Zoie's Purpose: The Norton Sisters

By Kelsey Elise Sparrow

Mother Hen is usually the phrase that best describes who Zoie Norton is to her family, friends, and day care students. Despite all of the mothering, she gets to do with everyone else, her internal clock is ticking. She's decided to take matters in her own hands. When things take a horrifying turn, a light in the form of a man shines into the darkness.

 

Victor Cole is everything she doesn't even know she needs in her life. Zoie isn't the most receptive individual when he enters her world. Given what she'd just had to endure.

~ Good planning means learning to be flexible when changes come

• Language: English
• Publisher: KES Imaginings, LLC
• Release date: Apr 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9798201214456

Book preview

Zoie’s Purpose

The Norton Sisters, Book 2

Kelsey Elise Sparrow

Zoie’s Purpose

Copyright © 2019 by Kelsey Elise Sparrow

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations em- bodied in critical articles or reviews.

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

For information contact :

[e-mail]

www.kelseyelisesparrow.com

Book by KES Imaginings, LLC

Cover design by KES

First Edition: March  2019

Second Edition : April 2022

Formerly published under another pen

WARNING:

This story contains content that might be troubling to some readers.

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Kelsey Elise Sparrow Imaginings.png KES Imaginings, LLC

To my biggest supporter, my Dewdrop

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/o6dwP5LpoRRa-niLEIRjfHqXFEh2DxU3EFqYWtBdJdy9CmVFLsimeU57qvin68GZ64t_gfkm1ZUnxAa09d3OBxQqQzk9lHB1DPa7Leef8EPyVCUqf_IwGKOZxGIbKrANwCunHQWlgXgiKOBO

––––––––

Laugh

As much as you breathe

And

Love

As long as you

Live

~ Author unknown

The Links:

Website: http://kelseyelisesparrow.com

Facebook & Twitter: @kelseyesparrow

TikTok & all other social media: @kelseyelisesparrow

Also by Kelsey Elise Sparrow:

The Norton Sisters (complete)

Rayna’s Peace, Zoie’s Purpose, Nyema, A Secret for Christmas, Chyra, Lynnia, Wynter, Happy Holidays or Not

Stephanie Daniels Duet:

An Author’s Tale, An Author’s Conclusion – TBA

Boardan High

Singling Out Sable, Justice for Jenna, Mean Girls – TBA

Whiskey Sweet Novels

Whiskey’s One True Wish (Intro), A Whiskey Sweet Promise, A Whiskey Sweet Treat, A Whiskey Sweet Revelation - TBA

Inked to the Max

Kentucky Running, Paper Lipstick (Intro), Maximum Velocity

Brighton Royals novels

His Coveted (intro), Pretty Petty Princess – TBA

Mafia Romance

Triple Check, Peace of Italy – Coming soon

Properties of Magic

A Witchling’s Wicked Game (Intro), A Witch’s Last Hope (Prologue) - TBA

Once Upon a Crime

The Red I See – TBA

Anthology

Naughty Knights

The Nicknames:

Zoie Norton  -> Z. or Zo

Dr. Wynter Norton  ->  Wynnie or Lexi

Rayna Norton-    ->  Ray, Ray Ray or Nika

Nyema Norton   -> Nye or Dawnie

Lynnia Norton  -> L. or Evie

Chyra Norton  ->  Chy, Doc Quinn or Quinnie

Pronunciations:

Zoie (zo-e)

Wynter (win-ter)

Rayna (ray-nah)

Nyema (nie-ee-mah)

Lynnia (lah-nee-ah)

Chyra (kie-rah)

Prologue

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Ah, the Norton sisters! Six women who lead very different lives, but hold true to one truth, In the end, family means everything, and your sisters hold you up, no matter what may come.  They have held tight to one another through every trial and tribulation that came their way.

Zoie is the eldest and the quintessential mother hen. She owns a fairly lucrative day care on Jackson Street.

