Just Let It Be

One

"Good morning, Stef," Lena Adams, mentor and guidance counselor, called out to a woman seated at a rounded table, just as she had entered a facility by the name of Women's Inc. At this particular location, women of troubled pasts and broken spirits were given an opportunity to seek not only guidance but also a glimpse of life in a way that they had not imagined. Lena, an experienced woman of many heartaches and sacrifices, used her past tribulations as a testimony to other women to provide inspiration. She wanted to touch souls, to feel them and hold them completely.

"You followed through with any of my recommendations?" She went on, her eyes still in the direction of the seated woman.

That woman was Stefanie Foster, or Stef. She had a body of marvelous curves, eyes of a hazel pigment and hair that rang of blonde. Yes, she had been in Women's Inc because she too was a woman of an abundance of trials and tribulations that shaped her into whom she was. But, in all honesty, Stefanie had not applied herself to the group home as Lena had wished. And, as for someone with a story to tell like Stef, Women's Inc was a place that she could benefit from, immensely.
"Morning," she gave Lena the same greeting, not giving to her eye contact. "I uh...well I've—no. I haven't."

"Stef! What—why not?" Lena was astonished. She moved closer to Stef's presence at the table.

The blonde haired woman shrugged her shoulders all while she allowed for her eyes to find Lena's. "I just...listen, I just don't think I need to attend those organizations, y'know?" Stef had been referring to the institutionalized programs Women's Inc held daily. These programs were full of experienced women that had hoped to bring a sense of understanding to women that needed reassurance or simply just a shoulder to lean on.

"Okay, you may not need them," Lena responded, taking a seat across from the woman she awarded her attention to. "but, these programs—Stef, they are ran by women that can truly help you and guide you and–"

But, before she could continue on, Stef had impeded the woman's words with, "Ms. Adams, I don't need some kind of help nor guidance. I'm-I'm fine." Stef's voice shook. "Besides, those women are all I'm-perfect-and-I-had-an-easy-way-out-kind-of—"

"Oh, that's not true," Lena did to Stef's words what had been done to her own. "They all come from backgrounds that weren't exactly amusing and all they wanna do is share their testimonies and reach out." She then smiled a slight smile. "Listen, Stef, you'd be surprised at how many people here just might relate to you and—if not everything—at least some of what you've been through."

Stef, rising from the table, shook her head from side to side. Not because she disagreed with what the mentor had mouthed to her, but because she felt that she didn't need someone else's testament to prove to her anything about life. If she were to heal or to make improvement, it'd be on her own timing. "I hear you, Ms. Adams. But, honestly, when Carrie invited me to this place, she did not list interacting with anyone really as some sort of requirement."

Carrie Elson, as Stef had made reference to, was the Executive Assistant of Women's Inc and a childhood friend of Stef's. When Carrie learned of the distress Stef had been facing, she instantly arranged for her to become apart of the group home. She had been more than worried about her dear friend she had known since their diaper days. Carrie and Lena knew of each other because their minds both held the same visions—to be advocates for troubled women.

Lena released breaths full of concern, doing as Stef had done and got up from her seat. "Yes, I've seen the friend that Carrie has been to you, and I think that it is quite amazing, all that she does for these women."

She then eyed Stef, crucially. "But with all due respect, Stefanie, because Carrie was nice enough to bring you here, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea—I feel—if you'd maybe engage more."

And with that, the mentor walked off and headed into the direction of another table that held more women of the group home.
But Stef reseated herself, breathing profound breaths. She knew that Lena was as sweet as could be, but felt that Lena only pictured her and the other women of the group home as less fortunate. Why would Lena want anything to do with women that weren't anything like her?

"Hey, you two alright?" A voice sounded and fell into Stef's ears.

She placed her eyes above her and saw Shelby, a woman of Women's Inc that she had built a close bond with. Shelby, brown eyed and curly haired, had been covered in a white robe and in her hands rested some sort of food that Stef couldn't exactly make out.

"I was standing over there and could just feel the intensity between y'all," the curly haired woman continued, taking a seat across from her dear friend.

"Hey, we uh...she figures I should join one of the programs here," Stef waved Lena's suggestions off. "But, I disagreed, of course. I'm not joining some program just to tell a bunch of strangers what I went or am going through."

Shelby took a bite of the food she had been consuming. "Well, you do start off as strangers but I promise you, in the end you're all like sisters."

She looked at Stef with eyes of assurance. "But, in all honesty, it sounds like Ms. Adams just wants to help you. And, I know her. So, I know that she just wants the best for you. She cares about people—a lot."

"Shelby, you know everyone here, c'mon. And, yeah I'm sure she does." Stef's eyes rolled. "Her and her perfect life, her perfect everything. I bet you that when she leaves here she goes home to some heaven-sent man and loving kids that—"

But, before the woman could finish her exaggerating, Shelby felt the need to cut her off with, "Oh, stop. She's not like that, Stef. I'm serious, before being in here I knew her personally."

Stef's widened her pupils. "Mhm, really? Okay, well then tell me how do you know her." She then adjusted her voice to sound as if she hadn't believed a word the brown eyed woman had to say.

"Foster care," Shelby responded, shrugging her shoulders. "In here, Ms. Adams is my mentor. But, outside of here, she's Lena: the best foster sister I ever had." She then rose from the table after taking the last bite of her accompanied food. "Oh and she doesn't have some heaven-sent man like you think. She's gay."

A|N: FIRST CHAPTERRRR. your thoughts? And if you've seen Steel Magnolias, then you know why I chose the name Shelby for that specific character. ❤️
- cy.
Chapter dedication: rich7195