Capricorn
Chapter 49

Lunar Years of the Monkey:
* 1920 (Feb. 20, 2020 - Feb. 7, 1921)
* 1932 (Feb. 6, 1932 - Jan. 25, 1933)
* 1944 (Jan. 25, 1944 - Feb. 12, 1945)
* 1956 (Feb. 12, 1956 - Jan. 30, 1957)
* 1968 (Jan. 30, 1968 - Feb. 16, 1969)
* 1980 (Feb. 16, 1980 - Feb. 4, 1981)
* 1992 (Feb. 4, 1992 - Jan. 22, 1983)
* 2004 (Jan. 22, 2004 - Feb. 8, 2005)
* 2016 (Feb. 8, 2016 - Feb. 4, 2017)
* 2028 (Feb. 4, 2028 - Feb. 16, 2029)
* 2040 (Feb. 16, 2040 - Jan. 31, 2041)

*

"Craig! Craig! Come back!" Beverly hissed as Craig walked toward the gallery's front door and walked out. He couldn't hear her because of the loud cheers and applause. Adena had gotten up onstage with Kehinde and said a simple thank you. She and Kehinde then stood next to the painting and took pictures as a few people walked over to where they could bid on it. 

"Let him go. He's drunk," Ma said to her with a shake of her head. 

"Yeah, that's the thing, he's drunk," Beverly said as she walked outside and saw Craig pacing in front of a couple of food trucks. "Craig, come on, come back inside."

"I'm good. I should have just stayed at your place," he said as he scoffed. "Not even 12 hours and she has a world-famous painter drawing her naked. When did she find the time to do that? Maybe on some of those very 'late nights.'"

"You know that isn't true. That's not like her at all, at least from what you've told me. You really think so low of her?"

"She thought low of me, enough to dig and have an investigation on me when all she had to do was ask." Her brother looked so sad, and she hadn't seen that look since... She walked up to him to give him a hug, but he backed away. "I can't do this."

"You can't leave her hanging like this. Look, you're in all the advertisements. You made a commitment!"

"Too many commitments. Leave me alone, Bev. I'll have what's-his-face take me back."

"You can't, and we're not staying that long, remember? We came here to drop you off and so Ma could meet Richard Mayhew and possibly buy something. It'll take him at least 4 hours to get back to us."

"Fine, I'll take a walk," he said and then paused and reached into his pocket. He gave her an envelope, "Give that to her for me," and then he started to walk away.

"Craig, come on, you two need to talk it out. This is a very easy fix!" she said to him, but he just kept walking. 

Then, just his luck, he stopped in front of a bar. The same bar he met Adena at. 

East Village Bar.

Don't go in there.

But he did anyway. He'll try his best to drink her away.

Beverly walked back into the gallery defeated as the crowd got larger around the main stage where Kehinde just revealed his masterpiece. "We're just in time. Richard Mayhew is coming out any second now. If I get just one more creation of his, my collection will be complete," she said giddily. Beverly smiled, glad to see her excited at least. Their huge home was filled with art. When Ma was younger, she went to an art school herself. She would sit for hours in the nude while painters made her into more of a masterpiece.

"And without further ado, here's the true man of the hour. He's known as the 'Modern Master of Landscape Painting.' At 98 years young, a fellow Long Island native like myself and STILL painting, here is Richard Mayhew!" Adena introduced nervously. The crowd cheered. Richard came out slowly, and Adena helped him to sit down. She hurriedly walked off the stage as fast as she could. She had such stage fright up there, but it was a good thing. She's never been in front of so many people. The turnout was more than she could ever imagine. At that moment, she realized she had done it. They did it. Not only was the event a success, but it also introduced younger BIPOC to the world of art, and it warmed her heart. That was a major goal and milestone for her. Fulfilled.

Aww.

She looked around, and her eyes widened as she saw her dad having a heated conversation with Kehinde. "What now?" she whispered to herself and then hurried over.

"Again, the painting is beautiful. A masterpiece, but I don't want no random niggas in here buying a painting of MY daughter naked and hanging it up in their room," he said to Kehinde.

"Dad!"
"Richard!" she and her mom said at the same time.

"I understand completely, but she's not fully naked. I made her as classy, ethereal, and as beautiful as possible-"

"I'm taking it then. It should belong to me. This painting is of my daughter and my future grandchild."

