Sarah

Chapter 1: Decisions, decisions

She sat in her usual spot by her usual window with her usual view of her neighbor's bedroom window. She breathed in the scent of vanilla bean from her favorite candle by Yankee Candles while wearing her favorite red knee-length fuzzy socks pulled over her black leggings shadowed by her draping, comfortable, long sleeved, over sized sweater. She embraced the warm steam from her vanilla flavored hot chocolate in her "BEST WIFE EVER" mug she'd gotten last Christmas.

It was definitely a usual day in Sarah's ranch styled home where she lived with her husband, Eric, and best friend, Naomi. It was nine o'clock; that meant that the two had gone to work. She began to get up to go work herself. Sarah was a freelance artist being paid a quarter million dollars per piece. It was safe to say that, while having sold over thirty-four different pieces, she was pretty much set for a lifetime. She was probably set for a couple of lifetimes. Still, she loved to paint and wasn't doing it for the money. She'd started painting when she was seven years old and realized, after selling her painting in her school's auction, that art was what she wanted to do. She soon after graduating high school with a 3.97 GPA decided to get a degree in what she loved at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). It was through SCAD that she met her artistic husband, Eric Wallace. The two first locked eyes at the SCAD freshman show, an exhibit the school had each year to showcase their "works in progress". No sooner than these two meet, did they get married.

Sarah made a similar connection with her best friend Naomi during freshman year at SCAD. Eric had already been friends with Naomi and introduced them at a party they all went to. Naomi was a bronze skinned black woman whose body and ambiance were both intimidating to anyone who saw her. But Sarah wasn't intimidated in the least. "You're gorgeous!" and "Thanks, so are you!" were the first words the two exchanged and instantly became inseparable. Ever since freshman year the two lived together and still did. After Sarah and Eric's wedding, they invited Naomi to stay with them.

The three got along perfectly well. Naomi was the fun, Eric was the restraint, and Sarah was the order. Together the three functioned like clock work. By 7 sharp, everyone had gotten up. By 8 they were all cleaned, dressed, and fed. By 8:30, Naomi and Eric were off to work as partners in their art agency where they promote young artists and help them to connect with buyers who would purchase their work.

Sarah wiggled to " I'm all about the bass, bout the bass, no treble..." It was her and Naomi's favorite song. She picked up her fuzzy pink case covered iPhone 6.

" Hey beautiful" Sarah said. She was happy to hear from her best friend right on time during her usual lunch break.

" Hey babes! So guess who got the buyer from that Cobb Galleria art exhibit to email you information to get your piece?" Naomi gushed. She was so excited she could barely breathe.

"Oh my god! I love you. Ugh. Thank you, you're the best!" I thanked her.

"Yeah yeah yeah, thank your boo."

"Tell him I said thank you and I love you, please."

"I'm not sure how he'd feel about me telling him that you said you love me." Naomi laughed.

Sarah laughed. "He'll get over it. So, where is mister handsome anyway?"

"You know he never takes a break."

"Yeah, I know." Sarah said.

"Well girl, I gotta go." Naomi said right on time.

"What!?" Sarah said in amusement."You're on time?! You always need me to remind you!" Sarah didn't know why but she felt proud.

"I know, I know. I just have some extra things to do. I'll call you at 3. Oh! Check you re email for that interview information."

"Okay, have a great rest of work!" Sarah hung up.

It felt good to know that everything was going great in her world. All she had to do was check her email, follow the instructions, and that would be piece number thirty-five! Sarah would've been bouncing off the walls five years ago when she'd just started and no one knew her. Now, she was well adjusted to the rewards of being a well-known artist.

As she logged on, Sarah hummed. She was in such a bright mood. As was finding her way to the email from Jason Saunders, the buyer for Cobb Galleria, she even wiggled a little in her chair. She double-clicked the email to find a message from Jason that basically read that she would be interviewed by Marcus Holster, the final step for buying. That would've been great news for her five years ago but, Sarah knew him.

Marcus Holster is known to many as the ultimate sexist in the arts industry. Sarah worked for him three years ago until he fired her for refusing him sexually. In a male dominated arena, Sarah had to work extremely hard to prove herself and refused to compromise her beliefs for work or money. He had tried ever since to get hold of her and he hadn't until now. She didn't know what to do. She really wanted to have her work in the Cobb Galleria Art Exhibit but, she would never have sex in exchange for an opportunity. She knew better.

Desperately, she grabbed her phone, called her husband, and spilled.

"Well, babe what do you do?" he asked in his usual level-headed tone.

"I want this exhibit! But I'm not compromising for it." Sarah cried.

" Well, no one has asked you compromise, yet. I say you go in there with an open mind and if he offers you anything but the job, walk out knowing that you've been professional" Eric reasoned.

"Okay, that makes sense." Sarah admitted.

"Right, because what if the pervert forgot about you?" Eric asked."Or he could've had a change of heart. It'll go really smooth, okay?"

Eric always tried to see the good in people and that was a reason Sarah loved him.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sarah said. "Thank you, babe." But deep down inside, Sarah had a feeling it wasn't going to go so smoothly .