Back to Life Series Box Set

by Danielle Allen

  “I see your tastes have grown since our Beck’s days!” Emily laughed, bumping me with her hip.

  Laughing with her, I replied, “Said the woman with the Vera Wang wedding gown!”

  Grabbing my bags, we packed up her car and headed to her house. Emily launched into a number of grievances with the wedding planning process and we discussed the expensiveness of weddings. I was able to troubleshoot five out of six of her wedding planning issues before we pulled into her driveway. As expected, everything was easy with Emily.

  “Enough about me. We have all weekend to talk about me!” She looked over her shoulder and winked before opening the door to her house. “We have about four hours before anyone gets here, so while it’s just us two, tell me everything that’s been going on with you. How’s Ty?’ Emily asked as we lugged my suitcases into her guest bedroom. Even though Emily loves her brother, she never second guessed or questioned my relationship with Ty. I knew that she would love it if Emanuel and I ended up together, but she ultimately just wanted to see me happy.

  “Ty is good. He is coming in on Sunday sometime. I’m just glad your wedding happened to be mid-week. With Jimmy’s becoming increasingly popular, it used to be he wouldn’t miss Saturdays. And then it turned into Fridays and Saturdays. And now that Thursdays are starting to pick up, I don’t know if we’ll be able to do what we’ve been doing.”

  “You mean, him coming up Wednesday evening and leaving Friday morning?”

  “Yep,” I sighed. “I’m at work on Thursdays so it’s not even like I get a full day with him or anything. But it’s nice to come home and him be there.” I looked over at her and she smiled knowingly. “But I knew what I was getting into from the beginning. I knew Jimmy’s was important to him when we met; I knew what it represented to him. That’s part of what attracts me to him. He’s so dedicated to his businesses. He’s such a hard worker. So I mean, what can I do, you know?”

  “You know I know exactly how you feel. We chose men who happen to have jobs that demand a lot of their time. But when I was feeling upset about how little I saw Anthony, I had to think about the effort he put in when I did see him. And once I started looking at quality over quantity, I started to feel a whole lot better about our time spent together.”

  Hanging up the last of my outfits, I smiled. “You’re right. You are the best, you know that?”

  “Yes, I do!”

  “So what do we have planned before everyone gets here?”

  “Well there’s something I want to do as a wedding gift for Anthony, but I didn’t have the nerve to do it without you there.”

  “Of course. What is it?”

  “A boudoir photo shoot. I am never going to be as hot as I am right now. I want to put together a personal flip book for him.”

  “Oh cool! But don’t you need an appointment for that?”

  Emily bit her thumbnail in mock nervousness, before she said, “I already have the appointment. It’s for 11:30am.”

  Laughing, I stood up and grabbed my handbag. “You knew I was going to say yes. Stop with the theatrics!”

  The photo shoot took a little longer than anticipated because the photographer thought Emily was the perfect model. Emily posed for photos for her wedding gift for Anthony. But she also posed for fully clothed modeling photos. And then I was encouraged to pose for photos with Emily for keepsakes. We had so much fun that we actually had to rush back to Emily’s house to beat the bridesmaids and hostesses.

  By 5pm, all ten of the women invited to the bachelorette weekend festivities had arrived. I met a few of them at Emily’s opening, but most of them I’d never seen before. I felt out of my element and my kneejerk reaction was to bail on the entire event. But one look at the bridal glow of my best friend and I abandoned the idea. I can get through an uncomfortable weekend for the most loyal friend in the entire world, I told myself as I plastered the smile on my face.

  At 6pm, I walked out of the guest bedroom with my packed carryon bag. “Okay ladies!” I called out to the crowded living room. “If you will lift your glasses please…” Once everyone’s glass was in the air, I continued, “This weekend will be the last weekend that my best friend will be a single woman so let’s make sure it is a weekend to remember!”

  Catcalls and yells of “cheers!” rang out as glasses clanked. “Okay now, if you will get your belongings, our ride is here.”

