My soul you took away

Almost two years later...

"Hello?"

"LAYAAAA!" two excited voices hollered from the other end of the phone. I immediately pulled it from my ear and winced as the screaming continued.

Putting it on speaker, I left the task I was currently overseeing and turned to face the stove. With the phone in one hand, I pierced a sweet potato with a fork to see if it was done.

"Well damn, I didn't know y'all was that excited to talk me." I grinned at the phone.

"Bitch what you mean!? I missed your raggedy ass so much." Bri yelled.

"I just FaceTimed to you two days ago and I miss you too babe. Put Nene on the phone, I need to talk to her right quick."

Bri sucked her teeth and complained, "Damn it's all about Nene nowadays."

I could picture the spoiled brat rolling her eyes.

"That's because I'm the one getting married Brielle" Ne answered. "Hey Lay! I can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait to see you too. But listen, I have everything set up over here for your big weekend. The rehearsal dinner is at the hotel's restaurant tonight and your bachelorette party is good to go. I talked to your wedding planner too and she should be here early tomorrow morning to make sure the decor is in order." I explained pretty rapidly while transferring the softened potatoes from the pot into a blendor. Then I went to the sink to grab a dish towel, so that I could clean up my mess.

"Oh okay good." Ne sighed in relief. "Laya I can't thank you enough for doing all this, like this whole thing has been so stressful and girl I'm ready to just elope with Jay and call it a friggin' day."

"You know your Miss. Dana would kill you if you did that" I commented while laughing at her. "By the way, I also have your guest list. It's only you, Bri and the guys staying at the hotel right?"

"Yeah about that..."

I walked around the kitchen island to the navy polka dot high chair to wipe down its attached table, when I noticed that it was empty.

Frantically, I looked around me and searched for the little body that was supposed to be in it, and only found a trail of orange goop leading to the back door.

I muted the phone, and was only met with silence. When you have a rebellious fifteen month old that's never a good sign.

"Hey Nene...imma have to call you back..."

"Wait Laya! I need to tell you..."

But I cut her off and hung up before she could finish. "See you soon!"

I sprinted out of my kitchen entryway almost slipping on the puréed pumpkin and sweet potato on the floor to find the tiny little girl bareback in a diaper. She was reaching up to grasp the handle of the glass French doors, so that she could let the dog in from the backyard. The bright green plastic bowl that contained her breakfast over-turned near her feet.

"Lilo no!" I gasped lifting her up into my arms which caused me to nearly slip again and her to giggle.

"Why is my pain so amusing to you and what did I tell you about going to the door?No...door...no!" I tried to seriously scold her, like she could even understand me, but she was way too cute for me to be angry at.

This was actually my fault anyway. I didn't strap her down into her seat, knowing that she would wiggle her way out.

I put her back down on the floor and opened the door to let the dog in, who immediately ran to the bowl of spilled food to lick it up.

Stitch was a German Shepard mix breed. I found him at the site after I returned home, wandering around the property in search of food. At first, I tried calling animal control to detain him but he always alluded their capture. Then, I started feeding him and lured him from the construction site for his own safety. He kept me company through my entire pregnancy, and when Lilo was born he immediately became her best friend, so it was only right to call him Stitch.

I quickly closed the door to prevent any other unwanted critters from coming in and then turned to see the two culprits staring up at me with big eyes.

"Now y'all two stay for thirty seconds...STAY" I commanded while I raced to the kitchen to grab the spray cleaner and hand towel. From experience. I've had to learn the hard way that those two couldn't be left alone by themselves, not even for a minute.

This little girl was too smart for her own good. Always getting into trouble and never sleeping on time. I was surprised she still had energy. She napped late yesterday which caused her not to sleep last night.

I came back to see her sitting next to him, trying to feed him from the bowl, like I do to her, while his long tongue licked her fingers.

"Ewww...ewewew. Lilo that's gross mamas.", I picked her up and went straight upstairs to give her a quick bath and get her ready for the day.

I put on her pink onesie and white shorts; and thought about doing her wild hair, before settling on just putting a bucket hat on her for sun protection. She'd only take out the style before the day was over anyway. Next, I packed her baby bag with diapers, clothes, snacks, sunscreen and other essentials, so that her Gigi would have everything she needed to watch her for the weekend.

Lilo was usually always with me when I worked. Whether she was in the playpen in my office at the hotel or strapped to my chest on a baby carrier while I walked around doing errands. She never left my side. But for the weekend, her great grandmother would have to babysit because Nene, Bri, along with Jay, Shoota and some of their family members were coming to the island for Jay and Shaniece's wedding. Which I have the pleasure of accomodating.

I'd been jumpy all week preparing for it, and there was the minor issue that none of them knew that I was pregnant when I left New York; or that I had a daughter and was raising her on my own down here.

