by Cj Howard
Chapter2
Chantelle looked at Justin and their eyes connected in that deep way that was so new to both of them. She had never felt this kind of tug from merely looking at a man. He certainly was good looking, but she had seen good-looking men before. His blue eyes seemed to hold hers. The color was pretty, but it was something more. He seemed to be trying to see into her soul. She took in his wavy, golden hair. He had attempted to tame his hairstyle in the guest bathroom, but it was currently in a casual state, with the waves playing about his temples and neck.
Justin was in a state. Something about her gaze heated his loins and he could only look at her, hoping against hope that the knocking on the door would stop and he could take her into his arms and kiss those full, succulent lips.
The loud rapping on the door started again and Sam said, “Come on, you guys! We brought breakfast and we want to meet Mrs. Fullerton in daylight!”
Mrs. Fullerton? Both Chantelle and Justin's eyes widened at the name. So, the rings… could it be true? Justin went to the door and opened it. Sam bowed into the room with a flourish. Although Tim was the actor, Sam was the one to work a room and make a joke out of anything. He slapped Justin on the back and courteously took Chantelle’s hand and planted a chaste kiss on it. Then, like a magician showing the way to his latest trick, he gestured to the three waiters bringing covered dishes into the room on trays covered with fine linen.
“It’s time for you two to get some nourishment. I’m sure you’ve had… ahhh… a busy night!” He winked at Justin and began to take the lids off of the trays with a flourish.
“For the groom we have all of his favorites; country fried steak, fried potatoes, fresh strawberries, French toast, scrambled eggs, and every kind of breakfast meat we could lay our hands on! We had no idea what the lady would like, so we chose eggs benedict, several other egg dishes, smoked salmon, every kind of pancake imaginable, and… oh, I forgot what else we got. But there’s enough food for about fifty people, so I’m sure we’ll all find something good.” With that, Sam grabbed a plate and started digging in to a heaping pile of steaming potatoes.
Justin and Chantelle stared at Sam as if an alien had just landed in the room. Tim and Glenn stood in the background. They didn’t seem as comfortable with the scene as Sam was, but they were also ready to tear into the food. So, Tim gave a mild shrug and picked up a plate and began to peruse the choices.
Justin patted Chantelle’s hand. “Listen, Chantelle. I know this is awkward, but I think that maybe having breakfast with my friends could clear up some of our confusion, and I would feel better if you would eat something before you leave. I’m sure I didn’t take proper care to make sure you had enough to eat last night and I feel it’s my duty to take care of you now.”
Chantelle began to bristle at the word, ‘duty’. She didn’t want any man to feel like he had to take care of her simply because of a sense of duty, but she settled herself down because she realized from his tone of voice that he was genuinely concerned for her, and it was true that she needed to find out from his friends exactly what had transpired last night.
Further, the smell of bacon was wafting her way. She rarely allowed herself this treat, and her hunger was gnawing at her stomach. She nodded to Justin and took a glass of orange juice from one of the carts.
Justin casually picked up a plate and stood near Sam. “So, Sam! What did you think of the ceremony?” Justin asked without looking directly at his friend. He hoped that Sam wouldn’t realize that he was fishing for information.
Sam had loaded his plate with potatoes, sausage, and eggs. He took a mouth full and rolled his eyes in pleasure. “Mmmmmmm, it would have been a lot better if you had had food like this!” Sam smacked his lips and dove in for another bite of sausage.
Justin tried another angle. “So, how about that preacher?”
“Ha!” Sam cried with a mouth full of food. He choked it down so that he could expound. "That woman was a scream! Can you believe she gets paid to do those weddings all night long like that? Your dad would have a cow if he saw you getting married by a woman with that many tattoos. I’m glad you didn’t go for the package where you both sat on Harley Davidson's for the ceremony.
“I mean, I know Vegas is over the top, but that was beyond tacky. I gotta tell ya, buddy, that was crazy. I mean I know you fell for Charlene fast and she is really great, but I didn’t think you’d really go through with it!” Sam’s pleasant face beamed at Chantelle. “I like you.” He said this while waving his fork in the air. Sam could behave well in the best restaurants, but when he cut loose, he enjoyed expressing himself freely and using his hands to talk. “You are obviously good people and your friends are great! I wouldn’t mind a little time with D’aja. How old did you say she was?”
Justin tried to steer the conversation back on topic. “Yeah, her name is Chantelle, not Charlene. So, how about these rings?” He flashed the ring on his finger and the diamond caught the light.
“I believe what they say now! You can do just about anything in Vegas. Those stores were something else. You can buy about anything here at any time of the day or night. I was the one looking for the rings but you insisted on making the final choices. I’m not sure how Charlene… ah… I mean Chantelle’s girls kept her away long enough, but it was worth it when you got down on one knee under all of those lights and proposed.
I about fell over. You were so damn sentimental. You were all like, ‘Oh, Chantelle, this is my last chance at true love. I can’t go home without you. I thought she would laugh it off, but she just about collapsed into your arms. It just shows how much I know about anything!”
Justin and Chantelle turned to each other. This was the explanation they needed. Justin told his friends to continue helping themselves to breakfast while the newlyweds returned to the bedroom to discuss their dilemma.
