H.E.R.

Twenty-One

"How was New York?" Keisha asked.

Julia shrugged as she applied her makeup. She was behind on her YouTube videos and had a lot of catching up to do. While the public knew her mother died and fans sent their condolences, Julia didn't miss a step in her videos. She dedicated one to her mother but then it was business as usual.

Sam wouldn't help her at all, and Julia wasn't bothered by that as much as she was. It was best Sam didn't know what she was going to do with the gun. If Julia needed help, it was best she went to someone who have no reason to suspect her motives.

"You seem happier," Keisha replied. "Like it's a new Julia here."

"Well, I'm new in some respects." Julia replied. "I needed closure and I received it when I was in New York."

"That's good to hear." Keisha smiled. "I'm glad you're getting back on your feet." She paused for a moment. "Um, while you were gone, something happened."

"Something happened?" Julia repeated.

"I know you don't care about him anymore and you barely even talk about Romeo, but..." Keisha pulled out her cell phone and popped up Roman's profile. "This."

Julia's heart sunk to the pit of her stomach as she saw a picture of Roman canoodling with a famous singer named Nikki Tims. She was an older woman, but she had youth on her side. Milk chocolate skin with dark hair and an impressive figure, Nikki was known for her many lovers just as she was known for her music career.

Roman was hugged up on her. "Well..." Julia swallowed. "...he's allowed to date whoever he wants."

"You're not upset boo-thang is moved onto Thotiana?" Keisha asked. "I mean, you and Romeo were..."

"...not a couple." Julia replied with some bass in her voice. She swallowed again and blew out a breath. "He's allowed to date whoever he wants. I'm not his girlfriend."

"Okay." Keisha dropped the subject. "How is he doing? Have you spoken to him lately?"

"No," Julia replied, "and I don't plan to. What's done is done and that's it."

Keisha eyeballed her girlfriend and wondered what was the thing Julia refused to say. She went from being hopeful to reconnect with a childhood friend to being his potential girlfriend to seemingly hating him all within a few weeks.

As she watched Julia pull her hair back into a wig cap, Keisha wondered if this was just a part of Julia acting out as she mourned. "Don't you think you're overreacting because of your mother's death?"

"I'm acting just fine," Julia fitted the long, red wig on her. She looked different. "I'm acting perfectly fine."

"Okay," Keisha didn't want to argue. "That wig looks good on you."

"Thank you." Julia studied her face. She still looked recognizable, just with different hair. "Keish, can you help me for a moment? I want to play with my face."

"I hope you're not going all white girl Hollywood on us!" Keisha half-joked.

"No, no, not that." Julia shook her head. She stared at herself in the mirror and studied her eyes. They were blank and sad. Some people find religion after a sudden loss, but Julia found herself wanting revenge. "I want to experiment with a new makeup look. I want to be bold and daring. Almost unrecognizable."

Keisha beamed and brought out all of her makeup tools. "I know exactly the look for you! Let's go!"

~~~~~

"What did she want?" Rodney asked his old friend.

Sam casually shrugged. He and Rodney met in Rodney's Harlem townhome on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. They always played chess one day a month and hashed out business dealings as they did it.

This visit was more personal than business. After Julia was completely gone from New York, Sam called for a meeting with his best friend. "She said she was looking for heat. She was rather disappointed I wouldn't help her."

Rodney soaked in the information as he studied the chessboard. He loved his only daughter dearly but even he could admit he was getting annoyed at the grown folk game she wanted to play.

The lifestyle he was in was not meant for women, period. No woman has ever lasted long before she was forced out by prison or death. Now Julia wanted to participate in it like it was a new Barbie. "No, that's not it." Rodney rubbed his hands together before he wiped his face. "She knew you were going to say no. She knew you weren't going to help her."

"So, she was trying to tell me she was going to take Santiago out regardless of who knew?" Sam shook his head. "Baby girl is in way over her head, Rod. She'll be killed before she even reaches Santiago. The man has upped his security tenfold since Vanessa's death. He knows you're gunning after him."

"That's the thing – he's expecting me to do this. He's not expecting baby girl." Rodney finally moved a piece. His mind was everywhere but chess.

"I have heaters in every major city. My connections have connections to every black market and gun shop." Sam reassured. "They won't help her if I make a few phone calls."

"No, she's expecting that. She knows you're going to do that and she's going to go around it." Rodney looked at the chessboard again. "If I wanted to enact my revenge on my mother's death and I wanted to go around my father and his connections, what would I do first?"

"Move out of the country." Sam's eyes were fixated on the board. "Change your appearance. Live under the radar. Become a hermit."

"She wouldn't do the last two because of her channel and IG following." Rodney nodded. "But she would definitely do the first two." Rodney pulled out his cell phone and dialed his oldest son. "Yo, O. Pack up your belongings. You're going to go overseas for a while. I haven't decided where yet, but let's start with London. I have a feeling your sister will make her way back there sometime soon."