Dee peeked into the office, seeing only his lifeless body lay on the desk. He was wearing the same pants as the day before, no shirt, making some of the photographs stick to his back. Dee wasn’t sure exactly what she was looking at and could only see from a small crack in the door.
“Mommy!” she heard Keisha call from the other side of the apartment. She rushed down the hallway as quietly as she could.
She opened Keisha’s door to see her little girl sitting up in bed. “What’s wrong honey?”
“I forgot where I was. Where’s the bathroom?” Keisha said with a sleepy voice.
“Down the hall sweetie, come here, I’ll show you.” Dee laughed as her little girl hopped out of bed. It was hard to believe that her little angel was already going to the bathroom on her own. She still needed to help occasionally, especially when it came to lifting her onto the toilet. It was much different than changing diapers, however, a chore that she certainly didn’t miss.
As she waited outside the bathroom door for her to finish, she wondered what had come over Ricardo. They had shared a pretty intimate night, but when she woke up, he was gone.
Did he make a mistake coming into her room? Did he regret what he had decided to do when he went in there? “All done!” Keisha said as she came out of the bathroom. Just then, Dee heard the buzzer go off downstairs.
“Dee are you ready for the interviews?” Anastasia asked from behind Dee. She hadn’t even realized she walked up the stairs. She could be pretty scary and quiet when she wanted to. Dee had been up early that morning, not being able to get a great sleep being away from home. She was luckily dressed for the interviews, but not sure if she was mentally prepared to discuss childcare with a stranger.
“Oh my gosh, yeah I completely forgot,” Dee said. “I just have to get Keisha dressed.”
Dee was feeling pretty scatterbrained lately, as her life was flipping around pretty quickly. She got Keisha dressed and her hair combed back in a bun as fast as she could to get ready to meet potential nannies. She felt bad, thinking one of her family members could use a job, but at the same time, she didn’t want to hurt any of their prides by asking them to work for her. It might be good for Keisha to have a professional caretaker to step in every once in a while, as well.
She held Keisha’s hand as they walked down the stairs, only to see a few people sitting on the couch already. She looked down the hallway again quickly to see if Ricardo had come out of his office, but the door was still just slightly ajar like it had been.
“Dominique, this is Jonathon, Suzette, and Beatrice,” Anastasia said dully as she pointed to the three people sitting on the long white couch in the living room. Dee was still barely acquainted with the apartment herself, so it was strange that these people were in her home looking for a job. Just a week ago Dee was still some assistant manager at a store.
“Hello everyone, I’m so excited to get to know you,” Dee said, trying not to show that she was actually terrified.
Dee and Anastasia first led a group interview with the applicants for the nanny position and then did a one-on-one interview. Everyone seemed pretty qualified, but Dee still decided on Jonathon. Beatrice was older and seemed strict, and Suzette didn’t have any experience other than babysitting her siblings. Jonathon was a nice young boy who was studying to become a nurse, so Dee thought he’d be the perfect addition to their growing staff. He agreed to come from 10 A.M. to 10 P.M. four days a week and a few other times as needed. Dee wasn’t so sure she needed that much help but knowing that she didn’t have to do it all on her own was a relief she wasn’t used to.
After Dee finished up with her interviews, she decided to check again to see if Ricardo was doing any better now. Keisha was down for a nap and Dee wasn’t sure what else to do with her time. Ricardo hadn’t come out all day and she was starting to feel a bit strange about the night that they had shared. As she reached for the large brass handle, she heard someone walk up the stairs.
“You can’t go in there,” she heard Anastasia’s cold voice from behind her. Anastasia was a great assistant but not someone good at keeping company. Though she was visibly much younger than Dee, she still scared her senseless and could easily make Dee freeze up right where she was standing. She was always wearing stiletto heels and tightly fit business professional clothing. Her confidence was through the roof and she wasn’t afraid to act a little scary as needed.
“I wasn’t going to, I was just looking in,” Dee said, a little scared of Anastasia’s glare. Dee knew that Ricardo could probably hear from the other side what the girls were talking about now. She didn’t see him on the desk anymore, but she knew that he was in there. Anastasia was holding a cup of tea. “I just wanted to make sure he was OK. I haven’t seen him all day.”