Yup a minor issue. Small things. It's no biggie.

I rather not spring the whole ordeal on them until after the wedding because Jay and Shaneice deserved all the attention for their union.

The only reason why I was not in an utter state of complete panic, was because I heard Dave was currently on tour and Ne said that he wouldn't be able to make it.

I placed Lilo in her play pen, while I cleaned up the mess downstairs and filled Stich's bowl up with food and water. I checked my clothing in the hallway mirror to make sure my grey shirt was free from any mystery stains or slobber.

My usual work attire as a luxury boutique hotel owner, consisted of whatever was comfortable unless I had a meeting or event.

Grabbing my Neverfull tote bag and Lilo's diaper bag, I strapped her into her car seat in the open olive green Jeep Wrangler. I could just walk through the private side wall that connected my home to the hotel, but I had a lot of stuff to transport. Therefore, I climbed into the front seat and drove just a few meters away to The Grove.

My second pride and joy. A 25 - room luxury boutique hotel that sat promptly on about three miles of white sand beach, located on the most gorgeous island on earth. What was only supposed to a small AirBnb turned into this.

It was under construction while I was in New York and the phase one plans finished about nine months after I moved back. I had originally planned on being a silent investor/ owner but I immersed myself into the business as a way of coping of everything that went wrong in my life...this was going to be the one thing that went right. After months of hard work, struggling to find a good team, balancing life with a newborn, and money from a trust my mother left, we finally started to make a profit from the venture. Now we've added a restaurant and phase two is under construction with water top private bungalows.

I use to think that by going to school, pursuing degrees and working internship after internship that I would have found my true purpose in life.

But what I truly loved most was sitting in the backseat babbling up at the coconut trees with her hand in her mouth and the hotel would be the generational wealth that I built for her.

I pulled around front, barely got out of the car and strapped Lilo to the carrier on my chest, when Cara, my assistant and general manager bombarded me.

" Oh good you're here! We got a couple of situations to deal with, not to mention we have like six people checking in today for a big destination wedding that we're hosting and you're late!"

It's really too early for this shit.

"Good morning to you to Cara, how did you sleep? Me? Oh no I barely got any at all, but at least I remembered my manners this morning" I shared sarcastically, as I struggled to get my bags and the stroller out of the trunk.

"Good morning Allaya and how are you?" Cara snapped her fingers and signaled one of the bell hops to come down to help me.

"That's much better and they're not dogs, you can just call them by their names." I scowled at her. "By the way, thanks Ron. You can just put those in my office." I walked after him carrying Lilo out of the scorching 8:00 am sun.

"Where are you going?!" Cara whined her heels twisting on the cobblestone tile that lined the hotel entryway.

"Um...to get coffee and maybe say good morning to my other employees?" I remarked in a duh tone. I popped a pacifier into Lilo's mouth to at least try to get her to sleep while I walked around.

"There's no time for that. You have rounds to make before the staff meeting." She guided me in the direction of one of the hotel's golf carts and began driving down the long coconut tree lined driveway. She stopped right at the security booth, where the guards were arguing with a short Rasta wearing a simple tank top and shorts. His trolley filled with coconuts, was parked neatly to the side as he waved his hands in the air in frustration, and his long locs escaping his tri-colored turban.

"What's really going on out here?" I stepped in between the men and placed my hand on my waist. "Rasta why all the noise with my security?" I didn't know his real name, but everyone around here called him Rasta. I allowed him onto the grounds to cut down coconuts for him to sell to tourists by the beach, then I'd pay a dollar each for the empty shells with the pulp, for the chef to cook with. He had been doing it long before I came back and it would not have been fair to prevent him from making a small living.

My fingers instantly played with Lilo's little feet, an absent habit that grew on me.

"Man aye. Ms.Laya dese (these) two tell me I can't be here no more and I tellin' them that you say...I allowed to cut down the trees and ting. Now when I try to leave, they gin (gone) try take my trolley and all my shit - I mean stuff."

He corrected his language after seeing the wide eyed child hanging from me and staring at him.

The head security guard tried to interject to explain his side of the story but I placed my hand up to stop him. I already knew how this went, the new staff saw Rasta cutting down coconuts and thought that he was just some kind of vagrant trespassing and things got disrespectful.

"Now, Collin.", I spoke firmly to security. "You know for a fact that he's allowed on property during the day to do what he needs to do. He's also allowed to sell them on the beach to guests without getting in trouble from y'all. Please let all security staff know this...I don't want to have to deal with this again." I concluded.

"Das (that's) right, y'all hear boss lady..."

"And you...stop being rude to my security before I ban you from coming in here." I pointed at him. He nodded his head at me and grabbed his trolley so that he could prepare his stand at the beach.

"Ok Cara...what's next?"

