The Countdown to Thirty (5 page)

“Oh, no thank you. I have to be up early in the morning for
work. Stupid deadlines to meet, you know how it is.”

“I wish I did. C’mon Nina let’s get in the hot tub. Bring
the Moscato. You don’t mind do you Kaia? It looks like you were having a moment
of peace over here,” she said flashing me a supermodel smile.

She was right; I was having a moment of peace. But between
being dissed for my promotion and Malcolm preoccupied with the kids I was happy
to have some girl company. Besides, after four months of being neighbors I felt
this was a better way to get to know Sonya instead of our impromptu mail
exchange.

Sonya removed her cover-up laying it on the back of her
chair. This girl had a banging body with the petite round hips and plump C cups
I wish I had. But I was happy with my 5’8 lean frame and bubble butt I had thanks
to years of track and field. When Malcolm calls me fine I know he means it.

Nina removed her tube top dress revealing massive and
unbelievably perky triple D’s she had stuffed into her black once piece along
with her extra stomach and a side of hips.

“Eew girl look at that old man in the chair looking over
here with lust in his eyes.” Sonya said disgusted.

I looked to see the old man peering at Sonya with no type of
discretion at all, “Yes, well apparently he has a wandering eye. He did the
same thing to me not too long ago.”

“That’s gross, but on the other hand Sonya he can be your
sugar daddy and make
all
your dreams come true.” Nina said laughing
while she stepped into the Jacuzzi with her wine glass pressed to her lips.

“The only thing he can do for me is pass away and leave me
as the beneficiary on his insurance policy.” Sonya replied while she hurried to
get in trying not to draw any more attention to herself.

After assembling there selves comfortably Nina squandered no
time in explaining to Kaia and I how worn-out she was from her boyfriend’s
constant need for attention.

“I swear, when I’m at work he’s texting me, at the grocery
store he’s calling me, in the bathroom he’s beating on the door along with the
kids talking about I’m taking too long and when am I coming out.” She vented to
me while she refilled her and Sonya’s glass, not forgetting to spill a few
swigs in our Jacuzzi sea of bubbles.

“So were celebrating tonight,” Sonya added in between head
nods that supported Nina’s suffering.

“Celebrating what?”

“Our independence from the bullshit. Nina’s boyfriend took
the kids out of town to visit family for a week and I’ve recently been set free
from the worst job ever, cheers!” She and Nina said in unison before clinking
glasses and gulping down more wine.

I knew I had to be at work in the morning but once I heard
the clink of their glasses the Moscato began calling my name.

“Sonya I think I’ll take you up on your offer for some of
that Mo-scat-o please.”

Before I could complete my sentence she was out of the
Jacuzzi then returning with a glass ready to pour.

“So what kind of work are you looking for now?” I asked.

“I’m not sure exactly but I’m open as long as it pays well
and challenges my mind.

“I told you I can set you up for an interview at the bank,”
Nina said trying to help out her friend.

“Yes but I don’t want to be a college drop-out in teller
training Nina. Besides I need more money than that. Plus you know how I feel
about my Saturday’s. I can’t give up my Saturday’s.” She said while handing me
my glass.

“All right it’s just an option. But what do you do with your
Saturday’s now anyway? I mean, it’s not like you’ll be going on dates or
anything.”

Sonya rolled her eyes, “I do whatever I want. Sometimes a
jewelry class or occasionally a seminar on small business ownership. The point
is it’s my time to do whatever. I don’t want to give it up.”

Interested I asked, “Are you starting a business? What did
you go to school for?”

“I have an AA in Business Admin and Accounting. I want to
start my own business someday soon. I just don’t know what business yet. And I
also don’t have the money yet….go figure.” she said shaking her head.

“Then you should do that, you can do it.”

“Girl,” Nina interjected, “She’s been saying this mess since
high school but she still doesn’t know.”

“Just come into the bank Sonya, come into the bank. Not the
light but the bank,” She said in a haunted voice with her hands in the air.

We all laughed.

“I was listening to this talk radio program while I was
driving a few weeks ago called ‘The Countdown to Thirty.’ Sonya said as I took
a gulp of Moscato, it was good.

