Thank God for Disasters!
Sometimes they can deter one from self-inflicted mishaps.
Picture it. New Orleans at a dimly lit bookstore. A gorgeous pair of women chat and drink coffee over a counter, sporadically examining signed first editions of Harry Potter books.
“So when you get home, what is the first article of clothing you take off?”
That was the first question Minerva had asked her. It was so out of nowhere that it caught Cloudy off guard.
“Wow, that’s a good question,” she muttered closing her eyes.
She tucked one of her drum stick sized dreads between her fleshy lips.
She let it fall out of her mouth, opened her almond-shaped eyes then sipped some coffee.
It was hard to think.
Minerva was like a breath of fresh air. Her large brown eyes were vibrantly enticing, the lashes so thick, she looked cherubic. She was new to the city and “drawn” into the bookstore.
A large wire wrapped nugget of amethyst dangled between her teardrop-shaped breasts.
Hmm, Cloudy moaned, focusing her gaze into Minerva’s fathomless brown eyes.
“I take off my jacket first. You?”
Minerva loudly slurped coffee.
“That’s easy! I take my bra off first,” she smiled sweetly as if she’d just complimented a granny.
Cloudy nervously gulped and tugged her favorite dreadlock; it was her favorite because its tip was U -shaped, soft as cotton, and felt amazing between her fingers. She stretched it to its fullest extent before letting it drop onto her shoulder with a plop.
“Let me stop,” Minerva said, dancing away then sauntering back with a small leather-bound book.
It was ancient and copies appeared to those chosen to read its contents.
Cloudy’s eyes grew wide as she accepted it from Minerva.
“What?”
“The book. It chose you.”
Minerva hugged herself.
“I knew I was drawn in here” she ran her hands through her gargantuan Afro.
She reached inside her cloak and pulled out a debit card.
“No charge. The book chose you.”
“Yasss, thanks!” She exclaimed, tucking the book away. “It was swell meeting you,” she grabbed Cloudy’s left hand which happened to sport an ornate wedding ring, smiled then drifted out the door.
Cloudy inhaled deeply then exhaled. Breathing exercises always calm the excited heart.
It had been almost 5 years since she married her best friend and partner. Where they once randomly met for quickies during loaded workdays, surprising each other with sex toys or lingerie, they now barely watched each other undress let alone expressed desire.
They had both become more attractive over the years. They ate a balanced diet and worked out regularly. They even invested in the bookstore which Cloudy ran as her partner traveled the world setting up intricate databases for newly wealthy, once third-world countries.
Needless to say, the fire between them had waned a bit.
Minerva had stoked the smoldering embers of her soul.
Weeks turned into months spent with Minerva stopping by for book references, herbal remedies, and coffee. With each meeting, their relationship grew.
Cloudy and Minerva never touched, but she wanted them to. She thought about how Minerva’s olive skin would feel against hers as she lay cuddled in bed with her partner who was home more and amply affectionate.
Despite the great sex, she’d just had with her partner, Cloudy couldn’t get Minerva out of her head.
The way the corners of her mouth upturned mischievously before she said something lewd.
Snapshots of her fragrant Afro dotted Cloudy’s mind. Its texture ever-changing based on the weather and products she’d used that day.
She wanted to bury her hands in its thick coils and pull gently.
Cloudy moaned.
She had to act, but couldn’t.
Cloudy was sullenly doing inventory on a rainy day when Minerva walked in.
It had been weeks since she’d come into the bookstore which injured Cloudy’s feelings.
Minerva approached her like a cautious kitten as if she knew her absence had hurt.
“Have lunch with me at the park this Wednesday?” She blurted out. The flesh of her face reddened.
They burst out laughing.
“That hard, huh?” Cloudy teased. She removed a dust bunny from Minerva’s now lilac Afro.
“I’m game. What time?” She asked turning her back and shamelessly dropping it low to set down some magazines. She turned and was stunned by the intensity of Minerva’s gaze.
“Sunset,” she muttered. “Wear all-white” she quickly exited the bookstore leaving Cloudy with the scent of sandalwood.
Their Wednesday lunch date never happened.
A deadly virus descended upon the world claiming lives indiscriminately and shuttering all businesses geared towards leisure.
Cloudy and her partner fled to Europe and opened a brick and mortar medical supply company as well as a lucrative herbal app that helps people identify herbs used for anything from medicine to love potions.
Cloudy often wondered about Minerva’s well being and if she would have actually cheated on her partner.
As they sat outside and allowed themselves to be washed in the colors of the sunset, before raising their glasses to toast their success, Cloudy inwardly thanked God for disasters.
