Random Blessings: A Fashion Addict's Path to Compassion

By Talisa S. Lavarry

Random Blessings is the story of the young and successful gift shop buyer, Tia Arbors. This fashion-savvy diva is hot, and she knows it. She is a proud graduate of the University of Carlton where she studied fashion. She is known by her coworkers to be the most conceited woman around and a force to be reckoned with.

Tia and her coworkers, Travis and Keisha, are like three peas in a pod. They both love to hear her poetry and wild stories about her many failed relationships. That is, until she loses her job and questions both their loyalty.

Not only does she lose her job, she loses it at one of the most critical times in her life, at the launch of her self-published magazine, Fashion Addict. Tia struggles with depression, isolation and thoughts of defeat. She loses everythingher dog Skittles, people who love her, her apartment, her church and more.

Soon after she lands a job at a local restaurant and reunites with a gentleman shed met months before at a club. Fate leads them through family crises and personal secrets that threaten to terminate their relationship. She soon discovers that she and her new love have some serious issues to work through.

The reader will be on the edge of their seat as they experience the ups and downs and highs and lows of this melodramatic character.

Will this fashion deprived diva always have to settle for working in a restaurant? Does she recover from the isolation she has placed herself in? Will her newfound love last through all of the uncertainty?

Prepare to laugh, cry, and learn as you discover Random Blessings: A Fashion Addicts Path to Compassion.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 20, 2009
• ISBN: 9781469114415

Talisa S. Lavarry

Author’s Bio Talisa Lavarry is a twenty-eight-year-old native of Shreveport, Louisiana, who graduated from Booker T. Washington High School in 1998. She immediately moved to Baton Rouge, enrolling in Southern University. She later transferred to Bossier Parish Community College, where she graduated with a degree in psychology. Talisa then went on to the University of Louisiana at Monroe where she pledged at Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and obtained a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer science, focusing on fashion merchandising and marketing. Talisa currently lives in Dallas, Texas, with her Yorkshire terrier, Colby.

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Copyright © 2009 by Talisa S. Lavarry.

ISBN:              Softcover               978-1-4415-0412-8

                        eBook                   978-1-4691-1441-5

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR

Chapter 1

Jackpot

Chapter 2

T-fame

Chapter 3

A Full Day’s Work

Chapter 4

Past Due

Chapter 5

Club Elite

Chapter 6

Fireworks and Barbecue

Chapter 7

Active Faith

Chapter 8

Fashion Addict

Chapter 9

Alpha Alpha Alpha

Chapter 10

Extreme Pressure

Chapter 11

Desperate Plea

Chapter 12

Love Waits

Chapter 13

Love Lives

Chapter 14

Baby Daddy

Chapter 15

Collision with Destiny

Acknowledge His Grace

This book is dedicated to my late godmother, Patricia A. Carter. When she gave me a book about publishing, I knew I had to finish this project if it was the last thing I’d do. This book is also dedicated to the masses of people who have been mistreated and misunderstood due to their lack of resources and to the homeless and those who are two paychecks away from being there.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book has been a long time coming. I have picked it up and put it down several times, but I believe that God’s timing is strategic and perfect. I’ve wanted to do something great with my writing skills for some time now. After much counsel and preparation from my God and Savior, my dream has finally come to fruition. I want to acknowledge those that have imparted value and strength in my life in one way or another. To my parents, Robert and Debra Lavarry Sr., thank you both for being the vessels that aided in my creation and brought me into this world. My brother and sister, Robert and Brianna Lavarry, you’ve both inspired me in unspeakable ways throughout life—I love you. My friend and my sister, Anndrea Wells. Thank you for your honesty, love, and, most importantly, patience. I admire the gift of giving and concern that lies within you. My sorors, Mica Taylor and Natalie Williams, you’ve both weathered the storms with me and showed me the meaning of true sisterhood. To my friend Chakita Jefferson, thanks for your encouragement and your friendship that has been most exciting, fun, and unique, to say the least. You have a rare gift of sincere positivity and I thank God for blessing me with you as a friend. My cover model and my friend, Toiya Stiggers, thank you for being a super source of relief and entertainment when I needed it most. To my editor, Ricki Walters, I thank God for you and your wisdom. Last and most importantly, I give praise and thanks to my Lord and Savior. Lord, when you do it, you do it. There is none like you! I’ve opted to be very selective in those that I acknowledge publicly, but there are a host of family, friends, and acquaintances that have aided in my growth and development throughout this project. You know who you are. Please know that I am grateful for each and every one of you. Without each of you, the birth of this would not have the significance that it does. You have all been a part of a miracle. You are blessings that came randomly throughout my life.

Thank you a million times for everything.

NOTES FROM THE AUTHOR

Although this book is fictional, a great deal of the events that take place in the main character’s life are extremely similar to situations that I have encountered. My love for fashion, drama, poetry, society, and God are strongly depicted in the life of Tia. This project has been extremely trying, but at the same time, it has served as an escape from some very low points in my life. It has given me an outlet as well as an opportunity to be heard. I pray that it serves as education and awareness about issues that many in my niche reading audience often fail to acknowledge. I am honored to have received the vision and gift from God to move forward on this project. When reading this novel, I challenge you to truly embrace Tia, enjoy her good times, empathize with her struggles, and allow your compassion to grow with hers.

Laugh, cry, love, and be loved.

