“Knowing Gigi, she won’t disappoint.” Ted paused. His voice was heavy with weariness, and Victoria could hear it loud and clear. “I’m going to turn in now. It’s been a long day, and I need to head back to the hospital early tomorrow morning.”
“Okay, honey. Rest well and call me if anything changes.”
“I will. I love you,V.”
“Love you, too.”
As Ted lay in bed, he closed his eyes and tried to rest his mind. But his thoughts were steeped in his mother’s words. I need to tell you about my past.
As far as he knew, his mother had led a fairly uncomplicated, straight and narrow life. She’d married his father a year after she graduated from Wellesley. Soon after, they had their first child, Charles Jr. Then Lilly followed, with Ted rounding out their brood.
Carolyn and Charles Thornton had been the couple that other couples envied. Carolyn was tall, graceful, and classically beautiful. Her creamy porcelain skin, deep-set eyes, and coal black hair were reminiscent of a young Elizabeth Taylor and served to complement her husband’s “blond-haired, blue-eyed all-American boy next door” good looks. They were a striking pair and had produced three equally handsome children. Added to that, they’d been madly in love, never leaving each other’s side.
When Carolyn and Charles first moved to Boston, the aristocratic Back Bay establishment had embraced the couple, which hadn’t been hard to do since Charles had relatives in the area on his father’s side and hailed from a family base of old money and privilege by way of New York. The Thornton name was respected and highly regarded, giving Carolyn an automatic entrée into Boston’s elite inner circle. And even though the old guard had initially wondered about her pedigree, her exquisite beauty and quiet charm eventually won them over and quieted their questions.
Carolyn had never been as outgoing or gregarious as her charismatic husband, nor had she ever put her education to use in order to carve out her own career path. But she wasn’t simply a wealthy man’s trophy wife who was good to look at, either. She was the steady glue that kept the Thornton home and children in order. She was content with letting Charles take the spotlight, not wanting to draw any attention to herself. She quietly volunteered at her children’s schools and sat on the board of a local charity. In addition, she tended to the details of overseeing the family’s estate.
Thinking about his family made Ted realize just how intensely private and guarded his mother had always been about her life and her past. She was open with her love for them, but there was a side of her that was hidden and unknown, and before Ted knew it, long-forgotten memories of his mother and his childhood began to race through his mind. As he drifted off to sleep in the distant comfort of a foreign bed, he wondered what secret he would discover in the morning.
Chapter Five
A Horrifyingly Hot Mess ...
It was Friday night, and Denise was ready to call it quits. “Can you believe this heifer! This is exactly why you should’ve never agreed to coordinate this wedding,” she said to Victoria as she and Tyler looked in Gigi’s direction. The bride-to-be had just finished a celebratory toast sprinkled with four-letter expletives, then had stumbled from the podium and down to where her fiancé was sitting at the head table.
“Damn, she’s always bringin’ the drama,” Tyler added. “You’d think she would’ve grown up by now,” he said in disgust, having watched a clearly inebriated Gigi prance over to Gary.
As Victoria stood beside her two friends, looking around the opulently decorated ballroom of the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, she had to agree with them. The elegant rehearsal dinner she’d planned had morphed into a scene straight from Brides Behaving Badly, and she was embarrassed to be a part of the debauchery that Gigi had managed to create. Not only were the happy couple both pissy drunk, but nearly their entire wedding party was, too.Victoria shook her head, knowing she should have expected no less given the combination of the bride’s relatives and the groom’s friends. It was ghetto fabulous meets NBA bling, and the mixture was a horrifyingly hot mess!
Victoria knew she was taking a personal and professional risk when she signed Gigi as a client, but she felt an obligation to their friendship and, more important, to Juliet’s memory. She’d worked hard to build her reputation in an industry where very few people at the top looked like her. She’d carved a niche for herself by creating memorable affairs, not gaudy spectacles, and now she was regretting her decision. Gigi and Gary brought more drama than a daytime soap opera.
