“Sounds like a plan.”
We made our way to the back of the fitness center and grabbed our bags from our lockers. Barely out of the door, I said, “So, I didn’t get a chance to tell you this, but my aunt invited Jayson to the brunch the other day.”
“Get the fuck out of here! You’re lying.”
“Nope.”
“The audacity. Why would she do that?”
“According to her, he’s still family and she wants us to work it out.”
“No offense, but your aunt can go to hell. I don’t understand why she won’t accept the fact that Jayson’s ass is trash, and you have the right to leave him in the dumpster that he crawled out of.”
“You sound just like Kendra,” I replied. “Anyway, I don’t know, but I’m over it. Between her and my grandmother, the whole day was terrible. I didn’t even get a chance to eat.”
Izzy groaned. “That alone would have pissed me off. Please tell me that you told your aunt that she overstepped.”
Clearing my throat, I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. “I said something, but I’m pretty sure you’re going to feel like I didn’t say enough.”
“Nova, we’ve talked about this. You need to stop letting your family put you in these terrible situations. I don’t care how they feel about Jayson. If something makes you feel uncomfortable, they should do everything in their power to make sure you don’t feel that way. You should come first.”
“I completely agree, but my family doesn’t make anything easy.”
She shrugged. “Well, it might be about that time.”
Eyeing her in confusion, I said, “Time for what?”
“To cut their ass loose,” she replied. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about family. But if the people around you are toxic to your growth and prevent you from having real peace, then snip snip…family included.”
I sighed, unsure of how I felt about Izzy’s way of thinking. My aunt was the closest thing I had to a mother. Granted, she was a bit much, but I knew that she loved me, and I always wanted her to know that she was appreciated.
“I think I’ll pass on cutting my family off,” I said. “All I need to do is get these divorce papers signed. Once that’s done, I feel like everyone will finally move the hell on and find something else to talk about.”
“If you say so.”
Over the conversation, I waved her off. “Okay, enough of all that. Let’s go get these smoothies. I’ll meet you there.”
“Sure thing, I’ll be right behind you.”
13
Don
“Welcome back,” my assistant manager, Angela said as she peeked into my office.
“Thanks,” I replied while giving her a quick smile. “I can’t lie, I probably could’ve used another day or two before returning.”
“Hey, nothing’s stopping you. As you can see, we’ve got you covered on this end.”
“Nah, I needed to get back.”
“Why? This bank isn’t going to burn down without you.” She giggled.
“No, but too many days away and things will get backed up.”
“What’s going to get backed up? Emails?”
Shaking my head, I said, “Is there another reason you stopped by my office?”