“To thirty what?” Nina asked with a confused look on her
face.

“Till thirty years old. To sum it up, there was a
psychologist on the show saying that based off statistics the decisions we make
while we’re in our twenties widely shape the outcome of the rest of our lives.
If that’s the truth then I’m not looking to good.” Sonya continued.

“Well how old are you, twenty-three, twenty-four?” I asked.

Nina cackled, “Ooh she’s being generous. Sonya you don’t
look a day over forty.”

Sonya put her glass down for a moment then sent a wave of
water crashing into Nina’s face, “Whatever Nina. Kaia don’t mind her she’s
known as the envious one,” She said standing up showing off her bod, “I’m
twenty-six but thanks for the compliment anyway.”

As Nina wiped the hot Jacuzzi water from her drenched face
she responded with a snort, “And she’s been known as the bitter and jaded one.”

In an effort to hold back my laughter I just smiled as I
thought about how much of a mess these two were together.

“So does this mean I have to hurry and get my life in order
before it’s too late?” I asked intrigued at this whole countdown to thirty
thing.

“Well it depends on your situation but not necessarily. What
Dr. Ruben was saying is that as time goes on people tend to get stuck in their
ways or grow accustomed to whatever lifestyle there living. Things get harder
because as you get older you tend to have families and other pressing
responsibilities which make your personal wants more challenging to obtain.
Therefore they’re much less likely to make major changes in their lives, the
changes that will affect their next forty to fifty years.”

“I can believe that,” Nina added, “But I think I’m good.”

Sonya rolled her eyes, “I think it’s true. It makes perfect
sense. It’s like the longer you go accepting certain things the more they
become a part of your reality. If you can get the fundamentals down by thirty
the more likely you are to succeed in the future.”

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s because they become
implanted in your mind before the whole stuck in my ways thing kicks in?”

“Yes, and because our twenties, especially early twenties to
mid-twenties are supposed to be the years we have our growing pains. I’ve definitely
had my share. So therefore when we come out of them, in theory we should come
out of them with a wiser outlook on life that we carry on through the rest of
our lives.” Sonya replied. “But really, all of that psychology shit aside, I
just want to leave my twenties with more than I came in with. I mean by the
time I’m thirty if I’m stuck in the same fucking predicament I was in when I
was twenty, just shoot me.”

“Locked and loaded.” Nina added in between laughs before
making some useful commentary. “It’s like the longer you wait to start a
business Sonya you’ll get stuck in your ways and never do it. Get started on
something,” Nina added supportively.

“What about you Kaia? How many years until your countdown?”

Finishing off my glass of wine then helping myself to
another I delayed my response, “Two. So time is not really on my side when it
comes to my big ticket items.”

“Big ticket items?” Sonya inquired.

“Kids and marriage. Well marriage first then kids. They’re
still sitting on my to-do list unchecked. Does that really count?”

“Well you never know who you’re going to meet. Believe me if
I could I would have made a point NOT to meet my ex. But maybe the way you
approach your goal of marriage and children would apply.”

“I think that with age the chances of marriage and children
go down and since finding a qualified mate only gets harder with age I’d have
to sadly say it counts.” I added.

Sonya shrugged her shoulders then for the hell of it
splashed Nina with another round of hot water.

As the night progressed and the liquor poured Sonya – who I
was learning cursed like a sailor but was extremely smart and genuine -
confessed she hears me from time-to-time in the bed with Malcolm, so I told her
a little about my baby. When she confessed she was a serial non-dater and that
she wanted to attend Chateau Oasis’ Resident Safety Program next week I agreed
to meet here there.

After everyone else left the pool the three of us decided to
jump in. We were good and buzzed and I realized just how hard, but fun it is to
swim intoxicated. Although Nina complained, she was satisfied with her life as
an Assistant Bank Manager, mother of three and her high-school sweetheart as
her boyfriend. But I admired Sonya for being strong enough to be single and
satisfied with that. Not many women including myself see things that way.
Actually not many men either truth be told. Just look at Christian and his out
of order love life.

