The Painting (WOMAN X WOMAN)

i.

there's no aesthetic page. you picture the characters how you want to picture them. there will be a song for every chapter. this book will be similar to Her Helping Hand but it is NOT intersex.

enjoy.

Melinda:

"Mama, can we have pizza for dinner?" Avery asked as she looked up at me with her large brown eyes. Her dark skin shined under the light of the setting sun and I couldn't help but smile at her. We were walking from ballet practice, my sweetheart still in her dance attire as we walked down the busy upper west side street.

I was exhausted, today being filled with nothing but board meetings. I was an executive assistant at a large investment company in New Jersey, and it was..trying. I wanted nothing more than to go home and lay down on my body sized pillow with my usual glass of Pinot Grigio.

It felt as if I never stopped working. I was a full time single mother at the age twenty four to my six year old daughter. I went to work every weekday from nine a.m to six p.m, using my lunch break to bring my daughter Avery to ballet practice. I went home, cooked dinner, helped with homework and then put her to bed, leaving me a nice hour every night to do absolutely nothing.

Sometimes I wished it was all I could do. Nothing. But as a black woman and a single mother, what would I look like not playing my part to perfection?

A stereotype.

"Yeah, sounds good. Dominos or Italian?"

"Dominos cause I want lava cake."

"We'll share." I chuckled in response before opening the restaurant door. I ordered our dinner and decided to check my Outlook for any scheduled meetings for the rest of the week. I was booked all day Thursday and Friday, immediately feeling the tension build in my shoulders as I stared at my schedule.

Great.

"Do you mind going to grandmas for the weekend?"

"No. I went to see Aldine." Aldine was my nephew, the son to my brother that I absolutely despised. Him and I never got along, but the tension grew especially after I became a mother at nineteen. It was hard for my family to accept that the troubled child was having a baby, but six years later I'm doing my damn thing.

I'm drowning, but the water is shallow enough for me to take a few deep breaths to keep me going.

Things were always tense growing up, the constant fighting and arguing between me and my parents causing me to act out in more ways than one. Until one day I took a pregnancy test as my life flashed before my eyes.

God knew to sit my ass down, but the person He used really added to my character development.

We don't talk about him, though. It's one of the reasons I don't speak to my older brother. It's as if it was a reason for him to unleash all the hate he had for me instead of protecting me like all older brothers are supposed to do.

Right?

I was taken from my thoughts as the hot pizza box touched my palm causing me to hiss before glaring at the young boy who apologized profusely.

"Twenty three forty one.."

"Yo, y'all sell them cheesy breadsticks still?" A voice asked from the door causing me to turn around swiftly. I looked away, but quickly looked over again at the person who stared at me with a look I couldn't quite understand. Her eyes were low and red as she looked back at me. She had a large afro, her paint stained jeans hugging her hips tightly as they exposed her boxers. Her skin was dark with a red undertone, as if she was some sort of Indian. It made my mouth water slightly and she arched a brow as I continued to stare.

"Yes. Seven plus tax."

"Mama..mama.."

"Huh?" I asked as I peeled my eyes from the beautiful stud and down to my daughter who was eyeing the pizza as if it was the most delicious thing in the world.

"Like what you see, lady? Got a damn staring problem." The woman mumbled under her breath and I scoffed before glaring up at her.

"Move away from the door and maybe I won't have to stare so much, lady." I hissed back causing her to scoff with a shocked smile on her face. I kept my glare and she slowly stepped to the side as she licked her lips, my eyes falling on the tongue ring that poked out of her tongue. I noticed the tear drops tatted on her right cheek and I swallowed hard before walking through the doors.

"You're welcome!" She yelled as I made my way across the parking lot, rolling my eyes as I cursed her out in my brain. She was too attractive to be so rude, the blue bandana hanging out of her sagging pants just making her more...unbearable.

"Ugh. Let's go, I hate this area."

"Mama, can you tell me a bedtime story?" Avery asked as she yawned, her pink Ariel pajamas matching her bedsheets. She was obsessed with the little mermaid, and to finally be able to see the live action movie where her favorite princess looks like her, just added to the obsession.

"Yeah, baby. Once upon a time..there was a princess. She had the longest locs ever. So long that anyone would be able to climb them."

"Like rapunzel!"

"Yes, exactly. She always wore the sweetest perfumes in hopes that her Prince Charming will smell her and find her. She made sure to put it on her hair..her neck,.her arms and her chest. She wanted him to find her, not by her hair, but by her smell."

"That's so...interestating!" I laughed at my daughters pronunciation of the word interesting and nodded before continuing the story.

"Mommy..where's your Prince Charming?" Avery asked sleepily after I finished the fairytale that I made up. I shrugged, feeling the ball form in my throat as I smiled sweetly.

"I don't know.."

"Is it because your Prince is a princess? Julia in my ballet class has two mommies. They're both very pretty like the princesses we see on television."

"It can be. Mommy kind of..stopped looking after a while." I responded grimly. Avery nodded before smiling.

"It's okay, mommy. She's coming. I know it."

"I believe you. Get some sleep, I love you."

Avery snuggled into her bed as she fell asleep. I slowly peeled myself from the bed and shut the door quietly before sighing and walking to my bedroom. I shut my door and immediately stripped from my clothes, feeling too weak to shower.

Don't judge me. It happens.

I immediately grabbed my wine glass and started to sip as I watched some television. I looked over at my drawer before sighing and shaking my head.

"No, Mel. None of that, tonight." I whispered to myself. I started to stare at the tv again, the sound of my own moans echoing in my mind before I sighed and fell into my temptations, opening my desk drawer and pulling out my rose.

"Fuck it. Take me to fucking wonderland."

What do you guys think? Just something I wanted to try.