Queen of Pain (Things YouCan't Tell Mama)

by D T Pollard

  “I just went with the flow and faked it for a while. I wasn’t used to spending money like have now. The idea of paying more for a blouse than I was paying for rent where I used to live still freaks me out. I’m getting used to it, but my mind is still in struggling waitress mode although I carry around a credit card with no limit on it,” Ashley said.

  “I know, I went into a store and this designer outfit that I loved was calling my name, it was three thousand dollars. I knew I could get it, but I kept thinking about when I would have sold my soul for that kind of money to pay bills when I was short on money. I don’t know how long it’s going to take my mind to catch up with my new reality,” Tara said.

  “That will come with time. Look, I guess we had better get back to the party, but one other thing I did learn is that there is a social order, even with the superrich. There’s old money and new money. The old money is that inherited wealth that has been passed on for decades. You know some of those products you use every day that you never think of as being created by someone like hand lotion, or laundry detergent, then out here you might run into someone with one of those last names, then you find out that it was their great grandfather that started it all. Some of those people don’t think too highly of new money people like Frazier and Brandon. It’s almost like they look at them like they are loud intruders with no class. You know, being flashy with their jets, gaudy mansions and young trophy wives like me,” Ashley said with a laugh.

  “So there’s class snobbery among the super rich, who knew?” Tara said.

  “They’re petty, gossipy and vain just like everybody else, they just have more money,” Ashley said.

  Tara liked Ashley a lot and they became close friends because she felt they came from a somewhat similar background and both went from a little to a lot without a transition point. Tara met a few other women that night and garnered social invitations that would keep her busy for a while. Once they were back home Tara and Brandon readied for bed by taking a relaxing bath together in their spa sized bathtub completed with wine glasses in hand.

  “How did you like the party?” Brandon asked.

  “I had a great time. I met some women that I think I will become friends with tonight. I really like Ashley, she doesn’t bite her tongue,” Tara said.

  “Well good. I could see that you seemed to be feeling a little like you were missing your social support system. Tara, how do you feel about planning a wedding? It feels like it’s about time to get that show on the road, don’t you think?” Brandon said.

  “Really, I feel great about it! What made you think that it was time to set a date?” Tara asked.

  “Isn’t that the main point of getting engaged, to get married. It’s time you became Mrs. Larson. I saw some of those unattached guys looking at you tonight. I’d better put a ring on it as they say,” Brandon said as he sipped from his wine glass.

  Tara almost spit her wine out at Brandon’s comment.

  “I can’t believe you said that,” Tara said with a laugh.

  “Well I keep up with pop culture. I know about putting a ring on it. Think about where you want to have your wedding, here, Hawaii or just about anywhere you want,” Brandon said.

  “What if I want to have it at home, where I grew up in Texas?” Tara said.

  “Well, from what I can tell that area is pretty rural and would be difficult for a lot of people to get to. I understand that you want your family and friends to come, so what if we had it in Dallas? Dallas has two major airports and plenty of smaller airports for private jets to land and it is close enough for your family and friends to get there,” Brandon said.

  “That sounds like a deal. Dallas it is. Now, when do we want to do this?” Tara said.

  “Within six months, October or November. We can be married before Christmas and bring in the New Year as husband and wife,” Brandon said.

  “That sounds like a plan. I can pull together a wedding in that amount of time, Tara said.

  “Hire a good wedding planner. There are excellent wedding planners in New York and I’m sure they can work with someone in Dallas to pull it off,” Brandon said.

  “I’m so excited!” Tara said.

  “Me too,” Brandon said as he took a big handful of soap bubbles and placed them on Tara face.

  “What did you do that for?” Tara said as she put a handful of bubbles on Brandon’s face.

  “Come on over here,” Brandon said as they looked each other in the eyes.

  “So you just want to skip to the honeymoon run through, huh?” Tara said.