"People have already started bidding-"

"Ok, how much? I'll top that," he asked the person assisting Kehinde with the painting. "What's the highest bid?" he asked them.

"$5000." Her father stared at them wide-eyed.

"Dad, that's cheating. Don't undermine all these people who actually want a Kehinde Wiley original. They're not buying it because of me; it's because of his name. Mona Lisa was someone's daughter, and she's hanging up everywhere. No one knows it's me. Who am I? Besides, I want to donate the money to The Multiple Birth Loss Center in honor of mom, grandma, and great grandma," she said as she squeezed her mom's hand. Her mom gasped, and she covered her mouth as a tear or two rolled down her face immediately. "Mommy, don't cry. I didn't want you to cry."

"It's happy tears, baby," her mother said. Her father sighed, feeling like an idiot.

"Ok, fine. If she's ok with it, I'm ok with it. I apologize, sir," Richard said. Kehinde said he understood and pulled him to the side. 

By then, Beverly and Ma had found their way toward them. They heard the whole exchange. She looked at Adena and her mother as they hugged each other. She had the sudden urge of wanting her mother again. Her biological mother. She and Craig's mother. She pushed away that feeling with a smile and took Ma's hand. "Adena, thanks for putting us on the list. You look amazing; this whole event is amazing," Beverly said to them. Adena turned to them and smiled and was surprised to see 'Miss Gucci' with her. 

"Thank you so much," she said to them kindly. She introduced Beverly to her mother.

"Craig's sister, huh? You're beautiful, I can see the resemblance. And this is Mrs. David?" Gladys asked innocently.

Beverly paused. She was used to it. The two were always together. Beverly clung to her like white on rice. She loved her like a mother since she no longer had her own. "No, this is actually my mother-in-law."

"Barbara Hill," Ma said as she shook Gladys' hand and then shook Adena's hand a little firmer. "We were never properly introduced. I do want to apologize for what happened a couple of weeks ago-"

"It's alright. An honest mistake. All's forgiven," Adena said as she absentmindedly rubbed her stomach. The baby was quiet today, thankfully. She then paused. "Wait, once you and Brandon get married, your name is going to be Beverly Hill?"

Beverly nodded with a knowing smile. "Isn't it perfect? She's perfect, the perfect daughter-in-law. Brandon did well for once," Barbara said as she put her arm around her. Beverly hugged her back. Adena smiled at them. She instantly put it together. Barbara was the closest to a mother she'll ever have. Barbara was now showing that side of her. Her usual side, no doubt.

Aww.

"So I heard you're a big fan of Richard Mayhew?" she asked her.

"He's one of my favorite artists, studied all of his work, I went to the same art school he went to in Brooklyn. I paid for it by modeling for almost every artist there and in this whole city to pay for it. Tell your Dad there's no need to worry. Like Gucci, people are buying it for the name. Besides, it's very hard work being a muse, and it's well respected in our field." Adena nodded in agreement. "If I can just get one picture or handshake with him-"

"That's no problem at all. He's doing a small meet and greet after." Barbara thanked her with a huge smile.

Well, look at them, all getting along; she just wished a specific person were here to see it.

"So, you're an Uncut Gem for THE Kehinde Wiley, huh?" Beverly asked, and Adena rolled her eyes playfully, knowing what she meant. Gladys and Barbara watched the rest of the presentation.

"I actually didn't know about it at all. He drew it from memory because I haven't sat still once during this whole thing."

"Really? Well, before you ask, I got Craig to come, but he was so drunk and upset he stormed out, and I had to let him go. I tried-"

"Drunk? Upset? He's still upset about last night?"

"Yes, that, and now he thinks you've been posing naked for this man behind his back." Adena put her head in her hands. "I think that's the alcohol. He knows better than that."

"He told you everything?" Beverly nodded. "As you probably heard, my dad is overprotective, especially when it comes to men. I mean, here I am, practically a single mother. So when Craig got locked up, he took it upon himself to get a background check on him. He gave it to me the same night Craig came home. I refused to read it or even look at it, but I kept it so we could talk about it. But once he got home, I didn't think about any of that, I was just happy he was home. Then he found it."

"So your Dad did it, not Tye?"

"His name is Taye," Adena said with a small laugh and a shake of his head. Of course, he would tell her the wrong name.

"So you do trust Craig? He said you didn't, and he's really, really offended by that, and he said you called him Taye?"