“He just gets a little moody sometimes,” Anastasia replied. “He needs time to decompress and it’s best if he does it alone.”
Dee could feel Anastasia’s words sting her chest. Dee walked away as she watched Anastasia push open the office door. She didn’t like the fact that Anastasia could get so close to him. She wanted to walk into his office just to show that she wasn’t afraid of her, but then what would she do? Anastasia likely knew him better, so she didn’t want to intrude on his space.
“Mommy!” she heard Keisha call again, knowing that her nap was probably over. She didn’t take long naps, something Dee certainly missed about her being a baby. She loved just watching Keisha sleep in her crib for hours at a time.
The best part about having a three-year-old was having a friend that she could start to have real conversations with. Keisha was understanding jokes and made funny faces and did all the things little kids did while still being young enough to think her mom was cool.
“Mommy I had a dream you left!” Keisha said as Dee walked into her daughter’s room.
“I didn’t go anywhere baby, I’m right here!” Dee comforted her daughter. “What do you say, when you’re finished waking up from your nap, that we go to the store and pick out some new toys for you and Jonathon to play with?”
“Yeah yeah let’s go now!” Keisha said, getting up from bed excitedly.
Dee decided to stock up on toys for Keisha before her first day with the nanny. She wanted to make sure that she would have plenty of entertainment, so she could feel comfortable adjusting to yet another addition to her life. Jonathon was patient and kind and Dee wouldn’t be too far away from Keisha during the day, feeling like Jonathon was a comfortable choice.
Once they arrived at the toy store, Keisha started running around right away. Dee loved being able to spend time with her daughter, but she still wondered if she should be feeling guilty about how she decided to earn her money. Nothing beat watching Keisha run around the store excitedly, however.
“Mommy Mommy, can I get this one?” Keisha asked, excitedly running up to Dee. She was holding a white male doll with brown hair. Normally, Keisha picked out dolls and toys that looked like her and her cousins, so this was a strange pick.
“Of course, honey, I said you can have whatever you want! But why this one?” Keisha asked.
“It looks like that guy that lives with us. What’s his name?” Keisha asked, looking up at her mom with a smile.
“Ricardo,” Dee responded, filled with warmth that Keisha was excited about finding a doll that looked like him.
“Right that guy,” Keisha said, walking away. Dee suspected that Keisha didn’t have the easiest time saying his name.
Dee felt warm knowing that Keisha was starting to get used to Ricardo at least. She didn’t know what the future held for them once the shoot was over. Would he want her to be in the winter campaign? How long was he planning on sticking around Detroit? Dee knew that once the modeling was over, she wanted to get back into school right away to get her degree and start working in a law office somewhere in the city. She knew that she wanted to be in Detroit forever, but as she purchased the doll that looked like Ricardo, she couldn’t help but think about his deep brown eyes and warm hands.
Would she be able to adjust to not having him around? Would she even have to do that? What would Keisha do if Ricardo wasn’t in her life? Dee was starting to worry that her lifestyle choices were bleeding into Keisha’s emotional development a little too much.
When Dee and Keisha walked back into the loft, they saw Ricardo working at an easel with a blank canvas and some paint. They watched as he painted shapes and blocks onto the canvas, using mostly brown and black colors.
“Hello, how are you doing today?” Dee said, feeling strange that even though the sun was setting, this was the first time seeing her roommate for the day.
“I’ve been better. What have you two been up to?” Ricardo asked sweetly. Dee thought he seemed fine, but then she remembered that she didn’t really know him all that well to begin with.
“I got a doll!” Keisha said, proudly showing Ricardo her new toy.
“Very cool,” Ricardo said, still trying to focus on the painting.
“I didn’t realize you painted too,” Dee said, setting her coat down over the side of the couch. She grabbed Keisha’s new doll and started opening the box.
“I have to paint sometimes to feel inspired again. I’m not sure what direction to take the shoot now,” he told her. Dee started to worry, remembering that they were supposed to start the shoot fairly soon.
“I thought you had some ideas already,” she told him.
“Anastasia said that not a single person in L.A. liked my designs. Not a single one! Sometimes painting helps inspire me or at least think of new ideas,” Ricardo explained.
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m sure what you had was great,” she said, trying to be supportive.
