Luna added blueberry flavor to the batter in the bowl in front of her, she added the remaining ingredients, in the right order and the right quantity. She didn’t need a measuring cup or any sort of measuring instrument, she knew the process and procedure by heart already. She did all of it mechanically though, her head and heart not in what she was doing, but somewhere else. Somewhere far.She was in her mother’s house, her body, that was. She had gone home to bake with her mother, as was their custom, their mother-daughter ritual, sort of. Luna knew her mother was staring at her, she could feel her gaze on her. She was beside her in the kitchen, while Luna was making blueberry pie, her mother was making pumpkin pie. She knew her mother would have already keyed in to the fact that there was something on her daughter’s mind by now, Luna knew she had come to her mother partly because she wanted her to know. She was conflicted, talking to Rita about Justin and her feelings for him h
Luna frowned at her mother. “What do you mean ‘matters of the heart’? She doesn’t want it to be matters of the heart, she wants it to be out of her heart. She wants it to be out of her heart, her head, her mind, everything. She doesn’t even want to think about him, she wants nothing to do with him, she just wants him out of her life.”Mira raised an eyebrow at Luna as she finished her rundown.“She may want all that, but that doesn’t mean that’s what she’s going to get though,” Mira said calmly, giving her an equally calm look.Suddenly frustrated, Luna threw her hands up, splattering batter all over the kitchen counter.“Well, why doesn’t she get to have a say in the matter? It’s her life! It’s her goddamn life and yet, she’s being pulled in a thousand different directions without having a single say in it.”Mira, with that same calm, removed her hand from the dough in her own bowl, she went to the tap underneath the cabinet in the kitchen and washed her hands.“Don’t curse on
Getting home from her visit with her mother, Luna made her way straight to the bar in her kitchen. She poured herself a generous glass of wine and sipped as she slid her shoes off her feet. She swirled the wine in her glass, closing her eyes for a bit as she let the tension of the day roll off her shoulders.She thought of her workload for the next day; the meetings she needed to arrange, the drop-ins she needed to be present for in about three of her companies branches, the forms she needed to sign and the orders that had to be approved.Luna was aware of the fact that everything she had just listed in her head may seem daunting and overwhelming to other people, but to her, it was bliss. She cocked her head and squinted her eyes a little. Well, maybe ‘bliss’ was a strong word, she thought to herself after considering it, but it was close to it. It was routine, it was work, and as of right this moment, it was her life’s purpose. It gave her a reason to get up in the morning, a rea
One hour later, Luna and Ashley were both seated on the couch in Luna’s living room. They had a blanket thrown over both their legs, and they were both reclining lazily, their shoulders brushing. Luna had changed from her office wear to casual sweatpants and oversized tee that said ‘Karma is a cat’ in big bold brightly-colored glittery purple letters. Her hair was packed up in a messy bun. Ashley was dressed almost similarly, except her oversized tee just said ‘Bitch!’ simply, in big bold black, also glittery, letters. Her hair was packed into a messy ponytail.Both sisters laughed at a funny scene on the television screen they were watching.“I just love the way Phoebe always gets Ross every time,” Luna commented, laughing. “It’s not even hard for her.”Ashley laughed too. “And that frustrated/confused look on his face when she teases him? Priceless!”Both sisters fell into fits of laughter again. Luna glanced sideways at Ashley, whose eyes were still shining with her laughter
The next day, Luna walked into the studio space of Honor’s fashion company. Models of different sizes walked about, camera crews and makeup artists set up their equipment. The studio was a buzz of activities, the informal show of the outfits that were going to be showcased in the gala, to the investors now, obviously hadn’t started yet.Luna looked around, taking in the whole place and the way Honor worked. She was forced to admit to herself that it was all very impressive. State of the art equipment, top of the line props and stage sets, ridiculously expensive furnishings, yet tastefully elegant. All, and more, were present in the studio. Honor hadn’t spared any expense, and given the compatibility in which the models were with everything around them, it looked like she never did.A model walked past Luna, she was tall, slim and lean. Her dark skin glowed with the oil subtly gleaming over her arms, she had on a tank top and fitted leggings, her hair was straight, and long, like the
The two women turned their heads to stare at each other. The show continued, lights flashed, music played, everything continued on around them. Honor’s eyes were a little hard now, the light tone had left her voice too.“You know it has to be,” Honor added.They stared at each other a minute more, and then they both turned to look towards the stage again.“Turns out that was all the incentive Jess needed,” Honor continued, the hardness that left her voice again. “She designed most of these outfits here.”Luna knew Honor hadn’t meant for her to hear it, probably because she didn’t know it herself, but Luna heard the note of subtle pride in Honor’s voice anyway as she talked about her employee’s work.“They are impressive,” Luna said, referring to the designs.“They are,” Honor agreed. The two women didn’t say anything for a while.“Justin and I are happy,” Honor finally said. She turned to look at Luna, Luna looked at her too. “I know you will say that is none of your business
Maybe it was the emotional stress of her morning at Honor’s company, or the equally emotionally taxing conversation and ride with Rita back to her own company, Luna wasn’t sure what it was, but she found herself feeling dogged and tired throughout the rest of the workday.She tried to get through meetings and conference calls, her schedule, which was pretty standard for a usual workday, had seemed daunting and way too long. It was as if the day had been dragging its feet and the hours had been creeping and crawling till she was sure time was standing still. Luna rubbed a hand over the back of her neck to ease the tension there. She didn’t know why she was feeling so tired, she hadn’t done anything strenuous or taxing throughout the whole day. She let out a tired sigh and placed her head on the headrest of the backseat of her car as Matt finally drove her home later that night. She closed her eyes, emptying her mind of any thought. It was a relaxation technique she had learnt from
Luna was still thinking ‘oh shit’ as the next day rolled in. She rolled out of bed, she hadn’t slept well. Tossing and turning, her mind had been filled with the very huge possibility that followed her missing period. She could be pregnant.“Oh God,” Luna muttered to herself as she made her way to her bathroom.Dressing up and getting ready for the day became mechanical. Her mind carefully blank, she brushed her teeth, got unto the shower, showered, got out. Still acting on auto, she dried herself, picked out her outfit for the day, got dressed, accessorized. Because of years and years of doing it, she applied her makeup still without thinking about it, a light, breezy makeup. She put her hair in place, applied finishing touches, and finally ready for the day, she stared at herself in the mirror of her vanity dresser.“Oh God,” she muttered again as she felt a flutter in her belly.She knew it was just nerves and probably just the result of her unsettled stomach, but the thought