  “Well, we want to make sure we do that right too, so we need to practice,” Brandon said as he pulled Tara over and kissed her.

  “Brandon, I thought we got in this tub to take a bath,” Tara said with a smile on her face.

  “There’s nothing wrong with a little good clean fun,” Brandon said as Tara sat on his lap facing him.

  “It seems like your glad to see me. Ummm,” Tara said as he slowly moved forward toward Brandon.

  “Oh Tara, you feel so good,” Brandon said as he rubbed his soapy hands all over her breasts.

  “Yes baby. Make love to me now and for the rest of our lives together,” Tara said.

  Brandon grabbed Tara by her buttocks as she began to thrash back and forth while splashing water and bubbles out onto the heated tile floor.

  “Yeah, that’s it baby. Give it to me! Oh! Ohh!” Brandon said as he held Tara tightly.

  “Yes Brandon! Ahh baby!” Tara exclaimed as she climaxed and kissed Brandon deeply.

  “Tara, I love you,” Brandon said as Tara turned her back to him a Brandon wrapped his arms around her.

  “Brandon I had a tense conversation with my friend Shannon on the phone a couple of days ago. She basically said that we could still be friends but things were different because we were in different socioeconomic classes now. Shannon said she wasn’t rich enough to be a friend like she was before. Shannon said that she was on the ground and I was in the air and needed friends that could understand my new life. I understand what she’s saying, but it really got to me,” Tara said.

  “You know she’s right, don’t you? You will be going to places and doing things that she can’t do and won’t understand. After a while your life will be so different from hers that telling her what you do on a routine basis will sound like you are bragging and rubbing your wealth in her face, but you will just be sharing your experiences. It’s to her credit that she was honest enough to tell you the truth. Now Ashley, on the other hand moves in the same circles, if doesn’t go to some of the places and do some things that you like, it will be because she doesn’t want to, not because she can’t. I went through the same thing when my business started to take off. I wanted to share my success and what I was doing with my friends and the more the business grew the more distant they became. It finally dawned on me that we had very little in common anymore other than our past memories. I still keep in touch, but it’s all small talk. Tara, people settling at different levels in varying stages of life is just natural,” Brandon said.

  “I know, but it just seems kind of sad,” Tara said with a sigh.

  7

  The next day after Brandon and Tara decided it was time to move forward with planning their wedding, Brandon had left for his corporate offices in New York City when Tara’s phone made an event notification sound. Tara looked at her phone and the event manager displayed, “All Day, Wedding between Gary and Tara.”

  The date had slipped Tara’s mind and her thoughts drifted to Gary. Tara wondered what Gary was feeling at that moment knowing that this was the day he was supposed to be getting married to her. What if she had never ran into Brandon in the hotel spa, would she be getting ready to say her marriage vows later that day. Tara went upstairs and sat on the balcony. While Tara looked out at the ocean she remembered someone she hadn’t thought about in years.

  Right after she left college and started her career, Tara met a man in a nightclub named Jason. Jason wa
s everything that Tara wasn’t. Tara was slightly naïve, conservative and not very adventurous. Jason grew up fast and experienced many things in life at an early age that should have been reserved for adults. Jason noticed Tara and her wholesome beauty while she was sitting at a table with her friends. Jason walked over and asked Tara to dance. Tara was intrigued by Jason’s aura of confidence and swagger, plus his good looks didn’t hurt. After dancing to an upbeat tune, the next song that played was a slow song and Jason was not about to allow Tara to leave the dance floor. Jason pulled Tara close to him and she felt his strong, chiseled body under his clothes. Jason asked Tara for her phone number and she gave it to him.

