Harmony: Blessed But Not Perfect

Shanice, Ryan, Tamika, and Debbie were introduced in the story;

Shanice and the Questionnaire

Ella and Amanda were introduced in the stories;

Amanda Watches and Amanda Finds a Partner

Moving In

In the Morning

Harmony was a thirty-three year old Afro-American woman. She parked her Jeep Cherokee near the driveway of her newly purchased condo. She immediately stepped out of her vehicle, turned to the moving truck, and pointed to her condo. The moving truck backed into the short driveway.

She had a girl next door feel. Her oblong shaped face and her soft dark eyes were the reason people felt this way. She always kept her eyebrows evenly trimmed and wore the right amount of makeup. The bridge of her nose was skinny while her nostrils were wider with a slight hook. Her nose matched her high cheekbones. What added to her charm was her beautiful smile. She had cupid lips, small dimples, well maintained straight teeth, and long straight dark hair. She was: five-five, very health conscience, worked out whenever she could, had strong legs, and her backside was noticeable without being extra large. She received a lot of attention because of her large bell shaped breasts. She often wondered why. She felt her breasts were to far apart and she disliked her two inch areolas. Her breasts were so large her areolas were in the center of her breasts with flesh around them. Because of unwanted attention and lower back pain she was considering breast reduction surgery.

With it being a cool September day she was grateful she choose a purple and black plaid hooded flannel shirt. Matching the flannel shirt she was wearing a purple long sleeved ribbed Henley. Underneath was a black crop top and a sports bra. Knowing she would be unpacking and setting up her condo she chose dark blue high waisted stretch jeans with flap pockets. These jeans were both fashionable and perfect to work in. She was wearing very comfortable store brand athletic shoes. She accessorized with hoop earrings, a chain necklace, and a touch of makeup. She pinned up her long dark hair in a bun. She felt this outfit was practical and appealing.

She stepped out of her Jeep Cherokee. She stood there gazing at her condo. She was excited to be living in this complex. There were six buildings in this complex. The largest building was an L-shaped building, it held thirty-eight condos and faced two major roads. The long side of the L had twenty-six condos; most were three to four bedroom condos. The short side of the L had twelve condos; six were two bedroom and the other six were three bedrooms. The largest condo of the complex was in the corner of the L shaped building. This particular condo had six bedrooms and was shaped in a giant L. It connected the short side and long side of the buildings together. The long side of the condo faced east and west. The short side faced north and south. At the corner of this L was: a sign announcing the name of the complex, in front of this sign was a well maintained flower bed, in front of the flower bed were two benches, the complex sidewalk was in front of these two benches (the complex sidewalk was in front of the L shaped building between the public sidewalk and the building), in front of this complex sidewalk was a patch of well mowed grass, in front of this was the public sidewalk, and in front of it all was a very busy intersection. This intersection had traffic lights and bus stops on each corner. The other five buildings of the complex were lined up in a row behind the long section of the L. Twenty of these condo's were three bedroom, two were two bedroom, and two four bedroom.

Harmony's condo was the eighth condo from the center, on the short side of the L shaped building. On this side of the building the condo's were built in two's but were opposite one another. What this meant was the garage and the driveway of Harmony's condo was on the left side, while her neighbor's garage and driveway were on the right side. On the right side of her driveway was a short sidewalk and a skinny backyard. One of the reasons she chose this particular condo was because of the wooden fence around her backyard. Not Every condo had a fence but every condo had sliding doors leading out to the backyard. There were four evenly spaced windows above the first floor. The largest bedroom was on the second floor overlooking the skinny backyard.

Her front door was on the right side of her condo. To the left of the door was a large picture window. Two windows were evenly spaced above the picture window and the last one was above the door. There were concrete steps and a metal railing and in front of the door. In front of the steps was a sidewalk. It crossed the complex sidewalk and ended at the public sidewalk (her neighbor's condo was exactly opposite of this layout). In the spring she planned on planting flowers next to the front stairs and repainting her green colored condo. She was unsure of what color but the green had to go.