“It was. But I have to start over and I have no idea what to do. I only have a few designs,” he told her.
“Maybe I could help?” she asked, wanting to be supportive.
“Would you?” he asked excitedly.
“Sure, Keisha play with your doll, I’ll be right back,” Dee said, handing the doll to Keisha.
“Thank you, Mommy,” Keisha said, grabbing the doll and running around.
“Let me show you what I was thinking for some of the designs? They’re in my office,” he told Dee. She was relieved she’d get the chance to finally see what he kept hidden behind those tightly-sealed doors. She nodded her head and followed him upstairs.
When they entered his office, Dee realized that it was much larger than she thought it would be. There were stacks of books lining the wall and a massive desk with photos scattered about. It was clear he hadn’t been there long, but Dee was still surprised at how he managed to fill it up so easily. Maybe it looked so big because it was so empty.
“I’m having trouble seeing a clear theme here,” he told her. She took a peek at some example photographs on his desk, as well as pictures wearing some of the clothing line on the runway. They were well-taken photographs, but nothing too significant stood out. Everything was a shade of black or silver. It was all very neutral.
“I mean, these look good,” she said hesitantly, not sure exactly how to critique his design. “But…”
“But what?” he asked nervously.
“There’s just something missing,” she said.
“I know that, that’s why I’m having trouble,” he said.
“Well, something, exciting,” she responded. “It’s not very colorful.”
“Right but the clothes aren’t very colorful. I have to make it an advertisement still, right?” he said.
“I guess so,” she responded, wandering around his office. They both suddenly heard a loud thud from the living room. “Keisha!”
Dee ran out of the office and to the stairs, only to see a large amount of paint spilled all over the floor.
“Sorry Mommy, I dropped it,” Keisha responded, pointing to the small bucket of paint that had spilled. Dee ran down the stairs, only to see that the paint spill was actually the best part of what Keisha had been up to.
“Oh no Keisha, what did you do?” Dee asked as she looked at the long white couch now covered in paint.
“It was white just like how he was painting,” Keisha said. She was so smart sometimes that Dee forgot she was still just a kid who didn’t understand sometimes. Keisha was holding her doll, now shirtless and covered in paint. “My dolly just wanted to paint like him!”
She had run the doll’s head and her fingers all across the white couch, Dee knowing that there was no way that she was going to be able to make up for that mistake.
She looked at Ricardo, who was standing quietly behind the two, scared about what he might say. If he had trouble with a little bit of spilled wine on the carpet, Dee didn’t want to know what he had to say about this.
“It’s brilliant,” he said, looking at the design. He walked over and grabbed the doll out of Keisha’s hand. She might not have known what she did was wrong when she did it, but when she saw her mom’s face, she knew she was about to get in trouble. However, Ricardo held the doll, just looking at it while everyone stayed quiet. “Do you see this?”
“See what?” Dee asked, not sure if he was so mad that he was just losing his mind.
“This doll has black pants that look like one of the designs,” Ricardo explained. Dee nodded her head, not sure where he was going.
“The color doesn’t have to be on the clothes! It can be on the model!” Ricardo said laughing. “You’re brilliant! A genius! A prodigy!”
Dee wasn’t sure what was happening. Ricardo grabbed his paints, the canvas, and the doll, and ran up to his office.
“Am I going to get my dolly back?” Keisha asked.
“I think he’s just going to give it a bath,” Dee responded, not having any clue what Ricardo was actually planning. “Well honey, we’ll have to clean this up. I love that you are creative, and I think your art is beautiful, but you can really only color on paper or on a canvas, OK?”
“I’m sorry Mommy. I just wanted to make you a pretty picture,” Keisha said sadly. Dee wanted to be mad, but Keisha was too cute to stay angry with for very long.
Dee got a big bucket of soapy water and cleaned up most of the paint, some of the red bleeding into the couch making it look like a crime scene. She scrubbed as hard as she could, only lightening the paint a bit. She hung a blanket over the back once it felt dry, Keisha having fallen asleep on the couch while Dee did most of the cleaning. Dee knew that Keisha was good, and she barely did anything of that nature often, so she didn’t feel too bad about letting her sleep through the cleanup.
