SUNDAY LOVERS

2

It had been two weeks and Taraji hadn't been back to church. Her last visit had left a sour taste in her mouth, and she refused to put herself in the same predicament she was in when she was younger.

She reclaimed her Sundays as her rest days, but this Sunday she wanted to paint a sunflower on her living room wall right behind her sofa. Painting was something Taraji was great at, and recently she started to consider making it her primary job since she was unemployed, by choice, at the moment.

"What's that smell?" She sniffed around the area. "Oh, it's the salmon I had earlier." She recalled. She gathered all the other trash around her, as she prepared to take the container out to eliminate the fishy smell.

It was like she had three heavy bags in her hand as she struggled to make it out of her door. Part of her struggle came from how fast she was moving. She didn't want anyone to catch her in her bonnet, shorts , and wearing a t-shirt without a bra. More than anything, being braless made her feel the most embarrassed. She slid out of the door, closing it as she went. Taraji wasn't looking up completely when she started her walk down the hall to the elevator, and she ended up bumping into someone.

"I'm so sor-" Taraji recognized the person that stood in front of her before she could finish her apology.  Her eyes widened because she became a little more self-conscious of how she looked.

"Well look what the wind blew in!" Fantasia expressed an advanced level of surprise on her face. She was the first one to go in for a hug.

Taraji hugged Fantasia even though she would have preferred not to. " Sorry if I'm a little stinky, I'm doing some work around the house."

" You're okay, mama. It's so good to see you again. Why you ain't at church today, girl?" Fantasia questioned but quickly realized she was starting to sound like the same women she didn't care for in the church. " Actually, you don't have to answer that." She released a sheepish giggle.

It was at this moment that Taraji realized Fantasia wasn't like the rest of them. The guard she built became a little weaker in Fantasia's presence. " Since you asked, I don't think I'll be coming back to the church. I tried it again after a few years and I don't think that's where I need to be."

Fantasia received Taraji's confession with understanding.She started to see Taraji as the Hero she'd been praying for all this time. No one had ever lived up to her visions of a hero the way this woman did. Taraji was the breath of fresh air Fantasia needed in her life. " I get it, girl. They don't say there's no greater hate than a christians love for nothing." She shook her head as the thoughts continued to form in her mind.

"That part!" With her eyebrows lifted, Taraji strongly agreed. " Let me take this trash down. I'll come back and we can finish yapping. You can wait for me inside my place if you're comfortable."  Taraji carried on to the garbage bins like she had initially intended to.

Fantasia made her way inside of Taraji's place, and  immediately became absorbed in the  interior design of her home. A zebra print rug stretched across the entirety of the front room. A light pink, velvet sleeper sofa, forming an L shape, rested on top of the animal print rug. There were various paintings hanging on the walls that depicted black joy, black love, and anything else involving black people in a positive way. Her lights were warm, some pink and others cream colored. The kitchen was right across from the living room, the two being divided by a kitchen bar counter. It felt welcoming and very much like a home. Taraji's home was sweet and vibrant.

Before Fantasia could sit down good, Taraji had returned. " Girl, that wore me out! These knees don't work how they used to." The two cracked up all at once. " So, you live around here or something?" Taraji became curious as to how they ended up bumping into each other when they hadn't previously.

" No, I actually live about thirty minutes away from here. I was around today because I was dropping off one of my cakes to a customer." She answered.  It hadn't been long since Fantasia started her own baking business. She was working from her home at the moment, but she knew greater was coming.  

" Oh, so you bake and you didn't bring me anything?" Taraji teased playfully. " I'm just picking with you. I never thought I'd see you outside of that church. You seem pretty faithful. Why you not there today?" She headed towards the kitchen for something to drink.

" I was going to go after I dropped the cake off but I ran into you." Fantasia admitted

Taraji peeked around, confused by Fantasia's statement. " You ran into me and that stopped you from going to church?"  She felt something shift inside but she didn't pay it much mind. She had no idea what the shift was.

" I'm not gonna lie, I didn't really wanna go today anyways." She put on a mischievous smile. She felt safe enough to finally say it out loud. There was no doubt Fantasia loved god, but the church was becoming a little draining for her.

" OOOUuu... What you gonna tell Motha when she notices you weren't there today? I know her ass be keeping tabs."  Taraji handed Fantasia some water and found a spot on the sofa near her. She awaited her response

" Shoot! I don't know and I kinda don't care either. I have been feeling a lot like you lately. I just don't wanna be there anymore. The only thing is I'm afraid to let go." Fantasia sighed as her thoughts got to running

" Don't overthink it, honey." Taraji's words were comforting for Fantasia's stressed presence.

The two women sat in silence for a moment. They were processing their feelings and emotions. They shared a feeling of guilt. Guilt for no longer wanting to participate in something that caused them to suppress their identities, that brought them more pain, that restricted them from experiencing life in the way they individually wished to. Taraji's journey was different from Fantasias, yet they shared the guilt. Taraji's journey was different because she was able to recognize church was something she needed to separate herself from. Maybe until she found a church that was more progressive than others or maybe she'd never return to the traditional church ever. On the other hand, Fantasia's guilt weighed heavily on her because she was born and raised in the church and felt an obligation to it.

Their silence came to an end when Taraji spoke again. " I'm going to hop in the shower real quick. I'll be cooking a little bit and you're welcome to stay if you like." 

Fantasia didn't really think about the question before she reserved her spot for dinner. " Girl, yea I'll stay. I wanna see what you working with." 

Taraji jumped up and headed towards the back where her bathroom was. " Okay, give me one second."

Fantasia sat still. She didn't want to touch anything in the house without Taraji's permission. She heard the water running in the shower and decided to kick off her shoes while she waited. She looked around for something to grab her attention to help pass time. She found a piece of gum in her pocket and decided to snack on it until Taraji returned.

The bathroom door opened up, as steam poured into the hallway that led to the front room. Out came Taraji in just a bathrobe. Fantasia's attention was completely stolen from whatever object she had fixed it on. Taraji had her in the palm of her hand. The water dripped from Taraji's body, as remnants of soap particles slid down her. Her hair was wrapped up almost forming a crown on her head. She was in her pure form.

" I forgot to give you the remote, chile. Here it is and you're welcome to go into the kitchen and get you a snack or something." Taraji went on, but for Fantasia everything was in slow motion. She didn't hear much of what Taraji was saying. Admiration filled her eyes. She liked what she was seeing but it was wrong, right? She was panicking on the inside but managed to keep it together while Taraji was out.

" Let me know if you need anything else, baby." Taraji walked off. She looked back for a moment and gave a warm smile to Fantasia. Taraji was out of the loop about the hell she just stirred up inside Fantasia.

Fantasia sat for a moment trying to gather herself. " Not this again." She whispered to herself. Before she knew it she was grabbing her shoes and heading for the door. She was gone.

HAPPY SUNDAY!!!!!! It would be crazy if I didn't update on SUNDAY likeeee😭😭😭

ANYWAYS, hope you enjoyed : ) 💚