I had taken the last Friday of every month as my "me day". Treated myself like the pampered princess I knew I deserved to be and would be if I didn't spend the other 27 to 30 days of a month overworking myself and feeling stressed out.

My ritual had begun that evening after work. The massage and mani/pedi I scheduled for that afternoon had been cancelled because of a late meeting but at least I had everything else to look forward to. I started the evening by putting on soft instrumental jazz to put me in the right frame of mind. Then I opened the bottle of merlot I kept especially for me and poured myself a glass. Vanilla scented candles lit up my living room and bathroom, the only two rooms I'd need until the ritual was over. I soaked in the bathtub, washed my hair, and exfoliated my face. I loved "me day" and everyone I shared my life with knew it. It was the one day I was off limits to all contact outside of work. No dinners with friends or family, no calls after 5 pm, no surprise visitors unless it was an emergency and I was the only person, on this planet of 6 billion + people, who could help.

As I stood in the mirror taking myself in I heard the buzzer for my apartment sound. I ignored it the first time, hoping the person would come to their senses and go away but it sounded again. I went to my bed and grabbed my robe, pulled it on and tied a loose knot at my waist.

"This better be good." I shouted as I approached the door.

Looking through the window to the side of the door I saw Cherish. She lived in the apartment above mine and was one of my closest friends. I was still upset when I pulled the door open quickly but the feeling soon subsided once I saw her face. It was obvious that she had been crying. I opened the door wider so that she could come in.

"What did she do now?" I asked somewhat impatiently.

"She moved out; said she was moving back in with her ex." She flopped down onto my couch her long legs stretching out into the path. I stepped over them as I went to sit next to her. "And where've you been? I've been calling you for the last three hours but it keeps going straight to voicemail."

"It's Friday." I said with even more impatience." She gave me a look that let me know she did not understand. "It's the last Friday of this month."

The confused look on her face only deepened and I said nothing more about it.

Switching subjects quickly I asked, "So what did you do?

"I helped her speed up the process. Took all her shit and threw it out in the hallway. I'm surprised you didnt hear all the noise upstairs. Even the neighbours in the apartment at the back and across the street came out." She closed her eyes as if she was fighting more tears. "I didn't want her stupid, unfaithful ass around me for another minute."

"Thats odd. You knew her ass was stupid and unfaithful when you two got together. Isn't that how she ended up with you?"

"Is now the time to chide me for that?" She asked incredulously.

I loved Cherish with my whole heart. Everything about her was amazing. Her beautiful light brown eyes, long healthy, dark brown dreads, fair skin. I loved her sense of style; a healthy cross between feminine and masculine, I even loved her Americanised Jamaican twang but she made the worst relationship choices of anyone I knew and then was confused when things didn't work out. And they never worked out with any of the women she'd been with since we met. She either pushed away the good ones when it started to move too quickly for her or she tried to turn all the hoes into housewives.