A Necessary Struggle: Spring Semester

Chapter 20: Sidetracked by Price Cuts

It was the last Sunday of the month and for the first time in a little over two months Safiya woke up to the blinding rays of the sun pouring through the window she forgot to close last night and not the cries of Ameera. She climbed out of bed with a smile as she stood knowing she didn't have to go to work today or the next. It was rare that Irene, the supervisor at Tory Burch, gave any associate two off days consecutively but Safiya wasn't going to question the blessing. She checked on Ameera in the crib—still sleeping silently with her small, balled hand resting by her mouth. Safiya took the time to head to the bathroom, while the house was quiet and took a long, hot shower.

Safiya stood under the showerhead, her fingers combed through soaked hair as honeysuckle shampoo suds rolled down her arm, neck, and over her clasped eyes. She didn't hear it over the drum of the water smacking the bottom of the bathtub.

"Hey! Fiya!" Harmony called poking her head through the cracked door.

Safiya tilted her head away from the waterfall, "Is she up?" She moved her hand towards the faucet.

"Not yet!" Harmony shouted stepping further into the bathroom. She glossed her eyes over the fogged mirror and Safiya's pajamas on the Aztec-print rug. "I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a walk...before I head out." She kept her hand on the doorknob, standing there in a pair of black running shorts, one of her many Tyler's shirts, and jogging shoes.

"Isn't it cold outside?"

"Not anymore." Harmony rubbed her hand down her big, curly ponytail. "It's warm, now—78 degrees."

"Yeah," Safiya said. "Wait for me."

Harmony nodded pulling the door open wider, "I'll get Ameera ready." She clicked the door closed behind her.

*******

Their morning walk was a mile and a half and they ended up in the same place they always did when they went walking—Target.

The store had only been open for forty minutes and customers already strolled around the store but red polo-shirted employees still outnumbered them. Safiya and Harmony had been in the store for most of the time it had opened and had already perused the dollar section by the door.

Harmony pushed the red cart towards the accessory area, "So, how was your date with..." She held out her hand waiting for Safiya to speak.

"You know the rule." Safiya pushed Harmony's hand down. "I don't tell names until I know if it's serious." She plucked a pair of sunglasses off the display table decked with new apparel. She rested her other hand underneath the baby carrier Ameera tucked away in, "How ya like?" She asked the infant who was looking up at her.

"They looked like the ones you have already." Harmony pointed to the glasses hanging from her white V-neck shirt.

"These are a lighter tint than mine," Safiya said pulling the shades off her face.

Harmony shook her head as she examined the inside of a color block duffle bag, "Just don't spend her diaper money."

"I won't." Safiya placed the glasses back on the table. "Anyways, Carter gives me money for that and other things."

Harmony pulled her eyes off the bag and placed them on Safiya, "You're taking money from him?"

"Yeah." Safiya half-shrugged moving around the table. "He's her father and that's why I'm thinking..." She peered down at Ameera with her white cap covering her curls, "About changing her name to Russell."

Harmony's eyebrows knitted as she placed the bag back on its hook under the table. "Are you sure?" Harmony rose back up to her height, pulling her shirt back down. "Once you do that he'll get legal rights. You should talk to Laurent before you make any..." Her gaze fell to Ameera. "Big decisions."

"Fine." Safiya nodded fitting a straw fedora hat on her now dried locks, "I meet with your dad."

"Laurent." Harmony corrected.

"Your dad." Safiya chuckled taking the hat off.

"So..." Harmony moved behind Safiya to the other wall. "How was your date with the new guy?"

"Good." Safiya placed her hands under the baby carrier as she stood next to Harmony. "I think he could be..." A pleasant smile etched its way across her lips. "A keeper.

Harmony ran her hands over a red and white scarf, "You fall too fast."

"I'm not the one that fell asleep on Cairo's chest." Safiya read a text off her phone and then slipped the device back into her pocket. "...And avoiding him like the plague, again." Safiya read a text off her phone and then slipped the device back into her pocket.

"He's in a situation," Harmony said draping a polka-dotted scarf on her shoulders. "And I don't mess with guys in situations; no matter how much I really, really like them."

Safiya bumped Harmony's arm with her elbow, "You just avoid them."

"Yes, ma'am." She chirped pulling the scarf off.     

Should Safiya meet with Laurent before changing Ameera's last name? Should she be taking money from Carter? 

Is Harmony right, does Safiya fall in love too fast? Is Harmony doing the right thing, trying to keep things platonic with Cairo because he's in a situation?