—
At some point, things are going to have to change. Whether you are prepared or not, change will come for you when it is ready for you.
For this group of friends, times had definitely changed for them. Life was indeed different now, and the only thing they could do was move forward with it.
It had been exactly one year since the day their lives were altered, and to acknowledge that, peers Toni, Janet, and Angela were seated in some restaurant titled Kiko's, remembering old times.
"Can I start you ladies off with some drinks?" A waitress of blonde hair and blue eyes asked them, beginning to take their orders. Toni and Janet asked for lemonade, as Angela asked for water and a Sprite with lemon slices.
As time had gone on, Janet and Toni continued to explore their love, while both their divorces from their husbands were finalized. Though, Janet's divorce wasn't as complex as Toni's. She and Boris agreed on their finances, their home, and what was best for their separate journeys.
Toni and Shemar—on the other hand—battled the custody of their two boys and how it were to be divided. Toni wanted joint custody, but Shemar did not. He felt he deserved sole custody as he claimed he did not want his children raised under a gay household.
Angela had separated from Idris just after learning that he had, in fact, sexually abused his young students. His trial lasted a week, resulting in a guilty charge of sexual assault in the third degree, and sentencing of fifteen years in penitentiary.
"Y'know what," Janet began, just after the waitress had delivered what they ordered. "I'm starting to not like the fact that we come to this restaurant every month on this same damn day."
Toni placed her eyes on the floor beneath them as she felt the same, all while Angela couldn't help but allow astonishment in her own eyes. She just couldn't believe the words she heard.
"Why would you say that, Janet?"
Janet shrugged her shoulders, moving them up and down. "I feel that it's a constant reminder, Angie. It's a reminder of what happened." Her words were true. Every month on the same day, they gathered at this restaurant. The purpose was to honor the day their lives had changed, but it only made them remember just the trauma they faced.
"It is starting to feel like we are reliving what happened, Angie," Toni added, supporting Janet's statement. "Every time we come here I think about sitting in that waiting area in that hospital, not knowing what was going on with my friend."
Angela sighed, breathing deeply. She understood where her peers were coming from. She knew just how traumatizing last year was for them. All of them. But, she did not see their reoccurring visit to this restaurant as a reminder just as they had. "Well, it's different for me. When we come here, I feel blessed. I feel like God is giving me another chance to get it right. I mean, I know that what happened broke us, but think about it, it could've gone way worse."
The other two friends moved their heads up and down, taking in what the woman spoke. Instantly, they began to feel differently about their visits to the restaurant. This is why they loved Angela; she was always the voice of reason when they needed one.
"Why is it that you always know just what to say?" Janet asked the woman, laughing a bit. She then took a sip of her lemonade.
Angela smiled, feeling appreciated. "Hell, somebody's gotta be the—"
But before she could fully utter any words, she was cut off by a well known voice.
"I hope y'all haven't ordered already?" The voice asked, growing closer to the table. The three women seated turned to face that voice, knowing that it belonged to Whitney.
