Champagne Life

by Nicole Bradshaw

  “We’re almost there.” He stepped on the gas, keeping an eye on the speedometer. He let up off the accelerator when he realized he was doing over eighty-five in the smooth ride.

  “Can I tell you something?” Jenn asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you know how I found out about my own surprise party?”

  DeShaun shook his head.

  “Berti told me. That son of a bitch actually told me.”

  “Why?”

  “Because my so-called surprise party was actually a client meet-up. Supposedly, my birthday was the only day all his clients could get together. What bullshit! I was so pissed when that bastard came home from work one night and told me he needed my help to arrange everything. He had the nerve to disappear and leave me to handle all the crap. That takes some real balls.”

  DeShaun let out a sigh of relief when he pulled into D’Antonio’s parking lot. “We’re here.”

  Jenn rolled her eyes, opened the car door and stepped down onto the cemented driveway of the restaurant. “Speaking of dealing with assholes,” she commented as she got out and slammed the door. “Shall I handle it or you?”

  “I got this.”

  Naomi

  I had started looking through the online want ads, but spent the last twenty minutes surfing through online gossip columns, starting with MediaTakout.com and TheYBF.com.

  We had enough funds left over to pay either the water bill or the Internet service, but after that we were tapped out. We opted for Internet because that was due two days before the water bill. We figured in those two days, we would buy a few lottery tickets, hit the jackpot and then have money to pay the water bill and purchase an Escalade.

  That’s what happened when you were broke—you started living in the fantasy world until they shut off your water. Then you crashed back down to earth with a gigantic splaaaaat and shuffled around more bills to buy more time.

  Before getting the bank job, I had worked at a telecommunications company for years before they laid me off. I forgot what it was like to have to search through endless classifieds, trying to find a job that fit my top three criteria; location, position type and salary. I started my search with jobs in close proximity. An hour later, that prerequisite was scratched off the list unless I wanted to become a dog groomer or a part-time mechanic. Two hours into my search, position type was a done deal, too. I was trying hard not to budge on my third criteria; salary. I needed to make a certain amount to break even. However, that amount kept getting lower and lower with each passing hour. By the time early afternoon hit, I was hovering dangerously close to the salary I made when I was babysitting in high school.

  When the phone rang, I hopped up, thankful for the excuse to take a break.

  “What are you doing today?” It was Jeremy. He sounded so upbeat, which was something I needed, especially after dealing with the dismal task of searching for a job. So far, I had e-mailed four resumes. One job had already e-mailed back, asking for an interview. Of course, it was the customer service job I was the least enthusiastic about, but, at this point, I was not about to get snooty about any position. “I was going to spend the day sending out resumes. Why?”

  “I have a lead for you. A friend of mine downtown told me that her boss is looking for a new secretary.”

  “Where?”

  “At the Millworks on Fifty-fifth and Chestnut. I told her about you and she said you should come down right away to meet them. They’re looking to hire someone ASAP.”

  “I know where that is,” I said. “But DeShaun has the car. Can they wait until tomorrow?”

  “Nope. According to my friend, one of the big bosses is leaving tomorrow for vacation.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Of course, they are.”

  “I’m not doing anything. I can take you,” Jeremy offered. “How long do you need to get ready?”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to take you away from anything.”

  “Not at all,” he said. “I spent the morning signing up for my core courses for grad school. I’m done for now. And before you ask, I received a partial scholarship and will have my loan deferred.”

  “I wasn’t going to ask, but it’s great that you have all this planned out. Congratulations.”

  “So, let me take you. It’s no problem at all.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “How long do you need to get ready?”

  I checked the time. “Half-hour okay?”

  “A half-hour? That better include a shower. I don’t want you funkin’ up my car.”

  “Shut up!” I laughed. “Just be here in a half.”

  “Cool. See you then.”

  I hung up the phone. Yessss! If I played my cards right, I may have a job as early as this afternoon.

  “Wow. You look…professional,” Jeremy said when I opened the door.

  I had decided to go full out for this interview, busting out the flattening iron and going Halle Berry style, which was the reason I was running late. “I’ll be just another minute.” I ran upstairs to the bedroom to find my diamond studs, a college graduation gift from my parents.

  “You showered, right?” Jeremy called from the front door.

  “Shut up!”

  When I went back out into the living room, Jeremy was sitting on the couch, flipping through an Essence magazine.

  I held out my arms and twirled. “This look okay?” I dug in the back of my closet and found a crisp white blouse that was like new. I had only worn it twice. My pencil skirt hugged my curves in all the right places but wasn’t too tight. I didn’t mind Payless, but to be on the safe side, I picked out the one pair of black heels I’d bought from Nordstrom four years ago, when money wasn’t as tight.

  “You got a piece of string on your skirt.”

  I reached down and plucked off the string. “Now?”

  “You look good.” He grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the door. “Now come on. We’re taking the train downtown. My friend says it’s only two blocks away from the station and I’d probably spend more time trying to find parking.”

  I shrugged. “Sounds okay to me, but, if that’s the case, I could have taken the train myself. You didn’t have to come all the way up here.”