Chapter 1

Jackpot

I am a twenty-three-year-old honors graduate of the University of Carlton, where I so graciously received my degree in fashion merchandising and marketing. The curriculum that I mastered with honors certified me to study niche markets and the purchasing power associated with the vast majority of consumers. I also learned how to properly merchandise goods as well as several techniques that are helpful in maintaining and increasing revenue. I just thought I’d let you know. My nerves were on edge as I delivered this speech. I was beginning to grow extremely tired of telling people off at work, but Ms. Betty had pushed me to the limits. I wouldn’t normally carry on in such a way on the sales floor, but after being talked about by this old hag, and disrespected, I could no longer hold my peace.

Ms. Betty was the manager of the informational technology department and would quite often have to come into my office when my computer was down. This particular day was not one of my best as I was suffering with several premenstrual symptoms including cramps that barely allowed me to stand up straight. I hadn’t had the chance to take a Pamprin to help relieve some of my stress. I had a feeling that day, when I saw her walk in, that I would end up letting her have it, fool style.

A group of curious onlookers stopped in their tracks a few feet away and listened in awe to the tone of voice I was using as I delivered such a superficially professional and overdramatic speech.

Oh, that’s good, Ms. Betty said as she nervously shook her head full of thin gray hair. To me, at least, it seemed she was nervous, but then again, Ms. Betty’s head always shook like a bobble headed doll on the dashboard of a Corvette going ninety miles per hour. I just figured she must have had a stroke, some bad nerves, or something. Ms. Betty was an old white lady, about four feet eleven inches tall, and she had to weigh at least 250 pounds. She was in her late ’50s, and she often wore floral dresses that seemed to have been with her all her life. To say her wardrobe was outdated would be a drastic understatement. Also, Ms. Betty, I began again, if you check the statistics, you will quickly see that the Jackpot Store’s numbers have skyrocketed since I took over a year ago. I looked her square between the eyes and didn’t dare blink. I was determined to make her look away first. Well, she said in a matter-of-fact manner, that’s great, and it’s always good to change things up from time to time.

Now that slick comment really got my blood to boiling. When would enough be enough? I placed my hand on my hip, got right up in Ms. Betty’s face, sucked my teeth, rolled my eyes and neck, and said, Yes, Ms. Betty, you are absolutely right, and we change things around here daily!

Ms. Betty backed up, her gray head still shaking as if it were plugged into a blender. Well, I do understand as I was in merchandising for ten years myself. Her tone insinuated she was up for a battle, but Ms. Betty had me bent. I was in no mood for her attitude. I stared her down. Literally, if my eyes could kill, we would have had a casualty on our hands. She couldn’t handle a full minute of my gaze. She finally turned around and scurried out of the shop. I didn’t take my eyes off her until she was completely out of sight.

I’m sure she was fed up with my vicious, yet pseudo professional façade. Since day 1, we never got along. Word is she wanted my position and knew that she was next in line, but little did she know that I Tia Arbors was on my way to claim the position.

Now I’d finally caught that old’ bitty with her guard down. She had no idea that Rhonda, from Human Resources, had secretly informed me of her useless opinion regarding my buying skills and selections at the Golden Jackpot Casino Gift Shop. She mentioned it to Rhonda one day while they were in the break room. Despite Rhonda’s best efforts to convince her that I was making some very positive changes, Ms. Betty was relentless in her feeling that the store was starting to look like a garage sale.

Ms. Betty was just another victim at the Casino. She’d finally learned firsthand to stop bumping her gums when it came to me and my business. I was a force to be reckoned with. I truly believed that I was highly favored by God. Everything that the devil meant for me was revealed quickly, so I was able to defend myself each time with the clever mind and skill of a well-seasoned lawyer.

I’d been told by many that I should go to law school, but my financial circumstances wouldn’t allow that. I was already $60,000 in debt due to student loans from undergrad, and my income was only half of that. I often regretted going to college at all and felt like I should have just worked like the rest of the broads I dealt with on a daily basis. They were all living better than I was because they didn’t have to dish out hundreds of dollars a month trying to pay off debt. The monthly school loan payments were killing me, and nobody had a clue. Everybody around me thought I was living pretty good. I had ’em all fooled. I mean, I was the head of my own department. I lived in the most lavish apartments in the city, and my 2007 Acura sat on a bad pair of customized chrome rims.

That car was my heart, and the rims were a graduation gift from my high school sweetheart, Alonzo Taylor, or A. T., as they called him on the streets. Lonzo is what I called him.

Lonzo had grown up to be more than just your typical tall, dark, and handsome brother. He was tall, dark, handsome, fine, and paid. His almond-shaped eyes were to die for, and he had grown into his mane of dreadlocks gracefully. I remember when he first started growing his hair out our senior year. I begged him to get it cut. I hated it. Later, however, I found myself daydreaming about running my fingers through it. Lonzo had definitely come a long way. He was the successful owner of Taylor Rims and Trims, where business was always booming. Word on the street was he’d recently hit millionaire status. Although we were still fairly good friends, he was married now with two children, and just the thought of his life’s accomplishments still made me feel a little salty. Whenever I was in Alonzo’s presence, I always maintained a poise that led him to believe that all was perfectly well in my life. I often mentioned how demanding my job was and how I hated the fact that I travelled so much. I would even find ways to bring up a significant other, although most of the time I was lying. I took pleasure in knowing that deep down he still wanted me and regretted ever letting me go. I knew that if he could go back in time, he never would have slipped up and slept with my so-called best friend, Jondria Hayes.

Jondria, that scalawag, was some kind of whore. Everybody warned me about her, but noooo, I had to give her the benefit of