Capricorn
Chapter 51

Lunar Years of the Dog:
* 1922 (Jan. 28, 1922 - Feb. 15, 1923)
* 1934 (Feb. 14, 1934 - Feb. 3, 1935
* 1946 (Feb. 2, 1946 - Jan. 21, 1947)
* 1958 (Feb. 18, 1958 - Feb. 7, 1959)
* 1970 (Feb. 6, 1970 - Jan. 26, 1971)
* 1982 (Jan. 25, 1982 - Feb. 12, 1983)
* 1994 (Feb. 10, 1994 - Jan. 30, 1995)
* 2006 (Jan. 29, 2006 - Feb. 17, 2007)
* 2018 (Feb. 16, 2018 - Feb. 5, 2019)
* 2030 (Feb. 4, 2030 - Jan. 22, 2031)
* 2042 (Jan. 21, 2042 - Feb. 2, 2043)

*

"Sit," Donatella said to Adena the next morning, "I don't want you on your feet too long," she said sarcastically as she typed on her laptop, not looking at her at all. 

Adena sighed, "I was going to tell you eventually, and I'm truly sorry-"

"Shhh," Donatella said and started speaking in French. She was speaking to someone through a small Bluetooth in her ear. 

Adena sat there and tried to calm herself down. She now regretted not telling her, but it was also her body, her choice. She woke up that morning earlier than usual and decided to take more time and energy on getting ready. Taking an Epsom Salt bath instead of a quick shower. Wear the brightest dress in her closet, a yellow sundress, instead of what she wanted to wear, which was all black. Took time doing her makeup and her hair. Put on more mascara and lip gloss than usual and even put on a full face of makeup, from primer to powder. Made her hair wavy, but last minute she decided to put it up. This summer was hotter than any other summer because of all the extra weight she was carrying around. Her long hair being down felt like a thick scarf she couldn't take off. She put on some flat-form sandals and sprayed herself with her favorite body mist. She looked at herself in the mirror, and she smiled. She looked good; she looked great. 

She hoped that if she looked like a beautiful boss-ass bitch on the outside, she would feel the same on the inside, especially when dealing with Donatella today. It's true what they say. If you look good, you feel good. She needed all the positivity she could get.

And now, here they were. Donatella then clicked her Bluetooth device off, sat back in her desk chair, and looked her up and down. Adena was about to say the explanation she had prepared, but she knew that right now, Donatella didn't want to hear a word from her. "When were you going to tell me?" she asked her, breaking the silence. "When your water breaks in the gallery or in an important meeting?"

"I was going to tell you when I was-"

"The worst part of it is, I didn't notice. Unless you're a walking miracle, you look like a completely different person than the one that I TRUSTED to leave behind three weeks ago."

"I wore looser clothing to cover it up, but now that I'm at the en-"

"How far along are you?"

"Six months."

"SIX MONTHS?! You had to have been at five months at least when I left. Stand up," she said, and Adena stood up, "Turn. Tighten your dress so I can see. Hmmm..." she said as she looked her over. "I've seen bigger at six months. I was bigger at six months. Are you taking care of yourself?"

Why was everyone saying that? Wait, Donatella has been six months pregnant before?! "Yeah, I am. My mom was tiny when she had me." We'll circle back to that later.

"Must be nice," Donatella said sarcastically, "Sit, relax your feet," she said, and Adena sighed and sat back down. "When are you due?"

"October 5th."

"Ok, so the real question is, why did you lie to me, Adena? About the pregnancy, we can talk about the circus act you pulled yesterday later. With your divorce, I had to hear it from Taye. Now you're pregnant, and I find that out through a double whammy, at an event in MY gallery that I didn't sign off on, AND right after you and Kehinde Wiley had sex in MY supply closet?!"

Adena laughed and then choked, "We weren't having sex. I'm not interested in him like that. We were just talking-"

"Does Craig know? About Kehinde, I'm pretty sure he knows you're pregnant because it's his."

Adena sighed; everyone assumed it was his. "There's nothing for Craig to know because nothing happened, but...we're on a break right now, so to speak..."

"WHAT?! Why?!"

"It's a long story, there's been some meddling and dishonesty, and it all came to a head a couple of days ago. He said he needed space and time, so I'm giving him space and time," Adena said sadly but as confident as she could. 