Wynter is the second oldest and the one that was determined to not follow in her big sister’s footsteps. She is the doctor of the family and runs her own office on Ford Street, the next block over from Jackson Street. She’s a pediatric surgeon.

Nyesha was the third child from the bottom, but sadly, the sisters buried her before she could reach adulthood or the potential that her sisters felt she had.

Nyema is the twin of Nyesha and the mother of Nakia, her seven-year-old daughter. She is a child psychologist who runs her own practice out of an office on Tomlin Street, which is the cross street to the east of Jackson and Ford.

Lynnia is the second to the last child and is four years older than Chyra. She is a restaurant owner on Jackson Street, just up the street from her sister’s day care. Being the last of the older sisters, Lynnia found that she was the one who had to care for Chyra and resents her irresponsibility the most.

Chyra is the baby of the family, and she is the typical stubborn, self-absorbed, flighty child. She follows her own whims and fancies as she so pleases. She tumbles through life for a while until she finds the field of culinary arts. Her life is spent away at college studying her newfound passion.

The running joke in the family is that their father, William Norton, really wanted a son after Zoie was born. He and their mother, Ella Jacobs-Norton, tried, but every child resulted in girls. Ella put the y in every child’s name because that was his response each time another daughter was born. So technically, there were seven sisters.

The seventh sister is the first to open up to love, but hopefully not the last. We’ve gone and knocked on Rayna’s door and still you’ve returned for more. Zoie is next on this world wind tour.

~ Good planning means learning to be flexible when changes come

A group of blue flowers Description automatically generated with medium confidence

Chapter 1

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Zoie

"Aaaah! Noooooooo! I WANT MY MOMMY! I NO WANT YOU! Aaaaaah!" little twenty-four-month-old Jacoby screamed at the top of his lungs.

Come on, Jacoby, Chloe, the newest edition to Mama Z’s Child Care Center requested. Your mommy will be back later to pick you up.

Yep, that was the total wrong thing to say. T-minus and Zoie knew the screaming would commence.

No, no, NOOO! I want MOMMY NOW! NO LADER! Jacoby screamed.

Zoie heard the one sound that clearly stated Chloe had lost control of the situation, Jacoby’s little feet pounding against the entrance’s hardwood flooring. The second came from the ever outgoing two-year-old, Penelope.

I go, too. Yay, I go, too! Penelope’s curls bounced as she bounded up from the colorful matt where the other leads and children were having morning snack.

Marcia, a petite little strawberry blonde twenty-four-year-old and the lead over the three-year olds made a move as if she were going to go after Penelope but paused when she saw the look Zoie gave her. Zoie’s policy had always been a hands off approach until she had to step in. Her sisters had regularly given her grief on her approach to her business and the women that aided her in running it. They all had stated on more than one occasion that she needed to have the same approach with them. She promptly ignored or disregarded their statements because each one of her lovely sisters came to her in their time of need. As to the women that ran the business, each of the seven young men and women that worked with her and the forty to sometimes forty-five six months to four-year-old children had to figure it out for themselves. Marcia knew the policy and knew that she needed to allow Chloe to figure this one out on her own. The tools were given in college and universities, but Zoie always said, Education is fantastic, but nothing beats maternal or natural instinct.

Zoie quietly pulled the door closed behind her. The cool blue room with walls that were plastered with Nick Jr. and Disney characters was where the six- to eighteen-month-olds slept until eight o’clock. She made sure all her babies were on a strict schedule. It didn’t matter if she had a new child, which the sandy blond-haired Jacoby was, or not. They all eventually learned how things worked and once the routine was established then everything ran smoothly. Jacoby had just started two days prior. His mother stated that she and Jacoby had spent every waking moment together until last week when she realized that she was going to have to return to her managerial position. Her husband had fallen ill, gotten better then left them both. She spent six months trying to get things in order. During that time Jacoby was always with his mommy. The two were never apart at least until two days ago. Hence, the complete melt down happening at Zoie’s front door.

