Shayla shared her dream of becoming a clinical psychologist and starting her own practice either in Birmingham or in one of the surrounding cities. She knew the dire need for affordable mental health care in Alabama. Watching her mother and brother fight battles with bipolar disease made her more determined than ever to help people suffering with debilitating psychological problems. That was a cause that she was passionate about. At seventeen, she had her life mapped out. By twenty-four, she would be helping the mentally challenged live a better life. By the age of twenty-eight, she'd find the perfect husband. By thirty, she would travel the world over and start a family. Also by that time, she would own a three-story home with a red Corvette sitting beside the latest sport-style Mercedes in her four-car garage.
She had not come from much, but her goals for a picturesque future were far bigger than what she could see with her eyes. When her grandmother told her, "If you work hard to overachieve, Sweet Pea, everything you desire in this world will be at your fingertips," she took those words to heart.
As far as her relationship with Titus, things were going so well that after a few months the duo had gone on a few dates, spoken on the phone at all times of night, and she even skipped school a few times to hang out with him. They were inseparable. Seeds of puppy love were planted. History was in the making. On her graduation night, she gave to him her most precious gift - her virginity. When they left her graduation party, they could barely keep their hands off each other. When they consummated their relationship by making love, he had no doubt in his mind he wanted Shayla on his side as his main girl, and Shayla loved the idea of spending the rest of her life with him.
That next morning, she had to talk to someone, so she called Rhonda to tell her about her night with Titus.
"Girl, last night everything was so special. Titus bought me roses, a necklace, and a ring!" she told Rhonda when she answered on the third ring.
Rhonda said, "You finally gave up the cookie, huh?"
"Yeah, and it was so nice!"
"Do tell." Ronnie said.
"Besides the fact that I love him like my next breath, all I can say is that man is everything! Can you say three snaps in a circle? That man… that man!" Shayla stopped, as if the sheer memory of the prior night had taken her on a ride.
"Oh, you are going to have to give up the goods! Give up the goods." Ronnie said impatiently.