When it came down to it, Sonya and I had different desires
yet we understood each other at the same time.

Sonya

At a quarter to six the property manager finally unlocked
the large castle like doors that led into Chateau Oasis’ finely decorated
clubhouse. To the left was a computer room that offered six desktop computers
and was fully functional with a printer, scanner and fax machine. It was sealed
off by a large door engineered with pretty crackle glass which was also
featured throughout the clubhouse. As I walked along the red and brown swirly
stripes that flowed throughout the carpet I was led into the main sitting area.
A large gas fireplace acted as the focal point. The mantle was ornamented with
various shades of light and brown jagged rock then housed a large 60” flat
screen TV. On the adjacent wall of the fireplace was a nicely set-up table with
a variety of refreshments including chocolate chip and oatmeal cookies, donuts
a few veggie trays and an assortment of grapes, strawberries and sliced
pineapple.

After grabbing a plate of pineapple and strawberries then a
bottle of water I took a seat on a plush tan sectional that was strewn with
decorative throw pillows and curved elegantly into a half moon shape.

“I’ve got to get the name of their decorator,” I said to
myself appreciating the expertise of said designer.

I realized the meeting was supposed to get started in
another seven minutes or so but there were only about a dozen residents
including myself silently chewing on our refreshments and sipping on our
miniature bottles of water. Everyone in attendance so far were women except for
the one man who just so happened to be the old peeping Tom from the pool. I
frowned then shifted my position towards the woman sitting to my left when he
winked at me.

Kaia still hadn’t managed to make it in yet but I figured
she was probably held up at work. I truly looked forward to seeing her for some
strange reason. After all the times we’ve said “hi” or “good morning” to each
other while heading off to work in the morning I never imagined she’d be so
laid back.

In mid chew I realized I must have been too preoccupied with
the delightful flavor of the fruit because I barely took notice of the red
haired woman next to me until she began profusely tapping at my shoulder. I was
deep in thought savoring the sweet flavor of strawberries when I realized she
was speaking to me.

“Excuse me?” I said asking her to repeat her question.

“I said I heard they arranged this program because of the
rash of break-ins in the area. It’s just crazy isn’t it?”

I quickly finished chewing what was left of my fruit and
forced a hard swallow so I could respond, “Yes it is. It’s ridiculous.”

I knew what she was referring to. Lately within the few
minutes in the morning that I briefly watched the news there have been reports
about break-ins and home invasions. It’s like robbery season officially started
and every vulnerable person was a target.

“Can you believe people would stoop so low? Go out and get
your own stuff. People work hard for what they have and these punks just kick
in doors and take it!” She vented with chewed up chunks of her glaze donut in
her mouth.

Even though her demeanor was a little more excitable than
mines I could understand every bit of her anger. I’d be devastated if someone
broke into my home, scared me half to death then took my possessions I’d worked
hard to get. There was nothing fair about it.

“Man I’d like to be on that jury if they ever catch these
devils.” I added.

“Oh let me tell you sister, I’d throw the book at ‘em. And
did you hear about the latest one last night? Just about ten minutes from here.
They broke into the house of a poor pregnant woman and she must have startled
them because the heartless bastards shot her. It’s all over the news.”

While gasping I placed my hand over my heart and asked, “Is
she okay? Did she die?”

“No not yet. She’s at UMC fighting for her life. She’s
listed in critical but serious condition.”

I’d been too busy submitting job applications and fooling
around with my closet today to watch anything more than ten minutes of TV. But
now that I was informed of the latest breaking news I went from concerned
citizen to pissed-off-bitch ready to amp this meeting up from a Resident Safety
Program to an angry lynch mob ready to attack.

I shook my head in disgust, “What is this world coming to.”

A few minutes passed by as more residents came in and
grabbed refreshments and took their seating waiting for the meeting to
commence. Finally the property manager began the meeting by handing out
print-outs displaying a map with red circles indicating all the areas where the
recent outbreak of robberies have been. It alarmed me that that most had been
in apartment buildings but I was somewhat grateful that they had all been
downstairs apartments. Kaia and I lived upstairs.