A parent came in the door and Jacoby turned to dart out the door. His head quickly turned back then his body came with him. His eyes were big and watery as he looked up to see Zoie staring at him. She shook her head in a chastening manner. Her meaning was clear, and Jacoby quickly understood that he had been about to do something wrong. Chloe, oblivious to the exchange, knelt down in front of Jacoby and began to wipe his eyes with some tissue. His eyes kept darting from her face to Zoie’s. Chloe sat back on her heels, smoothed her platinum blonde bangs from her face then spoke softly to Jacoby.

Now Jacoby, do you want to come and have a snack with me and some of the friends that you made yesterday?  I know Ms. Jules, Samuel and Amber would really like it if you ate with them. Do you think you would like to have some bananas, Cheerios and milk with us? she asked as he tried to wipe away the tears and snot that continued to fall.

"I ... hiccough ... wanna ... I ... juice?" Jacoby’s brown eyes looked over Chloe’s shoulder towards the place Zoie was formerly standing then back to Chloe.

Zoie knew that twenty-two-year-old Chloe had him. Jacoby might have another meltdown after his nap, but she found that Jacoby loved playing with Amber and Samuel. He also really liked Honey Nut Cheerios. Zoie moved to the kitchenette that had cupboards painted in primary colors and pulled Jacoby’s bowl and cup from it. The cereal was already on the counter, so she poured the bowl then went to the refrigerator as she listened to the rest of the conversation.

...after you have juice then will you play a game with Ms. Chloe? Chloe asked.

Color box? Jacoby inquired then sniffled.

Yes, we can play with the color box and the froggy board, too. Would you like that?

Yes, please, Jacoby said. Ever the polite little gentleman, he always said please and thank you.

He couldn’t be a Mama Z’s kid without those little words being used.

She cleaned that mess up pretty good. I think it helped that Jacoby senses that you aren’t one to mess with, MiKayla teased as she walked over to the counter and poured some orange juice into Jacoby’s cup. I’m surprised that you didn’t step in sooner. You did with Dana.

Madison, a precious little three-year-old with strawberry blonde curls came over and tugged on Zoie’s skirt. She was very soft spoken and shy when there was something she wanted. Zoie squatted down and leaned her ear toward Madison. Madison’s fingers immediately began playing with one of Zoie’s loose curls as she whispered that she would like to sit with Ms. Kayla today. Zoie snickered and looked up at MiKayla. MiKayla, assistant manager and program director, was usually a floater unless there was a special request like Madison’s. Madison had grown fond of MiKayla ever since she patched up her knee after a bad scrape. Kayla loved the three-year olds but enjoyed being with the four-year-olds and latch key kids more.

Madison, honey, I think today Ms. Kayla needs to be with her class. Maybe you can visit that class before quiet time. Okay? Zoie spoke softly to her but loud enough for MiKayla to hear her. Let’s get your cup and some fruit then we can all have some fun playing learning games.

Madison did a little dance in a circle, hugged Zoie then hopped, yes hopped, off to the mini dining area that had been set up for all the older children. The feeding station was kitty corner to the dining area and housed labeled and color coordinated highchairs. It was sometimes a bitch to keep up with all the different chairs. In the six years that she’d been running the center, she had yet to have an issue with a child getting confused about which chair was their own. They usually matched whatever dish and cubby or locker the child had. It made for a very colorful cabinet and area, but these were children and they enjoyed bright and colorful things and places. Who was she to change the way things were?

Now, Ms. Kayla, you owe me for getting you out of having Madison shadow you today. You can thank me by shutting down whatever little whimsical thought you had float across your mind. Keep your quips to yourself, Zoie lowered her voice. I didn’t step in with Chloe because I figured she would handle the situation. I knew once he saw that I hadn’t left the building then he would get himself together. Dana on the other hand freaked out because Casey tossed the food at her. Dana’s mistake was one, not looking at the jar of food and noticing that it was Turner’s food not Casey’s. The second thing she did wrong was wearing a silk shirt to work at a childcare center. I mean, who does that?

