#PartyBoss isn't a term Tulip Carpenter coined herself but she wears it with pride. Her life is a party, she's doing what she loves, creating mindblowing celebrations for the happiest moments in people's lives. But when the baby she put up for adopt...
Tulip had been back at the boutique for a full fifteen minutes and she hadn't spoken more than ten words. Her mind was racing with memories that caused an explosion of emotions that shocked her mentality to seek out the most basic coping mechanism she had. Eating. She picked up a pepperoni pizza on her way back to work, a large order of fresh from the oil fries, and an even larger blue raspberry slushie. She really wished she could pour a little something special in the cup but clients frowned at their planner being a little tipsy. Too bad.
"I'm aight." Tulip said, eyes cast down as she dipped her fry into one of the three dipping sauces; ketchup, barbecue sauce, and sriracha aioli. Yeah, she paid extra but a girl needed options.
She quickly stuffed the fried potato in her mouth as she connected her sight with her friend hoping she wouldn't be able to tell she was straight-up lying. She was nowhere near the vicinity of 'aight'. She was in an entirely different zip code, residing in conflicted, annoyed, and completely heartbroken.
"Let me get this right..." Neisha started, pausing from pulling another shirt from the box. "You're fine after seeing Jasper." Tulip nodded and she narrowed her eyes at her like an eagle locking in on its prey. "Then why are you so quiet?"
Tulip swallowed. "I'm thinking." She took a long sip of slushie running the risk of giving herself a brain freeze but given all the noise racing in her cranium that might not be a bad thing.
"You think out loud." Neisha slapped the nicely rolled up family reunion shirt on the design table. "Just the other day you were rambling about salutations for the email you sent Lola.
"Speaking of..." Tulip pointed the pointed edge of her slice of pizza at her. "Guess how much she gets for the new people." She paused for her friend to guesstimate but no words came so told her anyway. "Four grand a month...because it's two kids. I can't top that so I'll just have to find my own nanny...babysitter for Sidney."
"Are you kidding, right now?" Neisha asked with a hand to her waist.
"I'm—" Tulip started but Neisha held up her pointing finger as if she was at Bible Study.
"Before you try to construct your statement, I just need you to be aware of something." Neisha began. "You're lying to me and you thinking that you're going to get away with lying to me is borderline offensive and all the way hurtful."
Tulip tsked with an eye roll. She sighed then dropped the half-eaten slice of pizza back on the cardboard box as her shoulders instantly slumped. She should've known she couldn't fake it around a therapist's offspring. "I'm trying to protect you. You're all happy and giddy and shit." She gestured to her friend then at herself. "And I don't want to rain on your love cloud."
"Really. Girl!" Neisha chuckled a little with a shake of her head. "I can differentiate relationships. Jasper is trash and Lachlan is under consideration."
"No," Neisha said. "You first. Let's talk this out. Free it from your body, mind, and spirit before it festers and rots you from the inside."
"My God! Fester and rot. Esha, damn." Tulip shivered for posterity but her friend motioned for her to start talking. "There's not much to fill you in about. He apologized for skipping out and said seeing me and Sidney made him want to earn my forgiveness."
Neisha's sight drifted as the corners of her eyes squinted just a bit and Tulip knew what she was doing; running the words through her mind and dissecting them for the essence.
"So...." Neisha started, refocusing on her friend. "He's remorseful because he saw you with Sidney. Like what does that even mean? He was fine with jilting you but since Sidney's here he owes you an apology. Please tell me that you're not falling for this because I know you're in love with him and all that."
"I'm not—" Tulip's words halted as her friend gave her a 'don't lie to me' look. "Do I have love for Jasper Young...of course. Deep down there somewhere is the warm and tingles." She motioned to her chest. She had to be honest because that was the first step in fixing the problem, right. "But it's buried under pain and betrayal. I'm not that nineteen-year-old girl anymore. I don't trust him or believe him. I told him that. He wants to see Sidney but I'm scared."
Neisha leaned over the table deeply engaged, trying to understand everything being told to her. "Are you going to let him?"
"I don't know," Tulip answered after a hearty exhale. She'd been pondering over his request since leaving the restaurant. She had reasons to tell him no and some that urged her to give him a yes. "On one hand Sidney's never had a dad and it would be a great addition to her life, it might make this grief and adjustment process better for her. You know...she still gets sad in the afternoon because that was the time her mom used to come home." Neisha nodded as Tulip went on. "Then there's the fact that I can't depend on him. Will he flake when things get hard for him. He only lives in Houston part-time and I don't need someone coming in her life just to leave. She—" Tulip paused, her eyes watering as she tried to swallow it down.
"Let it out." Neisha rubbed her back in nice easy strokes. Strokes that comforted her and ensured her that she was in a safe place to let her guard down. The door was locked to the boutique also since it was still their lunchtime. They had a two-hour break for lunch and errands that needed to be made during the workday.
"I know how it feels to lose a parent," Tulip said as warm tears rolled down her face. "Then to have someone that comes in your life and fills that empty spot of your heart with love and happiness to lose that also. It almost broke me, Esha. I don't want that for Sidney. She doesn't deserve that."
"Nor did you," Neisha affirmed. "But Sidney's a smart girl and I think she deserves to know her dad. You just need to prepare her and be honest."
"You're saying I should tell her about him skipped out at her birth."
"No." Neisha shook her head. "Not that honest. You said he doesn't live here full-time so let her know she won't see him all the time, he'll be sporadic in her life so she won't feel dejected if he flakes."
Tulip nodded; it sounded like a good idea. She was leaning more towards never letting Sidney meet him but now she was closer to saying 'yes' to his request.
"But to answer your question..." Tulip started as she dried her face with a tissue. "I think he was to weak to find me and apology but since I'm with Sidney he thinks forgiveness would be easier...soften the blow for him but jokes on him because I can still hate his ass and wear a smile while Sidney is around."
Do you think Sidney needs to meet Jasper?
Do you think Jasper thought earning Tulip's forgiveness would be easier with Sidney?
Is Neisha right, will Tulip's tendency to hold in the things that hurt her cause problems for her?
What do you think Jasper does that has him living part-time in Houston?
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