"Thank you for coming. Have a great day." Stephanie smiled at her client.
Her client thanked her and walked out of the salon. Stephanie plopped down on the chair at her station and placed her head on the table.
"Poor thing is all tired out, huh?" Karrene asked.
"You have no idea." Stephanie popped her head up and ran her fingers through her hair, "Ten appointments damn near back to back without a proper break. I'm ready to head home."
"You got any more today?" Mia asked, curling her hair in the mirror at her station.
Stephanie shook her head, "Nope. That was last one for the day."
"Maybe Priscilla will let you go when she comes back." Skye told her.
"I hope so. I haven't eaten since earlier this morning, so I'm starving."
Stephanie grabbed her phone and scrolled through her contacts until she saw Stassi's. She pressed her name and waited for her to answer.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Mama."
"Si, mi ángel?"
"Please tell me you are cooking something good tonight." She pleaded.
Stassi chuckled, "Si, I am. I'm making carne asada tacos and seven layer taco dip tonight for the tortilla chips."
"Could I invite Drew over for dinner?"
"Of course. You know he's always welcome. Tell him if he wants to stay over, he can."
"Ok, I will. Thank you. I'm finished with all of my appointments for the day and I'm waiting for Priscilla to come back from her time with Ana. If I can get home early, I'll tell him to come over and I'll help you with dinner."
"Alright, sweetie, I'll be here."
"Ok, see you soon. Love you, mama."
"I love you too, angel."
She hung up and as soon as she did, Priscilla walked through the door.
"Hey, hey ladies. How have things been going?" She greeted them.
"I'm exhausted." Stephanie said.
"Boss Lady, you'd be proud of your sister. She was like a mini you, running around here. She was doing her thing." Karrene complimented Steph.
"Agreed. She was handling her business." Skye added.
"Really? Well, I'm glad to hear that. Looks like I know my salon would be in good hands when I'm not here. Good job, Steph." Priscilla smiled.
"Thanks. Now, can I please get out of here? I am starving and I am tired."
Priscilla chuckled, "You finished all of your appointments?"
"Yep."
"Alright, go ahead."
"Thank you." She removed her smock and hung it up, "I will see y'all tomorrow. Candace, welcome to the family."
"Thank you." Candace smiled.
Stephanie grabbed her phone and her purse before walking out the door. She called up Drew to see if he was still at work as she walked towards her car.
"NiNi. What's up, sexy?" He answered, causing her to chuckle.
"Hey, you. Are you still at work?" She asked him.
"Yeah. I'm finishing up, though."
"Well, mama is cooking tonight and she said that you can come over and even stay if you wanted to."
"I'm down for that. Let me finish up here and then I'll go back to the house, pack a few things and come on over."
"Alright, I'll see you soon. Love you."
"Love you too, mi ángel de arriba."
She blushed and hung up, shaking her head.
"Ugh, that boy is just too cute." She thought to herself.
She got in her car, placing her purse on the passenger side and buckled her seatbelt. She started up the car and carefully pulled off onto the road, turning up the radio.
She pulled up into the driveway of Stassi's house and got out of the car. She used her key to open the door and walked inside to see her mother walking down the stairs.
"Hi, mama." Stephanie smiled.
"Hola, cariño." Stassi smiled and hugged her, "How was work?"
Stephanie exhaled and sat down on the couch, "Exhausting. Priscilla left earlier to take care of some stuff with Ana and she left me in charge of the salon. Then I already had ten appointments of my own back to back and I didn't even take a break."
"Well, look at you. If you keep that up, Priscilla might leave you in charge more often. Or if she decides to retire at some point, she might give you the salon."
"While I wouldn't mind that, it's not really my dream. That's her baby."
"Well, what is your dream, sweetheart?" Stassi asked, sitting beside her.
"Honestly, I love just doing my job at the salon for now. But I'd really love to be a nail artist to the stars and open my own spa. I'd want to be like a modern French theme and people could come get their nails done, get massages, facials, lash extensions, eyebrow waxing, leg waxing, Brazilian waxes and things like that. I'd love to have my own thing someday." Stephanie explained.
"That sounds amazing, cariño. I believe you can do it and I have 100% faith in you. You are smart and very ambitious. I believe you could pursue it and be a major success." Stassi smiled.
"Thanks, mama. That means a lot."
"Of course, honey. Anything you girls want to do, I am behind you no matter what. No matter what it is."
Stephanie smiled and hugged her. One thing about Stassi, she always wanted her girls to win and she always supported them in anything they wanted to do. She encouraged them and she was always their biggest cheerleader.
"So are you still helping with dinner?" Stassi asked her.
"Yes, ma'am. I'm ready if you are." Stephanie nodded her head.
The two of them got up and walked into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Stassi decided to make the tacos while Stephanie made the dip for the tortilla chips. They washed their hands and got started. As the two of them were moving around the kitchen, talking and preparing the food, a knock came at the door. Stephanie used the towel to wipe off her hands and left the kitchen to answer the door.
She opened it to see Drew holding his overnight bag. She smiled and made room for him to come inside.
"Come on in. Me and mama are working on dinner." She informed him.
Drew walked inside and kissed her lips softly, "Sounds good. Need me to help with anything?"
"Nah, we got it. You can relax."
"Alright. Let me go in here and say hi to Mama Stassi."