Either Donatella saw right through it or was hit with the feeling of empathy for the first time in her life because her attitude completely changed. She got up, walked over to her, and hugged her. Close. A real hug. An actual hug. Adena almost broke down, but Donatella pulled away just in time and sat right in front of her on the glass coffee table in front of her. "So you're pregnant and single?" she asked her, and Adena only nodded. Donatella chuckled in shock, "These young men you young ones are stuck with surprise me with their audacity every single day. No wonder Gen Z is depressed. I didn't expect this from Craig. I actually expect it from Taye but not Craig."

"That's because it's Taye's. I conceived our child and left him on the same day, and they've been growing ever since. Craig didn't have to take care of us like he has been, I was very lucky, and now it's over."

"Hold on because every time you open your mouth, you shock me even more."

They sat in silence for a minute. "I didn't tell you at first because I didn't know if I was going to keep it or not. But I had a weird ass dream the night before saying to keep it, and so here they are. I wanted to have a baby at 24, and now I'm having a baby at 24. Be careful what you wish for. I guess that meant more to me than a relationship for a little while there. That's all I was focused on. Even had a little vision board about it. Maybe if I cared enough about Taye and I's relationship, I wouldn't be here-"

"Stop it. You're a woman; it's natural to want kids, no matter what age. And if you're able to, do it. Don't wait to have geriatric eggs like I do. How could you know that Taye had shit for brains?"

"When he found out, he was angry. To this day, he thinks I'm lying about it. He thinks it's Craig's. He wants a DNA test, but that's going to have to wait. I was also embarrassed, to be honest. I'm in quite a crazy situation, one after the other, that I thought would make you treat me differently, like with the divorce."

"Ok, so maybe I did make a rash decision then, but I was only doing it to help you. I was giving you some very tough love, but I also didn't want you to go through the same shit I did with my divorce and bring down the gallery along with it. I let you take a vacation because I care about you. I was mad about the Kehinde Wiley situation, but it looks like all's forgiven now." Donatella grabbed Adena's hand. "I found out I was pregnant after my first husband left me. With all the stress, I didn't have the money that I have now. The bastard wouldn't even give me half. I went to the hospital and walked out empty-handed and alone. I didn't want to go through that again, and I got my tubes tied. I don't want that for you. I wish you had told me so I could help you. Either you refuse to be helped, or you just don't want mine, which is it?"

"You know I try to do everything myself. I waited to tell you when I was comfortable, but I never was."

"Well, now I know, and if I see anything irregular, I'm taking you to the hospital," Donatella said sternly, turning back into herself. She walked behind her desk and sat down. "So I was trying to give you a punishment, but it seems you're being punished enough. But since you're near the end of the pregnancy, the most critical point, maybe my punishment will be a reward."

"Ok..." Adena asked, wondering what she meant by that. 

"I'll still let you work because, in October, I'll have to let you go for two months, but you're going to be demoted-" As soon as she said that, Adena's face went from hopeful to hopeless. "Not title-wise but work-wise. Your doctors are going to want you to slow down eventually anyway, and I'm not getting in the way of that. That means no more special events, no more trips - on behalf of me at least - you're going to go back to sales. I'll still let you keep your salary. You're going to need it with only one income, and without the extra perks I did give you, you will only get a commission on the art YOU sell. So you got to work hard."

Adena nodded, that was fair at least, but she braced herself for what was to come next; however, Donatella didn't say anything. "That's my punishment?"

"I told you it's going to be more like a reward. I have to punish you just as much, if not more, than everyone else. I let them all have it. I had to let Lloyd's pansy ass go home so he could cry it out-"

"Donatella, you can't say that."

"Oh hush, he's not even here. I did him a favor, like you, I let him go home, but he has to come back after lunch, so he'll still get paid for today. He needs to grow a backbone." Adena shook her head. "If you don't take care of yourself, I swear to God, little Miss Capricorn, I will kill you."