  “I know,” he said. “I was trying to give you moral support.”

  “Aw, thanks.”

  “Plus, I figured I can get a free lunch out of you when the interview’s done. I missed breakfast this morning trying to rush and get to you.”

  “You are a lie,” I said. “You didn’t call me until the afternoon, so if you missed breakfast that was on you.”

  “Whatever. It’s the least you can do.”

  I smiled, feeling better than I had felt in a long time. Things seem to be finally falling into place. Two days ago, the phone was cut off and we had to decide between paying the credit cards or turning the phone back on. We made the right decision. Jeremy never would have been able to call me about this interview if we had decided to avoid a lousy late charge on the credit card. Besides, I never paid the credit cards on time when we did have jobs. Why start now?

  I had been in such a hurry, I didn’t have time to call DeShaun and let him know what was going on. “Hold on. I have to make a quick call.” I wanted to see how his day was going.

  Jeremy must’ve read my mind. He grabbed my arm and said, “You can call your husband from the car on the way to the station. We have ten minutes or we will officially be late.”

  He pulled me by the elbow and rushed me toward the door. I scrambled to grab my purse from the hallway table as he shuffled me out the door.

  DeShaun

  “Do you want to wait in the car?” DeShaun asked.

  Jenn shook her head. “No. I want to see the bastard’s face when I confront him.” She narrowed her eyes and stood with her hands on her hips, trying her best to look ferocious. Instead, she looked like a little girl, mad at her best friend for stealing her favorite doll.

  DeShaun laughed. “You are funny.�
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  Jenn cracked a smile. “Seriously, I’m not going to let this idiot get away with trying to rip me off.”

  DeShaun shook his head. “Stay here. I’ll be back.” When he reached the door to D’Antonio’s, he looked back at Jenn. She was fixing her hair and makeup in the rearview mirror. So much for telling off D’Antonio, he thought.

  Several minutes later, DeShaun returned to the Range Rover. Jenn was meticulously filing her nails. When she saw DeShaun, she quickly shoved the file back into her purse. “What happened? What did the jerk say?”

  “Call me the man. Not only did I get the price back down to what you agreed to, D’Antonio gave you a discount for future parties.”

  “Sqeeeeee!” She threw her arms around him and planted a big kiss on his cheek. “No way. Seriously?”

  “Seriously.”

  “How’d you do that?”

  “Nick D’Antonio is known for pulling crap like this. I’m surprised no one has taken him to court, or better yet, punched his lights out. He is one lucky son-of-a-bitch.”

  DeShaun purposely left out the part about him asking D’Antonio if he was hiring. It was embarrassing when Nick told him he would put his resume on file for future positions. Nick did look genuinely sorry when he told DeShaun he had just hired a guy. Eight months ago, Nick mentioned he had an opening at his restaurant. Back then, DeShaun had barely given it a second thought since he had a job.

  The entire ride back, Jenn kept complimenting him, telling him how grateful she was and that she would have never been able to pull this off without him.

  “I was at the point where I wanted to hide in my room for the rest of the evening,” Jenn said. “What a great birthday, huh?”

  DeShaun knew about disappointing birthdays. “On my eleventh birthday,” he said, “my father promised to bring me a bike. It would’ve been cool if he actually came through.”

  “What happened?”

  DeShaun shrugged. “He never showed up. Didn’t see him for another few years after that. Not once did he ever mention the bike. Now that’s a sucky birthday.”

  When they pulled up to the Herjavecs’ front drive, the catering vans were already parked out front. DeShaun spotted M.J. directing the guys to bring the platters to the back yard.

  “I don’t know what you said to those jerks,” Jenn said. “But whatever it was, it worked.” She reached inside her purse and pulled out a stash of bills fastened together with a gold money clip. Her initials, JiW, were engraved on the front of the clip. The “i” was dotted with a tiny diamond.

  “What’s your middle name?” DeShaun asked.

  Jenn looked puzzled. “Why would you ask me that?”

  He nodded toward her money clip. “Your clip, there.”

  “Oh, that. My full name is Jennifer Ingrid Herjavec. Ingrid sounds like a little Dutch girl, doesn’t it?”

  “It sounds nice to me.”

  “What’s your middle name?” Jenn asked.

  “I don’t tell anyone my middle name.”

  “Oh, c’mon, I told you mine.”

  “Nope.”

  “Please?”

  The last time his middle name was mentioned, he was pummeling some kid in the fourth grade with his fists. “It’s Ashton. You satisfied?”

  “Really? You’re lying.”

  “Seriously. It’s Ashton.”

  “I like it.”

  “You’re saying that now,” DeShaun said. “But once you think about it, you’re gonna laugh.”

  “It suits you.”

  “Thanks.”

  She reached down and pulled a one-hundred dollar bill from the money clip. “Take this for your troubles.”

  He didn’t do this for the money. He was only trying to help out. “You don’t have to do this.”

  “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be serving cheese and crackers tonight.”

  DeShaun didn’t want to take the money, but then he thought of Naomi. Technically, this is why he was here in the first place, The Plan. He took the money from her fingertips. “I appreciate it.”

