Page 98 of Invisible Bars
So yeah, I was curious; curious when he was really going to retire… fully let go. Because from the outside looking in, it already looked like he had. I couldn’t tell if he was enjoying his peace or just biding his time.
“You there by yourself?” I asked.
There was a pause. “Yeah.”
Solo vacation?
That was unusual. He rarely went anywhere without letting me know first. And him going somewherewithoutmy mama? That wasn’t business-related? Even rarer. Giselle usually trailed behind him on every trip, nagging about her luggage, the hotel sheets, or how the food never had enough seasoning. But she hadn’t said a word that time. If my mama hadanythingto do with planning it or just joining him, trust… she would've brought it up at least five times already in that dramatic, guilt-laced way only she could.
Something didn’t add up.
Still… I didn’t dwell on it long. I had enough going on. And if there was one thing I’d learned growing up with them, it was that when my parents were being tight-lipped about something, prying only made it worse. So I filed it in the back of my mind… for the time being.
I ran a hand down my face, trying not to let the flicker of jealousy show in my voice.
“Must be nice.”
“It is nice. You should try it. Get the hell out of that office, Imanio, and take a trip. Live a little. All that money you got, and you don’t even use it tobreathe. That’s unhealthy. Life is short. You don’t want to wake up one day and realize all you did was work and war.”
He stalled, then continued with more weight in his voice.
“I started the business, but webothexpanded it to an empire. But empires don’t mean shit if the emperor’s six feet under from stress.”
Pops chuckled lightly, but the seriousness was still there.
“Imanio, you have good people around you—trained, loyal, and scared enough not to mess up. The business will survive without you hovering over it for a few days. Trust me. That’s what you hired them for. You think I ran everything myself back in the day? Nah. I took breaks. I disappeared sometimes. It kept me sharp and gave me perspective. You need that too.”
Pops dropped his voice a notch, like he meant the next part the most.
“Otherwise, all this... the money, the power, the name... it starts owning you instead of the other way around.”
Then, after a long pause, “Take some time away from work, son. You don’t have to go on a luxury vacation, although I would prefer that option. But at least take a week off to just breathe—for once. No contracts, no press calls, no pretending to be unshaken when everything's on fire. Just one week where nobody’s demanding more of you, and where peace isn’t something you have to buy or bargain for. Just silence. Just… you. You’d be surprised what your mind might whisper to you when everything else gets quiet.”
I let the words hang in the air. Something about the way he said it made me feel like he was talking about more than just plane tickets and resorts.
“Yeah… maybe,” I replied, noncommittal.
“So, what’s new in your world?” he asked.
I traced lazy patterns on the desk, debating if Naji was a topic I was ready to open up.
“I finally hired another publicist,” I mentioned instead.
“Oh?” He sounded genuinely impressed. “I must say, that’s the best news I’ve heard all week. You finally got tired of your mother being your mouthpiece, huh?”
“She still gon’ be that, but hell yeah.”
“Well, smart move. I’m proud of you, son… although your mother may not be happiest that you’re demoting her. You haven’t told her already, have you?”
“No. The girl was officially hired today.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll be back in a few days. When I do, I want to hear all about this new publicist.” He sighed with contentment. “I also need to talk to you about something else when I return.”
“Everything good?”
“Everything isgreatactually, but we’ll talk when I return.”
That immediately raised another flag. My father wasn’t the type to postpone conversations unless it was something big… something delicate.