Harmony was feeling successful. This feeling was justified. Instead of getting caught up in drama she worked at her Father's corner convenience store. She received two academic scholarships. She paid for the rest of college and her expenses by working for the University Athletic Department and at a dry cleaners. She admired the Korean family who owned the dry cleaners. She was especially grateful for the mother and grandmother of this family. She became a seamstress while working these jobs. Her first job after college was working in a corporate office of a large retailer. Working in a corporate setting wasn't for her. The Korean family and her Dad borrowed her the money to purchase two sewing machines. It took two years for her to open a wedding dress store (she would sew or embroider anything anyone wanted). Many of the women who bought wedding dresses from her were future wives of: NFL football players, NBA players, and NHL players. Many of the women who played on the cities WNBA team also bought dresses from her.

Her shop grew in popularity and her reputation increased. Another local business that serviced local municipalities and the US Postal Service had grown complacent. Harmony went after these contracts. Her small company started to serve the cities police and fire departments. Soon she was serving many of the suburban departments. Within four years she received contracts to serve the United States Postal Service and the counties transit system. Everyone was surprised, except for those who worked for Harmony, when she began to receive contracts for rural police and fire departments. This is how a Thirty-Three year old Afro-American Woman was able to purchase a condo in an upper-middle class mixed raced suburb.

A key to her success was avoiding bad men. She witnessed to many of her friends and family, both male and female, destroy their lives by falling in love with the wrong person. She purposely avoided sex and dating until she was twenty-two. She chose to loose her virginity to a trusted "friend" from college. She met him while working for the University Athletic Department (he was far from athletic). She never once witnessed him drink or take drugs. Never once did he treat her inappropriate or hit on her. She liked how he helped many of the athletes through their classes and admired how he handled his money. She felt if she had sex with him he'd treat her right and would be discreet. She was correct on both of these accounts. For the next year and half the two of them were exclusive lovers. It ended when he graduated and moved back to Montana. Only a few close friends suspected the two of them were having sex.

Having an exclusive lover became her pattern. She had six more lovers over the next nine and a half years. These men were of: varying races, varying ages, varying physical appeal, varying interests, and varying sexual tastes. All of them were responsible, none of them drank, none of them used drugs, and none of them would ever be considered players. She never once accepted a man's advances. Each of these men were surprised when she approached them. She approached each one differently but the message was the same. She wanted a discreet lover who would never lie to her and she would never lie to them. She always avoided men who were in a position of power, had dealings with her business, or were involved with another woman. Her rule was, if one of these men found another woman to have a relationship with, they would stop having sex.

She had other standards. She strongly believed in honest communication. She never once faked an orgasm. She never criticized a guy for his desires as she didn't want to be criticized for hers. She'd never put up with a guy crossing her boundaries. These boundaries were based upon the chemistry she felt toward a lover. Her longest lover lasted just under three years. Her best lover lasted a year and a half. Her shortest was four dates. She felt this was three to many. She hoped to never experience a lover like him again. Twice she experienced the difficulty of breaking it off with guys who asked her to marry them. Her lover of three years was one of these men. The other guy lasted six months. Her three other lovers lasted four to eight months. Two of these lovers fizzled out over time. She respected the lover who found a woman he wanted to have a long term relationship and broke it off with her before dating the other. She never intended to hurt any of the men she was with and she never once led any of her lovers on.

She no longer believed this was the best approach. She wished she would have dated with the intention of being married. She was feeling a strong desire to be loved and to love someone else. She enjoyed the sexual experiences but was feeling the consequences of living this way were to great. The type of guys she wanted to marry were now married. Single guys her age seemed to be irresponsible and selfish. A deep concern was the possibility she wouldn't find a good man to fall in love with. A nagging thought, was the idea a good man, wouldn't want to date her because of her past sexual experiences.

The moving truck stopped short of the garage. The guys stepped out and went to the back of the truck. They slid open the back door, pulled out the ramp, and set it on the driveway.

She yelled, "In a second I'll open the garage door."

One of the guys waved to her.

