2010
Raynella. Rayne. Raye. Rayna. Raynelle. Either one is fine with me. Being thirty five, it's a lot for women like me. You have this high expectation about getting your life together before you reach my age, especially by black families. We can never live it down. But, I will say that I am just fine where I'm at. I have my own business and first official home in Minneapolis. My first/away home, the apartment I rented -and still renting- during my college years in Philadelphia and since my family is from there, it's my home away from the business life . I visit whenever I can but, it's not very often. I'm pretty tight with the landlord. Plus, I do her daughter's hair on the weekends. Hey, you gotta get money somehow. I don't plan to do this running back and forth thing forever but, I just need enough money to be able to pay my debts for school and to be able to get my shop off the ground. Working in this field since I was 18, has not been easy and there are days where I get tired and lonely. So much for dreaming about goodwill and fairytale endings. Honestly, I have to be more than just about some fairytale stories, like princesses, that my mom told me when I was a little girl. But she did tell me that one thing that each princess has in common. They each worked hard for what they got. Whether that be able to marry a prince, break a curse or to save a country, they made it happen.
Onto my business, I relocated in Minneapolis about a year ago, from Philly. The depression was so real once I got here and it cost me to make a lot of sacrifices, in order to have my business, Raynella's Sensualities. My spa or beauty treatment center is all about pleasure and loving your true authentic self. There are a lot of differences between us and other shops. I would say that, people just do it because they don't have anything better to do or they're just in it for the money and luxury of it. My shop is the complete opposite. We strive to make sure that every customer is treated fairly and we want them to feel as if they were apart of a big family. Mostly, as expected, women come here to unwind and relax and maybe even, gossip. Men come too but it's mostly with their girlfriends, wives or even their mistresses. But the heavy stuff is all on me. I take care of the bills, make sure we have all our equipment, pay the employees, pay for insurance, the whole 360 pie. For a first year starter , in a new city, the business was pretty good. Even celebrities came to the shop like Jennifer Aniston, Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Sherri Shepherd, Johnny Depp, Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Brad Pitt, Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, even Will and Jada Smith. But, for a little extra pleasure, I do a little something special for the customers. But, that's only if they are willing to pay another $20 for my special services. Most likely, couples or single women will accept my services. I love what I do but, it's a lot for one person, especially in the Midwest. I think that's where this state is located. Anyway, that's beside the point.
***
Today is a special day. It's a major holiday. You guessed it, Valentines Day. Business is going smooth and of course, money is never the issue. And since it's Valentines Day, major discounts are happening for the couples. But don't think we're leaving our single people out of the fun, they deserve some love too. Free manicure and pedicure for the day . I know, free is the best price. Decorations were all over the place and the employees, including myself, were dressed in the most appropriate colors for the festivities. Mama always said to be stylish at all times, even if that comes with getting a man. Plus, it's always cold out here.
(Nafessa Williams as Raynella)
"Rayna?" I turned to see my employee/manager/best friend, Aubrey call me from the back of the building. She motioned for me to come see what the problem might be. "Yeah, what? What's wrong?" I asked.
(Busy Phillips as Aubrey)
"One of our massage tables is broken so, you're probably going to have take some of the clients in from off the appointment list today." Great. On one of the most important days of the year. Do I really need this now? I sighed, "Aubrey, you know I only take over if there is an emergency or if I have special appointments."
"Well, you have both today." She looked over her clipboard to look for this potential client, "A special appointment by the name of ...Oh, there is no name registered ." No name? That's odd. What kind of person doesn't leave their name for an appointment? So unprofessional.
"Okay, what's the emergency?"
"Ashanti called and said that she won't be coming in for work today. Sick again ."
"What?! That's her third time this week.."
"Actually, it's her fifth. You were out of town when the ones before happened." Oh really? "I'm Sorry. I know I should've told you. But, you were already so worked up with bills and travel. I didn't want to bother you with anything." She said. You didn't want to bother me?! Is she serious?!
"I'm sorry but, it's going to be a lot if we don't have staff. Aubrey, just please understand that I'm going through a lot at the moment and I just need-"
"I know. Look, I know that this business is important to you. But at the same time, that is what you get for trying to hire family."
