Anabella walked out of her door into the dazzling 5 star hotel with the fresh aroma of lavender. Her hair was in a high puff and she just wore a shimmery lipgloss, she sported a peach joggers and an olive green spaghetti strap with 'Mami' written across the front in big block letters.
When Ana wasn't in front of the camera she dressed pretty simple but she always looked good. She greeted the maids for her floor before going to the glass elevator, she pressed the button and waited for it to arrive as she took a selfie. When the elevator doors opened with a *ping* , she saw 2 figures behind her raised phone.
Her father and her brother.
The two men stopped their conversation to look at her,
"Well if it isn't my daughter I hardly see" the robust man greeted not so pleasantly and Ana rolled her eyes,
"Hi daddy" she said stepping in hitting the ground floor button,
"Ana, did you hear about the merge?" Thomas asked excitingly, her skinny brother was always trying to impress their father but Anabella preferred when he used to just chill with her. The last few years their relationship grew apart but whenever they got the chance he would lighten up.
"Yea I think it's good for business, Mama sent me a cheque to go buy an outfit that's where I'm going now" Thomas nodded but her father sucked his teeth loudly,
"She back encouraging you in foolishness and this merge is a stupid idea. She's just trying to hold on to any bit of control she has over this hotel" her father aired his views and Thomas and Ana shared side looks.
"Yuh know daddy maybe you should take a vacation, let Thomas run the hotel for a while. You and mum haven-"
"Shut up! You know nothing about your mother and I you're hardly ever around in the first place all you care about is looking pretty for the public but you don't lift a finger to help with this hotel" her father shouted and Ana was taken aback, she didn't say another word but her fury laid dormant as she took a deep breath.
The elevator doors finally opened and they couldn't open any faster, her father stormed off quickly disappearing around the corner,
"Thanks for that but don't do that" Thomas said looking at her,
"He needs to give you more recognition, you work really hard" they exited the elevator and continued talking in the lobby,
"Yea I don't expect him to ever give me the recognition I deserve but I see everything is going great on your end of the business" Thomas grinned at her awkwardly,
"Yea I-"
"Thomas!" their father shouted,
"Uh I gotta go" and Thomas ran off to his father, Ana stood alone shaking her head disapprovingly, her father lost control of her but Thomas was always going to be his pawn.
***
Lynn finally joined Anabella after 30 additional minutes in a black leotard and a high waist jeans, today's frontal was long and straight. She got in throwing her bag in the back seat of Anabella's Jeep Wrangler Sports S. Lynn's slicked back ponytail really brought out her strong features, she usually hid her face but when she didn't, it showed off her sharp bone structure and her dazzling brown eyes.
Lynn sighed a happy sigh as she batted her eyelashes at Anabella just taunting her to ask a question, she side eyed her,
"What wrong with you now?" she asked swinging the key and the jeep hummed lightly,
"Oh it's just he's really great. I mean he might just get me to think about settling down" Lynn confessed and Anabella's eyebrows shot up, "Yea I know I just said that, I gotta start thinking about children and all that shit now" Anabella drove out the hotel compound as she listened to Lynn.
"That's great. Think he's the one?" Anabella asked as her eyes fixated on the road ahead,
"Maybe he is. I mean I met him a month ago, he didn't even know who I was which is great since most fellas just wanna be with me for the perks. He could be the one" she checked her makeup touching up her lips, "You should be looking to settle down too but you always so damn busy. When is the last time you had sex?"
"Lynn!"
"That long huh" she chuckled looking at Anabella's face, her dark complexion showed subtly hues of red as her cheeks warmed,
"Probably a year ago" she whispered as navigated through the traffic on her commute to Limegrove Lifestyle Centre.
Anabella got so caught up in work she forgot about her personal life. She didn't completely forget about it, it was just a corpse in the back of her mind, she hardly did relationships. Her father always warned that most males only wanted her for the money they had. Foolishly she pushed the few potential boyfriends away as a result, when she finally got a grip of herself she was thick into work.
Anabella's usually pleasant disposition wrinkled into deep contemplation, I'm a 23 year old model, living in my family's hotel and single. Sounds like the start of a bad joke. Her grip tightened around the steering wheel as she thought,
"Hey!" Lynn nudged her in the ribs bringing her mind back to the road,
"Sorry was thinking about something."
They pulled into Limegrove's parking lot. Lynn and Anabella loved going to the center for their pre-shopping snack. The perfect way to start a long day of shopping. It was modern with international and national shopping, the smooth architecture of the mall invited locals and tourist alike to stop in even if it was to walk around and admire the jewelry and apparel.
Anabella parked the jeep close to the entrance and they walked in, with clay stones beneath their feet,
"You're not a failure" Lynn quipped causing Ana to stop in her tracks,
"What are you talking about?" Ana asked trying her best to keep a strong demeanor,
"Back there, the 'something' you were thinking about. You aren't a failure" Lynn reassured before they continued through the twisting walkways.
"I'm not saying I'm failure, I'm just saying I been so busy with work and stuff I forgot about having a partner" Ana said pushing the door for Relish Epicurea,
"How could you forget Ana? What kinda weird bullshit is that?" Lynn's confused tones continued as they approached the counter to make an order. The cool air conditioning blasted at them while they got their favorite snack, 2 double pulled pork sandwiches with extra cheese and fresh golden apple juice.
"I'm just too occupied to remember" she said taking a seat, trying to get Lynn to follow her but she remained at the counter while the cashier listened in on their conversation.
"Ana! You're 23! How could you not think about sex at least once in a year?"
"Shhhh!" she shushed her while the cashier giggled a little, Lynn finally realized how loudly she was speaking and joined Anabella at the table,
"Sorry but jeez you gotta get out there tho. Got men everywhere and you should be able to at least find one" Lynn snapped her finger and rolled her neck, she had all the confidence in Anabella but did she feel the same way.
***
With their stomachs full they leave Relish and begin shopping, Anabella's mind was full of swarming thoughts, for the first time in forever she actually thought about her love life or lack thereof.
I'm actually a cat lady just without the cats.
She thought as Lynn's insistent chatter was the background noise to her lonely thoughts. She wandered off enjoying the ambiance of her surroundings, when an ear piercing shriek got her attention, from around the corner.
It was Lynn.
"Lynn! What happened?" she ran back finding her staring at something in a show window, with her jaw dropped,
"That dress! You have to get it!"
Anabella glared at her "Really? A dress?!?" she rolled her eyes and rubbed her temples,
"Look at it!" Lynn still adamant about the dress, she grabbed her chin and turned her to look at the dress. She stared at it wide eyed as she came face to face with the dress.