  We loaded onto the black and hot pink party bus. Everyone stored their luggage in the overhead compartments that were above the U shaped sitting area. After passing out drinks, the driver pulled away from Emily’s house. The buzz of excitement in the air was infectious. Emily wondered where we were going for the weekend, while everyone giggled and pleaded the fifth. Everyone, except for Emily, knew where we were going. But only I knew what we were doing once we got there.

  When we started to get close, we blindfolded Emily. The bus pulled to a stop in front of Serenity Resort & Spa. The sprawling estate had a full spa, restaurant, lounge, and endless entertainment opportunities. Once we had offloaded all of our belongings, the party bus went to park. On the count of three, I removed Emily’s blindfold and we all yelled “surprise!”

  “Oh my God! I’ve always wanted to come here!!” Emily exclaimed excitedly. Jumping up and down, they all hurdled up in a group hug, but I hung back. I remember a time when I would’ve initiated a group hug with friendly strangers, I reflected with a short shake of the head.

  While the girls all hustled to the front door, Emily turned around and threw her arms around me. “Thank you!”

  Giving her a tight squeeze back, I replied, “You’re welcome!”

  We all checked in and went to our respective rooms. The plan was to meet in the lobby by 10pm. With an hour and 15 minutes until meeting time, I decided to sit on the chaise lounge and call Ty.

  “Well hello,” Ty greeted me.

  “Hey,” I bubbled happily. “How’s work?”

  “Things will slow down in a couple of hours. It’s in that chunk of time where the restaurant and the lounge are both open and packed. Hold on for a second, baby girl.” With the phone away from his mouth, I heard Ty’s voice. “Lily, I’m taking this call in the office and I’m not to be disturbed unless it is a critical emergency.” I heard the door close behind him, before he said, “Hello?”

  “Oh I’m sorry. You’re busy. We can talk later,” I apologized, not even thinking about the time.

  “I’m always busy, but I just walked in my office so I can give you my undivided attention. How are you?”

  “I’m good. We just arrived at Serenity. You should see this place. It looks even better than it did on the website.”

  “Are you trying to get me to take you to Serenity?” Ty joked good-naturedly.

  “Please,” I retorted sassily. “I just took myself to Serenity.”

  Laughing, Ty said, “True, true.”

  Smiling into the receiver, I switched the phone to the other ear. “But I am looking forward to going to New York with you again.”

  “I’m looking forward to that too baby girl.”

  “I think about when you took me to New York for my birthday often,” I admitted softly.

  “Is that right?” Ty asked sexily.

  “Yes…” I let the word drag out as I lowered my voice. “And I—”

  The knock at the door scared me and I jumped up. “Sahara! I need your help!”

  “Ty, Emily is banging on the door. Can I call you after dinner tonight?” I walked to the door and opened it. Emily burst in the space with two dresses in her hand. I held a finger up so that she knew to wait a minute.

  “I look forward to it.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  Hanging up the phone, I immediately point at the classy, blue dress in her right hand. “Wear the blue one. Save the black one for tomorrow.” I winked at her as I tossed my phone onto the bed.

  “I love and hate not knowing what we are about to do!” Emily exclaimed ex
citedly as she bounced out of the room and back to the room next door. Laughing, I proceeded to get ready for our night out.

  Dressed in an elegant black and white Diane von Furstenberg flare dress, I sat at a large rectangular table in the Serenity dining room. Emily was on my right at the head of the table. Patricia Campbell, Emily’s cousin on her father’s side, was on my left. She was Emanuel’s age and as children, we all played together whenever she visited from Texas. But as we got older, she stopped coming to visit. And after the accident, I never saw her again.

  “So Sahara, how are you?” Patricia asked once we’d ordered.

  “I’m well, Patricia. Thank you. How are you?”

  “I’m fabulous! Call me Patti,” Patti said before launching into a forty minute monologue about her newly single status. When she finished telling me about her date last weekend, she asked, “Are you dating anyone?”

  “Yes, I am.” I smiled thinking about him.

  “I need to take this. It’s Anthony. Probably calling to check in. I’ll be right back,” Emily announced before leaving the table, grinning from ear to ear.

  Patti patted her lips with her napkin. “So tell me about your man, Sahara.”

