Her Little Black Book

A woman is waiting for her iced coffee at Starbucks. Jada Muller, 30 years old, an art therapy student, receives several texts while waiting for her drink, but she ignores the notification.

Starbucks Cashier: Jada?

Jada: Yes.

The bubbly cashier has a bright shinny name tag labeled Sam on her shirt;

She must be new Jada thought.

Jada: I should give her a tip, so she will not spit in my coffee if I complain about something in the future.

Jada: Here you go.

Sam: Thank you so much! Have an awesome day.

Jada: You too!

Jada turns around, she glances around the coffee shop, to find a place to sit. She finally sees a space in the middle of the coffee shop. She rushes to the table and as she pulls the chair, she saw a little black book. Jada looks around to see if anyone accidentally left their book on the chair, but no one seemed to look as if they were missing something valuable to them. She places the book on the table and thought if someone comes back, the book will be in plain view for them to see.

iPhone text notification

Travis: Sorry, something came up. I will text you tomorrow.

Jada: No worries, hope all is good.

Travis: Yes, just too tired. I had a bad day.

Jada puts her phone in her purse and took a long look at the black book on the table. She looks around the coffee shop again then grabs the book, opens it, and starts reading.

Dear Yesterday,

Another day in this limbo, this is hell. I feel as if I am trapped in this industry. I need to get out. I need to set some goals.

Dear Yesterday,

Here are my goals…

The mysterious author; made relationship goals, some career goals, some health goals, and some spiritual goals. Page after page, Jada reads this stranger’s little black book. She could not put it down; she feels as if she is reading her own diary. The further she reads the more she relates to this unknown author. Jada stumbles on the author’s line of work. She is a sex worker, and she wanted out. Jada related to her because she too was a sex worker earlier in her life. As she is reading this woman’s deepest secrets, she has the compelling urge to find this woman, hold her and help her walk away from this industry.

Dear Yesterday,

I think the relationship Gods has granted me my Alpha King; it may be too soon to tell, but I fall to pieces each time I see him. He is gorgeous. We understand each other. The only problem is, we met when I was an escort, He was initially my client. I am no longer an escort. I am in the beauty industry now, and I am loving it. My lover's name is Neil, he has a dark humor like me, he supports me and makes me smile every day.

Jada smiles, Sam, taps Jada’s shoulder, Jada jumps.

Jada: Yes?

Sam: Oh, my apologies, just wanted to know if you wanted anything else.

Jada: Yes please, I can use a fresh cup of coffee three creams three Splendas.

Sam: You got it.

Jada dives back into the diary reading about this mysterious woman’s life. She later finds out that her name is Naomi Rey, she is 30 years old and has no children. Things must be great Jada presumed, because the diary entries went from May 20th, 2018 to November 1st, 2021.

Dear Yesterday,

It has been three years I am with my lover, I never cheated, I turned down men who wanted to start a life with me, and everything he wanted in terms of my physical appearance; his sexual fantasies, and my time, I offer him everything on a silver platter. This one time I was unable to meet with him, he was not pleased. Served me right, I had canceled with him two times before. I promised him it will never happen again. Till this day I have not broken my promise. We never went out on a date, he asked me once, but he canceled. I was okay with that. Then last night he told me this…

Sam: Here you go.

Sam startles Jada…

Jada: Jesus Sam!

Sam: Sorry. What are you reading there?

Jada looks up at curious Sam. Sam tries to peep into the book, but Jada pulls away the book from her view and looks up at her.

Jada: It is a very scary book.

Sam sits down…

Sam Oh I love horror, who is the author?

Jada just watches her as if to say; can you just leave me alone.

Sam: I get it, continue reading. Let me know how it ends later.

Jada continues to read. Sam went back to work.

He told me; Naomi this is not going anywhere, I tried to see if I have feelings for you and I feel nothing. Our sex life is amazing, but I do not love you. This is not all he also told me that when we are done sleeping with each other and he finds a woman, our friendship must end. His excuse is that our sexual connection is extraordinarily strong, and he is afraid he will end up cheating on his newfound love. I could not say anything at the time. I just said alright. For that whole week, I felt like a big truck ran over me. I was physically sick for three weeks. I could not eat; I could not sleep. I could not see him for a couple of months, it hurt too much to see him. Then Covid-19 hits and I received a text saying.

Neil: You free tonight?