"I found out that Craig had lied to me about beating up my ex and working at a strip club this whole time. So I thought, what else has he lied to me about? All of that came to a head last night. I've never seen him so mad. I haven't ever been so mad at him. The whole name thing is just a misunderstanding. It wasn't on purpose, but hell, if he called me Felicia, I'd feel the same."

"Please don't mention that Thot Pocket," Beverly said with a roll of her eyes. She won Adena over at that very moment. "I didn't know about any of that either. He told me the same story he told you." Then she remembered and took the envelope Craig gave her out of her purse. "He wanted me to give this to you."

Adena's eyes widened. "Is this a background check?"

"I have no idea," Beverly said, "I'm going to sneak off and find something for Ma. I'll be back," she said to her and walked off. She figured Adena needed her privacy. Hopefully, something good would be inside.

Adena went toward the stage to get ready to arrange Mr. Mayhew's meet and greet. She stood off to the side backstage and quickly opened the envelope. Curiosity killing her. Her eyes widened when she saw what was inside. A note that said:

The last thing you need is to worry about whether
you can trust me and how to make ends meet.
Here's my half of the rent and some extra to keep
you going. I promised you that. We need time apart.
I never meant to break your heart or your trust.
My actions that brought on this background
nonsense, I'm sorry, and this is my karma. Speaking
of karma, remember when we read that yin/yang
book, and we promised ourselves that if our
differences pulled us apart more than bring us
together, we would do ourselves a favor? So I'll do it.
Before it's too late. We had so much pleasure but all
I feel now is pain. I know you feel it too. I hope you
don't hate me because I love you. I've always loved

you. From the moment I saw you. You'll always be the

The yin to my Yang, you brought out the best in me, so you

don't deserve to see any more of my worst. 

I love you, Adena.

She looked inside the envelope and saw quite a few hundred dollar bills. However, she read the note over and over again obsessively to make sure she didn't misunderstand what she read. She was too stunned to speak. Was this really happening? They really failed? 

Was this their last breakup?

*

The Goat personality is charming, amiable, sympathetic, and generally just nice people. Due to their sensitive natures, Goats are the most creative and artistic sign of all the Chinese Zodiac signs. 

*

Craig spun around on his stool so his back was to it and leaned against the bar. "How old are you?" he asked her as he took another sip of whiskey. He was still at the East Village Bar, he didn't know how long he'd been there, but he didn't care. He was going to drink until old man cut him off. Or until this chick next to him gets him kicked out. 

"You don't ask a girl her age," that chick said.

"Sorry," he said, shaking his head. He spun back around so he was facing the bar. He leaned on the bar with both arms, crossing them, "That slipped my mind. You just look so young..." he said as he looked her over.

She took some hand sanitizer out of her purse to clean her hands. She held out her hand to him. He looked down at it and back up at her. "I'm Adena, by the way," she said to him. She said it with a straight face, but he could see her eyes were smiling...or he was that far gone.

"That's a beautiful name. I'm Craig," he said to her with a smile, shaking her soft hands. In his head, he named her 'The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.' He thought he would be calling her that until she got tired of him. He then laughed, "Wow, a lot can happen in 15 minutes," he said as he glanced at his watch. He was surprised she was letting him talk to her for this long.

"Excuse me?" Adena asked him.

"Oh, that didn't sound right either, did it? Even though it's true. Why am I so awkward?!" he said and laughed. Adena just looked at him, ready for him to explain himself. Wait, why did he say that?

Oh!

"No, I was saying a lot happens in 15 minutes because now I know your name, that you went to Columbia, but you don't go to clubs except for that one time last week where I saved you from some creep at Fever, you love your job, but your boss gave you a break, but you don't like it, and that's because of your recent divorce which you also don't like of course, you love to go to Dominic's- whatever that is- with your friends...and you don't drink much," he said with a laugh. He could tell women let loose a little and relax once they have reached their usual limit, and hers wasn't a lot.

And Felicia said he never listened. Tuh. Yes, he did. He just didn't want to. He only acted like it so whoever was rambling would change the subject.

"Wow, you described me perfectly," Adena said with a slight chuckle. "But there are still a lot of things you don't know..." she said as she sipped on the whiskey and finished her fries.

"Just give me another 15 minutes, and I will...Adena," he added. Oooh, that felt nice. Her name just rolled off his tongue. 

Adena chuckled again, "23," she said to him with a raised eyebrow and then sipped.