As she dumped the dirty water down the drain, she heard Ricardo’s office door open, his hurried footsteps coming out. “I figured it out!”
“Shhh!” Dee yelled, not wanting Ricardo to wake the sleeping Keisha.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! But look,” Ricardo said, holding some sketches out for Dee. There were people that appeared as though they were made out of paint with the clothing from the line taped overtop them.
“OK, I think I understand what you were going for,” she said, looking at the sketches.
“The color doesn’t have to be on the clothes, it can be on the people! We can pour paint on you, let it dry, and you can just wear one piece at a time!” Ricardo said enthusiastically. The thought of being covered in paint scared Dee a bit, but she was happy to see him looking so excited.
“That sounds incredible,” she said, still feeling skeptical about how it might turn out.
“Do you know what this means Dominique? I’ve finally figured out what the campaign was missing!” he said excitedly. She hadn’t seen him that enthused in quite a while, maybe ever.
“Ricardo that’s fantastic, I’m so relieved honestly,” she explained. Part of her worried that the campaign was going to be canceled altogether once she saw him in his depressive state.
“I want to take you out to dinner,” he told her with an excited tone. “To celebrate!”
“That’d be nice. Where did you have in mind?” she asked with a smile. She couldn’t even remember the last time someone told her that they wanted to take her out to dinner.
“The Whitney, have you been?” he asked. “It was the only five-star restaurant I could find.”
“Actually, yeah,” she responded. Ozzie had taken her there for their one-year anniversary. “I’ll have to text Jonathon to see if he can come over.”
“No, it’s fine, Anastasia is here,” he told her.
“Oh, she is? I didn’t even realize,” Dee said, feeling a little strange that she had been there the entire time.
“Is that OK with you?” he asked, not sure if Dee was going to be OK with letting Anastasia watch her daughter.
“I mean, as long as she’s fine with it,” Dee explained. Keisha would likely be passed out the rest of the night, having eaten dinner while Dee cleaned up. She was a bit worried about how Keisha might react if Dee wasn’t there if she woke up, but she didn’t want to pass up the opportunity to go out with Ricardo while he was so excited about his new discovery.
She was used to eating boxed and canned meals, unable to afford much else for her family. It was late, and Dee figured she was just going to eat a frozen meal that the chef had stocked the fridge with. That was how many of Dee’s nights usually went. The Whitney meant fine dining and not having to clean up after herself, something that she certainly enjoyed.
A nice dinner out for her meant treating herself and Keisha to a drive-thru meal or ordering a pizza online. She didn’t mind not being able to go out to nice dinners, as it meant that she got to spend more time at home with her little girl. Still, it would certainly be nice to step outside the kitchen and let someone pour her wine and clean up the plates when she was done.
The restaurant wasn’t obnoxiously pricey, but still, when she looked at the prices on the menu, she thought about all the groceries she could buy for her and her family. She remembered that Ricardo would be taking care of it and decided to order the twin lobster tails. It was more money than she would normally spend on groceries in a week, but she hadn’t had lobster in years, and now was her chance.
“I hope you’re enjoying your time with me,” Ricardo said honestly.
“I really am. I hope that we’re not intruding in your space too much,” she responded.
“Of course not, not at all. My process, it can be challenging. But now that I know what I want, I really feel like we can start to get to work on coming out with an incredible campaign,” he told her. “To starting something new.”
“To starting something new,” she said, holding up her glass for cheers. Dee continued skimming the menu even though she ordered, planning to likely order something for Keisha. She wouldn’t care that the meals there cost more than a monthly credit card payment, but Dee still felt guilty for leaving her with Anastasia.
“You and Keisha have brought something into my life that I don’t know how to quite explain,” Ricardo told Dee as the waiter filled their wine glasses. She hadn’t had nice wine like that in ages. Sydney would sometimes bring her home a six pack of beer to split, but that was about the fanciest they would get.
“Ricardo, you’ve changed our lives and I don’t know how to repay you,” she told him. It was strange to think that she was sitting across from a man who had once sold a single framed photograph for ten million dollars. His name was recognizable but his appearance not so much, meaning they could get away with his celebrity status at this small Detroit restaurant. He grabbed her hand and kissed it, staring into her eyes as the waiter brought out their meals.