  “Are you still with Manny?” Brenda interrupted from her place at the table, directly across from Patti. Brenda was loud and obnoxious with every glass of wine she finished off. She worked with Emily at the elementary school and they both got their teaching certifications together. She was probably my least favorite of the group.

  I gaped at her and shook my head. I didn’t even know she was listening to the conversation, I thought incredulously. I just want her to stop talking before anyone else can jump in.

  “I saw you two at Emily’s opening! You two were all over each other!” Brenda cackled with glee. I didn’t think she was intentionally trying to make me mad; however, it was clear she was trying to make a scene.

  “Emanuel and I are good friends,” I said simply and hoped that’d be enough to shut her up.

  “If that’s what you want to call it, I want to be good friends with Emanuel Mills!” Janet spoke up from her seat next to Brenda. Janet went to Delta Southern University and even stayed in the same dorm I was in freshman year, but I didn’t remember her.

  “Are you guys talking about Manny?” Cassandra, another teacher from Thomasville Elementary School, asked from the far end of the table. “I saw Manny, Mark and Q playing at that end of the summer thing at The Smoke Room. I knew he could play, but I didn’t know he could sing! Girl, you should’ve heard him! I’d seen them play before and I heard him on background vocals or whatever. But he never, never ever, sang before…not like that. He did that song ‘Gone’ and he sounded better than the original!” Cassandra added excitedly. “A friend of mine is dating Q. She said that Q said that the song was dedicated to some girl.” Looking over at me, with her arched eyebrows raised apologetically, Cassandra continued, “Ashley or something like that.”

  Patti and I looked at each other and before we could correct the rumor mill before it got cranked up, Emily returned.

  “I have shots!” Emily yelled happily.

  This is going to be a long weekend, I thought as Cassandra, Janet, and Brenda giggled like school girls over Emanuel.

  Chapter 29

  I woke up from my nap feeling refreshed. Even though we had an early night, I was tired from traveling and that awful dinner. Dinner wasn’t over soon enough for me; but I managed to stick it out. And we all were pretty tired by midnight so we each retreated to our rooms immediately after dessert. The food was delicious, but the dinner companions were mostly dreadful. Or maybe I just forgot what it’s like to be friends with more than one person at a time, I chastised myself as I made my way to the bathroom to get ready.

  We all met at 10am in a private cove at the end of each floor for a gourmet breakfast. After breakfast, we had complete spa treatments with massages, mud wraps, facials, manicures, and pedicures. Most of the women opted to get their hair done as well. Emily, Isabella, Monique and I didn’t trust just anyone to do our hair, so we went to hot yoga instead. When we all met up again, we had lunch in the same cove as breakfast. They brought up sandwiches with the crusts cut off and other finger foods that didn’t amount to a hearty breakfast. I rubbed my belly as it grumbled and looked at the clock. It’s almost 7pm…there’s not much time before dinner, I thought as I grabbed my phone. We all planned to meet in the lobby at 8pm.

  Sahara Lee: I’m about to start getting ready. Are you up?

  Emily Mills: Yeah… I wasn’t able to take a nap. I’m too excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  Sahara Lee: LOL GOOD! Will you send a reminder text to let everyone know that we are leaving at 8pm?

  Emily Mills: Of course! And thanks again!

  Sahara Lee: You are more than welcome!

  This is the type of friend Emily has deserved all these years, I thought, pleased with the difference the last six months had made to my relationships. I smiled to myself as I styled my hair in a faux-hawk, pinning my hair in place with gold combs that just barely showed. I kept my make-up minimal with gold, shimmery eye shadow and a tinted gloss.

  Carefully, I squeezed into the white Herve Leger stud-bodice bandage dress. The dress was tight and hugged my curves perfectly. The gold studded bodice shrunk my waist and made my ample breasts and hips look even fuller. I stepped into my 6 inch black Christian Louboutin peep toe pumps with gold spikes and looked at myself in the mirror. I love these shoes, I thought as I turned to check out how long my legs looked with the extra height. Grabbing my black cropped sweater and black spiked Louboutin clutch, I left the room and met the other ladies in the lobby.