Lucas – the property manager – introduced two police
officers from Metro as they stood to give us detailed information on how to be
safe. They talked in depth about knowing you’re surroundings, if you see
anything suspicious report it and the safety of walking with another person if
you can help it. They even suggested that we install alarm systems in our
homes. While looking around the room I saw Kaia sneak in in the back. When we
met eyes I waived her over to me then excused myself as I squeezed closer to
the red haired woman to make room on the sectional.

“Thanks,” Kaia whispered as she made it to my side of the
room and sat down, “Did I miss a lot?”

“I’ll fill you in when it’s over.”

“I got caught up at work. My new boss is killing me!” She
silently shouted.

“Shhh!” The red haired woman hissed letting us know she
didn’t appreciate our whispers. Kaia and I gave each other the “
whatever”
look then focused our attention back to the police officers.

After they finished Lucas announced the property was
starting a twenty-four hour patrol. Judging by the grateful sighs this relieved
a lot of the worry from the residents, myself included.

“We’ve contracted with a security company to get twenty-four
hour patrol for the property starting tomorrow. Now, they’ll be on bikes and
monitoring the property throughout the day,” Lucas proclaimed.

“Will they be armed? There’s no point if they’re not armed,”
A resident shouted from somewhere in the back.

“I’m glad you asked that, yes they will be properly armed
and they’ve had many years of training. They know what to look for and how to
spot suspicious activity such as the home monitoring that Officer Gonzalez
pointed out.

“I’m not comfortable with that.” An elderly looking woman
broadcasted, “This place is going to look like some sort of military compound
if you let them in here with guns. I’m absolutely opposed to it.”

“Me to,” another resident declared.

This time it was coming from an Asian woman standing near
the front of the room, “If you guys can’t keep this place safe as it is now I
want out of my lease. I never agreed to guys on bikes with guns when I moved-in.”

The clubhouse began to come alive with the sounds of
whispering between residents including me and Kaia’s.

“What do you think?” she asked me, “I don’t mind the guns, I
think it’s better that way don’t you?”

“Hell yes I do, these people are crazy.”

Then leaning her body into mine and butting into our
conversation without invitation the red haired woman offered her input, “I’ll
guarantee you if their house is burglarized while they’re at work they’ll wish
they had armed patrol around this place sister.”

Kaia whispered in my ear, “Wasn’t she just the one who
wanted us to shut up a few minutes ago?”

“Exactly what I was thinking,” I said ignoring the woman’s
comment.

When she realized we weren’t going to entertain her she
huffed, tooted her nose in the air and redirected her attention back to the
property manager who was trying to gain back control of the conversation.

“Excuse me everyone, if I can have everyone’s attention
please!” He said, “If you have any specific questions regarding your lease
agreement please contact me during regular business hours. However I can tell
you now that we won’t be letting anyone out of their lease because of this. You
can refer to section seventeen of your rental contract,” he added looking in
the direction of the Asian woman.

She rolled her eyes as I watched her mouth, “We’ll see about
that.”

Before the meeting wrapped up Lucas gave everyone the
contact information for the new on-site security and left the floor open for
questions for the officers. He quickly retreated back to his seat to avoid
further opposition on the armed guard subject.

When the meeting finally came to a close and Lucas and the
assistant manager locked up the clubhouse, a few residents including Kaia and I
meandered outside for a while.

“So, what do you think?” I asked.

“I don’t know. I’m not sure how much it’s going to help but
I’m going to get a security system like they suggested,” She answered.

To be honest, I was a little envious. I wanted a security
system to but between my monthly bills and only my unemployment check I knew I
had to kick that suggestion right out of my mind. Whoop-tee-do, something else
I couldn’t afford.

“Yea you should, definitely,” I replied.

“I’ll call ADT tomorrow, maybe they have some sort of
package deal or something we can go in on,” she kindly suggested.

My insides perked back up and I eagerly replied, “Okay.
That’s cool, let me know.”

“Will do,” She said as she headed for her car, “Did you walk
over? Hop in, we’ll ride back together.”

