Capricorn
Chapter 15
Behavior and Personality Traits
The typical Capricorn man:
* is dignified in his manner and very polite
* seems unapproachable and self-protective
* is totally reliable in pursuit of an aim
* takes his time sizing up other people before he will relax enough to share his inner warmth
* seeks honor but is not interested in becoming famous; on the contrary, he avoids publicity
* has strong opinions but is not at all vain
*
Kim's words did set Taye's mind at ease. He laid down on the couch but cried himself to sleep. When the sun rose and its rays hit his face the next morning, he sat up quickly and grabbed his phone. He searched for the Capricorn's number. He knew them as early risers and they would be up by now. He didn't have to speak to Adena, he just needed to know that she was ok, safe, and sound.
He waited as it rang...
Meanwhile, on Long Island, Adena's parents were a little slow doing their morning routine. They both were up, but they haven't showered or made breakfast, which used to happen at this time. Mrs. Capricorn would make a simple breakfast. Mr. Capricorn would read the paper as she set the table. Breakfast was always a glass of orange juice, various fruits, bagels, and cream cheese.
However, they were both retired now. Routines were good to keep you grounded when having nothing to do feels overwhelming. Neither of them had that problem. They were enjoying life and on their own for once now that their one daughter was grown and successful making a name for herself in the Big Apple. Guess you could say their work here was done. They raised the perfect daughter who may even be more successful than they were. Now it was time to live their best life.
"I haven't seen Adena's gallery in the Arts and Entertainment section lately. You think there's anything wrong?" Mr. Capricorn asked his wife as he scrolled through the news on his tablet. They were both sitting up in bed. The gospel station on tv was playing. His wife sat next to him as she brushed her hair. Adena obviously got her hair and looks from her mother.
"Oh, nothing should be wrong. Remember the last time she called, last week sometime? She said they were working on a new project. Oh and their showing was yesterday wasn't it? It should probably be in the papers by now" she said to him.
"She hasn't called since last week? That's odd" he said as his wife scooted close to him to see if there were any reviews posted.
"She's probably very busy. Taye's still looking for a job so she's been working more overtime" she said. "Oh, and whenever they have a big showing or gallery party there's no point in calling her, "his wife said with a chuckle.
"It's been over a month. Taye still ain't got no job?"
"Hey be nice. You've been there before remember?" she scolded.
"Not for this long. He needs to find something even if it isn't something he particularly likes. Dena is working herself to death more than usual. Her birthday's coming up soon. She should be focusing on that. Having fun. They're young. We-"
"Lived in a different time remember? We have no idea what this generation is up against. A lot of them are overworked and unhappy."
"Yeah, and Dena will be one of them if he doesn't step up. Eviction will not look good for them and they're definitely not staying here" he said as he got up and walked into their bathroom.
"We'll...they'll never cross that bridge. They are both smart and hard-working. They'll be fine" she said louder as he walked into the bathroom. "Richie you didn't find the article-"
"Go ahead and find it Gladys. I'm a little busy here."
"Your tablet thing locked."
"You know my password is 123456," he said.
Wow, now that's relationship goals right? Your partner willingly gives you their password so you can use their tablet or phone or anything else with personal information, without a care in the world!? Must be nice. Fortunately, their generation will never be hung up on phones as the younger ones have. Looking through anyone's phone now is like walking into their closet and finding a lot of skeletons, most of the ones that you didn't know about. They didn't have to live like that. A phone password represents trust. It was just more technology to them.
Gladys put in the password and was just about to scroll through the news when a call interrupted her. Rich's tablet and phone were connected so they both rang. Taye's picture popped up which, for him, was one of their wedding photos. "Oh this is probably her," she said but looked around for her husband's phone to use instead and then accepted the call, "Hello?" she asked sweetly.
"Mrs. Capricorn? How are you?" Taye asked her, grateful that she answered.
Gladys paused. Taye rarely called them unless Adena needed his phone to call them, but that didn't happen often either. "Taye? Well, what a surprise. And call me Gladys, you know that by now" she said sweetly. "How are you Taye? How have things been?" she asked him.
Rich was brushing his teeth quickly and didn't notice how quiet it got until he turned the water off and wiped his mouth. He inspected his chin. Gladys was right, as usual, he needed to stop shaving every day to prevent people from seeing his gray beard. Beards were cool now supposedly. Supposedly Ron Isley, his favorite singer of all time, grew out his grey beard and everyone was talking about it. He wasn't one to want to bring attention to himself but if his wife said she wanted to see his natural beard, grays and all, and call him Silver Fox, who was he to let her down? He put his clippers down. His ears perked up due to the silence. He walked out of their bathroom but then saw the look on his wife's face and it wasn't good. Who was she talking to? Adena? "Gladys what happened?" he inquired, standing in the doorway.
"Is Adena there?" Taye had blurted out just a minute ago. He wasn't really listening to what she asked him. Then he realized they didn't know where she was either. They thought that she was with him...
Shit.
