Zion was here (chapter 1)

In 24 hours my life is going to change. 

Up until this very moment my every move had been dictated by my mother. “Get good grades. Go to college. Major in this. Don’t major in that because there’s no money in that field. You should intern here. Send your resume there.” I felt like a puppet that had been pulled and manipulated by my mother all my life and in 24 hours, all of that was coming to an end. Don’t get me wrong, all of her advice hadn’t been bad. At only 30 I owned my own condo, drove a nice car, and had a great job making over six figures as a Project Manager at one of the largest advertising firms in Indianapolis. One would think that I would be basking in my success, right? That couldn’t be further from the truth. I was absolutely miserable. One day I woke up and decided that I wouldn’t spend another day unhappy. From that day forward I wouldn’t care about what any of my family and friends thought because they didn’t have to live this life; I did. I took a sip of champagne and stared out at the view of the Indianapolis skyline from my balcony. I turned around and studied my faint reflection in the patio door. On the outside I seemed well put together; my long natural hair moved with the faint breeze thanks to a two-day old twist out. I’m not a big makeup person so the only thing I had on my face was mascara and red liquid lipstick. My pantsuit was perfectly starched and fit my curvy body like a glove. My high heeled pumps were scuff free and added a few more inches to my 5’2-inch frame. I looked like money. If only I could feel like money too. As I continued to stare at my reflection, I noticed my mother waving at me, trying to get my attention through the sliding glass door. She rushed towards me with my aunt on her heels.

“Zion! Baby, I’ve been looking all over for you. Come and speak to your Aunt Tanya!” 

I rolled my eyes at the sound of my mothers’ voice. My 30th birthday had been the day before, so I had invited all my family and the few friends that I had to a small get together over my house. I had spent quite a bit of money on food, liquor, and a DJ because I had an announcement to make later once the party got underway. My announcement was kind of a big deal so I was using the champagne as liquid courage to calm my nerves. It was also a way for me to get through this party without going off on my mother. I quickly finished the rest of my drink and plastered on a fake smile to face my mother and aunt. 

“Auntie! How have you been? I haven’t seen you in forever.” I extended my arms to her for a hug and was immediately suffocated by the smell of her perfume.

“I’ve been hanging in there. Thank you for the invite. You have a beautiful home.”

“Thank you so much! Make sure you get yourself something to eat. I know it’s nothing like you and grandmas’ food but it is quite tasty.”

My mother scoffed rudely. “Zion, don't be so modest. You’ve had one of the best restaurants in the city cater your party. It’s way better and healthier than that junk Tanya or my mother serves every day. You should go and get you a plate, Tanya. You’ll never know when the next time you’ll get food like this. We know you can’t afford it.”

“Here you go. I thought we’d be able to have at least one day without you acting like you’re better than everybody. You know everybody isn’t able to live off of their daughter like you.” 

“Well maybe your daughters could help you out if they would quit laying down having babies and bailing their worthless boyfriends out of jail.”

“Alright you two, that’s enough,” I said, stepping in between them before things got even more out of hand. “Aunt Tanya, the food is amazing but wait until you taste the cupcakes. I made sure to get a few extra red velvet ones just for you. I know they’re your favorite.” 

Aunt Tanya grabbed my hands and squeezed them. “Thank you, baby. Don’t mind if I do.” She gave my mother one last evil stare before walking over to the buffet and grabbing herself a plate. I turned to my mother and gave her a disappointed look. “Momma…I thought we talked about this. You promised me you were going to be on your best behavior today.”

“I know, I know. They just irritate me so much! It’s not our fault that you’re so well off and their kids are struggling.”

“But it’s my birthday party, Momma. Do you think you can get through the rest of this party without arguing with Aunt Tanya or Aunt Tamia? Do me this one favor, please.”

“Alright, alright. I’ll hold my tongue just this one day. Just for you. I’m about to go and get myself another one of those cupcakes. Hopefully there’s still some banana left.”

I watched as my mother walked over to the dessert table and grabbed two cupcakes. I walked over to the bar and grabbed one of the open bottles of champagne and instead of just refilling my glass, I decided to take the entire bottle back outside with me. My mother usually tap danced on my last nerve on a regular day but you would think that she would give me a break during my birthday party. For as long as I could remember my mother and her two sisters, Tanya and Tamia, treated everything like a competition. When I was a kid even something as innocent as a sleepover or a birthday party was used to one up the other sisters. Luckily for me, my cousins and I all pretty much ignored them. Our relationship never faltered and there was always some new story in our family group chat about the latest drama between them. When it came to the sisters, from the outside looking in, it seemed like my mother had it made. I had purchased and completely renovated a house for her on the eastside of Indianapolis and I told her that she could retire from Indianapolis Power & Light, where she had worked for over thirty years. She didn’t have to worry about anything anymore because of me and she never missed an opportunity to throw that in her sisters’ faces. As I downed my third glass of champagne, someone came up from behind me and covered my mouth with their hand. I inhaled the scent of extremely pungent marijuana and quickly turned around to see my best friend Maya standing there with a smirk on her face. 

“You look like you could use a break.”