“Justin, I can see that you are very wealthy and I’m sure it’s been an adventure to slum it in Vegas for a night, but this wedding was obviously a big mistake and we’ve got to do something about it.” She sat on the side of the bed, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger, as was her habit when she was nervous or distressed.
Justin barely paused before deciding that he didn’t want her to know about his wealth. He wasn’t sure why, but he wanted their relationship, as it was, to be based on something other than his money. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the one with the money.”
Thinking fast, he used the first name that popped into his head. “Sam is the one with the money. Remember how he said that he was the one looking for the rings?”
Chantelle wasn’t moved by this speech. “Regardless of the issue of money, we have a big problem.”
“Look, honey.” He said the word before he even realized that it was coming out of his mouth. He didn’t know that he had used that term of endearment several times the previous night. She felt a little lump in her throat. As much as she hated to admit it, she loved hearing the words.
He cleared his throat, “Chantelle, I have a lawyer who can get this annulled. Just give me your information so that I can reach you. I… ah…” He shuffled uncomfortably. “Sam slipped me the wedding license in the other room. I’ll take care of it all.”
They looked at each other with a sense of regret that surprised them both. She gave him her cell phone number, work number and address, and then without another word, she left the room, passing Justin’s friends. Her silent exit spoke volumes to them all. Quietly, they went to their own rooms, knowing that the party was over and it was time to return to Manhattan.
Chantelle walked out of the hotel and braced herself as she walked from the extremely cold air conditioning and onto the hot, bright sidewalk. She had worked so hard to make a decent life for herself and she was disappointed that her evening of celebration had ended so wrong.
Then she realized that her main feelings of disappointment stemmed from the fact that she was walking away from Justin. There was something about him that drew h
er to him. He was handsome, but there was something else, too. He seemed sincere and ‘real’. Even during their short and awkward time together that morning, he was concerned for her and looked after her needs. This was not something she was used to.
In spite of her relief that she may be able to undo the mistakes of the night before, she couldn’t help feeling a great loss as she found her way to her car. At least that was not a problem. She had parked in the lot for employees where she worked. Her job as a data entry clerk at one of the casinos was boring and didn’t pay well, but at least she had work and last night she had a place to park her car.
She turned on her radio and one of her favorite love songs was playing. That was the last thing she needed to hear right then, she flipped past it to an upbeat song in the hopes that it would lift her spirits. She drove directly to her apartment and felt better as soon as she unlocked the door and walked in.
She had made this small apartment her own. Thanks to Aunt Janine, she had some fine pieces of furniture and the two of them had chosen fabric together to make drapes and accent pillows. Aunt Janine had always been like a mother to Chantelle and just looking at the bright colors they had chosen together lifted her spirits.
She kicked off her shoes and sank into her bright blue leather love seat that had been a gift from Aunt Janine. She happened to know that Janine had found it on extreme clearance, but it didn’t matter to Chantelle. It was perfect for her small apartment and brightened up the space. She wrapped herself up in the soft throw that her aunt made for her and felt as if the old woman who had raised her for much of her life was embracing her.
She picked herself up from the love seat with the throw wrapped around her shoulders and went to the kitchen to get some aspirin and a cup of tea. She was so glad that she didn’t have to work that day. Her job did pay her bills, but it was a chore to go and do the mundane work every day and receive little to no thanks for her efforts. It didn’t seem to matter whether she worked hard or not, because it was never enough for her bosses.
She had become somewhat numb to their condescension and hoped that someday she could move beyond this type of work, but lately she had been discouraged. In spite of her efforts to raise herself up through her school work, it was getting harder and harder to make ends meet and she was afraid that she, like many of her friends and family, would have to give up her education to take on another job.
Her eyes went to a picture of herself and Aunt Janine, smiling at a camera on the steps of Janine’s old-fashioned church when Chantelle was just a child. They were dressed in their Easter best and Chantelle was safe with her favorite auntie at last. That was a time when she found new hope after terrible disaster. When her mother died of breast cancer, Chantelle was afraid that she would be forced to stay with her father.
She knew that with her mom gone, she would be the one to take the brunt of his anger and beatings, but Aunt Janine took her brother-in-law in hand. She let him know that he wasn’t fit to raise a young girl. She took Chantelle home with her and raised her from the day of her mother’s funeral and for that, Chantelle was eternally grateful. The picture she was gazing at reminded her that there was always hope.
She felt some comfort thinking about Janine, but then she was distracted from her thoughts as the phone rang. Caller ID told her that it was Tom. The last thing she needed right now was to hear from her ex-boyfriend who had been trying to get back with her for over a month.
The first few months of dating him were like a dream. He was sexy and attentive. Little did she know that his romantic picnics and walks to the local sights were simply a way to cover up not only his poverty, but his lack of interest in keeping a steady job. When he started asking for money here and there, she didn’t worry about it, but when he started rummaging through her purse and getting angry when she didn’t give up what little money she had, she realized that it was not going to work. His anger was extreme and reminded her of her dad.