"Is she here? No...Taye? What's wrong? Why isn't your wife with you?" she had asked now very concerned as her husband walked out of the bathroom. Her stomach dropped. This was the last thing a parent wanted to hear. She always had a fear of her one and only daughter getting snatched up. This world was a cruel place. They tried to give her a brother or sister, so they can protect each other but it couldn't happen. So you love on your one and only as much as you can. And they sure did...
"What happened?" her husband asked again. Then she heard Taye break down. This was all too much already.
Where could she be? Where else could she have gone?
"He's looking for Adena?" she finally said to him.
"Why?!" Mr. Capricorn asked Gladys in his deepest voice, which meant business, Taye better be careful with what he says next. Women scorned were the worst to have against you but in second place were fathers of young daughters, especially the daughters that were old enough to date but never chose the right guy for him...her. Nothing scarier than those two besides hell itself.
She shrugged and held up a finger, trying to play down the situation before she tells him anything else, telling him to wait a minute. "Taye!? Calm down...I can't make out-"
Rich snatched the phone from her and pressed the speaker. He was also surprised to hear sniffles. Was he crying? WHY was he crying?
"When was the last time you saw her? What's going on?"Gladys continued as she talked to the speaker. Then she put her hand to her chest while Taye told them everything. Absolutely EVERYTHING.
*
Since the need for public recognition is basic to Capricornean well-being, two Capricorns in the same family will get along quite well, providing they each have an area of endeavor in which they can succeed and achieve some adulation from others.
*
Craig rolled over on his back and opened his eyes, he glanced at his watch and saw that it was a little past 9 am. He shrugged and then closed his eyes. Then he sat up quickly and jumped off the couch, "Shit" he said as he ran toward his room. He was late for work. He opened his bedroom door and stopped short when he saw Adena laying there peacefully. Then he remembered everything that happened yesterday. He got laid off, went to the bar, and drank off his sorrows, and that's where he met Adena, he bought her drinks and they got to know each other, she gets pretty drunk, well they, and realize that she is sick and overworked, he brings her to his place since he doesn't know where to take her since she passes out in the Uber...and she's still here. It wasn't all a dream. What a day.
He accidentally stands there and watches her sleep. He then shakes himself out of that reverie and decides to make a big breakfast. "Stop being a creep, what's wrong with you?" he said to himself. She may not even eat it but he was hungry. He looked around his very clean kitchen and had to search for everything. Even though Adena cleaned the kitchen until it was spotless, she put everything in the wrong place. He made french toast, and scrambled eggs and was just getting started on the bacon when he heard a voice.
"Wow, that smells really good," Adena said as she stood in the bedroom doorway, in one of his enormous t-shirts.
"Thanks," he said as he turned to her, "I wasn't too loud was I?" he asked her.
Like any other time, she started to think about what to do with her day. She was feeling a little better, better than yesterday at least. She needed toiletries and her own clothes. Her welcome was over. She should leave once she's done getting ready. Buuuut...where would she go? She couldn't go home. It wasn't her home anymore. And she didn't want to see Taye. Or Kim. Or Missy. Or anyone she knew. Was that bad to say? She just needed a break from EVERYTHING. She liked being off the radar for once, instead of being on call for everyone, and always easy to reach. She didn't bother to look at her phone. It was literally a trigger now whenever it made any type of noise. Her anxiety would get so high that she almost threw her phone out the window. Everyone probably got the point by now that she wasn't gonna answer and moved on.
They were all grown, especially her, and she especially didn't need any babysitters either.
She just wanted to breathe.
Once she was comfortable with the way her breath smelled, Adena walked back out to the kitchen with more confidence. Even though he claimed that she had nothing to worry about. He started to make a plate, "Oh it's done?" she asked with a smile.
"Yeah," he said to her, he then smiled, "You seem a whole lot better," he said to her, "Are you still boycotting food?" he asked her.
She shook her head, "Oh no. I'm fine" she said to him.
"Well here you go," he said to her as he gave her a plate, "Well sit down, go to town," he said and they both chuckled at his corny wordplay. He made himself a plate, sat next to her, and gave her a pill, "Just in case."
"One step ahead of you," she said. "And I took two." She downed half of her orange juice and dug right in. She was eating like she hadn't eaten in a while. Which was true. She hadn't eaten all day yesterday really except for some Chinese food. "Wow Craig, this is really good. You should be a cook."
"Thanks. I've thought about it. Almost became one."
"Why aren't you?" she asked him.
"Couldn't afford cooking schools. The scholarships weren't all that either" he said to her, "That's why I work...well worked, two jobs...you know to save up...but now I gotta start over."
"I'm sorry," Adena said to him.
"Hey, it's fine. Maybe it's a sign. Maybe it should just be a hobby. Who knows. I'm just going to lay low and then look for other jobs."
"You should try food service. You know, to practice."
"Been there. Done that. Bought the T-shirt. And after a while, I started to hate cooking. Like who wants to come home and cook after cooking all day? So I ordered takeout a lot. Not healthy. Once you stop enjoying it, you need to move on. They just don't pay enough like the office jobs anyway. I'd rather do that" he said to her. "Well kinda...sitting behind a desk drives me crazy sometimes...a lot. It's all monotonous. And it's worse when you have an asshole for a boss."
