Intoxicated on Auditioning for Her Role

When you're walking in the darkness of your own light, you tend to believe that everyone else around you is in darkness too. So you try to turn on the light that you bring, and you're wondering why, though it's on, it's making no difference. It’s because your presence is illuminating the room.

During her lunch date with Tina, she gets a message from Kyle.

“Oh my God!” she said out loud, drawing attention from the tables that were nearby.

“What is it?” asked Tina.

“Kyle just got laid off from his job… oh man!!!!” she exclaimed, as she drops the fork on the plate that then fell down on the table.

“Hmm, so what is he gonna do now?” And she holds her glass up in mid‑air and gives Kendra a look that says you better let him figure it out on her face. Then proceeds to take a sip from her drink.

Kendra looks up from her phone to Tina, shakes her head, and says, “I can’t believe you right now?”

Tina shakes her head too, throws up her hands with a little chuckle, and said, “Ok mama Ken, I won’t say another word.” Then she digs her fork into her meat but stops midway to her mouth. She said, “But, just so you know… I’m not going to say another word about this, and I don’t want to hear anything more about this. We clear.”

“Is it wrong, or am I wrong, for looking out for him? Helping him if and when he needs it?” Kendra asks, as she looks at Tina with a facial expression showing a hint of disdain.

“Look, I’m not saying don’t help him. What I’m saying is let him figure it out, and if he needs your help with this that he’s figuring out, fine. But you do all of that for him. You gotta let your man be a man, be the man sometimes, and these are one of those times,” Tina said, with some sympathy in her tone and her eyes.

“Are you saying that me helping him is emasculating him? Is that’s what you’re saying to me?” she asked in a defensive tone, with a look of how dare you? on her face.

“Well, in this context yes, that’s what I’m saying. Look at you — you’re working overtime to find a solution to fix his problem. Did he ask you to figure it out or to help him figure it out? Knowing him, he’s probably somewhat having a drink with his friends, and you here can’t finish your lunch because you’re full off of a problem that’s not even yours, nor is it one you created,” Tina replied, as she finished her meal and calls the waitress over to bring the check.

As Tina reached for the check, Kendra sat back in her chair, her mind still circling the weight she had picked up without thinking. The room felt louder now, brighter even, though nothing had changed except her awareness. And in that moment, she realized she wasn’t exhausted because of Kyle’s problem — she was exhausted because she kept trying to turn on a light that was already on. Her own. The one she carried everywhere.

The one she forgot she didn’t need to prove. And as she exhaled, slow and steady, she wondered if maybe this was one of those moments where she needed to step back, not because she didn’t care, but because she finally understood that her presence alone was illuminating the room.

**********Parallel Lane************

Stay tuned for episode 4, I hope you enjoyed 😉