Their Beloved Mate

Hello Beloved...

"Taz, wake up, you are going to be late for work!" A shout came from the other side of the door, followed by a loud bang.

That was enough to get Tazanna out of bed and into the bathroom. In record time, she was done and heading downstairs where she found her mother still in her nurse scrubs making breakfast.

"Hey, ma!" Tazanna greeted her mother, dropping a kiss on the shorter woman's head. "You just got in?" She quickly glanced at the silver watch on her slender wrist. She was the only girl in her workplace that still wore a wristwatch. She loved this particular one as it was a gift from her mother when she turned sixteen.

"Mmmh," her mother, Jazmine, hummed as she pushed her messy dark hair back and gave her daughter a tired smile. She leaned back on the cabinet. Placing her hands into the front pockets of her scrub top, she gave her daughter a knowing look. "What time did you get home last night?"

"Early," Tazanna muffled around a spoonful of cereal.

Her mother frowned. Tazanna never lied about anything, so she was confused as to why her daughter looked tired and had black bags under her eyes. "Couldn't sleep again?"

Tazanna nodded, before sighing and sitting back on her chair. "I slept OK for the first two days after getting that prescription but after," she shook her head without finishing her sentence.

"Same dream?"

Tazanna nodded," same men, different scenarios." She stretched her hands above her head, trying to get rid of the knots on her neck and back. "I just don't understand what it means, and it's driving me nuts."

Jazmine walked to her daughter's side, pushing away the dark curls so similar to her own. "Do you want me to book you a slot to see a somnologist?"

"A sleep doctor?" Tazanna looked horrified as she stood up and walked to the sink. She quickly rinsed her dirty dishes before turning to her mother. "No thanks. I am sure it will go away soon enough."

"But-" her mother started.

"Nope," Tazanna shook her head once again. She collected the bag that contained her laptop, a purse, and car keys. "Will you be home this evening?"

Jazmine shook her head, "ah-no. I am covering someone's shift so that I can have the full weekend off to celebrate your birthday together."

Tazanna nodded, "ok. See you in the morning then. Be good!"

"I am the one who is supposed to say that to you!" Her mother called back as Tazanna closed the door.

Tazanna smiled at that as she got into her car and started off to work. Her mother was thirty-nine, having given birth to Tazanna when she was eighteen years old. From the story her mother told her, she and her best friends had taken a year off from school to go traveling. It was during one of these travels that she had a one-night stand with a man whom she didn't even remember his name. After nine months, Tazanna was born. The only thing her mother remembered was that he was tall, dark, and handsome with gorgeous grey eyes. Tazanna concluded two things: she inherited from her father the height and the eyes.

There was a time that she had thought about finding him. With the new technology, all that has been made easy. But after a while, she let go of that notion. What would be the point? The man probably had a family and had no idea she existed. Why disrupt his life like that? She was happy with her mother who showered her with so much love, she didn't need anyone else.

She was getting close to her office building when her phone started to ring. "What's up, Amber?" she answered.

"Where are you?" Amber's voice filled the interior of the car.