ᥫ᭡ KIYOMI TRUE
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI
FEB TENTH 2024
Adapting to mother hood in her early twenties was something Kiyomi never imagined for herself. It was still hard to believe she had a little human developing inside her, often not believing it until her belly had more recently began to round out, no longer looking just bloated, but blatantly pregnant. Times like this, she wished she never packed up and left her family behind, knowing her father would probably be the most happy to finally have his first grandchild, but she also was glad things were turning out the way they were. Behind all the lonely nights she spent crying or sulking in her own pain, she knew once she welcomed her baby, everything would be worth it.
It took a decent amount of time for her to adjust, shamefully admitting she contemplated getting the abortion and just disappearing back home for a while. Each time she dialed to schedule the appointment, she thought about where she at in life and how bad would it actually be to have a little mini running around to fill her lonely void. Maybe she would stop looking for love in all the wrong places and becoming a full time mom didn't sound too bad. It's not like her relationship with her family was terrible for her to get help every once in a while, and the fact that she worked from home meant she wouldn't need that much help anyway.
As weeks went by, Kiyomi realized she was never going to get that abortion and it was soon just going to be her and baby. Boy or girl, she didn't really care, she just hoped it was healthy.
Now around the twelve to thirteen week mark, she was slowly becoming more and more comfortable with just embracing her situation. Kiyomi realized no one ever truly knew who she was on Semaj's side of the family besides one person and even then that person had moved out so she was probably just as clueless, but there was no reason for her to keep hiding something she should've been embracing from the start. Becoming a mother was something she had been ready for. She just planned it out a whole different way.
Although she was content with where she was at now, this would be her last few months living in a single household. The more her morning sickness subsided, the more she got back into the groove of stepping outside just because. Spending her days window shopping for baby furniture, eyeing all the baby clothes to see what she could work with, already having the car seat picked out and ready in her cart. Kiyomi realized the money she made as a designer was good enough to cover either her or her baby and not the both of them. This baby was not going to stop her from living her mildly luxurious life, so while she was still small enough to maneuver around without getting tired, she decided to get a regular nine to five.
Since she didn't have family around and she spent most of her days alone, not only would having this job bring in extra money, but it'll give her the chance to meet new faces and make new friends.
"The District—"
Out of every place she applied to, this black owned shop had caught her attention the most. They sold sneakers, custom pieces by local designers and even had custom jewelry pieces. It overall looked like a great family business she didn't mind being apart of. "Oh," she gasped, picking up her computer and bringing it closer to her face, "—we are interested in your application.," she finished mouthing the words, realizing that she finally got something back.
Instantly, she picked up her phone and dialed the number included to figure out further steps. Was she nervous about trying to find a job, no, but she was nervous about showing up some where pregnant and getting declined, yes. Still though, the phone rang until a person with a heavy southern accent answered the line, "—you speaking to Shaun," she blanked out most of the time he talked, more focused on the fact that this man had a gorgeous ass tone to his voice.
"Hi—" she found herself getting out of her bed and making her way to her closet, taking this as her hint to find something to wear for day as you never expect what could happen, "—my name is Kiyomi, you guys responded to my application recently," she really spoke as if it was casual versus professional, but they seemed like they were interested in more laid back workers who still got their job done.
"Ah'Yeah," she could hear movement through the phone. The faint sound of music slowly getting quieter as it seemed he walked to a more quiet area. "Me and my coworker pretty much looked ya' application over and assumed you'd be good fa' our team, you can come down to the shop and do a lil' in person interview?"
"Of course," she tried to sound little more enthusiastic then she actually was, growing more nervous by the second. "What time and how should I dress," dress code was provided in the job description, not really requiring much but not to show too much skin, but since this was considered her interview, she didn't want to do to much and walk in full business casual attire when she could wear jeans with a nice tee and still get the job.
"Between me and you, ya' really got the job already, we just want to get you're information in our system, show ya' how we work and answer any of ya' questions so I'd say within the next possible hour and come as you please," he broke down how the interview would go. "To be more specific, we don't have no exact dress code but since it's not counted as ya' first day, we don't care what ya' got on," he chuckled making Kiyomi join in on it.
"Sounds great, see you at one,"
"—welcome to the team,"
Kiyomi happily accepted his side hug, squealing just a little bit to release the built up tension she felt herself holding in during this whole process. "Thank you," she cheesed, accepting the side hug happily from A'shaun. As soon as she got here, they got started with the whole process which included getting her a picture for her new employee badge and creating a schedule that would work for both of them.
"It's gone be great," he let her know, allowing her to follow his lead out his the employee office and back into the open shop. "Like I said, It'll jus' be me, you and Niko for a while until my moms shake back, but everything'll go smooth," he explained briefly once again, probably not wanting her to forget that his mother is currently sick and won't be around for a while.
"No problem," let him know she would be prepared without saying too much. "—I'm about to do a little shopping in here before I go, that's cool?" she had eyed a few pieces before her interview and actually liked the type of clothes they sold here.
"Knock ya' self out," he swayed his arms, motioning her to have at it. "Have a nice rest of ya' day," he chuckled to himself, watching the girl give him a warm smile before walking straight to their rack of hoodies.
A'shaun was just a year older than her, currently trying his hardest to keep the family business going while his mom struggled with battling her cancer. With the help of his homeboy, he managed to keep their days smooth, but he also had his own shit to handle most days so they just agreed to get a new hire. They were specifically looking for a female candidate with specific qualities, but A'shaun kept it very professional, simply stating they were looking for basically a floater who did a little bit of everything when asked. Help grab a shoe size, answer customer advice and take over as cashier sometimes. It overall seemed like an easy job and A'shaun had no problem with her being pregnant and even made banter about it instantly lightening the mood a little bit which Kiyomi appreciated greatly.
He could probably tell her nerves were going crazy but either way she got the job and possibly made a new friend so her end goal was met.
She could see why they get a lot of people here, having a hoodie and a cute green jumpsuit resting on her forearm. The last few things she grabbed were two coats and a pair of jeans out the mens section before heading to the register. Yes, they had some fire ass shit but they were also pretty pricey and they would run her pockets dry. As soon as Kiyomi walked up, she noticed the dread headed boy A'shaun spoke about earlier, "Hey,"
"Wassup," he nodded his head, grabbing her items and getting rid of the sensors. "—you got the job?" he had suddenly stopped, furrowing his brows.
Kiyomi nodded slowly, not knowing what his demeanor meant.
"Bet," he nodded quickly, Kiyomi assumed meant of approval.
Before she could even respond, she heard a super familiar voice that almost made her heart stop, but she never once turned around. Instead she clutched the strap her bag tighter and went to tug her shirt down just a little bit more.
"What's good gang,"
Niko couldn't have smiled any wider, "What's good Spook,"