SULTRY LOVE: EPISODE 2
Our minds have been trained to erase people from our train of thought if they do not affect us in some type of fashion. “You don’t measure to up to my personal beliefs! Whelp there’s the delete button!” The normality now is we’ve become impersonal. This was not always the case, in the early days you had to legitimately go out of the way to reach someone; the word love and the idea of passion had strong meaning. Before phones were invented you had to put forth the effort and write your person of interest. Long walks and the bond between your friend or lover was so much stronger. We greeted each other on the street and showed love. A person’s actions meant so much more because you could see the effort made to connect. The affection was truly cherished. When phones were first invented, they were only meant to help us reach each other from long distances. Now the opposite has happened where we see each other on social media walls every day, we’re plastered with superficial ads, provocative content is shoved in our faces, and text has become the new form of communication. On average, think about how often you text versus how much you talk.
With sex being the front runner of provocative content, it is seen everywhere. Sex is on our televisions, phones, billboards, and magazines. It is harder to value something if it’s in our faces twenty-four hours a day and seven days a week. Sex is not a bad thing, but we have to ask ourselves if it’s still honored and respected. With texting being the front runner of communication it can easily be misread, which puts barriers in a particular relationship. Barriers or the fear of opening up pushes people further away. Which brings us to rely on technology to the extreme. The majority of us may have become desensitized robots, losing sight of how a simple action could affect someone else. Have we fallen in love with inanimate objects? We’ll go days, months, and years without following up with an old friend or associate.
Indeed, some people are only meant to enter our lives to help us grow or teach us something. Perhaps that person is only meant to have a short connection or interaction with you. At the same time, how we treat or cut someone off could have a domino effect for the next individual they meet. They pass on their experience to the next person and gain a limited understanding of how they could contribute to giving someone else pain. It is understandable to block out people that are harmful or threatening, but we still must consider our actions and not act rash.
Consider the friend who you haven’t talked to in ages, they may not be here the following day…
Years have passed and things have not slowed down one bit for metropolitan areas. Bells ring while beats press with rhythm, and lights flash with a sequence. Cameras flicker, street lights glimmer green, yellow, and red. Workers prepare for this new day and run to catch the next train or bus speeding down the street. Percussion emits as people beatbox on cue. Drummers beat onto their metal drums, hands clap and feet tap with guitarists stroking tunes while change rhythmically drops into cups. A street deejay walks past Tina as she struts forward. The deejay gives her a wave while carrying a boom box and she blushes. With bodyguards leading, paparazzi is trailing her. With stilettos graced to accompany her feet, a dress fashionably wrapped around her waist, and the flowing blouse lined on top of her fine-textured skin, this life enables her to embrace the journey of finding materials that best expresses herself. Modeling sparks a flame deep inside of her while she showcases fashion. Rocking curls, her lightly powdered dimples shine as she welcomes the sight of a caller from her cell phone. “Hello?”
Hilda, a well suited Asian friend of hers is on the other line. “Girl, you won‘t believe what I‘m about to tell you.”
Tina asks a question of her own. “You finally got a life? Is that what you’re telling me?”
“Keep guessing!”
“You were adopted?”
“Try again.”
“I don’t know fool! You called me.”
“You got the modeling gig, you start as early as Tuesday.”
Tina’s eyes widen. “Oh my God! Really?! Okay, we’ve got to celebrate. Meet me at the cafe. Okay?”
Hilda is admiring her new manicure while she responds. “You know it gurl. I got that cush too if you want to get a little crazy later on. I got a special deal from my homies back in the hood that’s stormin’ the block. You know what it is.”
Tina frowns like she caught a whiff of pure funk and implores quite the opposite. “You need to leave those deadbeats alone and stop trying to be hip! ‘Cuz you ain’t. I thought we already had this discussion.” Hilda raises an eyebrow and pivots her neck. “Please, you know I’m the shit.”
“Mmm-hmm sure, you’re going to end up running for dear life if you keep hanging with those fools,” Tina replied.
Hilda says “At least they keep things interesting.”
Tina defines Hilda’s reasoning. “Yeah whatever, if bullets damn there grazing your ass and police sirens always at your back is interesting, then we’re approaching Armageddon.”
Then Hilda welcomes their upcoming reunion with singing a melody. “Yeah, but that’s the way uh-huh, I like it! Uh-huh, uh-huh!”
“Girl hang up the phone!”
“Okay bye,” Hilda replied as she giggles.
Morning rituals are good to help you get going for the day. It could be screaming in front of a mirror chanting “I’m the best! I’M THE BEST, WOOOO!” There could be things to pump you up like sharing positive affirmations with Tony Robbins, kissing the wife before work, working out, or mapping out a plan to execute over a good cup of coffee. On this particular day, city traffic is still on the rise while Tina enters the green florescent cafe. Chatter heightens among civilians that encompass the coffee shop. Wearing shades, Tina immediately sees her two Latin friends Yvonne and Yvette; they’re sisters that share a glamorous look. Tina smiles as they wave. “Hey, Hilda didn’t tell me you guys were coming too.” They hug and kiss Tina on both of her cheeks. “Well, this type of accomplishment is worth celebrating,” Yvette said.