Ashanti is my cousin from Philly, my little cousin from Philly by three years , six months, fourteen days, five hours, three minutes and two seconds, to be exact. She's been staying with me for about six months now since she got kicked out of her parents house and had been struggling to keep a job since then. So, being the sweet person that I am, I let her work in my shop. Let's just say, it's not going good. Don't get me wrong, I love my cousin. But, she can be a little irresponsible. But I can't let that worry me, I'll deal with her later.
"Okay, then let's just get ready for today. We've got a lot of work ahead of us." I said. By walking up to the front, I saw another pair of my employees, Justin and Natalia.
(Naya Rivera as Natalia & Chris Colfer as Justin)
"Hey boss bitch, how's it going?" Natalia asked joyfully while heading to her work station. She's the manicurist here at the shop. Such a powerhouse. A little intimidating but, she's a hard worker for someone so young.
"Hey girl, I'm good. Y'all ready for today?" I asked.
"Uh yes, Me and Nat were just talking about this and we were saying how much we adore you and this shop." Justin said. I love him so much. Such a sweetheart and he's the receptionist.
"Actually, we were talking about how we think we should get paid double for helping you almost every night put this place together in order for this theme-this God forsaken theme- for a holiday to work." Natalia said sarcastically. Did I forget to mention how she can be a bitch at times?
"Oh, Justin. Did you by any chance go over the special appointment list last night?" I asked.
"Yes ma'am, I did."
"Well, Aubrey must've got the wrong one because, she's saying that a person booked an appointment and didn't leave their name."
"She must've had the check in appointment list. Oh, I remember now. That was a bit of an issue." Oh God, what now?
"An issue, why?"
"Well, the person that called -a few days ago-said that he would've liked to talk to you about the appointment. But I told him that you were out of town and that, he would have to fill out an appointment form on the website. He said that he would rather talk to you because, the way he wants it done might cause an issue. He just wanted to see if he could rent out the shop on Valentines Day at 12 in the morning."
"At 12? In the morning? But we close at 9:30." Natalia chimed.
"I know. But I just let him know again that he had to fill out a form and put in a special request for you, the boss. He said okay and hung up the phone. Few minutes later, I checked the website and saw that he filled it out with everything he wanted on there, except his name. His full name. He just put Anonymous on it." What in the world?
"So, I just accepted it in order to confirm and here we are." Do people just not love telling me anything anymore? It's like I'm invisible.
"Wow, great job dumbass. You just ruined this entire vibrator moment for me for tonight ." Natalia said. Ew, just why?
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would be that much. I can call to cancel." Justin apologized.
" No, it's too late now..." I took a deep breath and said, "Alright, what is he coming in for?" Suck it up, Raye. You've dealt with way worse.
Justin clicked on the website and my mind is blown just by the amount alone. "Okay, so he's bringing multiple guests. Three of those guests want manicure and pedicure, one wants a facial-Oh, I did tell him to be specific on these too." Okay good, so there's no confusion.
"Alright. So, Three women-I'm guessing- by the names of Shelby, Elisa and Liv want manicures and pedicures. A man by the name, Morris wants a facial. Tony M. wants a full body massage. Andy wants a lily bath. John wants a scalp massage And Anonymous wants your special service: Spiritual Blast."
"Ooh Spiritual Blast? You haven't done one of those in a while." Natalia mentioned.
"Well, it's a little bit more intimate than her usuals: Rose Garden Mist and Sensual City. I personally like A Seat at the Table ."
"You like anything that walks, Justin. But on a serious note though, Sensual City and Dark Midnight Madness are my favorites. What made you come up with it?"
"Well I-" I got cut off by the front door opening. Customers. Yay.
"Alright, well let's get started." Justin said. I nodded my head and welcomed the first customers for the day in: couple. Special services. Rose Garden Mist. So much for a good story.
"Alright, Sean and Ebony. Follow me and I will get you started. But first, you need to make sure your hands are clean and you brought any extra shoes you may need for the appointment."
"Oh, we didn't bring any with us. Is that going to be a problem?" Sean asked. I should say hell yes.
"No, actually, that's fine. We actually have some extra plastic sandals that you can borrow for today. Just make sure that your area is clean once you're done." I advised. Do people not read instructions anymore? This is going to be a long V-Day.
*****
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Love you all 2 infinity, Cammy!
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