Betrayal and Revenge

We've all heard these words before..."To err is human, and to forgive is divine". And these words could hold as much truth as they do wisdom. But, they could also be easier said than done especially when the person on the receiving end of the natural side of the forgiveness is one of your best friends. Treasured and loved like a sister.

Revenge is sweet. Revenge is a dish best served cold. "Revenge is mine"...saith the Lord. But when you're on the receiving end of the betrayal...it's easier said than done.

What happens when friendship turns sour? What events can make a tried, tested and true friend become a turncoat? How do best friends cope with betrayal from one of their own?

We'll see just what has gone down between two of the best friends in The Real Grandmothers of Charlotte, and what the resulting repercussions of the foursome's friendship are along with the effects they will all have to learn to live with. 

It's time to keep it real.  

First He Lies, Then He Cheats...

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive! And if you tell one lie, you’ve got to tell another…and another…till even you don’t know the truth. Well all of this is so true, and whether or not Mr. Cheater gave a second or even a first thought to any of it when he came face to face with Alexis. Literally, it was not face to face because they were several feet away from each other when he came out of one of the private rooms all hugged up with another woman. But something had charged the atmosphere causing him to look around and when he did he looked smack dab in the face of his “one true love”.

Ever hear the expression “time stood still”? I think it’s supposed to describe something totally different than what was going on here though. It’s supposed to refer to to when two people who meet and immediately discover a mutual attraction for each other; in a good way of course. This situation was anything but beautiful but it sure was memorable!  Alexis looked at Frank, Frank was looking at Alexis, (Raquel who is Alexis’ friend) was looking back and forth between Frank and Alexis while the unidentified playmate with Frank just stood there wondering where to look.

Nobody moved for a full minute. Thankfully, Raquel had the sense to make the first move. She gently but firmly took hold of Alexis’ elbow with the intention of steering her into the next room; where they had originally been heading. She quietly urged her to come along and not cause a scene that would only make a bad situation worse. 

At first, Alexis resisted the movement, but when she did allow her friend to lead her away, she moved on, but was continuing to look over her shoulder at the retreating backs of her boyfriend and the stranger he was still hugged up with and now he seemed to be whispering something in her ear.

Here’s a little back-story to catch you up. Frank had called Alexis earlier on this Saturday night and begged off on a date because of car trouble. He had said that he would get the car fixed by a friend who could only do it right then and afterwards he’d call her. She was none the wiser, so she had settled down for the evening when her friend Raquel called and persuaded her to accompany her on a night out to have drinks and maybe get into a card game. This is how they ended up at Abe’s’ Place.

It goes without saying that the evening that had begun as a fun time had definitely lost its’ flavor for Alexis. She couldn’t concentrate; she was upset and still couldn’t believe what she had seen. Worst of all, she had a pain in her chest  brought on by realizing that Frank was just like the many men who had hurt her, lied to her and cheated on her in her past. There was no use in her staying here now. There was no way she would be able to concentrate on the card game. And she didn’t want to make conversation with anyone else right now, so she asked Raquel to drive her home.

She was very quiet on the ride back to her house. Raquel was respectful of this, so she didn’t ply her with the usual platitudes that one dishes out at times like this. She merely touched her hand while they were driving along, and when they got back to the house and before Alexis had gotten out of the car, she simply told her friend “Call me when you want to talk. Anytime, you need me; just call”. Alexis had nodded her head and let herself into her house where only hours before she had left in such an upbeat mood.

So, she made herself and cup of herbal tea, and changed into her pajamas. Curled up on the couch in her family room, she didn’t turn on a lamp. The lamp she always left on in the dining room shed enough light into this room. Besides, she needed the dimness to frame a backdrop for her little pity party she was about to throw. 

Putting her head back against the cushions and making herself comfortable, she blew out a big sigh, and just let her thoughts free fall while she sipped the delicious pungent brew of her tea. For a moment she had considered spiking it with a healthy dose of brandy, but nixed that idea for several reasons. After her pity party, she was going to have to put some things into serious perspective and she wanted to be sober for that. She let out a wry chuckle because the mellow buzz she had gotten from her drinks at Abe’s had quickly faded away the moment she caught sight of Frank and his little honey.

Yes, it was time for a close introspection and possibly a plan of action. She knew that there had been times in her life when she thought she knew how to make the right choices, but she just knew all of that was behind her. There was only a slight issue here; should that plan of action be revenge or the decision to simply move on?

The Stage is Set in Kingston...Part Two

The first official day of vacation had gotten off to a great start. The ladies had all slept to a moderately late hour, and breakfasted together in the parlor room of their suite. They had dined sufficiently on a meal consisting of vegetable and egg quiche, crisp bacon, hot buttery croissants served with apricot preserves, freshly squeezed orange juice and some of the most delicious coffee they had ever drank. Feeling extremely full and satisfied, they lounged around for a while just mulling over the events of their trip so far.

Claudette had planned out a wonderful travel itinerary for them which she now distributed in hard copy to each of them. Of course they had discussed in general what they would be doing, but now that they were here, it was time to take a look at the schedule. Future outings were planned for The Bob Marley Museum, Hope Botanical Gardens and The National Gallery of Jamaica. First item for today was shopping in the marketplace, followed by afternoon tea, and then back to the house for massages and facials. That would definitely relax them and put them in the mood for what lay ahead later that night. They would be having dinner at a landmark restaurant, hosted by a friend of Alexis who lived in Kingston, and then on to dance the night away at a trendy club called “Santana's”.

