Capricorn
Chapter 35

The 5 Aspects of Chinese Astrology:
* the animal sign
* the natural element
* the dominant element
* yin and yang
* companion in life

*

Adena, again, was too stunned to speak, and quite frankly she was sick of it. These unwanted events have been happening more often than she would like. Everyone who knows her knows she hates surprises but here they are. However, seeing her best friend with her ex-husband was probably the worst of them all. Just a few months ago, Kim was telling her what to do to save their marriage, basically trying to force them back together, and was on her side when it came to the divorce. Now, though, that's all far from the truth. A very different Kim walked through those doors. A Kim she didn't know. A Kim she didn't want to know. Adena's breath got caught in her throat and she leaned against the judge's stand to steady herself.

Was the universe trying to kill her? Couldn't it just go ahead and do it??

Besides Adena, Missy was just as stunned when Kim walked in with Taye. She was very confused. Was she a lawyer now? Was she representing Taye? How did she become a divorce lawyer in a couple of months? It didn't explain why she was on Taye's arm like that. Anyway, one of those had to be the reason. Because she knew damn well that she did not just see her bestie walking in with her other besties man. Ex, to be exact, but they were technically still married because the divorce was forged and fake!

It made sense for Adena to be shocked, she hasn't seen or really heard from Kim since her birthday. However, Kim and Missy still hung out on a regular basis. Several times a week in fact and Kim never brought up Taye. However, Kim had to be more of an idiot to think that telling Missy would go over well. She was an idiot to think she could keep this a secret too, keeping this a secret meant she knew she was in the wrong.

And she still did this grimy shit anyway.

Kim was lucky that Missy was sitting on the other side of the room in the front row behind Adena's side of the courtroom. If the group of people sitting with her on the front row wasn't in her way, she wouldn't hesitate to beat Kim's ass just like she did Felicia's. Damn, were all of her girlfriends fake as fuck? And why did they all want Taye's stupid ass?? She looked at Adena and she looked like a ghost. All the color left her face, she was frozen in place and couldn't move. 

"Sir, who are you?" the judge asked as Taye and Kim approached the defendant's stand. 

"I am Taye Houghton. Adena Capricorn, there, is my ex-wife."

"Well it was nice of you to join us," the judge said sarcastically, "And you will address me as Your Honor, you understand?"

"No problem at all," Taye said and the judge stared him down, "Your Honor."

"Ms. Capricorn, you can go back to your podium," the judge said, looking down at her and handing her the paperwork she had given him. However, Adena didn't hear him or move at all. All she could do is stare at the two people who she thought were her support system betraying her in the worst way possible. "Ms. Capricorn??" the judge said as he shook the paperwork to get her attention, she slowly turned and looked up at him. "Go back to your podium, we now can finally begin."

Adena took the paperwork and walked back to her side, the walk seemed to take forever and it was torture because her feet hurt, she felt that she was about to faint and everyone was staring at her. She caught Missy's pleading eyes as she mouthed, 'It's gonna be ok.'

Tuh. This was far from ok.

"Mr. Houghton, who is this young woman on your arm? Your lawyer?"

Missy rolled her neck as she turned to look at Taye and Kim. She would love to hear this.

"No, though she has counseled me through this ordeal, she's not my lawyer, Your Honor. This is my girl" he said, making it a point to look over at Adena. 

Adena couldn't look at him. She clutched the podium, trying to catch her breath, somehow she saw a small pink paperclip someone dropped on the floor and could only look at that. Isn't someone going to pick that up?

"Well, she can have a seat along with everyone else, if you please ma'am."

Kim nodded and sat in the front row behind Taye. She tried to look at anyone else but Adena and Missy but she could feel Missy's eyes burning a hole through her from across the room. She glanced her way and Missy was giving her a death glare. She then pointed two fingers at her own eyes, then pointed them at hers, and then she pointed at her own neck from left to right; like she was slashing her throat.

Great, her best friend was going to kill her.

If she knew the divorce proceeding would be like this, she wouldn't have come. No matter how many times Taye begged her to. She thought this divorce case would be handled in a small conference room, with just Adena, Taye, and a mediator. Not a courtroom full of people like an episode of Law and Order. She thought about just waiting in the lobby or somewhere out of sight and not even coming into the room with Taye and Adena because who was she? 

Who was she? It was all hitting her now. 

Who was she? Besides the worst best friend that someone could ask for? A traitor? An enemy? She looked at Taye and he was looking at Adena with a smirk on his face. Where did all his confidence come from? He was a nervous wreck last night and had been acting weird and jumpy all day. And he had never introduced her to anyone as 'his girl.' This was the first time.

Taye wasn't using her, was he? Was he using her to hurt Adena more? Because believe her, she never signed up for that. Did he have feelings for her or was he still so in love and hurt by Adena that he would do whatever it took to embarrass her as she did to him?

So let's go back, shall we? How did this complete mindfuck happen?

* A couple of weeks after Adena's birthday...