  She hopped out of the truck. “Good. Now let’s hurry and get this party over with. I want to go to bed.”

  DeShaun jumped down from the driver’s side. “Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday.”

  Jenn grinned. “You know, you are the first person to tell me that today?”

  “What about your hu—” DeShaun stopped mid-sentence, already realizing the answer to that question. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I don’t care anymore. Apparently, he doesn’t either.”

  DeShaun took the money and shoved it into his back pocket. He watched her disappear through the front door before he headed off in the opposite direction to the backyard to help set up.

  Naomi

  “Can I borrow your phone?” I asked, once Jeremy pulled out of the driveway.

  He nodded toward the glove box. “It’s in there.”

  I reached over and opened up the glove box. I found the phone, but that wasn’t all I found. “Wow, what’s this?” I held up a sealed condom. “And Magnum, too?”

  “That’s not mine.”

  “You guys are still using that line? Let me guess. It’s your boy’s and you were holding it for him.”

  Jeremy grinned. “Whatever.”

  “Hey, you’re single. It’s allowed,” I said. “Speaking of which, whatever happened to that young girl from the Paoli branch? Last I heard, you two were hitting it off.”

  “That’s just it. She’s too young.”

  “So are you.”

  “You and I are the same age. Lilonique was like twenty.”

  “Lilonique?”

  “Don’t hate ’cause of her ghetto name.”

  “I’m not,” I said. “It’s not ghetto, really. It’s…original.”

  “Yeah, and so is Chlamydia and Moët—and don’t you have a call to make?”

  I dialed DeShaun’s number. “Yes, I do.” The phone rang three times before his voicemail came on. I lowered my voice. “Hey, baby. I just wanted to tell you that I am on my way to an interview, so even though I didn’t talk to you, I know you’re wishing me luck. Hope everything turns out okay for your party. Love you.” I hung up.

  “You two have been married for a while?” Jeremy asked.

  “Four years.”

  “I would love to have had a few years of marriage under my belt by now.”

  “My suggestion to you is to take your time. Make sure you find the right person. Believe me, marriage isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.”

  “I know all that,” Jeremy said. “But you always have someone there to be with you.”

  I nodded. “That’s true, but the downside of that is, you always have someone there to be with you.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “They are always there. I left my parents’ house and moved into a place by myself. I met DeShaun almost immediately and a year later, we got married.”

  “Do you have any regrets about getting married?” Jeremy asked.

  “Honestly, marriage sometimes feels like a job, only on this job, there are no long lunches, calling out sick or hiding at the vending machine when your boss gets on your last nerve.

  “You must be referring to my aunt at the bank.”

  I grinned. “Maybe.”

  We pulled up to the train station. When we got to the ticket counter, he stepped before me and asked for two tickets downtown.

  I reached into my purse. “You don’t have to pay for me.”

  “I’ll get this. After the interview—and when you get the job—you can pay for lunch.”

  “Heck no. Lunch costs more.”

  He turned back to the guy at the ticket counter. “One, please. She’ll purchase her own.”

  I playfully smacked him on the back.

  “Hey, if I’m paying for lunch, I’ll have to save my money. You forget, I’ve seen you eat.” He turned back to the guy at the counter. “I’m kidding. I’ll have two tickets, please.�
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  The guy handed Jeremy two tickets. “Better hurry up. The train is about to leave.”

  We rushed to the train, stepped on and took a seat. Within seconds, the doors closed and we were off.

  The train ride seemed excruciatingly long. Between the Bryn Mawr and the Wynwood stops, I kept checking my watch. It was getting late. I didn’t want the bosses to leave before I even had the chance to interview. By the time we reached 30th Street Station, I was fidgeting so badly, Jeremy pulled out his cell and offered to call his friend to let her know we were on the way.

  “Would you?”

  He dialed. I watched, hopefully, as he talked to his friend at the company. He was laughing and joking with her, so I assumed everything was okay. When he hung up, he turned to me. “Tanya said don’t bother. They just left.”

  “Are you serious?” I asked, panicked. “Now what?”

  “I’m kidding. Would you relax? If you don’t you’ll go into that interview nervous and sweaty. They’re going to take one look at you and yell, ‘NEXT!’” He yelled it so loud, a few people surrounding us on the train, looked at us.

  I took a deep breath. “I know but I really need this to work out.”

  “Finances that bad, huh?”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Why do you say that?”

  “You asked me about my financial situation a couple of times.”

  “Really? I didn’t realize. I’m sorry. I was curious, I guess.”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s cool.”

  When we stepped off the commuter train, Jeremy led and I followed. We weren’t running, but we kept up a fast pace as we skipped up the depot steps and out into the street. The day was beautiful. The beating sun was hot against our skin, but the cool summer breeze made the temperature just right. I wished I was spending the day shopping or leisurely heading to one of the cozy bookstores on Market Street. Instead the bright, beautiful day was overshadowed by fear and nervousness. I really wanted this job.

  No, I needed this job.

  We headed into the high-rise building and took the elevator to the twelfth floor. When he saw his friend, Tanya, at the front desk, his face lit up, and he smiled. “Hey! Long time no see.”