"Ok, I got it, Donatella. These last couple of weeks have been stressful enough, and maybe I needed the time and space, too," she said more to herself than to her. "But thank you for-"

"Don't thank me! You're on punishment!" Donatella said to her and winked. Adena smiled. "Be glad you're pregnant, or I wouldn't be going so easy on you. Now get to work. Sell some art," she said as she waved her off. Adena wanted to hug her but decided against it and then walked out. She sighed with relief and went straight to the bathroom. Damn, she had to pee. 

"Hey," she said to a couple of her coworkers who were in the bathroom chatting. However, they didn't say a word to her. They walked out of the bathroom and ignored her entirely. Adena sighed; guess she deserves that. She did get them all into trouble. Pissing off all of her coworkers was also punishment enough. If she cared enough, she would fight to get back into their good graces. She caressed her stomach as she walked into the handicapped stall. She couldn't wait for this pregnancy to be over.

*

The Monkey personality in the Chinese Zodiac is highly competitive and insatiably curious. They are shrewd, intelligent but also ingenious and try to make the best out of every situation.

*

"You look like dog shit," Beverly said to Craig when she opened the front door to find him slouched on the steps of their marbled front patio. "What happened to you?"

"I don't remember," Craig groaned as he walked into the enormous house. "I'm going to my room to sleep this off, and no one bother me, please."

"Well, when you wake up, Ma wants to talk to you. She's said you've stayed long enough, and you also drank all of her whiskey. You got to find some other place to crash."

"Great, thanks. Instead of a nap, I'll jump off your balcony instead."

"Craig stop it seriously, don't joke like that," Beverly said to him, her mood completely changing. Her face got red, her eyes widened, her nose flared, and she clenched her fists. "That is NOWHERE near funny. I've lost my WHOLE family, and you're talking about killing the only person I have left. I've suffered enough, don't you think?"

"The family you're talking about is also mine. I've suffered just as much as you, if not more. If I am the only person you have left, where have you been the last few fucking years? Huh? Not being able to SEE if you were ok in person was suffering enough, but I understood it. The only way I knew you were ok was when you posted a selfie on Instagram. That's how I knew my sister was doing ok." He paused when he saw a few housekeepers eyeing them and then eyeing each other. Beverly turned around and saw them. 

"Maybe you need some more fresh air. Go outside," she said to him.

"Damn, you only said I look like dog shit; you're gonna treat me like one too?" Craig said to her and turned and walked toward the double doors that led to the balcony. "Since you few are so interested in our conversation, how about you make me some Scotch? Neat. And with ice, though. Feel free to make some for yourself and pop some fucking popcorn," he said to the housekeepers and then swayed his way out the door. 

"Don't listen to him. He gets water and water only from now on," Beverly said to them, and they rushed off. She followed him outside onto the balcony and made sure the doors were closed behind them. "You're walking like fucking Jack Sparrow. Have you been drinking all night?"

"Probably. Like I said, I don't remember," he groaned as he laid his arms on the huge stone ledge of the balcony. He laid his head down on it while standing, hoping the world would stop spinning.

"Don't you have work? Why are you even here?"

"Obviously not. Look at me."

"DJ Craig is actually taking a day off?" Beverly said in shock.

"I've taken days off before."

"Not for no reason."

"This doesn't look like a reason to you?" he said as he stood up straight but had to lean against the stoned balcony to steady himself. 

"No, it looks like a dumb excuse to me."

"Well, when I said I couldn't come in, they immediately said, 'OMG Craig Mack Daddy, if you're calling out, it must be bad. Take all the time you need.'" he said, mimicking the gay guy who answered the phone. "So it seemed like a very good reason to them."

"Fine, get replaced by another DJ. AGAIN. Are you trying to get fired from every job you have?"

"What do you care? This time last year, I hadn't heard a word from you."

"We're back to that? The phone works both ways, Craig, if you want to talk to me. CALL me."

"You need a NUMBER to CALL someone! You kept changing yours like you didn't want to be found. You didn't want to be found! So I stopped looking! Yeah, the phone works both ways, so why didn't you reach out to me? Huh? Because I wasn't even on your mind. You didn't give a shit about me."

"You're drunk, Craig, and probably high, too, if I'm not mistaken."

"I haven't seen you this much since Amanda's funeral!" Craig said. She froze. Just the mention of her name... "Remember Amanda? Your sister?"

"Stop, Craig."

