by Alison Mello
“Thanks, are you ready to go? Our appointment is in thirty minutes and we are starting out with massages before we have lunch.”
“Sure, let’s roll.” I wink at my friend, linking arms with her as we sashay out the door.
“I’ll drive.” She pulls her keys from her purse and we’re off to the salon.
When we get there my mother is waiting in the lobby of the salon and I give Bella a look that screams ‘What the fuck!’ She gives me a sympathetic look and I have a feeling my mother invited herself.
“Patricia, darling, how are you?”
“I’m fine, Mother.”
“I’m so excited to have a girls’ day with you two. I’ve booked us for a massage and after that they are going to serve us lunch. I’ve ordered us all a grilled chicken salad with dressing on the side, pita bread, and water with lemon.” She looks so proud and I want to scream, I don’t want a salad but I don’t want to sound ungrateful so I just thank her for setting it up.
Three girls come out to the lobby and call our names. We follow them to our rooms and I’m happy to have the next forty-five minutes to myself. The woman tells me that she’s going to give me a few minutes to get ready and she will be back, so I get comfortable on the table lying on my belly with my face through the pillow. I’m not sure why but my mind instantly goes to my mystery man. I haven’t said anything to Bella and I can’t help but wonder if he will be there tonight. She did say she saw him at an event of my mom’s so maybe I will get to see him. I can only imagine how hot he will look in a tux, or even better, his dress uniform.
The masseuse knocks on the door to let me know she’s coming in to get started. She tells me to let her know if she’s applying too much pressure and she gets started rubbing the knots out of my back.
Forty-five minutes later she tells me I’m all set and that she’ll meet me outside the door to take me back out to the lobby to meet up with my mom and Bella for lunch. It takes me all of two minutes to get dressed. She escorts me to the café where my mom and Bella are already there waiting for me with our salads in place.
“How was your massage, darling?”
“It was very relaxing. Thank you, Mother.”
“My massage therapist was just okay. I’ve had better.” Bella takes a bite of her salad.
“Oh don’t be snobby, Bella.” I give her a look because sometimes when she gets with my mom she starts to sound and act like her and that isn’t how she really is. She grins because she knows I’m right. I often wonder if she does it to stay in my mother’s good graces. I could care less about my mother and her graces.
We’re eating in a comfortable silence until Bella says, “Sandra, is Mr. Montgomery’s family attending tonight’s event?” Bella asks my mother.
“I believe they are. Why do you ask?”
I’m giving Bella a look, because I’m going to fucking kill her if she says any more.
“Oh, I was just curious,” she says with a huge grin on her face as she looks at me. She’s lucky the waitress comes over to clear our empty plates and take us off to our pedicures because I’m about to pull her aside and tell her to cut the shit.
When we arrive at the section of the spa reserved for pedicures, my mother informs me that my ex will also be there tonight and he’s looking forward to seeing me.
“Mother, we’re done, I’m not looking forward to seeing him at all.” I sit in my chair and stick my feet in the warm water.
“Oh, Patricia, he apologized, what more do you need from him?” she says, like him putting his hands on me is actually forgivable.
“Mother, how can you defend a man who hit your daughter? Do you remember the bruise I came home with? Not to mention I wasn’t happy before he hit me. That was simply the last straw.”
“I do, Patricia. He called me to explain what happened and said he apologized to you. He cares for you and he can take care of you. His family is very well off.”
“That is really great for the next sucker he decides to put his hands on but it won’t be me.” I sigh and close my eyes, trying to relax and enjoy the rest of my spa day.
“Patricia, I—”
I put my hands up to silence her. “Mother, this conversation is over. I will never go back to him, now please let me enjoy the remainder of my spa day.”
She sighs, but finally goes silent as the women get to work.
***
We’re finally done at the spa and in the car on our way back to Bella’s house to hang out until it’s time to put on our dresses.
“I’m sorry, Patty. I should’ve warned you your mother was going to be there,” she says once we are in her car. “She wanted to surprise you and I was afraid if I told you she was going to be there you would try to back out.”
“I get that, but you still should have told me. I may have complained at first but I still would have gone. There’s no way you would have let me back out of tonight anyway.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry, Patty. Do you still love me?” she whines and I can’t help but laugh at her pout.
“I’ll love you if you grab me a burger and fries on our way to your house. That salad sucked and I’m starving.”
“You got it.” She drives straight to the local fast food restaurant and orders my favorite combo meal. I know she feels bad because she even paid for it.
We pull up to her house and I practically run inside to eat my food.
“I hate that you can eat stuff like that and I can’t,” she says.
I shrug and shove more fries in my mouth. “I know you like being a model but no one told you to make that your career. I’m an author so I can eat what I want when I want. I just happen to be lucky that it doesn’t affect my weight.”
“Bitch,” she mumbles jokingly, wandering off to get some water while I finish up.
Once I’m done eating she tells me it’s time for us to get dressed. After I toss my trash I find my dress laid out on the spare bed. Stepping into my gorgeous, flowing dress I go into the bathroom to check my hair and make sure I didn’t mess up my make up while I devoured my burger and fries. I’m happy to see I just need to apply lipstick before I get into the limo.