Kim walked out of her office building and out onto the sidewalks of Manhattan, she walked at a fast pace as if in a race with everyone else on the sidewalks at rush hour. She heard a voice behind her and turned to see Taye. "Taye? How are you?" she asked him in surprise as she gave him a friendly hug.

"I thought that was you. I'm alright I guess" Taye said sheepishly with a shrug as he stuck both his hands in his pockets.

"You sure?" she asked, sensing his body language. "I haven't seen you since...well you know..."

"Yeah...that."

"Anyway, what are you doing on this side of town?" she asked him as they both started walking together.

"I just finished an interview."

"That's great, you think it went well?" she asked him.

Taye sighed as they stopped at the street corner, waiting for it to be safe to cross the street. "Let's just say that if they even call me back, it would be to tell me no."

"Oh no, why?"

"I don't know..." he said. "Did you want to get something to eat? I'm starving."

Kim nodded as she looked at her watch, "I can eat."

They went to a soul food restaurant a block down. They had a nice long conversation over fried chicken, mashed potatoes with some delicious gravy, all the greens they could eat, and cornbread. He had a beer. She had water but then upgraded to wine. 

"So do you have any other interviews lined up?" Kim asked him as she sipped her wine. 

"Not yet..." he said quietly, he then tilted the beer bottle toward his mouth and chugged the rest of the beer down. 

Kim looked at him inquisitively. His mood completely changed whenever they talked about his job search. Or maybe he missed Adena, she missed her too. Missy was the only one who had heard from her which of course made her feel some type of way. Missy planned that whole disaster of a party and Adena still forgave her? What about her? All she did was warn Missy that it was a bad idea and showed up.

Oh and she invited Taye, but it was all out of good intentions. She's even apologized and still nothing. 

"You ok? I know searching for a job in this economy is stressful."

"Yeah, when you keep getting rejected as much as I have, it gets to you," he said. "Especially when you know you're qualified...or even overqualified."

"Has anyone told you why?" Kim asked him.

He looked at her and then back down at his food. "One did...and there has been a continuing pattern since then..."

Kim sat there, waiting for him to continue, but he didn't. "What kind of pattern?" she coaxed him.

"Never mind, you don't wanna hear about my bad luck."

"Sure I do, I listen to that all day you know."

"And you clocked out, you're not at work, you should relax."

"I'm never fully clocked out. I still work, here and there, you know answering emails or emergency phone calls after hours. Mental health doesn't exactly follow an 8-hour schedule, it's 24/7."

Taye sighed and sat back in his seat, he was ruminating on how to tell her.

"But if you aren't comfortable you don't have to" Kim added. "You're obviously pretty uncomfortable about it."

"I just don't think you'd believe me-"

"Try me," Kim said as he put down her wine glass and rested both her arms on the table. "I've heard just about everything."

Taye chuckled, "I bet," he said. He took a deep breath. "One of them said they thought I was a sure shot but something made them change their mind."

"Oh wow, why?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. He was honest. He said that one of my references wasn't very favorable and that caused them to rethink and go with the other guy, whoever that was."

"Oh wow, I wonder who it is-"

"I know exactly who it is," he said shortly. Kim looked at him with a questioning tilted head. "It was Adena. Now I know that's your girl and everything but I have been using her as a reference for years up until a few days ago. I have proof. Every job that turned me down, I used Adena as a reference, so I got to emailing all of them asking if they were ok with telling me why...and they all said the same damn thing."

Kim sat back in her seat in shock. "That's not like Adena at all..."

"Yeah well she definitely hasn't been herself lately" he scoffed. "I can understand her not wanting to talk to me, even bad-mouthing me but ruining my chances at employment is just-"

"Low and petty" Kim finished for him.

"Exactly," he said, "Especially now that I have to pay for this damn apartment on my own."

"I'm sorry. I can understand her being mad but that's just going too far, I'm very disappointed in her. References can make or break you. They're like Yelp reviews and everyone trusts those."

"I definitely do," he said with a nod as the waitress came back. "Can I get another beer? Actually two please" he looked at her. "You need anything?"

"Just a dessert menu? I wanted to check it out" Kim said and the waitress walked away. "I would say I will go talk to her about it but she is mad at me too."

"She's mad at the whole damn world," Taye said and Kim nodded. "I'm surprised you even believe me."

"Well if you got proof and know the others have your back, you'd have to be right," she said. "So who replaced her?"

Taye chuckled to himself. "I kinda...made up somebody..." he said sheepishly.

Kim laughed. "Taye, you can't do that. You really don't have anyone else?"

"Not really," he said as the waitress brought over two more bottles of beer and a dessert menu. 

"Well put me down then. I can take Adena's place."

"You would?" he asked her in shock.

"Yeah just pay for my dinner and dessert and I got you," she said with a wink.

"That's fine."

"I'm just kidding, you don't have to do that. I know you're living on a budget-"

"No Kim, it's fine. Buying you food doesn't even compare to how you're helping me out."

"It's no problem."

They sat in silence a little as they both finished their food and drinks. Kim decided to order some tiramisu. "You wanna know something else?" he asked her.