“Girl…is it that obvious? Let’s get out of here.” 

I grabbed the champagne bottle and my glass and slid the patio door closed. I followed Maya to the front door and quickly slipped out into the hallway before anyone could stop and try to talk to me. We made our way to the parking garage and I unlocked the doors to my car. While Maya broke down and rolled up the contents in the little plastic baggie on her lap, I hooked my phone up to the Bluetooth and scanned my playlists for some music to play. I pressed shuffle and sunk down further into the leather seats and Maya and I began to vibe out. 

“Your mother is a piece of work.”

“Tell me about it. She couldn’t just chill out and let me enjoy this one last birthday party. She just had to ruin it.”

“Well Ms. Trina wouldn’t be Ms. Trina if she didn’t cause a scene. How do you think she’s going to take your announcement later?”

“She’ll probably freak out but she’ll be okay. This is my life. It's time I started living it.”

As I blew the smoke out of my nostrils and mouth, one of my favorite songs came on. I began to sing along.

I stopped singing Get Along with You by Kelis once I noticed Maya staring at me, smiling. 

“Girl you just did that. You sound so good!”

“Alright, you don’t have to gas me. You’re just saying that because you’re my best friend.”

“Now you know if you sounded bad I would tell you. I can’t wait until your album comes out.”

“I have to actually record it first, crazy.”

“Just make sure you shout me out in the album credits.”

“Now you know I will. We’ve been locked in since Shortridge.”

Maya continued to smoke and I continued to sing along to the music. Ever since I was a little girl I have always loved to sing. When I was younger I used to take the microphone from my karaoke machine and sing along to the radio and make up my own songs. I never told my mother anything about it because she made it clear that it was her way or the highway. Anything that wasn’t focused on academics was a no go. That meant no joining the school’s gospel choir, no school plays and even though my middle and high school had show choirs and music magnet programs, I was not allowed to try out, let alone join them. The only time that I could even do more than hum was on Sundays when I sang along with the church choir, desperately wishing I could join them. After graduating from high school I had earned a full scholarship to Columbia College in Chicago which not only made my mother proud but also got her off of my back a little. Although I majored in advertising, I joined every club and took every elective that dealt with music. I was also a frequent performer at the open mics around the city. Those four years were the best years of my life because I was finally able to do what I loved. Once I graduated and secured my ‘dream job’, I sat down and put a plan in place to get my music career off the ground and gave myself a deadline to get it done. I knew I couldn’t make it happen in Indianapolis so I set my sights on Los Angeles. I took care of my mother first. I sacrificed my social life and saved every penny. I saved up a substantial amount of money over the years and even though the pandemic took a good chunk out of those savings, I had finally reached the deadline that I had set. The only person that I’d confided in about my plan was Maya. Maya and I had been best friends since the 7th grade and I knew that if anybody could keep my plan a secret, she could. 

“Man, I am really going to miss you, Z.” Maya said as she nudged me to pass me back what was left of the blunt.

“I’m going to miss you too. You know once I get settled in, the first thing I’m doing is booking you a flight to come out and see me.”

“Yeah well, make sure it’s during one of our breaks. You know teachers can’t just up and leave like that.”

I cracked a huge smile. “I still can’t believe that you’re a teacher. There was a time where I thought you hated kids.”

“Girl…why do you think I smoke so much?”

Our laughter was interrupted by someone knocking on my car window. It was my younger cousin, Kyla. I rolled the window down and all of the smoke from the car drifted out into her face. Kyla began to cough and fan the smoke away.

“You are so dramatic. What’s up Kyla?”

“Um, my mom told me to come and find you. Aunt Trina has had a little too much to drink and she’s up there putting on a show.”

I looked at Maya and rolled my eyes. I tipped the champagne bottle back and began to chug it down until champagne dribbled down my chin and onto my shirt. After wiping my mouth with the back of my hand, we hopped out of the car and all three of us walked from the garage back up to my condo. As we made long strides down the hallway I said to nobody in particular, “One day. She couldn’t just give me this one day.”

I opened the front door to my condo and even though the music was still playing everyone’s eyes were on my mother, who had gotten her hands onto a microphone and was standing in front of the DJ booth singing along to The Gap Band. My eyes darted over to my friend Corey, who I’d paid to DJ for the night. He met my gaze, shrugged, and raised both hands in the air while mouthing the word, “Sorry.” I took a deep breath and walked over to my mothers’ side. 

“Momma, why don’t we go and make you a plate before all of the food is gone?”

My mother stopped singing long enough to whisper, “Zion, stop it. I was just getting to the good part! Whoa, whoa, my heart is yearning…”

I snatched the microphone out of her hand. “No, Momma. That is enough. Go to the kitchen and have a seat. I’ll fix you a plate.”

My mother stared at me with defeat in her eyes but said nothing. She began walking to the kitchen. I handed the microphone back to Corey and then I was right on her heels. As my mother slid into one of the barstools she watched as I angrily spooned food onto a plate in front of her. 

“I went too far, huh?”

I gently sat the plate in front of her and let out a deep sigh before replying. I wanted to choose my words carefully.