Chapter 7
Carter
My interview was only yesterday, but I was offered the position on the spot. I officially start on Monday, but Derek, my new boss, mentioned it would be nice to be able to introduce me around. As the assistant director of our local veteran affairs office, I will always be attending events similar to this because we’ll be looking for support and donations. I hate sucking up to snobby people for money. Derek will be there, as well as some of the other directors and assistant directors, but he said it was up to me if I decided to attend. My father says that means I should go and that he’s testing me to see what I’ll do in this situation.
I was dumb enough to mention that my parents are going, so of course that made it even harder for me to say no. I know it’s a good opportunity to get my feet wet, so I told him I’d be there.
I’m hoping the fact that Patty and her friend were carrying dresses the other day and her mother is helping with this event means Patty will be there too. I don’t know if I’ll have the courage to introduce myself since I hadn’t at the lake house. I’ll at least watch for her, I bet she’s going to look stunning.
There were several times when I really wanted to walk right up to her and just say, ‘Hey, I’m Carter,’ but I was supposed to be there to watch her and I didn’t want to have to lie to her about why I was there. I figured unless she approached me it would be best for me to stay away. If I do get to meet her I pray my father is right and she’s more like Troy than Sandra.
I need to shave and clean up to put on my tux. Now that I’m retired my dress uniform stays neatly hung in my closet. My mom went out of her way to make sure I had a new tux that would fit me perfectly for this evening’s event. I walk out of the bathroom now clean shaven, and of course I got a fresh haircut earlier today as well. If I’m going to be meeting co-wor
kers, I want to look my best even if I don’t feel my best.
“Carter, come have something to eat and then you need to get dressed,” my mom calls up to me. When I’m halfway down the stairs she adds, “I made you something to eat so you won’t be hungry since we won’t be eating until much later this evening.”
I smile at my mom, whom I adore by the way. “Thanks, Mom.”
I sit to eat my huge sandwich and pile of chips. I may be really close to my dad from all the time we spent at the lake house, but my mom is one amazing woman. I can’t imagine the fear my parents felt when they found out I was injured in Iraq. I know she’s proud of me but I also know she is very happy that I’m no longer in the service so she doesn’t have to worry anymore.
If only I could figure out how to get past the nightmares and move on with my life. Although they have lessened in frequency since I’ve started dreaming about my princess. I still have the nightmares once in a while.
I can’t think about that right now, I need to finish my sandwich so I can get dressed because my mom’s going to tell me any minute now that the limo driver will be here shortly.
“Carter, dear, how’s your sandwich?”
“It’s great, Mom.”
“Good, finish up, sweetie. The limo driver will be here soon.”
I chuckle to myself as I rinse my plate and place it in the dishwasher, then go to my room to finish getting ready.
***
The outside of the hotel is lined with photographers waiting to see who’s going to make an appearance. With my father being owner of one of the most popular local banks, he is expected to show up to all of these events, and my mother and I are almost always by his side. We’re waiting in the line of cars to pull up to the drop off spot. We finally get to the front and while we wait for the driver to open my dad’s door he turns to me.
“Ready, son?”
“Yes, sir.”
My mother smiles at me lovingly.
The door opens and we step out, but I wasn’t prepared for my reaction to the flashes and the commotion from the reporters. It nearly sends me into a panic attack. I freeze as the flashes go off all around me and the reporters are screaming for us to turn in each of their directions so they can snap our picture. I’m on one side of my father and my mother is on the other, and they all want a picture of the Montgomery family. I start slipping, thinking the screams are my guys calling for help. Thankfully my father picks up that something is off and takes my arm.
“Son, are you okay?”
I shake my head. “Please get me inside.”
He gives me a warm smile like he understands what I’m going through. “Plaster on a fake smile and I’ll get you through this.” I do my best to comply. Once we’re inside he pulls me aside. “What happened?”
I take a few deep breaths. “The flashes and the loud commotion triggered a flashback. I think I’ll be okay, thanks for getting me out of there, Dad.”
“Anytime, son. Let’s go get a drink.” We head straight for the bar and he orders two scotches on the rocks.
I’m taking the first sip of my drink when my new boss Derek walks over.
“Looking good, Carter,” he says, slapping me on the shoulder.
“Thanks, you should have seen me a minute ago. I nearly lost it.”
He too has PTSD and we spoke of our issues briefly during my interview. I have to admit it was great to talk to someone who has the same problem and not some lame doctor who pretends to understand what you’re going through.
“Yeah the flashes from the cameras can get you good. That’s one of those things you’ll hopefully get over the more you're near them. Now that you know it affects you, you’ll be able to prepare yourself next time.”
“I haven’t been to an event like this since I got home, so that was totally unexpected. Derek, I’m sorry I’m being rude. This is my father, Jackson Montgomery.” I have no idea where my mom has taken off to but she does that to my dad often. She and the girls like to gossip.