Victoria had taken care in cultivating Divine Occasions’ client list, which consisted of corporate giants and prominent nonprofit organizations, civic and community groups, established business leaders, and some of Atlanta’s most influential socialites. And although Gary was a well-known celebrity and something of a hometown superstar, he and Gigi were in a different circle. Their notoriety was for reasons that made Victoria shake her head. They were constantly stalked by the paparazzi for their drama-filled, off-the-wall antics in trendy clubs and at wild parties. They were a regular feature on TMZ, and at least once a quarter they were guaranteed to pop up in the National Inquirer or Star, making headlines for brawling at a night spot or causing some other kind of crazy scene.
The thought of a Divine Occasions event turning into a Jerry Springer–like affair made Victoria cringe. The only thing that kept her from walking out the door that very moment was the thought that had been with her from the very beginning: that Juliet would have wanted her to be there.
Juliet, Gigi, and Victoria had all been friends during their college days at Spelman, but it was Juliet and Gigi who had been inseparable. And despite the fact that they were as different as night and day, which was akin to her own relationship with Debbie,Victoria knew that their bond was strong.
Gigi had taken Juliet’s death hard, barely able to function for the first few months after the funeral. Juliet’s quiet strength had always been the perfect counterbalance to Gigi’s brazen boldness. Juliet came from an upper-middle-class family of refinement and college-educated professionals, while Gigi’s pedigree was tied to poverty-stricken ne’er-do-wells in one of the roughest neighborhoods in the Bronx.
Gigi was the product of a drug-addicted mother and a father she’d never known. But her brains, street smarts, and good looks carried her out of the tough housing projects where she’d grown up, and into a life that her late grandmother who raised her could have only dreamed of. She was the scholarship kid who’d done good, and today she was a successful sales director for an international cosmetics company, about to marry a multimillion-dollar professional athlete.
But as Victoria looked at Gigi, who was now sitting atop the lap of her groom-to-be, straddling him as she simulated a sex act, all she could think about was the old saying “You can take the girl out of the street! ...”
“This is ridiculous. She’s one minute away from screwing him right here in front of God and everybody,” Denise scoffed, throwing her hands in the air. “Do I have to come to the wedding tomorrow?”
“Frankly, I don’t know if I’m gonna show,” Victoria hissed. “But I do know one thing. I’m getting ready to shut down this foolishness,” she said, making her way through the crowd as she headed toward the podium up front.
She adjusted the microphone before she spoke, trying to paint on a smile as the flash of several camera phones temporarily blurred her vision. “May I have your attention, please?” she roared into the microphone, commanding the 120 guests to look her way. “Thank you so much for coming out this evening to celebrate with Gigi and Gary on the eve of their big day. As you all can see ... they’re having a good time.” She flinched, looking over at the happy couple, who were now caught in a heavy tongue lock. “So it’s only fitting that we end now, on a good note.” Victoria wanted to strangle Gigi, but she remained calm. “For those of you who are members of the wedding party, please arrive at the church tomorrow, promptly at noon ... sober,” she threw in. “Thank you, and have a good evening.”
Victoria presse
d the button on her hotel-issued walkie-talkie and instructed the concierge to alert the valets that a group of inebriated guests would need cabs waiting on standby out front. Next, she walked over to Gigi, grabbed her by the elbow, and escorted her over to the other side of the room.
“Gigi, get a hold of yourself! It was bad enough that you showed up at the church for the rehearsal with liquor on your breath, cursing like a sailor. Now look at you, showing your behind on the eve of your wedding. What the hell’s wrong with you?”
“Girl, I’m just havin’ a good time.That’s all.” Gigi smiled, as if everything was fine.
Victoria looked at her friend’s white lace blouse, which was slightly askew and hanging off one shoulder. Her ultra-tight white leather miniskirt barely covered her round behind, and the four-inch, rhinestone-studded fuck-me pumps on her feet screamed “Gigi does Vegas!” She wasn’t exactly a spokesmodel for what a blushing bride should look like.
