To Be Fated To A Mate

CHAPTER 1

July, 1993

Tonya Willows was officially homeless. Well, at least until she figured out what to do now that her grandmother’s estate had been sold. The lawyer said it would take a week or two before everything was settled and she had access to the trust. 

She stared down from the balcony of her best friend’s apartment in New Orleans. The sun was setting on the party starting down in the quarter. Soon the streets would be filled with shouting and laughing and drinking. It didn’t have to be Mardi Gras for there to be a party. New Orleans in the quarter was a party every night of the week. 

The sound of a weeping sax carried all the way from the end of the street and brought a tear to her eye. The rich tones reminded her of her grandparents. Her grandfather used to play the saxophone for her grandmother every night. They’d loved each other so much. Loved her too. She’d been with them since she was twelve months old, when her parents had been killed during a mugging. They’d gone out one night for a date…and never came back.

The sun was setting, leaving the sky a multitude of reds and oranges that would swiftly turn purple. Her life was about to change too, at least it felt like it. She’d finished school, was looking for a job at the local hospital. She’d also put in her resume at a few of the local nursing homes. The school said she’d have a job as a respiratory therapist lined up by the end of the month.

So many changes.

“Are you gonna stay inside and mope again?” Brit called from the kitchen. “I’m ready to get out tonight, girl. You need to get out and loosen up a bit. I’ll be the designated wing girl tonight. You get drunk and enjoy yourself.” Her friend joined her on the balcony and hip bumped her. Tonya turned to her friend and smiled. 

“It’s weird not having anything to do. No one to take care of. I never realized how much I needed that in my life until…”

“Hey,” Brit cooed, wrapping her arms around Tonya’s shoulders. “That’s why you’re a therapist or whatever. So you can take care of people all day long. And plus, the second you find a man who isn’t a douche nozzle, you’ll be playing nurse in no time.”

“Please don’t bring up Bob.” Tonya shuddered. “He was the longest mistake I’ve ever made.”

Brit snorted. “You were only with him three weeks. That’s a record.”

“I know. That’s why he was the longest mistake.” Tonya leaned her hip against the wrought iron railing of the balcony and pulled in a deep breath. The sounds of the city were louder here. Her grandparent’s house had been in a garden district, quieter, away from the bustle. She would miss that. But it was time to move forward and figure out where she belonged for real. 

“I’m telling you, when you find the right guy it’s just gonna be like BAM. You’ll never be able to let go. Just like me and Tanner.”

Tonya nodded, appeasing her friend. Brit’s boyfriend Tanner had been around since high school. She was pretty sure the two of them would end up married within the next year or so, and popping out babies a year after that. They were so in love it was sickening sometimes. Not that she wasn’t happy for her friend, it was just hard when there didn’t seem to be a decent guy left in the city for Tonya. 

Still, she wasn’t in a hurry. She’d just turned twenty. Just graduated. Didn’t have a job or a place of her own yet. She was crashing on her best friend’s couch for heaven’s sake. The last thing she needed right now was a man.

“Go get dressed. We’re going out tonight.” Brit said before twirling in a circle and heading back inside the apartment. “I gotta put on some make up and do my hair. You have thirty minutes.”

“Brit,” Tonya said, her voice dropping low.

“Nope, no excuses.” Brit stopped in the open set of French doors. “You’re going out tonight. I’m not watching another Sandra Bullock movie until I see you get drunk. And not just oh, I’m gonna be tired in the morning drunk, I want to have to make you a bloody mary and hear you moan from the pain in the morning drunk.”

“That sounds horrible when you describe it that way? Why would anyone ever agree to that?”

“I’ll watch movies with you for the rest of the week.”

“If I go out tonight and get drunk?” Tonya growled.

“Yep, that’s the deal.”

“I’ll watch them by myself.”

Brit shook her head emphatically. “Nope. I’ll be watching Food Network.”

“Ugh. No,” Tonya said, her tone more of a whine now. “Why are you doing this to me?”

“I’m helping you. Just watch. You’ll thank me for this later.” Brit bounded off into the apartment and disappeared down the hall to her bedroom.

Tonya grimaced. This was not going to be fun. She didn’t want to be out in the mess, fending off guys who wanted a quick BJ or a flash of her boobs. She loved the city. Adored living in New Orleans, but this part of it wasn’t her scene. Still, she was willing to do what Brit asked to avoid being forced to watch endless hours of Chopped and Iron Chef.

True to her word, Brit emerged from her bedroom thirty minutes later. Tonya had applied the barest minimum—eye liner, mascara, and some lip gloss. They stepped outside Brit’s apartment building into a sea of people and the middle of a make shift parade. 

“You ready?” Brit shouted over the noise.

“No,” Tonya yelled back.

Brit laughed, yanked on her hand and they started toward Lucky’s Saloon, Brit’s favorite haunt. Tonya was sure it would only be the first stop on a long tour tonight.