“I don’t mind you having fun. It’s just...this party was supposed to be about me for once, you know?”

“You’re being ridiculous. This party is all about you. I can take a few seconds to enjoy a song or two. Hell, if anything you should be thanking me for taking the time to liven it up in here.”

I stared at her in disbelief. She just didnt get it. I wiped my hands with a dish towel and began walking away. 

“Wait...where are you going?”

“I’m getting a drink. I’ve had enough of The Trina Show.”

Just as I was about to head back to the bar to get another glass of champagne, I noticed Maya and my friend Brandon wheeling in a three tiered black and white cake with fondant music notes and a microphone placed on the top of it. As soon as they got near the DJ booth, Maya leaned over and whispered something to Corey. He cut the music and handed her the cordless microphone. Maya tapped it a couple of times until the feedback from the speakers made a loud screeching sound that made everybody in the room cringe. 

“Excuse me! If I could please have everyone’s attention for just a quick second, I’d really appreciate it. As you all know we are here to celebrate my best friends’ birthday. Did you all know that she wasn’t going to have a cake? A 30th birthday party with no cake. Can you all believe that?”

Everyone in the crowd murmured their responses while I smiled. I was so busy worrying about my surprise announcement that I didn’t even think about a cake until the last minute. I just decided to go without one this year.

“Isn’t that crazy? Well anyway, you can’t have a birthday party and not have a cake. So we decided to all pitch in and get her this beautiful cake. Come on up here Zion!”

As I was walking up to the DJ booth Brandon placed two big sparklers on the top of the cake and lit them. I gave both him and Maya a hug before taking the microphone. 

“Wow…this was such a great surprise. Thank you both so much! You’re the best friends a girl could ever have. I also want to thank each and every one of you for coming out and celebrating my birthday with me. It’s always a good time when I can get all of my family together for something that isn’t a funeral.” Everyone laughed and nodded in agreement.

“Although this is a party for my birthday, there is also another reason to celebrate.” I took a deep breath before continuing. I figured I might as well get my announcement out while I had the nerve. “A lot of you may not know that ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved to sing. Unfortunately, I was never able to pursue my love for it like I wanted to but now that I am older and established I figured that now is the perfect time for me to go for it. Today was my last day at work. I just closed on the sale of this condo and this time tomorrow I will be on a plane headed to start my new life and pursue my singing career in California.”

Like clockwork, as soon as I finished my last statement, everyone turned their head in my mothers’ direction. No one said a word. Other than the sound of my heart pounding, the entire room was silent. Maya leaned over towards Brandon and whispered loudly, “Oh this is about to get good!” 

My mother was standing there making a fist around her champagne flute and giving me the evil eye. She slowly walked up to the DJ booth as everyone quickly shifted to either side of the room clearing a path for her to get to me. She stopped once we were standing face to face. 

“I’m sorry; I was all the way in the back and couldn’t really hear you. What did you just say?”

“I said that I’m moving to California tomorrow to pursue my singing career.”

My mother looked me dead in my eyes and surprisingly, began to laugh. “You cannot be serious. There is no way that I worked my fingers to the bone all of those years to put you through school just for you to throw it all away now and live out some pipe dream. You’re not going anywhere.”

“Momma, it’s done. My condo is sold. My car is being shipped in the morning. All of my clothes and shoes are packed. Unless any of you all want this furniture, it's going in storage. I have appointments to view apartments once I land. It’s done. You don’t have anything to worry about. You’ll still be taken care of. All that I ask is that you be happy for me.”

“No it’s not done!” My mother slammed her champagne flute down to the ground. We all watched as the glass shattered into millions of pieces. “You are a fool if you think you’re going to go out there and do anything but come back here crying to me after they’ve chewed you up and spit you out.”

“Momma, stop it. This has nothing to do with you. This is my decision. This is my life!”

My mother squinted her eyes and bit her lip. I watched as her face turned red with rage and her hands began to shake. Before I could stop her, my mother grabbed the table that the cake was sitting on and flipped it over. I watched in horror as that beautiful cake that my best friends all pitched in and bought for me crashed onto my hardwood floor. There was cake and fondant everywhere. 

“Zion Monique Waters, if you think for one second that I’m about to stand by and watch my only daughter ruin her life in the hopes of singing some ooh’s and aah’s then you’re more stupid than I thought. Don’t come crawling back here with your tail in between your legs expecting any sympathy from me. Until you come to your senses you’re dead to me.”

My mother stormed past me, Maya and Brandon and snatched up her purse from the coat rack behind my front door. She looked back at me one last time before shaking her head and slamming the door. Everyone turned to look at me as I stood there stunned. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. I knew that my mother was going to flip out but I didn’t expect her to cause as big of a scene as she did. Instead of feeling sad like I should’ve, I felt even more determined now. With or without my mothers’ blessing I was going to make my dreams come true, even if it was just to prove her wrong and throw it in her face. Just then I heard my Aunt Tamia clear her throat and break the awkward silence.

“Well baby, you know Auntie is proud of you and I support you in whatever you want to do but I have one question for you.”

“Yes ma’am?”

“Were you serious about what you said about the furniture? I call dibs on the sofas.”