"Huh?" he asked her. He leaned in closer to her. He must have heard wrong because who says '23' out of nowhere? 

And before you say anything, yes, he was listening. She said it so low that he struggled to hear. 

Adena leaned toward him, a micro inch, keeping her distance. "That's how old I am," she whispered to him with a smirk. She daintily held the glass and the straw to her mouth and sipped. Oooh, now they were getting somewhere. If she was 18, he would've had to cool it.

"23, huh? You're just a baby. You just started drinking yesterday, didn't you? That explains it," he said and winked at her. 

"Ha Ha," Adena said sarcastically. "Well, looking at how you're such an experienced drinker, you should be 55. You're just an old man," she playfully said back. Ooooh, she had a sense of humor. "You probably get the seniors discount here, huh?"

"Wow! Ok," he said with a laugh. "Nah, I'll be retirement age in exactly 30 years, though."

"A quarter century," she guessed and then chuckled. "That sounds old when I say it like that. You're a quarter of a century old. What's it like being able to rent a car now?" she asked, pretending she was about to listen to a grand story. Oooh, she was too much.

"Fucking expensive," he said and then took a few more sips.

"Are you a Scorpio?" she asked him.

"Me? No, but I don't pay attention to that. Are you a Scorpio?" He'll pay attention now if she wants to talk about it. He didn't care. He just didn't want to leave the bar. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World had all his attention. Just staring at her took his mind off of everything.

"I'm a Capricorn. My birthday is on the 16th," Adena told him. "What about you? Craig? Craig? Craig, you ok?"

And just like that, he snapped back to the present. He blinked his eyes to pause his daydream. He turned to them, and when he saw her, his eyes widened.

*

People may think Goats are weak creatures who are easy to take advantage of. In reality, they will fight violently if something they cherish is threatened. Goats are linked to the ancient Chinese element, fire.

*

Taye tapped his fingers on the armrest, he then heard the door open behind him, but he didn't bother to turn around. Dr. Osbourne walked in with a mug of coffee. "Sorry about that. I need a little kick," he said as he sat across from him.

"Don't we all," Taye said with a smirk. 

If you're confused, no, this isn't a flashback. We are here right now witnessing Taye speaking to his therapist. Yep. Therapy. He wanted him by choice too. Actually, he didn't; the doctors told him having a therapist would help, and they and Kim wouldn't let it go. Luckily Taye already knew one. He was expensive, but Dr. Osbourne let him pay under the table what he could and gave him a discount. His health insurance wouldn't cover this.

"Well, you look better," Dr. Osbourne said as he looked at Taye. The last he saw him, he looked like he got hit by a car. He didn't have as many huge bandages covering his body as last time. Fewer bruises. His left eye even healed. "Do you feel better?"

"Hell no," Taye said. "Thank God for the painkillers."

"Well, you look a lot better. Whatever you did this week is working."

"Yeah, not quick enough," Taye said with a shake of his head. Dr. Osbourne crossed his legs as he settled more into the chair, notepad, and pen in hand. 

"Not quick enough? For what?"

"Work," Taye said, and Dr. Osbourne nodded. Work was a huge discussion, and it took him a while to get out of that unemployed rut he found himself in. "There's only so many things I can do. I used all my sick days. I barely had any anyways, I just started this job practically. Boss is pissed about it, but he doesn't want me to be a liability. He'll tell me, 'Go to apartment 5H, their ceiling fan is acting up," and I'm like, 'Sorry, doctors orders.' He'll then give me a look, shake his head, mumble, and walk away. I feel useless, and he makes it worse. I feel like he thinks I meant to get into a fight with that asshole."

Dr. Osbourne nodded as he took a few notes. "How many times has he said this to you?"

"Today? Like 3 times. He's also pissed I have to come here once a week for an hour."

"You know we can do this over the phone or online, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't want him to know that. I need an excuse to get an hour and a half of fucking peace away from that job," he said. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that. Like coming here once a week at this time is helping me in more ways than one."

"It gives you 2 lunch breaks," Dr. Osbourne said with a chuckle. He made a note. That's the first time Taye has acknowledged that this was all helping him. However, he could tell even before today though. He never said so, but with each session, Taye would make great progress, and it was working for him. Not against him.

"I wish! No, this is my lunch hour too. I gotta eat and run. I hate eating on the bus."

"So Boss has said this 3 times today, all the same way?" Taye nodded. "Has he done this before?"