“Don’t you know that the media can’t wait to see you act a fool so they can give people something to talk about?” Victoria said, shaking her head.
“Let ’em talk. Do you think I give a damn? They can kiss my ass. It’s my wedding, and I’m gonna celebrate the hell out of it!” she slurred, her breath reeking of Grey Goose.
Victoria shook her head in total dismay. During their six-year on-again, off-again, tumultuous relationship, Gigi and Gary had constantly made headlines with their Whitney/ Bobby behavior. But in the wake of Juliet’s death, they calmed their ways and seemed to have settled down ... slightly. But in the months since Gary proposed, they had been back in the saddle with their usual drama and had even kicked things up a notch.
Victoria was frustrated, knowing she had too much on her mind to deal with Gigi. All she wanted to do was get home so she could call Ted. When she’d talked to him a few hours earlier, his mother was still hanging on, slipping in and out of consciousness. He had said that she briefly mentioned a few things about her will, but that it was nothing significant, nothing revealing. Even though Ted seemed to be handling things well, Victoria wanted to talk with him again, just to hear his voice and give him comfort.
The thought of her husband’s crisis in the face of Gigi’s drama gnawed at Victoria’s nerves. “Listen,” she said. “The only reason I’m going to show up tomorrow is because we signed a contract. But so help me, if I smell one whiff of liquor on your breath, I’m walking out of the church. Do you hear me?”
Gigi looked at Victoria through her beautifully made-up, slightly glazed-over eyes. “I hear you ... Victoria. I’m just having a little fun. Lighten up.” She paused, looking like she was about to tear up. “If Juliet was here, she would be having fun, too.”
Victoria looked around, glad that Tyler wasn’t standing close enough to hear the bullshit that Gigi was trying to feed her. “Quit playing the sympathy card. Yeah, Juliet would be having a good time, but she’d also be sober, and she wouldn’t have her ass hanging out for the world to see,” Victoria hissed, reaching down to adjust Gigi’s miniskirt. “And she’d tell you to act like you had some sense ... and you know it.”
Victoria looked at Gigi and was startled to find what looked like a combination of remorse and sadness on her face. Gigi had always done whatever the hell she wanted to do, regardless of place or circumstance, and it was actually one of the things that Victoria admired about her. But it was also her Achilles’ heel that crept up to bite her. Looking at her friend, Victoria felt compassion, because at that moment she realized that Gigi was hurting. She was hurting because she was about to embark on something that neither she nor anyone else in her family had ever thought possible. She was getting married, and the one person besides her late grandmother who had always loved her and had faith in her wasn’t there to share in her happiness.
In that instant, Victoria felt Gigi’s hurt, too. She took a deep breath and softened her tone. “I didn’t mean to be so harsh. I just don’t want this special moment to turn into a disaster. Hopefully, this is something you’re only gonna do once.” She winked. “And you don’t want to foul it up.” She smiled, getting a small laugh out of Gigi.
“You’re right,Victoria.”
“The night manager and Gary’s publicist both told me that there are several camera crews waiting outside, so make sure that you and Gary go straight to the limos I have waiting out front.”
Gigi nodded. “Okay, we will.”
“Now, I have to ask you to do me a favor.”
“Sure.” Gigi brightened.
“Please don’t stop to pose for pictures, and for heaven’s sake, don’t say a word to the press.”
Gigi nodded her head, knowing that Victoria was right. “Thanks, girl.You’re the best,” she slurred with a sincere smile.
“And tell Gary not to do anything stupid at the bachelor party. I want him and his boys at the church tomorrow, on time.”
A mischievous grin formed on Gigi’s lips. “Oh, don’t worry. I have that under control. Me and my girls are gonna be at that party, okay?”
“What?”
“That’s right. I’m not gonna let some random stripper get my fiancé’s rocks off on the night before our wedding. If anyone’s gonna get buck wild and give him a lap dance and some head, it’s gonna be me!”
Victoria put her hand to her mouth, drawing in a deep breath. “You’re going to strip at his bachelor party ... in front of all his friends?”
“You damn straight.”
