CROSSROADS

23

The small restaurant was crowded with dressed-to-impress black women and men. The colorful art from the connecting art gallery adorned the walls with small price tags in each corner. The aroma of waffles and chicken made Fantasia's stomach rumble, making her realize how hungry she was.

Fantasia sat at a small table for two. She ordered a pomegranate mojito while waiting on Zaria. She watched the groups of couples and friends chatting over their meals, men and women having a good time together. She rarely had that feeling when she went out with Kendall and the other basketball player couples.

She didn't know why she couldn't enjoy that part of her life which was slipping away from her. "Sorry I'm late." Zaria sat down in the empty chair. "I couldn't find anything to wear." With her fingers, Fantasia gestured like a person talking. Zaria playfully hit her friend. They both laughed.
The waitress brought over Fantasia's drink. Zaria took a sip before Fantasia could, and then decided to order the same thing.

The band began to play. Fantasia and Zaria moved in their seats to the soulful cover of Jill Scott's "A Long Walk." Others in the crowd also enjoyed the band. "This is nice, huh?" Zaria leaned in, raising her voice so Fantasia could hear over the music. "It is. I'm glad we came." Fantasia smiled. Something was telling Fantasia to turn around. She glanced at the door. "Oh shit, we're being hunted." Fantasia laughed as two males watched them from the door.

Zaria looked at the two guys. "God, I hope they don't come over here." She rolled her eyes. "Too bad." Fantasia said as the two men walked toward them. "Excuse me, but my friend and I couldn't help but notice you two lovely women sitting here," the shorter of the two said. The men looked completely different. One was short with a small beer gut poking out from his linen. The taller of the two caught Fantasia's eye. His mocha skin was smooth, facial hair lined perfectly. As he smiled, he resembled Morris Chestnut.
"You couldn't, huh?" Zaria tried to hide her disgust for the short man staring at her like she was a piece of meat.

"What can I say? I saw something amazing and I had to come over. My name is Chester." He held his hand out.
Zaria reluctantly shook his hand back. "And"-the taller man extended his hand to Fantasia. "I'm Kenneth."
"Hello, Kenneth."
"And you are?" Chester licked his semi-chapped lips.
"Zaria..." Zaria frowned. Chester ignored her facial expression. "So, Miss Zaria, why would your man leave you alone on a Friday night?"

"He's at work." Zaria quickly responded. Chester's face fell like a sad boy who just learned there's no Santa Claus.
"Oh well, it was nice meeting you." Chester's eyes began to scan the crowd for a new challenge.
"Is your man working too?" Kenneth flashed his smile again. Fantasia blushed. "Actually I-"
"Fantasia. Fantasia Taylor." Fantasia looked up to see Gabrielle standing with two other basketball wives. Gabrielle was the leader of the Miami Heat basketball wives. Married to the highest-paid athlete had its perks. Gabrielle's huge diamond ring sparkled in the light.

"Hello, Gabrielle." Fantasia stood up to greet the ladies.
"How are you ladies tonight?" Fantasia flashed her smile.
They had been courting her for their group since her marriage. Gabrielle would like nothing more than to have the only woman who could truly compete with her in the looks department as her "frienemy."

"We're great. About to meet the fellas at the rooftop." Gabrielle's eyes darted over toward Kenneth. "Are you meeting Kendall there?" She smiled, knowing she was interrupting. Fantasia knew Gabrielle could be ruthless. She would run to Kendall in a heartbeat. It was unacceptable for wives to flirt with other men. Gabrielle didn't like the fact that Fantasia wasn't under her wing like the other wives.
"Actually no, my friend Zaria and I were just grabbing a bite before heading home."
"Right. OK, well it was nice seeing you, girl. We should do lunch soon."
"Let's. Just give me a call." Fantasia smiled.

"I'll have my assistant set that up. See you later, Fantasia." Gabrielle and the other women walked off, giving one more glance at Fantasia as they walked to the door.
"Kendall Taylor, huh?" Kenneth chimed in.
"Yes, he's my husband." Fantasia sat back in her chair.
Kenneth nodded his head. "Lucky man. Well, it was nice to meet you ladies." Kenneth and Chester walked off.

Zaria couldn't help but laugh. "Sorry, girl." Zaria snickered. "He was a cutie."
"I'm dammed if I do and dammed if I don't." Fantasia sat back in her chair. "Maybe you're gonna have to look outside of the city." Zaria looked at Fantasia. "Or at girls." She grinned.

Fantasia threw a piece of ice at Zaria. Jonica entered her mind. "Actually I did meet a woman." Zaria's eyes bulged. "Really now. Do tell." The band's cover of Maxwell's "Bad Habits" echoed through the room.
"There's not much to tell. I met her on the plane to go see" the thought of Taraji caused Fantasia's stomach to knot up. "You know." Zaria nodded her head, knowing it was hard for Fantasia to think about Taraji.

"Then I ran into her today. Actually, she was with me when I had my little episode."
"Wow, girl." Zaria sipped her drink. "That sounds a little like fate to me. To meet someone in the air then see them again."
"Yeah, and she lives in my building."
"Oh, hell yes, sounds like fate to me," Zaria replied.
"You should call her. See what she's about."
"I might just do that. " Fantasia thought about Jonica.
Maybe she would try it out.

Fantasia let the sweet taste of her Moscato d'Asti wine trickle down her throat. The three drinks at the restaurant didn't put her on the level she wanted to be on, so she hoped the wine would take her to that higher level, but she knew she should have gone for something stronger, like vodka.

Fantasia opened her small laptop and turned it on. The Apple logo flashed across the screen. The first step was done. She turned on the computer. Fantasia knew the only way to face her issues was to hit them head-on. She opened up the browser. A beautiful Bing.com photo popped up of Australia. Sydney, Fantasia thought to herself. That was far enough from Taraji. She could fly to Sydney and never worry about seeing Taraji again. Yeah, right. with my luck I'll get off the plane and see a big picture of her as soon as I hit the baggage claim.

Fantasia let her fingers touch the letter keys. She took a deep breath and typed in Jocku. As soon as she clicked on the official Web site she was hit. Taraji in various outfits spread across the Web site. Butterflies filled her stomach. She continued to breathe through her mouth, letting the butterflies exit one by one. Amazement set in. She never saw Taraji looking the way she looked. Taraji was still dressed in male clothes, but with hints of feminine attire.

Fantasia noticed a black halter top; she made a mental note to purchase it. This was a different side of Taraji, she liked it even more than the tomboy she fell in love with. Questions filled Fantasia's head. What was Taraji doing right now? Had she met a model to fall in love with? Was the new look purely for the modeling, or was she dressing more feminine now? Was she ever coming back to Florida?

Fantasia picked her phone up. She wanted answers, and there was one person who could give them to her. The phone seemed to dial more slowly than normal. All the questions she had were escaping her brain. Fantasia silently prayed for Taraji's voice mail to pick up.