He walked into the kitchen with Stephanie following behind and Stassi looked up, smiling at him.
"Hey, mama." He greeted her.
"Hey, sweetie. How are you?" She replied.
He hugged her and kissed her cheek, "I'm good. How about you?"
"I'm doing very well. Have you been taking care of my baby girl?"
"Yes, ma'am. Don't worry. She's in the best hands." He smiled.
"Good boy. I'm trusting you."
Drew hopped up on a stool by the spacious countertop and watched Stephanie and Stassi finish their tasks at hand.
"I don't know what it is, but you D'Cruz women have a special technique to cooking." Drew complimented them, stuffing another bite of taco into his mouth.
"Or maybe you're just greedy." Stephanie laughed.
"That too. But seriously, y'all are amazing cooks."
Stassi chuckled, "Thank you, sweetheart. My mama taught me at a young age and I became a mother and did the same with my kids."
"I wonder, do each of y'all have a speciality? Like, something signature each of y'all can cook extremely well?"
"Well, we can cook just about anything. But in my eyes, my main speciality that I never mess up is Mexican lasagna. I haven't made it in a little while, though." Stephanie nodded.
"Mine would be chicken Rigatoni." Stassi said.
"That's true. Mama makes some amazing chicken Rigatoni."
"Trust me, I know." Drew agreed.
"As far as Priscilla, Lashelle and Anastasia go, Priscilla makes very good seafood enchiladas and chicken enchiladas. Lashelle is kind of the culinary one out of everyone. She makes a delicious tamale pie, teriyaki chicken and rice and shrimp and scallop pasta. Anastasia is amazing at cajan chicken bruschetta pasta. But my girls are fantastic cooks in general. I'm just glad that they paid attention and learned while they were with me." Stassi explained.
"That's real cool." Drew smiled.
"What about you? I mean, you're a great cook yourself. Who taught you?" Stephanie asked him.
"My mama and my grandmother taught me. I guess it stuck." He chuckled.
After dinner, Stassi decided to rest upstairs in her room while Stephanie and Drew took a walk to the park. Drew began to roll up a blunt as they were walking and Stephanie pulled her hair up into a ponytail. He placed the blunt between his lips and grabbed his lighter from his back pocket. He sparked it and brought it towards the blunt to light it up.
"Dee Dee, could I ask you some things?" Stephanie asked him.
He exhaled smoke and nodded his head, "Of course, NiNi."
"Do you ever think about your biological mother?"
She could see him tense up, but he quickly relaxed.
"Sometimes. I just wonder why she gave me up and didn't take care of her responsibilities. But that's her loss, to be honest. At least I'm alive and in good health." He shrugged.
She looked at him and noticed his body language changed along with his facial expression. She grabbed his hand and he looked over at her.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable or upset." She apologized.
"You didn't, NiNi. Don't worry about me."
"You're my best friend and my boyfriend. Worrying is in both handbooks."
Drew chuckled and passed the blunt to her, "I'm good, I promise. It's still a little blah to talk about, but it's not bad. Honestly, I couldn't be more grateful for my adoptive parents. They treat me and love me like I'm biologically theirs. I couldn't ask for anything better. I love them with all of my heart."
She took the blunt from him and placed it between her lips, taking a long inhale. She let go and held it in for a few seconds before releasing the smoke into the air. Once the two of them got to the park, they sat down on a swing as the wind blew slightly. Stephanie passed the blunt back to him and he took it from her.
"You asked me if you could ask me some things, so what else is on your mind?" Drew asked her, placing the blunt between his lips again.
"What really made you fall in love with me?"
He exhaled smoke again and chuckled, "Man, that's deep. You really want to know?"
"Duh. That's why I'm asking."
He chuckled again and looked at her, "Because you're real. You're 100% blunt, open and honest with me. You liked me for me and you loved me for me. You don't try to control my every move or anything like that. I trust you with my life and no matter what, I never ever have to question if NiNi is down for me or if she'll ride for me. I know for a fact that you will and that you always have my back. Just like I'll always have yours. You don't really have any drama or baggage and I always wanted a woman that I could call my best friend and my girlfriend and be myself around. I only got that vibe with you. I knew I could love you and treat you the way you needed to be. Not to mention, how damn fine you are. That ass alone is something special all by itself."
"Shut up." She rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious. It's just so big and I love grabbing it. But you have a sweet spirit and a feisty spirit at the same time. You know how to dress, you take care of me and look out for me, you make me laugh, you make me smile. I mean, I could go on and on. You are my perfect girl and the girl of my dreams. I love you. You know you're my ángel de arriba."
Stephanie smiled widely and looked down, running her fingers through her hair. Drew got up from his swing and grabbed her hand, pulling her up. He gently pressed her up against one of the poles that was holding up the swings and planted his lips on hers.
Stephanie ran her fingers through his hair and tugged at it, earning a gentle grunt from him. He slowly pulled away from her and licked his lips, looking down at her.
"You know you're wifey, right?" He told her.
"Of course. Who else is going to put up with you?" She joked.
"Don't play with me, NiNi."
She chuckled and looked up at the sky, staring at the stars. Drew put out the blunt and sat down on the swing, patting his lap. Stephanie sat on his lap and felt his arms wrap around her as the two of them just enjoyed the gentle breeze and the night sky.