Thy Neighbor

Chapter Seven

School and work mean absolutely nothing to Ciara once Tuesday comes around. She stares at her clock hoping that time will speed up, skipping the gym so she can buy all the perfect ingredients for tonight. Her menu of red beans and rice, plantains and baked chicken is perfect. She buys her favorite wine just in case Trevante needs to unwind.

As the smell of dinner envelopes the room, she mulls over if she needs to put on a different outfit. Her grey hoodie and black workout pants are perfect but does she need to put on a lip? Fill in her eyebrows? She gathers herself and realizes that this isn't a date – it is a lightweight Bible Study. She puts on her favorite jazz playlist and awaits Trevante's arrival.

Trevante smells the food from the hallway as he walks past her door to drop off his things inside of his apartment. After taking a quick shower, he puts on a grey hoodie and black basketball shorts,  grabs his laptop and notepad and heads over to Ciara's apartment. 

"Hey!" Ciara's braids swing as she opens her door. She laughs to herself, noticing their matching outfits. "Come on in."

"Thanks. Yo, that smells incredible."

"I hope it's good. I mean, I know it's good. You know... you'll like it I'm sure. Plates are in the cabinet to the right. Help yourself."

Ciara pours herself a glass of Riesling and pops a plaintain into her mouth. She's too nervous to eat but knows that she couldn't resist. As Trevante sits at her table, he marvels at the Ella Fitzgerald music in the background.

"You like Ella?"

"You know, I do. I play the Spotify playlist sometimes to switch things up. I like it."

"I love jazz, man. It's great."

Ciara watches as Trevante blesses his food. He opens his eyes to see that she's halfway through her plate.

"What?" She asks, making sure to clean every piece of food off of her fork. "What's up?"

"I thought all of you Christians blessed your food."

"You trying to be funny, Trevante?"

"Nah, nah. I mean... yeah."

Ciara and Trevante both laugh as they devour their food. Trevante's silence is all she needs to know that her food is good. As they pull away from the dining table and into the living room, Trevante can't help by stare at all of her books.

"Theology, huh?"

"Yeah. I'm going for Masters in Theological Studies."

"I knew you were the right person to help me out."

Ciara tries to contain her smile but fails. She feels affirmed about her passion in a way that she never received. When she told her Mom that she wanted to pursue an academic career in religion, her Mom laughed her off. She thought her Christianity was a phase and that in due time, she's forget all about this "moment in her life" But Ciara was committed to know about her faith, what made her tick and why she made mistakes and why she was so thankful for grace.

After Y'lan left, she fell into one of her darkness points. She'd sit in her apartment for days as a time, friends coming by and do wellness checks on her. Her depression deepened as the seasons changed, sleeping all day and waking all hours of the night. The Rahmeeks, Ezekiels and Chads found her bed but it wasn't enough. She wanted to be left alone and alone is always how she found herself.

When she missed a week of classes, her professor reached out to her. As Ciara poured her heart out in an email, she felt relieved to know that she wasn't alone. Her professor recommended a women's group that could help her find peace in community. They became more than that, they became family. They'd braid Ciara's hair when she wasn't up to taking care of it. They fed her meals when she was too weak to go to the grocery store. They made her laugh with stories of terrible dates. They'd let her cry when something would trigger her about Y'lan.