She swung her purse over her shoulder. Grabbed her keys. Slipped her phone into her purse. Grabbed a piece of paper with the code number of the garage door written on it. She shut the door to her Jeep. She quickly stepped up to the garage door. Next to the garage door was a small panel with a gray door. She flipped open this small gray door and studied the keypad. She glanced at her handwritten note and typed in the number. Nothing happened. She tried it several more times and nothing happened. Her next move was to enter her condo through the back door.

She stepped into a back living room. To her left, against the back wall of the condo, was the door to the garage, and a closet. A few feet to her right were the sliding glass doors that led to her backyard. Four feet from the sliding door was a wall and a half bath. This wall supported the stairs going to the top floor. It was easy to see the bottom few steps. They were carpeted and went out into the living room. Next to the stairs was a supporting wall. On the opposite side of this supporting wall was the stairs to the basement. There was a door in front of these downstairs steps. Across from both sets of stairs was a den. In the back left side of this living room was a supporting wall. Behind this supporting wall was a large kitchen. Because of the opening between this supporting wall and the stairs it was easy to see the large front living room, the picture window, and front door.

She made a quick left. Unlocked the door to the garage and stepped in. She reached over and hit the button to the garage door. Again nothing happened. This was frustrating. It had worked when she viewed the condo. It would be so much easier if the movers went through this wider entrance.

She heard a male voice through the back door, "Hello."

She never heard this voice before.

She stepped into her condo.

Standing at the back door was an in shape Caucasian male in his early forties. He was wearing green joggers, a green and gold hoodie with a name of a football team written on the front. He covered his graying dark hair with a baseball cap that matched his hoodie. Hanging from one of his ears was an earbud. His cell phone was attached to his arm by a strap. It was obvious he had been running.

She stood where she was, "Yes."

"Hello. My name is Shawn. I live in the corner condo."

"Nice to meet you."

"The movers told me you're having trouble with the garage door?"

"Yes."

"Sometimes maintenance will turn off the garage door opener when the condo has been empty for awhile."

"Oh."

She stepped back into the garage and looked up at the opener. The manual switch was turned off.

She stepped outside. It was obvious he checked her out. The fact he quickly focused on her eyes and not on her breasts impressed her.

"My name is Harmony."

"Nice to meet you."

"Likewise."

She smiled.

He liked her smile.

She mentioned, "I don't own a ladder tall enough to reach the switch."

"I'll go and get a ladder."

"That'll be great."

He ran to his corner condo. It was obvious he ran a lot and most likely participated in aerobics. What she found appealing was his muscle tone. He had muscles but wasn't a body builder.

She focused.

She fixed the back door so it would stay open. She led the movers into her condo. She instructed the movers to bring in boxes and small items until the garage door was fixed. Most of the boxes were purchased from a popular hardware store with the symbol of the store printed on the side. She wrote on the top of each box a number, a room the box was to placed in, and what was in the box. She quickly took the movers on a tour and what the rooms were.

Debbie was the one who suggested this system. She was her best and most organized employee.

Harmony stepped outside to watch the movers progress. This is when Shanice parked her SUV behind Harmony's Jeep Cherokee.

Harmony met Shanice at the first business conference she attended. Shanice led several presentations at this conference. After attending one of these presentations, Harmony made sure to attend all the ones Shanice ran. On the last night of the conference Harmony and Shanice went out to dinner and talked. Harmony wanted to know everything Shanice knew about running a business. She was transfixed as Shanice explained how she built her medical lab and delivery service. Harmony considered Shanice a mentor and a best friend. Harmony was one of Shanice's brides maids.

Harmony felt Shanice should have stayed home. Shanice was: in her mid thirties, darker skinned, an oval shaped face, rounded chin, soft jaw line, short but wide nose, noticeable cheeks, and a nice smile. When she smiled: her upper lip stretched out, her full lower lip became noticeable, her small cheeks became well defined (they were directly under her dark eyes), and her upper teeth became visible; her teeth were always clean and straight. She was eight months pregnant with her first child. Her: small breasts hurt, she felt as if she lost the shape of her breasts for ever, her legs hurt, and her feet hurt. She was thankful for her padded backside. Even though she was pregnant she still worked out and ate extremely healthy.