“Oh, my goodness.”
“What?” Gigi asked, as if what she’d just said made perfectly logical sense.
“Gigi, please tell me you’re joking.”
“It’s not like I haven’t done it before,” Gigi boasted, hands on her hips.
Victoria could only imagine the hellacious scene that was going to take place later that night. She rubbed her temple in an attempt to stave off a growing headache. She couldn’t find anything decent to say in response to Gigi’s comment, so she bid her a good night and watched her as she sashayed over to Gary.The happy couple walked out arm in arm with a thirty-person entourage flanking them.
A few minutes later, after settling the final tally and signing the remaining paperwork with the hotel banquet manager, Victoria found Tyler waiting for her as she walked out to the lobby. “I thought you were long gone. Where’s Denise?” she asked.
“Probably walking through her front door. She left right after you went up to the microphone to restore some order.”
“I don’t blame her,” Victoria sighed. “Thanks for sticking around.”
“No problem. I wanted to make sure you’re doing okay. Besides, I need a ride. I took a cab over ’cause I knew I was gonna get my drink on tonight,” Tyler laughed. “But damn, I apparently didn’t get it on as much as the wedding party.You know you’re dealing with some straight up ghetto drama, right?”
All Victoria could do was shake her head and pray that no one in the wedding party wound up arrested or dead before the afternoon nuptials the next day.
Come Clean with Information ...
Victoria and Tyler made small talk on the drive over to his town house. A month after Juliet’s funeral he’d sold the house they had lived in, opting for a smaller place with empty memories.
Victoria pulled up to Tyler’s unit and eased her car into the extra reserved parking space beside his SUV. The two friends sat with the engine humming as Victoria told him about Ted’s mother.
“Damn,” Tyler said. “Sounds like somethin’ out of a movie.”
“I know. Isn’t it strange?”
“When people start spillin’ secrets on their deathbed, watch out. You know whatever she’s been hiding can’t be good.”
“Exactly. And what if she dies before telling Ted anything? He said that she’s been slipping in and out of consciousness all day. I know my husband ...” Victoria paused. “And if he doesn’t find out what she’s been hiding, it’ll eat away at him.”
“I’d feel the same way. That’s why you gotta co
me clean with information while you can. And speaking of which, you haven’t told him about Parker, have you?”
His question made Victoria’s dull headache begin to throb. “No, and now how can I? I wanted to tell him the other day, but then this crisis with his mother happened. I can’t possibly add to his worries.”
“His worries or yours?”
“C’mon, Tyler.You know I don’t want to put Ted through any additional stress. Losing his mother is bad enough.”
“I understand your point, and I feel for Ted, because I know what he’s going through,” Tyler said in a solemn voice. “But you need to find a way to tell him, because this situation with Parker ain’t gonna go away, and I have a feeling it’s only gonna escalate.”
Victoria stared at her best friend, taking a deep breath before admitting what she’d been holding inside. “Remember when I told you that I’ve been thinking about Parker ... fantasizing about him? Well, it hasn’t stopped.” She went on to tell him about the recurring dream that seemed to haunt her. “I went to register Alexandria for kindergarten the other day, and he was there, registering his son.”
Tyler leaned back in his seat. “You shittin’ me?”
“Nope.”
“You think he’s stalkin’ you? ’Cause you know that brotha’s probably capable of that shit.”
“No, it’s just a coincidence. He’s looking for the best organizations and schools for his child, just like we are.”
“Damn, this is gettin’ a little too close for comfort.”
“I know. He gave me his business card, and for a split second I actually considered calling him,” Victoria sighed.
Tyler looked at her with worry. “But you didn’t, right?”
“Of course not. But like I said, I thought about it.”
Victoria knew that she should toss the card, instead of letting it linger at the bottom of her handbag, reminding her of the past. “Tyler, what’s wrong with me? I have a wonderful husband who loves me and needs me right now, and what am I doing? Fantasizing about a man who cheated on me a million years ago.”
Keeping Secrets & Telling Lies Page 9