  We boarded the party bus and headed to dinner at a downtown steakhouse. The food was delicious and the company wasn’t as awkward as it was the first night. The table naturally split into two groups and I truly enjoyed the group of women who were at my end of the table. I didn’t offer much in terms of conversation; however, I laughed hard and often.

  Patti was the most talkative of the bunch. Isabella, Anthony’s sister, was the youngest of all of us at 25 and she was hilarious. Monique, Emily’s friend from Delta Southern University, was extremely witty and had amazing one-liners. Rounding out our group was Emily, who I hadn’t seen as happy or relaxed as she looked over dinner. Looking at her with these women made me happy and sad at the same time.

  I’m happy that Emily has these people in her life. But I’m sad I wasn’t here for her throughout the last ten years, I thought as I glanced around the long table. Neither Isabella nor I had much to contribute when the rest of the ladies reminisced over the past, but the conversation never felt awkward or strained.

  By the time we boarded the party bus after dinner, I could almost imagine what my life would’ve been like if I didn’t push everyone away. I imagined spending my weekends with Emily, Patti, Isabella and Monique instead of alone. I imagined having girlfriends and going out and just enjoying life. When I finally got out of my own head, I realized we had pulled up to our location.

  “Okay ladies, we are here!” I announced as we pulled up and parked around the back of the building.

  Conversation ceased and excited squeals rippled through the bus as everyone peered out of the tinted windows to figure out where we were.

  “Where are we?” Cassandra called out from the back of the bus as she handed Olivia and Brenda large shots of vodka. All three quickly drowned their shots and clanked their glasses.

  “Wait one second,” I replied mysteriously, walking off the bus. I could see a man in all black standing by the rear entrance. Walking as fast as I could on cobblestone in heels, I glanced behind me to make sure everyone was on the bus.

  “Ms. Lee?” the man in all black asked as I approached the door.

  “Yes…” I said cautiously, slowing my stride. “And you are…?”

  Opening the door all the way, his friendly face was illuminated by the soft glow of the light. “I’m Darin Jones.”

 
; Instantly recognizing the name and the voice of the man I’d been communicating with for the last couple months, a smile instantly covered the uncertain expression that was on my face.

  “Hi Darin! Nice to finally meet you!” I shook his hand firmly.

  “We have everything set up for you in the VIP Lounge. Are you ready?”

  “Yes!” I clapped my hands twice before rubbing them together. “Let me go get the others.”

  I walked over to the bus and as soon as the driver opened the door, the ladies quickly filed out. The excitement in the air was palpable.

  “Okay ladies… follow me,” I called over my shoulder as I headed toward the rear entrance.

  Emily grabbed my arm and I assumed all of the other ladies followed suit as we became a caravan of provocatively dressed women. One of Darin’s coworkers held the door open for us as we followed Darin through a dimly lit hallway, up a flight of stairs. As we got closer, we could hear the pounding beat of the music. The walls seemed to shake with each step. I heard eager squealing behind me as we approached a large door. Darin looked back and smiled before swinging the door open. Everyone screamed.

  “Welcome to Paradise, ladies. Have a good time,” Darin said as we entered the VIP Lounge situated right above the DJ booth. Typically reserved for celebrities and other high profile patrons, Club Paradise’s VIP Lounge was the best spot in the club with its large couches, private dance floor, personal waitress, and view of the entire club.

  While we were soaking in the view from the balcony of the VIP Lounge, the waitress brought in a tray full of champagne glasses. We toasted to kick off the bachelorette festivities and after the DJ gave us a shout out, the celebration began. We danced to everything. We sang loudly. We spilled drinks. We had a ball. At 2am, we drunkenly trudged to the party bus. Cassandra, Brenda, and Olivia were sloppy drunk and needed to be helped to the bus. Emily was tipsy enough to continue singing off-key long after the music stopped playing, but with it enough to have a text conversation and walk to the bus without tripping. I didn’t drink much at all as I wanted to make sure everything went well. Everyone else fell somewhere in between being drunk and tipsy.