Decadent Dreams. A.C. Arthur

expected her to live. It was a huge price to pay, one Belinda wasn’t sure she could continue to afford.

      On the other hand, there was the guilt of wanting to lead what she presumed was a “normal” life. Her grandmother had risen above what was expected of a normal African-American single mother, and she’d made something bigger—her family and her business. And Belinda owed it to her, to their legacy, to be the best always. That’s what her parents had instilled in her and that was the rule she’d lived by all her life. The one that haunted her to this day.

      “So you’re on the hunt again?” Shari asked with a chuckle.

      “I’m not now, nor have I ever been on the hunt. My parents are the ones who think I should be married and ready to have babies by now.”

      “You should have started young like I did,” Shari quipped.

      Shari was a single mother and proud of it. She took care of her son on her own and never complained.

      “I don’t even know if I want kids. Or a man for that matter.”

      “Oh, you want a man,” she said. “It’s in our genes to want to get married and have kids. We’ve got a legacy to carry on. If we don’t have kids, who does it carry on to?”

      Belinda was so tired of hearing about this legacy.

      “The show will go on no matter what,” she said drily. “Anyway I won’t have time to think about men with this competition coming up.”

      “I know. I’ve been drawing sketches all afternoon. Andre has a fever so he’s been sleeping. But I have so many ideas.”

      Belinda had none. Sure, Malik thought she was thinking about the competition all day today, and she’d let him think along those lines. But it just wasn’t true. This competition was important, she knew that. But there was something else she thought was just as important. Something she feared she’d gone too long without experiencing.

      Even now talking to her cousin was a distraction. Belinda had decided to make a change, one that was going to require some thought and planning. “Well, I just came home and I’m trying to take a bath. How about I call you later?”

      “Sure, you go ahead. I want to work on my ideas some more. At some point all of us need to get together to figure out what our game plan is.”

      Belinda nodded, knowing that would inevitably happen, no matter how much she dreaded it. “Right. You coordinate the others and I’ll be there.”

      “Okay. I’ll let you know.”

      “Hope Andre feels better,” Belinda said before bidding her cousin good-night and hanging up the phone.

      She lay back in the tub and closed her eyes. She could get out of this tub and climb right into her bed. Sleep would be a good way to get things off her mind—if she could sleep. Most likely she’d continue to think about her life-altering decision—the one she’d made after her date with Patrick. The one where she decided to take charge of her own life. Unfortunately, once again, her life would have to wait. Tonight she had a date. Or maybe she should just call it an outing. Whatever it was, it was going to take her away from planning and contemplating. And Belinda wasn’t happy about that.