She was wearing a light green knit ribbed long sleeved maternity top, dark blue over the belly maternity jeans, and athletic shoes. She accessorized with a dark blue newsboy hat and stud earrings. She was without makeup. Even though it was cool outside she felt hot.

Immediately Harmony said, "You didn't have to show up."

"Why wouldn't I?"

Harmony wouldn't argue.

Shanice unbuckled herself and shifted the seat as far back as possible.

"Help me."

Harmony grabbed Shanice's hand and gently led her out of the SUV.

Once on her feet Shanice reached into the vehicle and grabbed a gift bag.

"Here's a housewarming gift."

"You didn't have too."

"Sure I did. This is a wondrous occasion."

Harmony admitted, "I'm excited."

"You should be. You've earned it."

Shanice shut the vehicle door and turned toward the moving truck.

"I'm assuming that is your condo?"

"Yes it is."

"Looks nice."

"It needs work but I like it."

"That's what matters."

Out of concern Harmony asked, "Where's Ryan?"

"He's fixing Tamika's car."

"What's wrong with it this time?"

"It won't start."

"What else could go wrong it?"

"If Ryan feels it's not worth fixing we're purchasing her a good used one."

"She'll appreciate it."

Shanice without hesitation answered, "If she didn't we wouldn't be buying her one."

Harmony mentioned, "I'd like watch the movers."

"Smart."

The two headed toward the condo.

Shanice asked, "Debbie told me you gave her a raise and a promotion?"

Harmony answered honestly, "Without her I wouldn't have been able to handle the influx of business."

Shanice answered, "I felt she was the person you needed, No hard feelings if you ever need to let her go."

Harmony answered, "I hope she doesn't leave. Everyone likes her. She's great with customers. A bonus is how organized she is."

"Ryan's whole family is organized."

They reached the ramp of the truck.

Shawn waved and yelled, "Harmony!"

They turned. Shawn was carrying a step ladder. Harmony noticed he showered. He was wearing a green and gold light weight jacket with the symbol of his favorite team on the right. It was unzipped so she spotted the clean graphic print T-shirt underneath. The graphic print was of a famous 1990's comedy show. She ended up liking this TV show after watching it with one of her lovers.

She imagined Shawn leading an aerobics class or riding a stationary bike.

Shanice asked in a whisper, "Who's he? And why is he carrying a ladder?"

Harmony whispered back, "He's going to turn on my garage door opener."

"Why was it turned off?"

"Maintenance turns it off when a condo has been empty for a while."

Shanice smiled, "I'll go inside and start opening boxes."

Shawn met them.

"Just a second."

He answered, "Okay."

Harmony turned to one of the movers, "Did you bring in the folding chairs?"

"No. They're at the end of the truck."

"Would you please set one of them up in living room? It'll be for my friend Shanice."

"No problem."

The mover helped Shanice. She first asked for a box cutter. She had him move a pile of boxes next to her. He did so. She gave him her business card and encouraged him to apply at her company.

Harmony led Shawn into the garage. In a short time the garage door was opened. They stepped over to the electronic panel of the door opener. He showed Harmony how to select her own pass code. Shawn was polite and turned away as she put in her own number. As soon as the door was working the movers started to move her furniture into the condo.

Shawn offered to help. She politely declined. If she knew him better she would have gladly accepted. She explained between the movers and her friends she'd do fine. He accepted this with grace and told her if she ever needed anything to knock on his door.

He headed back to his condo carrying the step ladder.

As Shawn headed back to his condo two of Harmony's friends arrived. A few minutes later Debbie showed up. In the next few hours four more of her friends showed up. Harmony was thankful two boyfriends and a husband were along. Just before lunch Ryan and Tamika arrived. Everyone was excited to inspect Tamika's new car. It was used but had low miles on it. Tamika was overjoyed to have a reliable car.