Opening the door to Kaia’s Toyota Avalon I noticed her good
taste when my eyes were met with her sleek black leather interior and light
brown wood grain dash. The night at the pool she mentioned she was a graphic
designer for a media company and I could see they clearly paid her well.

It all got me thinking about the Countdown to Thirty talk
show and how to make up for lost time. If menial jobs and bills were going to
be the not so iconic legacy I left, once again you could just kill me now.

Kaia brought me up-to-date on the season premiere of Scandal
tonight and insisted I stay to watch it. So I did. I’ve never watched Scandal
but I wasn’t ignorant to all the hype that was going on about it. So in order
to do it right I insisted we run to Smith’s and buy popcorn and root beer
floats…and we did.

As we graced the isles of the grocery store in search of
extra buttery popcorn Kaia mentioned she was house hunting.

“I haven’t found the right one yet but each one I see I’m
hoping it’s nice enough so that Malcolm will want to move-in with me.”

“Well why wouldn’t he?”

“He just wants to take things slow because of his past
relationship but it’s been two years now,” She confided, “Any slower and we’ll
be moving backwards.” She said laughing off the notion but I could sense the
worry in her voice.

I didn’t want to say anything. In fact at this point I
forbid myself from saying anything negative about her boyfriend because I
didn’t know her that well. But he just seems, kind of, he seems pretty trifling
to me. I mean if I catch you ogling my ass and you don’t even try to conceal it
as I’m walking upstairs and you’re following behind headed to your girlfriend’s
house, something’s wrong.

“Have you told him how you feel? Have you actually talked to
him about it?”

“He knows how I feel. Every single sign says I’m ready for
more. I don’t want to be an old mom. I’ll already be old enough I don’t want to
wait another three, four years. I don’t want to be forty when my kid is going
to Kindergarten. That’s not cute. That’s not right.”

“Hmm,” I said realizing this was a messed up situation he
had her in. It was classic in my opinion though. Guy meets girl. Guy makes girl
fall in love. Guy leads girl on then finally guy dumps girl and leaves her
crying with a whole bunch of time she can never get back.

“Popcorn! Found it!” I said changing the subject and
throwing the Otis Spunkmeyer extra buttery popcorn in the basket.

On the ride back home I had to remember to silence my
anti-men campaign. Besides, who was I to give anyone advice? I needed to focus
on the upcoming job fair and how I was going to get my finances and
non-existent career straightened out…before thirty.

v
 
 

The next day I broke my own rule and went to the complex
pool in the middle of the afternoon. In the heat of the moment, I grabbed my
novel – the murder/mystery one - and a bottle of Smart Water and got ready for
some fun in the sun…well fun in the shade I wasn’t that crazy. 116 degree sun
rays hurt like hell, I’m just grateful for my natural chocolate tan. No tanning
beds, spray on tans or roasting like a sweaty pot roast for me.

When I got there I was happy to see that the pervy old man
from before was nowhere in sight. It was possible that this amount of heat
could cause him to stroke out. He already looked like he was on his last leg
anyway.

“Smart choice,” I thought as I spread my towel along my
nicely shaded pool chair.

Not only did I not want to be discreet about wearing my
curve flattering bikini at the pool (I mean that’s why we buy them right?)
because some old man couldn’t keep his hormones in check, but I also wanted
peace and quiet away from my apartment, away from the library or anywhere else
that wasn’t the pool right now. I was the only one there since it was the
middle of the week and I imagined that when I became successful I could do this
multiple times throughout the year, but instead on somebody’s tropical island
with a mojito in hand as opposed to the community watering hole with a plastic
bottle of aqua…however, this works for now.

Within a few shakes I was laughing and nearly crying tears while
I read my unconventional and hilarious easy-read of a novel. It was about a no
nonsense African American detective who secretly juggles her full-time job on
the force along with her side gig as a successful supermodel. I think it was
categorized as “fluffy stuff” by the bookstore cashier. But anyway, I’m well
aware it’s not my girl Terry McMillan or some other famous writer like Eric
Jerome Dickey or Stephen King but it was funny, witty and light-hearted. I can
totally appreciate a comedic mystery over a gruesome thriller right now.