Derek sticks his hand out. “Mr. Montgomery, it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“Thank you for your service, Derek. The pleasure’s all mine.”
“If you don’t mind, sir, I’d like to steal your son away for some introductions.”
My father smiles proudly and nods as we walk away.
Derek introduces me to whirlwind of people, some of whom he tells me is a formality, and some he tells me to try to remember their names because I’m likely to bump into them again. One of them happens to be the head of veteran affairs for the entire state. Our office reports to him for anything we need or any issues we’re having. Although I’m not easily intimidated, this guy does intimidate me slightly.
“Carter,” Derek says, “this is, Tobey Hanson, the head of Veteran Affairs for the state.”
“Ah, my new assistant director,” he says as we shake hands.
“Yes, sir.” I try not to look nervous, but it’s hard because this dude is huge.
I mean, his tux looks like he could cross his arms and rip the damn thing and he has a deep, gravelly voice. The guy looks like he could chew me up and spit me out and I’m not a small guy.
“You’ll be putting in a lot of hours while you learn your job and all of the benefits our veterans are entitled to,” he says. “It’s nice that you know some of the benefits already since you’ve been through some of it yourself, but there are a lot of things we offer soldiers that they don’t know about.” He sighs. “It kills me when I find out that our vets aren’t getting the help they need, and being an MP you have the heart to help people. Being up there in rank you’re used to dealing with soldiers of all ranks. Just know that in the near future I expect to be able to call you with an issue and you be able to tell me what you can do to help me out.”
I smile up at him. “Sir, my training has made me a problem solver and helping our men and women is something I’m looking forward to. I wanted to continue to serve our country, but my body won’t allow it, so this is probably the next best way I can help.”
He nods. “Glad to hear it. You two enjoy the rest of your night.”
When we walk away from him, I release a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and Derek laughs.
“He’s really a giant teddy bear, but he likes to play tough with all the newbies. Although you do have a lot to learn, he isn’t a hard ass like he says he is. I’ll tell you, though, he is extremely passionate about helping our vets, so he really will want you to learn all the benefits we can give our men and he’ll expect you to go out of your way to make sure they get them.”
I take another deep breath. “Good to know.”
Patricia
When the limo pulls up outside of Bella’s apartment I have to admit I’m slightly excited. I haven’t been out for some fun in a long time. Although this isn’t my ideal night out, I’m still hoping to enjoy myself. We walk down the stairs to our waiting car and the driver has the door open for us.
“Good evening, ladies. Ms. Fitzgerald-Carmichael will meet you at the fundraiser. She’s already there waiting,” he tells us.
I nod in acknowledgement and we slide into the back of the huge car. There really was no need for a limo, a regular car would have been fine but my mom loves to go above and beyond.
As we pull away, Bella breaks out a bottle of champagne and pours us each a glass. I’m so grateful because I could use some liquid courage. I’m a bit nervous about seeing Ben and secretly hoping to see my mystery man.
“To a fun girl’s night,” she says, clinking her glass with mine.
“Hear, hear,” I say, downing half the glass. She giggles and pours me more.
When we pull up to the hotel there’s a long line of cars waiting to let people out so we finish off another glass of champagne and place our glasses back in the holders. Our driver arrives at the red carpet drop off spot and calls back to us, “Ready, ladies?”
“About as ready as I’ll ever be,” I say.
He climbs out of th
e front seat and walks around to open my door. When I climb out I’m flooded with flashes and questions. I plaster a wide smile on my face and wait for Bella to get out of the car behind me. We hook arms and step into our signature pose for the cameras. Bella eats this up. She’s blowing them kisses and striking poses with me, while they’re trying to get my attention.
“Ms. Fitzgerald, is it true you’ve started your next book?” someone calls from the crowd.
“Maybe, where did you hear that?”
“It’s all over social media.” He says it like I should know and I do, however, it’s fun to mess with them.
I chuckle. “I have, but I’m not prepared to give a timeframe. I won’t give my readers information I do not have. Since you follow me on social media you can get the updates there.” I wink at the photographer and we walk to the other side of the red carpet to pose for some more photos.
“Ms. Fitzgerald, can you give us an idea as to what your next bestseller’s about?”
I glance at Bella with a look of shock, and respond, “My next book is a bestseller and I haven’t even written it yet.” She bursts out laughing and I turn back to him. “I’m sorry, I’m not releasing that information yet. As I told your friend over there, stay tuned for more info.”
We walk the remainder of the way up the red carpet smiling and waving the whole way. Once inside I whisper, “Thank fuck that is over. I’m going to kick my agent’s ass for telling them I was going to be here. It’s way too early for this type of questioning.”
Bella shakes her head. “Let's get a glass of wine.”
We’re making our way to the bar for a glass of wine when my mother approaches. “Patricia, darling, I’m so glad you girls were able to make it,” she gushes.
“Like I had a choice,” I mumble under my breath. “Hello, Mother,” I say louder. “Has Father arrived?”
She sighs heavily. “How would I know? I don’t track your father, but I can tell you that Ben is here and is looking forward to seeing you.”