"Stop what? Saying MY sister's name? OUR sister's name? Amanda. Amanda. Amanda Evette David!"

"What are you trying to do right now? Piss me off?!"

"You can't even say it. You can't even say her name. You probably couldn't say my name for a while either, but you pretend like she never existed, and THAT's what pisses me off."

"Everyone deals with tragedies differently, Craig. You obviously get so fucked up and turn into a complete asshole. I don't do that. I'm glad I don't do that!"

"Then what do you do?"

"It doesn't matter-"

"IT DOES MATTER!" he said. He opened his mouth to say something but a housekeeper brought out a tray with glasses and a pitcher, and she swiftly set it on the table. Beverly nodded to her, and she hurried back into the house. "What is this? I asked for scotch?" he said as he looked at the clear, translucent liquid. He picked up the glass and drank it. He then spits it out like he was drinking poison. Beverly hopped back so she wouldn't get spat on. "This is fucking water?! I didn't ask for fucking water?!"

"But I did."

"Ok, well, another tray of BROWN better come out that door very soon-"

"Or what?"

"I'll go and get it myself."

"No, you absolutely will not. You're banned from the liquor closet."

"Just like that Gucci outfit, they can get another bottle of whiskey and scotch."

"Maybe you should stick to water from now on, bro," she said. He shook his head and walked toward the balcony doors. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. Beverly held in a laugh.

"Those dumbasses locked us out," he said and knocked on the glass door and tried to peek in, but the glass was tinted. He turned and looked at her. "Oh, you told them to do that? Very funny. Ha ha. Ok, open the door."

"And let you go into the liquor closet? NO."

"I'm just going upstairs to lie down before Your Highness kicks me out of the castle."

"Not until you're calmed down. You're acting like we're in a trailer park."

"And we can't have that, can we? We can't disrupt this new glamorous life you've gotten for yourself. Cut the act, Bev. We're from the ghetto. We're GHETTO. There's nothing wrong with that. Don't be ashamed of where you come from."

"You're acting like I'M the first person to ever leave the city and move to Long Island for a better life. Long Island is full of people from the city that wanted a better life!"

"What was so wrong with Brooklyn? What was so wrong about the city we grew up in? You used to love it."

"Yeah, used to. How can I love a city that's responsible for taking both of my parents away? Dad worked for the city, and he died ON THE JOB. Mom had to continue to live in that ghetto ass neighborhood and raise us on her own, and she succumbed to her environment. She dated some ghetto scum, and he ruined her life; he got her shot-"

"But she died from a broken heart, Bev. And alcohol. And that asshole Stanley-"

"And where did that all happen? Brooklyn. You weren't there when Grandma died. You were having the time of your life at college while I was trying to revive her! I had to take care of Grandma and..."

"And who?"

"Our sister."

"You really can't say her name can you?"

"Like I said before, we all deal with tragedies differently."

"You're not dealing with it. At all. You're trying to forget it happened. You're trying to forget about Amanda completely. You never talk about her. Post her. Mom, Dad, and Grandma too. There are no pictures of them anywhere. You run off with some guy as far from Brooklyn as you can get. Different than anyone we ever knew. Rich, White...and a different last name..." he said, realizing something. "You're so desperate to forget about us; you can't wait to get your name changed to 'Beverly Hill.' The name even sounds different than the Beverly DAVID I know."

"You have no idea what the fuck you are talking about. I can't believe you have the audacity-" she said as she walked to the balcony doors.

"Oh, now we can go inside? No stay, it's getting fun now. We're actually getting somewhere."

"I'd rather go inside now."

"Hmmm, go inside or talk about Amanda, and you choose to go inside."

"YOU WANT TO GO INSIDE TOO!? WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!?"

"I changed my mind. I'd rather sit out here and talk about Amanda. We've never had that talk. We never talked about it, sis. We never talk about her! You can't run away from us forever."

"Leave me alone, Craig."

"You barely talked to me at her funeral. I had to plan the whole damn thing myself. I didn't even know if you were going to show up."

"That's not fair. That's not fair and you know it!"

"You didn't come to the hospital. You didn't come to see her. You wouldn't even look at her in the coffin. You were pissed at me that it was an open casket, you didn't want to see her, and then you disappeared into thin air, just like that. It's like I was dead to you too."