Tina agrees. “Amen.”
They all take a seat and Yvonne inquires on Tina’s present fortune. “So you got the job?”
“Yeah, you should have seen the number of people that were auditioning before me.” Tina sighed deeply once she got situated in her chair after answering Yvonne.
“So fill us in, on how you performed. Of course, they liked you but was it what you would consider a perfect audition?” Yvette asked while attempting to add to the chatter. Yvonne suggests that there may have been some strings attached. “I think we should be concerned with what she did-” She nudges Tina with her elbow and winks. “Eh, eh?”
“What? We took pictures, we talked about my morals, I went over my goals and discussed how I could be an asset.”
“Um keyword there-” Yvonne waves her index fingers forward. “Ass-set.” Tina rolls her eyes saying “Hysterical.” Hilda walks into the cafe with a champagne bottle. The girls take notice and flag her down. She walks toward the table and Tina hugs her. “Hey.”
“Did I miss anything?”
“Nope.” Yvonne crosses her legs.
Hilda sits with them and Yvette emphasizes the champagne. “So champagne in a cafe in broad daylight. I wonder what the coffee is for? An instrument to pick up a chap or two?” Yvonne disagrees. “Um, no.”
Tina supports Yvette’s theory. “I agree, it’s better to meet someone here, rather than at the club-”
“Ah-ha!” Tina smiles and rubs shoulders with Yvette. “Can I get an amen?”
“Can you get a man?” Yvonne added.
Tina retorts. “Can you buy some clippers and shave the back of that neck? Young man!” The girls chuckle as Hilda pours the champagne. She is the first to propose a toast. “I propose a toast, a toast that we stay positive and cherish our accomplishments. Yvette-”
“Yes, we prosper and stay ahead of the game.”
“And as we prosper, let us not be overconfident. Let us make sure we tend to our needs, before our wants.” Tina said.
Yvonne comments “We keep moving forward together no matter what challenges we’re faced with. We accept those challenges, look within ourselves, and ask for God’s strength to help pull us forward.” Hilda raises her eyebrows and smiles brightly. “Hallelujah.”
They toast and taste the enriched champagne, but then something at a minimal distance grabs Tina’s attention. “Hold on a second.” Yvette shifts her eyes with wonder. “What?” In clear view, Randy is conversing with a young woman at the bar. Tina doesn’t know whether to greet or ignore him. “Oh my God, that’s an old friend of mine.”
“That loser over there was, I mean is your friend?” Yvonne smiles and opens her mouth wide.
Tina lowers her head and nods with disbelief. Yvonne keeps digging for more. “It’s worse isn’t it?” Tina nods her head forward.
“You dated him!” Yvonne is surprised by the discovery.
“Shush!” Tina stressed.
“You never told us about him,” Hilda said while giving a stupefied expression.
“Bssh, look at him! Would you mention him?” Yvonne said.
Hilda giggles. “I see your point, that’s one secret I would bury.” Hilda takes a sip of her champagne. Yvette places one hand on Tina’s back and attempts to provide comfort. “Tina, are you crying?”
Tina wipes her face and promptly stands up. “I’ll, I’ll talk to all of you later.” Tina leaves the cafe abruptly. Randy notices Tina’s departure, excuses the young lady he was talking to, and hurries after her.
“Tina? Tina!”
Tina calls for a taxi and then she enters it. Randy exits the cafe and watches her depart.
Is the past remembered often, or just sometimes? We make certain choices in life and those choices set us up for the future. There is a question often spoken that states “If you could go back in time and implement what you know now, would you do it?” Would your wish consist of going back in time to avoid crucial mistakes that you’ve made in the past? Or would you make a different wish? Is a man or woman held accountable for choices that they’ve made at a younger age? Even if they weren’t aware of other options? If a person is insecure, what happened to make them feel that way? Is a person interested in finding that out why, or would they rather move on to the next? If a person never had a mentor and wasn’t taught how to make better decisions, would he or she be considered a loser? If you do not make mistakes, you would not learn through experience. If a woman was raised from youth by the media on how she should compare herself to others and value people, is she therefore limited? Some relationships between men and women are off-balanced and may become spiritually impaired. Then that loop resurfaces once again where a person is afraid to give too much because they may end up with very little or nothing. Some women will love a man for who he is, but where does it end? Will she nurture him while he builds structure and improves himself physically, spiritually, or financially? Will a man focus on being attentive to the woman he is interested in while showering comfort and security? Will people stand up when they fall, own their mistakes, and concentrate on improving future relationships?
EPISODE 3 NOW AVAILABLE