"I totally feel you. I really wonder if there's an asshole certificate you need to get in order to be a boss. Mine would have aced it."
"Mine too," Craig said. "Though I feel your boss is looking out for you, giving you that tough love. As you can see, you get overwhelmed and overworked until you're physically sick is not it."
Adena nodded, well at least Craig wasn't depressed. He was still open-minded but making a plan of sorts. Taye was very depressed when he was laid off. It came as a shock for both of them. But she got over it quickly and pushed him to look for other jobs. He was too depressed to. Then when he was finally ready, he was too picky. Sending in at the most, 2 applications a week. That's why he is in the predicament he is in now. That's why they were in this predicament. His depression, whether he wanted to admit that's something he's battling, played a huge part in where they are now. She then heard Craig say something and she said, "Huh?"
"Did you sleep alright?" he asked her again.
"Oh yeah, your bed is comfy. I think I've slept more than I have in weeks. Thank you."
"Well I'm glad it was good for something," he said to her. Then they heard a cell phone ring. "I think that's yours."
"I know. It is. It's probably...just pretend it's not..." she said quietly.
He nodded, it finally stopped and she slowly was normal again."I bet people are looking for you. I mean I did kind of kidnap you."
"No you actually saved me," she said sincerely, "They'll be ok. We're grown. I just needed to get away from everyone, everything," she said to him, then she stopped, "You don't think I'm using you do you?"
"What? No" he said with a small laugh, "It was never your idea to come here. I'm just-"
"Just what?"
"It's none of my business..."
"Just what??" she asked again.
"Every time the phone rings, you get all sad. I mean I bet your friend you were staying with is worried."
"Was. I know she was. I know she is. I'm just...I just don't feel like explaining myself. What happened yesterday...she'll be fine."
"Obviously not if she keeps calling."
"That wasn't even her, that was my husband," she said quickly. Then she stopped and sighed, "Well ex-husband."
Jesus Christ that was so hard to say. She scowled some, just saying it made her want to throw up. But she's done enough of that.
"If he's your ex, why is he still calling?" he asked her.
"I don't know! He probably wants to apologize again for everything that happened. I mean he isn't officially an ex-husband yet. We haven't even talked about the divorce officially. I only moved out a few days ago."
Craig looked at her with concern, "Oh I'm sorry" he said to her. He knew about the divorce but he didn't know that it was still so fresh. That literally just happened. It explained a lot, everything really, it was literally making her sick, still practically burning her. He took her hand, "I'm sorry" he said again. He couldn't imagine how difficult and different a divorce is compared to just breaking up.
"It's fine, whatever," she said, she then got up quickly. "I'm going to take my shower now," she said and then walked into his bedroom.
Within seconds he heard his bathroom door shut and heard the shower running. He just sat there for a little bit, ruminating, then he finished his food, cleaned off their plates, and put the dishes in the sink. He wondered if she wanted to be left alone. He sat on his couch and stared at a blank wall, where the tv and everything once were. It was all in his room now. He walked into the room and sat on his bed and turned ESPN on. She wanted to be left alone, cool, but he had a feeling she actually wanted the opposite...
*
Capricorn males will want a partner who can help them achieve their ambitions.
*
Adena's parents sat on their bed in silence trying to take in what Taye had just admitted to them. They were in absolute shock because they never heard anything about any issues, disagreements, or arguments. They were always doing ok. Or at least Adena was. Taye's phrase as of late was 'hanging in there.' How do you go from in love, and ok, and hanging in there to...
Divorce. Divorce? Really?
"I think they're jumping the gun just a bit," Gladys said, breaking the silence. "They're letting their emotions make decisions for them. They can work through this together. That's what marriage is about you can't just walk away from it. It's a serious commitment-"
"That he broke" her husband growled. Gladys started rubbing his back again. This was especially hard for her too but of course, a father doesn't want to see his daughter hurt in any way, especially by another man who promised to take care of her. She was proud of how he handled the conversation, though he hung up on Taye and told him to never call again. He could have been 10 times worse. She hopes Taye listens to that request because...well they know where he lives. "This has got to have been going on for some time if it's come to this. Now. And this is adultery we're talking about. I know marriage is a sacred act but if there's cheating or violence, that's an exception."
"They haven't talked to us yet. Together. Or Mrs. Houghton, I know she's as shocked as we are."
"They're adults Gladys. At least Adena is. This is their marriage, I don't think anything we say can make any difference because we've been completely in the dark. I hope she knows how disgusting her son is."
"Honey-"
"And they've tried to work on it Gladys, from what Taye is telling us. Unless he's lying like he's been lying to her" he said and then stopped and took a deep breath. "If they did counseling already and this is the end result then so be it."
"You're just ready to give up because Taye admitted to-"
"Yes! I am. There's nothing he can say to me now except goodbye, Gladys. Who knows how long this has been going on? Did he smile in
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