"Shut the fuck up, Craig," Beverly said as she started to pace in front of the doors. Why weren't they coming to open it??? She grabbed a glass of water and drank. She needed to hold something in her hands because if Craig wouldn't let this shit go, he was going to catch hers. 

"Can I ask you something? Do you blame me? Because I have to know. I have to know why you stopped talking to me too. You were all I had left, and you wouldn't reach out, ever," he said as he sat down at the table. He even took a small sip of water. This type tasted different, and then he noticed there was a small bowl of cucumbers. Cucumber water? He realized Beverly didn't answer. She wouldn't look at him. "Bev-"

"I heard you."

"I gotta at least know that. Everything else, I don't care about. Water under the bridge, but if you blame me, that's something we gotta work through, and that involves talking about Amanda-"

Then at the speed of lightning practically, the glass in Beverly's hand suddenly shattered on the ground a couple of feet away from him. He jumped back in his chair and looked at her in shock.

"YES! I BLAMED YOU! I BLAMED YOU, CRAIG. ARE YOU HAPPY NOW!? ARE YOU FUCKING HAPPY!?"

She was shaking, and she was crying now. She was practically screaming. He had pushed her to her limit. 

"I mean, I'm not happy, but I'm glad I know what's wrong. What's been wrong now for so long."

"I'M GLAD YOU'RE FUCKING HAPPY. YOU'RE RIGHT, CRAIG! I FELT THAT IF I WAS IN THE CAR WITH YOU BOTH THAT NIGHT, IT WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED, AND SHE WOULD STILL BE HERE! I DON'T KNOW HOW OR WHY IT HAPPENED. I DON'T KNOW IF YOU WERE TIRED OR DRUNK. I DIDN'T KNOW AT ALL. I DIDN'T WANT TO KNOW! CUZ IT WOULDN'T HAVE CHANGED A THING. I COULDN'T LOOK AT YOU, YEAH. I DIDN'T WANT TO LOOK AT HER. I BLAMED YOU, BUT I BLAMED YOU JUST AS MUCH AS I BLAMED ME! I BLAME MYSELF MORE SOMETIMES! I COULD HAVE DRIVEN, AND IT WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED. I COULD HAVE STRAPPED AMANDA BACK IN BECAUSE I KNOW SHE HATED WEARING SEATBELTS. OR I COULD HAVE MAYBE CONVINCED YOU BOTH NOT TO EVEN GO TO THE BEACH AT ALL. I COULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS. YOU COULD HAVE TOO. NO MATTER WHAT, I WISH I HAD BEEN IN THAT CAR THAT NIGHT. I REALLY DO BECAUSE IF I COULDN'T SAVE HER, I HOPE GOD WOULD HAVE TAKEN ME TOO. I COULDN'T GO TO ANOTHER FUNERAL. I COULDN'T LOOK AT HER BECAUSE IT HURT TOO MUCH. IT MADE IT REAL. I DON'T LIKE TALKING ABOUT HER BECAUSE IT WILL ALWAYS BE IN THE PAST TENSE, WHICH MAKES IT MORE REAL. AND STAYING AWAY FROM YOU WAS THE BEST WAY TO DO ALL OF THAT. I'M SO FUCKING TIRED. WE'VE BEEN THROUGH ENOUGH. I WISH GOD TOOK ME TOO. I WANTED HIM TO TAKE ME TOO!" she sobbed, and Craig held her in his arms. "Maybe all three of us so we all could be together again. A family, like we were supposed to be! I know that's fucked up, but I'm fucked up. We're both fucked up. We've been through enough. I wanted to forget her because it hurts to remember her. It hurts, Craig. It hurts my soul."

Craig held her close, and he started to cry too. The really fucked up thing was he thought the exact same thing when it all went down. They had so much in common but couldn't talk about it, and now he knew why. He took a deep breath in and out before he started crying again. 

Then a small bird flew down and sat on the perch of the heavy glass water pitcher on the table. It stared at them for a little while, even drank a little water, and then it flew away. 

*

In public, Monkeys always appear lighthearted and carefree. In private, however, they may be nursing deep feelings of insecurity and sorrow.

*

https://youtu.be/zfE2gBhwsM4