"About what?"

"Your bestie," he said.

"There's more?" Kim asked and Taye went on to tell her and show her how Adena hacked into his account and embarrassed him online as well. Kim was shocked to hear and see all of this. Has Adena gone absolutely crazy?? "She's insane. She's going too far. I'm so sorry."

"Yeah I know, so the sooner we can get through this divorce, the better. I'm over it. I'm over her. I just want to move on."

Soon it developed into a pattern and whenever Taye was on her side of town, they would get something to eat and hang out. He would always accompany her home to make sure she got there safely and they would then go their separate ways. 

"Did you want to come in?" Kim asked Taye one night as he walked her to her door. They were both in good moods, having gone to a Mexican restaurant, listened to a mariachi band, and had tequila shots.

"Sure, thanks," he said as he walked in. "I can't wait until it gets warmer," he said as he took off his coat.

"Oh me too," she said, "You want something to drink? Something that can warm you up?" she asked him.

"I'll have whatever you're having. What are you having? "he asked her. 

"My relaxing stress-reducing tea with honey," she said. They sat on the sofa and talked for a few hours. Then there came a point in the conversation when they didn't say a word and they sipped on their tea. 

"I think I will be ok," he said with a nod, breaking the silence.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean without Adena. Is it bad to say that I'm used to not seeing her, not obsessed with where she is at all times? She said she didn't want to see me ever again. She kept her word. I've come to terms with it. Is it bad to say that I feel refreshed? I'm even anxious about this new start that I have, but a good anxious."

"It's not bad at all," Kim said, "You both have been hurting. Hurt each other. You both have moved on."

"Yeah and Felicia finally got the hint. I saw her at the bar with another guy. She'll be fine I'm sure" he said as he drank the rest of the tea. "That was good. Thank you. I'm glad I can talk to you, Kim. I'm glad you're not like Adena and Missy and think that I'm the scum of the earth."

"You're not and they don't think that."

"You're too nice," he said with a laugh. "You've always been. That hasn't changed at all."

"You should do something for yourself. I have a patient who got dumped and it's been affecting him mentally. He can't sleep. He even gets sick when he eats. But whenever he goes bungee jumping, he can get a good night's rest and eats like a pig."

"So you want me to bungee jump?" he asked with a laugh. "I bet Adena would definitely want me to bungee jump off something but without any rope."

"No, she doesn't," Kim said with a laugh and continued, "He feels that jumping off a bridge helps him let go of everything. Maybe you should do something outrageous," she said.

"I've always wanted to try bungee jumping or rock climbing or anything crazy," he said with a laugh. "Are you drunk? I think I'm still drunk. We are such alcoholics" he said with a laugh, feeling very relaxed as he laid back.

"It's the tea, it really mellows you out. But it warmed you up didn't it?" Kim asked with a laugh as she laid back on the couch and her head almost hit his.

"Hey watch it you drunk," he said with a laugh and she laughed too but she didn't move away from him and they stared at each other for a second.

"Adena was a fool to leave you, after everything you tried to do to make it work" she finally said out loud.

Taye looked at her,  surprised, "You think so? You're not on her side?"

"It's hard to be on her side when she's being ungrateful," she said, "She's basically cut me off. She even mailed back my clothes that she still had when she was staying here. Like come on, just dropping them off and talking to me is free...and more mature," she said sadly as she laid her head on his shoulder, "I'm glad you're happy though, you're better off honestly."

"I'm loving your honesty. Tell me more" he said jokingly.

But she took it seriously, "I like your bald head and your white teeth," she said.

"Thanks, I have a great barber and dentist," he said with a laugh.

"I love talking to you too," she said. Then she did something that she wanted to do for days. She finally had the liquid courage to act on her feelings. She leaned in and kissed him. When he returned the kiss something told her to stop. She pulled away and got up. She picked up their empty mugs. "I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. It's the tequila."

She then walked quickly back into the kitchen and put the mugs in the dishwasher. She turned around and realized he was standing right in front of her. She blushed. "So you didn't want to kiss me?" he asked her in a low voice.

Kim gulped. "No, I did."

"Then why apologize about it?" he said to her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "It's my turn to be honest. I'm only better off honestly because of you. You're the only one I've been able to truly talk about all this with and you know us both better than everyone, you've been there since the beginning."

"Tell me more," she said with a smirk.

"I like your hair, especially when it's in braids. I like your eyes. Their color. I could look into them for...I don't even know how long..."

"Thank you," she said with a blush. He then backed her up until the wall was against her back, not letting go of her waist. 

"I love talking to you. And that kiss you just gave me? Don't apologize about it. I loved it. Besides, it's not like it was our first time" he said as he looked into her eyes. He then pulled her close and kissed her more...

*

Chinese astrology has 5 elements, whereas Western astrology has 4 (fire, air water, and fire). The 5 are: water (ruled by Mercury), metal (ruled by Venus), fire (ruled by Mars), wood (ruled by Jupiter), and earth (ruled by Saturn).

*

https://youtu.be/fvjq34fymEc