Keenan DeJohn was a tall, distinguished and articulate gentleman who looked to be of indeterminate age ( but she guessed him to be in his middle to late sixties) whom Alexis had met several years before on her first trip to Kingston. At that time she had been traveling with another friend and a male companion. She had been introduced to Keenan, and they had kept up a friendly communication via email several times a year, but it was enough to maintain an acquaintance close enough that he had come to see her on his last visit to the states two years ago. His open invitation to be his guest at his elegant eatery when she and her friends came down had been sincere and so had his insistence that he comp their meals.

He was seating them as a private party in his secluded VIP room located off from the main dining room. He would join them for before dinner drinks and then leave them to their dinner. To finish off the evening he had arranged a personal escort to take them to Santana's club, and to see that they had every comfort they needed and that everything he did for them was top shelf. It was no secret; he had designs on Alexis. She was aware of it, and he wanted to do everything possible to make sure she and her friends had a fantastic vacation.

And so the day passed in luxurious splendor for the four friends. They laughed, sipped on exotic tasting drinks, and reveled in the beauty of their surroundings, and in the simplicity of being in the company of each other. It wouldn't be normal if they didn't take a few moments to reflect on their lives for just a few moments. And in doing so, they agreed that in the mainstream of life, they had it pretty darn good. They were blessed and blessed indeed.

The time came for them to dress for the evening. It was such a happy time to be getting all dressed up in gorgeous dresses, wearing beautiful summer heels, smelling divine and looking absolutely fabulous!Alexis had spoken to Keenan earlier and he had told her to give their driver Delray Major the night off because he was sending his own driver over to pick them up at seven to deliver them to his restaurant. Later on after closing, he would drive to meet them at the club.

It was exactly six fifty-seven when the doorbell rang. Bonnie went to answer and she met the man who was to be their escort for the night. He bowed low to her as he spoke with a perfect accent” Good evening madame! I am Dante, driver for Mr. DeJohn at your service for the evening. Are you and your friends ready?” Just then, Helena, Claudette and Alexis gathered at the door. More introductions were made, the destination confirmed and off they went into the warm and sultry evening. The air was thick and laden with the perfume of the variety of orchids and lilies that bloomed in the gardens.

They all experienced a heightened sense of well being and felt as if they did indeed have the world in the palm of their hands. There was absolutely no way they could know that this would be a night to remember, but not for the usual reasons. There was no way they could know that trouble waited for them around the corner.

Close Encounters of the Veggie Kind...

Ladies have you ever wondered what was going on in a man’s head when you smiled at him? Let me expand on that question with an actual experience I had. Recently, I was in the supermarket doing my shopping and there happened to be a gentleman in the vicinity of the produce section; fresh fruits to be exact. I noticed him from my extra sharp peripheral vision and slowly pick up and inspect a few ripe melons. He’s still pondering over the fresh herbs and I moved slightly to a more advantageous post and I could see he’s selected fresh cilantro. My amateur chef radar alerts me that he’s probably a pretty good cook if he wants to use fresh ingredients and at the moment I think this, he moves over and picks up a few leeks, and fennel.

Bingo! The first instinct was spot on! A guy who appears to know something about cooking. Very impressive. So, I walk away from the melons and amble up beside him (allowing a personal space of a couple of feet) and begin to select some celery and as you reach for a produce bag to gather up a few bunches of scallion and get a look at the third finger left hand and there is no ring. O-kay.  Nice clean well manicured hands, and …wait a minute…do I detect a subtle familiar fragrance around this man? Why yes…I inconspicuously sniff a little lady like “sniff” and I am sure of it. Burberry for Men and it’s one of my favorites colognes to smell on a man.

Alright now…here I go. I’m going to give him an innocent little smile that says "hello, I'm friendly" just to see how he reacts. Oh, have I mentioned how fabulous I looked that day? I had just left the day spa where I had treated myself to the works; facial, hair and eyebrows, mani/pedi. I was wearing a cute Capri set with matching shrug sweater,and open toe shoes to show off my pedi. And I smelt good too. So, I continue to look around a bit until I can catch his eye without having to stare him down thus having him think I'm some kinda grocery store stalker nut. I wish could say that he and I both reached for the same bag of onions at the same time and experienced a moment complete with angelic music from heaven and a star-burst from making eye contact. That definitely did not happen!

What did happen was dude gave me a cursory look with a brief nod and walked away toting his fennel and his leeks and his whatever. You know I really wanted to follow him, swagger up to him and get all up in his face with attitude and say "In case you didn't notice, but your leeks look wilted and are probably not fresh! Humph!" and then strut away giving him my back before he could think of anything to say. That definitely did not happen either!

What did happen was I shrugged it off, mumbled something to myself about him probably being a jerk anyway, put my basket down and left the store. I headed for Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice latte and by the time I had bought my coffee, added a lemon-almond biscotti to my order I had put dude out of my mind. Maybe another time and another place; it's all good, right?

So I know that you ladies have had similar experiences, perhaps in a laundromat, fast food restaurant, church or at your grand-kids school. Whether or not we made a contact let us be assured that this old reliable tried and true expression can apply to the situation: It's not us...it's them!!

Have a great weekend out there with family and friends, worship at a church of your choosing, and be blessed. We will return on Monday... and we gonna talk some more about Helena and her secret!!

Rock on!!