I said yes because not only I missed him, but the quarantine became extremely lonely, and all I wanted was some company. I figured; I will take whatever I could from this. All I wanted is to be close to him. I created a whole relationship in my head. In my head, I was in an open relationship with Neil. I say open relationship because I had to somehow convince myself that the reason why we do not act like real couples is for the following reason; we decided to see other people and the decision was mutual.

Dear Yesterday,

Neil keeps showing me girls he is attracted to, and I look nothing like them. I saved some money before leaving the industry. I joined weight loss programs; I am planning to do some work on my lower stomach after the pandemic. I have spent so much money trying to please Neil. Nothing works. He still compares me to them. Sometimes I wish I could just turn away, but I find myself right back in his arms.

Dear Yesterday,

The restaurants are finally re-opened. I am sorry I have not been checking in lately. Neil found his woman, and he ghosted me. He just stopped texting me. One day I sent him a message and the message did not deliver. The following day, I went on my friend’s Instagram, I lurked on his page and there she was. She had curly blond hair, blue eyes, she was about 5ft5, petite, and flat chested, just the way he likes them. I fell into a deep depression, I am trying to re-invent myself with a team of doctors from Davidson Mental Institution, I am a resident there from Monday to Friday. I get to see my family every weekend. No one knows how I feel, and no one in my circle knows Neil. I never told them because I knew they would have told me to leave him. I feel numb, I feel stupid; how could the universe do this to me? How could I get exactly what I asked for only to end up alone again? This pain is so deep, I do not wish this feeling on my worst enemy. I guess we must be careful what we wish for. I must go now, my chest hurts, and I cannot keep the tears back any longer.

There are no more journal entries from Naomi but at the end of the book, there is a note.

This book belongs to Naomi Rey, if you find it please bring it to 6789 Chester Street apt 201.

Travis treats me the same way…Jada thought to herself.

Tears runs down her cheeks, she wanted to meet this woman and give her a big hug. Jada quickly gets up, puts her coat on, and runs out of the coffee shop. Jada calls an Uber and tells the driver to drop her off at the same address Naomi mentions in the book. A woman in her 60’s answered the door.

Mrs. Rey: Yes?

Jada: Hello. I am looking for Naomi.

Mrs. Rey: Are you a friend?

Jada: No well…um I found her book; I think she forgot it at the coffee shop down the street.

Mrs. Rey: Come in dear.

Jada enters the apartment.

Mrs. Rey: My name is Rebecca, Naomi’s mother, have a seat.

Jada: Thanks

Mrs. Rey told Jada that sadly Naomi is not with us anymore. She died from natural causes.

Mrs. Rey: I think she died from a broken heart, and I do not know what or who broke my baby’s heart.

Jada: I am so sorry. I think this will give you some answers and closure.

Jada hands Mrs. Rey her daughter’s journal. Mrs. Rey immediately starts to cry, as if Jada is the answer to her prayers. She did not even look inside the book. Mrs. Rey heads to her bedroom. She comes out holding two envelopes. Mrs. Rey give Jada the envelopes, one was already open the other one was sealed. Jada reads the letter Mrs. Rey handed to her. Jada learns that Naomi had decided to leave the city to start out fresh, she gives her mother half of her savings and confessed to her mother how she made the money. Naomi never told her mother about Neil in that letter. Jada opens the second envelope…

Jada: I can not take this.

Mrs. Rey: My daughter died of a brain aneurysm, one day before her release date from the mental hospital. She died with a broken heart and she did not have the chance to tell me why she was hurt. You found the only thing that can tell me why my precious girl is not here anymore. You are taking this money.

Jada is in total shock; they both stand up and hug each other. Jada leaves the house and texts her lover Travis.

Jada: Thank you for always being honest with me, it is time for me to be honest with myself. I will never be enough for you, and your ridiculous expectations. You will never love me the way I love you. Goodbye.

Jada blocks him and moves on with her life.

Two years later

Jada is standing in a room filled with young women, she is telling her story. A painting of Naomi hangs on the wall behind her.

Jada is the proud owner of the Naughty Craft Moms Empire. The Naughty Craft Moms Empire is a place where single moms can do crafts together. This is a support system. These women are retired sex workers. Jada helps them build their confidence back. These women are victims of emotional and physical abuse. Jada teaches them how to use art to purge their deepest pain, so they can stay strong for their babies. Jada has twins, they are two years of age, she named them Naomi and Rey. Every Sunday Jada and Mrs. Rey meet at Starbucks…they sit at the same table Jada found Naomi’s little black book. Sam makes sure to reserve the spot for them.