  Jason call Tara and they next time they met he took her for a ride on the back of his motorcycle and this was a new experience for her. Tara was fascinated by this bad boy that was so different than anyone she had been with. Jason was confident, masculine and reeked of dark sex appeal. Tara fell deep into lust with Jason and began a torrid, sex fueled romance with him. Tara found herself torn between two worlds. Jason’s world was a blue collar slice of America with an edge of adventure and Tara’s was the white collar corporate rat race in which she was a small mouse at that time. Jason swept Tara off her feet and thought he had found the perfect woman to balance his penchant for pushing the envelope. Jason wanted Tara to be his ride or die chick and asked her to marry him. Tara was twenty-two years old, thought she was in love and said yes, but things changed.

  Tara got a position in her company that caused her to have to travel to different offices in her company on a monthly basis. Although her travel was not extensive, that’s when she found out about Jason’s streak of jealously.

  Jason started to question Tara about what she did on her trips and if she was with anybody else. It turned out that Jason was full of distrust and accused Tara of being unfaithful although he had no proof or reason to base his accusations on. Jason shocked Tara when he insisted that she quit her job. Tara thought long and hard about her situation with Jason and decided that as much as she cared for him, she would not be happy being with a man that wanted to control minute aspects of her life. Tara made the decision to break off their engagement and when she told him, Jason couldn’t understand the idea that Tara wanted to have her own career even if it meant being away from home at times. Jason felt that she should be happy if he was happy, even if that meant that she compromised her career goals.

  Tara had reconciled that her time with Jason was simply a youthful error in judgment driven more by hormones than love, but she couldn’t get Gary out of her mind. Tara looked at her phone and found Gary’s number in her contact list. Tara stared at it a long time before she pressed the number to dial it.

  “Hello, Gary it’s Tara. How are you?” Tara said.

  “I’m doing okay. I’m surprised to hear from you,” Gary said.

  “I know, but you know what today is and I had to call you, just to see how you were handling things,” Tara said.

  “Yeah, this was supposed to be our wedding day. We would have been full of nerves and anticipation about right now,” Gary said.

  “Yeah I know. My phone went off and reminded me that all day I was getting married to you. I’m so sorry about the way all of this happened. You didn’t deserve for that to happen to you. You’re a good man and your treated me like a princess. I should have handled things better than I did,” Tara said.

  “Tara there was no good way to handle what happened. It was just an ugly situation,” Gary said.

  “Are you seeing anyone special?” Tara asked.

  “Why do you ask? Would that make you feel better? I’m sorry, that was mean. Yes, I am in a new relationship, it early, but promising,” Gary said.

  “Is it someone I know?” Tara asked.

  “Well yes it is. It’s Shannon,” Gary said.

  “Shannon, our friend, Shannon Murphy?” Tara said.

  “Yeah, we talked a lot after you left and we grew close. About a month ago we started dating. It’s been good so far,” Gary said.

  “That’s good. I’m just a little surprised, but Shannon is a good person,” Tara said.

  “Well how are things with Brandon?” Gary asked.

  “Things are great, we’ve kind of decided on a date for our wedding, well at least nailed it down to a couple of months,” Tara said.

  “That’s great, things are moving forward. What are you doing now?” Gary asked.

  “I’m sitting on the balcony looking out at the beach and ocean,” Tara said.

  “Nice. Look, I’ve got to run. I’m on my way to meet Shannon for lunch. Tara, it’s good to hear from you, bye,” Gary said.

  “Bye,” Tara said.

  Tara hung up her phone and starred out at the ocean as tears ran down her face. The fact that her friend Shannon couldn’t bear to tell her that she was in a relationship with Gary made Tara sad for some reason.

  Tara was shaken out of her melancholy mood by an incoming call from Ashley. Ashley wanted to know if Tara wanted to grab a late lunch at one of the five star restaurants in the area. Tara agreed to go to lunch with Ashley who said she was on her way to pick her up.

  8

  Ashley arrived to pick Tara up in her new Rolls Royce Wraith. Tara was wearing exquisitely fitted red leather pants that clung to her trim frame like paint with six inch red designer heels on. When she got into the passenger side of Ashley’s car she saw that Tara was wearing a pair of black leather pants that were similarly tight with six inch black heels to round out her look.