She drove us back up the hotel where I placed a very sleepy Lilo into her pen and left my office door open so that Drea, my office manager could keep an eye on her.

"Thanks Drea, her Gigi said that she'd be here at 2:00 to pick her up. I'll be on the property all day today so just give me a call when she's here."

I walked into the large employee area behind the rooms where most of my staff were waiting for our meeting. From housekeepers to accounts to groundskeepers, about eighty people worked here. I smiled brightly at the familiar faces, wearing their branded uniforms and talking quietly amongst themselves. These meeting were usually ten minutes or less because they all needed to get back to work to tend to guests.

"Ok good morning everyone, let's make this super quick 'cause we have a busy weekend. I want everyone to make sure that they're paying attention to the schedule because some of you have been cleared for double shifts and over time. Speaking of schedule where is Tariq?" I looked around the room for the tall lanky teenager that usually worked the beach and organized guest activities.

"Tall boy ain't here yet boss", Jamal yelled from the back. Everyone around her had a nickname that represented some outstanding quality of them. For example, Gino my boat captain was known as Yellow because he was one of the few light skin men that worked on the property, they called Collin, Secu because he was the head guard, I was boss...well because I'm the boss and I did hear a few people call Cara bitch,...only because it was fitting.

"Tell him I want to see him as soon as he's here."

"I'm here!" He panted at the doorway clearly out of breath because he was late for his shift.

"Late again Tariq? That's your second one this month...I'm writing you up." Cara dribbled in all of her miserableness.

I shot her a look and plucked the pad and pen out of her hand, before speaking to Tariq privately.

"You know I can't keep excusing this right?"

He hung his head, "Sorry about that my mommy car break down this morning, so I had to ride my bike up here."

It was a legitimate excuse, one that I understood completely. Plus I had a soft spot for him because he was a good kid, a hard worker, one who begged me for a summer job so that he could make enough money for his college expenses. I was in his position once.

"Fine. But please try to leave earlier next time or at least call ahead. You can stay an hour later to make up for it too."

He smiled at me and said a quick thank you before going the rest of the crew.

"Ok let's get back on track. So we have a wedding here this weekend. About 50 people, Cara has all the details but it's my friend's wedding so I'll be busy dealing with that for the next few days. Also, we have hurricane trainings starting next week that EVERYONE needs to attend, please talk to your supervisor so that you'll know your time. Next, y'all know the rules 'round here. This is a private hotel, we get a lot of celebs and we respect their privacy. So that means no harassing them for photos or autographs. Your ass will be fired for doing so. Ask the two housekeepers that were let go last week for leaking photos of Kylie Jenner and her new boo to gossip sites. Y'all know I'm nice and I'm very understanding. But please don't take my kindness for weakness. Other than that, thank you for working so hard and doing your thing. Let's kill it this weekend!", I finished up.

I was truly blessed to work with such an amazing group of people that respect and trust me, regardless of how young I am. From my mom, I knew how the lower middle working class lived, so I made sure that each one of them could take care of themselves. That extended beyond my staff. I made it a point to support local farmers, fisherman and small businesses. Almost seventy five percent of our weekly supplies and food were bought locally, the other quarter was obtained from other Caribbean countries.

I made my way out of the area with Cara trailing behind me reading the long to do list she created for me. Although, her attitude left much to be desired, she was a natural leader that kept everyone organized and on top.

"Buongiorno Sig. Bianchi! Come sta?" (Good morning Mr. Bianchi! How are you?") I walked into the crowded restaurant and greeted Mr. Bianchi. He was an old Italian businessman that visited us twice a year on his yacht.

"Ah! Ciao bella!"(Hello beautiful!), he got up to hug me and kiss my cheeks. "Sono meraviglioso e anche meglio ora che il tuo bel viso è qui." (I am wonderful and even better now that I see your pretty face.)

He may have been married and traveling with his family, but the man was a complete flirt. It didn't matter to him that I was young enough to be his daughter.

I laughed and replied, "Mi fa piacere sentire."(I'm glad to hear that.)

"Adoro il tuo sorriso, mi fa battere il cuore." (I love your beautiful smile, it makes my heartbeat.) His hand clutched his heart and my laughed deepened even more. This man was a trip.

I waved at his wife and sons who had just walked in and told them to enjoy their breakfast before I entered the kitchen to talk with Maggie, our head chef.

"Morning Maggie! What you making, that smells so good? I leaned over the huge industrial burner to see whatever was in the large silver pot. Around me, servers and prep cooks running around while she barked orders.

"This...is my famous peas soup and dumplin'. Y'all ain't never had it like this before. This the best.", she bragged adding dollops of fluffy dough to the soup as a part of the dumpling component. "My local breakfast guests are going to love this."

"I know Mr. Bianchi is out there waiting now."

"You think he waitin' on the soup, but he really waitin' to see me."