PARADOX

PDX52

May 12th 2023
Dallas, Texas
11:43 am

Mothers Day—a day that often led Amina to be overly emotional. Watching people post their mothers and revisiting their favorite memories was always bittersweet. She loved seeing people celebrate their mothers while they were still alive, but it made her miss her mother even more. Despite her mother being gone everyday of the year, the wound seemed to sting a little more on the second Sunday of the month of May.

It hit a little different this year knowing that she had the honor of holding the title for a while, before it was taken away. Amina reached for the gold necklace Rashad got her, but quickly paused once her phone began to ring. She answered the call and put it on speaker and continued her task.

"What you doing?" Chalyn questioned. Amina grabbed the necklace and hooked it around her neck, "Bout to go visit my mama." She answered while eyeing the necklace, ashamed of how she acted when she ripped it off of her neck and tossed it go the ground out of anger.

On a better note, Amina finally fixed herself up. Redid her silk press and added in a few clip ins for the hell of it. As bad as she wanted to get her lashes done, she knew it wasn't a good idea due to all the crying she'd been doing. So, she settled for strips that mimicked eyelash extensions. Oddly, Rashad's voice echoed through her mind. Let me take a picture of you mama, so she grabbed her phone and took a cute little mirror picture of herself. Hoping that one day, she'd be able to show it to Rashad.

"Aww...well, let me know when you're done so I can take you for lunch." Chalyn announced, causing Amina to smile. "You not doing nothing with your family?" She questioned.

"Girl no—my mama don't fuck with me." Chalyn announced, genuinely surprising Amina. "Really?" She questioned as she grabbed the phone and walked out of the bathroom.

"Yeah...as I got older I realized my mama just isn't a girls girl. She lives for the validation and attention of men. Growing up, she treated my brothers like kings, but dealt with me like I was a bitch on the street—real catty and nasty. Living with my mama felt like an episode of bad girls club or some shit." Chalyn explained. Breaking Amina's heart, she grew up hearing the phrase "A girls first love is her father." But felt like it wasn't stressed enough that a girls first best friend was her mother. "Wow...I'm so sorry Cha." Amina replied.

"It's alright, girl. I'm good—at least I learned how to read bitches they rights." Chalyn lightened the subject, causing them to chuckle. "Where you wanna do lunch?" Amina questioned.

"I don't even know...I know every where gon' be packed as hell." Chalyn replied, Amina nodded her head in agreement. "Well, since we'll have to wait regardless, I guess the setting don't matter." Amina spoke.

"Yeah, oh—I wasn't sure if I should tell you happy Mother's Day or not, I didn't want to pick any scabs, or not say it and be rude." Chalyn spoke, causing Amina to faintly smile. "It's...whatever, I thank you for even considering me." She replied.

"Of course MiMi—I love you girl." Chalyn announced, bringing a smile on her face that only Rashad could. Amina was sure it was because they were her favorite people. "I love you too, Cha." Amina honestly responded.

May 14th 2023
Dallas, Texas
3:51 pm

Amina pursed her lips together in a focused manner as she braided her client's hair down. Her hair was on the thicker side, so Amina decided to give her more braids than usual to ensure a flat wig install. Her fingers were fast, while still keeping the braids flat and neat. There wasn't much conversation between the two, Amina was focused on her task and her client was eyes deep into her phone, that Amina ever so often took a glimpse at. Despite Amina being focused on braiding, her thoughts were still running rampant throughout her mind.