Mahogany Blues

31

The warm golden sands were exactly what Levi needed to be right now, just a chance to take in beautiful blue waves as they came in, breathing in and out with them. He had some time to think about where he wanted to go, which started with stepping down as a senior banking consultant. His heart wasn't in it anymore but being a board member was instrumental to him because he recognized that he finally had a seat at the table.

He was in a position to make a tangible change that could help a lot of people like himself and he would be remiss if he had given up such a role. He knew that his continued efforts would be necessary for the changes that he had begun implementing like ethical assessment training to ensure consultants were free of bias when helping new clients to an education program for neighborhood kids that had it rough in life.

At 26, he was finally where he wanted to be: happy and at peace. He maintained a cordial relationship with his parents, nothing changed with them, and they were still searching for the next thing to improve their social status.

He had no other family other than his cousins, Trent and Tasia that he remained close to. His mind often shifted to his Aunt Erica, he hoped that he had done enough to make her proud.

He got up to walk on the beach, seeing his villa in the far distance. The sun insisted on warming his skin, making glistening sweat fall over his muscular chest. He cooled off with some cold water, dipping his feet into the ocean to get some relief while he walked.

Life had been going at a pretty fast pace as he and his friends had all progressed to the next stage of their lives. Marcus had finally put a ring on it with Azani, they had gone from strength to strength in their relationship with very few problems. He couldn't be happier for them.

Omar had been able to expand his mechanic franchise to two more locations in Georgia. He completed his long-life dream of semi-retiring at 26, operating only from a CEO position and stopping his mechanical work to spend time with little Omar Jr and his girlfriend-turned-wife, Shantia. It came as a shock to everyone when he announced that he and Shantia were having a child, Omar had never openly spoken about children so it was a surprise.

Nonetheless, Levi had witnessed him become a great father to that little boy, fully embracing fatherhood and marriage with open arms.

He finally reached the villa, seeing the bedroom door had been left open. The curtain flew up as the breeze swirled in the room, revealing a sleeping figure on the bed.

He preceded to close the door, creeping past the figure to the bathroom. The warm water poured over his aching muscles, the jog was brutal on him.

He placed his hands on the shower wall, clinking his wedding band against the tile. He continued his shower for a few more minutes, getting out to dry himself.

He let out a groan as he stretched, going to the bathroom cabinet to grab toothpaste and his toothbrush.

As he brushed his teeth, he looked at how he had aged a little due to work stress but he found a remedy in his wife's skincare that she put him onto.

He applied some hyaluronic acid to his cleansed skin before creaming his face with a lightweight moisturiser. He combed through his trimmed beard, to make sure it looked neat.

He finished the rest of his hygiene by lotioning his body and applying deodorant.

" Levi, is that you?" he heard her soft voice.

" Yeah baby, it's me. Just give me a second, Imma be out soon." He replied, smiling at the thought of seeing her awake.

He put on clean boxers, walking into the room to see his pregnant wife attempting to get up on her own.