A modern, gay retelling of the star crossed lovers, Romeo & Juliet, about two boys falling in love despite the burden the world and their families put on their shoulders.
[Extended synopsis inside]
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Chapter Twenty-Three | The Edwards
Imani's family reminded me of the poster family for an ad you'd see back in the 50's.
There was the moneymaker husband, Eman Edwards, CEO and co-founder of Edwards Computing Industry. He's the type of man who always has a smile on his face, the kind of smile that made you uncomfortable after you looked at him for too long, but I guess when you have little kids from a third world country working day and night in a unsafe warehouse for a dollar an hour — a forced smile is the only thing feeding your guilty conscience.
Yara Nazari — turned Edwards, was the typical trophy wife. She lived and breathed her husband and catered to his every need. She didn't work nor did she want to because she knows anything she wanted her husband would gladly give it to her, as long as she behaved. She never spoke out of turn, and God forbid she ever did anything without notifying her husband first — she'd never hear the end of it. The only thing Yara ever did was sit still and look pretty. It seems sad but growing up in the upper class society, this is the norm. I've seen countless women give up their rights and privilege just for a simple place in man's life, only for the man to dust her off a couple years into the marriage and focus his attention on a more beautiful and younger socialite.
They never care though, because why would they? You have a million dollar roof over your head, and caviar with champagne in your fridge. You're set for life and the only thing you have to do is keep your mouth shut. I doubt Yara even cares anymore. This is the same woman who gave up her beautiful Arabic last name and heritage to fit in with her husband's westernized life style.
"Nazari looks funny next to Edwards." Eman had told her, and that same day she went and got it changed. No questions asked.
Imani's older brother Elliot is just a dried up cokehead who blows through their parents money with drugs and constant rehab visits. He's a disappointment to his parents, and it sucks for his father because he's the first born — the heir to his company, and yet he knows he'd probably sell the whole estate for a sack of opioids.
Elliot is funny though. He's always lightening the mood and making things feel more comfortable. I think he uses his humor as a way to make up for his problems — as if saying, "Hey, I'm fine, I'm fine!" He isn't fine though, which is probably why his father looks at him like he's a stranger on the street. That's the only time I ever see Eman Edwards with a straight face; when he's looking at his party-animal son.
Last and certainly least, the beautiful, Imani Edwards. There's really not much to say about her, and that's not a compliment. Imani is just a reflection of her parents. She had her father's never ending smile, and her mother's compliance. At first I always wondered why she was so giddy and willing to do anything I asked, but after meeting her family I came to realized that she was raised like that, it's all she knows.