  “I like your car,” Tara said.

  “Oh yeah, this is the other part of my anniversary present. I like your pants and shoes. We might cause some necks to snap in that restaurant. Two bad bitches in red and black leather, somebody might get the wrong idea,” Ashley said.

  “That’s okay. They can look, but can’t touch,” Tara said.

  “That’s what I’m talking about,” Ashley said as she drove away.

  With that, two women that came from very humble beginnings drove away in a three hundred thousand dollar automobile.

  “Brandon and I have decided that we should get married within six months. I need to start planning my wedding. I need to find a wedding planner, find a wedding dress and everything,” Tara said.

  “I’ll help you. I love weddings. There are great wedding planners right here. In your position, you don’t find a wedding gown, you hire a designer and have it custom made just for you. This is your chance to really have a real fairy tale wedding because you don’t have any limits,” Ashley said.

  After arriving at the restaurant and being seated Tara asked Ashley a few question.

  “You have been married to Frazier for over a year now. How has it been? Do you travel with him a lot when he goes away on business?” Tara asked.

  “I used to travel with him a lot on business trips, and then I found out that they were really business trips. Frazier would be tied up in meetings all day and hosting potential big clients with dinners at night. Now we pick and choose when I travel. If he’s going to France, Spain or somewhere like that then we might extend over the weekend, but just routine trips, I’ll pass,” Ashley said.

  “Doesn’t that mean that you’re alone a lot when he’s gone? I know that Brandon is gone a lot. How have you filled your time? There’s only so much shopping and redecorating someone can do,” Tara said.

  ‘Believe it or not, I’m going to college. I didn’t go to college when I left high school and I spend my time studying and taking classes. A lot of my classes are online, but I go into the city to attend class once a week,” Ashley said.

  “That’s great. I had no idea,” Tara said.

  “Look, I need to improve my skill set. I’m married to Frazier and hope it lasts forever, but I’m his third wife. I need to be prepared if something happens and I become ex-wife number four, so I can make it on my own. Of course, I wouldn’t be destitute or anything, my prenup will see to that, but I want to be able to take what I have and build on i
t and getting a college degree will help me in doing that. By the way has the subject of a prenuptial agreement come up yet with Brandon,” Ashley asked.

  “No, Brandon hasn’t brought that up yet, but I know it’s coming, that’s the way things are today. I know Brandon’s’s been married once before, but I don’t know any details. I know it doesn’t mean he doesn’t love me, but someone with the level of assets that people like him have they would be crazy not to protect themselves financially. The only thing that is strange about a prenup is that it seems to make breaking up an easy choice between spending time to work on a relationship or just paying this agreed upon price to move on. What if someone new just blows your husband’s socks off and he wants to be with them now. He knows just what it costs to dump you and get with this new woman. If it’s not a big deal to him financially, he could just pull the plug. There’s no real incentive for a wealthy person to hang in there over rough spots or resist impulses. It’s kind of scary,” Tara said.

  “Look we have very little to worry about compared to some people. We have rich people problems and I wouldn’t complain to someone that can’t put food on their table. That ring you have on your finger would bring you more money than most people make in ten years,” Ashley said.

  “I knew there was a reason I liked you. You still have your waitress sensibilities about you,” Tara said.

  Ashley leaned in close to Tara.

  “I’m not fooling myself into believing that I’m some blueblood socialite just because I married a billionaire. When Frazier first saw me, he wasn’t looking at my brain. He was wondering about what something else a little lower down was like. Well he found out, dumped his wife and brought it home. He better be happy with what I’m putting on him in that department. These guys may be filthy rich, but that other head still thinks for them too,” Ashley said with a mischievous grin on her face.

  “You are so bad, but you’re so right. Brandon promised a whole lot of things to me after we had our first encounter. ” Tara said with a laugh.