"He's been doing it since I got back to work. Which is almost 2 weeks now."

"Have you confronted him about it?"

"I try to be real apologetic. Sincere. My doctor said I can only do lightweight things. Believe me, I'd rather be able to be 100% back together, but AGAIN it's not my fault. We got to wait it out. I need this job, and I'm not gonna bust my own ass again, go to the hospital again, just to get fired again. Anyway, I've said that a few times, but now I don't bother. I just say 'Sorry.' Oh, and he fired what's-his-name. Why? I don't know, but that makes it worse."

"More workload for you then."

"Exactly, but I can't do most of the shit they ask me to do. So Rafael is stuck with most of it, and he's fucking exhausted. Residents don't want to be on a waiting list when they need something fixed. And they always have something needing to be fixed. Don't be mad at me. Renovate this raggedy ass building. Hire more people instead of firing people." 

Taye got a job a couple of months ago after twice as many months of being out of work. He was now on the maintenance team at their apartment complex. Well...now just his apartment complex. That solved a lot of problems because if you were maintenance, you didn't have to pay rent there, just utilities. That was a big bill he didn't have to worry about. However, as maintenance, sometimes it's a 24/7 hour job. Sometimes he's on call 24/7. Someone needs something fixed, but it's 4 am? 

Get your ass up.

He didn't pay rent, but he was still paying a price. 

"Is it creating a hostile work environment for you?"

"It's an annoying work environment."

"Well, keep an eye on it. You're disabled at the moment, and no one should discriminate against you or treat you differently. That's the law."

"Hopefully, it won't come to that."

"So, since you're only allowed to do lightweight work, what does that entail?"

"Cleaning, like a glorified janitor, landscaping, small jobs like a broken doorknob," he said, and then he paused. He sighed, "And painting."

Dr. Osbourne nodded. He knew where this was going. "What's going on with the painting? You look more upset about that than janitorial work."

"Every time I see a can of paint, a paintbrush, the smell of the paint, people commenting on paint...I make the Home Depot runs sometimes. The whole paint aisle...it all reminds me of Dena. And now that's mostly what I do. Hours a day sometimes, I'm stuck being reminded of her for hours, almost every day, which leads me to think about her. Us painting, me signing up for art class only because she was taking it," he said with a small laugh, "Anything art related. She's haunting me."

"Well, we can't let her ruin paint and art for you. That would be a lot you would miss out on."

"I think I've seen every painting at this point."

"After you realize you've been thinking about her because the paint is sort of a trigger for you, what do you do about it?"

"Think about her some more. Get sad, reminisce, and then it always leads to now, her claiming she's having OUR kid..."

"Still don't think it's possible?"

"It can't be."

"Why?"

"That means I have to step up. I didn't mean what I said. Even if it was mine, I would do what I could to help her out, but she has her Incredible Hulk bodyguard beat my ass. How can I step up with only one good leg?"

"There are other ways."

"Money. Me, Dena, and money talk don't go together unless I magically win the lottery. I don't want to talk to her about money ever again. So I'm torn. I don't know if I should reach out, but what if I find out the baby isn't mine anyway? Waste of time. But if I reach out and the baby is mine. That'll change everything."

"What will change?"

"Everything. I'll have to kiss my girl goodbye. She saw Dena with her big old belly and let me have it once she saw me. I didn't tell her because it might not even be mine. I can't have them both. I ruined our chances of being a happy family. I step up, and my girl steps off. I don't step up..."

"Dena would step off, and you don't really want that now, do you?"

"Yeah, that too, but most importantly, if I don't step up, I'll be just like my Dad." Dr. Osbourne made a note. "I'm torn between this big-ass obligation and choosing to be happy. I feel like shit even saying that."

"The baby and Adena are the obligations, and your girlfriend makes you happy?"

"Yeah, but lately, it's been like my girlfriend is the obligation, and...Adena and this "maybe baby" would make me happier?" Dr. Osbourne nodded. "I think about that choice every time I paint. I paint almost every day. I might just lose my mind. I've been painting since I went back to work. I've been daydreaming and nightmaring about my ex-wife, and it all makes me start to miss her," he admitted, and then he sighed as he put his head in his hands.

Fuck.

*

Fire is dynamic and exciting. In the case of Goats, who are a Yin animal, fire expresses itself in their artistic and creative abilities. The Yin element dampens the fire by hiding it until a crisis.

*

https://youtu.be/mN_QLo7kByk