Her Bundles Of Joy

She arrived at her apartment and dropped her backpack on the living room floor. It had been an exhausting day and Nicole had never wished to have a bathtub so badly in her life. She wasn’t even sure if she had hot water this month. Actually, she knew she wouldn’t have any. The dancer had been tight on money, and she’d had to choose a bill that wouldn’t get paid, and the only thing she didn’t really necessarily need for survival was hot water. So, in her apartment, hot water was no more. Nicole had come up with an idea that had been saving her ass this month, though. She could heat the water using the stove, and then she’d fill up a large bucket—one she’d bought especially to put her plan into action—to the top. When the bucket was full and it was time to take a shower, Nicole would pick up the water from the bucket using a coffee mug. She found the situation quite amusing. It felt like living in ancient times, a time before showers were invented. Actually, Nicole had to find the situation amusing, or else she’d cry herself to sleep whenever she had to go through this humiliation of taking a bath from a freaking bucket because she didn’t have money to afford hot water anymore. Each day that went by, it felt more and more like her father had won. Nicole felt like a failure, and she hated to prove him right. She’d get all happy and optimistic whenever a new gig showed up, but her cheerfulness wouldn’t last long as life would throw her a fu*king curveball. Nicole was getting tired of living like this. Working her ass off and never moving forward in life. At this point, the idea of going back home to marry a man of her father’s choice didn’t seem like the worst thing that could happen to her. At least then she’d get to live a decent life…

What the hell. Nicole shook her head as she got rid of those thoughts. Giving up was not an option. After a storm comes a calm, isn’t that what people say? The dancer knew she had great things destined for her, she just had to be patient. All these obstacles in her life would make her become an even stronger and dedicated woman. Nicole knew that one day she’d look back to this moment of her life and she’d be proud of everything she went through because it helped her become a better person. She knew it. Or at least she hoped so. Holding on to that belief was the only thing keeping her from running back to her father with her tail between her legs.

Nicole had just put the water to heat when her doorbell rang. She figured it was her neighbor, Mrs. Weiss, asking for sugar, as she always did. The woman would promise to pay Nicole back but it had been two years since she moved to this building and the old lady never really did so. The dancer wasn’t in the mood to face Mrs. Weiss so she pretended there was no one home. She figured the woman would just leave after receiving no response. However, the doorbell rang once again, and again, and again. The obnoxious sound of someone repeatedly ringing her doorbell almost drove Nicole up the wall, and she darted towards the door ready to give Mrs. Weiss a piece of her mind.

Nicole burst the door open with a loud thud as it hit the wall, but held her breath when she saw who it was.

“What are you doing here? How did you know where I live?”

“I have my ways.” Brandi shrugged. “You seem mad, something happen?”

“Just a bad day.” Nicole hated that she couldn’t help but feel embarrassed of her apartment. She loved the shoebox she lived in, but it didn’t mean that was eager to show it to Brandi, who probably owned a mansion in at least three different cities.

“Well, won’t you invite me in? We need to talk.”

Nicole begrudgingly stepped aside to let her friend in. She noticed how Brandi looked worried and didn’t even spare her apartment a second glance. Now she was getting worried herself. Had something happened to Evan? Had something happened to Brandi herself? The singer was simply standing there, in the middle of her living room, not saying a thing, and Nicole could only think of how she absolutely hated it when people came up to her claiming that they needed to talk then remain silent.

“Well?” Nicole inquired. “Won’t you tell me what is it that we need to talk about? You’re making me anxious.”

“I was thinking of a nice way to put this, but since you’re being demanding tonight, I’ll put it in a very straightforward manner. I know everything.”

Nicole’s body stiffened. She could only stare at Brandi. What the hell was up with this day? She’d thought that her earlier confrontation with Dani would be the last swerve for the day, and now there was Brandi claiming to ‘know everything’.

“Define everything,” Nicole said suspiciously.

“Everything about what’s been going on between you and Evan.”

“But…how…what…” Nicole couldn’t formulate a complete thought as her mind was busying itself thinking of all the possible implications of Brandi’s statement. “But I only found out today! Do you have a spy at the hospital?”

“Hospital? What are you talking about?” Brandi frowned.

“What are you talking about?”

“No, no, no. Now you’re going to tell me what the hell that was about. What did you find out in a freaking hospital? And what does Evan have to do with it?”

The dancer plopped down on the couch and ran her hands through her thick, curly hair. Brandi sat on the coffee table and leaned forward as she stared intently at Nicole. The last thing she wanted was to hear that her dear friend had an illness or something. The singer waited as Nicole seemed to be preparing herself emotionally for this conversation. She’d wait all night if she had to. Brandi extended her hand towards Nicole and gently rubbed her friend’s shoulder.

“Look, Nicole,” she started. Seeing her friend look so fragile made Brandi regret pressuring Nicole into telling her what was going on. “You don’t have to tell me, okay? It’s up to you.”

The dancer shook her head. “I have to.” Her voice was muffled by her hands, that were pressed firmly against her own face. “I’ll go crazy if I don’t share this with someone.”

Brandi was getting more worried by the second. She’d meant to tell Nicole she knew that she wasn’t talking to Evan anymore and she was going to ask why. That was it. She didn’t know that her words would trigger such a reaction from her dark-skinned friend.