They both shared a laugh and heard a third little teetering behind them. When they looked, they found Kolby’s big hazel eyes looking up at them. The one-year-old loved to laugh and usually did when she heard others doing so. She tended to get away from her class lead because she just started walking and Tonya hadn’t gotten used to having another busy child in the class. It was officially time for Miss Kolby to graduate.

What are you doing over here, Miss Lady?  I bet Ms. Tonya doesn’t know that you..., Zoie began then heard the door of one of classrooms quickly open and the tell-tale sounds of frantic footing coming up the hall. Well, she does now.

MiKayla snickered and her light tan skin fused with color, which made Zoie want to smile. Her eyes were the standard that you would find if you were talking to a Japanese woman. Her perfectly arched eyebrows rose as she fought the urge to laugh. It appeared she was going to have to have a discussion with the members of her team. Jacoby shouldn’t have been able to get to the front door.

Zoie had precautions in place, so she didn’t have to worry about children getting away from the adults. There was a secure gate where the carpeting ended, which was at least two feet before the door. The good thing about her entrance was there was the main entrance where one of the leads should always be before eight o’clock then finally locking the door. There was a bell for latecomers. Most of the children were in the building by that time.

The main entrance housed the colorful lockers and cubbies for the children’s shoes, which Jacoby still had on. Most of the time, the kids didn’t make a break for it if they didn’t have their shoes on. They understood it was time to go bye bye when they put their shoes on. Each side of the main entrance housed colorful couches for the parents to sit and help their little ones into their jackets or shoes. In the center of the two walls that were lined with fifty lockers, twenty-five on each side, was the short hallway that led to the inner workings of the Center. The kitchenette, dining and feeding areas were on the left of the doorway. The Big House playroom, the TV room and the staff office was on the right.

Once you entered the doorway there was a trail to follow depending on where you were going. The classroom doors had a different color to coordinate parent with child. The six-month to one-year-olds were in a room behind the pink door. The one year to eighteen-month-olds were in the room behind the blue door. The eighteen-month-olds to twenty-four-month-olds were in the room with the purple door. The two to three-year olds were in the green door room. The three to four-year olds were in the yellow door room. Lastly, the Latchkey kids were all in the orange door room.

The leads were requested to wear a shirt that matched the color of the room they were over. Zoie’s black, white and yellow t-shirts had a rainbow of colors on the pocket that looked like shooting fireworks. Where the fireworks would burst there were happy faces the color of the line of the rainbow. Above it all was a black arch that had Mama Z’s Child Care Center in lavender letters. Each of the leads had a name tag that they’d hang around their necks. Zoie and MiKayla had shirts that had their names on the back. Each member of the team was given one shirt that was complementary. Every shirt after was acquired at the person’s own expense. The shirts were so cheap most of the leads had three or four at their disposal. Zoie loved the colorfulness of the shirts and how all the colors blended so well with one another.

It was what she needed as the owner of a growing business. It was also what her parents needed to feel safe leaving their precious gifts with her. Knowing those precautions were in place allowed Zoie to give peace of mind to some of her more famous parents, as well.  It was one of the only things that allowed her to be able to return Carmelita & Tanner Howard’s children to them. The infamous couple had entrusted their children to her. She took pride in knowing that she was the reason that the three children were in the greatest care being at her facility. As she passed the rainbow rooms and entered the short hall that led to the main office, as well as her personal office, she shook her head. It had been a close call. She realized she wasn’t going to be able to dwell on that much now though.

Zoie moved quickly into her office as the smell of Fergie’s Outspoken Intense permeated the halls. She preferred Calvin Klein’s Euphoria. Subtle scents were always the one’s that appealed to her. This one was loud, strong and overpowering. The smell announced the arrival of an unwanted guest. The chattering that was coming from her private space made her want to scream. None of her employees would ever be so bold.

It meant that her sisters were paying her a visit. For once, she wanted to decide and not have them have to weigh in on the subject. She laughed out loud at the thought as soon as she had it. The odds of any of her sisters making a decision and not receiving the opinion of the other siblings was as