The old fears from her childhood came back to her and she firmly told him that he had to go. He yelled at her, calling her terrible, degrading names. He stomped through her cute little apartment, breaking things as he went. She locked herself into the bathroom with her cell phone.
As he began to beat on the door, she heard her neighbor, an extremely large man who worked in a casino as a bouncer. His calm but firm voice resonated through her small rooms. “Hey, buddy. I think it’s about time for you to leave now.” Jerry stood almost a foot taller than Tom and made sure to flex his huge muscles to emphasize his words.
Tom’s anger gave way to the obvious strength of the other man. After a few words that Aunt Janine would have shuddered to hear, Tom stormed from the apartment. Since then, he had been calling at least three times a day, sometimes more often, in an attempt to get her back.
She picked up her phone and sent a quick text. “I’m sorry, Tom, but I won’t ever go out with you again. You need to move on.”
Then she turned off her phone and decided that it was time to see Aunt Janine. She had developed the habit of leaving her apartment carefully to make sure that Tom wasn’t waiting for her. She got to her car and drove to her aunt’s neat little house. Most people think of the lights and glitz of the strip when they think of Las Vegas, but there are thousands of people who live in normal houses on normal streets, as well. Aunt Janine’s house was in a neighborhood that had seen better days, yet Aunt Janine kept her house neat and welcoming.
Janine was an older sister to Chantelle’s mom and had retired years ago, but that didn’t mean that she wasn’t busy. She was a sort of adopted auntie to the many kids of the neighborhood. She made sure that there were no hungry stomachs on her block. There were many latch key kids who came home from school while parents were still working. Aunt Janine made sure that a freshly baked snack or some crunchy fruit and veggies were near her front door for the children that she saw scampering off the school bus.
When Chantelle knocked on her aunt’s door, she was rewarded with a warm welcome. Her aunt was an attractive older woman. She had never been one to put on weight, but that may have had something to do with her constant activity. If she wasn’t cleaning, she was cooking for someone, or helping with church work. She always had a peaceful smile on her face for Chantelle, her precious niece, but today Aunt Janine’s smile dropped in a moment.
“What’s the matter? Are you ill, darling?” she automatically put the back of her wrist to Chantelle’s forehead. In spite of her worries, Chantelle had to smile at her aunt’s motherly concern.
“No, Auntie. I’m not sick, but I did such a stupid thing! I’m furious with myself.” Chantelle sunk into an armchair as Janine went to get two frosty glasses of iced tea.
“Well, it can’t be all that bad, my girl.” She spoke in her reassuring voice just as she had done when Chantelle was a girl with a skinned knee. Chantelle and Aunt Janine sat together as they had done so many times before in this faded but cozy little room. She told her aunt all of the details that she could remember and was relieved when Aunt Janine put out her chin, as she always did when she had come to a decision, and said, “Chantelle, it’s a mistake that can be corrected.
I understand why you need an annulment and it sounds like this young man is just as anxious as you are to make that happen. Now, my girl, let’s get into the kitchen. You can help me make sugar cookies for my little friends. I have three new kids from the blue house down the street who have been finding their way to my door these days.” Her eyes sparkled as she reached out her hand to Chantelle and they walked into the kitchen to delve their hands into flour and sugar as they had done so many times before.
*
Gradually, Chantelle went back to life as she knew it before she met Justin. She went to her dull job every day, carrying her sack lunch of hummus and carrots or a healthy sandwich wrap. She would have loved to join the girls who went out to eat for lunch, but she certainly couldn’t afford to do that. She was glad that her job allowed her to live in her tidy, comfortable
apartment and so she didn’t complain.
Tom continued to call her, but not quite as often. She suspected that he kept an eye on her because he would sometimes leave messages showing that he knew where she had been. This was unnerving, but as long as he left her alone, she was not going to get too upset about it.
Her class finished and she looked over the course schedule to decide what she would take next fall. She chose not to take a class over the summer because she often got more work hours during that season while other employees took vacations. This was one of the little tricks she had learned to become self-sufficient. She never wanted to be a woman who relied fully on a man for her sustenance. Watching her mother suffer for years under the iron grip of her father had prompted her to reach for independence.
She picked up the phone and called Kaya. “Girl, what are you taking next fall?”
Kaya’s tone often sounded bored, but today she was quite animated. “I’m not taking anything next fall. Guess what? Daddy is sending me to Europe again! I’m so excited I don’t know what to do! Don’t worry, though, I’ll get back to classes when I get home. We’re leaving this summer and we’re going to do it all! My favorite, of course, is Paris….” On and on Kaya talked. She didn’t even realize how far her lifestyle was from Chantelle’s reality.
“That’s great, Kaya. I’m really happy for you. You had better bring me something from France or Italy!” Chantelle grinned, knowing that she truly was happy for her friend.
“Oh yeah, you know I will, girl! And I’m thinking about getting some dresses made by…” Kaya continued in excitement about her plans for the coming months. Once she wound down, Kaya paused for a long while. “Chantelle? Do you ever hear from Justin?”
Chantelle tried to keep her voice even. “He calls or emails me every now and then to let me know what’s going on with the attorney. He’s very polite about everything.”